4 ms·

Measure wind speed and direction with ultrasonic anemometer and Arduino

27 points by momirlan 3y ago

sixothree 3y ago
A few years ago I made an indoor wind chime that used an outdoor anemometer. Since I 3d printed the anemometer, it was wiped out in a storm and I have yet to replace it. Maybe this is what I need.
earleybird 3y ago
[flagged]
- dang 3y ago
  "Please don't complain about tangential annoyances—e.g. article or website formats, name collisions, or back-button breakage. They're too common to be interesting." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
theamk 3y ago
TL/DR: this is super generic "convert serial device to LCD display using Arduino" tutorial, this time talking to RS-485 equipped anemometer. Looks like the anemometer itself can only be purchased from manufacturer, for $73 + unknown shipping, and using "contact us" form only (there is no web store) [0]. And the datasheet is available by request only. Normally this would disqualify any product, but $73 is very cheap for ultrasonic anemometers, so if you really have a need for one, this is something to consider. (but the implementation in the article itself is NOT the approach I'd recommend.. If you are buying $100 sensor, don't pair it with tiny $3 display with tiny hard-to-read letters, spend a few dollars more and get yourself a nicer, bigger display. And while at it, might as well take advantage of RS485 multipoint nature and stick a thermometer in that empty louver box underneath the device) [0] https://www.renkeer.com/product/ultrasonic-anemometer/ https://www.renkeer.com/product/ultrasonic-anemometer/
- yonatan8070 3y ago
  What's wrong with it? It demonstrates how to communicate with the device, and uses a common display to show the data. Since the focus is on the anemometer, I don't think that the display matters much, as you can just use the wiring and code for the anemometer
- tzs 3y ago
  It looks like it is feasible to build an ultrasonic anemometer from cheap commodity ultrasonic transmitters and receivers. Here's a paper on building one from 4 common HC-SR04 ultrasonic modules [1]. The modules are around $2 each on Amazon. One thing I haven't been able to get good information on is what animals think of those. If I were to deploy an anemometer the only good place I've got for it is near a place birds and squirrels like to hang out. I don't want to drive them away, or harm them. I had a similar issue with lasers. I was thinking of deploying a laser distance sensor module to try to detect when something was in front of a wildlife camera. The information from the manufacturer assured me that the laser would not harm a human eye even if the human was staring right at it at close range. But it said nothing about other animals. [1] https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2020/62/e3sconf_icenis2020_15011.pdf https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2020/62...
  - Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
    Building it is half the battle. It also has to calibrated which is done in a wind tunnel. Wind angles for all directions (both laterally and vertically) have to be tested to see which measurements need to be adjusted to account for the interaction of the wind with the sensor itself. Wind speeds have to be similarly tested. For a one-off sensor, this is expensive. Less so if you make thousands of the same design.
- Gys 3y ago
  Or buy a complete weather station which includes an anemometer. I have this one and it works well (although not for measuring light rainfall): https://shop.ecowitt.com/en-gb/products/wittboy https://shop.ecowitt.com/en-gb/products/wittboy Less fun because nothing can be build, although the transmitted data conforms to standards and can be processed with for example https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433 https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433. So one can gather all data with a simple dongle and process that with a RPi.
hoseja 3y ago
Is it theoretically possible to visualize wind currents by, like, shining UV-light (that diffracts strongly in the atmosphere)? Basically instead of putting smoke in the air, use the part of spectrum where all air is smoky.
- anfractuosity 3y ago
  Interesting question, it sounds like you can - https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Aeolus/Measuring_wind https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureE... "Its laser fired pulses of ultraviolet light towards Earth’s atmosphere. This light bounced off air molecules and particles such as dust in the atmosphere. The small fraction of light that scattered back towards the satellite was collected by a large telescope."
  - hoseja 3y ago
    Hm, would be nice in a handheld form :)
Jemm 3y ago
Converting to a NMEA output would make this fairly handy for sailboats
- Stevvo 3y ago
  Ideally self-contained to avoid running wires in the mast, e.g. A WiFi equiped Arduino with small battery and micro solar panel in weather-proof enclosure would be ideal.

