01Surface water
Ecowitt WN30 cabled temperature probe
Installed beneath the surface, with the probe approximately 12–15 inches underwater. It supplies the frequently updated surface-water reading. Manufacturer details ↗
Our approach
Show the work.
Full transparency makes the lake more interesting. This page names the exact equipment, explains what each piece measures, and keeps clear boundaries between live readings, dated logger downloads, regional public forecasts, and the camera view.
Instruments at the lake
The field kit
Four pieces of equipment form the first monitoring system. Each has one job, and the public dashboard will say when a reading was actually observed.
02Data gateway
Ecowitt GW1100 Wi-Fi gateway
Receives the WN30 radio signal and sends its readings to the Ecowitt cloud. The website retrieves only the needed lake-temperature field through a protected server-side connection. Manufacturer details ↗
03Lake bottom
HOBO TidbiT MX Temp 400 · MX2203
Deployed September 6, 2026 at 12:10 p.m. Eastern, in approximately 8 feet 4 inches of water. The logger is positioned about 4–6 inches above the bottom and records every 30 minutes. Its readings are downloaded after retrieval and published in dated batches—not streamed live. As that archive grows, it can support features such as comparing the bottom temperature with the same time last year. Explore the bottom-water record → Manufacturer details ↗
04Lake view
Tapo C560WS 4K outdoor camera
This is the camera behind the silent Lake Christopher Live view. It sends the shoreline picture to a dedicated encoder, which delivers the public player through YouTube. Manufacturer details ↗
Public context
Weather and place
The instruments describe the lake itself. Trusted public sources add regional context without pretending to be an on-site weather station.
Regional forecast
National Weather Service
Forecasts use the public Bryant Pond boat launch as the reference point. These predictions remain separate from measured air and water temperatures.
Nearby air observations come from the Greenwood community weather station (EW6662 / NWS E6662), about 5.3 miles south, through the NWS data service. They are not measurements at the lake. The graph shows reading age and leaves gaps open; Greenwood is our interim source until our own weather station is installed.
Reference location
Woodstock public boat launch
Rowe Hill Road at the lake outlet. This recognizable public location gives the regional forecast a clear, consistent reference point.
Air history is saved when the site checks for updates. Quiet periods or upstream outages can leave gaps. Water readings and each air station's records are kept separate.