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#750 From: <ron.casotti@...>
Date: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:12 am
Subject: RE: This months mugwa meeting
roncasotti
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 

 

Hi Andrew,

 

No, its been very quiet. Mainly members of the WACEG. Steve John Ian and myself.

 

Ron…

 


From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Andrew McMeikan
Sent: Sunday, 19 March 2006 8:19 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [mugwa] This months mugwa meeting

 

I was thinking of turning up, it as been a while.

 

Anything been happening, many others going to be there?

 

    cya,    Andrew...

 

 


#749 From: "Chris Holme" <cholme@...>
Date: Sun Mar 19, 2006 8:29 pm
Subject: RE: This months mugwa meeting
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 

Well, since someone else is definitely going, then I will too.

Done some interesting things and got some nice new toys since I seen ya awl. J

 

Regards

Chris Holme

 

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Andrew McMeikan
Sent: Sunday, 19 March 2006 8:19 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [mugwa] This months mugwa meeting

 

I was thinking of turning up, it as been a while.

 

Anything been happening, many others going to be there?

 

    cya,    Andrew...

 

 


#748 From: "Chris Holme" <cholme@...>
Date: Sun Mar 19, 2006 8:29 pm
Subject: RE: This months mugwa meeting
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Sounds fun, I'm experimenting with gps programming at the moment, part
of my new research job.

Regards
Chris Holme


-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Adrian Chadd
Sent: Sunday, 19 March 2006 9:39 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mugwa] This months mugwa meeting

On Sun, Mar 19, 2006, Andrew McMeikan wrote:
> I was thinking of turning up, it as been a while.
>
> Anything been happening, many others going to be there?

I might be tempted to. I have an old C64 SID (sound chip) hooked
up to an AT90S8535 with LCD and rotary encoder. Its ugly, but
its working. :)



adrian



Yahoo! Groups Links

#747 From: Adrian Chadd <adrian@...>
Date: Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:38 pm
Subject: Re: This months mugwa meeting
adrian@...
Send Email Send Email
 
On Sun, Mar 19, 2006, Andrew McMeikan wrote:
> I was thinking of turning up, it as been a while.
>
> Anything been happening, many others going to be there?

I might be tempted to. I have an old C64 SID (sound chip) hooked
up to an AT90S8535 with LCD and rotary encoder. Its ugly, but
its working. :)



adrian

#746 From: "Andrew McMeikan" <andrewm@...>
Date: Sun Mar 19, 2006 12:18 pm
Subject: This months mugwa meeting
andrewmuck
Offline Offline
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I was thinking of turning up, it as been a while.
 
Anything been happening, many others going to be there?
 
    cya,    Andrew...
 

#745 From: "Yahoo! Reminder" <reminders@...>
Date: Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:25 am
Subject: Monthly MUGWA meeting, 3/21/2006, 7:30 pm
reminders@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder Reminder from the Calendar of mugwa
Monthly MUGWA meeting

Tuesday March 21, 2006
7:30 pm - 12:30 am
This event repeats on the third Tuesday of every month, until Wednesday February 24, 2010.

Event Location: CSIRO canteen
Notes:
CSIRO canteen is off Brockway Road in Floreat Park, first driveway to your right heading south about 100 meters from the intersection.

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#744 From: "Yahoo! Reminder" <reminders@...>
Date: Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:25 am
Subject: Monthly MUGWA meeting, 2/21/2006, 7:30 pm
reminders@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder Reminder from the Calendar of mugwa
Monthly MUGWA meeting

Tuesday February 21, 2006
7:30 pm - 12:30 am
This event repeats on the third Tuesday of every month, until Wednesday February 24, 2010.

Event Location: CSIRO canteen
Notes:
CSIRO canteen is off Brockway Road in Floreat Park, first driveway to your right heading south about 100 meters from the intersection.

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#743 From: "Yahoo! Reminder" <reminders@...>
Date: Sun Jan 15, 2006 11:25 am
Subject: Monthly MUGWA meeting, 1/17/2006, 7:30 pm
reminders@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder Reminder from the Calendar of mugwa
Monthly MUGWA meeting

Tuesday January 17, 2006
7:30 pm - 12:30 am
This event repeats on the third Tuesday of every month, until Wednesday February 24, 2010.

Event Location: CSIRO canteen
Notes:
CSIRO canteen is off Brockway Road in Floreat Park, first driveway to your right heading south about 100 meters from the intersection.

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#742 From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
Date: Sat Jan 14, 2006 5:32 am
Subject: SLA Battery Bargain
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Hello Peoples

Mike at world wide has some second hand 7 AHr SLA batteries for a fiver
each. These things have come from alarm systems and are one year old. I
bought twenty of them for stacking on my solar battery and for running
my robot drives which are 300W each. I have put these through some
rudimentary tests like how long will they last when driving a 100W
spotlight, all of them went better than half an hour. This translates to
somewhere around 3.5-4 AHr at a 1 Hr rate. My guess is that if they
where tested at the twenty hour rate specified they would come out
pretty close to the 7 AHr rating printed on them. In short, a good buy.

Regards
Chris Holme

#741 From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
Date: Fri Jan 13, 2006 8:32 am
Subject: Calling Andrew S
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Hello Andrew

Could you give me a call on 0403 878 175 sometime please.

Regards
Chris Holme

#740 From: "Yahoo! Reminder" <reminders@...>
Date: Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:25 am
Subject: Monthly MUGWA meeting, 12/20/2005, 7:30 pm
reminders@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder Reminder from the Calendar of mugwa
Monthly MUGWA meeting

Tuesday December 20, 2005
7:30 pm - 12:30 am
This event repeats on the third Tuesday of every month, until Wednesday February 24, 2010.

Event Location: CSIRO canteen
Notes:
CSIRO canteen is off Brockway Road in Floreat Park, first driveway to your right heading south about 100 meters from the intersection.

