Topic: Old Fashioned Weather Station

[Jim's Weather]

This is what we used to send data to the tower.

[CW2274]

That's Star Wars compared to an Electrowriter.

[SLOweather]

 Holy cr@p, Batman... I haven't thought of Electrowriters in decades! I had a pair that was last used at a harness racing track in the Midwest in the 70s. I think they were used to communicate between the racing stewards and the announcers booth.
I was a tower cameraman for a couple of seasons in my late teens. And therein hang some tales...

That's Star Wars compared to an Electrowriter.

[CW2274]

Holy cr@p, Batman... I haven't thought of Electrowriters in decades! I had a pair that was last used at a harness racing track in the Midwest in the 70s. I think they were used to communicate between the racing stewards and the announcers booth.
I was a tower cameraman for a couple of seasons in my late teens. And therein hang some tales...

That's Star Wars compared to an Electrowriter.

That's why I love this thread.

[Jim's Weather]

This was our connection to the NWS WFO

[CW2274]

You need to open a museum.

[ak926]

I think this is probably the original 11" rain gauge. I can't find a date anywhere on it but I know it's old.

I had the Taylor Clear Vu rain gauge attached to the side of my weather Shelter back in 1977 or there abouts. I still used it even when I added the NWS Standard 8 inch rain gauge. The clear vu was very close to the NWS Standard 8 inch gauge in its measurements.  Great for catching snow. Now the staandard for Cocorash !
Tony

[Jim's Weather]

I took down my OWI-430 for annual maintenance tonight before the snow starts to fly and thought I'd post some pics of it. This is made by the same company that makes the LEDWI for the ASOS.







The silver metal probe on the bottom of the housing by the cable is the temperature sensor used to turn on the lens heaters.
Measures precipitation accumulation (all types), precipitation rate, precipitation type & intensity (light, moderate, heavy).
Measures visibility 0 to 12 miles.

When I first put this up 5 years ago, the neighbors around me were talking among themselves asking all kinds of questions about it thinking it was some type of camera system. Finally one of them caught me outside and asked me what it was.

[blizzardof78]

Hey Jim ... What weather station(s) do you currently have up and running and what do you take your official daily readings from for all variables?

[Jim's Weather]

Only weather station currently in use is the Davis Weather Monitor II

I probably have the most optioned/accurate PWS in the country. I haven't seen any PWS sites reporting visibility or present weather. Also all electronic sensors are NIST tested & certified each year.

Instruments Currently In Use for Official Daily Readings
Temperature: Sensatronics Nimbus Ultra (Accuracy: 0.2°F)
Humidity: Vaisala HMT337 (Accuracy: 1%)
Wind Speed/Direction: RM Young 05103 Wind Monitor (Accuracy: 0.6 mph)
Barometer: ASI DBX1 (Accuracy: 0.007 inches)
Rain: Belfort 5-780 Rain Gauge (Accuracy: 0.5%) I don't waste my time with tipping buckets anymore.
Snow: High Sierra Electronics Standard 8 Inch
Lightning: Boltek LD-350
Visibility: OSI OWI-430
Present Weather: OSI OWI-430

Others Currently In Use:
Barometer: Vaisala HB-1A
Barometer: Princo Mercury Barometer 453XBI
Barometer: Kollsman Altimeter Setting
Barometer: Belfort Microbarograph 5-800A
Wet/Dry Bulb: Belfort 566 Psychron

[Jim's Weather]

Checking on ASOS. Yep it's working. 


ASOS DCP


ASOS ACU Cabinet


Inside ASOS ACU Cabinet


WSR-88D


CES Barometer

[DaleReid]

Is this the beta version of the new Davis VP3?

I don't have the room in my computer shack, gotta knock out a wall if I'm upgrading when it comes out.

[Jim's Weather]

Yes it is! Code named "ASOS" 

...and they thought they could keep it under wraps. 

[DaleReid]

I must have one.  I presume it includes a ceiliometer, which I have lusted for most of my adult life.

Those darned balloons and helium have become expensive.

[Jim's Weather]

Are you opting for the WSR-88D add-on? Do you have a spot outdoors for that big soccer ball?

