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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
1/4/2012
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While out exploring the mountain ridges of Indian Valley a couple of weeks ago I found a NOAA Radiosonde
I turned it over and found some instructions inside. It was pretty beat up and crumbling apart
I guess I am supposed to return it. I had a large trash bag with me so I packed it up and tied it to the outside of my pack and hauled it home
I would be curious to know if anybody else has found one of these in the park or elsewhere.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gyx/weather_balloons.htm
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
1/31/2012
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That's a very cool find. I've never found one! I work for NOAA, though not in the Weather Service portion of the agency. Definitely mail that thing in... you will be advancing science! Congrats on the find.
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
1/31/2012
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OK..thanks for letting me know..! I still have it in the garage in the trash bag, took it out of the truck and left it there. I will mail it in..!
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
2/6/2012
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Better yet, if you are in the vicinity of any NOAA National Weather Service Office, you could probably drop it off with them. There's a local San Diego office in Rancho Bernardo:
11440 W Bernardo Ct # 230 San Diego, CA 92127
(858) 675-8700
You can always call one of the forecasters (they are friendly) and describe what you have. They should be excited to receive it. - Jim
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
2/7/2012
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i will drop it off tomorrow, i am going out that way...thanks!
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
2/8/2012
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OK, so I stopped off at the local office and...yeah, you were right, they seemed very interested. I thought it would be a quick drop off but instead they offered to give me a tour of the facility. Wow!
I got to see them make actual weather forecasts for marine and aviation stations, they explained how it all works, the data collection mechanisms, how the different stations across the US collaborate and more. I was happy to see they used a real OS for the computer systems (RH Linux). I was even able to listen in on a weather debrief with the whole staff. The entire staff was very nice and very eager to share with me how the whole weather system works.
Thank you so much for directing me to them!
Daren
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
2/8/2012
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Forgot to mention they said that they send out (2) each day from Kearny Mesa and there is about a 5% return rate. Mine did not get very far, must have been a low pressure day.....
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
2/10/2012
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Great story Daren! 
Those guys are always happy (at any NWS office it seems) to show people around. Wow, a 5% return rate... I wonder what the return rate is for sondes that have been 'at liberty' for over 10 years though! They are a good bunch and some of the best computer modelers in the world work at NWS (despite how we all make fun of weather forecasters being 'wrong' all the time). One of the reasons that their models are so good is that they have a TON of data. Your contribution means one more data point! - Jim
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
2/10/2012
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Speaking of data points, one thing I learned that I found pretty interesting is that another data point collection mechanism is that they have collection devices on airplanes like UPS, FedEx, etc. These planes are flying 24/7/365 around the world sending data back to them. This seemed like a major contributor to the system.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
2/10/2012
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dsefcik wrote:
Speaking of data points, one thing I learned that I found pretty interesting is that another data point collection mechanism is that they have collection devices on airplanes like UPS, FedEx, etc. These planes are flying 24/7/365 around the world sending data back to them. This seemed like a major contributor to the system.
Wow, didn't know that! Great stuff. - Jim
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
12/15/2013
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Was out goofing off in The Coyote Mts today and found a pretty beat up radiosonde. Couldn't remember from you all if I was to collect it or document its location. Didn't really have a way to bring it back so it's still out there. Will call the number listed in this thread tomorrow and at least pass on a waypoint.
Radiosonde2 by tomteske, on Flickr
Radiosonde by tomteske, on Flickr
Think this is a piece of the balloon base found 20 ft away.
Balloon by tomteske, on Flickr
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ziphius Posts: 911
12/15/2013
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Cool one Tommy, another victory for Science!
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
12/16/2013
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Looks like the first one I found, a 2001 model. From the two I took back (RB Office) they only seemed mildly interested in knowing the location, they didn't mark it down or anything. I did get a tour of the facility when I took the first one in though. I always carry a couple empty trash bags for things like radiosondes, trash, rain, etc....8-)
They send 2 of these up each day from Kearny Mesa.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
12/16/2013
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Tommy, I just noticed the fancy Oris watch in your photo! Care to provide a review?
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
12/16/2013
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I talked to someone named Alex at the Rancho Bernardo facility. Very interesting. Apparently a subcontractor at Miramar releases two balloons daily (seems releasing these in a populated area would be an air traffic control issue). They're tracked for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours till about 80,000 ft when the balloon usually bursts. They descend with a parachute (he says the descent lasts about 2-3 hrs) but are no longer tracked. Alex says the recovery rate is about 10-20% for his facility but differs from site to site. The eventual landing spot may vary from nearby in SD during low wind days to Nevada, Arizona and eastern CA on windy days (as in jet stream windy). Like you said, Daren, he wasn't that concerned regarding an exact landing site or a beat up radiosonde for that matter. If we collectively have found a few of these with 730/year being released, imagine how many mylars are getting released from SD for us to find a few EVERY hike!
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
12/16/2013
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Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Tommy, I just noticed the fancy Oris watch in your photo! Care to provide a review?
The review is my perfectly good low maintenance cheap GShock watch wasn't "suitable or dressy enough" for work (according to the girlfriend) so I ended up with a semi-reliable not cheap Oris which is getting no special treatment as of late
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