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Air-X marine wind generator
I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
Oh yea, almost forgot.
Jaxashby please don't waste bandiwdth replying to my question. I've visited this forum enough times to have figured out that your replies are less than useless. Thanks to all others who choose to reply though. |
The new Air-X is definately quieter than the older ones. But the KISS
is much quieter than either and generates quite a bit more power. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
Thanks for teh reply Doug!
I have two concerns with the KISS Unit. I have been told that: 1) There is no slip ring, hence it can not rotate 360. You have to watch to make sure it doesn't twist around and damage itself. In other words, not for unattended operation. 2) There are thermal breakers in it. When the wind really pipes up and you shut down by shorting the unit as you are supposed to do, the windings can get hot and pop the breakers. Once they pop, the unit can freewheel at top speed with no load. Seems dangerous. Jimmy Doug Dotson wrote: The new Air-X is definately quieter than the older ones. But the KISS is much quieter than either and generates quite a bit more power. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
James wrote in
: Thanks for teh reply Doug! I have two concerns with the KISS Unit. I have been told that: 1) There is no slip ring, hence it can not rotate 360. You have to watch to make sure it doesn't twist around and damage itself. In other words, not for unattended operation. This is not quit true. The unit can spin several 360 degrees several times. There's a spring inside that's supposed to re-orient the generator when the wind dies. I've never seen this to be a problem. 2) There are thermal breakers in it. When the wind really pipes up and you shut down by shorting the unit as you are supposed to do, the windings can get hot and pop the breakers. Once they pop, the unit can freewheel at top speed with no load. Seems dangerous. I would definately state that this is a problem as I'm the one who has been pushing this issue. I have one and this is my major concern. Jimmy Doug Dotson wrote: The new Air-X is definately quieter than the older ones. But the KISS is much quieter than either and generates quite a bit more power. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy While the new units are definately quieter than the old ones, they're still noisy in my opinion. -- Geoff |
James,
I appreciate your concerns but I think you have gotten some incorrect information about the KISS. The KISS approach is to keep things simple, maybe a bit too simple in some aspects. I'm currently working on a controller that will solve some of the problems. More comments below. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message . .. Thanks for teh reply Doug! I have two concerns with the KISS Unit. I have been told that: 1) There is no slip ring, hence it can not rotate 360. You have to watch to make sure it doesn't twist around and damage itself. It is true that it does not have slip rings. This enhances reliability. It is not true that it cannot rotate through 360 degrees. It can rotate up to 3 complete revolutions in either direction. The very heavy cable just twists. A tortion spring limits the rotation to 3 turns. In the 3 years I have had mine it has never wound up more than 1 turn. In other words, not for unattended operation. Actually, the KISS is not intended for unattended operation even under normal condition. There is no charge controller. Unattended operation will lead to uvercharging and destroy you batteries or worse. 2) There are thermal breakers in it. When the wind really pipes up and you shut down by shorting the unit as you are supposed to do, the windings can get hot and pop the breakers. I have never had this happen. When the unit is stopped by shorting the windings, rotation is slowed almost to a stop. No chance to build up much heat. I've had mine in up 50 mph winds and it spins at maybe 1/2 rps. I flipped to switch to stop it when winds were around 40 when the thermal breakers started to activate. The mill came to a nice smooth stop. I believe what you think are thermal breakers are actually thermal switches that short that windings due to overspeed. They close causing the mill to slow. I've have this happen several times. I can not see any freewheeling possible except for in an actual failure situation. But any mill has that possability. Once they pop, the unit can freewheel at top speed with no load. Seems dangerous. As I said above, I don't think this can happen unless something like the thermal switch fails and any mill is capable of a failure that could lead to freewheeling. That is except for those that use mechanical braking. Jimmy Doug Dotson wrote: The new Air-X is definately quieter than the older ones. But the KISS is much quieter than either and generates quite a bit more power. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
"Doug Dotson" wrote in
