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Columbia Weather Systems Orion Vehicle User Manual

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Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station
1
________________________________________________________________________
Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station™
User Manual
Version 1.02
All specifications subject to change without notice.
Printed in U. S. A.
Columbia Weather Systems, Inc.

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Summary of Contents for Columbia Weather Systems Orion Vehicle

  • Page 1 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station™ User Manual Version 1.02 All specifications subject to change without notice. Printed in U. S. A. Columbia Weather Systems, Inc.
  • Page 2 Columbia Weather Systems, Inc. and their personnel. Reproduction of this material is forbidden without the express written consent of Columbia Weather Systems, Inc. Parts of the Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station™ user manual were adapted from the Weather Transmitter WXT510 User’s Guide with permission from Vaisala Oyj.

  • Page 3: Welcome

    Welcome to the Columbia Weather Systems family of users and congratulations on your purchase of the Orion Weather Station. The Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station is quite easy to install and you may be tempted to skip the installation procedure or other portions of this manual.
  • Page 4 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________...

  • Page 5: Important Notice: Shipping Damage

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Important Notice: Shipping Damage BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER, please inspect all system components for obvious shipping damage. The Orion 510 is a high precision instrument and can be damaged by rough handling. Your unit was packaged to minimize the possibility of damage in transit.

  • Page 6: Esd Protection

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ ESD Protection Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) can cause immediate or latent damage to electronic circuits. Vaisala products are adequately protected against ESD for their intended use. However, it is possible to damage the product by delivering electrostatic discharges when touching, removing, or inserting any objects inside the equipment housing.

  • Page 7: Table Of Contents

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents WELCOME! ..................3 IMPORTANT NOTICE: SHIPPING DAMAGE .......5 ESD P ..................... 6 ROTECTION SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ..........11 ..............11 RION EATHER TATION Features:....................11 ....................12 PECIFICATIONS Temperature....................12 Barometric Pressure .................. 12 Wind Speed ....................
  • Page 8 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ ....31 ONNECTING THE EATHER ISPLAY ONSOLE AND OMPUTER ....32 NSTALLING THE SENSOR TRANSMITTER AND ORTH RIENTATION Installing the Mounting Adapter ..............32 North Alignment..................33 SECTION 4: OPERATION ............35 ................35 OMMUNICATION ETTINGS ..................
  • Page 9 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Pressure ..................... 51 ................. 52 ABLES AND ORMULAS Wind Chill Chart..................52 Wind Chill Equation .................. 52 Heat Index....................53 Dew Point ....................54 Columbia Weather Systems, Inc.
  • Page 10 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________...

  • Page 11: Section 1: Introduction

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION The Orion Weather Station Utilizing cutting-edged ultrasonic technology at an amazingly affordable price, the Orion Weather Station is the newest product in our family of innovative weather monitoring systems. Orion provides ultrasonic wind direction and speed measurements, a highly-accurate impact rain sensor, capacitive relative humidity, temperature and barometric pressure readings –...

  • Page 12: Specifications

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Specifications Temperature Range: -60 to 140° F (-52 to +60° C) Accuracy: ±-0.5° F (±0.3°C) at 68° F (+20° C) Resolution: 0.1° F (0.1° C) Units Available: ° F, °C Barometric Pressure Range: 17.50 to 32.50 InHg (600 to 1100 mbar) Accuracy: ±0.015 InHg (0.5 mbar) at +32 to 86°...

  • Page 13: Rainfall

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Rainfall Range: cumulative Collection Area: 60 cm2 Accuracy: ±5% (spatial variations may exist) Resolution 0.01 in. (0.254mm ) Units Available: mm, inches Input Voltage The Orion is supplied with a wall mount transformer Input: 120 VAC, 60 HZ, 16 W...

  • Page 14: Principles Of Measurements

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Principles of Measurements Wind Measurement Both wind speed and direction are measured using advanced ultrasonic technology. The sensor utilizes ultrasound to determine horizontal wind readings. The array of three equally-spaced ultrasonic transducers on a...

