WeatherHawk Inversion - Wireless - Manual (Page 4)

WeatherHawk ® 1
815 W. 1800 N. Logan, Utah 84321-1784, Email: [email protected] Copyright © 2004, 2010
Toll free in USA: 866-670-5982, International: 435-750-1802, FAX: 435-750-1749 Printed November 2010
Site Installation Guide
The WeatherHawk Temperature Inversion System is a meteorological platform designed for detecting the presence of
a surface temperature inversion. A temperature inversion occurs when temperature increases with height within the
lowest layer of the atmosphere (troposphere). This is called an inversion because normally within the troposphere,
temperature decreases with height. Temperature inversions can effect human-environment interaction in different
ways including agriculture, air quality, prescribed burns, and many others.
This guide includes procedures for installing your WeatherHawk Inversion system on a 30 foot tower for permanent
or portable installations. For permanent installations, use the WeatherHawk CM375 Mast with the Heavy Duty
Anchor Kit ( pn. 25699), UT30 Permanent Tower, or preinstalled user-supplied tower. For temporary installations,
use the WeatherHawk CM375 mast with the Standard Anchor Kit (pn. 19282) or a user-supplied temporary mast.
Before installing your WeatherHawk Inversion system read over the sections on power sources, site selection, and
communications considerations. Equipment that is purchased separately is described in Appendix A.
1. Overview
1.1. Power Sources
WeatherHawk Inversion systems are provided with an internal sealed rechargeable lead acid battery that must be
recharged to assure continued system function. To recharge the battery, WeatherHawk offers solar panels or an
AC/DC power converter. If no power supply has been ordered, you must provide an external DC power source with
an output of 18 V @ 1.2 A.
1.2. Site Selection
WeatherHawk Inversion systems are designed for installations on a 30-foot mast or tower. The ideal WeatherHawk
Inversion installation site is level and well away from obstructions such as buildings, trees and steep slopes. If
obstructions do exist, use the “Ten Times the Height Rule”, which is illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Ten Times the Height Rule. n example, if the height of the
tree, T, is 37 feet and the height of the shed, H, is 24 feet then the
WeatherHawk station should be placed at least 370 feet from the tree
(i.e., 10T = 10 x 37 = 370 ft) and 240 feet away from the shed (i.e.,
10H = 10 x 24 = 240 ft).
Connecting an incompatible power source to your WeatherHawk voids your Warranty. Please
check with WeatherHawk Customer Service before connecting a third party power source.