: James, I appreciate your concerns but I think you have gotten some incorrect information about the KISS. The KISS approach is to keep things simple, maybe a bit too simple in some aspects. I'm currently working on a controller that will solve some of the problems. More comments below. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message . .. Thanks for teh reply Doug! I have two concerns with the KISS Unit. I have been told that: 1) There is no slip ring, hence it can not rotate 360. You have to watch to make sure it doesn't twist around and damage itself. It is true that it does not have slip rings. This enhances reliability. It is not true that it cannot rotate through 360 degrees. It can rotate up to 3 complete revolutions in either direction. The very heavy cable just twists. A tortion spring limits the rotation to 3 turns. In the 3 years I have had mine it has never wound up more than 1 turn. In other words, not for unattended operation. Actually, the KISS is not intended for unattended operation even under normal condition. There is no charge controller. Unattended operation will lead to uvercharging and destroy you batteries or worse. 2) There are thermal breakers in it. When the wind really pipes up and you shut down by shorting the unit as you are supposed to do, the windings can get hot and pop the breakers. I have never had this happen. When the unit is stopped by shorting the windings, rotation is slowed almost to a stop. No chance to build up much heat. I've had mine in up 50 mph winds and it spins at maybe 1/2 rps. I flipped to switch to stop it when winds were around 40 when the thermal breakers started to activate. The mill came to a nice smooth stop. I believe what you think are thermal breakers are actually thermal switches that short that windings due to overspeed. They close causing the mill to slow. I've have this happen several times. I can not see any freewheeling possible except for in an actual failure situation. But any mill has that possability. My experience does not match Doug's. I've found that once a thermal breaker opens that it's next to impossible to stop the unit. The other 2 thermal breakers should be at about the same temp and should be close to opening. Shorting the remaining windings seems to produce more heat than generating power does and this causes them to open too. Also, once a thermal breaker opens this causes the blades to spin faster which produces more power which creates more heat which causes the breakers to open... The only way that I've been able to shut it down is by doing so before any of the thermal breakers open or by turning the generator 90 degrees to the wind with a boat hook. I've had mixed results with that. See http://www.geoffschultz.org/2004_Sai...S_Failure.html for what happened one day when I tried this. -- Geoff |
Well, I was wrong (again). The thermal beakers are normally closed so
that means that when they get hot, they allow the mill to freewheel, but only when all breakers go at the same time. On the rare occation that mine have activated it seems that maybe only one actually activated. It caused a bit of vibration for a few seconds but got my attention so I shut it down. Doug s/v Callista I'm curious how Air-X handles this situation. "Doug Dotson" wrote in message ... James, I appreciate your concerns but I think you have gotten some incorrect information about the KISS. The KISS approach is to keep things simple, maybe a bit too simple in some aspects. I'm currently working on a controller that will solve some of the problems. More comments below. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message . .. Thanks for teh reply Doug! I have two concerns with the KISS Unit. I have been told that: 1) There is no slip ring, hence it can not rotate 360. You have to watch to make sure it doesn't twist around and damage itself. It is true that it does not have slip rings. This enhances reliability. It is not true that it cannot rotate through 360 degrees. It can rotate up to 3 complete revolutions in either direction. The very heavy cable just twists. A tortion spring limits the rotation to 3 turns. In the 3 years I have had mine it has never wound up more than 1 turn. In other words, not for unattended operation. Actually, the KISS is not intended for unattended operation even under normal condition. There is no charge controller. Unattended operation will lead to uvercharging and destroy you batteries or worse. 2) There are thermal breakers in it. When the wind really pipes up and you shut down by shorting the unit as you are supposed to do, the windings can get hot and pop the breakers. I have never had this happen. When the unit is stopped by shorting the windings, rotation is slowed almost to a stop. No chance to build up much heat. I've had mine in up 50 mph winds and it spins at maybe 1/2 rps. I flipped to switch to stop it when winds were around 40 when the thermal breakers started to activate. The mill came to a nice smooth stop. I believe what you think are thermal breakers are actually thermal switches that short that windings due to overspeed. They close causing the mill to slow. I've have this happen several times. I can not see any freewheeling possible except for in an actual failure situation. But any mill has that possability. Once they pop, the unit can freewheel at top speed with no load. Seems dangerous. As I said above, I don't think this can happen unless something like the thermal switch fails and any mill is capable of a failure that could lead to freewheeling. That is except for those that use mechanical braking. Jimmy Doug Dotson wrote: The new Air-X is definately quieter than the older ones. But the KISS is much quieter than either and generates quite a bit more power. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
I spent 11 days at sea with an Air-X this spring.
