• TXDOT
• Anemometer Loan Program
• Free Wind Data
• Sheldon Lake
• Pine Springs Station

Initial Theory

In another installation we have done, we had used an Oregon Scientific weather station to allow the attendant to see the windspeed hitting his turbine.  At that point we had observed how these stations were made, and that the rain bucket used pulses from a reed switch to send data to the indoor display unit.  We had also observed that most of these weather stations are computer connectable.  At some point we had come up with the idea, from these facts, that we could input other data into such a pulse connection, and that a computer could convert those numbers in any way we like.

An opportunity came to install a public display unit for a 10 kW Bergey grid tie wind turbine.  We decided it would be a good time to give this theory a try.  This unit will be in a Texas Public Rest Stop near Guadalupe Pass in West Texas.

Essentially what we wanted was to latch on to the Vantage Pro signal, much like a parasite, and utilize that rain input for our kWh production.  In this scenario, it worked out especially well, since we wanted to display weather information anyway.

For general weather station information, please use Google and search for personal weather stations. There are over ten manufacturers with different features available. Some are wired and some are wireless.