The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-10-25
NEW WEATHER
DEVICE WILL
RECORD LULLS
Valuable Instrument to Avi-
alton is Invented by
Foercaster Reed.
RECORDS ALL LULLS
AND PUFFS OF WIND
Heretofore No Instrument
Existed Which Would Re-
cord These Conditions.

Many who are accustomed to look
ing aloft when near the American Ma
tional Bank building to ascertain the
direction of the wind from the vane at
the top of the tower, have noticed dur
ing the past few days another vane
at the base of the tower with a swing
ing disc attachment on the point of
the vane which is always kept toward
the wind and which swings with the
intensity of the puffs in the wind.
This is Reeds electrical wind-puff
transnitter, new invention by Local
Forecsstsr VIM. F. Reed, Jr., design
ed for tie benefit of aviation to show
when the winds are puffy and point
out dangers N the surface winds when
assertions sre about to be made. Rec
ords of the wind forces are maintain
ed at nearly. all aviation fields and
at weather bureau stations, by the
use of an thermometer which makes
an electric contact and records a
mile of wind whenever the cups on
the thermometer have made 500 revo-
lutions. If the thermometer cups re-
volve 500 times in five minutes the
wind velocity is II miles an hour.
In making the 300 turns the wind
could be puffy with rates running
much higher than y and then fall
of to lower rates but the register
for the thermometer would just show
12. This is not so with the wind puff
trsnsnitter because It records instant
ly every contact for wind of 10, Is,
20, Is, 80, 35 and 40 miles and still
another and most important of all
contacts it records, is a Gull" in the
wind Immediately following a sewers
puff.
The register for this electrical wind
puff transmitter is designed to set
down a line of dots at the time Of
occurrence of wind puffs having forces
Of ten miles or over. The transrnitter
might be referred to as a disc-shaped
pendulum, held to the wind by a vane
and swung on a bali bearing hinge,
so that the wind forces it towards
parallel position and gravity returns
it to a perpendicular position. When
the disc is assuming the parallel posi-
ton it spills the wind; consequently,
higher wind forces are required to
maintain the disc in the relatively
parallel positions.
Above the ball-bearing hinge on
the swinging disc, short arm is ex-
tended to engage eight electrical con-
facts set in an arc of hard fibre so that
when puffs of wind force the disc up,
these contacts are transmitted to
register which sets down a dot for
each contact; thus, one dot would in
dictate a force of 10 miles; two dots
Is miles; three dots, a puff of 20
miles; five dots, a puff of 30 miles.
The scale increases to seven dots or
40 miles; then, the disc is in line
with the wind, or at right angle n
its perpendicular position. The eighth
or Gull" contact has been placed so
that when a lull Immediately follows
severe puff of wind and allows the
disc to fall rapidly, its momentum
carries it forward of its perpendicular
position where it engages contact
which shows on the register as a
red dot below the dots which had just
recorded the intensity of the puff.
Dots Are Dangerous Signals.
/ The flulls" represented by the red
dots are virtually danger signals to
aviators and are recorded most FREE
quently during off-shore winds from
high pressure areas in this locality.
Many aviators have been caught in
these treacherous winds, which by the
ordinary means of measuring wind
veIocities would show up as quite
steady, when in reality they are not
steady but puffy and dangerous and
would show many puffs an6 lulls on
a wind-puff register. The direction
of dangerous winds of this character
vary with the locality or local topo-
graphy. Old vessel-masters sailing
certain waters tell the younger navi-
gators about the winds Of that loc5l-
lily that are puffy and dangerous q ID
liable to upset small sailboats, if liz
Operator is not on the alert and
llects to promptly slacken the ."
line" when the puffs come -
the change from saiIhG
boats, this danger gra
ed; but now, it is con
CONTINUED on