Mobile weather station durability

[hduran]

I plan on purchasing a Davis 6250 in the near future.

http://www.ambientweather.com/dain62wimowe.html

My primary concern is the durability of this unit or mobile weather stations in general. Although I try and avoid it as much as I can, there have been times where the best move was to core punch through hail approaching baseball size. In such situations, how do weather stations hold up? I'm not really sure about what I can do to reinforce or protect the unit without affecting its performance. I do know that I will be covering the solar panel on the unit with a thick piece of plexiglass.

While I'm at it, my decision to go with the Davis unit is only preliminary. If anyone can give me feedback on this particular unit or recommend a different and better unit, please feel free to chime in!

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I think the most important question is, why do you need or why do you want a mobile mesonet? If you are going to build a mobile mesonet using consumer weather stations, chances are it won't hold up well at all, especially if you get into a hail core. On top of that, how do you plan to construct your mobile mesonet? There are are lot of specifics you have to consider to build one that will give you accurate readings. Personally, I've been chasing for a long time and when I was young and dumb I was interested in a mobile mesonet, and I wanted one. But again, I was in late teens. After 13 years of chasing, I personally do not see a reason for having a mobile mesonet. I especially wouldn't want one unless it had scientific quality equipment that was properly mounted to give accurate data.

But if you have a reason for building one and want advice, just do a search for "Mobile Mesonet" on storm track. There are plenty of topics about it, and in fact I know there are posts on here in previous topics by some who were involved in creating the mobile mesonets for NSSL to use for Vortex and Vortex 2.

 

[hduran]

I think the most important question is, why do you need or why do you want a mobile mesonet? If you are going to build a mobile mesonet using consumer weather stations, chances are it won't hold up well at all, especially if you get into a hail core. On top of that, how do you plan to construct your mobile mesonet? There are are lot of specifics you have to consider to build one that will give you accurate readings. Personally, I've been chasing for a long time and when I was young and dumb I was interested in a mobile mesonet, and I wanted one. But again, I was in late teens. After 13 years of chasing, I personally do not see a reason for having a mobile mesonet. I especially wouldn't want one unless it had scientific quality equipment that was properly mounted to give accurate data.

But if you have a reason for building one and want advice, just do a search for "Mobile Mesonet" on storm track. There are plenty of topics about it, and in fact I know there are posts on here in previous topics by some who were involved in creating the mobile mesonets for NSSL to use for Vortex and Vortex 2.

The reason why I want this one is because it has everything I'm looking for and is ready to go out of the box. I have been chasing on and off (more off than on) myself since 2000-01 and I, too, have done just fine without a mobile weather station. But the shift has been more towards want than need. On May 23, I was near the outskirts of a huge spiraling anvil near Calumet. Here's video from that:

http://www.twitvid.com/IDLDN

The inflow winds from my position only got stronger with time. Though I wish I had recorded more to show this. I can only estimate that I experienced wind gusts of at least being in the 60's. I have experienced winds on this level before and every time, I wished that I could've known what was going on around me. I want to know exactly what I'm dealing with at any given moment without an ounce of doubt and that is why I want one. Anyways, my idea of having a mobile weather station is in its early planning stages still. The Davis 6250 is an accurate device according to accounts from other users. My concern is durability. Surely, not everything out there is bulletproof.

So again, I ask how durable is the Davis 6250? How durable are other mobile weather stations? Which one would be most recommended for an amateur chaser who is just wanting to know what's going on? Any other suggestions?

 

[Joey Ketcham]

So again, I ask how durable is the Davis 6250? How durable are other mobile weather stations? Which one would be most recommended for an amateur chaser who is just wanting to know what's going on? Any other suggestions?

The Davis 5250 will be as durable as any other consumer grade weather station, and by that I mean not very durable at all. If you don't take the time to mount it correctly to get the most accurate data possible, then there is no point in having one at all. But other than that, driving into a hail core chances are the cups on your anemometer will be completely destroyed, that is if they haven't been destroyed already simply from driving down the highway to your target.

If you simply want to take readings here and there then just buy yourself a Kestrel meter. They are handheld and you can get temp, dewpoint, humidity and much more with it.

 

[Clarence Bennett]

What Joey is trying to say is that you are wasting your time, regardless of your want or need. I would honestly spend the money on a good Kestrel before I would spend the countless hours trying to research and build a mobile mesonet. It takes resources to really do it right. I have thought about it many times, even drawing up a schematic and when it comes time to really find the motivation to build it, I ADD and move on to something else.