  • Page 15: Barometric Pressure, Temperature, And Relative Humidity (Ptu) Module

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ The wind speed is represented as a scalar speed in selected units (m/s, kt, mph, km/h). The wind direction is expressed in degrees (° ). The wind direction reported indicates the direction that the wind comes from. North is represented as 0°...

  • Page 16: Rainfall Measurement

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ The internal sensor module is easily replaceable and readily available as a spare component. To order a replacement module, please use catalog no. 9581. Rainfall Measurement Rainfall is measured with an impact sensor, which detects the size and impact of individual rain drops.

  • Page 17: Section 2: Physical Description

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ SECTION 2: PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION Orion 510 Sensor Transmitter The Orion 510 Sensor Transmitter is an all-in-one sensor unit containing ultrasonic wind speed and direction sensor, temperature sensor, relative humidity sensor, barometric pressure sensor and an impact rain sensor.
  • Page 18 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Cut Away View 1: Wind Transducers (3 pcs) 2: Precipitation Sensor 3: Pressure sensor inside the Sensor Module 4: Humidity and temperature sensor inside the Sensor Module Bottom of the Transmitter 1: Alignment direction sign...

  • Page 19: Mounting Adapter

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Mounting Adapter To facilitate easy installation and north alignment, the Orion 510 Sensor Transmitter comes standard with a mounting adapter. The mounting adapter is easily connected on the end of the mast and the sensor transmitter simply snaps into it.
  • Page 20 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Terminal Number Signal Color Orange Black SGND Green VIN- White VIN+ For heated sensor transmitters, terminal 17 (HTG-) is connected to the Blue wire and terminal 18 (HTG+) is connected to the Brown wire.

  • Page 21: Heating (Optional)

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Heating (Optional) Heating elements located below the precipitation sensor and inside the wind transducers keeps the precipitation and wind sensors free from snow and ice. A heating temperature sensor (T ) underneath the precipitation sensor controls the heating.

  • Page 22: Orion Interface Module

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Orion Interface Module The Orion Interface Module is used to supply power to the sensor transmitter and to provide two RS-232 communication ports. The RS-232 ports can be connected to computers, display consoles, transceivers,...

  • Page 23: Orion Data Manager Software

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Orion Data Manager Software The Orion Data Manager Software is a virtual Control Module that communicates with the Sensor Transmitter, collects and processes the sensor data and makes it available to over a virtual serial port for other weather software packages such as WeatherMaster 2000 or any terminal programs such as Hyper Terminal.
  • Page 24 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ 6. Orion Data Manager Configuration Dialog: Select the COM port for the input data from the Sensor Transmitter. Usually the Sensor Transmitter is connected to COM1, but in newer notebook computers, a serial port (COM1) is not available. To get a serial port, use a USB to serial converter or a serial port computer card.

  • Page 25: Weather Master 2000™ Software (Optional )

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ WeatherMaster 2000™ ™ ™ ™ Software (Optional) WeatherMaster 2000 is a professional grade weather monitoring software. This software package is designed for specialized markets that require robust weather calculations, interoperability with computer models, and data interfaces to other industrial systems. WeatherMaster 2000 utilizes Microsoft Access database for easy data access and manipulation.

  • Page 26: Weather Display Console (Optional)

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Weather Display Console (Optional) The Weather Display uses “intelligent” touch-screen technology. With its programmable microprocessor and abundant memory, the Capricorn 2000 Weather Display can display weather information, perform complex computations, and store relatively large amounts of weather data.

  • Page 27: Section 3: Installation

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ SECTION 3: INSTALLATION System Configuration Installation Overview Unpacking the Unit Installing the telescoping mast and truck-mount brackets Installing the vehicle mount connector and routing cable Installing the Interface Module Installing and connecting the Weather Display Console and Computer...

  • Page 28: Unpacking The Unit

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Unpacking the Unit The sensor transmitter comes in a custom shipping container. Be careful when removing the device. CAUTION: Beware of damaging any of the wind transducers located at the top of the three prongs. Dropping the device can break or damage the transducers.