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Privacy Policy - Terms of Service

#739 From: "Yahoo! Reminder" <reminders@...>
Date: Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:25 am
Subject: Monthly MUGWA meeting, 11/15/2005, 7:30 pm
reminders@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder Reminder from the Calendar of mugwa
Monthly MUGWA meeting

Tuesday November 15, 2005
7:30 pm - 12:30 am
This event repeats on the third Tuesday of every month, until Wednesday February 24, 2010.

Event Location: CSIRO canteen
Notes:
CSIRO canteen is off Brockway Road in Floreat Park, first driveway to your right heading south about 100 meters from the intersection.

ADVERTISEMENT


Copyright ©  2005  Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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#738 From: Jean-Michel Howland <jean.michel.howland@...>
Date: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:25 am
Subject: Re: Wizard (Buisuit PC) for sale
jeanmichelho...
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
Damn, I should have charged you more. ;)

On 10/21/05, Andrew Smallridge <asmallri@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> If anyone wants to buy a wizard PC I have a spare one for sale. Comes with
> 32MB memory and a 5G hard disk.
>
> "Biscuit PC" / Wizard B2B2C
>
> Basically this is a complete PC in a solid industrial stainless steel case
> about the size of CD drive..
>
> The specs:
> Cyrix 233
> 5 gig HD (laptop drive)
> 32 MB SODIMM upgradeable to 128MB
> Onboard video
> Ethernet
> 1xPS/2
> 2xUSB
> 1xPrinter
> 2xCOM RS232 (one port can be used for RS422/RS485)
> PC/104 expansion
> Audio headers
> LVDS header
>
> Additional info:
>
> http://linux.dd.com.au/quest/linux/advantech/
>
>  This unit requires 5Volts at 1 to 5 amps. (depending on peripherals, etc).
> It also has a watchdog timer in it (handy for some), etc
>
> Some pics:
> http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20001.jpg
> http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20002.jpg
> http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20003.jpg
> http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20004.jpg
> http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20005.jpg
>
> Netway sell then for $199.
>
> The board works. I believe the hard disk works but have never used it on the
> Wizard. You will need to load an operating system on the Wizard (Linux,
> WIn98, WinNT)
>
> Offers?
>
> Regards, Andrew
>
>  ________________________________
>  YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>
>  Visit your group "mugwa" on the web.
>
>  To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  mugwa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>  ________________________________
>

#737 From: "Andrew Smallridge" <asmallri@...>
Date: Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:54 am
Subject: Wizard (Buisuit PC) for sale
asmallri
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
Hi All,
 
If anyone wants to buy a wizard PC I have a spare one for sale. Comes with 32MB memory and a 5G hard disk.
 
"Biscuit PC" / Wizard B2B2C

Basically this is a complete PC in a solid industrial stainless steel case about the size of CD drive..

The specs:
Cyrix 233
5 gig HD (laptop drive)
32 MB SODIMM upgradeable to 128MB
Onboard video
Ethernet
1xPS/2
2xUSB
1xPrinter
2xCOM RS232 (one port can be used for RS422/RS485)
PC/104 expansion
Audio headers
LVDS header
 
 This unit requires 5Volts at 1 to 5 amps. (depending on peripherals, etc). It also has a watchdog timer in it (handy for some), etc

Some pics:
http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20001.jpg
http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20002.jpg
http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20003.jpg
http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20004.jpg
http://www.cybix.com.au/wizard%20005.jpg
 
Netway sell then for $199.
 
The board works. I believe the hard disk works but have never used it on the Wizard. You will need to load an operating system on the Wizard (Linux, WIn98, WinNT)
 
Offers?
 
Regards, Andrew

#736 From: Jean-Michel Howland <jean.michel.howland@...>
Date: Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:03 pm
Subject: Re: Looking for a Wizaed (Biscuit PC) to borrow for a couple of weeks
jeanmichelho...
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
Andrew,

Give me a call after 1pm'ish on 0421 319 812 and we can arrange a time.

Regards
Mick.


On 10/19/05, Andrew Smallridge <asmallri@...> wrote:
Sending again - having problems with my email :-)
 
I'll take you up on the offer and buy it back :-)
 
Let me know your details so I can arrange pickup.
 
Regards, Andrew
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [mugwa] Looking for a Wizaed (Biscuit PC) to borrow for a couple of weeks

You're welcome to borrow this little beast if you want.

I'll even sell it back to you for what I paid for it. :)

Regards
Mick.


On 10/18/05, Andrew Smallridge <asmallri@...> wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking for a wizard PC to borrow for a couple of weeks (wait a minute -
didn't he just sell one? - yes i did and just one week later I was
regretting it) but enough of that.

Anyone got one I can play with?

Regards, Andrew




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#735 From: "Andrew Smallridge" <asmallri@...>
Date: Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:03 am
Subject: Re: Looking for a Wizaed (Biscuit PC) to borrow for a couple of weeks
asmallri
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
Sending again - having problems with my email :-)
 
I'll take you up on the offer and buy it back :-)
 
Let me know your details so I can arrange pickup.
 
Regards, Andrew
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [mugwa] Looking for a Wizaed (Biscuit PC) to borrow for a couple of weeks

You're welcome to borrow this little beast if you want.

I'll even sell it back to you for what I paid for it. :)

Regards
Mick.


On 10/18/05, Andrew Smallridge <asmallri@...> wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking for a wizard PC to borrow for a couple of weeks (wait a minute -
didn't he just sell one? - yes i did and just one week later I was
regretting it) but enough of that.

Anyone got one I can play with?

Regards, Andrew




------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/T8sf5C/tzNLAA/TtwFAA/j5T0lB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->


Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mugwa/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     mugwa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/







#734 From: Jean-Michel Howland <jean.michel.howland@...>
Date: Wed Oct 19, 2005 3:05 am
Subject: Re: Looking for a Wizaed (Biscuit PC) to borrow for a couple of weeks
jeanmichelho...
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
You're welcome to borrow this little beast if you want.

I'll even sell it back to you for what I paid for it. :)

Regards
Mick.


On 10/18/05, Andrew Smallridge <asmallri@...> wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking for a wizard PC to borrow for a couple of weeks (wait a minute -
didn't he just sell one? - yes i did and just one week later I was
regretting it) but enough of that.

