Maintaining Campbell Weather Stations: Notes from Scott
Technical Instruments
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Scott Technical Instruments Ltd New Zealand |
14 Bandon Street Hamilton Phone (07) 847 0646 Fax (07) 847 0647 |
Remote Automatic Weather Station Site Inspections.
We recommend inspections at monthly intervals during the growing season and 6 weekly during winter months.
TOOLS REQUIRED ARE:
 | Straight blade (6 mm long) screwdriver for OTA (taller brown) and earlier TB3 (shorter and grey colour) raingauges. |
| 4 mm "Allen" hexagonal wrench for late Model TB3 raingauges. |
| Ladder for stations with raingauge mounted on mast. |
| Phillips screwdriver and small builders level for white bodied gold rimmed (TE) raingauges. |
| Small (100 mm long) adjustable wrench. |
| A 50 mm paint brush & 2 litre bottle of clean tap water. |
| Piece of clean cloth. |
| Battery tester (if available). |
| * 200 mm long piece of small 1 mm diameter tiewire. |
| WD-40 OR CRC spray for killing spiders and ants NOTE: THIS SPRAY MUST NOT BE USED NEAR THE TEMPERATURE AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSOR OR ON THE DATALOGGER. |
ON SITE WORK.
1. Raingauges.
Check the raingauge inlet is clear and that grass/weeds are clear of concrete (600 x 600) base plate.
REMEMBER: The datalogger records every tip of the raingauge buckets so make sure they are held, so they don't tip, while any cleaning is being undertaken when the cover is off.
Remove the raingauge cover and clear any spider webs interfering with tipping buckets movement or the drain holes below them. The tiewire can be bent and used to clean the drain tubes of the HS type raingauges.
Clean any buildup of pollen, slime or dust from both the buckets (TE) and the stilling well (OTA type) above them. Refer to notes for cleaning the HS raingauge stilling well.
Check connecting cable is not worn or damaged. Make sure the level bubble in the raingauge baseplate is centered. Use builders level to check TE raingauge.
2. Wind sensors.
The sensor cross arm is aligned approximately along a true north (20 deg. west of magnetic north) axis with the wind direction sensor on the south end of the arm.
Watch the wind direction sensor to make sure it is moving freely and note approximate position.
Watch the wind speed sensor to make sure it is moving freely.
For wind speeds up to approximately 20 kph you can see the individual cups above this speed they start to blur.
Compare the observed wind direction and speed sensor readings with the instantaneous data logger readings.
3. Temperature and RH sensor.
NOTE: DON'T USE WD-40 or CRC SPRAY NEAR THE TEMPEARTURE AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSOR OR ON THE DATALOGGER.
Check the radiation screen protecting the temperature and RH sensor. Spiders like living in these screens and can be cleaned out using the paint brush and tie wire. Also use some water and the cloth to clean any mildew (especially the underside) off the screen shields.
4. Leaf wetness sensor.
Wipe the sensor with a damp cloth to remove bird droppings, dust or pollen.
Inspect the face of the sensor and make sure the gold grids are not damaged.
The recorded data should indicate the sensor is wet as a result of cleaning with damp cloth.
5. Station battery.
Telephone and cellphone stations are equipped with rechargeable sealed no maintenance batteries maintained from either a solar panel or mains powered battery chargers. While the enclosure is open check the battery voltage (should be 12.5 volts or better) and other equipment is in good condition and kill any spiders etc. that may have found their way into the enclosure.
6. Remaining station equipment.
Check and clean the solar panel, check connecting cable for any damage and make sure it is securely fastened.
Make sure instrument cabinet is locked before departing from station.
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