RayProudfoot wrote:Hi Pete,
Thanks for the pic of the anemometer. My first thought is why is the transmitter so high? Would it not be more accessible closer to the ground? There is enough cable. Fully understand your reluctance to place the ane so high it becomes difficult to access. I took the decision to have mine fitted by an aerial guy but it does mean I need to get him around when it malfunctions. Time will tell if I made the right decision.
Hi Ray
It's not easily visible on the photo but about 0.5m below the transmitter, there is a joining sleeve to join the upper 1.5m pole to the lower 3m one. Therefore, come maintenance time, I just lower the whole pole down by loosening but not removing the bracket clamps, then remove the top section with transmitter & anemometer then onto the bench for service. I did think about mounting the transmitter separately to the wall & may yet do, the main advantage would be lower wind loading on the pole. A 'virtual visit' to your location via streetview a couple of weeks ago and it looks like that's what you have done. It does get full light exposure all day at that height though.
RayProudfoot wrote:I've been thinking about the round aluminium pole fitting in a round spike. To remove the rain guage you have to twist it with quite a bit of pressure. There could be a danger that the pole rotates with it. That would not be good. That's one advantage of post mounting. Is it securely fitted inside the hollow spike? Have you had to remove the gauge yet for cleaning and if so, was it a problem.
We'd have to go a long time without rain for clay to dry out. I think you'll be okay.
I have clamped the outer ground spike tube tightly around the inner mounting pole using a Jubilee clip after 'slotting' about a 4cm length of the ground spike across it's diameter with a hacksaw so rotation when removing the rain gauge is not a problem.
steve wrote:Thanks, Pete. £198 . The (incompatible) US version is about half that. I know that's not John's fault, but it's hard to fathom.
As others have said it's not the end retailers problem, it's the "Rip Off Britain" syndrome driven by the main single importer & possibly the overseas supplier as well, just as with everything else that comes in.
I did check the French price this morning via their single importer (the unit is the same overseas version) and things were not that much better (Euro219) at current £/Euro exchange rates (and you'd need to be there anyway or get someone you know who's going to bring it back).