The purpose of this project was to upgrade the remaining 9 of the 22 DDCGI weather stations that were fitted with early-model 4G modems which have proven to be faulty and unreliable since installation approximately 3–4 years ago. These intermittent failures resulted in data dropouts and reduced confidence in the network during critical spray decision-making periods.

The DDCGI weather station network has been operating since 1993–1996 and provides free, localised weather data to cotton and grain growers across the Darling Downs. Following the successful replacement of 13 stations under a previous grant, it became clear that the ongoing issues at the remaining sites were due to modem reliability rather than mobile network coverage.

This project replaced the remaining faulty modems with the same proven modem configuration used across the rest of the network, creating a consistent, reliable platform across all stations. As a result, the network can continue to deliver accurate, real-time weather data to support safe and effective spray application practices and minimise the risk of off-target drift.