Anyone got one I can play with?

Regards, Andrew




------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/T8sf5C/tzNLAA/TtwFAA/j5T0lB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->


Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mugwa/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     mugwa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/







#733 From: "Andrew Smallridge" <asmallri@...>
Date: Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:17 am
Subject: Looking for a Wizaed (Biscuit PC) to borrow for a couple of weeks
asmallri
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
Hi all,

I'm looking for a wizard PC to borrow for a couple of weeks (wait a minute -
didn't he just sell one? - yes i did and just one week later I was
regretting it) but enough of that.

Anyone got one I can play with?

Regards, Andrew

#732 From: "Yahoo! Reminder" <reminders@...>
Date: Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:25 am
Subject: Monthly MUGWA meeting, 10/18/2005, 7:30 pm
reminders@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder Reminder from the Calendar of mugwa
Monthly MUGWA meeting

Tuesday October 18, 2005
7:30 pm - 12:30 am
This event repeats on the third Tuesday of every month, until Wednesday February 24, 2010.

Event Location: CSIRO canteen
Notes:
CSIRO canteen is off Brockway Road in Floreat Park, first driveway to your right heading south about 100 meters from the intersection.

ADVERTISEMENT


Copyright ©  2005  Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service

#731 From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
Date: Tue Oct 11, 2005 3:50 pm
Subject: Really really low current draw
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Hello all.
I have been playing around with battery operated sensors just lately.
The circuit involves a pic18f1320, 2 lm35s,a reset circuit, a 3V reg for
reference purposes, a 4 way dil switch for config purposes, a LED and a
ER400TS easy radio.

I have done obvious things like power the sensors, the reference, the
switch, the led and the radio from port pins. I have also increased
resistor values dramatically eg. The led is in series with a 2k2
resistor.

I am using a tl499a to pump a 3V supply up to five volts for the micro
and the radio.

My questions are:
1. are monolithic capacitors a good choice for ripple suppression
or should I use something else?

2. will lowering the value of the capacitors used lower leakage and
hence current consumption?

3. I purchased some low leakage electros from jaycars (100 uF) but
this didn't seem to make any difference to using the el cheapos from
WWE, why is this? And,

4.  Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I may lower current
consumption even further?


Regards
Chris Holme

#730 From: "David Emrich" <dave@...>
Date: Tue Oct 4, 2005 11:17 am
Subject: Re: Sensing wind speed
dave_emrich
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
> Actually speaking of balls and electronics and the interesting things some
clever people can do with them,.. check out

Damn, my bad... the URL is.

http://www.daves-domain.com/movie/Thisguyisamazing.wmv     (Sound required).

if you just go to http://www.daves-domain.com/movie you can right-click save-as
the file if you like it.

> Cheers,
> David.

#729 From: "David Emrich" <dave@...>
Date: Tue Oct 4, 2005 10:56 am
Subject: Re: Sensing wind speed
dave_emrich
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
> Air pressure is another thing of interest to me at the moment. Does
> anyone know of a cheap sensor?
>

DIY's are also possible for (static) pressure, but I think they can be a bit
trickier, for two reasons... Linearity and, if you're
doing barometric pressure, the small changes with respect to a "baseline" of
1000 units (millibars?).  Often you see barometric
pressure in this scale quoted with one decimal place too, which means 5 orders
of magnitude between your resolution and range.

One interesting side note is the intriguing way that top loading washing machine
water level sensor work.. They essentially trap a
column of air between the water level in the base of the wash drum at the
bottom, and the sensor itself, usually mounted slightly
above the top of the drum level.  As the water level rises, the air column is
put under more and more pressure until it finally
trips the switch, turning off the water inlet, and starting the wash cycle. 
Amusing messes can be made by forgetting this, and
equalising the pressure when there is already some amount of water in the drum. 
I did this once in the process of figuring out why
my washer was overflowing. In the first instance the cold-water solenoid wasn't
closing properly, so the wash cycle would start but
water would continue and eventually overflow the drum.  So I swapped the hot and
cold solenoids around, since my missus does
cold-only washes.  However in the process of figuring out the solenoid was sus,
I disconnected the pipe from the level sensor with a
half full drum.  When I reconnected it, having convinced myself I'd fixed the
problem, it dutifully tried to fully fill an already
half full drum, the extra half being continuously dumped on the floor, and since
the level switch never tripped the solenoid stayed
open and the wash cycle never started.  Sigh.

Anyway, back to air pressure measurements.... Essentially you measure the change
in volume of a sealed container of gas, along with
temperature.  Then use the gas laws to figure out the change in pressure
associated with your sensor.

Eg. you could have a tin can solder-sealed all around at a given (and measured)
pressure / temperature.  From that point on,
assuming no gas leaks out, the tin can will either expand or contract depending
on changes in the surrounding air pressure.  One
_could_ attach a steel strain guage to the can and measure the strain on a flat
side-wall, figure out the pressure difference (guage
pressure), and then you know the difference between now, and when you sealed
your tin.  You use your base calibration to then
determine absolute external pressure.

However, the can itself will resist pressure changes in a not-necessarily easily
predicted manner.  An alternative is to have a
sealed cylinder with a piston, again set up at a known pressure/temperature, and
then measure changes in the height of the piston.
You'd have to take into account friction in the piston seals etc.

If you're sensing line air pressure in high pressure systems, that's all well
and good, but measuring barometric pressure amounts to
measuring maximum changes of under 100 units out of 1000, eg, a 10 percent
change.  Probably the easiest way to do that would be to
get a resonable quality mechanical barometric pressure guage and instrument the
indicator dial! (eg. with a shaft angle sensor or
something).

Essentially most mechanical barometric devices convert small pressure changes
around some "average" into a coiling or uncoiling
motion of a long tube wound in an open spiral, which then rotates a needle with
it.

Dynamic pressure is another thing altogether.  This will relate to your
windspeed measurement too.  Maybe Andrew's platinum balls
can do double duty!

Actually speaking of balls and electronics and the interesting things some
clever people can do with them,.. check out
http://www.daves-domain.com/movies/Thisguyisamazing.wmv     (Sound required).

