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Re: [TowerTalk] Wired Anemometer for Tower?

To: "towertalk@contesting.com" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Wired Anemometer for Tower?
From: Kim Elmore <cw_de_n5op@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 12:58:19 -0500
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Al is exactly correct in his assessment. Meteorologists (like me) worry about 
this stuff all the time. If we want to measure the turbulence spectrum down to 
the eddy dissipation rate, we need extremely high resolution and accuracy. That 
means big $ instrumentation. 

Kim N5OP

"People that make music together cannot be enemies, at least as long as the 
music lasts." -- Paul Hindemith

> On Apr 28, 2014, at 12:39, Al Kozakiewicz <akozak@hourglass.com> wrote:
> 
> I don't think it's misleading, but you'd have to look at my prior post.
> 
> If you're going for a "fast" measurement technique, you can measure the time 
> between two pulses.  If you do that, the absolute position uncertainty is +/- 
> 12.5% of a revolution - based on the very nature of having only 8 pulses per 
> revolution.
> 
> On the other hand, if you count pulses over a fixed period of time, the 
> measurement uncertainty drops (logarithmically, I suspect) with the number of 
> revolutions in the sample.  It is not constant, but +/-12.5% of a revolution 
> added to the entire sample, which (without doing any math) gets down to 4% in 
> just a few revolutions.  
> 
> All I'm pointing out is that with a digitized anemometer you cannot have both 
> accuracy AND high measurement speed at the same time.  For accuracy you 
> either add more resolution to your transducer or sample over a longer period 
> of time.  No free lunch here!
> 
> Al
> AB2ZY
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: TowerTalk [towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of David Gilbert 
> [xdavid@cis-broadband.com]
> Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 12:35 PM
> To: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Wired Anemometer for Tower?
> 
> Sorry, the calibration factor is 2.5 mph per revolution per second. I
> got sloppy when I typed that, although I would have thought that was
> almost intuitively obvious.
> 
> But your +/- 12.5% assertion is greatly misleading.  If indeed the 2.5
> mph per Hz factor is (as InSpeed claims) accurate to +/- 4%, then the
> absolute accuracy is degraded further only by the accuracy of whatever
> is measuring the length of time between pulses (which in most cases is
> negligible by comparison).    The 12.5% figure would apply to the
> accuracy of measuring ACCELERATION of the wind speed, but not the wind
> speed itself ... at least not unless somebody was silly enough to care
> about wind speed accuracy within, say, a 6 msec window (160 pulses per
> second at 50 mph).  I'd bet that the mass of the cups dominates within
> intervals of that magnitude.
> 
> 73,
> Dave   AB7E
> 
> 
> 
> On 4/28/2014 7:12 AM, Al Kozakiewicz wrote:
>>> but at 2.5 mph per revolution and 8 pulses per revolution
>> You're missing a time constant there.  2.5 mph per revoution per ????
>> 
>> A single revolution or a single pulse has a measurement uncertainty of +/- 
>> 12.5 % with 8 ppr.  So if you're going to measure velocity by measuring the 
>> time between two consecutive pulses (the smallest possible sample), your 
>> accuracy is never going to be better than that.  But response time will be 
>> fast.
>> 
>> Al
>> AB2ZY
>> 
>> 
>> ________________________________________
>> From: TowerTalk [towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of David 
>> Gilbert [xdavid@cis-broadband.com]
>> Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 1:26 AM
>> To: towertalk@contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Wired Anemometer for Tower?
>> 
>> Not to pound the InSpeed drum, especially since I have no connection to
>> them at all other than as a long ago customer, but InSpeed also sells a
>> high resolution anemometer for $89 that puts out 8 pulses per
>> revolution.  The response of either Vortex version is of course limited
>> by the time between pulses, but at 2.5 mph per revolution and 8 pulses
>> per revolution for the hi-res version the ability to almost instantly
>> track wind gusts would be limited primarily by the mass of the rotating
>> cups (no spec that I am aware of) ... and they are very light weight.
>> 
>> 73,
>> Dave   AB7E
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 4/27/2014 9:23 PM, Kim Elmore wrote:
>>> I can't speak to the Pro2 model, but any anemometer must average over a 
>>> period. I was incorrect about the Vue: it yields 4 s averages in each 
>>> packet. Sonic anemometers average over something like 10 pulses. Depending 
>>> on the brand, that's anywhere from 1 s to 0.1 s. So, if you really need 
>>> wind speed resolution better than 2 or 4 s, you need to obtain a sonic 
>>> anemometer. Because of the mass of our antennas and towers, I'd be 
>>> surprised if they have a significant response to frequencies much higher 
>>> than 0.25 to 0.5 Hz, but to know that requires an engineer's analysis.
>>> 
>>> Low-end sonic anemometers can be had for a few thousand dollars. They can, 
>>> however, require periodic maintenance due to bird pecks (birds peck at the 
>>> transducers) and bird droppings that contaminate the transducer surfaces.
>>> 
>>> If you must have higher resolution than this you need very deep pockets 
>>> indeed and a lidar anemometer.
>>> 
>>> As for radar: the NEXRAD (WSR-88D) requires 5 min to complete a volume 
>>> scan, but the latency for each radial of data is on the order of a second 
>>> or so. So, it's available in real time.  Thus, there's no significant 
>>> latency once a volume is complete. It does take a few seconds to move the 
>>> antenna back to the 0.5 deg elevation and start the next volume, but it 
>>> moves pretty fast in elevation -- several degrees per second.
>>> 
>>> Kim N5OP
>>> 
>>> "People that make music together cannot be enemies, at least as long as the 
>>> music lasts." -- Paul Hindemith
>>> 