The noise is tolerable, but the reduction is achieved at the expense of power. If my memory serves correctly, we got around 5.8 amperes close hauled in 18 to 20 knots apparrent. It wasn't my boat and I don't have the log, but the above conditions persisted for 5 days, so I am pretty certain about these numbers. This was with a stern pole mount, about 12 feet above the water. "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
That's why I prefer the KISS. It puts out about 19A at 20 kts and
does so with very little noise. Doug s/v CAllista "Steve Thomas" wrote in message ... I spent 11 days at sea with an Air-X this spring. The noise is tolerable, but the reduction is achieved at the expense of power. If my memory serves correctly, we got around 5.8 amperes close hauled in 18 to 20 knots apparrent. It wasn't my boat and I don't have the log, but the above conditions persisted for 5 days, so I am pretty certain about these numbers. This was with a stern pole mount, about 12 feet above the water. "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
I really don't want to sound like I'm bashing KISS, as I have one and
like it, but I've found that if I have a sustained output of 17A or more that the thermal breakers on the KISS start opening. When a breaker opens, the unit runs a lot more roughly, so you can hear it. The generator outputs 18A at 20 kts and 25A at 25 kts. Very impressive. You can see the output curve at http://www.kissenergy.com/OutputCurve.html. I have a LED based amp meter that only shows the output of the solar panels and wind generator, so I can easily tell what the wind is blowing by just looking at amp display. I can see it from the v-berth where we sleep, so it's a quick way to tell what's going on with the wind without having to get up. -- Geoff "Doug Dotson" wrote in : That's why I prefer the KISS. It puts out about 19A at 20 kts and does so with very little noise. Doug s/v CAllista "Steve Thomas" wrote in message ... I spent 11 days at sea with an Air-X this spring. The noise is tolerable, but the reduction is achieved at the expense of power. If my memory serves correctly, we got around 5.8 amperes close hauled in 18 to 20 knots apparrent. It wasn't my boat and I don't have the log, but the above conditions persisted for 5 days, so I am pretty certain about these numbers. This was with a stern pole mount, about 12 feet above the water. "James" wrote in message ... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:33:03 GMT, Geoff Schultz
wrote: I can see it from the v-berth where we sleep, so it's a quick way to tell what's going on with the wind without having to get up. Ah, my kind of sailor. I'll bet you've recycled a cloudy-domed bulkhead compass for the same "roll over, check course, resume nap" tactic G R. |
One issue I've had with the KISS system is the larger diameter - 60
inches. The Air-X is only 46 inches. Clearly the larger size means more power, but is it also a liability? I've been concerned that the extra size will make it harder to mount and a but more dangerous. Any thoughts? Doug Dotson wrote: That's why I prefer the KISS. It puts out about 19A at 20 kts and does so with very little noise. Doug s/v CAllista "Steve Thomas" wrote in message ... I spent 11 days at sea with an Air-X this spring. The noise is tolerable, but the reduction is achieved at the expense of power. If my memory serves correctly, we got around 5.8 amperes close hauled in 18 to 20 knots apparrent. It wasn't my boat and I don't have the log, but the above conditions persisted for 5 days, so I am pretty certain about these numbers. This was with a stern pole mount, about 12 feet above the water. "James" wrote in message om... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
Mounting it wasn't particularly difficult. Uses the same setup as
I have seen with many of the smaller generators. I doubt if it is any more dangerous. Even a small generator can kill you pretty easily if you tangle with the blades. The larger diameter does mean it can generator more power. I was just talking to a guy that has 2 FourWinds Red Baron generators. They are somewhat smaller in diameter than KISS but seem to generate about the same amount oif power. Doug s/v Callista "Jeff Morris" wrote in message ... One issue I've had with the KISS system is the larger diameter - 60 inches. The Air-X is only 46 inches. Clearly the larger size means more power, but is it also a liability? I've been concerned that the extra size will make it harder to mount and a but more dangerous. Any thoughts? Doug Dotson wrote: That's why I prefer the KISS. It puts out about 19A at 20 kts and does so with very little noise. Doug s/v CAllista "Steve Thomas" wrote in message ... I spent 11 days at sea with an Air-X this spring. The noise is tolerable, but the reduction is achieved at the expense of power. If my memory serves correctly, we got around 5.8 amperes close hauled in 18 to 20 knots apparrent. It wasn't my boat and I don't have the log, but the above conditions persisted for 5 days, so I am pretty certain about these numbers. This was with a stern pole mount, about 12 feet above the water. "James" wrote in message . com... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
