[Xastir] weather station

[Curt, WE7U]

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007, Gerry Creager wrote:

> Curt, reference your comment about cringing, you do tend to get what you
> pay for, but as long as I can see the MADIS QC information I can
> determine if I want to use the data.  Simply having it is almost always
> a benefit!

Yea, understand.  I do a lot of data mining myself.  As long as the
conditions are known, reasonable choices can be made.

It sounds so far to me like most of the weather stations can be made
more accurate and last longer if you modify them somewhat.  The
longevity of the bearings in the wind sensors might be the limiting
factor for replacing things.  If you have an expensive model they
might last longer to begin with, plus the bearings themselves might
be replaceable without replacing the entire sensor.

For my two el-cheapo stations:

Dallas Semiconductor:  I'll need to disable the temp sensor in the
main unit and place a separate one-wire temp sensor with a solar
radiation shield on it 5' above grass to get accurate temp
measurements.  At least with the Dallas system I can add sensors
easily (buy them from AAG or Dallas Semi.).

Lacrosse:  Weather proof the electrical connections, locate the
various sensors as specified in the CWOP documents instead of per
the Lacrosse instructions, mount a solar radiation shield on the
temp/baro/humidity sensor and put it on a 5' pole over grass.

Gerry:  Is there some reason that a solar radiation shield needs to
have all those platters?  Couldn't one put a larger disk/bowl over the
sensor, mounted higher above it so that no radiated heat goes from
the shield to the sensor, air flow is maximum, and the sensor is
still always shaded?  Are the various home-brew designs using bowls
or flower pots designed that way just to save space?

--
Curt, WE7U.   APRS Client Comparisons: http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
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