[ILUG] Remote weather station

[Philip Trickett (List)]

On Fri, 2009-11-27 at 13:18 +0000, Timothy Murphy wrote:
> On Friday 27 November 2009 12:46:15 you wrote:
> 
> > > Does anyone have experience of a weather station
> > > sending back information over the internet,
> > > preferably by WiFi but possible by USB connection
> > > to a remote computer?
> 
> > There are a number of ways to do this, but wifi is out I'm afraid unless
> > you have a dedicated linux box (this can be embedded).
> 
> Thanks very much for your response.

No Problem
> 
> I do actually have a Linux (CentOS) server at the remote site
> which is currently running all the time
> (with a not terribly good Linksys WVC54GCA camera attached).
> 
OK then, if you have a spare serial or USB port you should be fine.

> But the ADSL modem there has WiFi connections
> so it would be better, probably, to link directly that way,
> if that were possible,
> 
> > THe easiest way is probably to go for a Davis weather station, and there
> > is an article here that details using a Vantage pro:
> > 
> > http://www.joejaworski.com/weather/
> > 
> > Other than that, the Davis site is here:
> > 
> > http://www.davisnet.com/weather/products/index.asp
> > 
> > If you like soldering, and a bit of tweaking, you could try one of the
> > weather stations here:
> > http://www.wviewweather.com/
> 
> This looks nice, but I'm not sure if I understand the jargon ...
> 


> > If you want precision, go for the Vaisala station, otherwise the Oregon
> > Scientific stuff is not bad.
> 
> Most of the sites I googled at were using Oregon Scientific devices,
> though I see your joejaworski site above says they are "crap".
> 
Yeah, but it depends how accurately you want to monitor the weather.

This comes down to alot of things, basically, if you stick a weather
station in your back garden at a height of 2 metres, then you are going
to get turbulence and 'shadowing' effects from fences and you house.
If you are mounting it on your roof, is it higher than your chimney, and
if so, is it above you chimney and do regularly use your fireplace
etc....

For the majority of people, the Oregon Scientific range is adequate, the
Davis stuff is more aimed at serious amateur and low-cost professional
use.

> Someone mentioned that Davis devices "cost a fortune".
> Amazon are selling an Oregon Scientific WMR968 for about $200 -
> which is the model a lot of sites mention -
> though I don't know if they would send it across the Atlantic.
> 
I'd also try ebay if I were you, there tends to be alot of Oregon
scientific and Davis stuff on there.

Also, a search for 'weather station' on ebay turns up some interesting
(and amusing) stuff

> 

HTH,

Phil