Windsway Windreader Electronic Theodolite
The Windreader offered an advance in pibal tracking, an affordable package containing a conventional optical theodolite with the addition of azimuth (electronic compass) and elevation sensing (accelerometer) components at a cost of about 1/3 of the cost of traditional electronic pilot balloon theodolites.
The Windreader prototype above is a conventional pilot balloon theodolite with the addition of custom electronics and a sensor package with an ADXL202 two axis accelerometer and V2X Electronic Compass.
Photos above from Windsway Website of prototype of Windreader 2000. Check their website for more details on production.
The excerpt was taken from the Windsway web site 4-03:
By mid 1999 new sensor technology made it feasible to begin designing the new WindReader™. I began the initial testing of some of the new technology in the early fall of 1999. I was forced to halt development in late October due to illness. I resumed this work in late January of 2000. By early March breadboarding of new system electronics was well enough advanced to begain considering the physical design of the the new WindReader™ (WindReader2000™).
WindReader2000™ consists of the Advanced Optical System from the older WindReader™. The azimuth and elevation information comes from a digital compass and a two-axis solid state accelerometer. The user interface consists of a small 16 button keypad and a LCD display device along with the power and start/stop switch and several LED lamps for status display. Wind data will be output to a system printer. All system parameters will be user definable There will no longer be an Advanced or Professional model, just one system for all. The only setup will be the normal leveling the instrument on it's tripod. The new sensors always know where north is and where the horizon is.
Savings derived from reductions in machining costs and hand labor along with reductions in sensor and other parts costs should allow us sell the WindReader2000™ for a little less than our previous standard cost of $5,500.
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Above are two photos of previous model Windreaders taken from a website.
Windsway Contact Information
Telephone +1 518 393 1072
FAX +1 518 377 7574
Postal address Windsway
522 Sacandaga Road Scotia, New York 12302 USA
Electronic mail vfraenc1@nycap.rr.com