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Acurite Atlas Review: An All-New PWS from Acurite

Are you looking for a modern weather station with all of the bells and whistles?

Then the new Acurite Atlas is worth checking out.

The Atlas is a high-end weather station is made to compete with the “Davis” class of home weather stations. As a matter of fact, Acurite designed the Atlas to outperform the Davis Vantage Vue and I think Acurite was successful.

If you are tired waiting for Davis to update their weather station models, I suggest you look at the Acurite Atlas.

Main Benefits of the Acurite Atlas

Acurite has created a brand new weather station designed to beat the Davis Vantage Vue. Up until now, Davis has held the #1 and #2 spots in the higher quality home weather station market. Other brands have been trying to break into Davis’ market and Acurite has done it in my opinion.

So far there are very few home weather stations are available at this end of the price spectrum. But now there is one more.

How the Atlas compares to the Vantage Vue

For Acurite, the Atlas personal weather station is the first major design upgrade in a long time. Many people in the weather station community have been following the development of the Atlas for the last couple of years and were chomping at the bit to get a hold of one.

The Atlas is the first high-end weather station from Acurite

• The accuracy of the Atlas is very close to the Vantage Vue
• The HD display is vastly superior to Davis
• Internet connectivity is much easier and less expensive than the Davis stations which require you to buy an additional part.
• The anemometer extension for the Atlas puts it way ahead of the Vue.

With this Acurite Atlas review, I’ll point out the weather station’s advanced features that might cause you to choose the Atlas over it’s competition.

In case you were wondering, the Acurite Atlas is modular and is available in several different versions:

The Acurite Atlas model 01007M is the complete package; 8 in 1 outdoor sensor with the lightning detector module, the high definition touchscreen display, and the Access internet connection. Due to the 8 sensors, the model 01007M is also referred to as the Atlas 8.

The Acurite Atlas model 01008M has the 7 in 1 outdoor sensor and the Access internet hub. (no lightning module and NO indoor display.) Having only 7 sensors the 01008M is sometimes called the Atlas 7. Shouldn’t the model numbers be switched around? Go figure…

The Acurite Atlas 01009M/ 01004M includes the 7 in 1 outdoor sensor and the HD touchscreen display (no Access so no internet connectivity)

Where the Acurite Atlas fits in the home weather station world

As I mentioned, the Acurite Atlas is a full-featured complete home weather station meant to go head to head with the Davis Instruments. Most of the competition in the mid–priced weather stations where you’ll find many many models available in the $100 to $200 range.

But if you’re looking for something above and beyond the average your choices are few; basically Davis or other more commercial agricultural types of weather stations like Rainwise for instance.

Things you should know about the Acurite Atlas

If you are familiar with the rest of the Acurite line of home weather stations, you would have noticed that most of the displays and outdoor sensors from the different models can be mixed and matched.

Atlas is also designed as a modular system. This modular design makes it easy for you to customize your weather station.

The Atlas 01007M system consists of:

• An 8 in 1 outdoor sensor array. It provides temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall, plus UV, solar light intensity, and a lightning detection module.
• A high definition TFT touchscreen indoor display. The display has a barometer and indoor thermo-hygrometer making your weather station an 11 in 1 system. Add some remote sensors and you’ll get even more weather info.
• A new development is an internet connection device called the Acurite Access.
• Additional remote sensors (thermo-hygrometers) are available. Some accessories like a remote battery pack, remote AC adapter, and an anemometer extension are also available.                                                                             

Here are the modular components of the Acurite Atlas, one section at a time:

#1- The Acurite Atlas Outdoor sensor array

Acurite’s Atlas features their top of the line outdoor sensor array. This is the most accurate and durable of all their sensors.

How it holds up to rough weather over the long term remains to be seen. Acurite has had experienced weather station buffs beta testing the Atlas in real-world conditions for a couple of years without complaints about physical failures.

8 sensors in the Atlas outdoor array

You get all of the features of the previous 5 in 1 Pro+ sensors but additionally a UV light sensor, solar radiation intensity sensor, and a lightning detector. All of the sensors have better accuracy than the 5 in 1 stations.

You should be aware that this weather station is big, like in twice as big as the 5 in 1 stations. If you think you’re going to sneak the Atlas past any HOA snoops, fugetaboutit…

The Atlas has an improved solar powered fan

To achieve the most accurate temperature reading the Atlas has a built in fan to circulate the ambient surrounding air over the thermometer. This eliminates the issue of the sun heating up the whole sensor resulting in too high of a temperature reading.

The power to the fan comes from three solar panels that are placed so that at least one panel is receiving sunlight from sunrise until sunset.

As you change latitude the position of the sun in the sky also changes. Trying to design an array of solar cells to work practically anywhere is tricky. I think the Atlas 3 panel solar array is the best yet.

