Airport Weather Station

[Vlad]

Thank you guys much appreciated! Let me dig into it a bit. I have flown to and from this airport couple times and I found it not challenging. For me at least. There is a good cell coverage, towers are all on mountaintops . I am thinking of my buddies visiting in the summertime. Or any transients in need.

Edit: how a municipal airport gets a wx station? What criteria should it meet?

[Pilot135pd]

Originally Posted by Vlad

Edit: how a municipal airport gets a wx station? What criteria should it meet?

Doesn't matter if they meet any FAA criteria, first step I would do is ask the owners (municipality) if they want to spend the money to purchase, license and maintain it. If not then you're better off doing the previous things on your own.

[DaleB]

Originally Posted by GalinHdz

I can tell you that getting an FCC license for any commercial (this is considered commercial) transmitter is not a simple task.

I think that depends. If you own the airport, or are hired by the airport to provide weather reporting, or get paid or compensated in any way for doing it, then yes -- definitely commercial. If Joe Pilot wants to hang a weather station at the airport it for his own, unpaid, non-commercial use, then I think it would fall squarely into amateur territory, and thus would be a good candidate for APRS.

And yes, due to the nature of radio signals, anyone with a suitable receiver could monitor it... plus it would likely appear on line as well. There's certainly no law against non-hams receiving (or benefiting from) ham radio traffic.

[Pilot135pd]

Originally Posted by DaleB

I think that depends. If you own the airport, or are hired by the airport to provide weather reporting, or get paid or compensated in any way for doing it, then yes -- definitely commercial. If Joe Pilot wants to hang a weather station at the airport it for his own, unpaid, non-commercial use, then I think it would fall squarely into amateur territory, and thus would be a good candidate for APRS.

And yes, due to the nature of radio signals, anyone with a suitable receiver could monitor it... plus it would likely appear on line as well. There's certainly no law against non-hams receiving (or benefiting from) ham radio traffic.

Commercial in this sense isn?t if you?re getting paid to do it, I think he means the frequencies used. Doesn?t matter if you own your airport or any operation like the ones you mentioned, if you?re going to use FCC regulated frequencies (like an ASOS or AWOS or a UNICOM or MULTICOM) then you need a FCC license and that is hard to get.

[larosta]

If you are working with an organization (municipality or other government) that has access to grants or other $$ you might consider something like one of the AWOS systems.

We have been using a SuperAWOS for several years (https://potomac-aviation.com/). I believe that there are several other companies that sell AWOS systems. Installation and commissioning appears to be pretty straightforward and dose not require much more than a hole in the ground.

Expensive? probably. However a government entity might have access to grant funding to cover an installation of one of these systems.

-larosta

[Pilot135pd]

Originally Posted by larosta

If you are working with an organization (municipality or other government) that has access to grants or other $$ you might consider something like one of the AWOS systems.

We have been using a SuperAWOS for several years (https://potomac-aviation.com/). I believe that there are several other companies that sell AWOS systems. Installation and commissioning appears to be pretty straightforward and dose not require much more than a hole in the ground.

Expensive? probably. However a government entity might have access to grant funding to cover an installation of one of these systems.

-larosta

I love the video where it only takes 15 minutes to open the box and install it. They forgot to add the 15 MONTHS before or after to get the FCC license to turn on the switch (unless it?s outside of the USA like it shows in many pictures).

[Ironflight]

Wait....the heck with the weather station! Vlad, are you finally seeing the light and leaving the east coast to live in the scenic lands?!?!

[larosta]

Dutch John , UT! Wow, that witness protection program is getting pretty Flaming Gorge serious.

-larosta

[Guy Prevost]

Originally Posted by Ironflight

Wait....the heck with the weather station! Vlad, are you finally seeing the light and leaving the east coast to live in the scenic lands?!?!

This. Inquiring minds want to know....

[DaleB]

Originally Posted by Pilot135pd

Commercial in this sense isn?t if you?re getting paid to do it, I think he means the frequencies used. Doesn?t matter if you own your airport or any operation like the ones you mentioned, if you?re going to use FCC regulated frequencies (like an ASOS or AWOS or a UNICOM or MULTICOM) then you need a FCC license and that is hard to get.

Probably (I would assume) correct, if you plan to broadcast weather on an aviation frequency. I'm sure the FCC *and* FAA would pour their own special blend of regulatory molasses over the process.

What he asked for was weather while airborne. APRS can do that, without any commercial licensing, given the proper equipment which is neither expensive nor overly complex. It won't broadcast weather in voice format on aviation frequencies like AWOS, though, as you know.