Magnetically damped wind probe

DanB

DanB

New member
Here is my first version of a magnetically damped wind probe. I should said in the video that the primary force of damping is magnetism because of course there is wind resistance and bearing friction.
Dan
 
Not to be a wet blanket here but there are a number of Wind Indicators out there that do not use any kind of dampener and they seem to react "normally". I question the need for a dampner I guess. I have two Beggs Probes and ocassionally the dampeners will get wet inside and stick. I simply take them off and don't notice any difference. I think it may have all to do with proper balancing the counterweight. Just a thought, I still use the dampners on my probes when I can. The magnetic feature is interesting.
 
Your wet blanketness is dampening my dampening research;)

Pete Wass said:
Not to be a wet blanket here but there are a number of Wind Indicators out there that do not use any kind of dampener and they seem to react "normally". I question the need for a dampner I guess. I have two Beggs Probes and ocassionally the dampeners will get wet inside and stick. I simply take them off and don't notice any difference. I think it may have all to do with proper balancing the counterweight. Just a thought, I still use the dampners on my probes when I can. The magnetic feature is interesting.
Click to expand...
 
There is nothing wrong with your research Dan, perhaps you will learn something the rest of us are missing. There use to be a fellow in Texas who put together a rifle out of an action, barrel, aluminum plates and aluminum tubes. He off-set the barreled action to accont for torque AND used magnets as tuners. Shelley Davidson was his name. He passed early in life from Cancer, I believe. The rifle I mentioned was said to be the most accurate rifle to pass through the Tunnel in Odessa.
 
I just had the thought that the Custom Airguns could be made up the way Shelley did the Tinker Toy, sans a wooden stock. Would make for an intersting rifle or rifles. I still have a Beggs setup, :).
 
Dan, I think that is a great idea you are looking into. I have Beggs probes and when wet they are not nearly as helpful. If a dampener and probe could be made that is not affected by the rain as much would be awesome! I have shot over probes that are not dampened and they seemed to "bobble" more than I would like. I have seen some folks try to weatherproof Beggs probes, I should probably look into that but I have to say what you have come up with is sure interesting!
 
Dan,
Nice experiment. The magnetic damping seems to be very effective. However, if you invert the probe (hang the indicator below the scale, rather than suspending it above), you will find that the counterweight will be so much smaller that you won't need damping. The lower mass will also decrease rotational inertia, so that the probe will respond more quickly. A side benefit is that the probe will still work even if its raining, because the rain causes the probe to get heavier below the pivot rather than above it.

I have tried damping with corn syrup. Your magnet damping is less messy.:D

Cheers,
Keith
 
I've considered hanging the probe but the issue I see is that it puts the indicator too low below the trajectory. I agree it would work better in the rain.
At the last match in Salem I had to wait a few times for my probes to stop oscillating before I could get an accurate reading. It wasted time and cost me a few good conditions that I could have capitalized on.
Dan

mks said:
Dan,
Nice experiment. The magnetic damping seems to be very effective. However, if you invert the probe (hang the indicator below the scale, rather than suspending it above), you will find that the counterweight will be so much smaller that you won't need damping. The lower mass will also decrease rotational inertia, so that the probe will respond more quickly. A side benefit is that the probe will still work even if its raining, because the rain causes the probe to get heavier below the pivot rather than above it.

I have tried damping with corn syrup. Your magnet damping is less messy.:D

Cheers,
Keith
Click to expand...
 
DanB said:
I've considered hanging the probe but the issue I see is that it puts the indicator too low below the trajectory. I agree it would work better in the rain.
At the last match in Salem I had to wait a few times for my probes to stop oscillating before I could get an accurate reading. It wasted time and cost me a few good conditions that I could have capitalized on.
Dan
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the tradeoff. Where I shoot, it seems more important to have fast response than to sample the wind closer to the bullet trajectory. I use the probes to tell me when not to shoot, more than anything else. If the probe is moving, then I try not to shoot. I want it to respond as quickly as possible to shifts, so I am happy with the low indicator.

Cheers,
Keith
 
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