Doug,
Please clarify. Are you saying the guy with 2 red barons generate the same approx. amount of power as just one KISS? Jimmy Doug Dotson wrote: Mounting it wasn't particularly difficult. Uses the same setup as I have seen with many of the smaller generators. I doubt if it is any more dangerous. Even a small generator can kill you pretty easily if you tangle with the blades. The larger diameter does mean it can generator more power. I was just talking to a guy that has 2 FourWinds Red Baron generators. They are somewhat smaller in diameter than KISS but seem to generate about the same amount oif power. Doug s/v Callista "Jeff Morris" wrote in message ... One issue I've had with the KISS system is the larger diameter - 60 inches. The Air-X is only 46 inches. Clearly the larger size means more power, but is it also a liability? I've been concerned that the extra size will make it harder to mount and a but more dangerous. Any thoughts? Doug Dotson wrote: That's why I prefer the KISS. It puts out about 19A at 20 kts and does so with very little noise. Doug s/v CAllista "Steve Thomas" wrote in message ... I spent 11 days at sea with an Air-X this spring. The noise is tolerable, but the reduction is achieved at the expense of power. If my memory serves correctly, we got around 5.8 amperes close hauled in 18 to 20 knots apparrent. It wasn't my boat and I don't have the log, but the above conditions persisted for 5 days, so I am pretty certain about these numbers. This was with a stern pole mount, about 12 feet above the water. "James" wrote in message .com... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
My impression is that one of his Baron's did about as well as
a KISS. Probably worth a trip to FourWinds website to see what they claim. Doug s/v Callista "James" wrote in message . .. Doug, Please clarify. Are you saying the guy with 2 red barons generate the same approx. amount of power as just one KISS? Jimmy Doug Dotson wrote: Mounting it wasn't particularly difficult. Uses the same setup as I have seen with many of the smaller generators. I doubt if it is any more dangerous. Even a small generator can kill you pretty easily if you tangle with the blades. The larger diameter does mean it can generator more power. I was just talking to a guy that has 2 FourWinds Red Baron generators. They are somewhat smaller in diameter than KISS but seem to generate about the same amount oif power. Doug s/v Callista "Jeff Morris" wrote in message ... One issue I've had with the KISS system is the larger diameter - 60 inches. The Air-X is only 46 inches. Clearly the larger size means more power, but is it also a liability? I've been concerned that the extra size will make it harder to mount and a but more dangerous. Any thoughts? Doug Dotson wrote: That's why I prefer the KISS. It puts out about 19A at 20 kts and does so with very little noise. Doug s/v CAllista "Steve Thomas" wrote in message m... I spent 11 days at sea with an Air-X this spring. The noise is tolerable, but the reduction is achieved at the expense of power. If my memory serves correctly, we got around 5.8 amperes close hauled in 18 to 20 knots apparrent. It wasn't my boat and I don't have the log, but the above conditions persisted for 5 days, so I am pretty certain about these numbers. This was with a stern pole mount, about 12 feet above the water. "James" wrote in message l.com... I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
"rhys" wrote in message ... On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:33:03 GMT, Geoff Schultz wrote: I can see it from the v-berth where we sleep, so it's a quick way to tell what's going on with the wind without having to get up. Ah, my kind of sailor. I'll bet you've recycled a cloudy-domed bulkhead compass for the same "roll over, check course, resume nap" tactic G R. That's one item I'd like to find: a "read from below" compass - the kind you mount on the overhead above your berth. Anybody have a source? -- Evan Gatehouse you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me ceilydh AT 3web dot net (fools the spammers) |
On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 23:14:17 -0800, "Evan Gatehouse"
