All very interesting but the airplanes of the world and our local TV stations report altimeter why do you want to see barometric pressure differently?
First I'd like to say that I do report Altimeter to CWOP because that is how that system was designed and that is what they request. So I use both Altimeter and Sea Level Pressure depending on the service.
So to answer your question as to why I want to see barometric pressure differently [depending on service] ....Because of a few reasons:
- All the Metars around me all ASOS report both Altimeter and Sea Level Pressure. So I have no problem with either pressure.
- My weather station like the VP2 console was designed to take station pressure and calculate Sea Level Pressure. Altimeter is a different formula so I want to use my equipment the way it was designed...to show Sea Level Pressure. Doing otherwise is a hack solution and does not provide good consistent good results especially when temperature is far from 59F and/or if you are at high elevation.
- I'm a science minded person and I don't care what the dumb TV and Radio fake news media report. I don't need to compare myself to them....but I can if I want to because all I have to do is check my CWOP station data.
- I'm a science minded person and I understand the premise as to why the best way to compare two stations is to use sea level pressure because it takes temperature into account where Altimeter throws that away.
- I know and understand why airplanes need Altimeter. Because a pilot can calibrate their Altimeter when they are away from the airport that they are approaching because they aren't there yet and the temperature could be different at their location which is why Altimeter pressure was invented. It enables them to land and not crash because their altimeter is calibrated to that airport. It works for airplanes ...it is not intended for weather stations when they need to compare weather conditions.
- Since I respect CWOP in requesting Altimeter, I also respect and send Sea Level Pressure to all other online services because that is what they request.
- The majority of people on WU stations report Sea Level Pressure (because they know nothing else) so I want to be able to compare my WU with theirs. Many people have no idea what Altimeter is. And contrary to what many think Sea Level Pressure is easily gotten from your local Metar (at least for a lot of people, and I understand that not all Metars do as some are just Altimeter).
- And lastly because I feel I have a really good grip on this topic and I feel I know more than those that preach Altimeter for everything.