What's the Best Wind Sensor?

[s/v Jedi]

I am seriously considering the Calypso instrument which is 1 degree wind direction accuracy and 0.2kts wind speed accuracy.

https://calypsoinstruments.com/shop/...#attr=76,56,65

[CarlF]

I got a Calypso about six years ago. Different model from your picture but its accuracy did not come close to the spec. A disapointment.

I use the Airmar 200WX and love it. Still going strong at 10 years.

The problem with AWA accuracy is they are usually given for at the dock not in a sea. The standard vane with a weighted tip will swing from inertia if the boat is in any signficiant sea. The ultrasonics don't have that problem.

I found my origional Raymarine would swing 10-20degreee in a 2 meter following sea. It made "wind vane" mode in the autopilot unusable.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by CarlF

I got a Calypso about six years ago. Different model from your picture but its accuracy did not come close to the spec. A disapointment.

I use the Airmar 200WX and love it. Still going strong at 10 years.

The problem with AWA accuracy is they are usually given for at the dock not in a sea. The standard vane with a weighted tip will swing from inertia if the boat is in any signficiant sea. The ultrasonics don't have that problem.

I found my origional Raymarine would swing 10-20degreee in a 2 meter following sea. It made "wind vane" mode in the autopilot unusable.

Which model did you have, what were the specs and what was the actual performance you got?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailingharry

2° accuracy in the compass is identical to the 2° of accuracy in this $700 b&g dedicated compass.
https://defender.com/en_us/b-g-preci...-000-12607-001

It may still be at the low end, but it has good company there.

Any decent compass these days is sub one degree. For about a grand you can get this: https://furunousa.com/en/products/scx20

[Sailorman4009]

I have a masthead Simrad that works well. Before that I used to just pop my finger in my mouth and get it wet and put it up in the air as high as I could. I could feel the coolness on one side where the wind was stronger and I lookes at the flag for direction and intensity. A limp flag wind is slow, straight out, shorten the sails. Worked really well til I decided to join this century.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Sailorman4009

I have a masthead Simrad that works well. Before that I used to just pop my finger in my mouth and get it wet and put it up in the air as high as I could. I could feel the coolness on one side where the wind was stronger and I lookes at the flag for direction and intensity. A limp flag wind is slow, straight out, shorten the sails. Worked really well til I decided to join this century.

When did you install it and which model is it?

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I am seriously considering the Calypso instrument which is 1 degree wind direction accuracy and 0.2kts wind speed accuracy.

https://calypsoinstruments.com/shop/...#attr=76,56,65

Looks nice. At 600 EUR, significantly cheaper than the Airmar. A couple thoughts/questions:


* Note that N2K appears to be not yet available(available for preorder).
* A careful read of the manual indicates that the unit can be easily connected to a computer via USB to provide calibration and firmware updates. But a small asterisk says "except N2K model." No further discussion on how to calibrate or update the N2K model. Of course, calibration/firmware updates are the Achilles Heel of the N2K standard, with most vendors requiring you to buy their chart plotter to update any other hardware....


But the real thought that just came to mind as I was looking at this. My existing Ray ST60 unit sits at the end of a 4-conductor shielded Ray cable. This is NOT an N2K cable, and in particular does not have the thicker power cables. But I'm wondering, for an ultra low power device like this (or really, most other wind sensors), could that cable be repurposed to N2K by simply adding field attachable plugs at either end? Remember, N2K is built on a standard used in cars, and also in industry, where there is much higher data rate and RF noise. Our use is much cleaner, at much lower data rates (well, I guess the "rate" is the same, but the packet count is low), and I suspect tolerant of "non-standard" wiring practices.


Perhaps this question is thread drift, and I should push it to a new thread. But it is probably highly relevant to anyone thinking about a new masthead wind sensor.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by sailingharry

Looks nice. At 600 EUR, significantly cheaper than the Airmar. A couple thoughts/questions:

* Note that N2K appears to be not yet available(available for preorder).
* A careful read of the manual indicates that the unit can be easily connected to a computer via USB to provide calibration and firmware updates. But a small asterisk says "except N2K model." No further discussion on how to calibrate or update the N2K model. Of course, calibration/firmware updates are the Achilles Heel of the N2K standard, with most vendors requiring you to buy their chart plotter to update any other hardware....

But the real thought that just came to mind as I was looking at this. My existing Ray ST60 unit sits at the end of a 4-conductor shielded Ray cable. This is NOT an N2K cable, and in particular does not have the thicker power cables. But I'm wondering, for an ultra low power device like this (or really, most other wind sensors), could that cable be repurposed to N2K by simply adding field attachable plugs at either end? Remember, N2K is built on a standard used in cars, and also in industry, where there is much higher data rate and RF noise. Our use is much cleaner, at much lower data rates (well, I guess the "rate" is the same, but the packet count is low), and I suspect tolerant of "non-standard" wiring practices.

