$1000 for set up

[mackbig]

Ok, just checking....

I know the train station I get off at downtown has always had camera's, yet a month ago they put up signs on every door (pictogram type) saying video in use, call 1-800......if you you have concerns....   After seeing how quickly the UK id'd the bus bombers a few years ago, I cant see anyone having issues with that type of surveillance.

Andrew

I knew that...thats why I threw in the getting the ok from the fish.....    The guys sneaking in to fish illegally might have a problem with it though....

[prkguy]

Ok I have a new question.  Someone had mentioned the potential for vandalism and yes that is true.  I have a secure area that has a decent cleared opening for the sensors.    However it is approximately 140 ft from my office window.  Will I need to clear an opening through the brush to make this work (line of sight)?

Also if I am understanding this all correctly the anemometer would not be wireless but would have a cable that would run to the console is that correct?      Back to reading the guide.    Mike

[tomcj2]

The anemometer normally has a cable to the ISS, not to the console.  This cable can be extended to up to 240 feet.  An optional alternative is a wireless transmitter for the anemometer.

[prkguy]

Ah ok that makes sense.  Thanks for clarifying.   

[Garth Bock]

Ok I have a new question.  Someone had mentioned the potential for vandalism and yes that is true.  I have a secure area that has a decent cleared opening for the sensors.    However it is approximately 140 ft from my office window.  Will I need to clear an opening through the brush to make this work (line of sight)?

Also if I am understanding this all correctly the anemometer would not be wireless but would have a cable that would run to the console is that correct?      Back to reading the guide.    Mike

The wireless ISS doesn't need line of sight and your 140 ft is nothing....from my testing of our university unit, the range is fantastic and building penetration of the signal is amazing. Mind you, the thicker the wall with more steel and stuff will drop the range. Let me clarify your second statement. The anemometer is wired with a 40 ft cable BUT only to the ISS (the rain bucket and transmitter unit). That way you can put the anemometer at the top of say a 30' pole, run the cable down to the ISS which would be mounted about 10 ft about the ground. That way you get good wind measurement and the rain bucket is closer to the ground for maintenance. The anemometer can be connected to its own transmitter in the case that the ISS (rain bucket and transmitter) need to be mounted elsewhere. Hope this helps.

[prkguy]

Ok folks after reading the anemometer guide I have some questions and concerns.

At my office I can easily place the anemometer on the radio tower and have the other sensors on the front lawn and have them reasonably protected from vandalism.   The problem is there would be potential for the "shadow" effect from the trees.   After checking the tree height against the radio tower (and the flag pole) with a digital range finder I would not be able to get the anemometer above the trees.

However I may come up with an alternate site location.   Approximately 920 ft away from my office I have a public restroom in a picnic/playground area that should allow me to obtain very good wind readings because I have very few trees near that building.  The problem I see here is with the placement of the other sensors.  I would need to keep them aove the roof because they would quickly be tampered with or vandalized if on the ground.    The other concern is with the distance.   Im going to assume that to make this work I would need to use some kind of a repeater system because of the signal distance and then needing to go through the office walls.  There are also a lot of trees between my office and the restroom building.

Any thoughts on this?    Mike

[Anthony]

There are repeaters available that will transmit upto 1/2 mile and you can use more than one. So placing the anemometer at the restrooms and the ISS at the office would not be a problem.

[floodcaster]

From description of the long range repeater...
   
"...Davis Instruments 7654 Wireless Long-Range Repeater with Solar Power For those who wish to send weather data much farther than 1,000' (300 m), the Wireless Long-Range Repeater can extend the range up to two miles (3.2 km)...."

I would agree with Anthony to leave the ISS near the office and the anemometer near the picnic playground/rest room area.

Question for others: can the repeater be setup then to repeat/transmit just the anemometer transmitter data?

[Bushman]

Yup.  But the OP will also have to get the wireless component for the anemometer.

[prkguy]

http://www.weathershop.com/manual/VP2_Anemometer_Trans_Kit.pdf

OK  guys if I understand this correctly to do the anemometer from the remote location I would need the anemometer transmission kit, the long distance wireless repeater, and also the antenna for the repeater.   Is that correct?    Mike

[Bushman]

I do not think you will need an extra antenna other than the one that comes with the repeater.  These are 900 mHz units and the antennae for such things are pretty specialized.  Although...  if you got the right on for you base station you might not need the repeater.  Hmmm....

[d_l]

If you are lucky, you might be able to receive signals from the anemometer transmitter over a 1000 feet away. I can easily receive a neighbor's ISS almost 1100 feet away.  The local topography and mounting location (it's on the roof of a garage) have it elevated about 100 to 150 feet above my receivers.  I don't have line of sight to it. There are some trees, houses, and my frame walls in the signal path.

Is there some reason to have the anemometer above the tree tops?  Normally the intent is to measure wind conditions as they are experienced.  Airports use 10m AGL for landing-take off conditions above the runway. Agricultural stations-turf farms use 2-3m for ET calculations and crop spraying conditions above the fields.  Wind chill calculations are normalized to be at head height of the average person.

If trees cover most of the park, then sub-tree top levels would be the normal conditions for visitors.  Also the water surface wouldn't experience winds speeds at those heights.

[floodcaster]

http://www.weathershop.com/manual/VP2_Anemometer_Trans_Kit.pdf

OK  guys if I understand this correctly to do the anemometer from the remote location I would need the anemometer transmission kit, the long distance wireless repeater, and also the antenna for the repeater.   Is that correct?    Mike

Just to clarify there are "standard" repeaters and long range repeaters. The long range repeaters do not come with the antennas.