Cheers,
David.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
To: <mugwa@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 6:25 AM
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed
>
> Regards
>
> Chris Holme
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> ron.casotti@...
> Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 11:53 PM
> To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed
>
>
>
> Another way which I don't think anyones mentioned, is using differential
> pressure sensors and a venturie . 2 or 3 sensors
>
> could be used to extend the range.
>
>
>
> Ron.
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> Chris
> Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 9:37 PM
> To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed
>
>
>
> Thanks fellows, I am most interested in the linear thing Dave mentioned
> concerning thermal gradients. Being in possession of nifty things like
> difference amplifiers and high resolution ADCs (all grafted through
> various sample programs) I think that I will experiment with heated temp
> sensors.
>
> Although Andrews plutonium balls sound like fun too.
>
> Regards
> Chris Holme
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> David Emrich
> Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 8:50 PM
> To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed
>
> > Hello Guys
> > I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> > wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> > options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> > which is self heated.
> > Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> > anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?
>
> I've done the anemometer type thingy, and you're not limited to three
> cups... Four is just as workable, and slightly easier to make
> (90 degree angles being what they are, versus 120 degree ones).  I used
> bits of 2mm galvanised fencing wire and table-tennis balls
> cut in half.  Mounted them onto a small 12V motor from an eftpos journal
> printer which I mounted vertically.  I reduced the bearing
> friction in the motor by supporting the "short" end of the shaft on a
> hardened steel ball and only using the inbuilt bronze bushes
> for side-thrust.  I reduced the brush/commutator friction by removing
> the brushes and commutator!  I reduced the rotating intertia
> by removing the coils and armature. Oh, and I took out the magnets too
> :-S  Not much of the original motor left except the shaft and
> bronze bushes.  Oh, and the photo-interruptor disc on the back which
> gave me something like 20 slots per rev.  BUT, it did
> accurately read windspeeds down below 1 kmh, and over 80kmh (half a knot
> to 40 knots), compared to a commercial unit rated well
> beyond my meagre usage requirements (and even further beyond my price
> tag!).  It could probably have gone higher, maybe even to
> 150kmh, I just didn't test it that hard.
>
> I've also used the two-temperature-sensors and (in my case independent)
> heater element, that works quite well, and is valid for just
> about ANY type of fluid, not just gases.
>
> One simple way to measure windspeed that sometimes is good enough is a
> large vane which is suspended vertically by a thinish (but
> rigid) wire, from a hinge.  The more the wind blows, the more the vane
> deflects,... if it's horizontal, time to batten down the
> hatches!  I don't remember how the relationship between angle and
> windspeed goes, but it's probably NOT linear, whereas within
> reasonable limits, both the cups-anemometer and thermal gradient methods
> ARE linear with speed.
>
> With any wind sensor, there are some issues to think about (you can
> decide to ignore them, but you need to know what they are to
> decide if you CAN ignore them!).
>
> 1. Turbulence.  This can be from nearby objects, or your sensor device
> itself.  Pretty obviously, you can't tolerate much of this
> from either source, unless you're purely interested in a "wind /
> no-wind" sensor.
>
> 2. Direction.  Wind-sensors for (eg.) sailboating might require some
> degree of dependence on all three directions, since the boat
> can be keeled over quite sharply, affecting the apparent direction of
> the wind on the sails.  Therefore some kind of "3D windspeed"
> (more probably wind-velocity) sensor might be required. Meteorological
> wind sensors should be designed to read wind speed
> independent of horizontal direction (that is, they're essentially two-D
> devices).  Assuming one has handled point 1 appropriately,
> and is on level ground, one doesn't normally expect much wind to be
> travelling in anything other than a horizontal direction. :-)
> Lastly, windspeed in a pipe is obvioulsy constrained to flow directly
> along the pipe, sufficiently far away from corners and
> fittings, and is pretty much one-dimensional.
>
> 3. "Dynamic range".  Just how much (and how little) wind speed do you
> need to accurately read?
>
> 4. Linearity.  Do you need it? Can you work with a simple fudge table?
> Can you measure wind speed in your own not-necessarily-linear
> units and be happy with that?  (A related problem occurs with thermistor
> based temperature measurement,... one of our projects at
> work measured temperature in what became known as Leotherms... the guy
> writing the micro-code was Leo!).
>
> I think that about covers it.
>
> Hope you can get something useful out of all that.
>
> Cheers,
> David.
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>
>
> *          Visit your group "mugwa <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mugwa>
> " on the web.
>
>
> *          To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  mugwa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:mugwa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>
>
>
> *          Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
> <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>  Terms of Service.
>
>
>
>   _____
>
>

#728 From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
Date: Tue Oct 4, 2005 8:07 am
Subject: RE: Sensing wind speed
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 

cheers

 

Regards

Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ron.casotti@...
Sent: Tuesday, 4 October 2005 9:36 AM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

If you’re in a hurry try RS components, if you want a better deal and are willing to wait a week or so, Mouser electronics in the USA is the place to try.

 

Ron…


From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris
Sent: Tuesday, 4 October 2005 6:25 AM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Air pressure is another thing of interest to me at the moment. Does anyone know of a cheap sensor?

 

Regards

Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ron.casotti@...
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 11:53 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Another way which I don’t think anyones mentioned, is using differential pressure sensors and a venturie . 2 or 3 sensors

could be used to extend the range.

 

Ron…

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 9:37 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Thanks fellows, I am most interested in the linear thing Dave mentioned
concerning thermal gradients. Being in possession of nifty things like
difference amplifiers and high resolution ADCs (all grafted through
various sample programs) I think that I will experiment with heated temp
sensors.

Although Andrews plutonium balls sound like fun too.

Regards
Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
David Emrich
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 8:50 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

> Hello Guys
> I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> which is self heated.
> Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?

