Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Mar 6, 2022 10:04:32 GMT -8
I recently purchased a Newentor Wireless Weather Station. It's a more basic model. There is no rain gauge or wind speed indicator. Those things would be nice but means you have to find somewhere to install them. I really didn't need all that. I was mainly interested in knowing the indoor and outdoor temperature. I had a small cheap little wireless unit already set up for that but the outdoor sensor finally went kaput. I should have consulted you guys first. But I did read a lot of reviews and look at a lot of options. This one had good reviews and had a lot of bang for the buck for $43.00. There were some other weather stations that were higher rated. But the one that came closest to the functionality of the Newentor one (this one from La Crosse) didn't come with the outdoor sensor. You had to pay $20.00 for that separately. Well, no thanks. This unit taps into some kind of Forecast Station for its predictions. But even the documentation admits that this is crap, that you should consult your local weather. I've confirmed this in that the little display will sometimes show animated rain even if it isn't actually raining outside.
The Forecast Station that it will automatically (try) to connect to also, I think, sets the "atomic clock." When my unit finally did connect, it had set the date and time automatically. I don't need the clock/calendar function but it doesn't take up much of the display. Setup of the unit was easy although it didn't set the clock until a day or two later. Not sure what was up with that. But I do like that it shows indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity. It also shows barometric pressure. This is less useful unless you know how to interpret it. I don't (other than some basics). Reference.com has what looks to be a good info page for his. The unit also shows the phases of the moon. This is interesting as just a photogenic add-on. Also, there is an indicator next to temperature and humidity that shows whether either one of these (either indoor or outdoor) is "trending" up or down (within whatever parameters of change are built into the unit). You can run as many as three sets of external sensors. We'll see how long that outdoor sensor lasts but I'm happy with the purchase so far. |
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kungfuzu
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Post by kungfuzu on Mar 6, 2022 12:49:39 GMT -8
I have had the inclination to buy something like this for a long time. Please let me know what you think of it in a few months. These days, I look out at the big old thermometer on my patio wall. It must be close to 40 years old. It is so old that I can't find a picture of something similar. The one below will have to do.  |
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Mar 6, 2022 13:03:40 GMT -8
Wow. What a great bird thermometer you must have if it's similar to that one. I can see why you held onto it.
One thing I failed to mention was the barometer. Along with a digital reading it gives you a bar graph showing the current reading along with 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 hours previous. That makes it easy to see if it is rising, falling, or holding steady.
Right now it's 48.4 outside and 69.9 inside. 76 humidity outside, 46 inside.
I'll let you know how I like it a couple months from now. I don't miss having a rain gauge. It's like bringing coal to Newcastle. We don't really need to know how much rain we're getting. We know. But something that measured how much direct sun was collected might be more useful.
It would be nice, however, to have a wind gauge. But I really didn't want to get into that. And you're talking about $100.00 more to get you the wind and rain gauges.
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Post by kungfuzu on Mar 6, 2022 16:19:40 GMT -8
Mine is older and has more of an American theme. There is a bald eagle in the center (drawing) that looks something like this.  The thermometer itself is like the one below but with a 1.5-2 inch blue band around the outer edge. No centigrade marks on my thermometer!  Much of the picture of the eagle has faded, but the temperature is still easy to read. |
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Mar 7, 2022 8:18:36 GMT -8
It would be fun to collect (or see a collection) of the Americana in the form of utilitarian items such as thermometers, weather vanes, garden ornaments, mail boxes, etc. Such things can still be glimpsed in rural areas.  Yes, there used to be a time before the idiot liberals put out the stupid "We believe" signs. There used be a time when people had virtue worth signaling. |
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 4, 2022 7:03:07 GMT -8
The Newentor Wireless Weather station has proven out just fine after about a month. The only quibble I have is that I don't find the weather forecast (top-center) section of the unit to be all that useful. I would rather that space have been used to make the clock and calendar larger.
And although it's not particularly useful, I do like the graphic they have that shows the phases of the moon. The barometer is also well done, showing both digital millibars and a graph that gives a record of the last 18 hours or so.
$43.00? Yeah, definitely seems worth it so far. And I like the little arrows that show if the temperatures (inside or out) are "trending" upward or downward. If the temperature is fairly static, it shows that too.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 8, 2024 8:37:04 GMT -8
Plano happens to be in a position to view the total eclipse of the sun which is to take place today. Unfortunately, the sky is completely overcast.
The period of complete coverage takes place around 1:40pm here. It appears that the sky might be clearing a bit, which would be good for those crazy people who have come to the area to view the event. Apparently, hotels and car rental companies have more than doubled their rates for yesterday and today. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 8, 2024 11:13:59 GMT -8
By the time of the eclipse, the sky had pretty well cleared up. There were some clouds above, but not enough to block the event. That said, one cloud did float past the sun when in full eclipse. I believe that lasted only 10-20 seconds.