 

[hduran]

Thanks for the input guys. Under that direction, I guess I will scrap that idea and look for something more portable. Maybe I'm going through that same annual phase that you all went through as far as mobile mesonets are concerned. On another note, I should have my roof rails in soon for mounting, among other things, antennas for my radio equipment and signal booster along with a hail shield that I will be fabricating. I was hoping to accommodate a spot for a mobile weather station, but maybe another time when I'm feeling ambitious again.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Most of the consumer-grade stations (Davis and OS for example) do not hold up well to mobile use, specifically the anemometer cups. Though, they can be replaced if they break. The Inspeeds hold up better than the Davis/OS units, but they are single-purpose (wind only). For practical chasing purposes, temperature and dewpoint have been helpful to have. From a hobbyist perspective, I don't think it's unreasonable to want to collect personal data during a storm chase, a highly meteorologically-relevant activity. Not to mention, a roof-mounted anemometer is a little more comfortable than standing outside during a derecho with a Kestrel.

The criticism of non-research grade mobile instrument use is perplexing to me. When does any buyer and user of a Davis, Kestrel or OS unit contribute to any meaningful data collection for research or other purposes? Most home-based installs are no better in terms of data integrity than using one on a car, yet lack the same critical outcry. I would venture to say that a house presents more aerodynamic and thermal interference than a vehicle for wind and temperature measurements. Furthermore, how many residentially-installed $300 Oregon Scientific units are on properly isolated 2-meter towers? These consumer-grade instruments aren't made for anything other than hobbyist purposes. That being the case, I am curious what the true indictment against vehicle use is as opposed to everyone else who has one installed on their back porch. You just never see objections about Grandma's data from her Davis in the backyard flower garden being useless to researchers, and that all she really cares about is getting attention from the other members of the local church ladies' auxiliary

That said, I think it's a valid argument to consider one's purposes for wanting the mobile instrumentation - but no different than considering reasons for a home-based unit either. Doing something for the heck of it or for fun doesn't require a good reason.

 

[Jason Foster]

I only recommend Davis having used or been around different models. Davis is the most accurate until you can upgrade to a RM Young or similar. Davis does pretty good....one key point though is you have to make sure the little hex screws are extremely tight. I've had my Davis stations through chase seasons, winter storms & hurricanes. Almost any time the cups failed it was the previous issue or I found that on two way roads and/or interstates, when a large tracker trailer zipped by...the wind difference would break the arms. Almost anytime the cups were lost/broken, the speed was over....often well over 90mph. Hurricane Frances was the weakest time I lost the cups...at 94mph, and that's when it was the set screw.

Replacements are cheap, around $12 plus shipping. I often bought two or three back-ups. Davis also has two sized cups. One is stronger, but doesn't start measuring winds until it's 2mph or more. I don't think that'll bother chasers.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

I thought I saw someone driving around with one of these:
http://www.airmartechnology.com/2009/products/marine-product.asp?prodid=11150
(trying to remember who drives a red x-terra I thought I saw it on)

I've always wondered how well these perform. Can anyone chime in? On the pricey side though...

 

[J Tyler]

I storm chase to report. I *hated* having to report -estimated- wind speeds. As for whining that "consumer" level equipment is not accuate enough, I'm guessing that an Inspeed unit missing the true speed by 1-3mph is still going to be closer on a regular basis than someone trying to "eyeball" it and guess the wind speed. Secondly, when it is raining like a hurricane and the winds are blowing somewhere around 65mph, I am not rolling my window down, or getting outside with a handheld unit to measure wind speed.

I want to add temp and humidity so I can SEE when I am crossing boundary layers. I was chasing with another guy last year who had that capability, and it was KILLER for us to know EXACTLY where that boundary was so we did not get out of position. Who actually data logs this stuff and submits it to Vortex to back up their theory of global warming? Nobody.

Now.....I use an Inspeed unit, and am happy with it. My big complaint is with broken cups, and what a PAIN they are to change. The trick is, just leave the unit OFF the car until you are on scene and then pull it when you are done. I keep getting lazy and throwing it up there when I'm setting my truck up in the driveway and breaking the cups. I do drive in a rapid fashon, and I'm sure that does not help.

So, my advice is, do what YOU want. I do.