Link to the Home Page

+ UK Met Index

WeatherPak® Weather Station

Compact and portable weather station measures wind speed, wind direction,
wind stability class, temperature, humidity, pressure


Weather Station Section
      + Weather Stations  
                - YOU ARE HERE


_______________

Tel UK:  01275 847787
Tel Intl: + 44 1275 847787

Fax UK:  01275 847303
Fax Intl: + 44 1275 84730

 Send an e-mail to us  

_______________

The WeatherPak® 400 is a simple to operate, easily deployable, compact weather station measuring wind speed, wind direction, wind stability class, temperature, humidity and pressure. The data can be monitored visually on the LCD display and simultaneously output to plume modelling software on a PC.

It is a reliable, portable weather station designed to withstand harsh environments and rough handling and is constructed of non-sparking, intrinsically safe Mil-Spec grade aluminium which will even survive a 2 m drop onto concrete and is water immersible (for decontamination etc).

There are no cables to connect or exposed wires or switches and it is deployable from carry case to full operation within one minute. The system is available in several configurations including tripod or vehicle mounting. Data can be received via fixed data cable or wireless and displayed on a touch screen display and / or input to a computer.

Using the remote data transmission the user can deploy the WeatherPak® in one location and move to a safer location up to 10 km away. Several WeatherPak® units can be networked together and using the optional Global Positioning System plume models will be updated without any manual input.

Applications include military, fire services, chemical plants and oil refineries etc.

CONTENTS ON THIS PAGE

OTHER LINKS

 WeatherPak 400 Model MTR

Features

  • can be fully decontaminated after chemical or biological incidents
  • low maintenance, fully sealed unit with no moving parts
  • can be mounted on buildings, vehicles or tripod
  • data can be output to a PC for plume modelling, data visualisation and archiving
  • fully deployable within 60 seconds
  • designed to withstand harsh environments and rough handling

Top of page

What it does

The WeatherPak® measures site-specific, real-time weather data which can be monitored visually on a display and simultaneously output to a PC.

Top of page

Examples of data output

The data can be viewed on a display as well as being output as an ASCII data string to a PC. The data can be imported into plume modelling programs such as CAMEO® / ALOHA®, SAFER® Systems software, or to programs such as MS Excel.

The Raw Data is delivered in ASCII format in metric units (millibars, m/s, C), whereas the processed data is converted to Standard English units (inches, mph, F).

Two "checksums" are performed to ensure that the message is sent correctly. The PC adds up the "ASCII value" of the data line (each letter, number, comma etc has a numerical value universal to all computers) to make sure that the PC received the same number that the WeatherPak transmitted.

Below is an example of the standard data string (custom configurations are available) together with the field line explanations.

Example data string with the data field identifiers shown below

421, 0.9, 225, 1.0, 23.9, 1.0, 226, 23.9, 14.0, 1917, 999, 46, 2536
 
ID, MW, MD, ST, AT, SI, DI, TI, BV, CKSUM1, BP, RH, CKSUM2

Data field explanations:

ID WeatherPak unique identification number
MW 5 minute averaged wind speed in metres per second
MD 5 minute averaged wind direction in degrees
ST Stability class in degrees
AT 5 minute averaged air temperature in degrees Centigrade
SI Instantaneous wind speed in metres per second
DI Instantaneous wind direction in degrees
TI Instantaneous air temperature in degrees Centigrade
BV Battery voltage in volts
CKSUM1 First Checksum
BP Barometric pressure in millibars
RH Relative humidity in percent
CKSUM2 Second Checksum

Top of page

Comparison of the 3 models available

WeatherPak 400 MTR TRx

VM
Wind Speed & Direction ultrasonic* ultrasonic*

ultrasonic*
Air Temperature * * *
Relative Humidity * * *
Barometric Pressure * *   *
GPS *        
Background Radiation Available soon    
Black Body Sensor Available soon       
Display 5.7" colour flat panel LCD LCD
Communications Radio Radio

Cable
Mounting 3 m tripod 3 m tripod

vehicle
Power 9 D Cell 9 D Cell 120 VAC or 12 VDC
* the ultrasonic wind sensor has no moving parts, is very accurate at low wind speeds and does not require periodic calibration.

 
BENEFITS  MTR TRx

VM
Automatically updates plume modelling software (ALOHA®, SAFER® etc) * *

*
Self aligning compass * *

*
Data integrity - RF & EMI hardened electronics * *

*
Electronics hermetically sealed... Submersible for decontamination * *

*
Hot-zone deployable * *

 

Average deployment time < 1 min < 1 min

< 2 min
Ruggedised - meets environmental MIL-STD-810D * *

*
Upgradeable firmware *  

  

SmartDetectTM multiple WeatherPak recognition *           

This range is in continuous development therefore
specifications may change without prior notice. E&OE

Top of page

Specifications for WeatherPak 400 MTR
( * with ultrasonic anemometer for wind speed and wind direction)

Wind speed*   
Range 0 - 60 m/s
Accuracy +/- 2%
Resolution 0.01 m/s
 

Wind direction*
Range 0 - 359º
Accuracy +/- 3%
Resolution 1º
 

Compass   

Accuracy +/- 1.0º
Resolution 1º
Tilt limit +/- 45º
 

Temperature
Operational range -40 to +50ºC
Accuracy +/- 0.2ºC
Resolution 0.5ºC
 

Electronics   

Microcontroller 32-bit
Memory 256 k (1 MB optional)
Estimated memory storage capability With a sample interval every 30 seconds it would take approximately 11 days to use 256 K of memory and 45 days for 1 MB of memory before the oldest data records are overwritten.
Display (certain models only) 4 x 20 character LCD
EMI / RFI Mil-Spec
 

Mechanical
Size 14 cm x 73.7 cm
Weight 4.1 Kg
Material 6061-T6 aluminium, 316 stainless steel hardware, O-ring sealed Mil-Spec connector, thermoplastic resin coated
 

Environmental
Temperature -40 to +70ºC
Pressure 600 to 1100 mBar
Humidity 10 day exposure at 100% RH
Rain 500 mm/hr
Estimated battery life 72 hours if run continuously
Shock / Vibration Survival of 2 m drop

This range is in continuous development therefore
specifications may change without prior notice. E&OE

Top of page

For further information on this instrument please email us at: wwwmet@biral.com

Delivery

This unit is usually dispatched within 4 - 6 weeks ARO (After Receipt of Order)

After Sales Support

Biral offers free advice and technical support for the lifetime of the instruments we sell. Once you have purchased the unit you can contact us for help on wwwmetsuppport@biral.com  

Search web site

 

 
 

Links to previous pages
+ UK Met Index 

Weather Station Section
      + Weather Stations  
                - YOU ARE HERE
 

Links to previous pages
+ UK Met Index 

Weather Station Section
      + Weather Stations  
                - YOU ARE HERE
 

Links to previous pages
+ UK Met Index 

Weather Station Section
      + Weather Stations  
                - YOU ARE HERE

Links to previous pages
+ UK Met Index 

Weather Station Section
      + Weather Stations  
                - YOU ARE HERE

Tel UK:  01275 847787
Tel Intl: + 44 1275 847787

Fax UK:  01275 847303
Fax Intl: + 44 1275 84730

 Send an e-mail to us  

Not sure if this is the right weather station for you - please email your requirements to: wwwmet@biral.com

This range is in continuous development therefore specifications may change without prior notice. E&OE

 

Thank you for visiting www.biral.com/met/stations/wp.htm

Top of page