ECOWITT HP3501 User manual

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TFT COLOR DISPLAY WIFI WEATHER
STATION
Operation Manual
Model: HP3501
Thank you for purchasing this TFT Color Display Weather Station! This
device provides accurate weather readings and is Wi-Fi capable to stream
data from the weather station to Internet based weather services.
This manual will guide you, step-by-step, through setting up your weather
station and console, and understanding the operation of your weather station.
Use this manual to become familiar with your professional weather station
and save it for future reference.
Note: The stainless steel pole for the wireless anemometer is not included.

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1 Table of Contents
1 TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................2
2 UNPACKING......................................................................................................... 5
3 OVERVIEW........................................................................................................... 7
3.1 DISPLAY CONSOLE.............................................................................................7
3.2 INDOOR SENSOR:............................................................................................... 8
3.3 OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY SENSOR:.......................................... 9
3.4 FEATURES..........................................................................................................9
4 SET UP GUIDE....................................................................................................11
4.1 SITE SURVEY...................................................................................................11
4.2 WIRELESS ANEMOMETER SENSOR ASSEMBLY............................................... 12
4.2.1 Install U-bolts and metal plate................................................................13
4.2.2 Install wind vane..................................................................................... 14
4.2.3 Install wind speed cups........................................................................... 15
4.2.4 Install Batteries in sensor package......................................................... 16
4.2.5 Mount assembled wireless anemometer sensor...................................... 16
4.2.6 Reset Button and Transmitter LED......................................................... 18
4.3 RAIN GAUGE SENSOR SET UP.........................................................................19
4.3.1 Install rain gauge filter........................................................................... 19
4.3.2 Install Rain Collector Top.......................................................................20
4.3.3 Install Batteries in rain gauge sensor..................................................... 21
4.3.4 Mounting................................................................................................. 21
4.4 INDOOR SENSOR SET UP................................................................................. 23
4.4.1 Sensor Placement.................................................................................... 24
4.5 OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY SENSOR OPERATION.................... 25
4.6 BEST PRACTICES FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION....................................... 25
4.7 CONSOLE DISPLAY..........................................................................................26
4.7.1 Initial Display Console Set Up................................................................28
4.7.2 Key functions........................................................................................... 28
5 OPERATING THE CONSOLE......................................................................... 30
5.1 NORMAL MODE............................................................................................... 30
5.1.1 Outdoor or “Feels Like”.........................................................................30
5.1.2 Rain data................................................................................................. 31

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5.1.3 Graphed data...........................................................................................31
5.2 SETTING MODE............................................................................................... 32
5.2.1 Backlight..................................................................................................33
5.2.2 Data Units............................................................................................... 33
5.2.3 Coefficients..............................................................................................34
5.2.4 Barometer................................................................................................34
5.2.5 Rainfall.................................................................................................... 35
5.2.6 Graph Time............................................................................................. 35
5.2.7 Time Format............................................................................................35
5.2.8 Date Format............................................................................................ 35
5.2.9 Date and Time......................................................................................... 35
5.2.10 Sensor Type........................................................................................... 36
5.3 CALIBRATION MODE.......................................................................................37
5.3.1 Calibration of barometric pressure settings........................................... 38
5.4 ALARM MODE................................................................................................. 41
5.5 TEMPERATURE MAX/MIN MODE.................................................................... 42
5.6 OTHER MAX/MIN MODE.................................................................................42
5.7 RAINFALL........................................................................................................ 43
5.8 FACTORY MODE..............................................................................................43
5.9 DISPLAY MODE FOR OPTIONAL SENSOR(S)..................................................... 44
5.9.1 Sensor management mode for optional sensors(s)..................................46
5.9.2 Graph mode for optional sensors(s)........................................................47
6 OTHER CONSOLE FUNCTIONS.................................................................... 48
6.1 HISTORICAL DATA STORAGE........................................................................... 48
6.2 BEAUFORT WIND FORCE SCALE..................................................................... 48
7 PUBLISHING TO INTERNET WEATHER SERVICES............................... 50
7.1 WI-FICONNECTION FOR THE WEATHER STATION CONSOLE......................... 51
7.1.1 Configure Device – Connect your console with WIFI............................ 51
7.2 ADDING WEATHER SERVICES.......................................................................... 53
7.2.1 Ecowitt Weather...................................................................................... 54
7.2.2 Viewing data on ecowitt.net.................................................................... 55
7.3 WEATHER UNDERGROUND..............................................................................58
7.4 VIEWING DATA ON WUNDERGROUND.COM..................................................... 61
7.5 DEVICE LIST.................................................................................................... 64
7.6 MANAGE WUNDERGROUND............................................................................ 64
7.7 UNIT SETTINGS............................................................................................... 65

