What This Site Is
StationSense is an independent informational resource for people who own, are considering buying, or are actively setting up personal weather stations. Every guide on this site is written to answer a specific, real question that station owners encounter — from "which station should I buy" to "why is my temperature reading 8 degrees too high" to "how do I get my station contributing to National Weather Service models."
The site covers the full lifecycle of owning a home weather station: selecting equipment, mounting and calibrating it correctly, connecting it to public weather networks like Weather Underground and CWOP, interpreting what the data means, and troubleshooting when things go wrong.
Editorial Approach
Every guide on StationSense is written to meet one standard: it should contain at least one piece of information that isn't on the first page of Google results for that topic. That usually means going deeper on a procedural step, addressing a specific firmware version or model difference, or explaining why a rule exists rather than just stating it.
We don't do thin overviews. If a topic is worth covering at all, it gets covered thoroughly enough that a reader can act on the information without needing to open three other tabs.
No Affiliate Links, No Vendor Relationships
StationSense has no affiliate relationships with any weather station manufacturer or retailer. We don't receive commissions, review units, sponsored content, or any form of payment from Ecowitt, Ambient Weather, Davis Instruments, WeatherFlow, AcuRite, or any other company mentioned on this site.
When we say the Ecowitt WittBoy has a better software ecosystem than the Ambient WS-2902C, it's because that's our honest assessment — not because one company paid more. When we point out a product's limitations, those limitations are real. This independence is the entire point of the site.
The site is supported by Google AdSense advertising. Ads are served automatically by Google based on page content and user context. We have no control over which specific ads appear and no relationship with individual advertisers.
Sources and Standards
Technical guidance on sensor placement follows the World Meteorological Organization's Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8), translated into practical backyard terms. CWOP guidance follows the current NOAA documentation and the CWOP quality assurance resources at wxqa.com. Data network setup guides reflect the current state of each platform as tested in 2024–2025.
Where manufacturer firmware or software changes affect a guide's accuracy, we update the guide. If you notice that a step-by-step guide no longer matches what you see in your app, please let us know — the community's corrections make the guides better for everyone.
Who Reads StationSense
Most readers are in one of three situations: they just bought a weather station and are trying to set it up correctly, they've had a station for a while and want to improve their data quality or start sharing it publicly, or they're researching before purchasing and want honest comparisons that aren't filtered through manufacturer marketing.
The site is written for adults with a moderate comfort level with technology — you don't need to be a programmer or meteorologist, but you're expected to be willing to follow a multi-step process and read error messages carefully.
Contact and Corrections
For questions, corrections, or suggestions, use the contact page. We read every message and update guides when corrections are warranted.