Davis Instruments Weather Club
August 1999.
=====
Here's a quick preview of this month's contents:
=====
Davis sales rep survives Salt Lake tornado by a mere table leg... Davis's Turbo Meter technology takes the vacuum cleaning industry by storm... How to keep birds from stealing the screen from your temp/hum sensor ... Deep Blue Sea opens -- can you spot the quick reference cards? Enjoy!
=====
Davis: Twister in real life
=====
We're sure you must have heard about the tornado that hit Salt Lake City on August 11th. And no doubt many of you have experienced a tornado yourself. For our intrepid sales manager, Salt Lake's tornado was a first - and hopefully a last! Russ was in Salt Lake setting up our booth at the Outdoor Expo. He was under the big white tent listening to the rain patter above him. He noticed the wind start to pick up and thought he heard the rain turn to hail. Then someone went running by shouting, "Tornado!" Within seconds the wind was very strong. Russ ducked under a table and grabbed onto a table leg. The wind was howling and he could feel things blowing around him. And then it was done. When Russ looked up, all he saw was sky where the tent had been. Around him, all was rubble. Unfortunately our weather instruments weren't set up yet, so we have no data recorded. We are glad to report however that our intrepid sales manager survived to tell the tale.
=====
How-To: They're back -- the birds that is!
=====
It seems those pesky birds are at it again. Ken, from our repairs department, showed us a temperature/humidity sensor that was in for "bird repairs". The sensor came with a note from the owner saying that he had sat and watched our feathered friends trying to remove the material protecting the sensor. He figured they wanted to use it to line their nests. Well, this eyewitness account has solved a mystery for us. We have seen ripped screens before and puzzled over the cause. Our answer had been to blame the bugs - now we know it's the birds! So, we asked Brett, our Tech Support Supervisor, how to discourage other pesky birds from doing this.
>The best way to discourage the birds is to deny them access to the sensor. The Davis Radiation Shield (http://davisnet.com/weather/products/weather_product.asp?pnum=07714 would work very well in this case. An alternate to the Radiation Shield would be to cover the exposed areas of the sensor with some sort of a cage. Chicken wire mounted around and at least 4 inches away from the sensor is one possibility. The mesh should be open enough to allow air to circulate but small enough to keep your particular critter out.
Do you have a solution you'd like to share? Send an e-mail to news@davisnet.com. We'll include your suggestions in an upcoming issue.
=====
Cool Application: Somewhere under the Rainbow
=====
Rexair, Inc of Troy MI manufacturers a vacuum cleaner named "The Rainbow". Instead of using a typical vacuum bag, the Rainbow(r) Cleaning System uses water to trap dirt. As Rexair says, "Wet dust won't fly!" So how would a vacuum cleaner use our products, you ask? Rexair is using our Turbo Meter for diagnostic readings. Rexair fits the Turbo Meter inside the vacuum cleaner's cavity and measures the airflow coming through the filters.
When we asked if they were sure about our product working with their vacuums, the Rexair representative said that Rexair purchased six different hand held air velocity meters to see which one would work best with their product. Out of the six different meters by six different manufactures, they picked our Turbo Meter!
Wow, what will they think of next?! If you'd like more information on the Rainbow vacuum, check out http://www.rainbowsystem.com/home.htm. For a history of vacuum cleaners check out http://www.137.com/museum/
=====
Hollywood Follow-up: Did we make the cut?
=====
One year ago this month, Warner Bros. contacted us regarding our Quick Reference Marine Electronics and Quick Reference Weather Forecasting Cards. They wanted to use them in "Deep Blue Sea", a movie about a zealous scientist, an offshore laboratory, a tropical storm, and Makos--super sharks made smart and vicious by the scientist's genetic-alterations.
We told Warner Bros. that they could use the cards, hoping our brave companions would escape from the experience relatively un-chewed -- by shark or film editor!
The movie is out now and we're hoping the Quick Reference Cards didn't end up on the cutting room floor! If you go to see Deep Blue Sea, keep your eyes peeled. If you spot the Davis cards, send us an e-mail and we'll spread the news.
Watch for Davis "stuff" in these other upcoming Hollywood productions: Castaways with Tom Hanks, The Perfect Storm starring George Clooney, and the first three or four episodes of Dawson Creek this fall!
=====
That's it for August's E-news. We'll see you next month!To subscribe to this e-newsletter go to: http://davisnet.com/news/e_club_signup.asp
