Anemometers
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 12:31 am
So after 2020-Delta I decided to start considering an anemometer. I didn't want anything expensive or fancy . . . this is idle hobbyist-grade curiosity, not stormchasing or science . . . and didn't want anything I had to mount, so my mental picture was one of those little handheld digital units I've seen in some videos. As it turns out, most of those are pretty disappointing. Most cheap anemometers peg out at about 30 meters/second, or 67mph. A few will go up to 40m/s and are probably great choices, but to get anywhere near hurricane speeds you have to either build your own or find something awesome used.
There are some awesome used units, I would add, but most of the better ones still exceeded my budget. Several old military units really gave me the fizz, such as a big cup-based mechanical monster that required no batteries, and since I like things that don't require batteries (e.g. my hand-crank night-vision device) I ended up looking further in that direction, but with price still a criteria. The blue cup-based Didax/Invicta only goes up to 30mph or so, though, so was right out, as was the (battery-powered-but-fascinating) Kurz Pocket Anemometer that uses thermal energy removal rate as a way of estimating wind speed.
Had I not found the one I did, I probably would've ended up spending a bit more for one of the 40m/s electronic models, which can be had for $35ish.
I ended up making a choice already . . . for about $20, or the cost of one of the 30m/s electronic ones, a vintage Sims BT, which appears to basically be the same thing as the Maximum Commercial BTC994 that costs around 8-10 times more and is basically identical but for being not-a-cup-based. It's wind-powered, which seems pretty genius to me.
That said, I'm curious to know what the folks here would recommend.
There are some awesome used units, I would add, but most of the better ones still exceeded my budget. Several old military units really gave me the fizz, such as a big cup-based mechanical monster that required no batteries, and since I like things that don't require batteries (e.g. my hand-crank night-vision device) I ended up looking further in that direction, but with price still a criteria. The blue cup-based Didax/Invicta only goes up to 30mph or so, though, so was right out, as was the (battery-powered-but-fascinating) Kurz Pocket Anemometer that uses thermal energy removal rate as a way of estimating wind speed.
Had I not found the one I did, I probably would've ended up spending a bit more for one of the 40m/s electronic models, which can be had for $35ish.
I ended up making a choice already . . . for about $20, or the cost of one of the 30m/s electronic ones, a vintage Sims BT, which appears to basically be the same thing as the Maximum Commercial BTC994 that costs around 8-10 times more and is basically identical but for being not-a-cup-based. It's wind-powered, which seems pretty genius to me.
That said, I'm curious to know what the folks here would recommend.