SMUS Weather Station system and software information

History

In March 1996 we set up a Davis weather station and a computer hookup. Since that time we have been able to have an almost continuous record of weather conditions. The Weather Station is mounted on the roof of the Science Building.

As of December 1998, we automated the posting of results of this weather station to our web site. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Please send to Mike Jackson.

May 1999: The system has stabilized and we are using Ambient Software's Virtual Weather Station software together with our Davis weather station and weatherlink interface. This gives us nearly live weather readout on the web site as well as long term data storage on our network (over three years now).

April 2001: We are still using basically the same system. Ambient Software's VWS V6.02, and the Davis Weatherlink interface hardware and program.

March 2003: The station has now been operating for 7 years with only a few days data lost! I discovered on March 7 that the rain collector had become blocked by algal growth. This will have changed the rain readings for I am not sure how long... the water could only drip through slowly. It is now clean and will be cleaned more regularly! One of these days I will install the screen for the roof mounted temperature and humidity sensors and update the VWS software.

The Weather Station System hardware

We are using a Davis Weather Monitor II. It is physically in the Geology lab with a connection to a computer in the Geology office. The rain collector, external temperature/humidity sensor, anemometer/wind vane are all situated on the roof of the Science building. We use the Davis Weatherlink hardware to connect the station to a computer

The Weather Station System Software

We are using Davis' Weatherlink4 software for windows in combination with Ambient Software's Virtual Weather Station  software. The PCLINK software has been continuously operational since March 1996 with only a couple of minor interruptions (power failures and holidays!).

The following two screen shots show what the output of the PCLINK Weatherlink software is like:

In January of 1999 we installed Ambient Software's Virtual Weather Station  software to provide nearly live information from the site. This is currently a work in progress as we are exploring the information available...

As of March 2003, we have 7 years worth of virtually continuous weather data - recorded every hour.

Page Designed by Mike Jackson.  Last update :Thursday January 07, 1999