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September 27, 2008
HPWREN weather sensor updated on Lyons Peak
HPWREN has been supporting a weather sensor at the backbone site
on Lyons Peak for the last few years. Data generated by the sensor
is in significant use, and is also forwarded to NOAA/NWS, as well
as utilized to
trigger pager alarms with fire officials during Santa Ana
conditions. With the cup/vane anemometer data not having worked
for many months, it was initially replaced. That not fixing the
problem, it was decided to add a Vaisala WXT520 sensor,
for reasons of it being a near-comprehensive and compact solid state
device with direct digital output. The sensor output serial line
is connected to a co-located IQeye3 camera, and powered via the
camera's Power-over-Ethernet injector.
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The photo on the left shows both the old and the new sensors,
as well as the west-pointing camera that connects the WXT520.
Both cables connecting the camera to the WXT520 and to the
Ethernet PoE injector can be seen in the above photo.
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Alongside the weather sensor work, the team also re-established
the support antenna for a Potrero ICP link,
which had been moved for the Horse Fire, and
subsequently needed some maintenance. Additionally a hard disk in
a network performance measurement machine was updated, and the four
IQeye3 cameras, which provide a 360 degree
surround view from Lyons Peak for still photos and time-lapse
animations, were cleaned and re-focused. Those cameras allowed for
multi-day
time-lapse animations of the progression of the Harris Fire in
2007.
Jim Hale (top) and Pablo Bryant (left) were doing most of the
work on the tower for this installation.
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This photo shows both weather station sets, plus the Potrero
link antenna. Visible parts of the old weather station include
a Campbell CS500 Air Temp/RH% Sensor,
a Met One 034 Wind Sensor,
a Campbell CS105 Barometric Pressure Sensor,
a TB4 Siphoning Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge,
a LI-COR LI-200X Silicon Pyranometer,
a Campbell CS107 Fuel Temperature Sensor,
a Campbell CS505 Fuel Moisture Sensor. They are individually wired to
a Campbell 10X Datalogger in the same box that supports the camera
power injectors.
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The above images show closeups of the North, East, and South
pointing cameras.
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While the wind speed data from the old sensor is still not working,
the co-location of the two sensors will allow for comparisons of
other metrics. Real-time data from the new sensor is available at
/Sensors/LyonsPeak-WXT520,
while the old data remains at
/Sensors/LyonsPeak.
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