Weather Stations for the Radio Shack

1. Weather Stations for the Radio Shack Dan Pagliaro W1VXA Vice President, Naval Postgraduate School Amateur Radio Club

2. Overview • Why Should I Get a Weather Station? • Types of Weather Stations • Before You Buy Your Station… • Setting Up the Weather Station • Recording Station Data

3. Why Should I Get a Weather Station? • Geography of Monterey County leads to wide variations in weather over small distance. • Close proximity of mountainous terrain and the Pacific Ocean leads to many “microclimates” along the Central Coast. • Microclimates exist on a scale of kilometers to tens of kilometers and are largely governed by topographical effects.

4. Why Should I Get a Weather Station? • Monterey County is 3,771 mi2 (~1.5 times larger than Delaware). • Only 4 official weather sites: Point Sur, Monterey, Salinas, Marina. • No official sites in the south part of the county (Paso Robles is the nearest location)

5. Types of Weather Stations • Basic Weather Stations • Medium-Budget Weather Stations • Multi-function Digital Weather Stations • Official Weather Stations

6. Types of Weather StationsBasic Weather Stations • Low-budget approach ($100.00 or less) • Includes simple digital sensors, but mostly analog instruments for recording: • Temperature • Humidity • Pressure • Rainfall • Snowfall • Wind Speed

7. Types of Weather StationsBasic Weather Stations

8. Types of Weather StationsMedium-Budget Weather Stations • $100.00-$500.00 • Digital instrument packs with a multitude of sensors for recording: • Temperature (max and min) • Dewpoint and Humidity • Pressure, Wind Direction and Speed • Rainfall (24 hr Rainfall, Storm Total Rainfall) • Rain Rate • Higher-end models include USB cables and software for computer data logging

9. Types of Weather StationsMedium-Budget Weather Stations • Oregon Scientific, LaCrosse, and Honeywell are popular mid-priced weather stations

10. Types of Weather StationsMulti-Function Weather Stations • $500.00 - $??K • Digital instrument packs with sensors for: • Temperature (max and min) • Dewpoint and Humidity • Pressure, Wind Direction and Speed • Rainfall (24 hr Rainfall, Storm Total Rainfall), Rain Rate • Heat Index, Wind Chill • Soil Temperature, Moisture, and Radiation • Ultraviolet Sensors • Typically include wireless computer interfaces and software for uploading station data onto the Internet

11. Types of Weather StationsMulti-Function Weather Stations • Davis Instruments, AWS, Vaisala, RainWise are well-known top-of-the-line manufacturers

12. Types of Weather StationsOfficial Weather Stations • Found at most U.S. airports • Fiber optic links between sensors and mainframe computers that record data • $2.1 million each

13. Before You Buy A Weather Station • Make sure you can legally install a weather station. • Check for any zoning regulations or CC&Rs that may restrict outdoor objects • Likely not an option for most apartment or condo dwellers • Could cause problems in some homeowners’ associations

14. Setting Up Your Weather Station • Sensors should be mounted 2 meters (78.75 inches) above ground • Place the instruments in a clear area over natural ground away from trees and structures • A Stevenson shelter is recommended for any non-digital weather instruments

15. Recording Station Data • Most digital stations include a computer interface and data logging software • Dedicate a computer or a hard drive to data logging • Many stations need to be manually reset every 24 hours to accurately document daily weather events • For basic stations, record data using logsheets. Specify a cutoff time for daily weather events (i.e., 0000Z or 0000L)

16. Summary • Why Should I Get a Weather Station • Types of Weather Stations • Higher-end models include USB cables and software for computer data logging