I've done the anemometer type thingy, and you're not limited to three
cups... Four is just as workable, and slightly easier to make
(90 degree angles being what they are, versus 120 degree ones).  I used
bits of 2mm galvanised fencing wire and table-tennis balls
cut in half.  Mounted them onto a small 12V motor from an eftpos journal
printer which I mounted vertically.  I reduced the bearing
friction in the motor by supporting the "short" end of the shaft on a
hardened steel ball and only using the inbuilt bronze bushes
for side-thrust.  I reduced the brush/commutator friction by removing
the brushes and commutator!  I reduced the rotating intertia
by removing the coils and armature. Oh, and I took out the magnets too
:-S  Not much of the original motor left except the shaft and
bronze bushes.  Oh, and the photo-interruptor disc on the back which
gave me something like 20 slots per rev.  BUT, it did
accurately read windspeeds down below 1 kmh, and over 80kmh (half a knot
to 40 knots), compared to a commercial unit rated well
beyond my meagre usage requirements (and even further beyond my price
tag!).  It could probably have gone higher, maybe even to
150kmh, I just didn't test it that hard.

I've also used the two-temperature-sensors and (in my case independent)
heater element, that works quite well, and is valid for just
about ANY type of fluid, not just gases.

One simple way to measure windspeed that sometimes is good enough is a
large vane which is suspended vertically by a thinish (but
rigid) wire, from a hinge.  The more the wind blows, the more the vane
deflects,... if it's horizontal, time to batten down the
hatches!  I don't remember how the relationship between angle and
windspeed goes, but it's probably NOT linear, whereas within
reasonable limits, both the cups-anemometer and thermal gradient methods
ARE linear with speed.

With any wind sensor, there are some issues to think about (you can
decide to ignore them, but you need to know what they are to
decide if you CAN ignore them!).

1. Turbulence.  This can be from nearby objects, or your sensor device
itself.  Pretty obviously, you can't tolerate much of this
from either source, unless you're purely interested in a "wind /
no-wind" sensor.

2. Direction.  Wind-sensors for (eg.) sailboating might require some
degree of dependence on all three directions, since the boat
can be keeled over quite sharply, affecting the apparent direction of
the wind on the sails.  Therefore some kind of "3D windspeed"
(more probably wind-velocity) sensor might be required. Meteorological
wind sensors should be designed to read wind speed
independent of horizontal direction (that is, they're essentially two-D
devices).  Assuming one has handled point 1 appropriately,
and is on level ground, one doesn't normally expect much wind to be
travelling in anything other than a horizontal direction. :-)
Lastly, windspeed in a pipe is obvioulsy constrained to flow directly
along the pipe, sufficiently far away from corners and
fittings, and is pretty much one-dimensional.

3. "Dynamic range".  Just how much (and how little) wind speed do you
need to accurately read?

4. Linearity.  Do you need it? Can you work with a simple fudge table?
Can you measure wind speed in your own not-necessarily-linear
units and be happy with that?  (A related problem occurs with thermistor
based temperature measurement,... one of our projects at
work measured temperature in what became known as Leotherms... the guy
writing the micro-code was Leo!).

I think that about covers it.

Hope you can get something useful out of all that.

Cheers,
David.





Yahoo! Groups Links



 


#727 From: <ron.casotti@...>
Date: Tue Oct 4, 2005 1:35 am
Subject: RE: Sensing wind speed
roncasotti
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 

If you’re in a hurry try RS components, if you want a better deal and are willing to wait a week or so, Mouser electronics in the USA is the place to try.

 

Ron…


From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris
Sent: Tuesday, 4 October 2005 6:25 AM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Air pressure is another thing of interest to me at the moment. Does anyone know of a cheap sensor?

 

Regards

Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ron.casotti@...
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 11:53 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Another way which I don’t think anyones mentioned, is using differential pressure sensors and a venturie . 2 or 3 sensors

could be used to extend the range.

 

Ron…

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 9:37 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Thanks fellows, I am most interested in the linear thing Dave mentioned
concerning thermal gradients. Being in possession of nifty things like
difference amplifiers and high resolution ADCs (all grafted through
various sample programs) I think that I will experiment with heated temp
sensors.

Although Andrews plutonium balls sound like fun too.

Regards
Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
David Emrich
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 8:50 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

> Hello Guys
> I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> which is self heated.
> Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?

I've done the anemometer type thingy, and you're not limited to three
cups... Four is just as workable, and slightly easier to make
(90 degree angles being what they are, versus 120 degree ones).  I used
bits of 2mm galvanised fencing wire and table-tennis balls
cut in half.  Mounted them onto a small 12V motor from an eftpos journal
printer which I mounted vertically.  I reduced the bearing
friction in the motor by supporting the "short" end of the shaft on a
hardened steel ball and only using the inbuilt bronze bushes
for side-thrust.  I reduced the brush/commutator friction by removing
the brushes and commutator!  I reduced the rotating intertia
by removing the coils and armature. Oh, and I took out the magnets too
:-S  Not much of the original motor left except the shaft and
bronze bushes.  Oh, and the photo-interruptor disc on the back which
gave me something like 20 slots per rev.  BUT, it did
accurately read windspeeds down below 1 kmh, and over 80kmh (half a knot
to 40 knots), compared to a commercial unit rated well
beyond my meagre usage requirements (and even further beyond my price
tag!).  It could probably have gone higher, maybe even to
150kmh, I just didn't test it that hard.

I've also used the two-temperature-sensors and (in my case independent)
heater element, that works quite well, and is valid for just
about ANY type of fluid, not just gases.

One simple way to measure windspeed that sometimes is good enough is a
large vane which is suspended vertically by a thinish (but
rigid) wire, from a hinge.  The more the wind blows, the more the vane
deflects,... if it's horizontal, time to batten down the
hatches!  I don't remember how the relationship between angle and
windspeed goes, but it's probably NOT linear, whereas within
reasonable limits, both the cups-anemometer and thermal gradient methods
ARE linear with speed.

With any wind sensor, there are some issues to think about (you can
decide to ignore them, but you need to know what they are to
decide if you CAN ignore them!).

1. Turbulence.  This can be from nearby objects, or your sensor device
itself.  Pretty obviously, you can't tolerate much of this
from either source, unless you're purely interested in a "wind /
no-wind" sensor.

