Remote Windmeter DIY

[jimrooney]

Ok, looking for help from the electronic wiz kids around here.

Basically, I think what I need is a simple way to convert a spinning motor speed to audio pitch.
(Any easy/cheap solution will work... so if I found a kids toy that did it, I'd grab it and run)

Here's what I want to do...
I'm going to mount a small motor on a pipe and attach wind cups to spin it.
The faster the cups spin, the more electricity the motor will generate.

Now, if I can translate that speed to audio pitch... then, I've got a simple wind meter.
Why?
Because in NZ, cellphones are not charged for incoming calls. So call up the wind meter and listen to the strength of the wind
We've got some sites where wind speed is more important than direction as the direction is often known and consistent.

I've got ideas on direction as well, but the voltage-to-audiopitch is the key ingredient.

Anyone know how?
Jim

[mingram]

Great idea! I'm guessing the cell phone has a solar charger, or does that run off of wind power too?

[jimrooney]

Yup, solar.
Ha, wind would be funny, just impractical.

[bustedwing2]

Sounds complicated,if you're listening for pitch how bout some kind of whistle,wind powered of course.

[pnadams]

Get a slotted optical detector like an OPB990 (search DigiKey.com). put a tab (or two) on the anemometer so that it passes through the slot in the optical detector. The tab should be long enough so that the detector slot is blocked for half of the rotation, i.e. you want a square wave output form the optical detector. Maybe you want 2 tabs that each block the detector for 1/4 of the rotation, but the approximate square wave output is what you want.
The output of the optical detector drives a pizeo speaker (Digi Key again). When the wind is slow you will get a clicking sound, as the wind speeds up it will become buzz or a whine, the frequency of the whine will be proportional to wind speed.
You can also put many tabs on the anemometer and R/C filter the output of the optical detector. Then you can use an amplifier to drive a speaker. The problem with this approach is, it will make little or no sound at low speeds, so you won't know weather the wind is light or the system is broken.

[TeamRuiner]

Check it. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vaa ... lectronics

[jimrooney]

Yup, I've been following those guys.
I've been reading wind speeds with magnet based anemometers for a while now, so the inclusion of magnet sensors in Android phones is huge for me.

Slow but exciting progress.
Jim

[HandyAndy]

Mount little pieces of semi-flexible wire to the sides of each cup, then mount a little goat or cow bell on an arm just at the far reach of the spinning cups.
Sort of like clothes-pinning playing cards on the fork of your childhood bicycle.
As the cups spin they lightly tap the bell..... Music when the wind blows.
Simple, elegant, low tech.

If that doesn't work, ping me about how to hook the rig up to a vibrator..... you get the picture.