Author Topic: Arrrgggh!  (Read 1114 times)

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Offline Cutty Sark Sailor

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Arrrgggh!
« on: July 05, 2015, 11:04:35 AM »
Lot of experimentation, speculation, etc floating around this board.  One of the reasons I said Bye...
also one of the reasons I'm temporaily returning for this post.

If You Are Relatively New to CoCoRaHS... do NOT be confused with the experimentation, etc discussed
here and there through this board.  Your guidelines are here:
Mounting: http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=equip
Measuring: http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=measurerain
Hail: http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=measurehail
Snow: http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=measuresnow
FAQs: http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=faqgeneral#7ame

My comments are related, mostly, to liquid precip.  The other stuff dumps too many additional expired equine remains into the topic.
To avoid the expense of additional devices for whacking such cadavers, I suggest stay within the CoCoRaHS guidelines for measuring and reporting.
that is, ... those system standards that result from Beating All The Dead Horses since 1998.

You're worried about 'evaporation' from your gauge... CoCoRaHS isn't. ... It's generally insignificant over 24 - 48 hrs.
CCR wants to know what the gauge shows, more or less at 7AM local time each day. 
Don't put Lard, Oil, etc into your reporting gauge... sooner or later you'll be sick of it.  Been there.
If this worked consistently, they'd have it as a standard.
 Simply Keep It Clean as in the instructions.

Furthermore, CCR doesn't incorporate, necessarily, 'suggestions' from other 'micronetworks' and their 'standards',....
You like other network standards better?  Go play with them instead... don't use their standards with CCR observations.

Do anything you want from an experimental gauge... heck, mount it horizontally on a wind controlled pivot if you want...
but for Reporting, Stay With The Guidelines!

CCR does NOT want 'experimental' or 'inferred' data.  It advertises "manually observed 4" gauge precipitaion data...etc..and so on"...

Not "a combination of manually observed, 4", 6", 8", one meter,  semi-buried, or 50' high gauges, with or without Lard, Oil, ...
or variably located Tipping Buckets counted electronically, some of which may even be level, completely clean, and operating properly'.
 
All CCR wants, all the hundreds of data users want, ( http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=CoCoRaHS_Uses ) is
What fell into your gauge?  (Or didn't fall, but you saw a drop with your eyeball -- a TRACE).

The 80 year old widow in Connecticut isn't going to deal with such other stuff.
The War Vet with no legs isn't either.  I'm not either.
Already been there, and done about everything that's posted in various threads, including heated gauges, Rain-X, Oil, comparisons between locations, types, etc. 
But go ahead and beat these dead horses.  Accumulate all sorts of data, measurements, whatever.
But don't report it that way to CoCoRaHS!   
Use the standards that result from Beating All The Dead Horses since 1998!

You want to experiment, use additional gauges with Lard, Oil, whatever, wind deflectors, other such equines,
enter such stuff in the "Comments"... but, when you enter your form data, use the 4" manual gauge data!

Also,remember that CCR uses the "Water Year" - October 1 through September 30th -  NOT the "Calendar Year" that your PWS may have as default. So don't beat that expired equine, either.
http://www.cocorahs.org/WaterYearSummary/

Again, don't worry about evaporation from the cylinder, unless you live in the high desert, and don't intend to read it for a few days..
 simply submit a "multi-day" report, rather than a 'today' report.... data users aren't stupid, you know... most of 'em are climatologists or hydrologists, and recognize that desert conditions are dryer than the Florida Everglades.... though the Everglades could evaporate the same amount as Arizona.... that's not for us to determine, other than experimentally and for personal curiousity.

Report the level in your gauge... no lard, no oil, but do report such things as 'volcanic' or 'forest fire' ash or dust in the comments!

You want' to see what actually "evaporates" from your 'well-tended" lawn, or desert environment, irrespective of the Precip Gauge?
See
http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=et
and a daily record for those of us actually concerned about 'evapotranspiration'...
In other words, "Do I need to irrigate crops, water lawn, whatever?" "drought?"
This data is much more valuable, than a hundreth of an inch 'missing' from your gauge,.
http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/ListETReports.aspx
'Course, it's also more expensive, and adds some reporting and maintenence time.
But it's not a 'dead horse'.  ...  pricey, yes, more work, yes.  Pretty darn accurate... yes. Needed?  Oh Yes!  Beyond the range of most folks either for price or location... definitely yes.

CoCoRaHS and its 'data users' are much more interested in 'what's below the gauge' than an insignificant 'evaporation' from a 'mostly sealed, inner cylinder, with a funnel on top", enclosed in an outer cylinder with a lot of nice insulating air,  using principles absolutely proofed, analyzed, established, standardized and re-analyzed accepted, re-evaluated, certified by numerous data users since 1998.

It's great to experiment... be curious... it's what we do, or we wouldn't be on WxForum...

But, please, newcomers to CoCoRaHS... report precip as CCR outlines, and if you're an "older-comer" and have deviated from those guideline, perhaps consider 're-joining' the community?
Bare gauge... maybe 30" above ground, (see above)
No tricks, oil, rain-x, whatever.
No tipping bucket or electronic gauge data, other than what you may mention in "Comments"

CCR and it's users are locked to your Lat/Long data.  CCR is aware that a gauge 100' or yds away, or at a different height, or with all kinds of wind deflectors, add ons, lard in the tube, etc will give a different reading.

For Gosh Sakes, play by the Rules established above when reporting!  Experiment with additional all you want... but report and measure exactly as CCR has requested.

Now if this offends anyone, too bad. I've stepped on an ego or two before.
I'm returning to my more or less permanent hiatus, and continue playing with the hole in my T-shirt.
« Last Edit: July 05, 2015, 11:21:11 AM by Cutty Sark Sailor »
 


Offline ocala

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Re: Arrrgggh!
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2015, 11:29:20 AM »
Next time let us know how you really feel. You know, don't hold back. Keeping stuff bottled up inside makes ya crazy. :twisted:
Welcome back. :-)
The blues had a baby and they named it Rock & Roll

Offline ed2kayak

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Re: Arrrgggh!
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2015, 12:33:40 PM »
CSS - thanks for the post! 8-)
Ed
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