2. Direction.  Wind-sensors for (eg.) sailboating might require some
degree of dependence on all three directions, since the boat
can be keeled over quite sharply, affecting the apparent direction of
the wind on the sails.  Therefore some kind of "3D windspeed"
(more probably wind-velocity) sensor might be required. Meteorological
wind sensors should be designed to read wind speed
independent of horizontal direction (that is, they're essentially two-D
devices).  Assuming one has handled point 1 appropriately,
and is on level ground, one doesn't normally expect much wind to be
travelling in anything other than a horizontal direction. :-)
Lastly, windspeed in a pipe is obvioulsy constrained to flow directly
along the pipe, sufficiently far away from corners and
fittings, and is pretty much one-dimensional.

3. "Dynamic range".  Just how much (and how little) wind speed do you
need to accurately read?

4. Linearity.  Do you need it? Can you work with a simple fudge table?
Can you measure wind speed in your own not-necessarily-linear
units and be happy with that?  (A related problem occurs with thermistor
based temperature measurement,... one of our projects at
work measured temperature in what became known as Leotherms... the guy
writing the micro-code was Leo!).

I think that about covers it.

Hope you can get something useful out of all that.

Cheers,
David.





Yahoo! Groups Links




 


#726 From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
Date: Mon Oct 3, 2005 10:25 pm
Subject: RE: Sensing wind speed
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 

Air pressure is another thing of interest to me at the moment. Does anyone know of a cheap sensor?

 

Regards

Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ron.casotti@...
Sent:
Monday, 3 October 2005 11:53 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Another way which I don’t think anyones mentioned, is using differential pressure sensors and a venturie . 2 or 3 sensors

could be used to extend the range.

 

Ron…

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris
Sent:
Monday, 3 October 2005 9:37 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Thanks fellows, I am most interested in the linear thing Dave mentioned
concerning thermal gradients. Being in possession of nifty things like
difference amplifiers and high resolution ADCs (all grafted through
various sample programs) I think that I will experiment with heated temp
sensors.

Although Andrews plutonium balls sound like fun too.

Regards
Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
David Emrich
Sent:
Monday, 3 October 2005 8:50 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

> Hello Guys
> I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> which is self heated.
> Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?

I've done the anemometer type thingy, and you're not limited to three
cups... Four is just as workable, and slightly easier to make
(90 degree angles being what they are, versus 120 degree ones).  I used
bits of 2mm galvanised fencing wire and table-tennis balls
cut in half.  Mounted them onto a small 12V motor from an eftpos journal
printer which I mounted vertically.  I reduced the bearing
friction in the motor by supporting the "short" end of the shaft on a
hardened steel ball and only using the inbuilt bronze bushes
for side-thrust.  I reduced the brush/commutator friction by removing
the brushes and commutator!  I reduced the rotating intertia
by removing the coils and armature. Oh, and I took out the magnets too
:-S  Not much of the original motor left except the shaft and
bronze bushes.  Oh, and the photo-interruptor disc on the back which
gave me something like 20 slots per rev.  BUT, it did
accurately read windspeeds down below 1 kmh, and over 80kmh (half a knot
to 40 knots), compared to a commercial unit rated well
beyond my meagre usage requirements (and even further beyond my price
tag!).  It could probably have gone higher, maybe even to
150kmh, I just didn't test it that hard.

I've also used the two-temperature-sensors and (in my case independent)
heater element, that works quite well, and is valid for just
about ANY type of fluid, not just gases.

One simple way to measure windspeed that sometimes is good enough is a
large vane which is suspended vertically by a thinish (but
rigid) wire, from a hinge.  The more the wind blows, the more the vane
deflects,... if it's horizontal, time to batten down the
hatches!  I don't remember how the relationship between angle and
windspeed goes, but it's probably NOT linear, whereas within
reasonable limits, both the cups-anemometer and thermal gradient methods
ARE linear with speed.

With any wind sensor, there are some issues to think about (you can
decide to ignore them, but you need to know what they are to
decide if you CAN ignore them!).

1. Turbulence.  This can be from nearby objects, or your sensor device
itself.  Pretty obviously, you can't tolerate much of this
from either source, unless you're purely interested in a "wind /
no-wind" sensor.

2. Direction.  Wind-sensors for (eg.) sailboating might require some
degree of dependence on all three directions, since the boat
can be keeled over quite sharply, affecting the apparent direction of
the wind on the sails.  Therefore some kind of "3D windspeed"
(more probably wind-velocity) sensor might be required. Meteorological
wind sensors should be designed to read wind speed
independent of horizontal direction (that is, they're essentially two-D
devices).  Assuming one has handled point 1 appropriately,
and is on level ground, one doesn't normally expect much wind to be
travelling in anything other than a horizontal direction. :-)
Lastly, windspeed in a pipe is obvioulsy constrained to flow directly
along the pipe, sufficiently far away from corners and
fittings, and is pretty much one-dimensional.

3. "Dynamic range".  Just how much (and how little) wind speed do you
need to accurately read?

4. Linearity.  Do you need it? Can you work with a simple fudge table?
Can you measure wind speed in your own not-necessarily-linear
units and be happy with that?  (A related problem occurs with thermistor
based temperature measurement,... one of our projects at
work measured temperature in what became known as Leotherms... the guy
writing the micro-code was Leo!).

I think that about covers it.

Hope you can get something useful out of all that.

Cheers,
David.





Yahoo! Groups Links





 


#725 From: <ron.casotti@...>
Date: Mon Oct 3, 2005 3:53 pm
Subject: RE: Sensing wind speed
roncasotti
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 

Another way which I don’t think anyones mentioned, is using differential pressure sensors and a venturie . 2 or 3 sensors

could be used to extend the range.

 

Ron…

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 9:37 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

 

Thanks fellows, I am most interested in the linear thing Dave mentioned
concerning thermal gradients. Being in possession of nifty things like
difference amplifiers and high resolution ADCs (all grafted through
various sample programs) I think that I will experiment with heated temp
sensors.

Although Andrews plutonium balls sound like fun too.

