The Local Station
The local station is situated at Neenton in South Shropshire. From the distant stations the seismic telemetry is beamed in by VHF radio in real-time, 24hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.
The Spaceguard site is 38Km and Brown Clee is 4Km. The seismic telemetry is received via the VHF radio's and the audio signals are then fed via cat5 network cable to a 4 channel real-time FM seismic demodulator ( although only 2 channels are used at present). Here the tone is converted into a voltage and is then an amplified replica of the remote stations seismic signal. This voltage is passed on to digitiser and further to a PC. 'Seismowin' software displays the real-time activity for the remote stations and should an event occur the predetermined trigger levels start recording the data to the hard drive.The seismic files are then analysed using 'Winquake' software.
Having 2 remote stations enables the calculation of the distance of the event. Setup of another station would enable a calculation of the precise area of the quake. This is a project for the future maybe. With the recent arrival of "Broadband" the seismic data is available for viewing in near realtime (5 minute updates) the links will take you to the Woodbank, Neenton and Spaceguard output traces.
Above, is the block diagram of the entire local station whilst below is a photo of the "Seislogger" setup in my workshop.The setup is also connected to a weather station and APRS amateur radio. The APRS is used a means of transmitting weather data via the VHF amateur radio network. The weather data is also available to view on the internet.
I also built and maintain a Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS) which is incorporated into the RSAMS project. Data from the weather station is also uploaded to WeatherUnderground .
In the near future I hope to install a seismometer at this location. The Willmore MK3CV seismometer is presently being refurbished and calibrated in my workshop ready for deployment. This additional sensor should be ready mid Febuary 2008.
This station is now operational and utilises two seismometers. The vertical component is the Willmore MK3CV. The horizontal N-S component is part of a triaxial Willmore MK4 borehole seismometer which has been stripped down into its individual components.
To the right is the seismometer vertical seismometer installed at Neenton.This sensor was damaged when I purchased it and required the replacement of the nylon screws securing the capacity plate. I am curently trying to locate the manufacturers specification as to allow calibration of the unit.
Below is the 18Bit SADC1.0 digitizer. At the local station signals from the seismometer are amplified and filtered and then passed to the digitizer for processing and DCF77 time stamping .
