niteskys.com - Weather Station Setup

niteskys.com - The Weather Station - Weather Station Setup

Weather Station Hardware and Software:

My weather station is a Heathkit ID-5001-B Advanced Weather Computer that I built from a kit in 1988.

(page from Spring 1990 Heathkit Catalog)

The basic kit included barometer, temperature and anemometer sensors. Additional sensors in the form of the IDA-5001-1 Humidity Sensor Accessory and the IDA-5001-2 Rain Gauge Accessory complete the station. The Weather Computer is connected to a PC through the IDA-5001-3 RS-232 Interface Accessory which is running WXSolution software. The PC uploads a current weather page to the web site and sends weather data to Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) on a regular basis.

Until the time of installation, the Weather Computer had been stored in moving boxes for twelve years. The only repair needed after this period of inactivity was the replacement of the humidity sensor and adjustment control in the outdoor humidity sensor unit. The great thing about Heathkits is that if you can build it, you can usually repair it.

Weather Station Siting:

The picture at the right shows the anemometer boom. Using an extra satellite TV antenna post assembly, I have placed the boom on the roof of the house where it is exposed to wind from all directions.	Facing South
Facing West	The picture at the left shows the rain gauge. It is mounted on a children's picnic table that sits on the patio. It is positioned on the patio to prevent water from the lawn sprinklers from getting into the gauge and causing false readings.
The outdoor thermometer and humidity sensors are mounted in a Stevenson Screen constructed in a manner similar to the one seen on Stevenson Screen page of the Logan Village Weather web site.	Facing South
	A difference that I employed in the construction technique of the screen is that I used spacers cut down from rain gutter spacers instead of nuts and washers to space the plant saucers on the all-thread rods at 35 mm. For the top saucer I used the nut and washer technique to allow it to be removed without the whole screen falling apart. This will allow me to be able to service the screen and/or the sensors as needed.

Related Links:

To learn more about Heath Company see Bill Wilkinson's Heath Company Page

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