Station Details

This station is based on the Oregon Scientific WMR200 weather station and has the following sensors:

  • Anemometer (wind speed) reading in miles per hour
  • Wind direction
  • Outside Temperature (reading in degrees C)
  • Outside Humidity (%RH)
  • Rainfall (reading in mm)
  • Atmospheric pressure (in mb, adjusted to mean sea-level equivalent)
  • Indoor Temperature
  • Indoor humidity
  • UV Index (added 1/3/09)

The wind speed and direction sensors are located on the chimney, which is the highest point on the house and is pretty well unobstructed. The rain gauge and UV sensor are located on the flat roof of the garage, well away from the wall of the house. The temperature and humidity sensor is mounted 1.25 metres above the ground (soil and grass) in full shade. Although the T/H sensors are shaded from the sun, they are also in a sheltered spot, so temperature changes in particular may be a bit slower than in a more exposed position.

The WMR200 has a wireless connection between the sensors and the head unit, which gives a continuous display of the current readings. This is also linked by USB to the PC, running the Weather Display software which processes and logs the raw data prior to presentation on the web pages.

Location

Latitude: 52º 01.396´

Longitude: 0º 43.239´

Altitude: 69 m

These figures are taken from a fairly elderly GPS receiver and although I am sure the Lat and Long are spot on, I am less confident in the altitude, which I think is a few metres high - I have used 65 in my barometer offset, which now agrees with the readings on the BBC weather page for my location.

Planned upgrades

  1. Continuous development of these web pages.
  2. I am thinking about upgrading the software to "Weather Display Live", which will allow me to generate a near real-time animated display of the weather station readings. - Done!
  3. I may add a second T/H sensor, located in a more sheltered ground-level position.
  4. I would very much like to add a webcam, and in fact I do have a "spare" one. It is going to be more tricky to find a suitable location for it however, so this is just an idea at present.