Kintech Engineering Geovane User Manual
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Kintech Engineering Geovane User Manual

Solar compass, specifically designed to work in conjunction with wind vanes, ultrasonic anemometers, sodars and lidars.
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Geovane
FOR THE PRECISE MEASUREMENT OF THE TRUE NORTH OFFSET
Get the most accurate wind direction measurement available today
Allows for veer measurement (IEC61400.12.1, 2017)
Very low power consumption: suitable for remote stations
Rugged and durable

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Summary of Contents for Kintech Engineering Geovane

  • Page 1 Geovane FOR THE PRECISE MEASUREMENT OF THE TRUE NORTH OFFSET Get the most accurate wind direction measurement available today Allows for veer measurement (IEC61400.12.1, 2017) Very low power consumption: suitable for remote stations Rugged and durable...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    2.3 Order options and included items ............. 9 2.3.1 Geovane ordered without wind vane ..........10 2.3.2 Geovane ordered along with wind vane ........... 10 FIELD INSTALLATION (MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL) ......12 3.1 Mechanical mounting ................14 3.2 Connector details and diagram ............... 15 3.3 Cable details .....................
  • Page 3 6.1 Analog voltage outputs ................27 6.2 Frequency output ..................28 6.3 Digital output .................... 29 MESSAGE FORMATS AND OPTIONS .............. 31 7.1 Answers from the Geovane ..............33 7.1.1 ORN message: True North offset ............ 33 7.1.2 ORX message: extended ORN message .......... 34 7.1.3...
  • Page 4 10 FIRMWARE RELEASE CHANGELOG .............. 50...

  • Page 5: General User Information

    Kintech Engineering products are in continuous development. Specifications may be subject to change and design improvements. We invite you to sign up to our newsletter and get the latest news and important updates about the Geovane. 1.1 Contact information Spain...

  • Page 6: About This User Manual

    In accordance with European directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), these product components must be recycled. This should be done by returning the product to Kintech Engineering or by using an appropriate waste disposal company. This product should not be disposed of in general waste of landfill.

  • Page 7: Introduction

     Geovane_metmast (for future wind measurement masts and power performance tests). As soon as the Geovane + wind vane unit has been mounted on the met mast and it receives sufficient direct radiation from the Sun, the Geovane will offer as output the offset of the wind vane with respect to True North.

  • Page 8: Order Options And Included Items

    *The Geovane and the Thies wind vane are supplied already coupled and aligned, in a single packaging, as a plug-and-play unit. In case you want to order the Geovane along with a different Thies FC / Compact part number, please contact sales@geovane360.com...

  • Page 9: Geovane Ordered Without Wind Vane

    2.3.1 Geovane ordered without wind vane Arriving at the customer, the delivery includes:  Geovane incl. vertical support boom and wind vane adaptor sleeve. (1)  8-pole plug connector. (2)  3mm Hex Wrench (Allen key). (3) Remark: This option requires precise alignment of the wind vane. Please carefully follow the instructions in section 4.
  • Page 10 In addition to the items described in section 2.3.1, the delivery includes:  Thies Compact / First Class wind vane coupled and aligned to the Geovane by Kintech Engineering.  Alignment certificate.  3.5m of 0.5mm cross-sectioned shielded cable (number of cores depending upon wind vane model), already plugged and secured into the wind vane, ended in an IP68 in-line connector.

  • Page 11: Field Installation (Mechanical And Electrical)

    3 FIELD INSTALLATION (MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL) If you have ordered the Geovane together with a wind vane, the unit (Geovane + wind vane) has already been aligned by Kintech Engineering and the unit is ready for installation in the field.
  • Page 12 It is worth remembering that, once the Geovane and the wind vane have been aligned, they must be installed together without modifying its accurately- established relative orientation. This entails that the connector of the wind vane is not accesible any more once the alignment is done.

  • Page 13: Mechanical Mounting

    As described in 5.8, the Geovane has a length of 31cm. The length of the met mast vertical boom should be shortened so the wind vane is kept at the same height that it would be in the abscense of Geovane.

  • Page 14: Connector Details And Diagram

    3.2 Connector details and diagram All electrical connections are made to the Geovane via an 8-pole plug connector (DIN 45326) located in the base of the sensor housing. Each pole is identified, on the soldered connection side, by a number.

  • Page 15: Cable Shielding

    3.3.1 Cable shielding It is critical that appropriate shielding is used to reduce EMI. The connection of the cable shield depends on whether or not the mounting of the Geovane on the boom is isolated. If the mounting of the Geovane is isolated (i.e. non-metallic adaptor sleeve), the cable shield between the Geovane and the data acquisition system must be applied at both sides.

  • Page 16: Commissioning

    3.4 Commissioning It may happen that the Geovane is not able to update its True North offset output before the installation team leaves the site (e.g. if the installation takes place on a foggy day). To verify that the Geovane has been correctly connected, the following values...

