Midnight, dig hole, fill with concrete around sleeve, scatter dirt over top when done… maybe some grass clippings = done deal LOL
how strong is the fence - does it have sturdy posts?
That same pole was mentioned in another thread as being for sale at Walmart in the bird feeder area.
Consider using conduit clips from the electrical dept of e.g. home depot to fix it to the fence post. That’s a U shaped metal strap with one or two ears with screw holes. Come in a number of different sizes, you would need the two ear type.
The fence is strong enough (it has lasted for about 15 years), as it has gone through all of the hurricanes we have gotten, and of course some blizzards…so i guess you could say they are strong.
Thanks for the help. I would like some advice on what materials/equipment i could use and i also have a limited budget (about 50-70 dollars). Thanks.
I have the luxury of living in a one story house surrounded by other one story houses… We do have trees, but many of them are 100’ + Tall Yellow pine trees which puts all of the major blocking way above any height I would worry about.
I took a 12’ 2 X 4 treated board dug out about 6 - 8" hole to stick the base in and then tied the top to the eve of my house.
I then took a 12’ fence rail top and mounted it with screw type clamps (could use “U” clamps as well, and about 10’ of it extends above the wood. Has been solid as a rock, your anemometer has a small footprint and weight factor as far as wind pressure against the pole…
Some pics are here:
Full shots are here:
http://wolfstalks.net/Gallery/Temp/P1300020
http://wolfstalks.net/Gallery/Temp/P1300022
Not pretty but it works and no one is complaining, but I also have no “Association” type rules to abide by uggggg…
-Bob
New in Sept 2004 - I purchased a proper radiation shield for the temperature/humidity sensor to replace the "rough and ready but functional" wooden shield I had constructed before. Still in a southerly facing location so temperatures may read one or two degrees higher on hot still days - I will see how accurate it is.
I’m a little puzzled by this picture. You say that the sensors are in a southerly facing location. If so, this means that your solar cell for the device is facing north. Is there any reason why you’re pointing the solar cell in a direction which will never see the sun?
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.
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!
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!)
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.
[quote author=aardvark link=topic=8199.msg57004#msg57004 date=1110677951]
I don’t get much sway with my unit.
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.
[quote author=aardvark link=topic=8199.msg57086#msg57086 date=1110730859]
I’ve used those before and they are fine.
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.
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.
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
[quote author=JaxWeather link=topic=8199.msg58351#msg58351 date=1111363005]
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