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EQUIPMENT
DETAILS
THE STATION IS
LOCATED IN CROFTON, NEBRASKA. (NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA)
97.29'.48" LONGITUDE ,
42.44'11" LATITUDE, 1410 ' ELEVATION
THE WIND VELOCITY AND DIRECTION DATA IS COLLECTED BY THE
ANEMOMETER AT A HEIGHT OF 50 FOOT. THE CIVIL DEFENSE ANTENNAS
CAN ALSO BE SEEN.
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THE INFORMATION IS BROUGHT DOWN
THE TOWER ON A CABLE TO THE....
SENDING UNIT IN
THE BACK YARD. THE TEMPERATURE SENSOR IS IN THE WHITE LOUVERED
ENCLOSURE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE UNIT. THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE EQUIPMENT FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURE IS TO THE LEFT IN A
SEPARATE ENCLOSURE. PRECIPITATION THAT FALLS INTO THE TOP OF THE
BLACK CONE IS FUNNELED INTO A TIPPING BUCKET. EACH TIME THE
BUCKET FILLS AND TIPS .01 IN PRECIPITATION IS LOGGED. IT IS
EQUIPPED WITH A HEATER TO RECORD THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF
SNOW DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. THE
HUMIDITY IS MEASURED BY THIS UNIT ALSO. THIS DATA EVENTUALLY CAN
BE FOUND ON THE HOMEPAGE OF
ZAVADIL.ORG AND THE
GRAPH AND
SUMMARIES LINKS.
THE WIND.
PRECIPITATION, TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY DATA IS SENT BY RADIO
SIGNAL TO THE DESKTOP CONSOLE. IT COMPUTES DEWPOINT AND HEAT
INDEX AND STORES THE INFORMATION.
A COMPUTER RACK
CONSISTING OF FOUR COMPUTERS NETWORKED TOGETHER
INTERAGATES THE DESKTOP CONSOLE VIA USB CABLE AND TRANSFERS THE
DATA TO HARD DRIVE. ONE OF THE COMPUTERS ON THE RACK IS
DEDICATED TO GENERATING GRAPHS AND SENDING DATA EVERY 5 MINUTES
TO EITHER THE
WWW.ZAVADIL.ORG WEBHOST
OR
WWW.WEATHERUNDERGROUND.COM
WEBSITES. A FUTURE WEBCAM ON THE TOWER WILL SEND DOWN
IMAGES VIA WIRELESS LINK TO THE COMPUTER RACK AND WILL
EVENTUALLY BE INCLUDED ON THE WEBSITE.
THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE REQUIRES ALL PRECIPITATION TO BE MEASURED WITH
THEIR EQUIPMENT. IT IS RECORDED MANUALLY AT 8 AM. THE ELECTRONIC
STATION BEGINS RECORDING AT 12 AM EACH DAY SO THERE CAN BE A
DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE TWO DAILY PRECIPITATION READINGS.
THE DATA FROM THE N.W.S RAINGUAGE IS POSTED IN
THE
SUMMARY ARCHIVES AND
GRAPH ARCHIVES LINKS ON THE
WEBSITE. THIS IS THE PRECIPITATION INFORMATION FOUND IN THE
NEWSPAPER AND THE N.W.S. RECORDS.
THE MOISTURE FROM
THE N.W.S. RAIN GUAGE IS FUNNELED INTO A PLASTIC TUBE. THE
TUBE WILL FILL AN INCH FOR EVERY .10" OF MOISTURE
RECEIVED. CONSEQUENTLY THIS RAIN CAN EASILY
DETERMINE RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN .01 INCREMENTS. IN THE
WINTER THE FUNNEL IS REMOVED AND ANY SNOW OR FROZEN RAIN
COLLECTED IS FIRST MELTED AND THEN POURED INTO THE PLASTIC TUBE
TO BE MEASURED.
SINCE THE ABOVE
TOWER PHOTOS WERE TAKEN A PLATFORM HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE TOWER
AT THE 38' LEVEL. A PANASONIC WIRELESS CAMERA WITH PAN AND TILT
IS SHELTERED INSIDE AN ENCLOSURE. THE ENCLOSURE IS ACTUALLY AN
ICE CREAM BUCKET WITH A LEXAN WINDOW CUT INTO THE SIDE. A CORD
TAIL IS WIRED INTO THE BUCKET TO SUPPLY 120 VOLTS TO THE CAMERA
AND ALSO FOR HEATING ELEMENTS AND A VENTILATION FAN. THE 2" PVC
FITTINGS ON THE SIDES ARE FOR THE AIR INTAKE AND EXHAUST. THE
CAMERA SIGNAL IS RECEIVED BY A WIRELESS ROUTER SITTING ON THE
COMPUTER RACK. (PICTURED ABOVE)
BACK TO THE
HOMEPAGE
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