using mutilple anemometers to show wind direction

[Deleted]

i intend to use the anemometer circuit on my boat, usefull for mooring and theres no unsightly cups whizzing round, but is there a way, say by using 4 of these in a bridge that you could also display wind direction as well as speed?, i'm not bothered about which compass direction the winds going, just which way in relation to the boat.
sean, uk.

[Gary Lecomte]

Yes it would be Possible, But you would need to build some kind of a Unidirectional Wind Channel for each direction with each of these channels having an anemometer in it.
Otherwise the circuitry could not determine the direction.

Could get a bit complicated and probably as unsightly as those cups.

It Might be More Practical to Build One anemometer on a Pivot, with a tail so it follows the wind.
Than use some Hall effect devices or whatever to determine direction.
Probably Simpler, Definatey could be made Very Small.

Gary

[dr pepper]

yep that would work, but i've seen such things, unfortunately not close up, but it kinda looked like there was just 4 sensors in fresh air, i thought the same as you, you'd need to have all the sensors shielded to monitor a particular direction.
i thought, and see what you think, about putting a ping pong ball on a stick, then at the other end fasten that to 4 piezo cells, when the wind blows the ball, the resulting force is applied to the cells, the one opposite the wind recieving more force, so you could detect the direction, and probably the speed as well, but i'm not sure on the measurement method.
sean.

[Gary Lecomte]

Sorry, I haven seen that method and I don't have any circuits for that type of measurement.

But the Hall effect devices I mentioned previously would work and the circuitry is fairly simple.

[Gary Lecomte]

Actually, a Second Thought:
The Ping pong ball stick could be attached to 4 magnets, (90 Degrees apart) and those magnets could trigger any 1 of 4 hall effect devices to indicate the direction.

[Deleted]

thats an idea, but magnets and switches only gives a basic idea of direction, but an analogue nintendo joystick (so there is a sensible use for these) biased with a couple of springs, most already are, and the ping pong ball on a stick attached, with the pots going to a circuit to display both direction and strength, not so sure about the circuit though, maybe 4 leds that go dimmer as the pot travels in its direction, i am familiar with the pic16f84 and could use 2 d to a's, and some software that interpolates and displays a grid of leds, but i'd like to keep this simple.
sean.

[Deleted]

i know, a to d's, not d to a's.

[Gary Lecomte]

What I Ment was: The Anomemeter Circuit could be Mounted in the Ping Pong Ball, to Give the Speed. But the Bottom of that Joy stick with those Magnets, Could Give Direction.