New Product: Bird Deterrent Accessory

Well, I bought three sets to test the abnormal effects and you are already working on an issue.

I wonder if you could implement something like rain check and you basically having a switch in the settings that the user can turn on if they are using the Bird Deterrent. It could take into account when there would be a shadow over the Tempest.

that would be a tour de force, not impossible, but pretty hard.

First, everybody’s spikes are oriented differently, but given enough data it could be derived how yours are positioned.

Second, the effect of the spikes depends a lot on the sky. With a clear sky you will have pretty hard shadows, when there is overcast, there will be hardly any effect of the spikes, and with some other type of clouds you might see shadows but the shadows are more diffuse.

Third, there might be clouds covering the sun occasionally, and the algorithm would need to know when to apply correction due to the spikes and when not, due to a cloud. You cannot “simply” determine a deviation from the expected UV values and apply that correction all the time
On a clear day, it would be possible to correct the data, but add any amount of clouds and it would be pretty hard.
Perhaps not impossible, but as said, it would be a tour de force.

You might wonder the importance of the correction that perhaps could be applied. UV values are probably the most interesting when the sun is high in the sky, when the spikes don’t matter. Brightness/solar irradiation, might be interesting for farmers, but those probably need the integrated values over course of the day, for which the effect of the spikes would be greatly reduced as most of the day, the spikes don’t cast shadows.

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Thanks for explaining that. I’m just trying to think outside the box lol. When I recieve my Tempest, I’m just going to try it without the spikes (I bought the Bird Deterrent just incase). If birds end up sitting on it, I’ll put the spikes up and if that effects the UV readings, I’ll see if I can get some clear plastic ones.

At the end of the day I have never had a “proper” weather station. Only a mini thing that told you the temperature and humidity from Oregon that barely stayed connected. So I don’t know if a bird will perch on it lol. They do tend to perch on the surrounding two-storey houses that are near my house and the TV antennas.

in case of a bird problem, one of the best solutions might be to create a slightly higher spot on the north side, just next to the unit. They might prefer to sit on that.

A small recommendation if you don’t do regular monthly maintenance to clean your Tempest and SKY devices, then you might want to start after adding the Bird Deterrent Accessory if you live in areas with high humidity. I always do monthly maintenance on my weather stations at the first of the month. Today, I was surprise at how nasty all three stations had gotten during the month of August. I’ve never seen them this bad. Hurricane Laura definitely brought higher humidity in South Alabama which allowed the band that holds the spikes in the bird deterrent accessory to mildew. Keep this in mind if you live in areas prone to high humidity.

Before maintenace

After maintenace

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Thanks! I’m in central Alabama and I agree with your assessment about the humidity. Lol

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I do a daily visual inspection if all my weather stations (DVVISS, WFSKY, WFAIR, Tempest° Field Test, Tempest° WeatherSystem and a comprehensive weekly PMI (Preventative Maintenance Inspection) and a quarterly Deep Clean. Besides being the Meteorologist-in-charge of these stations. . .I am also the Chief of Weather Station Operations (CWSO.)

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Just a quick question K.J. . .how or what did you use to clean in between the Air Gap? . . .just plain 'ol H2O? Your Tempest looks Better’d’n Brand New!

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It’s not necessary to delete a post and then repost it.

I meant it as a direct reply to @KJ.Davis and it looked like I didn’t do it the first time so I deleted it.

When you reply to the post above it tags the person. It also shows you whom you are replying to as you reply to the post.

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I know. Just couldn’t remember if I did it that way or not. And I didn’t see where that I replied directly to him after I already posted so I just redid it.

I did a lot of research on ways to safely clean hydrophobic surfaces. Most manufactures of
hydrophobic coatings suggest lightly spraying a clorox solution and then spot dry. That is what I do. It works very well and haven’t seen any harmful effects to the coating in the wind gap.

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K.J. 3 more questions: 1) what is the mix ratio of clorox to water and 2) how long to it leave on and 3) what to use to spot dry – like a paper towel or sponge?

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As far as a mix ratio is concerned, I don’t have an actual number. All I do is pour up some cold water in a small spray bottle and the add a small amount of clorox. I basically eyeball it because you don’t need that much to bleach out the mildew. A few squirts from the bottle on the floor of the wind gap and then use a wet paper towel to spot dry. Gentle taps of the wet paper towel after a few seconds is usually all it takes.

I use a wet paper towel since it is less likely to accidentally rub off any of the coating. Wet makes it less abrasive. It won’t take too long to dry after all the excess is soaked up. Just repeat until all the mildew is bleached out. The process is pretty fast.

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nice addition at a very reasonable price. thanks for not gouging! birds aren’t using mine as a perch yet, but will get one if needed.

For a European: clorox is a synonym for ? I googled and found a bunch of products under the brand “Clorox”.
@KJ.Davis would you please post a link to the product you used ?

glorox is some bleach. In the netherlands we have glorix. It might not be good for the plastic casing though.

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Basically it is diluted chlorine. It’s a bleach.

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