Author Topic: Joppa, Maryland weather  (Read 16852 times)

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Offline sharbold

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Joppa, Maryland weather
« on: October 30, 2006, 08:35:38 PM »
I am using a Davis Weather Monitor II and Weather Display Software for the weather data.  For the satellite images I am using a homemade QFH antenna feeding a Hamtronics preamp which feeds a RX2 receiver built from a kit. To process the images I use WXtoIMG software. Questions or comments welcome.

http://wa3umc.com


Sam Harbold
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Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline BfdWx

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Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2006, 09:54:10 PM »
Wow Sam, very impressive site and gear you have. I'm going to use this site to show my wife when she tells me I have too many toys!!!

Nice job!

Offline kray1000

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2006, 10:07:48 AM »
Quote from: "sharbold"
For the satellite images I am using a homemade QFH antenna feeding a Hamtronics preamp which feeds a RX2 receiver built from a kit.


To me, it's like you're speaking a foreign language.   :oops:

Now I've seen it all... a homemade satellite receiver.   :shock:

Now who wants to build a homemade radar receiver?

Kevin

P.S. - Like your sig too.

Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2006, 08:19:43 PM »
Firewall,  thanks for the compliment.

Kevin, You are right when I went back and read my post it had me in the dark. Sorry about that.

 I have added a page explaining the weather satellite setup. It is not that hard to do and is very interesting to see the different images with in minutes of a satellite passing overhead. To view the satellite setup page go to
http://wa3umc.com and click on the WX Satellite tab then select Wx Sat Setup
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline up10ad N9RJH

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2006, 10:31:15 PM »
Sam,  your receiver setup is pretty amazing.  You have really done a nice job of not only putting it together and making it operational, but explaining exactly how it is done.  Even so, Im not quite up to doing it myself, I've just never had the confidence to buld from a kit.  I guess I'm more of a software guy  :lol:  Thanks for sharing!

p.s. and off-topic, I was born and raised in Baltimore and spent a lot of time in Joppa.  My sister still lives out that way in Harford County.
Rick (N9RJH)
Have you joined USAWeatherFinder.com yet?

Offline Anthony

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2006, 08:10:04 AM »
So if I may ask. What does a set up like this cost. And I may have missed it. But how big of an area do you get sat pics for? To bad it won't pick up rain fall.


Thanks,
Anthony
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Offline Anole

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #6 on: November 11, 2006, 08:50:16 AM »
5 minutes with a search engine tells me somewhere in the range of $300US including preamp, receiver and case, software, materials for antenna, and coax. Doesn't include shipping or your time.

I must say this is a pretty interesting/cool idea. I didn't see anywhere that indicated how high you have the antenna mounted. Do you need a horizon to horizon view?

Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2006, 09:59:12 AM »
Anole you are right on the money :)  If you don't want to build a receiver for about $100.00 US additional you can purchase a receiver built and ready to go.

http://www.hamtronics.com/r139.htm

Area of coverage will vary with each satellite pass and also with your antenna location.  I am located about 20 miles Northeast of Baltimore, MD. My antenna is 24' above the ground and I have a row of tall cedar trees 50' to 60' high and about 120 feet away from the antenna. This row of trees runs from the Southeast to the East.  About the same distance away to the Northeast is a 2 story house and to the north about 200 feet away is another row of trees.  So do not have the best of location for my antenna.  The satellite passes on my site are recorded from 10 deg to 10 deg above the horizon. Which gives me coverage from Cuba to Northern Canada. I can hear the satellites when they reach about 3 deg above the horizon.

What I am displaying on my website is the basic enhancements to the images. The software has a lot of options with precipitation being one. As you move the cursor over the image in the software you can read the temp. which is amazingly accurate. You can also produce 3D images to view using a pair of 3D glasses. They supply the glass with software registration.

I will be happy to answer any questions and or help anyone that would like to setup a station.
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2006, 07:29:17 PM »
Here are a couple of links to some additional images that can be derived from the weather satellites.  These images were derived from today's NOAA 18 pass at 1:41pm.

The first is a precipitation image
http://www.wa3umc.com/samples/precp.jpg

This next image is Sea Surface Temp.
http://www.wa3umc.com/samples/sea%20temp.jpg

This next image is the standard image but using a mercator projection
http://www.wa3umc.com/samples/merc%20projection.jpg

This last image is a 3D image but to view it you will need a pair of Red & Blue lens glasses.
http://www.wa3umc.com/samples/3d.png

This is only a few of the options available. Others include composite images, Animations, & other map projections. Another feature is that the cursor is calibrated to the map. As you move the cursor over the map you will get a readout of the Lat. & Lon under the cursor as well as the distance and bearing from your location to the cursor. This is great for tracking fronts and storms.
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline Mark / Ohio

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2006, 08:46:38 PM »
Very nice and interesting website Sharbold!   8)


