Ecowitt HP2561 weather station review for astrophotography
Where does it rank on our leaderboard
| Rank | Accessory | Stars for Your Buck | Recorded UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEMINI EAF | 100 out of 100 | £42 |
| 2 | Generic Dew Heater | 93 out of 100 | £9 |
| 7 | Weather Station | 88 out of 100 | £225 |
| 8 | Generic Guide Scope 60mm | 85 out of 100 | £109 |
| 19 | Green laser pen | 76 out of 100 | £10 |
| 28 | ASIAIR Mini | 64 out of 100 | £215 |
| 42 | Celestron Binoviewers | 40 out of 100 | £242 |
| 45 | SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars | 28 out of 100 | £139 |
| 46 | 365 Solar Telescope Cover | 5 out of 100 | £73 |
Contents
- 01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
- 02 Specifications and features
- 03 Should you buy it?
- 04 Questions and more about this review
In 30 seconds
Stars for Your Buck 88/100
Written 25 Sep 2026 Updated 25 Sep 2026
- Rank
- #7 of 46 accessories
- Verdict
- Damon's pick
Written by Damon Scotting 2 min read
Buy it if
- You leave a rig outside and want the wind, humidity and rain in your own garden, not a forecast.
- You want the readings on your phone and on services such as Weather Underground.
Skip it if
- You want to know whether the sky is clear: the array has no cloud sensor.
- You have nowhere to fix a pole: the array needs one and none comes in the box.
The HP2561 pairs a solar-powered 7-in-1 outdoor array, reading wind, rain, temperature, humidity, light and UV, with a colour console that sends the readings over Wi-Fi to weather services.
Specifications and features
| Ecowitt HP2561 Weather Station reviewed #7 of 46 | |
|---|---|
| Recorded UK price | £225 |
| Console | HP2560_C 7 inch colour TFT display with Wi-Fi, a barometer and indoor temperature and humidity |
| Outdoor array | WS69 7-in-1: wind speed and direction, rain, temperature, humidity, light, UV |
| Outdoor temperature | -40 to 60 C, accurate to 0.3 C |
| Humidity | 1 to 99%, accurate to 3.5% |
| Wind speed | 0 to 50 m/s |
| Array radio | 868 MHz (UK and Europe), 915 MHz (North America) or 433 MHz; 100 m in the open |
| Wi-Fi | 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n |
| Console power | 5 V DC, 1 A |
| Array power | Solar panel, two AA batteries as a backup (not included) |
| Weather services | Ecowitt, Weather Underground, Weathercloud, Weather Observations Website and custom servers |
| In the box | HP2560_C console, WS69 array, wind cups and vane, two U-bolts with nuts, a mounting plate, a wrench and a 5 V power cable; no pole |
Should you buy it?
88/100 Stars for Your Buck
Pros
- Seven readings from one outdoor array: wind speed and direction, rain, temperature, humidity, light and UV.
- The array runs on its own solar panel, with two AA batteries as a backup.
- The console sends everything over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to Ecowitt, Weather Underground and other weather services.
- Outdoor temperature to within 0.3 C and humidity to within 3.5%, by Ecowitt's figures.
Cons
- No cloud or sky sensor: it cannot tell you whether the sky is clear.
- The mounting pole is not included.
- The radio band depends on the country: 868 MHz for the UK and Europe, 915 MHz for North America, so pick the right version.
Wind, rain, humidity and temperature from your own garden, on a console and on your phone, from one solar-powered array.
Three alternatives
- Unihedron SQM-L Sky Quality Meter with Lens Measures how dark the sky is, which a weather station cannot 32/100 £149 Read the review
- Generic Dew Heater Keeps dew off the optics when the humidity climbs 93/100 £9 Read the recommendation
- Telescope Cover Keeps the rain off a rig left outside 90/100 £25 Read the review
Questions and more about this review
Reviewed by
Damon Scotting
The Telescope Man Verified
BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham
About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book
I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded
Four questions, answered
Questions about the Ecowitt HP2561 Weather Station
Written 25 September 2026 ·Updated 25 September 2026
I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded
- Which version of the HP2561 should I buy in the UK? The 868 MHz version. Ecowitt sells the HP2561 in 868 MHz for the UK and Europe, 915 MHz for North America and 433 MHz for Oceania, all at one price on its own store. The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
- Does the HP2561 tell me when the sky is clear? No. Its WS69 array reads wind, rain, temperature, humidity, light and UV; it has no cloud sensor. The specifications ↓
- What do I need to mount it? A pole 1.2 to 2 inches across. The box holds two U-bolts with their nuts, a mounting plate and a wrench, but no pole. The specifications ↓
- Where can I buy the Ecowitt HP2561? The prices I recorded: £225 at Weather Spares (UK), in stock; $214 at Ecowitt (US), in stock; $226 at AliExpress (Ecowitt Official Store), Global, listed. A record, not a live price The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