Weather Station Shield with Fan by UptonAK

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This is a solar radiation shield for temperature probes for your weather station. It is printed as one part and designed to not require supports.
Parts:
Solar Panels Link: http://a.co/d0yJKwk (Note: I would recommend the 180mA version of these as the fan has a hard time starting in some lighting conditions- N40deg in March. This is especially true the further north you are)
Fan Link: http://a.co/8xOeF7I
Assembly:

Route fan wires- this can vary depending on your fan wire length. I was able to thread the connectors though the slot in the top with tweezers by removing the small clip retaining the wires on the fan shroud. As long as you are careful during assembly, the wires wont get pulled after installation. You can also route jumpers though, enlarge the hole at the top, or even route the wires externally. The point is to just get them connected to the solar panel on top.


Screw fan into mount. My 30mm fan came with 4x 2.5mm screws so that is what the holes in the model are sized for. I found the ones on the outside wall were a bit loose but you dont need much to hold it in.


Solder wires to panel. Again, depending on your components you may need longer wires. My panel had pads near the center so I soldered the ends of the jumpers directly to them and perpendicular to the board surface.


Secure panel. I pushed the wires back into housing after soldering and used thick CA glue at four points to secure it. Its important the panel does not directly touch the top surface of the shield or it will transfer heat, thus defeating the purpose.


Insert temp probe. Here I used a DS18B20 one wire probe. Push it all the way to the top, clip the wire into opening and then pull back down to seat it. Its important it is not touching the top of the shield.

attach to post. I just used zip ties. I know most other sensors are suspended from an external brace to reduce contact and create distance from whatever is supporting it. feel free to make a remix. there is a nice flat surface to add things on to!