METEOROLOGY INDUSTRY
SERTEL instruments the full vertical of atmospheric observation: Radiosondes, Pilot Sondes, Ozone Sondes, GPS/GNSS Time Sync Servers and Ground Receiving Stations designed for the reliability that national met departments, research labs and environmental agencies cannot compromise on.
7+
METEOROLOGY PRODUCT LINES
30+
MET DEPARTMENTS SERVED
WMO
ALIGNED INSTRUMENTS
24x7
FIELD SUPPORT
Overview
A national meteorological observation network is not a single system. It is a chain of soundings, surface stations, upper-air measurements and satellite downlinks that must agree on what the atmosphere is doing, to the second, at every altitude. A radiosonde released at 00:00 UTC from a station in Chennai must produce a vertical profile that correlates precisely with the receiving station log, the ozone measurement from the same balloon train and the surface wind data captured by the pilot sonde an hour earlier.
When any link in that chain uses its own reference clock or uncalibrated sensor, the vertical profile shifts, the data timestamps disagree and forecasters spend effort reconciling files instead of issuing warnings. The error is invisible until it costs accuracy in a cyclone track or an air quality alert.
SERTEL designs and manufactures the instruments that bridge the gap between the balloon in the troposphere and the data record in your server room. Radiosondes, ground receiving stations, GPS/GNSS Time Sync servers, satellite communication equipment and repeater systems, built for the field conditions of tropical, arid and polar observation sites. One supplier for the full chain, with NABL-traceable calibration and on-site commissioning support.
One instrument partner across seven product lines means one calibration schedule, one spare-parts register and one support contact when data quality degrades before a critical weather window.
One instrument partner across seven product lines means one calibration schedule, one spare-parts register and one support contact when data quality degrades.
The problem
These failure patterns are the ones our field engineers see most frequently during commissioning audits at government met departments, research stations and environmental monitoring networks across India and the Middle East.
Clock drift across observation sites
Upper-air sounding, surface synoptic and pilot balloon observations are logged at the same nominal time by stations running independent clocks. By the time data reaches the analysis centre, a 200 ms drift turns a clean vertical profile into a ragged scatter. Investigators spend days determining whether the anomaly was real atmosphere or instrument disagreement.
Radiosonde data gaps mid-ascent
If a ground receiving station and the radiosonde employ marginally compatible telemetry formats or experience antenna tracking lag, burst packets at altitude show up as missing data in the sounding file. A 500 hPa gap in a pre‐monsoon sounding is not a data formatting problem; it is a forecast accuracy problem.
Satellite link latency to remote stations
Remote high‐altitude stations in the Himalayan ranges or island territories frequently depend on satellite communication for data relay.
Lacking dedicated bandwidth management and repeater infrastructure, observation data from these sites arrives hours late or fails verification checks at the central archive, rendering them effectively invisible to the NWP model.
Ozone and upper-air data not reconciling
Ozone sonde flights piggybacked on radiosonde balloon trains generate dual data streams that must be time‐aligned for scientific validity.
If the GPS altitude trace from the radiosonde and the electrochemical ozone trace differ by even a few seconds, the derived ozone partial pressure profile fails WMO quality flags and the flight is excluded from the global database.
The Sertel solution
Specify, install, and calibrate every layer of your meteorological observation network, from the radiosonde on the balloon to the GPS timestamp on the archive record, using a single source.
Accurate upper-air soundings
Radiosonde and Pilot Sonde systems send temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind measurements with consistent sensor calibration and GPS-referenced altitude profiles, giving forecasters clear vertical data from the surface to the stratosphere.
Precision ozone profiling
Ozone Sonde systems employ electrochemical cell sensors that are factory-calibrated against WMO reference standards. Each flight produces a GPS-altitude-aligned ozone partial pressure profile that can be submitted directly to the WOUDC global database.
GPS-disciplined network timing
The SERTEL GPS/GNSS Time Server delivers stratum-1 UTC synchronization throughout the observation network, ensuring that every sounding log, surface measurement, and data archive record contains a traceable and consistent timestamp.
Reliable ground receiving stations
SERTEL Ground Receiving Stations gather radiosonde telemetry continuously during tropical rain, sandstorms, and sub-zero alpine conditions. Tracking antennas employ automatic azimuth and elevation controls to follow the signal from release until the balloon bursts.
Satellite connectivity for remote sites
Satellite communication systems deliver meteorological data uplinks. They ensure that isolated stations on islands, in deserts, or at high altitudes transmit observations to the national archive promptly. Bandwidth management tools give priority to sounding data over administrative traffic.
