Anemometer Sokol-A

The current model of the Sokol-A anemorumbometer

Definition and Purpose of Sokol-A

The SOKOL-A anemorumbometer (hereinafter referred to as the Product, SOKOL-A) is designed to remotely measure instantaneous, maximum, and average airflow (wind) speeds and direction, and to transmit this data to a server (for viewing via the specialized Sokol Analytics software).

The operating principle of the sensors for the various measurement channels of the SOKOL-A anemometer is described below:

Measured parameter	Principle of operation
Wind speed	Based on the conversion of the airflow speed into the rotational motion of the shaft with а set of cups that is detected and measured by means of the Hall sensor
Wind/Airflow direction	Based on the conversion of the wind vane's angle of rotation into an electrical signal using а magnetic rotation angle recorder (encoder)

Measured characteristics

Name of characteristic		Characteristic value
Wind speed	Airflow velocity measurement range, m/s	from 1 to 60
	Maximum permissible absolute error for airflow velocity measurements: in the range from 1 to 5 m/s;	± 0,5m/s
	Permissible relative error limit for airflow velocity measurements: in the range above 5 m/s	± 10 %
	Resolution, m/s	0,1
Wind/Airflow direction	Airflow direction measurement range, degrees	from 0 to 360
	Limits of permissible absolute error in airflow direction measurements, degrees	± 3
	Resolution, degrees	1

More detailed technical characteristics are presented in the technical data sheet of the device

Device construction

The SOKOL-A anemorumbometer consists of a SOKOL-A wing (1), a wind vane (2), and an anemometer (3)

(figure 1):

Assembly and Installation of the Sokol-A Anemorumbometer

Assembly of the anemometer

Assemble the anemometer in the following order: Place the skirt (3) onto the anemometer shaft (2), which is located at the top of the stand (1). There are 3 slots on the top of the skirt for attaching the anemometer cups (4). Insert the cups into the skirt, then place the cover (5) on top as shown in Figure 4 and tighten the screw (6) into the cover hole with a maximum torque of 0.5 N·m.

1) Stand

2) Shaft

3) Skirt

4) Anemometer cups

5) Cover

6) Screw

Installation of a wind vane and anemometer on the Sokol-A wing

Attach the wind vane (1) and the anemometer (2) to the wing (3) as shown in Figure 5, and secure the assembly using the nuts (4). Secure the nuts (4) with the clamps included in the mounting kit, inserting them into the hole in the wing and the nut, as shown in Figure 5a.

Installing an anemorumbometer on the mast

Mount the anemorumbometer (1) on the mast (2) as shown in Figure 6, and secure the assembly using the mounting bracket (3), washers (4), and nuts (5).

Installation diagram for the Sokol-A at the weather station placement:

Pinout, connection, configuration, operation.

Pinout Diagram for Sokol-A/Sokol-AN

The RS-485 connector pinout diagram for the Sokol-A is shown in Figure 3:

Before mounting the unit on the mast, connect the wind vane, anemometer, and RS-485 interface to the transducer as shown in Figure 8. Figure 8 shows the connection terminals, where 1 is the connector for the wind vane, 2 is the RS-485 сonnector, and 3 is the сonnector for the anemometer.

1 - Wind vane connection

2 - RS-485 connection

3 - Anemometer connection

Pinout of the extension cable for Sokol-A:

Example of the wiring diagram for the Sokol-AN version of the anemorumbometer (winter model) with a heating element:

1 - Connecting the wind vane

2 - Connecting the anemometer

3 - Connecting the RS-485

4 - Connecting the heater power supply

Pinout of the extension cable for Sokol-AN:

Connecting the anemorumbometer to the Sokol-K1 controller

The Sokol-A (1) anemometer is connected to the Sokol-K1 TEMG.469413.004 controller via the M23 TEMG.685631.003 (2) extension cable, which is included in the delivery set as shown in Figure 19. Connection to the Sokol-K1 controller enables the transmission of data collected by the anemorumbometer over a distance of up to 8 km. Connect the extension cable to the appropriate RS-485 connector on the anemorumbometer converter, route the cable through the cable coupling (3) of the computing unit (4), and connect it to the Sokol-K1 TEMG controller. 467239.004 (5) via the Sokol-A connector as shown in Figure 20.

Connection and setup via a PC.

You can connect the anemorumbometer directly to a PC. If you connect it to a PC to display wind direction and speed data, you must use Sokol Analytics or Sokol CFG. Additionally, for Sokol CFG to function properly, you must install this package of system components, as well as the appropriate driver version for your RS-485 converter, depending on the model you are using.

Bolid C2000-USB - Download link

Escort C200M converter - Download link

Escort C200M2 converter - Download link

The connection diagram for the Sokol-A to a PC is shown in Figures 10a and 10b. (The Escort C200-M2 converter (4) must be purchased separately for the connection shown in Figure 10a.)