[DaleReid]

I have 5 acres on the side of a hill and my 80' ham tower nicely clears it, so I think I can get it there, especially with the tilt functionality you so nicely demonstrate.  I just hope I don't nuke any of the turkey vultures which like to sail in the updrafts over the hill.

[Jim's Weather]

Having fun!

https://youtu.be/kawRdHVNLJU

[ValentineWeather]

 

[Farmtalk]

This is the coolest thread that I have seen in awhile! I love looking at all of this cool stuff! Ebay is a good friend!

[Jim's Weather]

The only Heathkit issue I have never been able to resolve is with the IDW-5001. I cannot figure out why the barometer jumps 0.02 inch when the buzzer sounds and then returns to the correct reading when it stops. Initially I thought the pressure transducer was so sensitive that it was responding to the sound pressure created from the buzzer inside the cabinet. The buzzer is very loud. Then I took the cabinet off and put a piece of duct tape over the buzzer. I could barely hear it and it still jumps 0.02 inch. I think that eliminates it being sound pressure. Both the pressure transducer and the buzzer are on the main board. The buzzer is a Star QMB-01. Anyway, someday I'll figure it out. 

This is resolved. I just happened to stumble upon some more paperwork in the basement for my ID-5001. It seems I actually sent it in for repair to Heathkit in 1995 under warranty and don't even remember doing it. The service ticket explains the barometer jump when the alarm goes off as normal. Really crappy engineering if you ask me. Oh well, at least I don't have to wonder anymore.



It says: Note: The .02 change in barometric pressure when audio alert sounds is normal due to ICU410, which is a signal switching IC, & is common to temp, pressure & light control signals, also audio alert signal. This change is only momentary & will not affect overall accuracy.

[DaleReid]

Well, then it was a well known design problem.  So much for superior Heathkit engineering.

Thank you for closing the loop.  I still haven't dug out the one I have packed away to do the test you were asking about, so now I won't feel the need to do that when I see the box the next time.

That was the top of the line, epitome of stuff when they came out.  The dreams of every weather nut and kid hoping to have that on their shelf.  I remember seeing on in person for the first time at the Hamvention in Dayton OH, and lusting after it's blue screen and promising to be good so Santa would bring me one.  When that didn't work, I began to save up and finally got one that my son and I built together.  At the time I was amazed at the lengths they went to in order to engineer the back light dimming, thinking there must be some better solution than that.  Oh well, still a very neat item and one that I wish would have been improved and still available. 

If only the VP3 would have such a nice display and background.... sigh.

[Jim's Weather]

When I was the RWIS coordinator for the state DOT I was out at this site to re-calibrate the visibility sensor. About 5 days later I noticed it wasn't reading correct again. So I drove the 1.5 hours again to the site and found this. After studying radar data from a thunderstorm that passed over the site, I came to the conclusion this was caused by a microburst. About a week later the state patrol contacted me and said they had cars blown off the highway that you can see in the background of the second photo. These are Glen Martin MT-1331 meteorological towers. They can take a pretty good beating.

[ValentineWeather]

Any wind data before it was destroyed? My highest wind speed recorded was a nighttime heat burst from decaying TS. 1:30 AM June 20th, temperature shot up and recorded 62 mph wind.

[miraculon]

The RM Young doesn't appear to be in too bad of shape. At least 3 out of the 4 blades on the wind propeller look OK. How did all of the sensors survive after the tower itself was fixed?

Greg H.

[DaleReid]

Jim,
Don't be too fast to blame a microburst downdraft.

It looks like the work of a hungry, I just woke up for spring, black bear.

Notice the front gate is open to the pad, and the tower has gone the other way.

We have some very intelligent bruins here who have discovered that if you push it might not go over, but if you get a lot of pushes in resonance, it finally does.

Next time use the wooden pole stock that the power company did for their lines.  Those look intact.

BTW, has the company that supplies those units done any wind loading calculations (seems they should have, being a government sale and installation) to see what the loading is?  Maybe it was just an Achilles Heel type of angle/gust/caught during a spring-back type of thing that made it go over.)