BA flight B789 (Tokyo to London Heathrow) just missing my anemometer this afternoon 
Before anyone worries that it was actually a real near miss, the plane was about 39,910 feet above the top of my mast.
As an aside that’s an interesting mast quite high so how does the wind effect it as it does not have stays on it
It’s heavy duty fibreglass so it sways a little but not very much. It’s intended for amateur radio antennas so it’s designed to have a bit of flex with a fair amount of weight on the top, although for a heavy antenna you’d want to use guys with it.
I don’t know if the slight sway would affect the wind speed, although I suspect it wouldn’t be much.
I couldn’t really guy it because there’s only one direction that it might be possible to run a guy, and even then I think it would end up in next door’s garden. The other two directions at 120 degrees from that potential guy would be through our roof and next door’s roof!
Looking closely at the photo, do I see solar and uv sensors? And what is the box about 1/4 way down? A wireless ISS? If so, what are the cables for?
My VP2+ system is cabled, mainly because my previous station was a 1-wire system. My solar and uv are in shadow early evening so I thought about fitting them to my anemometer mast. With hindsight maybe I should have bought a wireless rather than wired system.
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There are multiple things on the mast.
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Anemometer plus UV and solar sensors. These are both connected to the same transmitter unit near the roof level so you can’t see it. The UV and solar wouldn’t work with the Davis console but it’s ok with the WLL.
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An ADS-B antenna for aircraft tracking.
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An active antenna for HF band listening.
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Thanks for the info.
Interesting that you say those sensors won’t work with the Davis console. They should work up to 125ft/38m from the ISS.
Just one more question…
I don’t know how the cable is connected at the actual sensors - plug or hard wired? - so with the sensors further away (compared to a standard installation) from the ISS/transmitter, I don’t know if the cable needs to be replaced with a longer one, or whether there needs to be an (outdoor?) connection to extend the existing cable.
How have you arranged it so that the uv and solar cables to reach the transmitter?
I have done the same as Chris - connected my solar sensor to the wind sensor so I can get it up high away from shading. My ISS is a long way off the other side of the house, there is no way I could connect the solar to the ISS. So I need a WLL to receive the data (or a homebrew “repeater” I have which combines data from the wind transmitter with the ISS data so the console thinks all the sensors are connected to the ISS).
Sorry, I should have been clearer. The console expects the UV/solar sensors to be connected to the ISS and it can’t read their data when they’re connected to a separate transmitter, e.g. the one used for the remote anemometer.
My ISS is about 30ft away across the garden with no way to route the cable to it which is why I had to plug the UV/solar sensors into the anemometer transmitter, and as I was using a WLL box by then I didn’t have to worry about the console issue.
As far as I recall the cable at the sensor end is hard wired into the sensor. I used an RJ11 extension cable with a waterproof cable seal around it to make the cable long enough to get back to the transmitter.
I could have put the transmitter higher up the mast but at some point I’ll have to change the battery and that’s much easier if it’s near roof level than another 10ft up a mast that I can’t lean a ladder against!
You’ll also need to create a mounting for the sensors. I used the original mounting plate and created an L bracket that I could bolt to the plate with the other section clamped to the mast with U bolts. I think that it’s held on by the U bolts for the anemometer but I’m not 100% sure.
A better view of the top of the mast. The white cylinder is the ADS-B antenna. Near the bottom of that on both sides you can see the seals (black) protecting the cable joints. You can also see the sensor mount better and part of the L bracket I made.
I should have done a better job at tying the cables. The wind has battered them and moved the cable ties a little allowing the cables to move away from the mast so they look a bit messy now.
Thanks.
The problem with cable ties is they can crush the cable. I prefer to use self amalgamating tape.
I have no trouble understaning the mechanical aspects (brackets etc.) but I’m still a bit confused about the Davis wiring arrangement.
By WLL do you mean one of these devices…?
If so, certainly for now I’ll put up with my solar and uv being in shadow late evening.
It’s not too bad from now until autumn, when the sun’s elevation then becomes lower.
My concern is the cost, with having bought a wired VP2+ about 18 months ago not realising a wireless system would have been a more flexible (extra sensors, sensor siting, etc.). So I would be looking at ÂŁ1000ish to convert the system to wireless.
Regarding access to items at the top of the mast (mast is on the gable end) I have an extra section of mast and a mast coupler. At ground level there is a “tilt base”. I attach the extra mast section, undo the clamps (attached to the wall brackets) then with a rope and pulley I can tilt the mast down so the top is at ground level.
Tape would have been better but I’ll live with the way it is for now. I will take the mast down at some point, but it’s not that easy to do because the gardens are oddly shaped round here and I can’t tilt it to lie it flat, at least not without taking fence panels out and using next doors garden!
Yes - WLL is the WeatherLink Live box. That supports odd combinations of sensors attached to different transmitters. I don’t know how the wired system connects together but I guess everything routes back to the ISS which is then connected by wire to the console? If so, then if you can extend the UV/solar wires to get to the top of the mast then that should work.
Understood about your mast arrangement. I’m lucky that I can tilt mine down (and also my QFH antenna for weather satellites).
Yes, you are correct about the wiring arrangement of the cabled version. All sensors plug into the ISS, then the ISS connects to the console.
I’ll have to measure up to see if the solar/uv sensors will reach th ISS within the suggested limit of 125ft/38m. I know it’s going to be close to that.