The automated sensor array has been offline between approximately 08:00 and 15:00 BST today (18/10/2011).
This was to allow re-cabling in the server room and to swap over PSUs on the POE connection to the sensor array.
Data will be modified to reflect this gap shortly.
Well it seems that last weekend was probably the last of the summer sun that we are going to see this year, my new sensors record a temperature of 31 degrees averaging 28-29 over the last few day. However as you will be able to see from the latest satellite image, a large bank of cloud has moved in from over the Atlantic and is now rapidly moving across the country, as I am writing the sky is clouding over to almost 8ths of cloud cover and the wind has picked up dramatically. Autumn is defiantly here.
Well, sadly no. This is early morning fog forming over the local hills. This specific photo was taken on Tuesday however this fog has occurred most mornings this week, there has been no fog at ground level, just the usual autumnal dew.
Having done some research i think it only occurred on the hills, because the air temperature in the hills is slightly cooler, colder air can hold less water so it condensed forming the fog, if it had been cooler on ground level we would also of had the fog.
The remote sensor system is up running, the data is now displayed on the live data page for the current data and a multitude of other graphs.
Keep checking the live data page as I am still thinking of new ways to display the data I have collected.
Go over to the equipment page to see how the system works.
Well, its been a busy summer!
Initial tests from my remote sensors project are now running from the livedata page – be sure to check back frequently as I bring more features online.
As promised at the end of last month, an evaluation of the sensor values under differing light conditions.
| Time | 0hms | Cloud cover (8ths) | Description | Observer | |
| 12/06/11 | 04:45AM | 3300 | 1 | pre sunrise Clouds on eastern horizon, lit by sunlight – sun behind hills | chrisw |
| 05:00AM | 2000 | 1 | Sunrise – sun just behind trees | chrisw | |
| 05:07AM | 1750 | 1 | Sunrise – cirrus band and blue sky overhead | chrisw | |
| 05:10AM | 2000 | 1 | Same conditions but in shadow area to get down scatter reading | chrisw | |
| 05:15AM | 1050 | 1 | blue sky cirrus clouds overhead sun about 3 degrees above horizon | emily | |
| 05:30AM | 800 | 1 | same conditions but sun about 1-2 degrees higher | emily | |
| 05:45AM | 700 | 2 | cirrus clouds and blue sky sun at 5 degrees bank of cloud coming in from south not yet affecting readings | emily | |
| 06:00AM | 450 | 3 | cirrus cloud still above sun at about 7 degrees bank of cloud from south moving further north | emily | |
| 06:15AM | 375 | 5 | cirrus cloud and blue sky still above sun at about 10 degrees bank of cloud from south almost over head though | emily | |
| 06:25AM | 435 | 7 | sun slightly covered by thin bank of cirrus cloud and cloud from south over head now beginning to affect readings | emily | |
| 06:40AM | 700 | 8 | only last snipits of blue sky sun covered by clouds from south (now covering most of the sky), sun at 13 degrees | emily | |
| 06:55AM | 635 | 8 | sun covered by thick cloud at about 17 degrees | emily | |
| 07:15AM | 800 | 8 | sun now not visible behind cloud | emily | |
| 07:50AM | 700 | 8 | sun now not visible behind cloud raining at the moment (light to medium rain) | emily | |
| 08:30AM | 700 | 8 | still raining and still no visible sun | emily | |
| 09:00AM | 650 | 8 | clouds slightly lighter white still raining and wind picking up | emily | |
| 09:30AM | 700 | 8 | full sky of thick cloud no visible sun, medium rain and wind picking up | emily | |
| 10:00AM | 550 | 8 | full sky of thick cloud still no visible sun wind dying down rain picking up | emily | |
| 10:30AM | 430 | 8 | cloud directly above head whitening slightly, rain still getting heavier. | emily | |
| 11:00AM | 500 | 8 | cloud not any whiter, rain dying down | emily | |
