Sensors, One of the Top Buying Considerations for Marine Weather Stations

Today’s marine weather stations not only let you monitor and log a wealth of weather-related measurements but also let you analyze and predict the weather. And that’s because today’s weather systems incorporate advanced sensor technology, advanced processors, intelligent software and can take full advantage of the power of the Internet and wireless technology.

Advanced sensors technology is at the heart of today’s weather stations. And this is because these sensors determine what and how accurate your weather measurements are. And it is these sensor measurements that your weather station processor uses to analyze and predict the weather.

Sensors you will find in today’s electronic weather sensor packs not only include humidity, temperature, and pressure transducers, but also ultraviolet light, rain collector, solar radiation (pyranometer), ultraviolet (UV) ray, wind speed (anemometers) and wind direction sensors. An electronic weather system uses the data it collects from these sensors to not only display and plot these sensor measurements but also calculate weather variables such as wind gust speed, dew point, wind chill, and absolute humidity.

All these sensors have a number of practical and obvious proposes for weather analysis. However, these sensors also offer information that can protect your health and optimize the efficiency of your on-boating energy systems. For those concerned about sun exposure at sea, an ultraviolet sensor can be used to warn you of potential overexposure to the sunrays.

Because a pyranometer is used to measure the amount of solar energy that hits a flat surface, you can use its sensor data to determine the best way to position your solar panels or solar rolls.

Sensor packs often will contain memory to store weather conditions at programmable time intervals. Most weather stations have a multitude of options to upload the sensor data in memory to different electronic devices. Not only can this data be uploaded to the weather station processor, but also to your PC or to any number of other locations via wireless and Internet connections.

With the data stored in memory and your weather station software you can examine measurement trends over time. And you can instruct your weather station to make calculations such as the rate of drop or rise of atmospheric pressure. And with this information instruct your weather station to make forecasts such as the probability of rain.

When you’re out shopping for a weather station, keep an eye out for weather stations that incorporate Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. MEMS technology is a miniaturization technology that enables the construction of miniature electro mechanical systems. MEMS technology is found in today’s air bag systems, GPS systems and even ink jet printers. For weather stations, MEMS based anemometers are currently in development. MEMS based anemometers use a technology called hot wire to measure wind speed.

Besides sensors, there are a number of other weather station options to consider. And one is the software. A good weather software package will be able to utilize any sensor data thrown at it and will support remote interchange of weather data. And it will also provide for a variety of different graphical user interfaces that will produce weather maps that educate and help you understand the weather data. Also you may want a weather station and sensor pack that has USB ports, Internet and long-range wireless connectivity.

Before you buy a weather station, look over the many weather stations specifications. Environmental specifications are one of the most critical for sailing. And one of the most important of these is the temperature operating range of the weather station. Most electronic devices will not operate reliably near freezing. And this includes electronic weather stations.

Although you can find weather stations that have temperature operation specifications below freezing, many are only guaranteed to operate reliable at temperatures above 5 degrees Centigrade. Also consider the operating temperature range of the processing unit of the weather station, but also that of the individual sensors in the sensor pack.