Airmar Weather Station

Jcclark85

Jcclark85

Member
Dec 16, 2019
32
Boat Info
2002 Sundancer 360
Engines
8.1S Horizons
Hi all, I wanted to see if anyone has installed an Airmar weather station on top of their radar arch and networked it into their MFD? I have Raymarine Axioms installed and I like the idea of knowing wind direction amongst other things tied into MFD for nights out at anchor or when sitting tied up in the marina. I know I’m sure I’ll hear about the use of a flag or pennant but interested in the technology. I originally looked at Raymarine I-40 wind anemometer but haven’t read the greatest reviews on it but it’s what Raymarine recommends for powerboats. Appreciate all the help!
 
Jcclark85 said:
Hi all, I wanted to see if anyone has installed an Airmar weather station on top of their radar arch and networked it into their MFD? I have Raymarine Axioms installed and I like the idea of knowing wind direction amongst other things tied into MFD for nights out at anchor or when sitting tied up in the marina. I know I’m sure I’ll hear about the use of a flag or pennant but interested in the technology. I originally looked at Raymarine I-40 wind anemometer but haven’t read the greatest reviews on it but it’s what Raymarine recommends for powerboats. Appreciate all the help!
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Following. I’m considering this as well. Would be nice like you said to have wind direction and speed.
 
Jcclark85 said:
Hi all, I wanted to see if anyone has installed an Airmar weather station on top of their radar arch and networked it into their MFD? I have Raymarine Axioms installed and I like the idea of knowing wind direction amongst other things tied into MFD for nights out at anchor or when sitting tied up in the marina. I know I’m sure I’ll hear about the use of a flag or pennant but interested in the technology. I originally looked at Raymarine I-40 wind anemometer but haven’t read the greatest reviews on it but it’s what Raymarine recommends for powerboats. Appreciate all the help!
Click to expand...
I've got a 120WX I'm getting ready to install. I've tested it and it works fine. Only connection needed is via NMEA 2000 which will supply power and bring back the data. In addition to relative wind speed and direction, the unit has temperature and barometric sensors; a humidity sensor is optional.
The only difference between the 120WX and the more expensive unit is the lack of an internal compass. There's no need for it in my opinion as long as you already have a heading sensor since the nav system will convert the relative wind the unit transmits to true.
 
I have the Navico 120WX Ultrasonic Wind Sensor with the optional humidity sensor. (they are all made by Airmar as far as I can tell). Garmin has some really nice pages to display its data. Can't speak for other MFDs.
 
alnav said:
sensor
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Thanks for the response, What Company is your MFD and I’ve read about MFDs not able to calibrate the station, does the 120wx need to be calibrated?
 
Jcclark85 said:
Bobeast, is your station pretty accurate? Any issues if your up at speed?
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It seems to be, but then I don't know how I would know for sure. The angle does seem to coincide with my finger in the air test. That said, I do have a heading sensor on my NMEA 2000 bus, which I believe is essential unless you buy the higher end unit with the built-in compass.

The data coming off the sensor is relative to your bow (if mounted correctly), and knows nothing about north vs south. As such, wind angle should always be correct, but wind direction would require data from a heading sensor. It is up to your MFD to take both inputs and do the math to accurately calculate true wind direction.

In terms of speed, it tends to roughly match my hand-held wind gauge when stationary, and I do see it change in the right direction (no pun intended), when I am underway. For example, the apparent wind speed value increases when heading directly into the wind, while true wind speed remains relatively constant.
 
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Wow. How do these things keep getting in here? Maybe signup should require a captcha or an email or text confirmation.
 
Following. TI thought those were a lot more expensive in the past. I was happy with a finger in the wind for that amount of money.
 
Following. I thought those were a lot more expensive in the past.

For a Raymarine system, you'll need a EV-1 or an AR200 onboard to get the heading inputs. The garmin boys hopefully post what required on that system.

Also having a Maretron display onboard would likely make commissioning a little easier. Otherwise you could use a USB100 or IPG100 with a PC + software. Looks like you can get away with stock setting but will have to align the unit manually.
 
Bot-bump update to my post earlier:
I've had the Airmar 120WX installed for almost three years now. Worked fine out of the box. Both the Garmin and Maretron picked the data right up and I have displays set up on both. No options for direct device calibration although I think I could tweak the temperature PGNs if I wanted. There was an Airmar app but I remember it not being very useful.
It's probably obvious that weather data is a novelty for power boaters who don't go far to sea or on long voyages. Wind speed and direction are pretty fluffy data points close to shore and/or on plane to start with. I have the sensor as high up as was practical but I think it still suffers from wind flow distortions from nearby antennae. To do it right, the sensor needs to be on a long pole like Seabits Steve shows in @Skybolt's link.
I did look around the internet briefly and see that Airmar is about to introduce new sensors with wireless and an app for advanced configuration/display. Also, Maretron has a weather sensor I think is new that's integrated with the rest of their suite and see the DSM410 now has options for calibration and fine control of weather data but it looks like the menu is specific to thier device.
 
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