Hi
I plan to place three wind meters on a mast including one I invented. Currently I provide temperature and rainfall data to the local TV station and it would be good to provide wind measurements as well. I am not sure how far apart the instruments should be placed. I have a rough sketch of the view of the cross piece I plan to build on the mast with the instruments mounted.
It is at
http://www.weather.org.au/mastwind.JPG . You will probably need to click on the diagram to enlarge it and remove the distortions.
Do you think the layout should be good or do you have any suggestions? I staged the three anemometers at different heights so they hopefully would not shelter each other from the wind. I did not mark the dimensions of the height of the instruments above the cross peace. Also I did not label the dimensions between the poles above the cross peace. I just left them labeled A, B, C etc. This is because I am not sure what to make them. I will give my suggestions of the dimensions below. Please let me know what you think along with your suggestions for dimensions. The diagram is not to scale. However, I labeled the measurements of the instruments. The mast and the cross peace may be 3 inch box steel. The pipes supporting the instruments has to be one inch inside diameter pipe for the Young anemometer. I think the outside diameter is about 34 mm. I could also use this pipe for the other instruments to support them. The right side of the diagram is the southern side where the stronger winds normally come from. I drew the wind from the north to fit the wind meter I invented more easily in the diagram. This wind meter I invented is on the left and has a wind sock. The vane of my invention is about 120 mm deep. The Young anemometer is in the centre and a Maximum anemometer is on the right or the southern side.
My suggestions for the dimensions in millimeters are below. The lightning rod may be half inch. The camera may be in a box about 300 by 300 mm and I may put it on a rotator that could stand higher. Please note the diagram is not to scale. What do you suggest?
A 1200
B 800
C 1800
D 600
E 600
F 200
G 300
Does the mast I plan to build have to be a certain distance from the Stevenson's screen? It would be good to place the mast about 1 or 2 meters from the screen to keep the weather station in one place. The mast would probably be on the northern side of the screen. Is that acceptable? If not how far would it have to be from the screen?
Also, do you know how far such a mast would have to be placed from a rain gauge?
Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.