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The story about the 2 sensors atop the Golden Gate
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 4:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Sucking Hind ___ Reply with quote

rpaillon wrote:
Mike,

I've been supporting iwindsurf since day one. That's so long I forgot what it used to be called. Why am I sucking a tit behind Windalert?
I was able to get Blunt Point on Windalert without paying additional for their service. Is there a way I can see these sensors without paying extra?

Rick


Hi Rick,

Both Golden Gate sensors are totally free to iwindsurf.com subscribers if you go the Windalert.com page. However although the 2 sensors are separated by almost 800 vertical feet they are only a few feet apart as seen from above so on a map they would be on top of each other.

So if you look at the Golden Gate zoomed out you only see one sensor. Just keep zooming in and the second sensor appears. They will both appear a little off their real location because of the way Google maps and satellite imagery use perspective.

Mike
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carl



Joined: 25 Feb 1997
Posts: 2674
Location: SF bay area

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 5:02 pm    Post subject: Re: Sucking Hind ___ Reply with quote

rpaillon wrote:
Mike,

I've been supporting iwindsurf since day one. That's so long I forgot what it used to be called. Rick


The origional pager service was "Call of the Wind". I still have the pager.
It seemed so modern back then. The scarry part it it doesn't seem that long ago!!
I'm very happy we have this network of sensors and appreciate the install team. I remember the days when we just had the weather radio to tell where the wind was blowing.
(I think there were still dinosaurs back then too Smile . )
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geohaye



Joined: 03 Apr 2000
Posts: 1437

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rick, iWindsurf and WindAlert are the same company, the same thing, you use your same logins and passwords. WindAlert was the website where we rolled out the newer technology -- on a highly experimental basis at first. We are working on the New iWindsurf which will include the cool new stuff from WindAlert. We will also keep Classic iWindsurf working.

Stu and Phil are studs. Simply stated. I would have needed to wear a diaper, a wetsuit, or something equally appropriate to pee in, if I had been attempting to clamp and wire up a weather station onto the tippy top of the GG bridge...
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rigatoni



Joined: 25 Feb 1999
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sensor at the base of the North Tower would be useful to the North Tower Swell Riders. Often times the Anita Sensor will be reading 10-15 and it is blasting in the high 20's over there.
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rigatoni wrote:
Sensor at the base of the North Tower would be useful to the North Tower Swell Riders. Often times the Anita Sensor will be reading 10-15 and it is blasting in the high 20's over there.


Hi rigatoni,

That is why I spent time on the foundation of the north tower. There is great wind just a few hundred feet from the base of the north tower but right on the base we found a dead zone due to the cliffs just yards away. So a sensor would be useless.

Mike
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msamols



Joined: 17 Mar 1997
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike,

I have found that the wind directly west of the south tower is often quite light for about 50 to 100 yards. It is as if the wind hits the tower and bounces back. It is almost a dead zone that one needs to be careful about when going back and forth between the sailing area by Fort Point and midspan. It's quite consistent. I'm curious if you saw this at all when testing the sensor location (the water often even looks glassy just due west of the concrete moat). I'm wondering out loud if the sensor might read low given this phenomenon.

Michael
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Arrgh



Joined: 05 May 1998
Posts: 864
Location: Rio

PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2013 8:08 am    Post subject: Re: Sucking Hind ___ Reply with quote

carl wrote:
rpaillon wrote:
Mike,

I've been supporting iwindsurf since day one. That's so long I forgot what it used to be called. Rick


The origional pager service was "Call of the Wind". I still have the pager.
It seemed so modern back then. The scarry part it it doesn't seem that long ago!!
I'm very happy we have this network of sensors and appreciate the install team. I remember the days when we just had the weather radio to tell where the wind was blowing.
(I think there were still dinosaurs back then too Smile . )


I went to Corpus Christi about 10 years ago and I seem to remember having my pager with me. It didn't work there. Everybody had a weather radio, and they probably still do. A very useful tool when the topography is flat for 500 miles in any direction.
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2013 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When Call of the Wind became iWindsurf I built a tiny coffin and sent my pager to Jim Martin, founder of Call of the Wind and a friend of mine. I thought it was hilarious, Jim was just "Meh."

Kevin Kan used to call his pager "My Precious" like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, which inspired me to create this in Photoshop.

Wow, that came out small! It's Gollum, looking at his pager and saying "Is it 5.0 yet, My Precious?" You can see it bigger on www.WindJunkie.net/photos/photosweird.htm



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Spennie the Wind Junkie
www.WindJunkie.net
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2013 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

msamols wrote:
Mike,
I have found that the wind directly west of the south tower is often quite light for about 50 to 100 yards. It is as if the wind hits the tower and bounces back. It is almost a dead zone that one needs to be careful about when going back and forth between the sailing area by Fort Point and midspan. It's quite consistent. I'm curious if you saw this at all when testing the sensor location (the water often even looks glassy just due west of the concrete moat). I'm wondering out loud if the sensor might read low given this phenomenon.
Michael


Hi Michael,

Take a look at the imagery from a wind tunnel app I made below.

Yes, typically when wind hits a bluff or other major near vertical mass you get a very local high pressure zone in front of it that blocks the wind. In the first image the lighter color indicates higher pressure. Note the high pressure directly in front of the wall. So you are right in you observation that there are very light winds just west of the moat. That is why sites like Larkspur with straight onshore winds and a hill behind the beach has very light wind inside even when the onshore winds are strong just a hundred yards upwind.

However the cofferdam around the S. tower of the Golden Gate is pretty low so the high pressure does not extend out very far or very high. Interestingly enough there is actually stronger wind than the wind outside at the top of an obstruction due to a very local venturi effect. You can see that in the second image where the stream lines compress near the edge of the wall indicating stronger wind. So a sensor has to be positioned carefully so it does not over read.

Since the cofferdam is shaped like a football we positioned the sensor on the side of the cofferdam so as to, hopefully, get an accurate reading. However this sensor will may read low when there are marine surge winds.

Mike



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msamols



Joined: 17 Mar 1997
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2013 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow -- great pics/images...the high pressure one really tells story. Thanks so much for the reply.

Cheers, Michael
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