Airmar PB100 Technical Information

Record the serial number found on the WeatherStation for future reference. Serial No._________________________Date of Purchase___________________ Wea

106. With the nut assembly on the cable near the WeatherStation connector, thread the cable through the extension tube (if used), antenna mount, and

11 Cable Routing & Connecting Depending on the equipment that you will be using, route the WeatherStation cable to a Converter, a Combiner, or di

12 Mounting Location of the Converter 1. Select a convenient, dry, mounting location for the water-resistant Converter, about 1 – 2 m (3' – 6&ap

13 Connecting to a Combiner The Combiner allows the WeatherStation data to be displayed simultaneously on both an NMEA display and a PC. On the Combi

14 Mounting Location of the Combiner 1. Select a convenient, dry, mounting location for the water-resistant Combiner, about 1 – 2 m (3' – 6&apos

154. Using a small Phillips screwdriver, puncture the grommet that corresponds to NMEA Display on the cover (see Figure 7). Be careful not to damag

1610.Connect each wire in turn into the designated NMEA Display terminal. Loosen the screw, insert the stripped end of the wire into the square hole,

17Auxiliary NMEA IN Grommet.Use the AUX NMEA IN grommet to connect an external NMEA 0183 sensor such as: an Airmar Smart™ Sensor, an external GPS, an

181. Route the cable coming from the external sensor to the Combiner. Do not fasten the cable in place at this time.2. Allowing an extra 25 cm (10&qu

199. Connect each wire in turn into the designated NMEA IN terminal. Loosen the screw, insert the stripped end of the wire into the square hole and re

Copyright © 2005, 2006 Airmar Technology Corp. All rights reserved.

20Auxiliary NMEA OUT GrommetsUse the AUX NMEA OUT grommets to connect one or two additional devices to receive and display data from the WeatherStatio

215. Push approximately 200mm (8") of the cable through the grommet(s) (see Figure 13). 6. Strip 60mm (2-1/2") of the outer jacket and foil

22Power CableWarning: The power panel must have a 2 amp fast-blow fuse or circuit breaker.1. Route the power cable from the Combiner to the power supp

23Connecting to a Generic NMEA 0183 Display1. Route the WeatherStation cable to the display. Do not fasten the cable in place at this time.2. Connect

24WiringWarning: The power panel must have a 1 amp fast-blow fuse or circuit breaker.1. Route the power cable from the WeatherStation to the power sup

25Installing the Software—Converter or Combiner Installation OnlyIf your installation includes a Converter or a Combiner, you will need to install the

264. Click the Install Application button. The WeatherStation InstallShield Wizard window will appear (see Figure 18). 5. Click Next to continue.6. Ac

27Installing the USB Serial Converter DriverCaution: THE DRIVER INSTALLATION IS IN TWO PARTS. Both drivers must be installed for WeatherCaster to func

286. The Found New Hardware Wizard window will appear (see Figure 21). Click the NO, not this time button to allow the driver installation. 7. Click N

2911.The USB Serial Converter driver is being installed (see Figure 23). Click Finish and wait for the Found New Hardware Wizard window to appear agai

3 Table of Contents Introduction 4Adding External Sensors 5Choosing the Mounting Location 6Tools & Materials 7Installing 8Cable Routing &

30Setting Up WeatherCasterAfter WeatherCaster is successfully installed, click the WeatherStation icon on your PC’s desktop. When WeatherCaster opens,

31Background Color Dial This dial allows you to choose the background color of the screen.•Steel•Burled Wood•FiberglassTo change the setting, click th

32Barometric Pressure Setting Dial This dial allows you to display the barometric pressure in the following units of measure.•inHg—Inches of Mercury•m

33Data Boxes at the Top of the ScreenThere are six Data Boxes that appear at the top of each page (see Figures 25, 26, and 27). These boxes display in

34Box 5. GPS Connection IndicatorThis icon indicates if the GPS inside the WeatherStation has a satellite fix. When the icon is red, there is no GPS fix

35Using the WeatherCaster ProgramWeatherCaster has three pages/display screens. To move between pages, click the Next Page or Prev Page arrow.• Setup

