Topic: Re-installation of VP2 ISS in Rogers City

[miraculon]

I am slowly getting my weather station back running. I was using the Temp/Hum station as a stop-gap, but I installed the ISS yesterday. Before installation I upgraded the 6152 to DFARS.
 
I also installed the sensor shelf and mounted the solar sensor. (don't have UV) Since this was a re-install, I had previously mounted the solar sensor at my mast with a 3rd party bracket and used the splicing kit to reach the ISS 85 ft (25.91 m) away. Since I had cut the RJ11 connector off for the splice, when I re-crimped a new connector on the cable was a bit shorter. I was able to find a way to route the cable so it reached the SIM connector OK.

I used "deck blocks" to mount the 3 foot (91.44 cm) tripod to. I used "Red Head" anchors for the tripod feet. These dudes are really heavy, 42 lbs (19.0 kg) each.



Here is a picture of the setup on the tripod.



Greg

[Skywatch]

I like. Looks like an ideal spot for the ISS.

[morfeas2002]

Love the deck blocks   

[miraculon]

I installed the tripod, mast and RM Young and Davis anemometer/vanes yesterday.

Up at the top, I used a 12" galvanized 1" pipe for the horizontal, and two 8" pipes for the vertical mounts. The Davis "leg" has a pipe cap, the RM Young fits perfectly over the pipe end. Everything is from DX Engineering: 5 ft Tripod, 30 ft Telescoping Mast, Wall Mount, Antenna Plate, and Saddle Clamps. It turns out that I needed way less mast than I thought and I only used the top two sections. The upper is extended only a couple of feet.

I used heavy duty 3/8" Toggle bolts, and tarred the brackets at the roof when I was done. This installation is similar to what I had in Livonia and it was fine for 9+ years. This is much more robust, the Rohn mast and tripod are heavy duty.

Just ran a ground wire today, in anticipation of thunderstorms tomorrow.

If there was ever any doubt, having the RM Young right next to the Davis I can see that the Young is much more sensitive. The propeller was spinning and the vane responding to winds that didn't move the Davis. I am reporting everything via the RM Young and Universal Anemometer Interface (UAI). In fairness, the RM Young costs as much as an entire Davis station. I got a "New Old Stock" Wind Monitor Jr. on eBay for substantially less than the current ones. They no longer sell the "Junior" model, only the standard Wind Monitor.

The Davis boxes from top to bottom are the UAI, "Anemometer Transmitter" (a re-purposed Temp station with a solar door), and my original Anemometer Transmitter for the Davis wind set.

My best guess for aiming the RM Young was 24 degrees off, but thanks to calibration I have it set correctly now. Same for the Davis. Again, I needed to make sure the arm was safe when the mast is lowered, so I relied on the calibration to set it right. The winds were calm this morning, and I was able to set 2 VUE consoles, a VP2 Console, an Envoy and Envoy8x.

One thing that I did that worked really well was that I took one of the VUE consoles outside and calibrated it while I was watching the RM Young. I calibrated it when there was no movement, and was lucky that the vane was pointed due West. Once I had the VUE console set, I could calibrate the other consoles (I actually used Weatherlink for everything except the other VUE).



Here is a close up of the wind birds.



Greg

[Randall Kayfes]

A set-up to be envious of!

[CNYWeather]

Nice job on it all.

Any of your new neighbors wondering what it all is yet?

[miraculon]

Nice job on it all.

Any of your new neighbors wondering what it all is yet?

I have had some 'splainin' to do. Mostly interested in what it is, and what it is for. I also mention the lightning detectors, one of the neighbors was very interested for when he goes out on the boat.

Everyone seems to think that I am forecasting the weather will all this stuff.

Thanks for the feedback on the setup.

Greg

[Skywatch]

If the neighbors are happy everyone is happy.

My neighbors use my data on Wunderground. As farfar as I know they're happy with it.