wrote: "rhys" wrote in message .. . On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:33:03 GMT, Geoff Schultz wrote: I can see it from the v-berth where we sleep, so it's a quick way to tell what's going on with the wind without having to get up. Ah, my kind of sailor. I'll bet you've recycled a cloudy-domed bulkhead compass for the same "roll over, check course, resume nap" tactic G R. That's one item I'd like to find: a "read from below" compass - the kind you mount on the overhead above your berth. Anybody have a source? Ah yes, the telltale compass. I've wanted one for years. Take a look he http://makeashorterlink.com/?B2BC526E9 and you'll see why I don't have one yet. Sure like to find one at a reasonable price. __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
Glen "Wiley" Wilson wrote:
On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 23:14:17 -0800, "Evan Gatehouse" wrote: "rhys" wrote in message . .. On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:33:03 GMT, Geoff Schultz wrote: I can see it from the v-berth where we sleep, so it's a quick way to tell what's going on with the wind without having to get up. Ah, my kind of sailor. I'll bet you've recycled a cloudy-domed bulkhead compass for the same "roll over, check course, resume nap" tactic G R. That's one item I'd like to find: a "read from below" compass - the kind you mount on the overhead above your berth. Anybody have a source? Ah yes, the telltale compass. I've wanted one for years. Take a look he http://makeashorterlink.com/?B2BC526E9 and you'll see why I don't have one yet. Sure like to find one at a reasonable price. __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ Plastimo makes a great hand bearing compass that comes with a mounting bracket. You can mount it to a bulkhead or overhead and read it no problem while mounted, and snap it out of the mount to use on deck for taking bearings. Cost is only about $100.00. Two versions, one lighted (batteries) one not. I've had one for a couple of years. It's ideal for use near a bunk. Beats getting out of a warm bed anytime! |
On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 23:14:17 -0800, "Evan Gatehouse"
wrote: R. That's one item I'd like to find: a "read from below" compass - the kind you mount on the overhead above your berth. Anybody have a source? Not without spending ten minutes with Google...but I suspect that the type of gimballed aviation compass of several decades back and mountable on bulkheads would work quite well if you kept it away from nearby steel deck gear. R. |
Danforth used to make a telltale compass for about $100. I foolishly
let one go with my old boat, and now I can't find one. I actually ordered one from a "closeout" a few months ago, and was told I was too late. I anyone has a source, I'd like to get one! Evan Gatehouse wrote: "rhys" wrote in message ... On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:33:03 GMT, Geoff Schultz wrote: I can see it from the v-berth where we sleep, so it's a quick way to tell what's going on with the wind without having to get up. Ah, my kind of sailor. I'll bet you've recycled a cloudy-domed bulkhead compass for the same "roll over, check course, resume nap" tactic G R. That's one item I'd like to find: a "read from below" compass - the kind you mount on the overhead above your berth. Anybody have a source? |
On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 04:20:48 -0500, James wrote:
Glen "Wiley" Wilson wrote: On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 23:14:17 -0800, "Evan Gatehouse" wrote: Ah yes, the telltale compass. I've wanted one for years. Take a look he http://makeashorterlink.com/?B2BC526E9 and you'll see why I don't have one yet. Sure like to find one at a reasonable price. Plastimo makes a great hand bearing compass that comes with a mounting bracket. You can mount it to a bulkhead or overhead and read it no problem while mounted, and snap it out of the mount to use on deck for taking bearings. Cost is only about $100.00. Two versions, one lighted (batteries) one not. I've had one for a couple of years. It's ideal for use near a bunk. Beats getting out of a warm bed anytime! Indeed. I have a Silva bearing compass on the bulkheard. It works in that position, though it won't work on the overhead. Regardless, it lacks somewhat in aesthetics. I prefer to minimize the ugly lumps of plastic wherever possible. :-) __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
How did the "captain's compass" get into the "Air-X marine wind generator"
thread? Kind of annoying. Doug s/v Callista "Evan Gatehouse" wrote in message ... "rhys" wrote in message ... On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:33:03 GMT, Geoff Schultz wrote: I can see it from the v-berth where we sleep, so it's a quick way to tell what's going on with the wind without having to get up. Ah, my kind of sailor. I'll bet you've recycled a cloudy-domed bulkhead compass for the same "roll over, check course, resume nap" tactic G R. That's one item I'd like to find: a "read from below" compass - the kind you mount on the overhead above your berth. Anybody have a source? -- Evan Gatehouse you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me ceilydh AT 3web dot net (fools the spammers) |
