It looks like inspeed.com is the winner. Due to the
mysteries of Googology, it never came up searching
under anemometer. The "Vortex Wind Sensor only" for
$49 is perfect. The even sell a wind operated switch
for $175 that triggers a relay at a programmable wind
speed. I think I can homebrew my own windswitch
with a 555 timer tachometer circuit and a little glue logic.
Thanks to Dave and all the other responders.
Rick N6RK
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Gilbert [mailto:xdavid@cis-broadband.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 8:15 PM
> To: richard@karlquist.com
> Cc: towertalk@contesting.com; CADXA
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Where can I get a *simple* *cheap* anemometer
> for tower
>
>
>
> I've been using an anemometer made by a company called InSpeed
> (www.inspeed.com). They offer several different systems, but the basic
> cup-type sensor (which they sell separately for about $50) puts out a
> digital pulse once per revolution that is created by a magnet passing a
> reed relay. InSpeed provides the calibration factor between
> pulse-per-second and windspeed and the anemometer is rated to be
> essentially linear up to 110 mph, so you could build your own simple
> electronics to feed the pulses through a low pass filter and generate an
> analog speed indication. It's a wired system ... not wireless.
>
> For an additional $50 or so InSpeed sells a computer program that
> accepts the pulsed output from the anemometer via a serial port and
> displays min, max and average over a user definable interval. The
> program will also datalog (datapoints every interval down to as often as
> once per minute) to a .csv file for storage, or input and graphing by
> EXCEL.
>
> The feature that might be most useful to you, however, is that you can
> set an alarm in that program for whatever max speed you want. If the
> actual wind speed exceeds the preset limit, an output on one of the pins
> of the RS-232 connector is triggered. I believe that output stays
> triggered until reset, but I don't remember for sure.
>
> InSpeed also sells a version that packages the cup sensor with a
> standard bicycle computer for a simple visual display, since bicycle
> computers work much the same way except with a magnet on the wheel and a
> reed relay on the frame ... InSpeed just uses a different calibration
> factor to make the bicycle computer display windspeed.
>
> I bought the anemometer with the computer program and both have worked
> extremely well for me.
>
> 73,
> Dave AB7E
>
>
>
> Rick Karlquist wrote:
> > I would like to monitor wind speed using a simple
> > cup anemometer to determine when it is time to
> > crank down the tower. In looking for anemometers,
> > I have only found extremely expensive solutions that
> > indicate wind direction as well as speed, and require
> > a complete "weather station" in the shack, and even then, no
> > analog wind speed output voltage. All I want is a cup
> > assembly connected to a velocity to voltage transducer
> > (tachometer sensor).
> >
> > I found a source of anemometer cup assemblies at a
> > place called Forcefield. I am about ready to build
> > my own anemometer out of an old hard drive motor,
> > but I thought I would ask what other people with tower
> > anemometers are using (I know you are out there...)
> > before embarking on this science project.
> >
> > Rick N6RK
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
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> > TowerTalk@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >
> >
>
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