These solar panels power the fan only, not the sensor. The weather sensor is powered by the 4 AA batteries. Buy high quality batteries from a place that sells a lot of them. They’re more likely to be fresh. I always use lithium batteries, they just seem to last longer in my experience.

Acurite Atlas model 01007M includes a lightning detector

I suppose the lightning detector can be considered to be another module as the Atlas will work with it installed or not. This detector will report strikes up to 25 miles away and also an approximate distance in miles. The information is seen on the MyAcurite.net website or app.

So if you or your family spend a lot of time outdoors this could be a useful feature. In my case, if there’s lightning around, I disconnect my ham radio antennas and shut down and unplug critical devices like my business computers. But not my weather station computer, so far, so good…

Atlas has a detachable anemometer, eliminating a big compromise

By being able to separate the anemometer from the base unit you eliminate one of the biggest compromises of other all-in-1 weather stations. This feature allows you to place the base unit closer to the ground for ease of mounting and maintenance, and installing the wind sensors up to 30′ higher where the wind is unobstructed.

If you have the Atlas installed in the clear where you can get an accurate wind measurement, you can just leave the anemometer attached. However, if you have buildings, fences, trees, or other wind obstructions, you have an option to remove the anemometer, and with the extension kit, mount it up to 30′ away from the base.

To me, this feature is what really sets the Atlas apart. So far all of my weather stations have had a separate anemometer. The first time you have to clean the bird crap or leaves out of your rain sensor, or have to change the batteries you’ll be glad it’s low and easy to get to and not on top of a pole.

If you can keep the main sensor closer to the ground by using the anemometer extension you probably won’t need to buy the battery pack extension.

You can install the Atlas without any tools

For mounting the Atlas, Acurite provides it’s universal plastic mount that is also included with their 5 in 1 models. You can do better.

A hand tightened knob secures the sensor array to the top a pole. With the wind extension, the anemometer is detached and is mounted on top of the pole and the body of the array can be mounted anywhere along the pole. A removable bracket slides off of the base and is slid back on and tightened with the knob when you have the based positioned where you want it.

Both units do not have to be mounted on the same mast, you could mount the main sensor near the ground and the anemometer on the roof. Just so long as you stay within 30 feet and have some way of securing the extension wire from getting whipped around in the wind.

Here is a sturdy mounting tripod that Acurite sells on Amazon:

For more in-depth information on mounting solutions, visit this page.

Remote battery pack extension

Another very useful option is a remote battery pack that can help by bringing the batteries down to where you can change them easier without risking life and limb. This is a dummy battery pack that installs where the batteries should normally be and has a 30-foot wire attached to the real battery pack that you can place where you please.

Pretty handy don’t you think?

Note: The battery pack extension you’ll want is the model 06074. This is NOT the same battery pack that fits the 5 in 1 models. So far this pack and the following A/C extension are not yet available on Amazon.

Remote A/C power adapter

Acurite also has an AC adapter available if you would like to get away from batteries altogether. Both of these adapters can extend 30′ from the sensor which should be plenty.

If you live in a lightning prone area, I would not use these extensions…just in case…

Adding up all of the features packaged up and the selections of accessories in the Acurite Atlas, I’d say it’s in a class by itself. There really isn’t any weather stations offered in between the Vue and the Pro2.

#2- The Hi-Def Color TFT Touchscreen Indoor display

TFT displays are getting very popular. I think that the Atlas display is out front with the large 7″ and attractive touch screen.

At 7″ diagonally it’s larger than any TFT weather station displays that I know of.

TFT LCD displays are known for their sharp crisp read-out, and also the wide angle of viewing. Typical LCD screens require you to be directly in front of them to read them. Not so with the TFT screens. If your eyeballs are halfway decent you should be able to read the display from almost anywhere in the room.

An issue with all TFT screens is the power requirements make battery power impractical so the unit must be plugged in to work. Note that the display, while not battery powered, it does have an internal memory so you won’t lose your settings during power outages.

All of your current weather data is visible at once

You will see all of the usual data presented with the added bonus that everything is always visible, no need to scroll through button menus. Well almost; the setup, history, and graphing features are seen through the touch screen menu.

Acurite’s Atlas display features controls for auto-dim and sleep mode. Programmable alarms are available for every measured parameter.

Keep in mind that the Atlas display needs to be within 330′ of the outdoor sensor. In actual practice 100′ is probably more like it. While the display does not transmit any data anywhere, it is the only way to see your weather data in your house.

Save your data and get firmware upgrades by using a memory card

Are you a data geek?  Well, you’re in luck. An SD card slot is there to save your data as a CVS file for analysis later on your computer. Your display will send data to the card every 10 seconds until it is full.

Your Acurite Atlas weather station will accept an SD card up to 32mb. You’ll have to supply your own card.

