Crestline Soaring Society

So, the Simba weather station went off line a couple of Sundays ago and a simple reboot didn't get it back online. On inspection I found that the weather equipment was fine and that the mini computer between it and the internet wasn't connecting to the LAN via ethernet. The only way to communicate with the device is via the LAN, so I had to send it in for service. This is the machine we repaired this summer by replacing the motherboard, keeping the RAM and the Flash memory with the OS and programs already on them, to the tune of $300. I expect the manufacturer to cover the failure under warranty.

Today I got a note from the Balls, upon whose roof the anemometer and wind vane (and webcam, unaffected) are mounted. He said that the supporting mast had bent and broken and was laying on the roof, with plastic bits making it down to the deck. You'll recall that a while back I replaced the anemo cups, gluing them on since we'd lost some in very high winds. I also installed guy wires from the north side to minimize swaying of the mast. The mast is on the extreme south end of the house, so there's nothing to anchor guy lines to from that direction. I have a vague idea about attaching a south-pointing bar, several feet long, to the 4" steel mast that the antenna mast is bolted to and running a guy wire up from the end of that. The south-pointing bar would be high enough that it wouldn't obstruct the Ball's view or their use of the deck.

I haven't gotten any word from the computer folks yet. I'll probably be able to get a look at the mast and sensors next week and have that up and ready by the time the computer comes back.

Simba Mast and Broken Sensor: Looks like a whole new wind vane/anemometer will be needed. Perhaps we can send it in for repair.