  • Page 29: Installing The Telescoping Mast And Vehicle-Mount Brackets

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Save the shipping carton and packing material in case the unit needs to be returned to the factory. If the system does not operate or calibrate properly, see Section 6: Maintenance and Section 7: Troubleshooting, for further instructions.

  • Page 30: Installing The Vehicle Mount Sensor Connector And Routing Cable

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Installing the vehicle mount sensor connector and routing cable 1. To install the female vehicle-mount sensor connector, drill a ¾” hole in close proximity to the sensor mast mounting bracket installation. A recommended location is near the mast’s lower base bracket.

  • Page 31: Connecting The Weather Display Console And Computer

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Connecting the Weather Display Console and Computer Connect the Weather Display Console to the Orion Interface Module using the RJ-11 cable. The Display Console can be connected to either serial port 1 or 2 Connect the Orion Interface Module to the computer using the RJ-11 and DB-9 connector (RS-232 Interface).

  • Page 32: Installing The Sensor Transmitter And North Orientation

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Installing the sensor transmitter and North Orientation Installing the Mounting Adapter NOTE: The sensor transmitter must be installed to an upright, vertical position. 1. Insert the telescoping mast sleeve adapter by screwing it into the threaded portion atop the mast extension.

  • Page 33: North Alignment

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ North Alignment North Orientation. Locate the alignment arrow and text North on the underside of the transmitter. With the mast mounted on the vehicle, extend the mast to its fullest extension. Before tightening the mast into place, use the field compass provided to orient the transmitter in such a manner that the alignment arrow points to Magnetic North.
  • Page 34 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ 1. If the sensor transmitter is already mounted, loosen the fixing screw on the mounting adapter. 2. Use a compass to determine that the transducer heads are exactly in line with the compass and that the arrow on the bottom of the transmitter points to north.

  • Page 35: Section 4: Operation

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Section 4: Operation Communication Settings The protocol for both serial ports is the following: Bits per Second (baud rate): 9600 Data bits: 8 Parity: None Stop bits: 1 Flow control: None Weather software Once an RS-232 connection is made between the computer and the Orion Interface Module and the Orion Data Manager is installed, commands can be issued to the weather station using a "Terminal"...

  • Page 36: Continuous Display Of Weather Information

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Example: S,02/11/98,11:09,36WD,003WS,00.06R,072RH,29.88P1,+050.59T1,+070.77T2,+068.23T3,+064.6 0T4,04.43LW,0.00X1,0.00X2,6007ok Where, WD is wind direction, WS is wind speed in MPH, R is rain fall in inches, RH is relative humidity percentage, P1 is barometric pressure in Inches-Hg, T1 is air temperature in degrees F. T2 through T4 are not used, LW, X1 and X2 are also not used.
  • Page 37 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ S,02/11/98,17:44,24WD,001WS,00.08R,085RH,29.82P1,+048.56T1,+070.85T2,+067.24T3,+065.0 8T4,01.74LW,0.00X1,0.00X2,6014 W00224 W00224 W00124 W00124 W00124 W00120okok An <Esc> followed by a carriage return terminates this command. XSET: This command defines the frequency the Sample record is displayed in the XFER output. The default frequency of the Sample record in the XFER output is 15 seconds.
  • Page 38 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ S,05/01/99,09:46,40WD,000WS,00.00R,023RH,29.10P1,+070.72T1,+255.00T2,04.80LW,5.00X1,0 .10X2,4928okok An <Esc> followed by a carriage return terminates this command. The output will stop after one more Sample record is issued. For example, if CONT is set to repeat the Sample record every 15 seconds (15 CONT) and an <ESC><RETURN>...

  • Page 39: Section 5: Calibration

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ SECTION 5: CALIBRATION Calibrating the Barometric Pressure Sensor Altitude Setting After calibration at the factory, the altitude is set to zero. To get an accurate barometric pressure reading, the local altitude needs to be set in the weather software and the display console.