Repeater and link infrastructure
VHF and UHF repeater systems expand the coverage of ground receiving stations for low-elevation radiosonde paths and difficult terrain. Durable enclosures equipped with solar panels and battery backups keep system operations running at sites without access to the power grid.
Applications
National meteorological departments
Radiosonde and ground receiving station networks serve mandatory upper‐air sounding programs. GPS NTP servers align observation times across all regional stations so that data submission meets WMO standards.
Upper-air research stations
High‐resolution Pilot Sonde and Ozone Sonde flights are employed to study atmospheric dynamics and track ozone depletion. Data streams aligned by GPS altitude are prepared for direct export to international scientific databases.
Environmental monitoring agencies
Agencies employ these systems for ozone column measurement and tropospheric profiling to examine pollution transport and model air quality. Networked GPS time servers preserve time coherence across measurement campaigns that involve multiple agencies.
Cyclone and severe weather centres
High‐frequency sounding programmes applied during pre‐cyclone intensification need ground receiving stations. These stations must provide reliable tracking and continuous satellite data relay to the national forecast centre.
Remote and island observation sites
Satellite communication systems and solar‐backed repeater infrastructure deliver data uplinks from island territories, high‐altitude Himalayan stations, and arid‐zone surface observation posts..
Aviation meteorology units
Upper wind and temperature profiles from Pilot Sonde flights are transmitted directly to SIGMET and AIRMET advisory systems. GPS NTP servers align ATIS and METAR timestamps with ICAO time standards.
Agricultural and agricultural meteorology services
State agricultural departments utilize surface and upper‐air observation data from radiosonde networks. This data underpins weather advisories for crop stages and tools for forecasting soil moisture.
Climate and research institutions
Institutions maintaining long‐term ozone sonde archives and climatological datasets require instruments with documented calibration history. SERTEL provides NABL‐traceable calibration certificates with every batch of products.
System integrators for met solutions
We supply a complete range of products for turnkey observation network projects. We provide technical documentation, API interface specifications, and commissioning support for EPC and system integration partners.
From our commissioning logs
When the twelve‐station radiosonde network was being commissioned for a government meteorological department in South Asia, the data quality review identified a persistent anomaly: soundings from three coastal stations correlated poorly with the corresponding NWP model first‐guess fields, consistently exhibiting a positive temperature bias above 300 hPa. The department assumed the problem was instrument drift and had already replaced two radiosonde batches, yet saw no improvement.
Our field engineers performed an audit of the entire data chain. The coastal stations operated their ground‐receiving computers using the local ISP NTP pool, which drifted by 1.2 to 3.8 seconds compared with the inland stations that had been using GPS/GNSS‐disciplined Time Sync servers since the network was commissioned. At those stations, the radiosonde altitude calculation relied on GPS fixes time‐stamped by the drifted clock, leading to systematic errors in the derived temperature inversions.
We installed SERTEL GPS NTP servers at the three affected stations and reprocessed the most recent thirty days of archived soundings using corrected timestamps. The temperature bias disappeared entirely. The department now operates GPS‐disciplined timing at every station in the network. That demonstrates the practical value of traceable time: the radiosonde was never the issue. The clock was.
Product range
From the radiosonde ascending through the troposphere to the GPS NTP server anchoring the archive, each product below supports a field-proven meteorological observation chain.
Dual-Band GNSS Meteorological Radiosonde
A lightweight balloon-borne instrument that transmits real time profiles of pressure, temperature, humidity and GPS-derived wind data up to stratospheric altitudes. Designed for daily operational launches, it provides high sensor accuracy, stable telemetry, and dependable performance in extreme atmospheric conditions.
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GNSS Wind-Finding · Balloon-Borne
It is a compact GPS sonde designed to measure upper winds. It follows the balloon's position during its ascent to determine wind speed and direction. The device substitutes manual observations that were performed with optical theodolites. It delivers automated wind profiles under all weather conditions for aviation and meteorology.
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ECC Ozone Sensor · GNSS L1+L5 · Balloon-Borne
This electrochemical sensing payload is carried by a standard radiosonde to assess the vertical distribution of atmospheric ozone. It is intended for research institutions and environmental agencies that track ozone layer health, air quality, and long-term climate trends. The device delivers laboratory-grade repeatability for these measurements.
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GPS / GNSS NTP TIME SERVER
A 1U 19 inch rack Stratum 1 server with 14 ns timing accuracy under GNSS lock and a front-panel LCD. It drives slave clocks and digital displays directly, alongside NTP, IRIG-B and DCF77 outputs.
Know moreFAQ
Talk to a SERTEL field engineer about specifying instruments for your upper-air sounding programme, ozone monitoring campaign or remote observation network. We ship globally, commission on-site and support every deployment with NABL-traceable calibration and lifecycle spares.
