New User - New Station

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Dal
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue 04/12/2007 05:58
Location: Mt. Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand

New User - New Station

Unread post by Dal »

Greetings,
I'm brand new to this forum and I'm also brand new to the world of home weather stations. My wife, knowing that I've always wanted a home weather station has purchased me a La Crosse WS2308 from Scientific Sales (we're still awaiting delivery). I'm aware that the WS2308 isn't exactly the top of the line but it was all she could afford... so I'm not knocking her generosity :)
My first questions are: what would be the best way to maximize the use of this particular station and what should I be aware of in terms of reliability (breakdowns, etc) with the WS2308? Another question I have (just to show my general ignorance) is what would be the best position to mount the temperature sensor? We're in Mt. Roskill, Auckland and the house faces North. I had thought that up under the north eaves might be best but would appreciate any advice.
I'm sure I'll have more questions once the WS2308 actually arrives and is installed and I'm hoping you'll all bear with my ignorance :)

Very many thanks,
Dal
Manukau heads obs
Posts: 12305
Joined: Mon 10/03/2003 16:30
Location: West Coast Road, Manukau Peninsula, North Island

Re: New User - New Station

Unread post by Manukau heads obs »

Hi
the temp/hum sensor that comes with it, is not adequte to give reliable readings
You really need to build yourself a stevenson screen of some sorts (louvered painted white enclosure (idealy double (offset) louvres)
but even white plastic pudding plates stacked upside down on a rod through the middle with a gap for air flow and a cut out section to put the sensor into would be better than nothing

also if connecting to a PC you need to replace the cheap telephone type wiring with shielded twisted pair wires, due to interference problems giving false readings.
Also the anenometer will need some maintenance...is it the fan type or cup type?
Image
Brian Hamilton, weather enthusiast. My weather dataEmail: [email protected]
Dal
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue 04/12/2007 05:58
Location: Mt. Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand

Re: New User - New Station

Unread post by Dal »

Manukau heads observer wrote: Also the anenometer will need some maintenance...is it the fan type or cup type?
Looking at the picture on the website, it appears to be the fan type.
Shepherds Valley WX
Posts: 233
Joined: Wed 22/09/2004 11:05
Location: Carterton RD1, Wairarapa.

Re: New User - New Station

Unread post by Shepherds Valley WX »

Hi there,

Welcome to the Forum, its a great site for the discussion of NZ Weather and related events.

With regards to your new Lacrosse Station, I operate a Lacrosse 2310 as a back up to my main station.However, I have made the following modifications:

1. Run the system in "wired" mode as wireless performance is unacceptable as the data refresh is very slow.
2. Replace all interconnecting cables with Cat5e UTP cable - the cabling supplied is inferior quality and causes all sorts of issues - I experienced one of the more common faults when the wind sensor (fan type) reads OFL or produces spurious wind spikes.
3. Built a Stevenson Screen (as Brian suggested) to house the thermo/hygro module as the environmental protection that comes with the unit is extremely poor.
4. Replaced the wind sensor with a 1-wire V3 Wind Instrument to give 1-2 second wind speed data. You can also use a Vortex wind instrument or similar.

I have since moved on from the Lacrosse station to a Dallas Semiconductor/Maxim 1-Wire based station. It is not a off the shelf proprietary station and it requires a bit of electronic work to get it operating. That being said, after ironing out the issues, I really like the 1-wire system as it produces accurate and reliable data for over 1 year now. I am currently rebuilding my station over the next few days and adding some new sensors as the 1-wire system can be expanded. The Lacrosse cannot be expanded and this is one thing to take into consideration.

