Topic: Ultrasonic wind sensor

[Jáchym]

My friend wants to buy the netAtmo wind sensor, which uses ultrasonic technology, so I was just wondering, does anyone here have first-hand experience with an ultrasonic wind sensor? How do they compare with the conventional ones in terms of accuracy and durability?

[DaleReid]

  I had an RM Young one for awhile.  Nice unit.  Of course instantly responsive.  I don't know how it compares to a traditional rotating cup or propeller type since I didn't have two mounted together.

There can be no solid precip onto it, of course.  Snow would probably interfer but I cannot say for sure since  I never did  have it up long enough to evaluate in snow, but one of the four posts that held the transducers was broken off when a piece of falling ice (rare but of course it happened) took a direct hit and broke.  Attempts to carefully glue it back in place failed, since I guess the short distance between the posts is so critical for measuring that it has to be set at the factory during calibration.  Or so the technician told me when I called.  And the repair costs at the time were significant enough that I chose not to get it fixed.

I have no experience with the unit you are referring to.  I know that the Vaisala (from Finland, I think) has an all in one unit that for ships includes even a GPS and all, but of course not needed for stationary work.

I'd be very interested in what his experience is when he gets something set up.

Is he located where there is only rain?  Oh, birds no doubt would be a factor if they decided to sit on it.

[Jáchym]

In fact, my dad (sadly) owns the NetAtmo and he does have both the wind and rain sensors. But he lives in a very very calm area just in the middle of the city so there is not much opportunity to "test" it.

[vreihen]

You might want to check the sampling rate and reporting rate on netAtmo units, as well as the output API options if your friend intends to publish the data to the web.  My memory is long fried since I last looked at this particular device, but I seem to recall the reporting rate was totally unacceptable for anything but casual home use.

There are instructions online for doing a DIY ultrasonic anemometer using common automotive backup sensors, which are several orders of magnitude cheaper than the professional ultrasonic units.  Last-generation surplus RM Young units pop up on eBay for about $500 here in the USA quite frequently, and I gave serious thought to buying one last as the foundation for a best-of-breed weather station build.....