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8 PC SOFTWARE OPERATION......................................................................... 66
8.1 INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION............................................................. 66
8.1.1 Connect the display console to the PC....................................................66
8.2 SETUP FUNCTIONS...........................................................................................67
8.2.1 Basic Settings.......................................................................................... 68
8.2.2 Alarm Settings......................................................................................... 68
8.2.3 Calibration Settings.................................................................................69
8.2.4 Rain Totals.............................................................................................. 70
8.3 RECORD AND RECORDING FUNCTIONS............................................................ 71
8.3.1 Max/Min.................................................................................................. 72
8.3.2 SDCard File............................................................................................ 73
9 MAINTENANCE................................................................................................. 75
10 TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE...................................................................... 77
11 GLOSSARY OF COMMON TERMS............................................................. 82
12 SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................85
13 WARRANTY INFORMATION.......................................................................87

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2 Unpacking
Open your weather station box and inspect that the contents are intact
(nothing broken) and complete (nothing missing). Inside you should find the
following:
QT
Item Description
1
Display Console
1
Wireless Anemometer with built-in: Wind Speed Sensor/ Wind
Direction Sensor, Light and UV sensor, Solar panel
1
Wind speed cups (to be attached to anemometer sensor body)
1
Wind vane (to be attached to anemometer sensor body)
1
USB Cable (for console to PC connectivity)
1
Indoor sensor unit(temperature, humidity and pressure)
1
Outdoor temperature and humidity sensor unit
1
Rain gauge sensor unit
2 Set
U-Bolts for mounting on a pole(2pcs/set)
2 Set
Threaded nuts for U-Bolts (M5 size)(4pcs/set)
2 Set
Metal mounting plate to be used with U-Bolts(1pcs/set)
1
Stainless steel tube (for mounting the rain gauge sensor)
1
Wrench for M5 bolts
1
Stainless steel filter for rain gauge collector
1
AC adapter
1
User manual (this manual)
Table 1: Package content
If components are missing from the package, or broken, please contact
customer service to resolve the issue.
Note: The console can store historical data on a memory card. This
memory card is not included. If you want to use one you will need
a microSD memory card. There is no required size for this card. A
1GB card will store more than 10 years’ worth of data, so you do
not need a very large capacity card. There is also no requirement on
the speed class of this card as data writing happens infrequently and
is not speed critical.

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Note: Batteries for the wireless anemometer and the rain gauge sensor are
all not included. You will need 1 AA size battery, alkaline or
Lithium battery (Lithium recommended for the rain ) for each unit.
Note: The console operates using an AC adapter. The included adapter is a
switching-type adapter and can generate a small amount of electrical
interference with the RF reception in the console, when placed too
close to the console. Please keep the console display at least 2 ft. or
0.5 m away from the power adapter to ensure best RF reception
from the outdoor sensor package.
Note: There are two sets of U-bolts in the box, one is for the wireless
anemometer sensor and the other one is for the rain gauge sensor.
There’s a short stainless steel tube included for the rain gauge sensor
installation.
Note: The rain gauge can also be mounted to a surface using two screws,
so the included stainless-steel tube is not always necessary!

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3 Overview
3.1 Display console
Figure 1: Display console screen
Figure 2: Display console side views
DC Connector
microSD Card
USB Port

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3.2 Indoor sensor:
Figure 3: Indoor sensor 3 display variations
The indoor sensor will display indoor temperature, humidity and barometric
pressure alternately. The sensor will use US or metric units, as appropriate
for the locale where the unit was sold.

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3.3 Outdoor temperature and humidity sensor:
Figure 4: Outdoor temperature and humidity sensor display
3.4 Features
TFT full color display
Time and date
Indoor/Outdoor temperature and humidity
Wind speed, gust speed, and wind direction (red arrow icon for the
current wind direction and blue dot icon for the previous wind direction
on the compass)
Absolute and Relative barometric pressure
Rainfall rate and totals for day, week, month, and year
Calculated wind chill, dew point and heat index display
Solar light intensity and UV index
Selectable display units for each sensor: C or F (temperature); mph,
km/h, m/s, knots or Beaufort (wind speed); inHg, hPa or mmHg
(pressure); in or mm (rainfall); lux, fc or w/m2(solar lighting)

