the wind gauge seems to be a rather inexpensive item or at least the one I ordered is. I got the La Crosse Technology EA-3010U Handheld Anemometer for like $35. I did a 'search' on the PKF and decided that here is where I will show restraint and self control. I'll save $30 bucks maybe even a $50 savings over buying a more expensive meter. So now I can go spend $300 on my next kite! I know.... I have late onset kite addiction. Anyway, I'm sure I could do without as many of you have but does anyone else out there in PKF land use a wind gauge? You know, I just don't like it when I am asked what is the windspeed in my area and I am throwing out numbers when I have no idea what the heck I am talking about.

So do you use one? Did you eve use one? Or is the anemometer just 'fix' for another kite addict?

By the way, all good ideas and good purchases are the result of my efforts and wisdom. All frivolous, wasteful spending or just bad ideas in general are all Wendy's fault.

I use mine all the time. Why guess what kite i should use, just throw up the wind gauge.

Quote:

Originally posted by snobdr I use mine all the time.

I second that!

I have the same model and even if it lacks accuracy :dunno: , it helps you decide which kite to take out given the current conditions. An extra hundred dollars for more accuracy probably doesn't help you much. Hold the meter in front of you so it doesn't get in your wind shadow. Try to point it as directly into the wind as you can. Pokitetrash and I held both of ours up and mine read 1 mph faster at all times. 1 mph isn't going to change my kite selection so it doesn't matter one way or another.

Yup. I like having mine in my pocket while I ride so that if I feel things aren't right and I'm under / overpowered I can easily check so I know. I had thought about creating a logbook too but never did get around to it and now find that for light to moderate winds I'm able to kinda tell what kite to use based on how the wind "sounds" across my ears.

I also use mine all the time. It is a safety thing too, when i am flying a kite and become over powered I'll check the wind meter and then know in that wind strength do not use X kite. I too bought La Cross meter which died... I ended up with a better meter. However I have since found this type that are actually fairly good and not so temperamental.
http://www.atlanticwindsadventure.com/product.php?product=19...
it is cheap too!

Something to think about. You only get a wind reading as high as you can hold it up in the air. The wind could be doing something drastic 100 feet up.

Susan (npw goddess)

Ha! Check this out iPhoners!

http://windmeter.blogspot.com/

Anyone tried it or compared it to a real one?

Not personally, but Chuck Sigal has.... and he seems fairly pleased with it:
http://www.aka.kite.org/?cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?,m=1241459839,...

ATB,
Sam

Got mine off eBay for like $20 ... good to know if it's worth unpacking X kite when it feels borderline ...

wow....more common than I thought. OK well I'm glad to know that my thinking is right.

I use mine often. But like Susan said, you never know when you get the 20mph wind speed at arms length but at 80 feet up it is really 35-40. But it is still a darn good starting point to go by.

i have hall brothers mechanical, simple and great to start with but any thing nice is probably gonna get left in the truck.

the trees and water are instant feedback and tells you everything you need to know the current blow. get an iphone it has an acoustic wind meter built in ...and so much more!

phreerider just for pure curiosity how accurate is the iphone acoustic? I don't have one. sorry for the touch off topic... no pun intended!

i use a windtronic. it comes out the bag at the beginnig of the session for the initiial kite selection then its down to being underpowered or over powered to see whether i change kites.

Hey Sailors,

Seems to me a meter is much more valuable as a calibration tool for your eyes.
Look around and everything that moves and guess the wind speed.
THEN take out your meter and notice how close or far off you were.
If you can do this every time you check the wind, your skill at seeing wind will become quite acute in very short order.

I like the small lightweight meter that fit in my pocket or around my neck.
When I had to hike a bit from the car to the flying field - That made sense.
If the meter was left in the car then it wouldn't matter about accuracy.
Now I drive to where I fly so a larger screen with more info is nice.

All meters are dampened to help them produce relatively steady read-outs.
Wind is a constant variable and an erratic, constantly varying reading is not helpful.

The value of a meter can be enormous if it helps the user know the ways of the wind.
Otherwise it truly is just another way to blow money.

Same price, however.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

Been thinking about that iphone app to check the winds. Course, every time I get home, I forget to look it up.

Maybe tonight...

mine is really ghetto




lol, thats not my pic, but mine looks really close to that... it is hooked to a motor out of a cd drive. i hook it up to a multimeter that i changed the numbers on, and its pretty accurate, made it years ago, but i actually have a practical use for it now

of course mine is high gloss black and looks freakin sweet!

Here's a numbskull-type question :puzzled::

Couldn't you hold or forward mount a (non-omnidirectional) anemometer while buggying to also record your approx. forward speed too?

If so, this would be a "value-added" incentive for me to spring for one. :saint:

It would be reading some combination of your forward speed and the actual wind speed. It might be interesting but wouldn't really tell you your ground speed or the wind speed. I guess it would be your "air" speed.

coreykite got it right, eyes,hears and feel and no batteries required

the iphone i don't know ..a poke at tech heavy needs

in the beginning or racing with ultra sensitive gear would be the needful group

battery free HALL (threshold 7mph) not a real hair splitter but helps with the <10mph and >15mph feel but after about a couple good sessions a couple weak sessions and a couple nuclear sessions i lost it because i stopped using it but it helped at first.

they are certainly not a waste of money

Well I got mine yesterday and used it for the first time. Reallt the wind was minimal but for me it was well worth the $35 I paid to begin teaching myself what sensations (eyes, ears, feel) are associated with what wind speed. For me that's being able to look around, guess, then confirm. I like having it...