On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 18:46:50 -0500, "Doug Dotson"
wrote: How did the "captain's compass" get into the "Air-X marine wind generator" thread? Kind of annoying. Doug s/v Callista Doug, your newsreader or news serverr has scrambled your message list. This thread is properly called "Captain's Compass". I suggest to fix it you delete this group as subscribed, then RE-subscribe, which will bring you several months' worth of messages. Delete from the beginning to, say, the last month (Oct 30). This will preserve all threads currently in play (likely that you are following) and the NEXT time you download news group messages, you should see that all messages are where they should be. R. |
Last time I searched, I only found one at some "elegant" place like Sharper
Image, or some jewelry place... it was very nice, but about $800. I can't remember where it was, but if you find one, let us know! -- Keith __ There are three simple rules for making a smooth return to your slip. Unfortunately no one knows what they are. "rhys" wrote in message ... On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 23:14:17 -0800, "Evan Gatehouse" wrote: R. That's one item I'd like to find: a "read from below" compass - the kind you mount on the overhead above your berth. Anybody have a source? Not without spending ten minutes with Google...but I suspect that the type of gimballed aviation compass of several decades back and mountable on bulkheads would work quite well if you kept it away from nearby steel deck gear. R. |
rhys wrote:
On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 18:46:50 -0500, "Doug Dotson" wrote: How did the "captain's compass" get into the "Air-X marine wind generator" thread? Kind of annoying. Doug s/v Callista Doug, your newsreader or news serverr has scrambled your message list. This thread is properly called "Captain's Compass". I suggest to fix it you delete this group as subscribed, then RE-subscribe, which will bring you several months' worth of messages. Delete from the beginning to, say, the last month (Oct 30). This will preserve all threads currently in play (likely that you are following) and the NEXT time you download news group messages, you should see that all messages are where they should be. R. Doug Don't bother unsubscribing and resubscribing. Further up someone mentioned that they could view their LED based amp output from the wind genny from their v berth and could guestimate wind speed without getting out of bed. From there someone else suggested checking a compass too, presumably to see if they had swung at anchor. Hence the change of subject. At least they changed the subject line so you can avoid reading it. That's not always done. Anyway thread divergence at that point was inevitable. If you wait long enough the discussion will turn to guns aboard (within reach of the bunk of course). : ) Jimmy |
James wrote in
: rhys wrote: On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 18:46:50 -0500, "Doug Dotson" wrote: How did the "captain's compass" get into the "Air-X marine wind generator" thread? Kind of annoying. Doug s/v Callista Doug, your newsreader or news serverr has scrambled your message list. This thread is properly called "Captain's Compass". I suggest to fix it you delete this group as subscribed, then RE-subscribe, which will bring you several months' worth of messages. Delete from the beginning to, say, the last month (Oct 30). This will preserve all threads currently in play (likely that you are following) and the NEXT time you download news group messages, you should see that all messages are where they should be. R. Doug Don't bother unsubscribing and resubscribing. Further up someone mentioned that they could view their LED based amp output from the wind genny from their v berth and could guestimate wind speed without getting out of bed. From there someone else suggested checking a compass too, presumably to see if they had swung at anchor. Hence the change of subject. At least they changed the subject line so you can avoid reading it. That's not always done. Anyway thread divergence at that point was inevitable. If you wait long enough the discussion will turn to guns aboard (within reach of the bunk of course). : ) Jimmy Did I also mention that I have a RayMarine MaxiView display that I can also see from the berth and I can program it to display any of the instrument data such as wind/depth/course/speed/etc? :-) -- Geoff |
