Post A Picture of the Setup for Your Weather Station

[TNETWeather]

Thanks for all the help guys...but i just remembered that i have one other problem.  That the association for my neighborhood will not allow me to dig a hole in  the  ground and fill it up with concrete.

So get a 4x4 redwood 8ft post.  dig a 2ft narrow hole and put the post in the whole without cement.  Using a flat ended pole, fill back in with dirt and pack it really hard.

No concrete and it should be good to go for a while.

My station location is temporary due to a new pool going in, and that is what I did and the post doesn't move.  the new location will have concrete though.

[aifan27]

Thanks for the help...I'm still wondering if a 15-20 ft antenna mast strapped to my wooden fence would wave back and forth in high winds because it is so long.  If anyone could give me some ideas and help me out, that would be great.  Thanks!

[administrator]

The amount of movement will depend on the design of your fence (height and how well built) and the type of mast.

If your fence is well built and doesn't move in the wind that's a good start. If you mounted a 15ft mast onto a 6ft fence (with two fixing points near the top and bottom of the fence), i.e. 9ft of mast above the fence, then if the mast was 1.5inch thick wall aluminium I don't think you'd get much movement. However, if you mounted a 20ft 1inch thin wall aluminium mast onto a 2ft high fence then you'd probably get a lot of movement (and perhaps a flat fence in high winds!)

[aardvark]

I don't get much sway with my unit.  But If the base is firm, you shouldn't have many issues.  I would stabilize the sway with guy wires and ground anchors,    two on each side of the pole and you will be fine.

[aifan27]

I don't get much sway with my unit.  But If the base is firm, you shouldn't have many issues.  I would stabilize the sway with guy wires and ground anchors,    two on each side of the pole and you will be fine.

Alright, thanks.  But aardvark, i wont be putting the pole into the ground.  I am planning on strapping the pole onto a thick wooden post about 3'-3' 6".  Also, if you would like to know what kind of poles i am going to use (actually they're antenna masts), this is the website:  http://www.radioshack.com/search.asp?find=antenna+mast&hp=search&SRC=1
I am still not sure whether i should use two 10' poles or one 10' and one 5'.  By the way, they are 1 1/4".

[aardvark]

I've used those before and they are fine.  Even though they join together,  I put a mast clamp at the junction anyway, just to be safe.  As far as the height ,  15 or 10  or 5 feet...  Depends how high you want it to be and if your neighborhood association ( we don't have one where I live... they gave up eons ago.  rabbits wouldn't cooperate with the squirrels.. then the crows moved in and we had chaos)    won't get ticked off.   

The higher you go, the more sway unless you use guy wires.   http://home.mchsi.com/~dsmweather/other_station_stuff.htm  shows the cabling and the  other pages under station...  shows the difference between the 5 foot mast with the ISS and the tall anenometer whichis 25 feet.   the smaller doesn't require the guy wires and of course  is out a bit from the house to get the air.

[aifan27]

I've used those before and they are fine.  Even though they join together,  I put a mast clamp at the junction anyway, just to be safe.  As far as the height ,  15 or 10  or 5 feet...  Depends how high you want it to be and if your neighborhood association ( we don't have one where I live... they gave up eons ago.  rabbits wouldn't cooperate with the squirrels.. then the crows moved in and we had chaos)    won't get ticked off.   

The higher you go, the more sway unless you use guy wires.   http://home.mchsi.com/~dsmweather/other_station_stuff.htm  shows the cabling and the  other pages under station...  shows the difference between the 5 foot mast with the ISS and the tall anenometer whichis 25 feet.   the smaller doesn't require the guy wires and of course  is out a bit from the house to get the air.

Thanks SO much for the help everyone, I took everything into consideration.  I think I am going to end up using two 10' antenna masts from Radio Shack and strap them/bracket them to my thick wooden fence pole.  So it will end up being about 17' tall.  If anyone else has any ideas, feel free to share them with me.  I will update you guys as soon as i make any changes.

[Kojack]

Anemometer sited on 10' pole attached by screws and clips to a sturdy fence post. Neighbour is a retired meteorolist and feels this is sufficient height to avoid effect of a rising field beyond the fencing.
It is sited about 18 metres from nearest single story properties.
Rain guage sited on fence beneath the anemometer.
Temp/humidity sensor on an East facing fence slat in the shade of a shrub and gets very little direct insolation. It is connected using a 10 metre extension so that all three transmitters are South facing.