The lacrosse is a good starter station, and no doubt others will have more advice on improvements. Enjoy the new hobby!
Four Oaks Farm - West Taratahi AWS
RD1 Carterton (Wairarapa), Amateur Weather Observation Station
Davis VP2+ with Solar, UV and 24hr FARS and complete 1-Wire WX System
http://www.cartertonweather.org.nz
Dal
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue 04/12/2007 05:58
Location: Mt. Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand

Re: New User - New Station

Unread post by Dal »

I think I'd be risking domestic disharmony were I to start off by modifying the wx station in the immediate future! My wife knows even less than I do about such things but she knew how much I wanted one so did the best she could :)
However... a Stevenson screen sounds as though it would be a good bet and I *might* get away with replacing the cabling with Cat5 (if I can figure out how. Technical I'm not!)
Wildland
Posts: 192
Joined: Wed 17/05/2006 16:06
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Re: New User - New Station

Unread post by Wildland »

Hi Dal,

Welcome to the forum.

There's some sound advice in the previous postings, but your initial post in this thread suggests that you just want to get the little monster going and see what happens. You've obviously decided what to do with the anemometer and rain gauge, but asked about placing the temperature sensor.

I'd suggest that you mount it up under the soffit of the house. Somewhere that is -
out of direct wind (i.e. slightly sheltered),
out of direct sunlight (especially when the sun is low in the sky), and
away from windows (e.g. the old-style fanlight window) which might cause draughts of hot or cold air from inside the house to pass by the sensor.

With a north-facing house, this is the best time of year to determine the “best” south-side placement for a temperature sensor as the sun will be illuminating as much of the southern face of the house as it can over the coming 2-3 weeks. So, provided you can mount the temperature sensor out of direct sunlight on the southern side of the house at this time of the year, and meet the other two criteria (wind, draughts), you will be doing the best that you can.

This will get you into “hobby mode” where you can start recording data and keep an eye out for weird spikes caused by poor placement of sensors or electronic noise etc. Provided you're prepared to tweak things and move them about, this solution should get you up and running so that you can fine-tune things (like building Stevenson screens, adding cables etc) to make the weather station more “standard” at a later date.
Dal
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue 04/12/2007 05:58
Location: Mt. Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand

Re: New User - New Station

Unread post by Dal »

Wildland wrote:Hi Dal,

Welcome to the forum.
Many thanks to you and also the others who have welcomed me :)
There's some sound advice in the previous postings, but your initial post in this thread suggests that you just want to get the little monster going and see what happens. You've obviously decided what to do with the anemometer and rain gauge,
The anemometer will be going onto a spare J-pole which originally held a radio antenna. The placement of the rain guage is undecided as yet. I have several options in mind, its merely a matter of picking the right one.
but asked about placing the temperature sensor.
I'd suggest that you mount it up under the soffit of the house. Somewhere that is -
out of direct wind (i.e. slightly sheltered),
out of direct sunlight (especially when the sun is low in the sky), and
away from windows (e.g. the old-style fanlight window) which might cause draughts of hot or cold air from inside the house to pass by the sensor.

With a north-facing house, this is the best time of year to determine the “best” south-side placement for a temperature sensor as the sun will be illuminating as much of the southern face of the house as it can over the coming 2-3 weeks. So, provided you can mount the temperature sensor out of direct sunlight on the southern side of the house at this time of the year, and meet the other two criteria (wind, draughts), you will be doing the best that you can.

This will get you into “hobby mode” where you can start recording data and keep an eye out for weird spikes caused by poor placement of sensors or electronic noise etc. Provided you're prepared to tweak things and move them about, this solution should get you up and running so that you can fine-tune things (like building Stevenson screens, adding cables etc) to make the weather station more “standard” at a later date.
I'd hoped to get everything up and running today since we're supposed to be getting heavy rain over the next couple of days but have decided to hold off until after the rain in order to get things as right as possible by taking my time. My long suffering wife is used to me moving things around in order to "improve" them. Many years of radios and antennas being moved around, etc, have given her a patience that's quite rare these days:)

I've taken careful note of the kind suggestions made so far and will be looking forward to implementing them over time. One thing I will be doing sometime after Christmas is investing in what appears to be an excellent software called "Weather Display" which I've seen on a number of sites.