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Barometric history graph (12, 24, 48, or 72 hr.)
Maximum and minimum values for sensor with time stamp
High/low alarm options for sensors
Historical data preserved during power outage on optional SD card
PC software (requires USB connection)
Additional/optional sensors supported:
One WH57 lightning sensor
Up to 8 WH31 multi-channel temperature and humidity sensors
Up to 8 WH51 soil moisture sensors
Up to 4 WH41 PM2.5 air quality sensors
Up to 4 WH55 Water leak sensors (pending)
Pushes sensor data to cloud weather services:
https://www.ecowitt.net
https://www.wunderground.com
https://www.weathercloud.com/
https://www.wow.com
Custom own server data hosting possible when server data exchange
is compatible with either Wunderground or Ecowitt protocol.
Mobile application (WS View)
Configure the console to Wi-Fi network
View WU Dashboard (data obtained from the Weather Underground
server).
Data storage service on Ecowitt server: https://ecowitt.net
Stores data for past year days at 5-minute intervals
Stores data for past 2 years at 30-minute intervals
Note: The optional sensors can be purchased separately. If more info
needed, please visit our website: http://www.ecowitt.com. Make sure to
select the model of the units with the same RF frequency as your gateway
(the frequency is different for various countries because of regulations).

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4 Set up Guide
To complete assembly you will need a Philips screwdriver (size PH0) and a
wrench (size M5; included in package).
Note: We suggest you assemble all components of the weather station,
including console in one location so you can easily test functionality.
After testing, place the outdoor sensors in the desired location. Note,
however, that movement during assembly, and movement after
assembly can cause the rain sensor to “falsely” register rain. It is
therefore best if you do not connect the console to any Internet
services until you have reset these false readings using the console.
The errant values may be hard to remove from Internet services if
you do not reset first.
Attention:
Follow suggested order for battery installation (outdoor sensor first,
console second)
Ensure batteries are installed with correct polarity (+/-)
Do not mix old and new batteries
Do not use rechargeable batteries
If outdoor temperature may go below 32F or 0C for prolonged periods,
Lithium based batteries are suggested over alkaline type batteries for the
outdoor sensor array
4.1 Site Survey
Perform a site survey before installing the weather station. Consider the
following:
Anemometer
Ideally mounted at 32.8 feet (10 meters) above ground level.
Try to make the anemometer the highest object around. 7 feet(2.76
meters) or more above the surrounding obstructions is best.

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Rain Gauge
Ideally mounted at a height of 4 to 6 feet above the ground.
Ideally located at a horizontal distance of 4 times the height of the
nearest obstruction.
Ensure the gauge is mounted level to the ground, away from any
horizontal surface that can introduce rain-splashing or surrounding
snow buildup.
Reference:
https://www.weather.gov/media/epz/mesonet/CWOP-Siting.pdf
4.2 Wireless Anemometer Sensor Assembly
See Figure 6 to locate and understand all the parts of the wireless
anemometer with UV & light sensors package once fully assembled.
Figure 6: Sensor assembly components

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1 Wind speed cups
6 LED (red) to indicate data transmission
2 Wind vane
7 Light sensor and UV sensor
3 Connection tube
8 NORTH arrow
4 U-Bolts
9 Solar panel
5 Mounting Pole(not
included)
10 Reset button
Table 2: Sensor assembly detailed items
4.2.1 Install U-bolts and metal plate
Installation of the U-bolts, which are in turn used to mount the sensor
package on a pole, requires installation of an included metal plate to receive
the U-bolt ends. The metal plate, visible in Figure 7, has four holes through
which the ends of the two U-Bolts will fit. The plate itself is inserted in a
groove on the right bottom of the unit. Note that one side of the plate has a
straight edge (which goes into the groove), the other side is bent at a
90-degree angle and has a curved profile (which will end up “hugging” the
mounting pole). Once the metal plate is inserted, remove nuts from the
U-Bolts and insert both U-bolts through the respective holes of the metal
plate as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7: U-Bolt installation
Loosely screw on the nuts on the ends of the U-bolts. You will tighten these
later during final mounting. Final assembly is shown in Figure 8.

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Figure 8: U-Bolts and nuts installed
The plate and U-Bolts are not yet needed at this stage but doing this now
may help avoid damaging wind vane and wind speed cups later on. Handling
of the sensor package with wind vane and speed cups installed to install
these bolts is more difficult and more likely to lead to damage.
4.2.2 Install wind vane
Push the wind vane onto the shaft on the bottom side of the sensor package,
until it goes no further, as shown on the left side in Figure 9. Next, tighten
the set screw, with a Philips screwdriver (size PH0), as shown on the right
side, until the wind vane cannot be removed from the axle. Make sure the
wind vane can rotate freely. The wind vane’s movement has a small amount
of friction, which is helpful in providing steady wind direction
measurements.

