Notes on weather station deficiencies
Notes: This poor weather station is getting a bit old and has the following ailments:
- It is a solar-powered station, but the panel is already quite old and the backup battery does not give enough power, so it is normal that after a period of low solar radiation (especially at night in winter) the station stops collecting data.
- The anemometer is a little bit worn out (probably the bearings or it is out of balance) so the wind measurements are usually lower than the real ones.
- The rain gauge must be a bit dirty, so rainfall measurements are usually low.
Notes on the bad location of the weather station
In addition to all of the above, the installation site has not been ideal since around 2010, when I moved house.
It is installed quite close to the ground (about four metres), in a sort of "corridor" about six metres wide, with two buildings on two sides. Quite bad for the anemometer.
Why do I have this weather station connected, then?
Well, that's what I sometimes wonder!
The answer is that I have it plugged in, mainly because while he's at it, let him do something!
It is also true that, knowing its limitations, it does no harm to anyone and some of its instruments are still fully operational. I'm sure there are those who could do with these measures!
What I have done, for some time now, is not to send the data automatically, as I used to do before (to Weather Underground and so on), so as not to enter erroneous data into the system, which will then be consolidated.
Of course, it would never have occurred to me to buy a weather station to put it where it is now, but you have to take into account that, for several years (about ten years approximately) it was in a privileged place, installed in a turret about nine metres high on the roof of a seventh floor, in a fairly central area of Madrid, completely clear of taller buildings around it.
In this picture you can see it sharing a turret with my Force12 C19XR ham radio antenna.