Perhaps this question is thread drift, and I should push it to a new thread. But it is probably highly relevant to anyone thinking about a new masthead wind sensor.

Well, that’s where the catch is: you want a nmea0183 sensor with a converter at the base of the mast. This is how many others do it. For the price of the Calypso with nmea0183 you don’t get the converter with it.

This isn’t so bad though because now you can select the converter yourself and for example choose something that can make a wifi link instead of a cable. This greatly reduces risk of damage due to lightning.

If you have a Yacht Devices wifi or Ethernet gateway, then you can use this one to connect not only the wind instrument but also the VHF radio: https://www.yachtd.com/products/wifi_0183_gateway.html to isolate these high risk devices from the rest of nmea2000

[Mal Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Hey Christer!


I chose the tall racing one, the WS730.


I have been extremely impressed with it over 4000 miles of sailing.


Interesting how the new LCJ Capteurs model stacks up in comparison.


I need to decide soon for my own boat.

Hi DH,

I know I'm late to the party here and I assume you've looked into this, but A+T appears to be pushing the envelope with accuracy (calbration) and reliability (ceramic bearings): https://www.aandtinstruments.com/pro...sensors-parts/

Haven't used their stuff so can't comment further.

[Mal Reynolds]

Here's a video from A+T comparing wind sensors in a strange way.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ITZ5EeX0K_k

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by CarlF

. . . The problem with AWA accuracy is they are usually given for at the dock not in a sea. The standard vane with a weighted tip will swing from inertia if the boat is in any signficiant sea. The ultrasonics don't have that problem.

I found my origional Raymarine would swing 10-20degreee in a 2 meter following sea. It made "wind vane" mode in the autopilot unusable.

That can be solved with the right damping setting.

I used ultrasonics for more than 10 years and am using one now. HOWEVER, I have in the mean time on another boat (whose electronics I chose and configured myself) I have found that the tall 7-series B&G instruments beat everything else by far.

The AWA data is motion compensated in the H5000 and is superbly accurate and stable.

Note that ultrasonic instruments ALSO have a problem with masthead motion, because the motion changes the apparent wind -- so the problem is not just the inertial swinging of the vane. Again, damping at the right setting seems to deal with this OK, because it averages the apparent wind over a pitch/roll cycle.


Before I switched to ultrasonics, I used the old Raymarine mechanical one everyone used (ST 60, I think). It was actually very good; better than my first ultrasonic (WSO100). With a good pilot and correct tuning, it was great in wind mode, on all points of sail. Note however that you need decent speed through water data for the pilot to work well downwind, because it steers to true rather than apparent wind with the wind abaft the beam.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Mal Reynolds

Hi DH,

I know I'm late to the party here and I assume you've looked into this, but A+T appears to be pushing the envelope with accuracy (calbration) and reliability (ceramic bearings): https://www.aandtinstruments.com/pro...sensors-parts/

Haven't used their stuff so can't comment further.

Hey; thanks. I had not heard of these and will check them out. Hot tip.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

That can be solved with the right damping setting.

I used ultrasonics for more than 10 years and am using one now. HOWEVER, I have in the mean time on another boat (whose electronics I chose and configured myself) I have found that the tall 7-series B&G instruments beat everything else by far.

The AWA data is motion compensated in the H5000 and is superbly accurate and stable.

Note that ultrasonic instruments ALSO have a problem with masthead motion, because the motion changes the apparent wind -- so the problem is not just the inertial swinging of the vane. Again, damping at the right setting seems to deal with this OK, because it averages the apparent wind over a pitch/roll cycle.


Before I switched to ultrasonics, I used the old Raymarine mechanical one everyone used (ST 60, I think). It was actually very good; better than my first ultrasonic (WSO100). With a good pilot and correct tuning, it was great in wind mode, on all points of sail. Note however that you need decent speed through water data for the pilot to work well downwind, because it steers to true rather than apparent wind with the wind abaft the beam.

But wait… when you roll, your sails also see that change in awa from almost nothing down below to almost the same as the sensor at the top. So I guess this is for the twd calculations?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

But wait… when you roll, your sails also see that change in awa from almost nothing down below to almost the same as the sensor at the top. So I guess this is for the twd calculations?

Interesting question. I don't know how the algorithm works, but I don't think you want deviations in AWA data from this motion. I'll have a look at the H5000 manual when I have a chance.

[LifesBetterWhenYoureBeating]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I am seriously considering the Calypso instrument which is 1 degree wind direction accuracy and 0.2kts wind speed accuracy.

https://calypsoinstruments.com/shop/...#attr=76,56,65

Did you end up getting it? I'm looking for an affordable replacement (ideally ultrasonic and nmea0183) for my airmar 100wx that just died.