Weather Monitoring

Application Background

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) guideline no.8 defines the measurement requirements for weather stations. The WMO also defines stringent measurement requirements for a standards compliance weather station, called a Tier 1 weather station. For example, the WMO specifies that all wind measurements must be made at a height of 10 metres, which makes the installation inconvenient.

General-purpose weather stations, which do not fully comply with the WMO guidelines, are called Tier 2 weather stations. For Tier 2 weather stations some compromises were made for convenience. For instance, wind speed and direction may be measured at a height of 2 metres rather than specified 10 metres.
As a general rule, weather authorities may have a base set of Tier 1 weather stations which are quite expensive, and they also have a second set of Tier 2 weather stations to supplement measurements or may be used on a short term/project by project basis. For special purposes, for example, a mine site/port facility would typically install a Tier 2 weather station, rather than a fully compliant Tier 1 weather station.
There are also some consumer-grade / hobby store weather stations which may provide interesting inaccurate weather data to home users however these are usually not calibrated and the data cannot be relied on.

Application Detail

Unidata’s Weather Stations have a broad range of applications depending on your choice of configuration and instruments. When considering a weather station purchase, most customers will decide to set up a Tier 2 weather station. Customers then have the choice of using a specialised instrument for each measured parameter or a modern multi-parameter instrument, like the Vaisala WTX536 weather transmitter or Lufft WS800-UMB smart weather sensor.

Modern multi-parameter weather stations use ultrasonic technology and are very convenient to install and maintain as they do not have moving parts. Please see a typical parameter list from the 6501V Vaisala Weather Transmitter below:
1. Wind Speed – Average
2. Wind Speed – Maximum (Gust)
3. Wind Speed – Minimum
4. Wind Direction – Average
5. Wind Direction – Maximum
6. Wind Direction – Minimum
7. Rainfall
8. Rain Duration
9. Rain Intensity
10. Hail
11. Hail Duration
12. Hail Intensity
13. Barometric Pressure
14. Air Temperature
15. Relative Humidity
16-23. Derived channels – e.g. running totals, min, max, average
One of our simplest weather stations consists of a temperature and humidity sensor mounted in a double louvred radiation screen and connected to a Neon Remote Logger that is mounted in a weatherproof enclosure.
A weather station more often required, includes instruments that enable you to monitor and record temperature, relative humidity, global solar radiation, wind speed and direction. These instruments are then integrated with Neon Remote Logger. Neon Remote Logger will measure, store and transfer weather data using either cellular, LoRa or various satellite networks. Collected data is sent to a central Neon server to be analysed and displayed on a standard web browser.

On the right are some examples of typical weather station screen displays from the Neon Application Software.

Installing telemetry enabled datalogger reduces the need for time-consuming site visits and gives assurance that the weather station is continuing to operate correctly without the need for a site visit.
Other aspects to consider, when designing weather stations, are instrument enclosures, mounting and external power supply.
Unidata offers a wide range of weatherproof, UV stable, IP67 or higher rated enclosures that come with weatherproof connectors which allow for simple plug and play weather station installation. Typically, our customers choose to mount weather station enclosure and instruments on a fixed pole but we can also supply a pole with a tripod base for installations that will not be permanent.

Remember that the instruments you add to weather stations increase the power burden. Solar panel, battery and solar regulator power system is regarded as an essential part of Unidata weather stations. Any other form of external power that is available on the site can easily be integrated as well.

Typical Configuration

Options for Application Specific Instruments / InputsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Vaisala Weather Transmitter WXT536
measures barometric pressure, humidity, precipitation, temperature
and wind speed and direction
6501V-HVaisala WXT536 Weather Transmitter RS232/422/485 SDI-12 With Bird Spikes
Temperature Thermistor Probes6507ERed Thermistor Probe 3K@25C with requested cable lengths
Linear Temperature Probe6535ATemperature Probe LM34 with requested cable lengths
Humidity and Temperature Probe6539BHumidity and Temperature Probe
Rain Gauge6506CRain Gauge/Tipping Bucket
Mounting Arrangement for Temperature Probes6704ARadiation Gill Screen and Mounting - Full Size
Mounting Arrangement for Temperature Probes6704BRadiation Gill Screen and Mounting - Half Size
Radiation Sensor7241C-APyranometer Sensor – Solar Energy
Mounting Arrangement for Pyranometers7241MPyranometer Sensor Instrument Mounting and Hardware

Options for Neon Telemetry - NRL / NRT / RTU / Field UnitsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 16 Channels3016Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Ethernet, Inmarsat, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 8 Channels3008Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Ethernet, Inmarsat, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 4 Channels3004/3006Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Neon Remote Logger (Polycarbonate Enc) 4 Channels M Series3004M/3006MOptions Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Microsatellite, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Equatorial Orbit Satellite - Inmarsat2018F-AB0-1 or 3NRT Ethernet with single or triple Ethernet Ports with three Li Batteries
NRT Field Termination Strip2103F2018F and 2022 NRT FTS
NRT Firmware Option2303A-8M8M Extended Memory Option
NRT Firmware Option2303A-8M-CAM8M Extended Memory & Serial Camera Option
NRT Firmware Option2303A-CAMSerial Camera Option

Options for Neon Application Software - Customer ServerUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Application Software2302ANeon Server Software Licence Incl 5 NAL
Neon Application Software2302A-10Additional 10 NRT Access Licences
Neon Application Software2302A-20Additional 20 NRT Access Licences
Neon Application Software2302A-50Additional 50 NRT Access Licences

Options for Neon Application Software - Unidata ServerUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Application Software2301ANeon Data Initial Subscription Setup Fee
Neon Hosting Service2301A-01Neon Data Service Fee for 1-50 NRTs
Neon Hosting Service2301A-02Neon Data Service Fee for 51-100 NRTs
Neon Hosting Service2301A-10Neon Data Service Fee Metering

Options for Conventional Dataloggers / Field UnitsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Remote Logger 16 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3016-00016 Ch NRL (Superseded Prologger 7001D)
Neon Remote Logger 8 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3008-0008 Ch NRL (Superseded Stalogger 6004D)
Neon Remote Logger 4 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3004M-0004 Ch NRL (Superseded Micrologger 8010C)
Starlog V4 Management Software6308A-AUEStarlog V4 Full Licence Key