It seems quite windy out there but the weather station is reporting 0 gusting to 18! There seem to be a lot of zeros lately.

Aberystwyth RNLI is stuck at 14:10 yesterday so it's not a good day for weather stations :-(

And Aberdovey RNLI has come up with 403 forbidden for a while!

I'm not at home at this exact moment so can't check it, but it was working perfectly all day yesterday, and this morning. It's also showing a max gust of 21.4 knots in the last hour, so maybe the wind has just dropped off completely for a while.

Looks as though there is a squall about to hit here in Aber though so maybe we'll since once that rolls through.

Al.

Think I’ll have to take a climb up the pole to take a look at it once the winds drops off enough.

Al.

Thanks. It's only averaging 4 knots at the moment so you should be fine up the pole - if you believe it! It sounds a lot more here.

I'll at least wait until it is light! Although, now that it is actually windy it seems OK.

Al.

It seems a lot more believable now. Maybe there is a dodgy connection somewhere as there seemed to be a lot of zeros.

No, there's something wrong with the actual anemometer... The cups seem to spin fine but then keep stopping. I'll climb the pole once it's calm enough and will take it down, service it and see if that helps. If not, I'll have to buy a new one.... I'll check first to see when I last replaced it as the anemometer is getting on form £200.

Al.

Just a quick update now that the wind has dropped... The anemometer does seem to be sticking, but fortunately I don't have to buy a complete replacement this time. Last time I replaced it, I upgraded to the latest version which is a little more modular than the previous version. This one has a replaceable 'wind cartridge' that contains the main moving parts and the bearings so I should be able to replace just that... At a cost of £35 not £175.

I've got one ordered that should arrive soon so I'll replace it once it's here.

I did however notice that they now have an ultrasonic Anemometer that has no moving parts. It works by measuring the transit characteristics of ultrasound pulses across its sensor transducers. The lack of moving parts means that it is more resilient to harsh environments such as coastal areas... I'd like to try one of these out but it's brand new technology and therefore doesn't come cheap at £660 just for the anemometer.

Al.

I wonder how long you will be able to resist the new technology! ;-)

I know.... I can't resist it already. Trouble is I can't afford it either.

Hopefully the replacement cartridge will arrive today or tomorrow. There looks as though there might be a bit of wind around on Saturday but hopefully not enough to prevent me from climbing the telegraph pole to fix it.

Al.

I've been up the pole this afternoon - lovely day for it and some lovely views of the estuary at high tide from there.... Better than looking down anyway!!

All seems to be fixed for the time being.

Al.

Thanks for fixing it Alan

No worries.... Although, I do think there is a time in one's life when it becomes better to send your son up the ladder while you hold it rather than the other way around! Not for a few years yet though.

Al.

Thanks Alan. I hope you haven't got a chimney that needs cleaning! ;-)