Weather is a topic that comes up frequently in ham radio QSOs. Like most other hams, I’m interested in weather. For several years, I’ve used an AcuRite personal weather station that records basic weather measurements and feeds data to Weather Underground. The WU page for my AcuRite Station is KGAGROVE14. Update: The wind direction vane on the Acurite station broke, so I took the station offline in October 2020.
Earlier this week, I received a new Tempest Weatherflow station. I supported the project on Kickstarter, and waited anxiously for several months for the team to produce and ship the product. This station uses different technology, with electronic rather than mechanical sensors for wind speed/direction and precipitation. It also has sensors for lightning detection, ambient light, solar radiation and UV. I have it mounted on top of a 15-foot push-up fiberglass mast that I got from DX engineering. Setting up the weather station and getting it online was a very easy project.
The Tempest station sends current data to a phone/tablet app and a public web page, as well as feeding the weather widget in the right menu bar of this web site. It also sends data to Weather Underground. The WU page for my Tempest station is KGAGROVE47. I am planning to leave both feeds running for a while to compare the results. I’m especially interested to compare the results for rain measurements. Update: The Weather Underground feed for the Acurite station is no longer online as of October 2020, but the Tempest station is still up!
