Roof of William Gates Building

The DTG Weather Station

Hardware

We use a Met-Log Automatic Weather Station to collect the raw data used by our software. The Met-Log hardware comprises a set of analogue sensors and a dedicated device which converts the sensor outputs to digital form and makes them available on a serial line. It was purchased from R&D Instromet Ltd.

A new precipitation sensor was installed on Tuesday 31st January 2012. The sensor, a Thies Clima Laser Precipitation Monitor, was purchased from Biral.

The serial lines from the Met-Log device and the Thies precipitation sensor are connected through serial-to-ethernet adapters to the local network. The devices are controlled and queried from a Linux server running our weather services. The recorded data is then made available to the Internet through our website.

The weather station has moved locations on two occasions. Refer to the map to determine the positions of the former and current locations. Refer to this page for photos of the former location.

Pictures

This page contains pictures of the roof of our building and the equipment that is installed on top. The wind and sun sensors are visible on the tallest mast, while the rain sensor is fixed to the horizontal railings. The temperature sensor is located out of sight, below the overhang of the roof, and beneath the metal walkway. This position is out of direct sunlight. The humidity sensor is integral to the temperature sensor.

Rain sensor Rain sensor
Rain Sensor (Thies Clima Laser Precipitation Monitor)
 
Temperature and humidity sensor
Temperature and
Humidity Sensor
Sunlight sensor and anemometer
Sunlight Sensor and
Anemometer