​OSi’s APG-815-DS (All Precipitation Gauge) uses proven optical scintillation technology and offers many performance and maintenance advantages over traditional tipping bucket and weighing type rain gauges.

These advantages include:

• Measurement of instantaneous precipitation rate; rainfall as light as 0.1 mm/hr. easily measured; no evaporation errors; can handle extremely high rain rates > 500mm/hr.; no overflow or mechanical limits to worry about
• No moving parts; operates 24/7 under harsh field conditions. No antifreeze chemicals
• Dust / dirt on lenses does not affect measurement; ultra-low maintenance
• Wind does not create sampling problems. Slant path rain errors are negligible
• RS- 232 digital output allows instant / detailed analysis of event
• Functions in all weather; our sensors are operating on every continent year-round (including Antarctica)
• Intelligent sensor; automatic correction and continuous internal monitoring; operates unattended
• Pays for itself in maintenance & replacement costs alone; no on-site monitoring needed; lasts for years
• Flexible mounting, even on moving platforms (buoys / shipboard); nominal 12VDC power

In addition to rain and snow water equivalent rate and accumulation the APG-815-DS reports present weather codes in NWS and WMO formats. Traditional rain and precipitation gauges cannot report present weather codes.

Adaptive Heater Technology (AHT) is used to conserved power. The lens heaters are only energized when needed. This means the APG-815-DS is appropriate for solar powered installations. Solar
power combined with OSi cellular phone makes the APG-815-DS ideal for remote installations and networks.

OSi’s sensors have more than 600 million hours of proven field operation in all climates. MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) for OSi instruments is greater than 80,000 hours. The APG® operates unattended 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The instrument uses proprietary algorithms that eliminate the need for frequent calibration.

Field calibration every two years is typical. The APG® has AGC (Automatic Gain Control) to compensate for signal loss. The sensor also employs a comprehensive self-test that updates once per minute and reports any potential problems in the output message.

To learn more visit: https://opticalscientific.com/pdf/brochures/APG/APG-815-DS_Brochure_2019_r4.pdf

After 5 successful years attending the exhibition, meteorological specialists, Biral is returning to InterMet Asia in Singapore in July to showcase its technically advanced meteorological products.

Biral experts will be at the show demonstrating a wide variety of meteorological equipment. These are the BTD-200 Thunderstorm Detector, VPF-730 and SWS-200 Visibility & Present Weather Sensors, the BTD-350 and BTD-300 Thunderstorm Detectors.

The new BTD-200 lightning warning system is a complete detection and warning system which has been developed from the Biral range of professional aviation grade lightning detection systems. It reliably detects the local presence of all forms of lightning out to a range of 35km (22 miles) from the sensor. Designed to be installed and set up by non-technical staff, it comes with a power supply and the essential PC application ‘Lightning Works’, for monitoring and warning personnel of approaching thunderstorms.

​Meteorological equipment specialists Biral have been working closely with ORE Catapult to further develop its BTD-350 thunderstorm and lightning detection system for offshore wind farms and is installing its technology for testing at the Catapult’s 7MW Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine in Fife.

ORE Catapult was established in 2013 by the UK Government and is part of a network of Catapults set up by Innovate UK in high growth industries. It is the UK’s leading innovation centre for offshore renewable energy.

​Biral’s innovative technology provides operators with advanced, real-time information about thunderstorm activity within a 50 nautical mile radius of a wind farm. Thunderstorm and lightning detection has historically required large and expensive networks of radio receivers or the use of standalone sensors, which often proved to have an unacceptable false alarm rate.

With the ability to provide warnings of overhead lightning prior to the first lightning discharge and a false alarm rate that is almost zero, Biral’s innovative sensor represents a significant step change in lightning detection technology. Early warning of potential lightning activity is vital to ensure the continued safe operations, and safety of personnel, at any wind farm. 

Following the approval by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to use Biral sensors at aerodromes in 2016, 45 airports now use the VPF present weather sensors as part of their RVR (runway visual range) systems.

Biral’s VPF-730, VPF-710 present weather sensors and the ALS-2 ambient light sensors are the ideal choice for airport applications due to their efficiency, reliability and performance. The sensors are a compact and robust package which makes them perfect for aviation applications where strong winds and other damaging conditions are often present.

The CAAC certification means Biral’s sensors are approved for all airports in China for use in aviation weather monitoring systems (AWOS) and RVR systems.
One of the largest airports using the VPF-730 is the new Qingdao International airport, which currently has two runways with a further two planned for the airport's second phase. When the two phases are completed, the new Qingdao airport will be able to serve about 55 million passengers a year, allowing 452,000 landings and take offs, making it one of the country's largest airports alongside those in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Biral has also received an order from Tangshan airport, which is significant because it will be the first Chinese airport to also install a BTD-300 lightning warning system into the operation.

Further information is available from Biral on +44 1275 847787, email: enquiries@biral.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.biral.com.

The new Vaisala HMD60 and Vaisala TMD60 are broadening the HMD60 Series product portfolio. The HMD60 measures humidity and temperature and the TMD60 is dedicated to temperature measurements only. Both models come with two optional probe lengths: a long or a short probe, which is optimized specifically for small ducts. The transmitters are fully configurable and scalable, which enables users to get precisely the needed parameter and scale without having to know the exact application requirements when placing the order.

System (GRAF) will be the first hourly-updating commercial weather system that is able to predict something as small as thunderstorms globally. Compared to existing models, it will provide a nearly 200% improvement in forecasting resolution for much of the globe (from 12 to 3 km). It will be available later this year.

GRAF uses advanced IBM POWER9-based supercomputers, crowdsourced data from millions of sensors worldwide, and in-flight data to create more localized, more accurate views of weather globally. IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty announced GRAF at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. ​

Accurate visibility and present weather measurements are fundamental requirements for meteorology and airport weather applications. Vaisala Forward Scatter FD70 Series utilizes innovative technology setting a new standard in precipitation identification, quantification and visibility determination accuracy. FD70 Series is the seventh generation of Vaisala's high-end visibility and present weather sensors. 

FD70 Series consists of two product models:

• FD71P full-featured visibility and present weather sensor and
• FD71 visibility sensor.
  
  

Both product models can function as stand-alone units, interoperate as an integral part of Vaisala systems, or work with different third-party systems. Deliveries are estimated to start in Q2/2019. More info here.