27 points by momirlan 3y ago

A few years ago I made an indoor wind chime that used an outdoor anemometer. Since I 3d printed the anemometer, it was wiped out in a storm and I have yet to replace it. Maybe this is what I need.

earleybird 3y ago

[flagged]

dang 3y ago
"Please don't complain about tangential annoyances—e.g. article or website formats, name collisions, or back-button breakage. They're too common to be interesting." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

theamk 3y ago

TL/DR: this is super generic "convert serial device to LCD display using Arduino" tutorial, this time talking to RS-485 equipped anemometer. Looks like the anemometer itself can only be purchased from manufacturer, for $73 + unknown shipping, and using "contact us" form only (there is no web store) [0]. And the datasheet is available by request only. Normally this would disqualify any product, but $73 is very cheap for ultrasonic anemometers, so if you really have a need for one, this is something to consider. (but the implementation in the article itself is NOT the approach I'd recommend.. If you are buying $100 sensor, don't pair it with tiny $3 display with tiny hard-to-read letters, spend a few dollars more and get yourself a nicer, bigger display. And while at it, might as well take advantage of RS485 multipoint nature and stick a thermometer in that empty louver box underneath the device) [0] https://www.renkeer.com/product/ultrasonic-anemometer/ https://www.renkeer.com/product/ultrasonic-anemometer/

yonatan8070 3y ago
What's wrong with it? It demonstrates how to communicate with the device, and uses a common display to show the data. Since the focus is on the anemometer, I don't think that the display matters much, as you can just use the wiring and code for the anemometer
tzs 3y ago
It looks like it is feasible to build an ultrasonic anemometer from cheap commodity ultrasonic transmitters and receivers. Here's a paper on building one from 4 common HC-SR04 ultrasonic modules [1]. The modules are around $2 each on Amazon. One thing I haven't been able to get good information on is what animals think of those. If I were to deploy an anemometer the only good place I've got for it is near a place birds and squirrels like to hang out. I don't want to drive them away, or harm them. I had a similar issue with lasers. I was thinking of deploying a laser distance sensor module to try to detect when something was in front of a wildlife camera. The information from the manufacturer assured me that the laser would not harm a human eye even if the human was staring right at it at close range. But it said nothing about other animals. [1] https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2020/62/e3sconf_icenis2020_15011.pdf https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2020/62...
- Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
  Building it is half the battle. It also has to calibrated which is done in a wind tunnel. Wind angles for all directions (both laterally and vertically) have to be tested to see which measurements need to be adjusted to account for the interaction of the wind with the sensor itself. Wind speeds have to be similarly tested. For a one-off sensor, this is expensive. Less so if you make thousands of the same design.
Gys 3y ago
Or buy a complete weather station which includes an anemometer. I have this one and it works well (although not for measuring light rainfall): https://shop.ecowitt.com/en-gb/products/wittboy https://shop.ecowitt.com/en-gb/products/wittboy Less fun because nothing can be build, although the transmitted data conforms to standards and can be processed with for example https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433 https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433. So one can gather all data with a simple dongle and process that with a RPi.

hoseja 3y ago

Is it theoretically possible to visualize wind currents by, like, shining UV-light (that diffracts strongly in the atmosphere)? Basically instead of putting smoke in the air, use the part of spectrum where all air is smoky.

anfractuosity 3y ago
Interesting question, it sounds like you can - https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Aeolus/Measuring_wind https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureE... "Its laser fired pulses of ultraviolet light towards Earth’s atmosphere. This light bounced off air molecules and particles such as dust in the atmosphere. The small fraction of light that scattered back towards the satellite was collected by a large telescope."
- hoseja 3y ago
  Hm, would be nice in a handheld form :)

Jemm 3y ago

Converting to a NMEA output would make this fairly handy for sailboats

Stevvo 3y ago
Ideally self-contained to avoid running wires in the mast, e.g. A WiFi equiped Arduino with small battery and micro solar panel in weather-proof enclosure would be ideal.