Gill Instruments Ltd
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
WindObserver II Page 51 Issue 18
Doc. No. 1390-PS-0004 January 2009
11.3. Principle of operation
The WindObserver II measures the times taken for an ultrasonic pulse of sound to travel
from the North transducer to the South transducer, and compares it with the time for a
pulse to travel from S to N transducer. Likewise times are compared between West and
East, and E and W transducer.
If, for example, a North wind is blowing, then the time taken for the pulse to travel from N
to S will be faster than from S to N, whereas the W to E, and E to W times will be the
same. The wind speed and direction (and the speed of sound) can then be calculated from
the differences in the times of flight on each axis. This calculation is independent of
factors such as temperature.