  • Page 40: Calibrating The Temperature Sensors

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Calibrating the Temperature Sensors Even though the temperature sensor is calibrated at the factory to ±0.5° F and requires no further calibration, the sensor reading can be adjusted using the TCAL1 command. Using a terminal program enter a temperature offset using the TCAL1 command.

  • Page 41: Section 6: Maintenance

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ SECTION 6: MAINTENANCE This chapter contains instructions for the basic maintenance of sensor transmitter. Cleaning To ensure the accuracy of measurement results, the sensor transmitter should be cleaned when it gets contaminated. Leaves and other such...

  • Page 42: Factory Calibration And Repair Service

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Factory Calibration and Repair Service Send the device to Columbia Weather Systems, Inc. for calibration and adjustment, see Section 8: USER SUPPORT INFORMATION for more information.

  • Page 43: Section 7: Troubleshooting

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Section 7: Troubleshooting This chapter describes common problems, their probable causes and remedies. Problem Possible Cause Action Wind measurement Blockage (trash, Remove the failure. Both the leaves, branches, blockage. speed and direction bird nests) between...
  • Page 44 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________...

  • Page 45: Section 8: User Support Information

    Follow the packing instructions carefully to protect your instrument in transit. Limited Warranty Columbia Weather Systems, Inc. (CWS), warrants the Orion 510 Weather Station to be free from defects in materials and/or workmanship when operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s operating instructions, for one (1) years from date of purchase, subject to the provisions contained herein.

  • Page 46: Return For Repair Procedure

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ ABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXCLUDED. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. Return for Repair Procedure In the event of defects or damage to your unit, first call the...
  • Page 47 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Send to: Columbia Weather Systems, Inc. 2240 NE Griffin Oaks Street, Suite 100 Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 C.O.D. shipments will not be accepted. If your unit is under warranty, after repair or replacement has been completed, it will be returned by a carrier and method chosen by Columbia Weather, Inc.
  • Page 48 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________...

  • Page 49: Reference

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Reference Glossary Aspirating Radiation Shield A device used to shield a sensor such as a temperature probe from direct and indirect radiation and rain while providing access for ventilation. Barometric Pressure The pressure exerted by the atmosphere as a consequence of gravitational attraction exerted upon the “column”...

  • Page 50: Relative Humidity

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Relative Humidity Popularly called humidity. The ratio of the actual vapor pressure of the air to the saturation vapor pressure. Sea Level Pressure The atmospheric pressure at mean sea level, either directly measured or, most commonly, empirically determined from the observed station pressure.

  • Page 51: Unit Conversion

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Unit Conversion Speed Kilometers per hour = 1.610 x miles per hour Knots = 0.869 x miles per hour Meters per second = 0.448 x miles per hour Feet per second = 1.467 x miles per hour Temperature Temperature in °...

  • Page 52: Tables And Formulas

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Tables and Formulas Wind Chill Chart Temperature in ° F Wind (MPH) -107 -112 -125 -110 -124 -138 -103 -118 -133 -147 -109 -124 -139 -154 -113 -128 -144 -159 -100 -116 -131 -147...

  • Page 53: Heat Index

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Heat Index Temperature in ° F 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 103 107 111 117 120 102 107 111 116 122 126 100 105 111 116 123 131 102 108 115 123 131...

  • Page 54: Dew Point

    Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Dew Point B = (ln (RH/100) + ((17.2694*T) / (238.3+T))) / 17.2694 Dew Point in °C = (238.3 * B) / (1-B) Where: RH = Relative Humidity T = Temperature in °C Ln = Natural logarithm...
  • Page 55 Orion Vehicle Mount Weather Station ________________________________________________________________________ Columbia Weather Systems, Inc. 2240 NE Griffin Oaks Street, Suite 100 Hillsboro, OR 97124-6463 Telephone (503) 629-0887 (503) 629-0898 Web Site http://www.columbiaweather.com Email info@columbiaweather.com Version 1.02 Printed in U.S.A. Columbia Weather Systems, Inc.

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