# 3- The New Acurite access

Another brand new device is the third part, the Access internet hub. The Access receives the data from the outdoor sensor and any additional sensors you have installed. The Access is connected to your router by an ethernet cable to enable uploading your sensor’s weather data.

A nice feature of the Access is that once you’re connected to Myacurite, the Access software updates are all done automatically.

The display is for your viewing pleasure only. It only receives and displays information from your outdoor sensor. The only information that can be uploaded is what is received by the Access.

This is important:

Be sure to power up all of your sensors first, and the Access last. Every time the Access boots up it looks for signals from the sensors. So if you want to add sensors later you’ll have to completely power down the Access for enough time to clear the memory and then boot up again after your new sensors are powered up.

Something to keep in mind is that this “discovery” period for the Access to find your sensors can take up to 30 minutes. Ya gotta be patient…

With the Acurite Access you can:

Connect to Myacurite.net

This is one of the nicest looking and functional weather apps. Complete and attractive. Works with IOS and Android.

As I understand it, Myacurite only works in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. The weather station itself will work anywhere the 433MHz frequency is legal to transmit on. And of course, Weather Underground works almost anywhere.

You can use the MyAcurite app to see your weather info on IOS and Android devices. From there you can see all of your data but also the reports from any of the remote sensors you have installed. The Access can handle up to 7 sensors.

The Access has a barometer inside but no thermometer. What this means is if you want to see your indoor temperature and humidity on your phone you’ll need to install another remote sensor in the area you want to monitor.

On the other hand, you may not want to put your indoor conditions on the internet. MyAcurite data is password-protected, but ya never know…

Upload your weather reports to Weather Underground

Weather Underground is by far the most popular weather station network. You’ll find it fun to see your weather station show up online along with all of the neighboring stations. You can share your Weather Underground page with your friends.

To start using Weather Underground you must first go to their site and create an account.

Weather data from inside your house or from any of the remote sensors does NOT get sent to Weather Underground but only the password protected MyAcurite. The only information seen by Weather Underground is from the 8 in 1 sensor array.

Use your Amazon Alexa

The only application of the popular smart home technology is through using Alexa. This Alexa skill allows you to ask for any particular weather condition measured, like the temperature or humidity. No need to hear the complete weather report every time.

See more information, photos, options on Amazon:

See the New Acurite Atlas

Pros-

All new modern user-friendly home weather station

Installing the Atlas is very easy and can be done without any tools.

Price is very competitive for the high end of the consumer market

Accuracy is much better than the 5 in 1 models and compares well with it’s competition

The wind extension puts the Atlas in a class apart.

The remote power options solves one of the biggest problems and safety concerns you’ll have with maintenance and battery replacement.

Cons-

No access to 3rd party weather networks – I like to upload to CWOP for instance. Can they include the option in MyAcurite.net? Or maybe a way of connecting the Access to your computer…

Customer service limitations – While Live Chat works great, many of their customers would prefer to use email or the phone.

Ex-Cons-

HA HA!

Anyway, Acurite had a big problem during the early public release with the aspirating fan wiring interfering with the lightning detector resulting in LOTS of reported strikes. This problem has been fixed and is not an issue anymore. Maybe you should be wary of inadvertently buying one of the first models on eBay. Stick with Acurite or Amazon to be safe.

Keep in mind that most of the negative comments on Amazon are about this lightning problem. It’s all fixed now, but unfortunately for Acurite, comments live forever…

Customer comments

“I think they got it Very Right”

“Appears very accurate.”

“Feels sturdier than the old 5 in 1 models.”

“The Live Chat feature with Acurite support works very well.”

Many positive comments about not needing tools to mount the outdoor sensor.

One of the commenters figured it would cost about $1100 to get a Davis station with all of the same features.

Wrap up

So do I think it was worth the wait? Yes, especially now that the bugs have been worked out.

So, how did they do against Davis? Acurite is giving Davis some very serious competition. While the Acurite Atlas has a little slower sampling and update figures, but just about everything else about the Atlas is equal to or better than the Davis Vantage Vue.

If you look at the ease of connecting the Atlas to the internet and the quality of the display, and the wind extension, you just may choose the Atlas over the Vantage Pro2 also.

Should you buy it? If you are looking to buy a top of the line consumer/ professional weather station my answer is yes. Buying an Atlas on eBay right now may not be a great idea due to the early models could be sold there with the lightning detector problems. Buy direct from Acurite or save money and buy through Amazon.

This might put a fire under Davis’ butt to update their aging line of weather stations. Ain’t competition grand?

Take a look at the new Acurite Atlas model 01007M here.

Acurite Atlas Specifications

Some more pages you might find interesting:

Best weather stations in 2019

How to compare Acurite weather stations

Ambient Weather’s best weather station yet

Bestselling station in 2019

Davis Vantage Vue Review

Thanks for visiting Weather Station Depot. I hope you find the Atlas to be as interesting as I do!

Paul