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What is a Wireless Weather Station?

Ken Black
Ken Black

A wireless weather station is a device that keeps track of many different weather conditions remotely and then displays them on a readout in another location. In some cases, a wireless weather station may transmit this information over great distances. In other cases, the transmission distance may only be a dozen feet or less.

A wireless weather station usually monitors everything that most would like to know about the weather. Often, the temperature is one of the most important conditions recorded. Most also offer a readout on the wind speed and direction, as well as the barometric pressure. In some cases, some wireless weather stations may even be capable of monitoring and measuring the amount of precipitation.

A wireless weather station collects temperature and other meteorological information.
A wireless weather station collects temperature and other meteorological information.

A wireless weather station has a number of advantages, especially for those who monitor the weather as part of a daily job, such as news organizations. These organizations often need a dependable way to get information from a remote station to another location, such as a newsroom. In the past, these stations may have paid someone to read and relay the information, or depended on volunteers.

The wireless weather station, in most of these cases, is connected to the destination via a satellite or cellular technology. Then, this information can be reported over the airwaves. This allows a news organization to keep track of the weather in many different locations of their coverage areas. Some news organizations even stream the data collected by these stations onto the Internet in real time.

For the home user, wireless weather station units are also available. These units are more simply made than professional units, mainly because there is no need to transmit the data over large distances. In most cases, the wireless weather station is mounted somewhere outside near the owner's home. The readout portion of the system is inside the home. The data is transmitted via some sort of wireless technology, such as WiFi or radio waves, and the data is then read inside the home.

In many cases, a wireless weather station is capable of storing a number of historical data points, such as record highs and lows observed, the highs and lows for the previous 24-hour period. This helps those who wish to compare data and keep a record of the information for their personal use. However, some may not be capable of storing this information.

The cost of a wireless weather station is largely dependent on the features. Those which record more data and those which transmit over greater distances cost more money. Units can be found for sale for less than $100 US Dollars and go up from there.

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    • A wireless weather station collects temperature and other meteorological information.
      By: Kruwt
      A wireless weather station collects temperature and other meteorological information.