Personal Weather Stations affected by welding?

[DickyDoDah]

Hi all, I have a PWS, personal weather station and I'm considering adding a lightning sensor. However I'm expecting that any welding I do nearby will register as a strike. As this is the font of all that is known, will be known and not known yet I thought I'd ask the group consciousnes if there is anyone with realtime experience? All theories and wild guesses are also welcome but as an electrical engineer I already know the theory and I was wondering how far away from the welding would be a sensible minimum distance?

 

[Wildefalcon]

Don't have it in the workshop? I doubt the welder would ionise the air all around the property. Or even in the workshop!

 

[voipio]

Some of these lightning detectors have a sensitivity adjustment, to try to reduce false positives (but which will also reduce detection range). Positioning the detector as far away from the welding process, and other sources of interference, whilst still maintaining its RF link to the weather station central receiver would be the way to go, but expect some false positives. Electric fences nearby would be one source.

 

[DickyDoDah]

I agree with the comments so far but was hoping for a real world experience.
The actual weather station is on a pole 2m above the metal roof of the workshop. The base station is in the house about 50m away. They communicate by 868Mhz wireless and the lightning sensor (which I haven't bought yet) is an aditional sensor which actually can go anywhere. I have the option to mount it on an existing pole at the house end or indeed anywhere in between so I can keep it away from any potential false positives. I know that the electrical noise from my inverter MIG isn't much as I listen to Internet radio over WiFi in the workshop whilst using it with no problems and they are both inside the building. I was more wondering if the sensor which can detect lightening up to 25 miles away would see the initial MIG strike as a positive, much the same question regarding DC TIG. Easy to test all the scenarios and settings so I might just buy one and see how it goes and it might make for an (semi) interesting thread.

 

[T5 TDI]

Sorry I can't help with your question but I do have a PWS. I haven't bothered with a lightning detector because we rarely get it here. I have only added 3 soil moisture detectors for Mrs T's citrus pots and a hanging basket. I do already have wind speed and direction, pressure, indoor and outdoor temps. I live on an exposed headland so it's wind and rain that mainly concern me. It's nice that all the data is online so I can see if the garden is dry or the fence needs shoring up when I'm away, even aboard. I'm guessing you are already on wxforum.net but someone on there will know the answer.

 

[DickyDoDah]

Actually I've not looked at wxforum.net as I'm not really that into this weather stuff. I've had a station for years that I got in a sale but it was always a bit naff. Once it stopped working I decided to buy a reasonable one as I thought it would be a change from buying tools I don't really need We don't get much lightning round here either but I saw a few flashes the other evening and it made me think... always a dangerous thing. I shall continue investigating.

 

[brightspark]

Actually I've not looked at wxforum.net as I'm not really that into this weather stuff. I've had a station for years that I got in a sale but it was always a bit naff. Once it stopped working I decided to buy a reasonable one as I thought it would be a change from buying tools I don't really need We don't get much lightning round here either but I saw a few flashes the other evening and it made me think... always a dangerous thing. I shall continue investigating.

well it wont stop you getting struck so i wouldnt bother about it

 

[T5 TDI]

well it wont stop you getting struck so i wouldnt bother about it

I had a friend who got struck my lightning and broke his ankle on the same day. True story..

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I had a friend who got struck my lightning and broke his ankle on the same day. True story..

Was he called "Lucky Eddie"?

 

[T5 TDI]

Unlucky Dave! Actually, it was true but a slight exaggeration. I'd better tell the story.. We were enjoying some really good high wind windsurfing before an approaching storm at Shoreham by sea when there were a few rumbles of thunder. I came straight in since a windsurfer mast is a 10 foot carbon fibre lightning conductor. He wasn't so bothered until the first lightning flash. Just as he came in he got caught by the 4 foot shore dump and hurt his ankle (which later turned out to be fractured) when we helped (dragged) him and his kit in to the beach safe from the by now howling wind he said that he 'felt' the flash of lightning through his wet hands on the boom. So I imagine it must have been some kind of charge from the nearby strike.