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Figure 9: Wind vane installation diagram
4.2.3 Install wind speed cups
Push the wind speed cup assembly onto the shaft on the opposite side of the
wind vane, as shown in Figure 10 on the top side. Tighten the set screw,
with a Philips screwdriver (size PH0), as shown on the right side. Make sure
the cup assembly can rotate freely. There should be no noticeable friction
when it is turning.
Figure 10: Wind speed cup installation diagram

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4.2.4 Install Batteries in sensor package
Open the battery compartment with a screwdriver and insert 1 AA battery in
the battery compartment. The LED indicator on the back of the sensor
package (item 6) will turn on for 3 seconds and then flash once every 16.5
seconds indicating sensor data transmission. If you did not pay attention,
you may have missed the initial indication. You can always remove the
batteries and start over, but if you see the flash once every 16.5 seconds,
everything should be OK.
Figure 11: Battery installation diagram
Note: If LED does not light up or is on permanently, make sure the battery
is inserted the correct way and inserted fully, starting over if
necessary. Do not install the battery backwards as it may
permanently damage the outdoor sensor.
Note: We recommend Lithium batteries for cold weather climates, but
alkaline batteries are sufficient for most climates. Rechargeable
batteries have lower voltages and should never be used.
4.2.5 Mount assembled wireless anemometer sensor
4.2.5.1 Before you mount
Before proceeding with the outdoor mounting detailed in this section, you
may want to skip to setup instructions in section 5-7 and onwards first, while

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you keep the anemometer sensor nearby (although preferably not closer than
5 ft. or 1.53m from the display console). This will make any troubleshooting
and adjustments easier and avoids any distance or interference related issues
from the setup.
After setup is complete and everything is working, return here for outdoor
mounting. If issues show up after outdoor mounting they are almost
certainly related to distance, obstacles etc.
4.2.5.2 Mounting
You can attach a pole to a permanent structure and then attach the sensor
package to it (see Figure 12).
The U-Bolts will accommodate a pole diameter of 1-2 inches (pole not
included).
Figure 12: Sensor package mounting diagram
Make sure the mounting pole is vertical, or very close to it. Use a level if
needed.
Finally, place the sensor package on top of the prepared mounting pipe. The
U-Bolts should be loose enough to allow this but loosen the nuts as

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necessary. Once placed, hand tightens all four nuts, taking care to do so
evenly. Do not use a wrench yet!
Now you will need to align the whole package in the proper direction by
rotating it on top of the mounting pipe as needed. Locate the arrow labeled
“NORTH” that you will find on top of the transparent cover on the sensor
package (Item 8 ). You must rotate the whole sensor package until this
arrow points due north. To achieve proper alignment, it is helpful to use a
compass (many cell phones have a compass application). Once rotated in the
correct orientation, lightly tighten the bolts a little more (use a wrench) to
prevent further rotation.
Note: The orientation to NORTH is necessary for two reasons. The most
important one is to position the solar panel and light sensor in the
most advantageous position for recording solar radiation and
charging internal capacitors. Secondly it causes a zero reading for
wind direction to correspond to due NORTH, as is customary.
Make sure the sensor package is installed vertically. If it is not, wind
direction and speed readings may not operate correctly or accurately. Adjust
the mounting pipe as necessary.
Make sure you check, and correct if necessary, the north orientation as the
final installation step, and now tighten the bolts with a wrench. Do not over
tighten, but make sure strong wind and/or rain cannot move the sensor
package.
4.2.6 Reset Button and Transmitter LED
In the event the sensor package is not transmitting, reset the sensor.
Using a bent-open paperclip, press and hold the RESET BUTTON (item 10)
to affect a reset: the LED turns on while the RESET button is depressed, and
you can now let go. The LED should then resume as normal, flashing
approximately once every 16.5 seconds.

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4.3 Rain Gauge Sensor Set Up
See Figure 13 to locate and understand all the parts of the rain gauge sensor
once fully assembled.
Figure 13: Sensor assembly components
1 Rain collector top
4 Battery door
2 LED Indicator
5 Screw hole
3 Bubble level
6 U-bolt install hole
Table 3: Sensor assembly detailed items
4.3.1 Install rain gauge filter
There’s a stainless steel filter included in the package. It’s aimed to stop
leaves or bird's dropping to avoid the obstruction of the cone hole. The
installation is as simple as the below figures show:

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Hook the filter hook on the edge of the rain collector to install the filter(as
the figure below shows on the left).
Take out the filter hook from the edge to uninstall the filter(as the figure
below shows on the right).
Figure: Rain gauge filter in/un-installation diagram
4.3.2 Install Rain Collector Top
Align the rain collector top with the rain bucket, pay attention to the lock
groove position as shown on the left side in Figure 14. Next, lock the top
clockwise to the lock groove position, as shown on the right side, until the
top cannot be removed from the bucket.
Figure 14: Rain collector top installation diagram
Take out the filter hook from
the edge to uninstall
Hook the filter hook on the edge
to install