[Bushman]

Good point Flood.  I wasn't thinking about those.  BTW, one can easily make thrit own Yagi for about 5-8 bucks including the connector.  But I do not think that it will be needed in this case unless he's transmitting through the forest (wet leaves attenuate radio transmission, although 900 mHz is not as bad as 2.4 gHz for instance)  I have yet to test the ultimate range on mine, but I will shortly.  For now, I know it goes a couple hundered feet right through a metal roof.

DL, wind is a weird thing near water.   My anemometer is mounted high and yet surface winds at the lake often go unrecorded on the anemometer.  Go figure.

[prkguy]

The primary reasons for having it closer to the water would be:
A.  In addition to having less trees it could more accurately reflect the wind conditions at the shore which might be of importance due to the algae bloom study. (the restroom is approximately 900 ft from the waters edge).  Maybe it wouldnt make that much of a difference.

B.  We have a prescribed burn program for shoreline phragmites and other invasive plant species and like Bushman we tend to get some strange breezes near the shore.   It might help the fire officers determine if the current wind conditions meet the prescribed window for a burn that day.

I will have to ponder this for a bit.   Thanks for the tips.   Mike

[Bushman]

If there is a public wharf at the park, you could consider mounting the anemometer on a pole at that location.  Given your desired aims, I would definitely mount it near the beach.  Far more useful to you and the public.  It would be useless in the bush  away from the water IMO.

[prkguy]

Ok gang I have returned.   I did not get the grant monies but I was able to secure $500 from a couple of other sources to go along with what I had set aside from my budget.   I am certain that I need to place the anemometer placed near the lake which is approximately 900 ft away from my office where the console will be.  I am now looking at the Davis Pro Plus 6163 because it has the UV/Solar sensors.  Im thinking that would be a good item to have to obtain data to determine if the location would be suitable for green energy projects that use solar energy.

Is the UV & Solar sensor normally used to collect data for determining the feasibility of solar energy projects or would I need a different sensor?    Mike

[d_l]

I'm not sure that the UV would be of any use for solar energy projects other than determining how much sun exposure time people swimming in the lake would need to burn their skin.  The solar sensor is another matter and  its measurements can be used for photovoltaics or solar hot water calculations.

[prkguy]

I think the UV is something I dont need right now.    Maybe I will get the solar sensor at a later date.   My biggest worry right now is with the signal reception.

I have settled on a place to place the anemometer (it is possible that the ISS will be there too)and that will be 700 feet away from my office desk and that is where the console will be.  That is really the closest I can get it to my office.  The anemometer needs to be placed there to get the lake winds.  The lake winds are the most important thing for me to have data on.

The radio signal will have to go through the office wall as well as a bunch of trees and across a busy county road.  According to the Davis website the signal will travel 1000 ft line of site and up to 400 ft if there are minor obstructions.   So Im assuming that I will indeed need to have a repeater set up along the route about halfway between the anemometer (or the entire ISS unit) and my office.

Should I plan on buying 2 repeaters?  Also the area around my office is rather shady Im not sure that the solar repeater will work well but having AC available along the route is not a good option either.

Am I fretting over nothing?   I have even started thinking about the Rainwise weather station because they say it will send a signal a long distance (but the total price is more than I wanted to pay).    Any thoughts on all this are appreciated.   Mike

[George Richardson]

Mike,

I really think you should buy the 6152 VP2 and the 6332 Anemometer Transmitter Kit and let her rip. The repeater is an expense that could be added quickly, later, if needed. Sounds as if probably not needed and 6163 is expensive upgrade that it sounds as if you don't need. If you had gotten the $1K grant then blow the wad, but you didn't so conserve. The anemometer pole will not be free.
Keep us posted.

JMO

George

[prkguy]

George Im going to order the goods today.    I will report back when I get things set-up.    I think my life is about to change forever.    Mike

[Anthony]

This may be a bit late. But if you think you may want solar/uv in the future. Order it now. It's very expensive to add later.

[prkguy]

Anthony I went ahead and ordered the VP2. I may regret it later but if all works well there will be opportunities for me to upgrade.    Im hopeful that I will be able to get some other parks involved in setting up weather stations and having a link on our organization website that will provide current weather conditions at their respective park facility.

That leads me to my next question.     I went ahead and ordered the weatherlink computer interface/data logger.  It appears that I can create a very basic weather website (all I need is very basic at this time) and have it hosted on the Davis website.  Am I correct on this and is there any cost involved for them hosting it?     Mike

[Bushman]

Unless you got Weatherlink IP, Davis will not host your website.  the SW thatt comes with the logger produces a decent, if poorly colored, website that you can host on any free website.  Surely your parks dept. has some space you can use?

[prkguy]

Well I dont know if they will have room.  I need to ask them questions but right now Im still not sure what questions I need to ask as I am a complete newbie when it comes to weather stations.  I purchased the logger with the USB simply because I have the empty plugs available on my office computer.

Unfortunately there are a lot of hoops to jump through with state government when you deal with their websites and any type of "information technology".    I will be required to have a tech come in and hook up the data logger and load the software.

For now I only need to have the current weather conditions sent to a location where the fire officers can see it. 

Someday (within a year or two) I hope to do something more but I need to learn the ropes on how to make this all work.  Mike