But, it too requires an Apple Lightning adapter for iPhone 7 smartphones. Compatible with Apple and Android devices, it uses the company’s Wind and Weather app (and iWindSurf, SailFlow and a few other specialty apps) for data display. The $39.95 WindMeter from commercial weather station maker WeatherFlow seems to have similar sampling accuracy, but it uses a turbine blade encased in a rubber shell, giving it a more rugged feel than the Vaavud. The Sleipnir comes with a soft storage case and the app is free. Even I figured out that a low value (less than 10 percent) means the wind is pretty much blowing steady. The weather savvy know this as turbulence intensity. Pilots might primarily use the data page, which has configurable units (MPH, knots, KM/H, M/S) and displays current wind speed, maximum speed and wind direction using a vector arrow and text stamp (SW, for example).įor each measurement, a gust value is calculated, which tells you how much the wind is varying. It has a social media sharing feature and shows measurements taken from other Vaavud users, which you access from a worldwide map. While full featured, I think the Vaavud smartphone app is more than many pilots might use. Plus, it’s up to the user to position the anemometer into the wind for more accurate computations, and the device needs to sample the wind for at least 30 seconds. The anemometer isn’t sophisticated enough to measure wind direction on it its own, but instead uses the smartphone’s compass, accelerometer and GPS. The specs say the omnidirectional meter records 44,100 measurements per second. Weighing 14 grams, the Sleipnir seems almost as durable and compact, but it uses two curved rotating blades and an internal optical recording sensor, rather than magnets. The flatter blades made it easier to stash. Inspired by more expensive professional anemometers that often have a three-cup design, the original Mjolnir (still in the product line) uses two rotating measuring cups with magnets built in the hub. I preferred the early model’s measuring blades. Part of the problem is that the Lightning adapter’s pigtail is too short to clip the anemometer on the phone (especially with a fat case on it), so you have to hold the phone in one hand and the anemometer in the other-stressing the flopping cable. Simply one-hand the phone into the wind and view the data. While it’s still compatible with the phone, you’ll need to use the Apple Lightning/3.5-mm jack adapter.Īn older iPhone, an iPad or an Android device is better matched because the anemometer plugs directly into the 3.5-mm jack, while an attachment clip secures it upright. I tried it with my current Apple iPhone 7, which doesn’t have a 3.5-mm audio jack for plugging the device in. Distributed by Sporty’s, marine outlets and weather equipment suppliers, it sells for $59.95 and is one of several portable anemometers from Denmark-based Vaavud. It turned out to be the favorite.įirst, the Vaavud Sleipnir. Pleased with the company’s home weather station gear, I also tried the WeatherFlow WindMeter. That’s why I was anxious to try Vaavud’s newer Sleipnir, which has new measuring blades and a wind direction utility. The disappointment was a lack of wind direction display. I used it for seaplane flying on remote lakes where local wind reports weren’t available, and to compare aging ATIS recordings on the home field. I reviewed Vaavud’s first-gen Mjolnir smartphone anemometer a few years ago and discovered its shortcomings, yet appreciated its utility on the water and land.
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