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Are you guys bringing weather monitoring devices?
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Nov 13, 2010 at 6:50 pm #1265454
I have been wanting to get something to record temperature and humidity on trips. Is anyone doing this?
It would be cool to see the temperature difference between the inside of a shelter, and outside air.
If you do bring something, what is it? I'm trying to search for a device to do this, but am having trouble finding something UL…
Nov 13, 2010 at 7:00 pm #1664013Perhaps a Suunto Core or Lumi watch, does barometric pressure, temperature (digital thermometer), altimeter, amongst other functions.
Nov 13, 2010 at 8:43 pm #1664036I use a Casio Pathfinder PAW1300 watch which I've been really happy with. It can record temperature and barometric pressure which lets me crudely predict the weather. I'm more just for fun than actual benefit. It graphs barometric pressure so you can see how it's changing. This is neat in camp, but it doesn't work on the trail because your fluctuating altitude affects barometric pressure.
This watch also does altitude, alarm, compass and time. I like this watch because it's solar powered and it sets itself daily off the atomic clock in New York, so I never need to worry about batteries or if the time is accurate.
Actually using a watch for temperature isn't ideal because you need to take it off your wrist to get an accurate reading. Generally it takes about 10 minutes. It's neat to use for the occasional reading though.
IMO, the Casio watches are nicer looking than the Suunto ones and they are also quite a bit more affordable. You can get one of these new on ebay for ~$150.
Nov 13, 2010 at 8:51 pm #1664038I second the Casio suggestion. I have had my PAW 1500 for a year now, and I love it. Wear it while trekking, wear it to work, and wear it to the bar with a dress shirt. The manly mans Rolex, if you will… ;)
Nov 13, 2010 at 9:12 pm #1664042I like my brunton adc pro. I don't like watches and the brunton also tells me the humidity.
I don't really need it, but I need a clock / alarm and as I don't like to have something around my wrist it serves as weather station as well.
Sometimes you can find it for udner $100.
Nov 13, 2010 at 9:35 pm #1664045Brunton Wind records temperatures for the last 24 hours and then start to overwrite. So you know what the temperature is, and at any time you can see what the temperature was for the past 24 hours. It is slow to respond, but just fine for this sort of thing. $50.
If you want to get serious there are more sophisticated recorders, but they get expensive and heavy if you also want a field display.
Nov 13, 2010 at 9:53 pm #1664047Dallas/Maxim i-button Thermocrons. Most major trips. Temperature and RH.
Only a few grams.Cheers
Nov 14, 2010 at 7:36 am #1664094A Kestral weather meter would be perfect for this as they record all sorts of environmental conditions. I have a 4500NV BT that I use for precision long distance rifle shooting and its a fine piece of equipment, weighs 4 oz if I remember correctly and it cost over $400 – this is way overkill for your intended app but they do have models that start under $100. You can set them to record at different intervals, from 1 minute to 12 hours and export the data into an XLS spreadsheet. Some models monitor the humidity & relative humidity which would be great for testing single wall shelters.
Nov 14, 2010 at 7:55 am #1664098+1 on the Casio — with one major beef. While it's attached to your wrist, it thinks the temperature is 98.6 F. You'll have to hang it from a tree branch to get an accurate temperature.
For that purpose, I carry an old Highgear analog compass (Highgear 20028 Trail Series Trail Pilot 2 Compass) as a backup. It has a fairly accurate digital thermometer embedded. They last about a year before the compass gives up the ghost and the battery on the compass needs replaced. The battery actually costs about half the cost of the compass, so I usually just replace the whole danged thing.
The barometer readout on the Casio is amazing. My old man used to keep a barometer to track the weather. In this part of the country (Ohio), it is often startlingly accurate. When the baro is rising, good weather is ahead. When it plummets, head for shelter. The graphic readout on the baro could save your skin when the baro takes a deep dive.
Stargazer
Nov 14, 2010 at 8:40 am #1664109Thanks for the responses.
Die, what is the weight of the Brunton ADC Pro? That one fits my budget best and has all the features I want.
I also don't like wearing things on my wrist, though I suppose I could fasten a watch-style device onto my pack.
Roger, what's this thermochron thingy you post of? I couldn't find much on it other than that it's some sort of chip? Does it give you the capability to take current readings, or do you have to wait til the trip is finished?
Nov 14, 2010 at 8:46 am #1664112I have the Brunton ADC as well. After cutting off the belt clip thing, and putting on a piece of guyline instead, mine weighs 1.98oz, about .4oz heavier than the generic digital watch I used to wear.
Nov 14, 2010 at 8:47 am #1664113Matthew,
It's a "button" the size of a #357 battery, that requires a USB cradle for configuration and downloading.Nov 14, 2010 at 11:00 am #1664133Weather condition recording is something I do pretty seldom, so to try to dial in some gear I went the cheap route, and bought a $10 unit from Campmor,
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___82086No humidity, but the key feature was that it does record min and max temperature, so I could be certain "what it got down to" during the night.
Another cheap option is to just set your watch alarm for 4 am or so and check the current temperature, it's probably near the low for the night.
Nov 14, 2010 at 11:54 am #1664148Another cheap option. I haven't used this, but I recently read on Just Jeff's Hammmock website (http://www.tothewoods.net/HikingPicturesRampartRange.html) that he got one cheap at Walmart.
I went to the Acu Rite website (that's the brand on the one in Jeff's photos) and it looks like they have a few models really cheap. This $16 one looks like a good one with humidity and min/max temps: http://www.partshelf.com/acu00891.html
I know, I need to learn how to embed the links–sorry.