Regards
Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
David Emrich
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 8:50 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

> Hello Guys
> I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> which is self heated.
> Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?

I've done the anemometer type thingy, and you're not limited to three
cups... Four is just as workable, and slightly easier to make
(90 degree angles being what they are, versus 120 degree ones).  I used
bits of 2mm galvanised fencing wire and table-tennis balls
cut in half.  Mounted them onto a small 12V motor from an eftpos journal
printer which I mounted vertically.  I reduced the bearing
friction in the motor by supporting the "short" end of the shaft on a
hardened steel ball and only using the inbuilt bronze bushes
for side-thrust.  I reduced the brush/commutator friction by removing
the brushes and commutator!  I reduced the rotating intertia
by removing the coils and armature. Oh, and I took out the magnets too
:-S  Not much of the original motor left except the shaft and
bronze bushes.  Oh, and the photo-interruptor disc on the back which
gave me something like 20 slots per rev.  BUT, it did
accurately read windspeeds down below 1 kmh, and over 80kmh (half a knot
to 40 knots), compared to a commercial unit rated well
beyond my meagre usage requirements (and even further beyond my price
tag!).  It could probably have gone higher, maybe even to
150kmh, I just didn't test it that hard.

I've also used the two-temperature-sensors and (in my case independent)
heater element, that works quite well, and is valid for just
about ANY type of fluid, not just gases.

One simple way to measure windspeed that sometimes is good enough is a
large vane which is suspended vertically by a thinish (but
rigid) wire, from a hinge.  The more the wind blows, the more the vane
deflects,... if it's horizontal, time to batten down the
hatches!  I don't remember how the relationship between angle and
windspeed goes, but it's probably NOT linear, whereas within
reasonable limits, both the cups-anemometer and thermal gradient methods
ARE linear with speed.

With any wind sensor, there are some issues to think about (you can
decide to ignore them, but you need to know what they are to
decide if you CAN ignore them!).

1. Turbulence.  This can be from nearby objects, or your sensor device
itself.  Pretty obviously, you can't tolerate much of this
from either source, unless you're purely interested in a "wind /
no-wind" sensor.

2. Direction.  Wind-sensors for (eg.) sailboating might require some
degree of dependence on all three directions, since the boat
can be keeled over quite sharply, affecting the apparent direction of
the wind on the sails.  Therefore some kind of "3D windspeed"
(more probably wind-velocity) sensor might be required. Meteorological
wind sensors should be designed to read wind speed
independent of horizontal direction (that is, they're essentially two-D
devices).  Assuming one has handled point 1 appropriately,
and is on level ground, one doesn't normally expect much wind to be
travelling in anything other than a horizontal direction. :-)
Lastly, windspeed in a pipe is obvioulsy constrained to flow directly
along the pipe, sufficiently far away from corners and
fittings, and is pretty much one-dimensional.

3. "Dynamic range".  Just how much (and how little) wind speed do you
need to accurately read?

4. Linearity.  Do you need it? Can you work with a simple fudge table?
Can you measure wind speed in your own not-necessarily-linear
units and be happy with that?  (A related problem occurs with thermistor
based temperature measurement,... one of our projects at
work measured temperature in what became known as Leotherms... the guy
writing the micro-code was Leo!).

I think that about covers it.

Hope you can get something useful out of all that.

Cheers,
David.





Yahoo! Groups Links






#724 From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
Date: Mon Oct 3, 2005 1:36 pm
Subject: RE: Sensing wind speed
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Thanks fellows, I am most interested in the linear thing Dave mentioned
concerning thermal gradients. Being in possession of nifty things like
difference amplifiers and high resolution ADCs (all grafted through
various sample programs) I think that I will experiment with heated temp
sensors.

Although Andrews plutonium balls sound like fun too.

Regards
Chris Holme

-----Original Message-----
From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
David Emrich
Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 8:50 PM
To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed

> Hello Guys
> I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> which is self heated.
> Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?

I've done the anemometer type thingy, and you're not limited to three
cups... Four is just as workable, and slightly easier to make
(90 degree angles being what they are, versus 120 degree ones).  I used
bits of 2mm galvanised fencing wire and table-tennis balls
cut in half.  Mounted them onto a small 12V motor from an eftpos journal
printer which I mounted vertically.  I reduced the bearing
friction in the motor by supporting the "short" end of the shaft on a
hardened steel ball and only using the inbuilt bronze bushes
for side-thrust.  I reduced the brush/commutator friction by removing
the brushes and commutator!  I reduced the rotating intertia
by removing the coils and armature. Oh, and I took out the magnets too
:-S  Not much of the original motor left except the shaft and
bronze bushes.  Oh, and the photo-interruptor disc on the back which
gave me something like 20 slots per rev.  BUT, it did
accurately read windspeeds down below 1 kmh, and over 80kmh (half a knot
to 40 knots), compared to a commercial unit rated well
beyond my meagre usage requirements (and even further beyond my price
tag!).  It could probably have gone higher, maybe even to
150kmh, I just didn't test it that hard.

I've also used the two-temperature-sensors and (in my case independent)
heater element, that works quite well, and is valid for just
about ANY type of fluid, not just gases.

One simple way to measure windspeed that sometimes is good enough is a
large vane which is suspended vertically by a thinish (but
rigid) wire, from a hinge.  The more the wind blows, the more the vane
deflects,... if it's horizontal, time to batten down the
hatches!  I don't remember how the relationship between angle and
windspeed goes, but it's probably NOT linear, whereas within
reasonable limits, both the cups-anemometer and thermal gradient methods
ARE linear with speed.

With any wind sensor, there are some issues to think about (you can
decide to ignore them, but you need to know what they are to
decide if you CAN ignore them!).

1. Turbulence.  This can be from nearby objects, or your sensor device
itself.  Pretty obviously, you can't tolerate much of this
from either source, unless you're purely interested in a "wind /
no-wind" sensor.