Sokol-A + Sokol CFG

Install the Sokol CFG software as follows:

− download the Sokol CFG software;

− Run the setup_Sokol CFG.exe file;

− Follow the on-screen instructions during installation;

− Launch the Sokol CFG software.

In the standalone software window, select the COM port to which the Sokol-A anemorumbometer is connected.

If the port is not listed, follow these steps:

− Open Device Manager on your computer;

− In the Ports (COM and LPT) section, open the properties of the STMicroelectronics Virtual COM Port (C200M) or USB-SERIAL CH341A (C200M2) virtual COM port (if there are no devices with these names in the list, check that the driver for your converter is installed);

− Manually set the port number within the range COM2–COM10;

− Restart the anemorumbometer by reconnecting the transducer’s USB cable to the PC; − Reopen the Sokol CFG program and select the configured COM port; − Click the “Open Port” button.

Once successfully connected to the software, the "Sensors" tab will display readings from the anemometer. These include key meteorological parameters: wind direction and wind speed.

The serial number and software version are displayed on the left.

The "Server" tab displays the Modbus network address of the anemorumbometer (Modbus field).

Sokol-A + Sokol Analytics

To use the standalone Sokol Analytics software, follow these steps:

− Download the Sokol Analytics software;

− Run the sokolanalytics_262c.exe file;

− Follow the on-screen instructions during installation. Launch the Sokol Analytics software, and a window will open.

In this window, click the "Connect" button and enable polling for the Sokol-A device.

Next, the Sokol-A device polling window will open. You will need to configure the polling settings.

- Select the correct COM port assigned to your converter.

- Set the required network address for polling the Sokol-A. The Sokol-A network address can be set, changed, or checked in the Sokol CFG program. By default, the Sokol-A anemometer is set to network address 1.

- Set the required polling interval.

- Enable/disable the automatic launch of the survey when Sokol Analytics starts.

Important! After changing the network address on the "Sokol-A" anemometer in the Sokol CFG program, the displayed network address may not update, but the change will take effect.

After configuring the survey, you must save your changes. You will then return to the main Sokol-A survey window. At this point, you can move the slider to the ON position to start the Sokol-A anemometer survey.

You can also export a report from the Sokol Analytics program. Instructions for using Sokol Analytics/exporting a report.

Connecting Sokol-A to third-party devices. Polling Sokol-A via Modbus.

To connect the Sokol-A to any external device other than a Sokol-M weather station or a Sokol-K controller, you must ensure that the external device is capable of:

• Operating with an RS-485 interface;

• RS-485 specifications:

- Baud rate: 19200 kbps

- Data size: 8

- Stop bits: 1

- Parity: None

• Query devices via the ModBUS RTU protocol by addressing various network addresses;

The Sokol-A address (default: 1) can be changed:

The device’s primary address can be changed in the SokolCFG program. To do this, connect the device to a PC using an RS485-USB interface converter, open the converter’s COM port in the program, and in the Server section, click the “Set” button to set a new address in the lower-right corner.

Important! When using multiple devices simultaneously (for example, Sokol-A and Sokol-TDV), you must assign different network addresses to each of them.

Important! The program may not display the address change in its interface, but this does not mean that the address has not been changed.

Polling Sokol-A via Modbus example

To poll the Sokol-A, you must request 4 registers.

Register 0 - (uint16) instantaneous wind speed * 10 = 153, corresponding to 15.3 m/s

Register 1 - (uint16) instantaneous wind direction value - 118, corresponding to 118 degrees

Register 2 - (uint16) 1-minute average wind speed * 10 - 223, corresponding to 22.3 m/s

Register 3 - (uint16) 1-minute average wind direction - 327, corresponding to 327 degrees

Example command for Sokol-A (network address 3):

03 03 00 00 00 04 45 EB

03 – device address;

03 – command type;

00 00 – the register number starting from which the requested number of registers is read;

00 07 - number of registers requested;

45 EB - checksum with byte inversion;

Пример ответа:

Example response:

03 03 08 79 4A 00 4D 03 2A 00 4D 7F 52

03  - device address;

03 - command type;

08 - number of bytes transmitted;  

79 4A - instantaneous wind speed (4A 79 or 19065/1000=19.06 m/s)

00 4D - instantaneous wind direction (77°)

03 2A - 1-minute average wind speed (2A03 or 10755/1000=10.7 m/s)

00 4D - 1-minute average wind direction (77°)

7F 52 - checksum with byte inversion;

Useful links

• Wiring Diagrams for Sokol-A/Sokol-AN (RUS)
• Description of the Sokol-A Register Protocol (including AIST and GRIF) (RUS)
• Sokol Analytics User Guide (RUS)