Webcam weather charts

Talk about Hang Gliding at Ft Funston and the Fellow Feathers Club.

Webcam weather charts

Postby Steve Urbach » Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:02 am

Did something change?
Gusts no longer show as individual blips, but are rendered as a line. (This has been going on for over a week)

Rainfall: is the sensor working?
Steve Urbach
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2004 9:22 am
Location: Palo Alto


Postby Steve Rodrigues » Sun Mar 01, 2009 12:19 pm

We seem to have a problem with the PC that runs the weather station. Our techs are working on it.
User avatar
Steve Rodrigues
Site Admin
 
Posts: 723
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 10:57 pm
Location: Brisbane, California

A couple of broken things

Postby flyfun2 » Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:51 pm

It appears that the humidity/temp sensor went out again. In the course of breaking it sent in some bad data to the console that's messed up some other things.

We're working on a few solutions and will probably end up buying a replacement temp/humidity sensor. It's one of the circuit boards in the black cylinder you see atop the clubhouse.

We will also upgrade or replace the software on Comet, the weather computer in the clubhouse.

For the record, this is something like the 4th or 5th Davis Vantage Pro2 sensor that's gone out. I'm really disappointed in Davis Instruments at this point. While they picked up the cost of the previous sensors, it's a real pain in the butt to deal with this every year. They say it's due to proximity to water, but Funston is pretty standard ocean breeze without extreme temperatures and the weather station really should be able to handle it.
flyfun2
Site Admin
 
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2004 11:20 am

Postby Steve Urbach » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:01 am

I agree that this is unacceptable. (And I thought my La Crosse ws2308 was bad)

You might ask them whose equipment SF Bay Area government agencies use? :twisted:

Have they seen a photo of the installation and its relative position to the cliff?
Steve Urbach
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2004 9:22 am
Location: Palo Alto

Wx stations

Postby flyfun2 » Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:28 am

In my several conversations with them they've said that they've seen this problem with stations that are close to large bodies of both salt and fresh water. They thought they had a fix last year with the new revision of the board, but apparently not.

If you have other recommendations, please post them here. I'll ask around too.
flyfun2
Site Admin
 
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2004 11:20 am

Postby Steve Rodrigues » Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:32 pm

I did ask the Davis tech about better gear and he said there is some but at a much higher cost, like thousands.

He told me that we should be able to protect the sensor circuit board by blocking off most of the air vents into the chamber so moist air can't get to it.

If this trick dosen't work then we really should think about some mill spec gear.
User avatar
Steve Rodrigues
Site Admin
 
Posts: 723
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 10:57 pm
Location: Brisbane, California

Postby Steve Urbach » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:42 am

Do we really care about humidity? Loosely bag (sealed, but not snug) the sensor inside the Black housing. Pressure differences should still work. Temperature might lag slightly. The bag is easy to remove and it is a CHEAP :) test.
Steve Urbach
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2004 9:22 am
Location: Palo Alto

Postby Steve Rodrigues » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:55 am

One workaround it to move the temp/hum sensor into the clubhouse for protection from the elements.
The alternatives of bagging or otherwise protecting the PC board is also being considered, thanks!
User avatar
Steve Rodrigues
Site Admin
 
Posts: 723
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 10:57 pm
Location: Brisbane, California


Return to General Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests

cron