>>>> On Apr 27, 2014, at 22:29, "tomkd8deg" <kd8deg@centurytel.net> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> The unit I have is the Davis Vantage Pro2 wired, and the 4 second delay is 
>>>> what Davis tech support told me when I questioned the accuracy of the wind 
>>>> readings that were being displayed.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Tom KD8DEG
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> From: Kim Elmore [mailto:cw_de_n5op@sbcglobal.net]
>>>> Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2014 8:08 PM
>>>> To: tomkd8deg
>>>> Cc: EZ Rhino; <towertalk@contesting.com>
>>>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Wired Anemometer for Tower?
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I'm not sure that's true about the wind. I have a Davis Vantage Vue. The 
>>>> remote unit does some processing to generate a 2 s mean speed and a peak 
>>>> gust value within the 2 s window. Data are then sent in packets every 2 s 
>>>> to the base unit.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Mine is up 10 m (a WMO standard height). During calm winters nights it 
>>>> will measure an anomalously high minimum temperature. The anemometer is 
>>>> shielded a bit by the tower structure when it's downwind of the tower and 
>>>> so the wind speed is biased low. Direction appears unaffected.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> The rain gauge is a tipping spoon with a 3" diameter catchment. It under 
>>>> samples only at high rain rates. The temperature sensor and dew cell are 
>>>> not aspirated in this unit and so temperature is biased a bit high due to 
>>>> radiation errors on calm, clear Summer days.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I highly recommend any of the Davis units, but the Peet Bros. Ultimeter 
>>>> 2100 is also a very fine unit. Both are comparable in price (~$400).
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Kim N5OP
>>>> 
>>>> "People that make music together cannot be enemies, at least as long as 
>>>> the music lasts." -- Paul Hindemith
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Apr 27, 2014, at 18:29, "tomkd8deg" <kd8deg@centurytel.net> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> The Davis wired version, which I am using, has a 4 second delay for wind,
>>>> and direction display. That can mean the loss of 10 to 20 mph in a gust
>>>> situation.
>>>> 
>>>> Tom KD8DEG
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of EZ
>>>> Rhino
>>>> Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2014 4:10 PM
>>>> To: towertalk@contesting.com
>>>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Wired Anemometer for Tower?
>>>> 
>>>> I should mention one other thing about the "cheap" weather station
>>>> anemometers that drive me crazy.  The first WX station I had only updated
>>>> the wind speed about every minute.  The LaCrosse updates about every 12
>>>> seconds.  This is almost worthless...I want to know the wind speed NOW!  
>>>> The
>>>> stuff from Inspeed is real time, very nice.
>>>> 
>>>> Chris
>>>> KF7P
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Apr 27, 2014, at 14:03 , Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> On 4/27/2014 3:15 PM, EZ Rhino wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I have tried a few different weather stations, so I can unequivocally tell
>>>> 
>>>> you what NOT to get.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> DON'T buy anything under $300.  *sigh*
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Mine cost 40 something, works fine, is made of cheap plastic. Uses plain 
>>>> old
>>>> Duracell non rechargeable. Last 2 years or more outside. The ones indoors
>>>> only last 6 mo to a year.  Probably cost twice that much now...if available
>>>> 
>>>> Mounted on the tower where I can just reach it with an 8' stepladder.
>>>> 
>>>> Does nothing except report wind speed, direction,temp, humidity, and
>>>> relative temp.
>>>> 
>>>> 73
>>>> 
>>>> Roger(K8RI)
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Unfortunately the cheap ones are total garbage.  The recent one I got is a
>>>> 
>>>> LaCrosse station, purchased from Costco.  Junk!  Junky cheap plastic, the
>>>> rechargeable batteries in the solar powered wireless anenmometer/wind vane
>>>> unit went bad in the first year, and the rain bucket stopped working in the
>>>> first few months after purchase.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> The Davis units are good, have a buddy with one and it is quality stuff.
>>>> 
>>>> And about $300.  You pay for what you get.  I agree, I think the wired 
>>>> units
>>>> are more reliable and last longer.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Ok now take a look here:  www.inspeed.com  These guys make anemometers
>>>> 
>>>> that are decent quality and not expensive.  They also have a cool computer
>>>> hookup version that allows your PC to track all the data and put it in a
>>>> spreadsheet.  AND it has the wind switch option, where you can program the
>>>> system to turn an appliance on or off (read:  lower your tower!) if the 
>>>> wind
>>>> goes above a preprogrammed speed.  Pretty neat.  I don't have this option
>>>> yet.  I think AB7E has one of the inspeed units too, maybe he can provide
>>>> some feedback.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Chris
>>>> 
>>>> KF7P
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Apr 27, 2014, at 11:01 , Steve Jones wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Can any of you recommend a wired anemometer or weather station unit?
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I want to install an anemometer to monitor the wind speed at the top
>>>> 
>>>> of my tower.  All I can find online are wireless units.  On this
>>>> 
>>>> reflector I have seen a number of bad reviews of wireless weather
>>>> 
>>>> sensors, because their little wifi transceivers get damaged by the RF
>>>> 
>>>> from a ham antenna.  I have a spare CAT5 cable at the base of the tower
>>>> 
>>>> available.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 73,
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Steve
>>>> 
>>>> N6SJ
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
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