On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 07:35:51 -0500, James wrote:
Anyway thread divergence at that point was inevitable. If you wait long enough the discussion will turn to guns aboard (within reach of the bunk of course). Actually, it just did. :-) __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 16:06:58 GMT, Geoff Schultz
wrote: Did I also mention that I have a RayMarine MaxiView display that I can also see from the berth and I can program it to display any of the instrument data such as wind/depth/course/speed/etc? :-) Actually, I think that's an excellent idea, but I rolled my own. See the crass commercial message in my sig. :-) I've been asked to extend the program with an intelligent anchor watch. Something that would suppress spurious alarms when the gps loses lock for a few seconds. I'd never have thought of that myself, but it's a fact that I've never had a complete night without my gps deciding Scotty beamed me a few hundred yards in some random direction. Which causes OziExplorer's otherwise excellent anchor watch to start screaming. It's doable, but the data filtering will be tricky. I've found that you can't always trust the gps to notice that it's lost accuracy, so I'll have to implement some kind of statistical filter that ignores the big jumps but notices a small steady drift. I haven't quite worked out how to handle wind and current reversals yet. If you could do that, you could tighten the safe distance quite a bit. It seems that treating the safe swing area as a circle around your current position, as anchor alarms do, is wrong. It's really a circle around the anchor's position. Maybe a bearing and distance to the anchor float could be used as an offset to current position? __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 19:03:59 GMT, "Glen \"Wiley\" Wilson"
wrote: It's doable, but the data filtering will be tricky. I've found that you can't always trust the gps to notice that it's lost accuracy, so I'll have to implement some kind of statistical filter that ignores the big jumps but notices a small steady drift. My recent GPS experience differs from yours, tracking pretty steadily without glitchy jumps. I haven't quite worked out how to handle wind and current reversals yet. If you could do that, you could tighten the safe distance quite a bit. It seems that treating the safe swing area as a circle around your current position, as anchor alarms do, is wrong. It's really a circle around the anchor's position. Maybe a bearing and distance to the anchor float could be used as an offset to current position? I have some very convincing GPS tracks watching my boat swing around its anchor, showing the circle around the anchor. I like having the alarm wake me in the night even if it's just a swing through a significant chunk of arc. I also like having the GPS maintaining it's display track right by my berth. It's very reassuring to look over and see my position smack in the middle of hours of accumulated data. Ryk |
On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 17:58:21 -0500, Ryk
wrote: On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 19:03:59 GMT, "Glen \"Wiley\" Wilson" wrote: It's doable, but the data filtering will be tricky. I've found that you can't always trust the gps to notice that it's lost accuracy, so I'll have to implement some kind of statistical filter that ignores the big jumps but notices a small steady drift. My recent GPS experience differs from yours, tracking pretty steadily without glitchy jumps. Perhaps you have a superior antenna setup to the customer who requested the function. There are a lot of people out there feeding their laptop with an old Garmin 48 mounted in the cabin. I haven't quite worked out how to handle wind and current reversals yet. If you could do that, you could tighten the safe distance quite a bit. It seems that treating the safe swing area as a circle around your current position, as anchor alarms do, is wrong. It's really a circle around the anchor's position. Maybe a bearing and distance to the anchor float could be used as an offset to current position? I have some very convincing GPS tracks watching my boat swing around its anchor, showing the circle around the anchor. I like having the alarm wake me in the night even if it's just a swing through a significant chunk of arc. I also like having the GPS maintaining it's display track right by my berth. It's very reassuring to look over and see my position smack in the middle of hours of accumulated data. Yes, that's the way Ozi works as well, and pretty much what I would do, as a default. But you raise a good point. The function should be highly configurable as to what the user considers to be a valid wakeup call. That's really the hard part. As a start, allow the user to select "Alarm on drag" and/or "Alarm on swing", then implement the two algorithms, and add all the needed options. It gets complex, especially given that there's probably not much of a market for the feature. I could knock out a simple "me too" alarm tonight, but where's the fun in that? It might be a better candidate for freeware than shareware though __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 19:03:59 GMT, "Glen \"Wiley\" Wilson"
