Why do they land on the bright white Tempest then? 
If the lightning sensor wasnât in the Tempest, Iâm thinking that a Jacobâs Ladder might be just the trick to keep birds awayâŚ
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I made a lot of those as a kid. I miss playing in my dadâs garage.
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I wonder if this is the case. If it can work out abnormal rain, it can probably work out abnormal light. But I have no idea and would leave the experts to answer this one.
Itâs probably because they can see it. Need to some how camouflage it lol.
I know people use CDâs to keep birds away. Maybe hanging them from the spikes may help but it may affect the sensors below preventing complete data to them.
Iâm willing to try all these tricks to see which one works best when I get the Tempest.
When people install the Bird Deterrent, please let me know how it goes. I might actually buy 2 spikes and use one as a test (painting them white) and see if it has any effects on the senors and birds.
Try monofilament strung across the top between a couple of the spikes.
Brainstorm! Iâm wondering if ABS 3D printer filament (1.75 mm) or weed whacker filament (2.85 mm?) would deter the birds and collapse in a springy way if they tried to perch on it? 
Many of us have the weed whacker filament in our garages/sheds, and lord knows that I have spools of 1.75 ABS filament in every color of the rainbow sitting on the shelfâŚ
Thatâs not a bad idea using fishing line but you would have to make it really tight otherwise it would risk the bird getting tangled in the stuff.
You can get a 300 foot roll of monofilament for a few bucks at any store that sells fishing gear. Clear will work as birds see it and wonât go near it. Itâs used here on the Florida coast around and above restaurant outside seating areas to keep birds out. 2 crossing lines should be all that is needed.
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You donât need to be an expert as you can already see v it in your data as it is already the case with partially clouded weather. You can see a strong increase in UV values compared to a full blue sky. This can be as much as 25%
.
You might even have experienced it yourself⌠on a bright day with some clouds, you feel more need to wear sunglasses then on clear day without clouds.
You can test it yourself, on a clear day with the sun coming from one direction hold a sheet of white paper next to the sensor.
I donât even have the Tempest yet and this will be my first ever weather station. Iâm an Australian backer on Kickstarter. I just got the Backerkit form the other day so filled it out and now waiting for it to be shipped. So really have nothing to test atm until it arrives. Iâm just going to see how it goes in all scenarios so I can get the most accurate data possible out of it.
When people install the Bird Deterrent, please let me know how it goes.
I had ordered the AmbientWeather crown before the WF crown was released. I didnât have high hopes as the spikes are not that high and even bending the spikes in seems to leave a fairly large landing pad. So far, Iâve not seen any birds roosting.
to follow up on my theoretical calculations, here is a little experiment I did. Instead of waiting for the shadow to pass over the Teflon window for the UV sensor, I simply took the unit outside, waited a few minutes, then rotated the unit so the shadow goes straight over the window, waited again a few minutes and rotated so the shadow is no longer on the window. The result is a clear dip in the UV values. Itâs about a 25% dip. This was done near the end of the day, so UV values arenât very high.
If you donât have a bird problem, just donât use these spikes.
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Hmm interesting. If the spikes were clear plastic would it make a big difference? Are you able to test this?
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i donât have a small clear plastic rod at hand, but interesting test. Once you have your unit, you should be able to test it. Note that youâre living much closer to the equator then I do, and therefore your shadows are generally speaking shorter, so it is only a problem just after sunrise and before sunset.
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Iâll give it a go when I receive it. I should be getting the Tempest soon as my payment for the add-ons was taken and my shipping address has been locked.
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I have a station along the coast in PCB. Would those needles corrode in that salty/humid airmass?
even if they do corrode (iâm not saying they do), you could easily replace them every 5 years.
I put my bird deterrent device out on 8/13. So far, no bird landings.
Only if stainless steel corrodes in that environment.
Thatâs an unfortunately side effect we are experimenting with ways to mitigate. You may be able to avoid this issue in a couple ways:
- Rotate the spikes that shade the sensor so they face outward. This should reduce the length of the shadow significantly without changing the overall effectiveness of the deterrence by much.
- Remove the spikes that shade the sensor the most. Again, that should not change the effectiveness by much; 8 or 9 spikes should be almost as unappealing to a bird as 10.
Right. This is the best advice!
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