Question,

I'm curious how much of an effect weather, both space and terrestrial has on your signal from the satellites.  Do sunspots, heavy rain or snow, or clouds effect 137MHz bands signal strength like they do the old C-Band TV and current digital TV satellites?
Mark 
2002 Davis VP I Wireless, WeatherLink (Serial), GRLevel3, VirtualVP, StartWatch, Weather Display, Windows 10


Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2006, 09:06:49 PM »
Mark

    Thanks for the compliment. The effects of weather at 137 MHz are minimal compared to C band or DBS. During periods of Very Heavy rain or snow you may see a slight decrease in signal strength but not enough to loose reception.
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline Anthony

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #11 on: November 12, 2006, 08:53:21 AM »
That has to be the coolest think I've seen in a long time. Sure wish I had the funds to build one. Not to mention the ability to build the reciever.


Thanks,
Anthony
WB8YUE

Offline weatheroz

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #12 on: November 12, 2006, 10:56:48 PM »
Quote from: "sharbold"
Anole you are right on the money :)  If you don't want to build a receiver for about $100.00 US additional you can purchase a receiver built and ready to go.

http://www.hamtronics.com/r139.htm


That's the one that I've got here for my satellite pictures.... works really great and is rock solid.
Brendan,
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IRLP 6857 Echolink 672767


Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #13 on: November 13, 2006, 10:18:29 AM »
Quote
That's the one that I've got here for my satellite pictures.... works really great and is rock solid.


Yes a friend of mine has the Hamtronics R139 and it is an excellant receiver. His house is in a wooded area complete surrounded by trees. For his location the reception is great, a very sensitive receiver.
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline talbert1952

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #14 on: November 13, 2006, 06:14:47 PM »
sharbold,

Nice setup and website.

I think I am going to take the plunge and set up a system. I'm not much into building antennas from scratch anymore. Do you have knowledge of or experience with the Hamtronics turnstile? It looks good on paper.

My coax run will be around 50'. Will the preamp make enough difference in reception to justify the cost?
Tom
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Hardware: Davis 6153 wireless VP2 with 24 hr fan aspirated radiation shield, WMR968, Boltek Stormtracker PCI,
  Hamtronics R139, stacked Woodhouse 6X6 beams on Yaesu G-5500 az/el rotator
Software: Weatherlink, VWS, Image Salsa, Lightning/2000, GRLevel3 with Allison House data feed, WxtoImg

Offline weatheroz

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #15 on: November 13, 2006, 06:46:27 PM »
Quote from: "talbert1952"
sharbold,

I think I am going to take the plunge and set up a system. I'm not much into building antennas from scratch anymore. Do you have knowledge of or experience with the Hamtronics turnstile? It looks good on paper.

My coax run will be around 50'. Will the preamp make enough difference in reception to justify the cost?


I made my own from a design on the internet and electrical conduit and coax. Works really well, even if I do say so myself, and it surprised a couple of hams who have looked at it.
Brendan,
vk4blp
IRLP 6857 Echolink 672767


Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #16 on: November 13, 2006, 06:55:09 PM »
Tom

Thanks for the compliment on the website.

You will definately enjoy receiving the weather satellite.  As for the antenna the turnstile does a good job. One thing all turnstiles suffer from are nulls when the satellite is at a low angle. I would use a preamp with the turnstile to help minimize this.  You may want to take a look at this antenna WX 137Q from National RF.
http://www.nationalrf.com/satellite-tenna.htm

Here is a site that is using the WX 137Q antenna with the hamtronics receiver.
http://www.heymoe1.com/satellite.html

I would say with the WX 137Q antenna you could do without the preamp. You may want to e-mail Mike at the above site and see if he is using a preamp.

I hope this helps? Keep me posted to your progress and just ask if you have more questions. Always glad to help.
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline talbert1952

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #17 on: November 13, 2006, 09:07:53 PM »
The WX137Q is a nice looking antenna but they are really proud of the preamp and power injector. I sent Mike an email. I will pass along what he says.

Oz, I visit your site several times a week and didn't know until now that you were directly receiving satellite images. I figured the images were nothing special and were being pulled from one of the NOAA servers. You should make your wx satellite system more prominent on your site. Which version of WXtoImg are you using?
Tom
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http://tobaccovilleweather.com/
Hardware: Davis 6153 wireless VP2 with 24 hr fan aspirated radiation shield, WMR968, Boltek Stormtracker PCI,
  Hamtronics R139, stacked Woodhouse 6X6 beams on Yaesu G-5500 az/el rotator
Software: Weatherlink, VWS, Image Salsa, Lightning/2000, GRLevel3 with Allison House data feed, WxtoImg

Offline weatheroz

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #18 on: November 13, 2006, 09:33:44 PM »
Quote from: "talbert1952"

Oz, I visit your site several times a week and didn't know until now that you were directly receiving satellite images. I figured the images were nothing special and were being pulled from one of the NOAA servers. You should make your wx satellite system more prominent on your site. Which version of WXtoImg are you using?