We were outside trimming bushes and were shaded by a Crepe Myrtle tree, only somewhat smaller than this one. It has not yet bloomed, but when it does, the flowers are the same color as those in the picture.
The sky dimmed a little as the eclipse started, but it was not drastic. Yet, even under the tree, I could tell the moment the sun was in full eclipse because the sky became dark in a second or two. It was about the same shade as it gets here 5 or 10 minutes before going completely dark in summer. This lasted only a few minutes and again, one could tell the moment the sun was no longer in full eclipse. The second the slightest bit of the sun was again exposed, the sky brightened significantly.
I admit that I looked at the sun when it was in full eclipse. My gaze lasted less than a second, but I could clearly see the corona glowing around the edge and there seemed to be some very slight bleed through of the sun on the upper-right-hand side of the sun. I would say it was at about 2 o'clock. Maybe between 1 and 2.
So the people who came here to view the total eclipse of the sun got their money's worth.
We then finished trimming the bushes and went back inside.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 8, 2024 11:14:04 GMT -8
I understand that some of these more Western states (because of presumed better chance of cloudless skies) are getting hordes of Neo-Pagans. I read an article that quoted some goofy expectations of what the eclipse means with the comment from the writer that, "This makes the old superstitions sound rather tame in comparison."
I think it's cool. I would certainly walk outside to see it. But, well, I think it's sort of a "get a grip" thing. If it provides a avenue to spark interest in astronomy (and not astrology), then great. And it is a rare event. But I know what night looks like. The thing to do would be to grab the equipment and means to see the sun's corona that emerges. I hear that's pretty cool. But to just experience darkness and listen to the birds starting to nest early? Not so much.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 8, 2024 11:16:05 GMT -8
Well, that's excellent..as is the Crepe Myrtle tree. I had never heard of that species. Quite magnificent.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 8, 2024 11:31:34 GMT -8
Crepe Myrtles come in many different colors. I think I like the watermelon color the best, but all are beautiful. The problem is that they are very messy and leaves and other stuff clogs up house gutters. They are also prone to suckers coming up. I have let some of the suckers grow, but now I try to cut any new ones.
After I just finished writing the previous post, I thought of Pink Floyd and linked to their best album.
By the way, I also let Kung Jr. have a very quick look at the total eclipse. Doing such things is always a bit of a risk as he might want to look again. Sure enough, when it started getting brighter, he looked up to see what was happening, but I caught him immediately and told him to stop and get back under the tree.  |
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 8, 2024 11:36:57 GMT -8
When I was a boy, I had a nice telescope that came with a special lens for viewing eclipses. I don't recall ever using it.
In fact, I can't recall ever having viewed an eclipse of the sun before. I have watched one of two moon eclipses and they were very nice. Sitting on my patio in the cool autumn or winter air and watching the moon go from white to a dim reddish copper color. I believe the last time I did this the eclipse took place after midnight so it was very quiet and peaceful to watch.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 8, 2024 12:48:11 GMT -8
That could provide a nice segue regarding how to observe the sun safely. Most methods (I think) have to do with making a sharp pinhole in something and then projecting the sun through this pinhole onto a makeshift screen...while still using sunglasses to look at the projected image because it can still be pretty bright.
I think (or have heard) that if you set this up to a certain basic level of quality that you may be able to safely observe sunspots as well. There are likely lots of resources for how to do this on the web. Cheers to Kung Jr's healthy sense of curiosity.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 8, 2024 15:56:24 GMT -8
He has a very strong sense of curiosity. When we go out, his head is on a swivel taking in everything that might be happening. I am pretty sure he gets this from me. Mdm. Kung has often remarked about me seeing everything going on. It might be sometimes better not to see so much. |
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 9, 2024 6:25:34 GMT -8
That reminds me. I was coming down Northlake Way on Sunday after a trip to my hermitage, otherwise known as Green Mountain. I spotted a grand pink magnolia in somebody's front yard that was in early bloom. They are magnificent. Below is a generic photo gathered from the web. I tend to think of them as a southern tree, especially when all the hoopla is made about them during The Masters.  However, from Google Maps, this may be the very tree on Northlake Way. Often these photos are up to a year or more old. I doubt that this is a recent satellite photo. But it could be from about the same time from last year. And that one has to be a gutter-clogger as well. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 9, 2024 8:32:39 GMT -8
That is a beautiful tree. There is a big white magnolia tree about a two minute walk from me. It looks good, but I find the smell cloying. Don't know if pink magnolias have the same scent.
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