Nov 14, 2010 at 12:14 pm #1664157Hi Matthew
Herewith drawing from maxim:
As you can see, it is very small. There is no readout in the field, but that does not worry me. If it is cold in the field, it is cold. Tough.
To quote the Maxim datasheet:
"the high-capacity Thermochrons/Hygrochrons allow 8192 readings with time intervals from 1 second to 273 hours. Additionally, the Hygrochron allows for simultaneous temperature and humidity logging and offers selectable resolution settings."Back home I download the data using a little gizmo you can also buy from Maxim, import into Excel, and make a graph, thus:
One blue line is a simple temperature logger, the other (C2) is a combined temp/RH unit. Red is RH. (My colour choices.) The Temp unit sits inside my pack; the temp/RH unit sits outside (to sense RH as well). As you can see, it got down to about -6 C one night. That's not that cold of course.
What the Thermocron cannot tell you is wind-speed. On night 2 it got down to about -5 C, but the wind-speed was over 100 kph. Yep, that was "When things Go Wrong" :-)
Doing this sort of thing requires two trade-offs. The first is weight: these i-Buttons are trivial in weight, but a Brunton data logger is not. The other trade-off or effort is that you have to set up the Maxim software, which is simple but not 100% trivial. Works for me though.
Cheers
Nov 14, 2010 at 2:30 pm #1664181One of those little zipper-pull thermometers on the outside of my pack. 0.3 oz.
Nov 14, 2010 at 6:59 pm #1664268Same as Mary, a zipper pull thermometer.
Nov 14, 2010 at 7:05 pm #1664274Hi Brian
> cheap option is to just set your watch alarm for 4 am and check the current temperature,
Do you mind!?!?
I am fast asleep at 4 am. Not, mind you, that I would hear the alarm going off anyhow!
:-)Cheers
Nov 14, 2010 at 7:12 pm #1664277Zipper pull thermometer tied onto a 3-foot string. I plant it well outside my shelter at night. Then when I first wake up in the morning, I can reel in the string to check the temperature without leaving the sleeping bag. If I left it inside the shelter, it would be offset by body heat.
–B.G.–
Nov 14, 2010 at 7:42 pm #1664285"I am fast asleep at 4 am. Not, mind you, that I would hear the alarm going off anyhow!"
On summer days when hot weather is anticipated, 4 or perhaps 4:30 am is a dandy time to be getting up and starting the day …
That's probably not the time of year when a person is interested in recording low temperatures, however!
Nov 15, 2010 at 9:52 am #1664427It says your cheapo Min/Max Thermometer has an alarm. Do you know / could you check if it continues to sound until you have to physically turn it off? Or will it only sound for like ~10 seconds at a time?
Thanks
Nov 15, 2010 at 11:36 am #1664457Roger,
I'm intrigued by the iButton data loggers. I work in the museum field and data loggers have, for the most part, replaced the old recording hygrothermographs of the past for recording temp/humidity in storage and exhibit areas.
I really hadn't considered taking them on my outdoor outings.
Is it possible to buy these (it looks like the software is downloadable and a single reader can be purchased for $28) in small quantities? It looked as though their pricing was based on 1000s, not single units. Are they basically throwaways or can the battery be replaced.
Thanks!
Chris
Nov 15, 2010 at 2:34 pm #1664497Hi Chris
Maxim have a small-order page for what you want. Yes, even one-offs OK usually. But it is NOT at maxim.com – that's a girlie mag! Try instead
http://www.maxim-ic.com/sales/prototypes.cfm
Ignore the pricing by 1000s – wishful thinking by the Sales Mgr.The battery is not replaceable, so when it is dead you do have to 'throw-away' (or disassemble to see the insides!).
However, I think they quote a minimum 10-year life for the lithium battery. I 'disable' the data collection after every trip, which minimises the battery consumption. I have been using mine for … I dunno, nearly 10 years now! Still on the first one.
The software gave me heaps of hassle at first. Nothing would work. Eventually some kind soul (probably at Maxim) told me to throw away the pathetic attempt MS had made at implementing Java and to download the Sun version. Guess what? It worked immediately. Since then it runs like clockwork.
Cheers
Nov 15, 2010 at 7:15 pm #1664602Roger,
Thanks for the info. I'll check out that link and see if I can figure out what a logger and reader will cost me.
One more question: With it being so small, how do you carry it in a way that doesn't affect its accuracy and you don't lose it.
Chris
Nov 15, 2010 at 8:27 pm #1664620Regarding the digital Acurite, I’ve tested the humidity on several of their models and they vary from 20% to 400% error. Yes it can be 4x off low or high. I wouldn’t trust any hygrometer from Walmart. The same with the brand Springfield. I’ve had good digital accuracy with units from Radio Shack.
Sorry, what I use doesn’t record. I take a large Mercury thermometer that I did get from Walmart. And, ironically, it’s by Acurite (0.6oz) . It’s big so it’s much easier to read accurately than the zipper-pull versions. It’s about 6” tall and 1.75” wide. They’re about $1 in the plumbing or bathroom section.
I like it so if I’m cold, and the thermometer says it’s hot, then I know I have something physically wrong and my brain is playing tricks.
I’ve also noticed that on a 25F night, inside my hexamid tent, it’s about 30F; It’s ironic how that mesh can hold in some heat.Lightweight science instruments are fun.
-Barry -
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