2. Direction.  Wind-sensors for (eg.) sailboating might require some
degree of dependence on all three directions, since the boat
can be keeled over quite sharply, affecting the apparent direction of
the wind on the sails.  Therefore some kind of "3D windspeed"
(more probably wind-velocity) sensor might be required. Meteorological
wind sensors should be designed to read wind speed
independent of horizontal direction (that is, they're essentially two-D
devices).  Assuming one has handled point 1 appropriately,
and is on level ground, one doesn't normally expect much wind to be
travelling in anything other than a horizontal direction. :-)
Lastly, windspeed in a pipe is obvioulsy constrained to flow directly
along the pipe, sufficiently far away from corners and
fittings, and is pretty much one-dimensional.

3. "Dynamic range".  Just how much (and how little) wind speed do you
need to accurately read?

4. Linearity.  Do you need it? Can you work with a simple fudge table?
Can you measure wind speed in your own not-necessarily-linear
units and be happy with that?  (A related problem occurs with thermistor
based temperature measurement,... one of our projects at
work measured temperature in what became known as Leotherms... the guy
writing the micro-code was Leo!).

I think that about covers it.

Hope you can get something useful out of all that.

Cheers,
David.





Yahoo! Groups Links

#723 From: "Andrew McMeikan" <andrewm@...>
Date: Mon Oct 3, 2005 1:02 pm
Subject: RE: Sensing wind speed
andrewmuck
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
Hot wire resistance/current flow, air pressure through a venturi,
windmill.

You could have a calibrated mercury drip and a fine wire grid detecting
how far the drops are blown.  (this may have an environmental impact ;)

For seriously strong wind replace mercury with plutonium balls, keep
them under 10kgs!

Actually a lead ball on a swing arm should be able to measure up to most
non extinction level events.  For severe events you would want a wind
shielded ball as well so as to account for any plate tectonics induced
by the wind.  Then just hang you balls out and you can know how windy it
is.

Adjust size of balls for expect range of wind that will pass them.

	 cya, Andrew...

PS: posted without any rereading, any actual use of this random info at
your own risk.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mugwa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mugwa@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Chris
> Sent: Monday, 3 October 2005 8:16
> To: mugwa@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [mugwa] Sensing wind speed
>
>
> Hello Guys
> I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> which is self heated.
> Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?
>
> Regards
> Chris Holme
>
>
>
>
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>

#722 From: "David Emrich" <dave@...>
Date: Mon Oct 3, 2005 12:49 pm
Subject: Re: Sensing wind speed
dave_emrich
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
> Hello Guys
> I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
> wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
> options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
> which is self heated.
> Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
> anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?

I've done the anemometer type thingy, and you're not limited to three cups...
Four is just as workable, and slightly easier to make
(90 degree angles being what they are, versus 120 degree ones).  I used bits of
2mm galvanised fencing wire and table-tennis balls
cut in half.  Mounted them onto a small 12V motor from an eftpos journal printer
which I mounted vertically.  I reduced the bearing
friction in the motor by supporting the "short" end of the shaft on a hardened
steel ball and only using the inbuilt bronze bushes
for side-thrust.  I reduced the brush/commutator friction by removing the
brushes and commutator!  I reduced the rotating intertia
by removing the coils and armature. Oh, and I took out the magnets too :-S  Not
much of the original motor left except the shaft and
bronze bushes.  Oh, and the photo-interruptor disc on the back which gave me
something like 20 slots per rev.  BUT, it did
accurately read windspeeds down below 1 kmh, and over 80kmh (half a knot to 40
knots), compared to a commercial unit rated well
beyond my meagre usage requirements (and even further beyond my price tag!).  It
could probably have gone higher, maybe even to
150kmh, I just didn't test it that hard.

I've also used the two-temperature-sensors and (in my case independent) heater
element, that works quite well, and is valid for just
about ANY type of fluid, not just gases.

One simple way to measure windspeed that sometimes is good enough is a large
vane which is suspended vertically by a thinish (but
rigid) wire, from a hinge.  The more the wind blows, the more the vane
deflects,... if it's horizontal, time to batten down the
hatches!  I don't remember how the relationship between angle and windspeed
goes, but it's probably NOT linear, whereas within
reasonable limits, both the cups-anemometer and thermal gradient methods ARE
linear with speed.

With any wind sensor, there are some issues to think about (you can decide to
ignore them, but you need to know what they are to
decide if you CAN ignore them!).

1. Turbulence.  This can be from nearby objects, or your sensor device itself. 
Pretty obviously, you can't tolerate much of this
from either source, unless you're purely interested in a "wind / no-wind"
sensor.

2. Direction.  Wind-sensors for (eg.) sailboating might require some degree of
dependence on all three directions, since the boat
can be keeled over quite sharply, affecting the apparent direction of the wind
on the sails.  Therefore some kind of "3D windspeed"
(more probably wind-velocity) sensor might be required. Meteorological wind
sensors should be designed to read wind speed
independent of horizontal direction (that is, they're essentially two-D
devices).  Assuming one has handled point 1 appropriately,
and is on level ground, one doesn't normally expect much wind to be travelling
in anything other than a horizontal direction. :-)
Lastly, windspeed in a pipe is obvioulsy constrained to flow directly along the
pipe, sufficiently far away from corners and
fittings, and is pretty much one-dimensional.

3. "Dynamic range".  Just how much (and how little) wind speed do you need to
accurately read?

4. Linearity.  Do you need it? Can you work with a simple fudge table? Can you
measure wind speed in your own not-necessarily-linear
units and be happy with that?  (A related problem occurs with thermistor based
temperature measurement,... one of our projects at
work measured temperature in what became known as Leotherms... the guy writing
the micro-code was Leo!).

I think that about covers it.

Hope you can get something useful out of all that.

Cheers,
David.

#721 From: "Chris" <cholme@...>
Date: Mon Oct 3, 2005 12:15 pm
Subject: Sensing wind speed
cholme@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Hello Guys
I've been looking around and trying to learn something about sensing
wind speed. Apart from anemometers with three cups it appears that my
options are ultrasonic transducers or using a pair of LM335's, one of
which is self heated.
Does anyone have any practical experience with wind speed? Or, has
anyone heard of another way to measure wind speed?

Regards
Chris Holme

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