W200P/FC Potentiometer Windvane

This NEW premium quality First Class W200P/FC windvane is a enhanced version of our W200P windvane which is a popular choice for demanding Wind Assessment applications, having "First Class" performance to meet the requirements of the IEC61400-12-1 standard.

This new 10K potentiometer has the lowest possible torque consistent with long life and reliability, the small gap at north being filled with an insulating material to ensure smooth operation over the full 360°. This new 10K potentiometer has an increased measuring range vs our standard W200P windvane, typically 358 degrees or better (gap 2 degrees or smaller).

The NEW F20/FC vane-arm (fin) is significantly larger than the F20 on the standard W200P which yields a much lower threshold/starting speed, but despite this larger size, it is also rated to withstand a higher maximum windspeed due to the use of higher specification alloys. The fin assembly is attached using the unique Porton™ gravity fastener allowing good alignment and rapid attachment and release, and it's removable counterbalance allows this larger fin to continue to be shipped within our standard small instrument box for economical/convenient transport/shipping.

Construction is from high-strength anodised aluminium alloys and stainless steels for exposed parts. Combined with a hard plastic (upper) bearing and precision ball-races, the result is an instrument suitable for continuous exposure to the weather, with a long service interval.

Options for this windvane include:
/HE-4 Internal Anti-Icing Heater
/HE-1 & / HE-2 External / Retrofit Anti-Icing Heaters
/SE Severe Environment (Marine) Version

This NEW windvane is suitable for many applications. Please contact us for advice on the correct choice of options and accessories and suggestions on measuring techniques for best results in your application.

This windvane is Fixed Reference, that is to say that it must be aligned with north during installation and fixed in that position/orientation during operation. For mobile platforms or situations where the orientation of the platform is unknown, a self-referencing windvane such as our SRW1G would be appropriate. The 10K Ohm resistance of the potentiometer is no barrier to low power operation as most applications where power is critical use data loggers which are capable of energising the potentiometer only for a short interval during the actual measurement. The 10K ohm potentiometer resistance allows direct connection to a wide range of dataloggers without the need for any extra adapter boards/pods/modules/cards.

The high specification 10K precision potentiometer used in this windvane is a derivative of the well-proven 1K potentiometer used in our standard W200P windvane, which has been extensively tested by us, both in the lab and in the field, and has been found to be the most robust and reliable of all the types we have examined. It is connected with 2-wires to each end of the track and one to the wiper enabling it's use in a variety of bridge and potentiometric measurement configurations (Note: for best results, it is not recommended that this instrument be configured as a variable resistance).

NOTE: While the instrument "body" is the same as other windvanes in the W200P series, the F20/FC vane-arm/fin used with the W200P/FC is much larger than the standard F20 fin used with other windvane models, so you must ensure that the windvane is positioned further away from nearby objects (anemometer, mounting hardware, or tower/pole etc) when installing it - the tip sweeps a radius of approx. 286mm which is much larger than the 155mm of the standard W200P. This is a particularly important consideration when replacing existing standard W200P windvanes with W200P/FC models.

This instrument is commonly used in conjunction with our A100L2, A100LK, A100LM, and A100R anemometers. The recommended mounting adaptors for use with this instrument are our type 405 and 405-1 series.