A Heated Needle Anemometer and Three Generations of Tanners.

A new needle anemometer was built, calibrated, and tested to measure wind speeds with an accuracy of +/- 0.05 m s^-1 over the range of 0 to 2 m s^-1 and an accuracy of +/- 0.1 m s^-1 over the range from 0 to 5 m s^-1. The performance of the needle anemometer was investigated with modeled simulation and field measurements. The needle anemometer is based on Champ Tanner's Simmons-type anemometer developed during the1960s, Bertrand D. Tanner and Bertrand C.W. Tanner further development in 2002, and recent efforts. The combination of a continuously heated needle and a reference needle estimates wind speed through the heat transport. Directional response, dependence on ambient temperature, barometric pressure, and rainfall are investigated, and in part, compensated by the datalogger program. The results demonstrate that the needle anemometer is an inexpensive, durable, and accurate wind-speed sensor.