[aifan27]

Anemometer sited on 10' pole attached by screws and clips to a sturdy fence post. Neighbour is a retired meteorolist and feels this is sufficient height to avoid effect of a rising field beyond the fencing.
It is sited about 18 metres from nearest single story properties.
Rain guage sited on fence beneath the anemometer.
Temp/humidity sensor on an East facing fence slat in the shade of a shrub and gets very little direct insolation. It is connected using a 10 metre extension so that all three transmitters are South facing.

That's a great idea, and I will probably do something similar.  I expect to be done with my new setup by next weekend, so I will keep you guys informed.  If anyone else has suggestions or ideas, please share them with me, as it is greatly appreciated.  Thanks for all of your help.

[aifan27]

I am thinking of buying an 8-10' wooden post, and burying it into the ground about 2 1/2'.  Then i will mount everything onto the wooden post, except for the anemometer and its solar panel.  I will then buy a 5' pole (probably the one from radioshack that i mentioned earlier), and mount the anemomter and its solar panel to it.  I will then attach the pole to the wooden post (by the way, does anyone know what I will need to mount the pole to the wooden post?).  That way, it will be about 10-12' off of the ground.  Please comment/help me out on my idea.  Thanks for all of your help guys.

[JaxWeather]

Tim,

I would get a 12 foot pressure treated 4 X 4, bury 3 feet deep (pour in a bag of concrete mix and a bit of water to  really set it)...

That should provide a solid base.

You should be able to mount the radio shack pole to the 4 X 4 using a couple of suitable U-mounts, Radio Shack will probably sell them as well...

However I would recommend either two radio shack sections or a section of fence top post, about 12 foot.  This would allow you to have three feet of the pole attached to the 4 X 4 and a total height of 16 or 18 feet...

-Bob

[aifan27]

Tim,

I would get a 12 foot pressure treated 4 X 4, bury 3 feet deep (pour in a bag of concrete mix and a bit of water to  really set it)...

That should provide a solid base.

You should be able to mount the radio shack pole to the 4 X 4 using a couple of suitable U-mounts, Radio Shack will probably sell them as well...

However I would recommend either two radio shack sections or a section of fence top post, about 12 foot.  This would allow you to have three feet of the pole attached to the 4 X 4 and a total height of 16 or 18 feet...

-Bob

Thanks so much, I will probably do something similar to that.  But I have two questions...First, I was wondering how long it usually takes to set everything up.  And second, since our neighborhood does not allow use to use concrete, don't you think if I buried the wooden 4x4 three feet into the ground, it would be sturdy enough?  Thanks for all of the help again.

[JaxWeather]

Generally 4 feet deep would be sufficient I would think. 

I hate to say this but if you were to dig a hole set the post in it, said whewww been a long day I will finish this tomorrow and then came out after dark and just jumped a bag of concrete mix and some water into the hole and then just lay a couple of pieces of sod over it who would ever know?

Yeah... Yeah I know I can be a Bad Bad boy sometimes, I just hate rules that affect what someone can do on their own property that are totally unreasonable...

-Bob

[aifan27]

Generally 4 feet deep would be sufficient I would think. 

I hate to say this but if you were to dig a hole set the post in it, said whewww been a long day I will finish this tomorrow and then came out after dark and just jumped a bag of concrete mix and some water into the hole and then just lay a couple of pieces of sod over it who would ever know?

Yeah... Yeah I know I can be a Bad Bad boy sometimes, I just hate rules that affect what someone can do on their own property that are totally unreasonable...

-Bob

Lol...that actually sounds like somewhat of a good idea...I will let you know how things go.  And also, how long should the whole process of setting up/mounting the weather station take?  Thanks.

[JaxWeather]

  And also, how long should the whole process of setting up/mounting the weather station take?  Thanks.

Wellll... Ummmmm...

Lets see here it is a full 5 months after i got mine and I am STILL working on it  LOL

No seriously I don't have a VP but I had my La Crosse running and sending data to my computer the night I got it...

The next afternoon I had it set up outside and sending data to my web site (not live but sending data).

So it all depends on a bunch of things, digging hole 5 minutes to 30 depending on your terrain, sticking pole in hole 2 minutes...  Nighttime excursion 30 minutes...  mounting everything the next evening I would think 30 minutes  LOL

Good luck and let us know,
Bob