OK--wife was kind to me this Christmas and Birthday (same day, if you need to know) and got me a complete weather station. At first she got an OS WMR112A--but that doesn't have PC link capabilities (she though it did), and I wasn't as thrilled as she expected...
So, being the over achiever that she is, she did some research and decided we should get a Davis Vantage Pro 2 (wireless) with USB Data Logger (if I kicked in the difference
). She didn't like the reviews of the OS WMR968 and said "get the VP2 now, otherwise we'll spend $200 now, then $400 again in a year...". (funny thing is, when I told her what I wanted, I had already done the research and told her this, but I digress...).
Long story short (too late, I know), the VP2 is on its way from Provantage as I post this (due in Thursday!).
Now; I've read the CWOP page, and all the docs on proper instrument placement, but I still have some questions...
1. I'm in a suburban location (40.655777N, 75.492892W) with a large white-maple covering about a third of the yard on the SW side--best location I could decide up on was the wash-line pole in the back corner (SE) of my lot--about 3m from a 3m hedge in my neighbor's yard and 3m from my daughter's 4m (open frame) swing-set--is either of these a major concern?
2. Another options are to mount poles on the ends of the ridge of my house, but that gets me into other issues--the main house ridge (~7m from ground) would be within 10m of the ~25m tall maple tree, and 15m from a set of ~20m pine trees at the other end of the house (not to mention will making debris clearing from the rain gauge a pain). Garage ridge is 7.5m from the second floor wall and about the same from the neighbor's house, putting it in a north/south valley. Is roof-mounting wise for the ISS and/or anemometer?
3. If I use the laundry pole, suggested rain gauge placement should be 0.6m (2') and thermo-hydrometers placement should be 1.5m (5')--which takes precedent when placing the ISS? Should I go with the thermo-hydro requirement, rain requirement, or a middle ground (3.5' or ~1m)?
4. For placing my anemometer, if I use the wash line pole for the ISS, I'm going to most likely extend the height of the pole (which is about 2.75m tall now)--but being the start of winter here (eastern PA), I don't expect to be able to properly install a 10m pole until spring (after I verify if I am allowed to do so per code)--is placing it at the top of the current pole acceptable? Also, should I wait on setting up the anemometer until spring, just connecting the ISS? (in other words, would it be problem if I join CWOP but don't submit wind data until later?)
Sorry for the ramble above... just want to get things set up correctly (best I can)... a bit eager to get going on the setup...
Thanks in advance for the replies... Looking forward to getting this set up!
-Tim, Whitehall, PA