Photos of Sky and Installation

Hi, can you show how you mounted your mast? Can’t manage to have something stiff enough. Yet I mounted on carbon windsurf mast, and have false rain with vibrations of wind.
Thanks.

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Hi alibertp. Here is how mine is mounted. I have experienced no false rain but also no high winds due to surrounding high trees. I may shift to a three point mount which attaches to both fascia boards and the peak and has two U-bolts for the mast. The single U-bolt mount for mine is not very stable so I had to add a zip-tie and plastic spacer above it to secure the aluminum tube to the roof cap. (at the upper bolt - not shown in photo) I also added the wood block to stiffen the aluminum bracket as shown in the photo. This is a temporary fix until I get a more substantial mast support.

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WF, Ambient 2902 & Acurite 5-in-1. They are level, must have been leaning when I took the photo😁

https://smartweather.weatherflow.com/share/4790

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After about 4 months I finally got my Sky moved from where it had been sitting on a rake handle in the backyard IMG_3132-2a

And repurposed an old satellite dish mount and put the Sky up above the roof peak. Attached bamboo skewers for bird deterrence and realized after getting it all situated up there and all the bolts tightened that I’m going to need a longer ladder when it comes time to change the batteries or I’ll have to disassemble the mount to get it down again.

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Looks like you have galvanized floor flange with short nipple and a 4 ft galvanized pipe on top of that. Is this stable in the wind without guy wires, and what size screws do you use to secure the flange?
I’m considering a similar installation with 4-5 ft pipe but I’m concerned about the weight of the pole and sway, and I’d rather not get into guying.

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Good eye! That 1” galvanized pipe is very rigged, no sway at all. Total height is about 14ft AGL. I Am thinking about trying a an 8ft pipe soon. I used standard wood screws about 3 inches long on top of my post to hold the base plate. Easy to take down for any maintenance needed. Just unscrew it! I put on my Sky on the pipe and marked north at the bottom of the pipe so to know where north is. Very simple install.

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Had gusts a little over 28mph today & no false rain! I think it can go well over that speed without false rain.

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Finally got the pole mounted and the Sky installed out in the open. Not a perfect location, but there’s a lot of stuff up there…! This is one of three in the Turks & Caicos…

IMG_1999

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I’ve had dreams like this…nice to know they exist somewhere! Keep up the good work.

Gary L

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New owner here and just set up the Sky and Air. My situation is a bit different then most of these pictures and wanted some advice. I live in a newly constructed neighborhood and have HOA’s that will not allow me to put the SKY on the roof (at least not with a 10 foot poll) so my question is how have others that are in neighborhoods with strict HOA’s set up their SKY? As of right now just to make it work I have it set up on a PVC pipe near the house so that it does not stand out to much. Would like to see examples of folks who have them posted on their roof line but only a foot or two above. Thanks and excited to be a part of the user group.

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Does the HOA have restrictions on flag poles???

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yep you can have a flag hanging from your front porch but not an actual flag poll.

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As much as I like messing with HOA and local code enforcement officials for fun, the only way that you are going to get an ideal siting is to either move or find a remote place outside of the HOA where you can set up your station…

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since I just moved into this house a month ago, I don’t think I can go thru that any more…lol Thanks and I will make due just wanted to see if others had any suggestions.

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Technically, the FCC overrides HOA’s (usually) in that antennas can not be limited. Since the SKY is a low power transmitter, perhaps you can argue that to the HOA? Just brainstorming here.

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no, I’d suggest that’s quite a bit of a stretch. The HOA is definitely going to win if they restrict antenna, flag poles, and the like. I could see their intent also including things like massive Ham antenna and associated guy wires and the like as well.

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Recommendations:

  1. Ignore HOA rules. At worse, they probably will put a small lien of the property. You can always go in front of the board and plead your case that you are providing accessible weather information for the whole community.
  2. Don’t use a ten foot pole. I am getting good results only about 3 feet above the roof line.
  3. Set it up on the roof when nobody is watching.
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Hi @khart123 . Welcome, and thanks for being a WeatherFlow customer. :sunglasses:

Regarding the need to mount your SKY way up on the roof… actually, it is not imperative that users mount their SKY up in some scary or HOA non-compliant location. Sure, if you can access a location free of physical obstructions that impact the wind fetch you will get cleaner wind readings. And yes, there are meteorological standards for professional installation sites for government networks. But, let’s be real here, this is your home, your data, your choice to mount your SKY wherever you feel comfortable.

At WeatherFlow we’ve been measuring wind for over 20 years. (We got so good at it that folks like the US Navy, Dept of Homeland Security, and the America’s Cup hire us as special wind consultants.) To do it correctly is a highly involved process that combines excellent siting (that can take months of scouting locations) in addition to quality equipment. You’ve got the quality equipment, but your siting is limited to your house and yard. Most likely, even if you mounted your SKY exactly 10 meters off the ground (WMO standard for surface winds), your wind speed measurements would still suffer due to your surroundings.

So, our advice is: don’t worry about it too much. Wind is the one parameter that is extremely difficult to normalize from a home installation. You should optimize the siting of your SKY for personal utility rather than to meet difficult government standards.

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Thank you and thanks everyone for the feedback. My hope was to have others that live in a residential place that has tougher HOA rules, post some pictures. I have it on a PVC pipe that is about 4 feet tall that seems to be working. Thanks again and happy to be a part of the community.

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Here is a picture of the current set up and will be looking for additional options over the next few weeks. image

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