wrote: Actually, I think that's an excellent idea, but I rolled my own. See the crass commercial message in my sig. :-) I've been asked to extend the program with an intelligent anchor watch. Something that would suppress spurious alarms when the gps loses lock for a few seconds. I'd never have thought of that myself, but it's a fact that I've never had a complete night without my gps deciding Scotty beamed me a few hundred yards in some random direction. Which causes OziExplorer's otherwise excellent anchor watch to start screaming. If your GPS produces a spurious jump when it loses lock, I think a new GPS is in order. I have been using GPS receivers for 15 years, and have never had anything like that happen. I have seen them keep the last readout, blinking the display. The blinking wouldn't show up on the NMEA, I suppose, but the unchanging readout would fail as an anchor alarm if you actually were adrift. What kind of reciever did what you describe? Another thing. Where are you anchoring that it loses lock nowadays, with 24 sats active? When I had a 6-channel receiver it would lose lock all the time in a Manhattan bus, but never on the boat. At that time "Selective Availability" would have made it useless as an anchor alarm, but that is a separate issue, still long behind us. WIth luck it will stay that way. Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a The destruction of the World Trade Center was a faith-based initiative. -- George Carlin |
Sorry, didn't work. Everything is still the same.
"rhys" wrote in message ... On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 18:46:50 -0500, "Doug Dotson" wrote: How did the "captain's compass" get into the "Air-X marine wind generator" thread? Kind of annoying. Doug s/v Callista Doug, your newsreader or news serverr has scrambled your message list. This thread is properly called "Captain's Compass". I suggest to fix it you delete this group as subscribed, then RE-subscribe, which will bring you several months' worth of messages. Delete from the beginning to, say, the last month (Oct 30). This will preserve all threads currently in play (likely that you are following) and the NEXT time you download news group messages, you should see that all messages are where they should be. R. |
On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 23:52:21 -0500, "Doug Dotson" wrote: Sorry, didn't work. Everything is still the same. I don't know then. In my newsreader, this thread is still called "Captain's Compass". Cross-posting problem, mebbe? R. |
So is mine, but this "compass" thread started as a reply to one of
your posts to the "generator" thread, rather than a top level post. Doug "rhys" wrote in message ... On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 23:52:21 -0500, "Doug Dotson" wrote: Sorry, didn't work. Everything is still the same. I don't know then. In my newsreader, this thread is still called "Captain's Compass". Cross-posting problem, mebbe? R. |
Hi James
I have just done a delivery from Frazer Island to Hobart in Australia, about 1,300 nm, on a 45 footer with an Air-X generator. I found that it did not cut in until about 15 knots apparent wind when it generated about 5 amps. This increased to 10 amps at 20 knots and 15 amps above 25 knots. The noise was quieter than other wind generators that I have used, much quieter than my old Airogen, but as the voyage progressed the noise became more annoying. It was particularly intrusive when the winds were over 30 knots apparent. Also, as the vessel rolled and pitched, the Air-X changed direction slightly and the rotation accelerated and decelerated, which changed the tone of noise it made. One crew member said it reminded him of the soundtrack of diver bombers in a war film! Hope this helps Graeme sv Leonidas James wrote: I am looking at wind generators. According to the latest literature, the Air-X marine wind generator is claimed to be 80% less noisy than the (very loud and annoying in my opinion) older model, the Air Marine. Can anyone offer any first hand experience with Air-X Marine wind generator as compared to the old Air Marine one? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for products in particular? Real world experience is what I am looking for...the advertisign hype isn't much use. Experience is. Thanks Jimmy |
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