Despite having its sensor inside its case, the quickest was the Minox, with the Kestrel right behind, trailed by the Skymate and Skywatch. So the instruments were removed from the “hot box” and timed for how long it took for each to drop to ambient temperature. One final test: It was noted along the way that several of these instruments seemed very sluggish to respond to temperature changes. The box was opened, the instruments set to read temperatures and a few minutes later, the thermometer said 71☏, the Kestrel read 70.2☏, the Minox 72☏, the Skymate 70.6☏, and the Skywatch Elite 71☏.ĭone again, with the box cooked in direct sunlight long enough to produce a high temperature (as if one of these instruments was stored in a cockpit locker), the thermometer read 81☏, the Kestrel 82☏, the Minox 79☏, the Skymate 81.4☏, and the Skywatch 81☏. Testing for the accuracy of the temperature reading, all four were put in a box with a calibrated thermometer and given ample time to stabilize. Because each one registered about the same over various wind speeds, it is assumed that all are reasonably accurate. 6 mph, the Minox at 3.0 mph, the Skymate at. Using a laboratory fan, the Kestrel started reading at. Some testing was done, but it’s doubtful that the results are very important.īecause one maker said of another that the impeller is too small (with the claim that it takes too much breeze to get the little impeller moving), one of the tests was reading light winds. It comes in a handy swivel case that serves also as a handle. With an easily replaceable impeller, the Skymate does everything, too. Speedtech’s other anemometer is the Skymate, which appears to be a Japanese knock-off of the Kestrel 2000. It has the wind/weather functions, with programmable maximum readings, operated by two buttons and powered by the same battery (protected against carelessness by a 36-hour auto-off). Rather than a small prop in a tunnel, it has a big exposed impeller that is omnidirectional, meaning that it’s less fussy about alignment with the wind.

Its case has a sort of suede leather cover, but is nice for holding. The Skywatch Elite is perhaps not packaged as nicely as the Minox or the Kestrels. Speedtech Instruments has two handheld anemometers-the Skywatch Elite and the Skymate. The humidity sensor must be protected from seawater. The other, a Kestrel 3000, is unique in that it does wind, temperature and also humidity, it calculates and displays dew points and wind-chill factors. The Kestrel 2000 ($119 $108.99 from West Marine) does wind and temperature tricks, like the Minox. Nielson-Kellerman has two more advanced versions. The Kestrel still sells for $89 from Nielson-Kellerman, for $79.99 from West Marine. The time intervals for averaging are programmable. It does current, average and maximum wind reading. The Kestrel 1000, purely an anemometer (no temperature functions), has the same two-button operating system, the same battery and a good slide-on case held captive by the lanyard.

In earlier issues, notice was taken of the Kestrel 1000 (reviewed in the June, 1997 issue) and the Skywatch Elite (in the Jissue). There’s a $199 version in a blue case called a Bruton Sherpa that does time, wind, temperature, altitude and barometric pressure, with a 16-hour trend graph.) Also sold under the names Silva and Brunton, it’s made by Flytec AG, a Swiss company. The Minox sells for $109, from Leica Camera, Inc. The Minox has a CR2032 lithium battery good for up to four years or 100,000 one-minute measurements. The tiny impeller, mounted in a ball housing, swivels closed to protect it during storage. The time intervals used for average values are programmable. The temperature displays in Celsius or Fahrenheit, calculates a wind chill temperature and displays both. This new Minox gadget, a two-button (function and reset) instrument in a little waterproof case made of aluminum, reads the wind in knots, kilometers, mph, meters per second and Beaufort- both the current and peak average. (Remember the little German-made push-pull spy camera introduced a long time ago? It was one of the first successful miniaturization efforts in photography.) Most of these instruments, made possible by electronic chips and liquid crystal displays, have other functions, too. We’ve taken note on several occasions of the excellent handheld anemometers that reflect the mania for miniaturization.

Anemometer kestrel