36High and Low ReadingsSome gauges display a colored arc. A blue arc shows the lowest reading in a 24 hour period. A red arc show the highest reading

37Apparent Wind Gauge This gauge uses needles to indicate the apparent wind speed and direction. The long needle points to the wind speed, and the sho

38Compass The Compass displays true and apparent wind direction along with vessel heading. The Compass does not collect historical data.• Apparent win

39Relative Humidity Gauge This gauge uses a needle to indicate the relative humidity as a percentage. There is also a digital readout at the bottom. T

4 Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Airmar Ultrasonic WeatherStation. This exciting product is actually six different sensors in a single uni

40True Wind Speed Relative to Speed Through Water This gauge will appear only if you have installed a paddlewheel sensor measuring boat speed through

41The Large Compass and Digital Display PageClick the Next Page arrow at the top right of the screen to go to the Large Compass and Digital Display Pa

42Weather ReadingsThe right side of the screen displays the following (see Figure 29):• Apparent wind speed and direction•True wind speed and directio

43Maintenance & UpdatesWeatherCaster UpdatesDownload WeatherCaster updates from Airmar’s web site, www.airmar.com.CalibrationThe WeatherStation is

44Troubleshooting• Is there power to the WeatherStation?• Are all the connections tight?• Is the cable-run free of kinks?• Is the wiring correct?• Are

45WeatherCaster Software ProblemsIdentify the WeatherCaster VersionThe WeatherCaster version number is located on the top left corner of each WeatherC

46Auto-Detecting COM PortsIf you install more than one instance of the drivers for the Combiner/Converter, WeatherCaster may not automatically detect

47that matches the COM port shown in brackets on the Auto-Detecting WeatherStation Data window.4. Select the appropriate Baud Rate from the drop-down

481. Launch WeatherCaster again. You will see the screen below. Click Cancel.2. You will then see the screen below. Click Yes to manually set the COM

494. Select the appropriate Baud Rate from the drop-down menu. • If you have a: USB Converter, set the baud rate to 4800.• If you have a Combiner, set

5 Adding External Sensors The WeatherStation can receive data from external sensors when they are connected through an optional Combiner. This device

506. Set the bits-per-second to 4800. Do not change any other selection. Click OK. You will see the data sentences from the WeatherStation scrolling o

51Appendix A—How the WeatherStation WorksAbout the Ultrasonic Wind SensorThe ultrasonic wind sensor (an ultrasonic anemometer) measures apparent wind

52Consider the case of a vessel proceeding at a speed of 15 knots in calm air. An observer on-board would experience a wind of 15 knots from dead ahea

53About the Electronic CompassThe WeatherStation includes a pair of magnetoinductive sensors that measure magnetic field strength in two axes on the ho

54About the Air Temperature SensorThe WeatherStation includes a built-in negative temperature coefficient thermistor that measures the ambient air temp

55About the Barometric Pressure SensorThe WeatherStation contains a temperature-compensated silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor. It measures atmosp

56About True Wind Relative to WaterIf a fix from a GPS receiver is not available, it is still possible for the WeatherStation to determine a value for

57Appendix B—Technical InformationSpecificationsWind Speed Range 0.5 – 99.5knotsWind Speed Resolution 0.1knotWind Direction Resolution 1ºWind Direct

58Additional Data Available from the WeatherStationThere are parameters that the WeatherStation can make available to the user. Usually, more data is

59

6 Choosing the Mounting Location For accurate readings and a reliable GPS signal, selecting the best location for the WeatherStation is very importan

AIRMAR®TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION35 Meadowbrook Drive, Milford, New Hampshire 03055-4613, USA www.airmar.com

7 Tools & Materials Antenna mount with standard 1” - 14 marine threads and a pass-through for the cable (see Figure 2)Hardware to install the ant

8 Installing Caution : The blue metal plate and the blue film found in the wind channel of the WeatherStation are essential to its operation (see Figu

9 Caution : The WeatherStation must be installed vertically—not tilted to one side. If the WeatherStation is tilted from the horizontal plane, it wil