I don't think the ones you can link to for us a much chop at all, but yeah I've been running wxtoimg for quite a while now. :)

WxtoImg v2.7.3 standard edition here (couldn't really see any advantage at the time to go for the professional version).

Yep, I think I'll take up your suggestion, and make it a bit more prominent on my site. :)
Brendan,
vk4blp
IRLP 6857 Echolink 672767


Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #19 on: November 13, 2006, 10:09:48 PM »
Mike

   I agree they are proud of there preamp and power injector.  I would use the Hamtronics preamp and go to the local hardware store and get a pvc electrical box and mount it in that. Off topic but I see on your site a link to  an RC club do you fly?  That is another hobby of mine that I don't have as much time for as I would like. Here is a link to another website of mine where I post all the RC photos I take.
http://rcplanephotos.com

Oz

  From the looks of the satellite photos on your site your antenna and receiver combo is doing a great job. Are you running a preamp on your setup?
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

Offline talbert1952

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #20 on: November 13, 2006, 11:03:13 PM »
Quote
Yep, I think I'll take up your suggestion, and make it a bit more prominent on my site. :)

After analyzing the traffic to my site it became obvious that repeat visitors didn't come looking for rehashed NWS data. They were looking at current weather data from my station, lightning detection, webcams, historical data and graphs. I removed all repackaged items except one small weather map from Weather Underground.

Removing all the clutter didn't make any difference in traffic. Since then traffic has been steadly increasing. Currently the site gets about 1400 unique visitors, delivers over 30,000 pages and has 350,000 to 450,000 hits per month.

Unique content is what it is all about.

Quote
Off topic but I see on your site a link to an RC club do you fly? That is another hobby of mine that I don't have as much time for as I would like.

I fly RC Helis. I have been in and out of the flying club since the mid 1980's. I have had very little time to devote to helis the past few years but I get one out occasionally and fly it around the yard. My vision and reflexes are suffering from getting older which has greatly increased the cost of the hobby. I have been working on a prototype Sikorsky Skycrane with 6 blade head for a few years. Pictures of me flying it at one of the Columbus, OH heli meets made into to one of the big RC mags. I also have one of the few remainig Hirobo CH-46 twin rotor helis left in the US. One of these days I plan to get it out and get it flying. Then again I would probably be better off selling it on eBay...
Tom
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Hardware: Davis 6153 wireless VP2 with 24 hr fan aspirated radiation shield, WMR968, Boltek Stormtracker PCI,
  Hamtronics R139, stacked Woodhouse 6X6 beams on Yaesu G-5500 az/el rotator
Software: Weatherlink, VWS, Image Salsa, Lightning/2000, GRLevel3 with Allison House data feed, WxtoImg

Offline Mark / Ohio

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #21 on: November 14, 2006, 12:27:49 AM »
Regarding the topic of unique content..

I get almost as many and at times more people looking at my personal photos of local car, tractor, and airplane shows then I do looking at weather conditions.  I'm hoping some are checking the weather before they come or making plans to visit  next year.  I'm not a member of the clubs sponsoring the shows but I enjoy the shows and just like to give them a little extra exposure.  It's a good feeling to help support the local community even if it is in a small way.
Mark 
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Offline weatheroz

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #22 on: November 14, 2006, 07:17:02 PM »
Quote from: "sharbold"


Oz

  From the looks of the satellite photos on your site your antenna and receiver combo is doing a great job. Are you running a preamp on your setup?


Nope, no preamp here for me, just the antenna and Hamtronics R139 by themselves.
Brendan,
vk4blp
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Offline talbert1952

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #23 on: November 16, 2006, 06:49:24 PM »
I ordered a Hamtronics R139 receiver, a Hamtronics LNK137 preamp and a National RF WX-137Q antenna. Everything should be here in a few days. I have an antenna mounting location picked out. The coax is run. I need to get a weatherproof box and run a 12V wire for the preamp.  Do I need anything other than an audio patch-cord to run between the RX and the PC?
Tom
W4SNA
IRLP 4069 - Echolink W4SNA-R

http://tobaccovilleweather.com/
Hardware: Davis 6153 wireless VP2 with 24 hr fan aspirated radiation shield, WMR968, Boltek Stormtracker PCI,
  Hamtronics R139, stacked Woodhouse 6X6 beams on Yaesu G-5500 az/el rotator
Software: Weatherlink, VWS, Image Salsa, Lightning/2000, GRLevel3 with Allison House data feed, WxtoImg

Offline sharbold

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Re: Joppa, Maryland weather
« Reply #24 on: November 16, 2006, 10:08:57 PM »
Tom

   Congradulations  8)  

 A patch cord from the receiver output to the line in of your sound card should be the only other item you need.

Did Mike get back to you? Is he running a preamp?

I will be watching your website for the satellite images. If any questions come up in the meantime just give me a shout.
Sam Harbold
WA3UMC Weather

 

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