  • Page 17: Geovane + Wind Vane Alignment

    Geovane must have, at all times, its internal angular reference perfectly aligned with the Geovane’s angular reference. In case you have ordered the Geovane without a wind vane, or you need to align the Geovane with a new wind vane, please follow this procedure.
  • Page 18 Remark: Keep both screws at the same distance from the slot to prevent the sensor from displacing laterally when the screws are tightened. Step 2: Power on the wind vane, connect it to the data logger and turn its tail until it outputs exactly 180º.
  • Page 19 While the wind vane is outputting exactly 180º, block the wind vane. Step 4: Power on the Geovane. The Geovane will activate its line laser emitter for the next five minutes. With the wind vane still locked at 180°, turn the wind vane from its base until the laser line hits the tail.
  • Page 20 Remarks: Alignment in the workshop is strongly encouraged Laser beam emitter (Class 1) is hard to detect outdoors during daylight hours.

  • Page 21: Technical Data

    Refer to section 8 *Moeller Operating Engineering GmbH independent performance verification available upon request. **A measurement rate set to 10s means that the Geovane will scan its photosensing pixels trying to locate the Sun once every 10 seconds during day- time.

  • Page 22: Absolute Maximum Ratings

    The tilt sensor has an absolute accuracy of <1º between 0 and 90° tilt angle. Once the Geovane and the wind vane have been properly aligned (refer to section 4):  Tilt X output is referenced to the wind vane’s North mark (Geovane’s slit #1),...

  • Page 23: Mechanical Specifications

    Frequency output activated One analog voltage output activated Both analog voltage outputs activated Remark: The power supply should be able to provide at least 80mA to account for the maximum current peak Geovane might demand. 5.6 Mechanical specifications Description Value Comments Weight 0.870Kg...

  • Page 24: Outputs Summary

    5.7 Outputs summary Output Description* Digital (x1) RS-485 (9600 bps, 8N1) 10…130Hz push-pull with 220Ω series resistance Frequency (x1) (0-5V square wave) Analog voltage (x2) 12-bit resolution 0.5…4.5V with 220Ω series resistance *Refer to section 0 for detailed information.

  • Page 25: Dimensions (Mm)

    5.8 Dimensions (mm)

  • Page 26: Sensor Outputs

    6 SENSOR OUTPUTS The Geovane offers three types of outputs, summarized in the below table: Output* Number Data Range Comments 0-5V push-pull square True North Frequency x1 10…130Hz wave with 220Ω output offset resistance True North Analog 12-bit resolution with offset / Tilt X / 0.5…4.5V...

  • Page 27: Frequency Output

    2 ∙ 0.5 Remark: At startup and until the Geovane is able to measure for the first time, the True North offset output is set to 370º. In this way, the installer can verify that the Geovane is operating properly even in the absence of sunlight (see section 3.4).

  • Page 28: Digital Output

    If two or more Geovane units are to be installed it is possible to use the same 2-wire data link to connect all the Geovane units to a master, provided that each Geovane is configured with a different listener identifier (Listener ID).
  • Page 29 **Minimum. Remark: At startup and until the Geovane is able to measure for the first time, the True North offset output is set to 370º. In this way, the installer can verify that the Geovane is operating properly even in the absence of sunlight (see section 3.4).

  • Page 30: Message Formats And Options

    7 MESSAGE FORMATS AND OPTIONS The digital communication protocol follows a master-slave format, where the Geovane is the slave and an external device is the master. The master should send a command (list available in section 7.2), and the Geovane will answer the corresponding output message (section 7.1).
  • Page 31 Geovane will ignore the message. In applications where more than one Geovane is connected to the RS-485 bus, you should assign each Geovane in the system a unique Listener ID. The master will then be able to address individually each Geovane.

  • Page 32: Answers From The Geovane

    7.1 Answers from the Geovane This section describes all the messages sent by Geovane after receiving poll requests from the master (section 7.2). 7.1.1 ORN message: True North offset $GVORN,274.20,+01.20,-00.80,01,00*7F<CR><LF> Field Example Description Start character Talker identification Geovane identification Identifier associated to the type of...

  • Page 33: Orx Message: Extended Orn Message

    **Refer to section 5.3 for specification about reference axis. 7.1.2 ORX message: extended ORN message $GVORX,274.20,+01.20,-00.80,01,00,+35.78,110312,151118*44<CR><LF> Field Example Description Start character Talker identification Geovane identification Identifier associated to the type of Message ID message Angle between True North and the device reference, in degrees True North offset* 274.20 Range: 0…...
  • Page 34 HWSC.0 (LSB): GPS status. Internal temperature +35.78 Internal temperature, in degrees Celsius UTC time of the latest UTC time at which the Geovane took the True North offset 110312 latest True North offset measurement measurement Date of the latest True...

