General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

styrofoam casing/ synthetic and metal parts/ synthetic tape

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

49.5 cm

Width

N/A

Height

N/A

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

4.7 cm

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Meteorology

Category

Upper wind speed & direction measurement

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

This instrument was apparently in use for 20 years (Ref. 3)

Canada

An example of a radiosonde of a type used by the Meteorological Service of Canada for research and air pollution studies (Ref. 1). Part of a large collection of meteorological instruments acquired from the Meteorological Service of Canada (previously Atmospheric Environment Service) by the CSTM since 1967. MSC is the government agency responsible for collecting and disseminating meteorological data and forecasts in Canada. It was founded in 1871 in Toronto where it is still headquartered. The MSC was originally on the University of Toronto downtown campus but moved to Downsview in 1971 on land owned by UofT. The headquarters houses laboratories, research facilities and calibration and instrument maintenance facilities (now largely contracted out).

Function

A device lifted by balloon into the upper atmosphere to measure temperature, humidity, and air pressure and transmit the data to earth. Wind speed and direction can be determined by tracking the radiosonde.

Technical

An example of a very small radiosonde used for research purposes. The AER AQI 403 mHz Minisonde was a type of radiosonde was only used for research and air pollution studies not operational soundings. Beside being less expensive than a radiosonde, it only required a 6" pilot balloon which used much less gas than a regular radiosonde balloon. The thermistor based circuit modulated the 403 mHz transmitter which was converted to temperature on the recorder of the surface receiving station. The vertical height was determined from the ascent rate of the balloon (Ref. 1).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

raised lettering on casing reads 'ERO AQI'

Missing

appears complete

Finish

white casing/ metallic antenna and parts/ red tape

Decoration

N/A