Device Side Tab

COM port selection

The desired COM port can be selected from the drop down menu.  Port settings are fixed, as displayed below.

Test COM port

Click this button to confirm that the correct COM port has been selected.

Cycle time

Master Mode: The time, in seconds, between readings of the CloudWatcher.

Remote Mode: The time, in seconds, between readings of the Parameters Transfer File.

Timeout

Master Mode: The time, in seconds, within which the CloudWatcher should update its readings.

Remote Mode:  The time, in seconds, within which the Parameters Transfer File should be updated.

Units selection

Various combinations of temperature and wind units can be selected.

Altitude selection

Enter the altitude of the CloudWatcher in meters.  The altitude is used to convert pressure readings to Mean Sea Level.

Rains sensor heater parameters

The Rain Sensor Heater Parameters are used by the program to adjust the power to the rain sensor heating element in order to avoid the formation of condensation on the rain sensor surface.

The field Temp of the Low column corresponds to the ambient temperature (ºC), below which the rain sensor operational temperature is kept at the value defined in the Delta field. For example, in the case illustrated in figure above, for ambient temperatures below 0ºC the rain sensor operational temperature will be kept at 6ºC.

The field Temp of the High column corresponds to the ambient temperature (ºC), above which the rain sensor operational temperature will be kept at the ambient temperature + the value defined in the Delta field.  For example, in the case illustrated in figure above, for temperatures greater than 20ºC the rain sensor operational temperature will be adjusted to the ambient temperature + 4ºC.

For ambient temperatures comprised between Low Temp and High Temp values, the system will calculate an increment which is directly proportional to the ambient temperature and limited by the Low Delta and High Delta values. This increment is added to the ambient temperature to establish the rain sensor operational temperature.

The Min. parameter defines the minimum heating level. This parameter corresponds to minimum level of heating at which the rain sensor heater is kept and it may create a situation where the rain sensor temperature is above the value calculated by the previous parameters.

The Heat Impulse mechanism has the objective to dry the rain sensor surface if the rain sensor stays continuously Wet / Rain for the period of time defined by the Cycle field (in seconds).

The duration of the pulse is given by the Durat field (in seconds) and the pulse intensity is calculated in terms of the rain sensor temperature as the value of the ambient temperature (ºC) + the Temp field (ºC).

Setting any of the fields Durat, Temp, Cycle to zero disables this mechanism. It is recommended to use values smaller than 15.

Sky temperature correction factors

The values of the constants K1 to K7 can be set / amended here.  For the full meaning of these constants, please refer to Appendix 1.

Switch control

Enable or disable the hardware switch. 

Note:  The switch retains its state when disabled.  This can lead to an undesirable mismatch between the reported safe / unsafe state and the state of the switch. Excercise caution when disabling the switch.

Safe Condition Delay Period

When a condition changes from unsafe to safe, the software will wait for this time, in seconds, before changing its state to safe. 

The purpose of the delay is to ensure that the weather has definitely improved before allowing the roof to be opened and an obervation to be continued.

Cloud Alarm Delay

When cloud is sensed, the software will wait for this time, in seconds, before registering unsafe.

The purpose of the delay is to avoid a small amount of cloud causing a session to abort.

Note:  The delay only affects the Cloud section of the unsafe conditions.

Temperature offsets

Depending on the location of the CloudWatcher, ambient temperature can differ from the IR temperature by several degrees.  It is possible to offset either value to meet the user's specific requirements.

Anemometer selection

There are currently two anemometers in service, which differ in colour.  The correct model can be selected here.