| 11:30AM | 480 | 8 | cloud not any whiter, rain the same | emily | |
| 12:00PM | 550 | 8 | Same conditions as before | emily | |
| 12:30PM | 530 | 8 | Same cloud yet raining heavily | emily | |
| 01:45PM | 545 | 8 | clouds slightly lighter white still raining | emily | |
| 02:30PM | 590 | 8 | Same cloud yet raining getting lighter | emily | |
| 03:00PM | 530 | 8 | raining heavily clouds still full covering sky | emily | |
| 04:00PM | 680 | 8 | Overcast | chrisw | |
| 06:00PM | 650 | 8 | still overcast | emily | |
| 07:00PM | 750 | 8 | still overcast | emily | |
| 07:30PM | 670 | 8 | still overcast but clouds lightening in colour | emily | |
| 08:00PM | 900 | 8 | odd snipits of blue sky overhead but low cloud/ fog coming in from south | emily | |
| 08:40PM | 1600 | 8 | blue sky gone low cloud from south still moving in | emily | |
| 08:55PM | 3330 | 8 | dark low lying clouds, drizzle | emily | |
| 09:05PM | 3700 | 8 | Still dark low lying clouds, drizzle | emily | |
| 09:15PM | 3800 | 8 | same as above | emily | |
| 09:20PM | 6500 | 8 | same as above | emily | |
| 09:29PM | 7400 | 8 | Supposed sun set however unknown because sun covered by thick cloud, still drizzle | emily | |
| 09:35PM | 10000 | 8 | beginning to darken slightly. | emily | |
| 09:50PM | 25500 | 8 | slightly darker but still drizzling | emily | |
| 10:00PM | 72000 | 8 | getting darker almost black sky yet still able to see drizzle stopped | emily | |
| 10:08PM | 160000 | 8 | dusk | chrisw | |
| 10:20PM | 600000 | 8 | dusk | chrisw | |
| 10:35PM | 2350000 | 8 | dark | emily | |
| 13/06/11 | 10:20AM | 240 | 5 | broken cloud – in sunshine | chrisw |
| 11:00AM | 290 | 6 | sun behind thin white cloud | chrisw | |
| 12:40PM | 250 | 4 | broken white cloud – sun unobstructed | chrisw | |
| 07:05PM | 298 | 3 | cirrus partially obscuring sun | chrisw | |
| 09:55PM | 12400 | 2 | 10 mins after sunset | chrisw | |
| 14/06/11 | 01:00AM | 24000000 | 2 | moonlight ¾ moon | chrisw |
So, in conclusion the simple photo-resistor (LDR) sensors chosen give a range of values ranging from a few hundred Ohms in bright sunlight, to over 20M Ohms under moonlight.
This is obviously too wide a range of values to cover with a single scale (there are only 1023 steps on the ADC input on the micro-controller board I will be using) – so tests and some graphing will follow to chose what ranges to cover
I have located a conversion table for EV (exposure value) to Lux for our photographic light meter, so will retest some of the above typical values in conjunction with the Lux reading to give some more measurable values to the table
This mornings passes of NOAA15 as a composite
Proc: MCIR
A quick composite of sequential NOAA15 passes today at 15:14 (right) and 16:55 (left) UTC – showing north Atlantic and northern Europe, centred on home.
processing is Multi-Channel IR (MCIR)
Compositing editor: Daddy
As Emily has commented, tests have been running throughout the day. The morning started bright with blue skies and some thin cirrus cloud, but as the morning progressed a weather front moved in from the south bringing in rain and total cloud cover.
04:08UTC – the front clearly visible just south of home
06:2UTC – Thick cloud now fully obscuring the sky
16:15UTC – The cloud cover now thinner but still 8/8ths coverage here.
The results so far have however been useful. We have a good range of data from the sensor tests under overcast conditions. (results will follow). The forecast for tomorrow is brighter, so I hope to run a few additional tests under clear sky conditions at 12:00UTC to get a maximum brightness reading, and if conditions permit Emily will take some further clear sky sunset and dusk readings to add to the data.
Today I am testing my light sensor in different light levels at regular intervals in the day (every 15 minuets), I started just before sunrise 4:42 and am going to carry on recording data until after sun set 9:29 to give me maximum range of light levels.
