Solar Radiation Shield (Stevenson Screen) for Outdoor Thermometer

thingiverse

This is a solar radiation shield for mounting a temperature sensor outdoors. The shield allows air to flow through freely, but protects the thermometer from direct and reflected solar radiation. This provides a much more accurate temperature reading during daylight hours. The shield consists of several parts: Several rings that are open in the middle for sensor equipment Solid plates to shield the top and bottom A larger top plate to provide extra shade and room for batteries or other non-sensor electronics A small plastic tripod that fits under the top plate to provide locations to zip-tie wires, batteries, chargers, etc. Solar cell mounting brackets An internal grid to secure sensors Pole mounting plates for various pole configurations Stuff I used in this build: eSun White ABS filament (1.75mm): Amazon Valspar gloss white plastic spray paint: Amazon WeMos D1 Mini ESP8266 microcontroller: AliExpress Samsung 18650 lithium battery: eBay Lithium battery charge controller: eBay 1W 6V Solar Panel: eBay DHT22 digital temperature and humidity sensor: eBay 6-32 threaded rod: Amazon 6-32 wing nuts: Amazon Micro Deans battery connector: eBay 3/4" square aluminum tubing: Amazon Scotch Extreme Mounting Tape: Amazon My weather station is on-line and you can view the data on ThingSpeak here: https://thingspeak.com/channels/144231 When you click on these links and make a purchase, it can result in commissions from eBay and Amazon that help support my work. Print Settings Printer: MakerFarm Prusa i3v Rafts: No Supports: Yes Resolution: .2mm Infill: 40% Notes: Support material can help with the shallow radii at the edges of the plates, but is not strictly necessary, depending on your printer. Post-Printing Assembly To assemble the screen, I used 6-32 threaded rod. M3 threaded rod will also work. I heat-set threaded inserts into the top plate, screwed in pieces of 6-32 rod, stacked all of the parts on the rods and secured with stainless steel wing nuts. An alternate version of the top plate is provided that can be tapped for M3 (or 6-32) rod if you don't have the inserts. Just drill out the holes, tap and screw the rods into the plastic directly. The triangular part with legs is an electronics mount. It fits in the top cover and provides a place to zip-tie the electronics. The solar cell mounts are designed so you can mount a solar cell with double-sided foam tape. I recommend Scotch Extreme Mounting Tape. Wire Routing If you use this in a wireless solar configuration like I did, you will need to route wires from the solar cell to the charger and batteries under the top and from the batteries to the electronics inside the screen. You can drill holes to pass the wires and seal them with an appropriate sealant, or you can just route the wires over the side and between the layers of the screen. How I Designed This Fusion 360 Project If you'd like the original Fusion 360 project, you can view and download it here: http://a360.co/2wEZE7D