  • Page 35: Sun Message: Solar Coordinates

    7.1.3 SUN message: solar coordinates $GVSUN,216.16,66.24,-17.35,+018.25*55<CR><LF> Field Example Description Start character Talker identification Geovane identification Message ID Identifier associated to the type of message Sun’s azimuth to North 216.16 Angle between True North and the horizontal projection of the sun's rays, in degrees (clockwise rotation) Range: 0…...

  • Page 36: Rmc Message: Recommended Minimum Specific Gnss Data

    7.1.4 RMC message: recommended minimum specific GNSS data $GVRMC,123927.000,A,4138.9405,N,00053.3174,W,0.62,335.42,220611,,,A*70 <CR><LF> Field Example Description Start character Talker identification Geovane identification Message ID Identifier associated to the type of message UTC time 123927.000 Format: hhmmss.sss Fix status V = Invalid A = Valid Latitude 4138.9405...

  • Page 37: Inf Message: Geovane's Features

    Checksum Bitwise XOR of all characters between Start character and End-of-data character Carriage Return and Line Feed < >< > 7.1.5 INF message: Geovane’s features $GVINF,500107,0.01.06.07,01.00*4E<CR><LF> Field Example Description Start character Talker identification Geovane identification Identifier associated to the type of...

  • Page 38: Cfg Message: Geovane's Current Configuration

    7.1.6 CFG message: Geovane’s current configuration $GVCFG,00,3,1,0,1,0*60<CR><LF> Field Example Description Start character Talker identification Geovane identification Identifier associated to the type of Message ID message Listener identification Current Listener identification Current measurement rate: 1 = 1 second 2 = 5 seconds...

  • Page 39: Commands To The Geovane

    >< > 7.2 Commands to the Geovane This section describes all the commands a master can send to the Geovane. All examples assume that the Geovane Listener ID is set to 00. 7.2.1 PMGV00 command – Echo message request $PMGV00,00*20<CR><LF>...

  • Page 40: Pmgv01 Command - Orn Message Request

    Start character Header PMGV Identifier associated to the type of Command ID command: ORN message request Listener ID Geovane Listener identification End-of-data character Bitwise XOR of all characters between Checksum Start character and End-of-data character Carriage Return and Line Feed <...

  • Page 41: Pmgv04 Command - Rmc Message Request

    Start character Header PMGV Identifier associated to the type of Command ID command: RMC message request Listener ID Geovane Listener identification End-of-data character Bitwise XOR of all characters between Checksum Start character and End-of-data character Carriage Return and Line Feed <...

  • Page 42: Pmgv06 Command - Cfg Message Request

    Start character Header PMGV Identifier associated to the type of Command ID command: INF message request Listener ID Geovane Listener identification End-of-data character Bitwise XOR of all characters between Checksum Start and End-of-data characters Carriage Return and Line Feed <...

  • Page 43: Digital Communication Example

    The following paragraph shows a typical master-slave communication where ECHO, ORN, SUN and RMC messages are requested: Echo command sent by the master: $PMGV00,00*20 Answer from the Geovane: $PMGV00,00*20 INF command sent by the master: $PMGV05,00*25 Answer from the Geovane: $GVINF,500107,1.01.07.02,01.00*4B...

  • Page 44: Configuration

    The factory-preset default configuration is described in section 8.2. In case you want to re-configure the Geovane, this process is performed via the RS-485 serial interface. To help the users to carry out the configuration, Kintech Engineering provides the Geovane Configuration software Tool.

  • Page 45: Configuring The Geovane

    Push ‘Connect’ and, if the port is available, it will appear as ‘Opened’ on the ‘Serial Port status’ panel: 8.1.3 Configuring the Geovane Once the COM port is opened, one Geovane at a time can be configured. The procedure is as follows: Step 1: Connect to the Geovane and get its current configuration.
  • Page 46 If you don’t know what ID the Geovane has previously been given, activate the slide button “Scan Geovane ID” and the Tool will try all the possible Geovane ID (00 to 99). As soon as one Geovane is detected, the window will be updated with the current configuration of said Geovane.

  • Page 47: Default Configuration

    8.2 Default configuration Unless otherwise specified at the time of ordering, the Geovane is delivered with the following factory settings: Description Value Comments Measurement rate Seconds RS-485 device Listener ID identifier RS-485 Active. Waiting for polls. Pin 2 and pin 4...

  • Page 48: Ec Declaration Of Conformity

    2007/07/20 The Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive hereby declare under our sole responsibility that the product: Geovane has been designed to comply and is in conformity with the relevant sections and applicable requirements of the directive Íñigo Vázquez Technical Manager Kintech Ingeniería S.L.
  • Page 49 True North offset is set to 385º at startup and until 0.2.3.0 the Geovane gest GPS signal. True North offset is set to 370º after the Geovane gets GPS signal and until it measures for the first time. Fixed problem where certain geographical longitudes 0.2.3.3...

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