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 mi 2 (~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 Stations Basic 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 Stations Basic Weather Stations

8. Types of Weather Stations Medium-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 Stations Medium-Budget Weather Stations  Oregon Scientific, LaCrosse, and Honeywell are popular mid-priced weather stations

10. Types of Weather Stations Multi-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 Stations Multi-Function Weather Stations  Davis Instruments, AWS, Vaisala, RainWise are well-known top-of-the-line manufacturers

12. Types of Weather Stations Official 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