Kestrel 3550AG Agricultural Weather Meter with LiNK
Kestrel 3550AG Agricultural Weather Meter with LiNK
Kestrel 3550AG Description
The Kestrel 3550AG allows agricultural professionals to take accurate on the spot field environmental measurements to ensure effective crop and livestock condition management.
Crop Spraying Management:
Live data helps to manage crop spray drift and maximise application results, off-target pesticide drift can not only cause damage to nearby vulnerable crops but also pose a serious threat to people, livestock, wildlife, and the surrounding community. No matter the size of your operation, effective herbicide and pesticide application is critical to prevent drift, eliminate waste, ensure safety and effectiveness. It all starts with monitoring your conditions.
Farmers put themselves and their operations at risk every time they spray a field without documenting the wind speed and environmental conditions. The 3550AG with LiNK Bluetooth connectivity makes it easy to instantly capture and log accurate, field-level weather data with just one-click.
It is critical to measure relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction at field-level to minimize waste and maximise safety when spraying. The on-site weather at time of application has a significant impact on the risk of drift. Best management practices include checking weather at the site of application to ensure safe and effective spraying. With a built-in digital compass, the 3550AG measures all relevant environmental conditions for spraying including wind direction.
Experts urge applicators to take measurements at the field location and make decisions from accurate, onsite information. It’s important to measure wind speed at the height of sprayer booms and not rely on readings from the local airport which could be dozens of miles away. The data from remote weather stations do not accurately reflect the conditions at your specific site.
Validation of current conditions meeting label requirements is every applicator’s priority and should be incorporated into all spraying application decisions. With the Kestrel 3550AG, you can easily monitor real-time weather conditions at the field-level.
As regulations surrounding drift management get tighter and media and public attention continues to increase, the stakes are higher than ever for applicators and farmers when it comes to accountability. It’s imperative to document spray conditions to defend against costly litigation and protect the future of your operation. The Kestrel app makes it easy to do by wirelessly connecting to the K3550AG so you’re able to view, log, and manage weather data on a mobile device. Now you can document field data right at the time of spray application – forget pen and paper notes that can get lost or attempting to data log hours after the application when you’re back in the office and likely to forget. With just one click, the Snapshot feature in the app captures and saves an instant record of all live measurements along with a GPS-based timestamp. Conveniently export historical data as valuable documented evidence that you sprayed within acceptable weather conditions.
Heat Stress Management with THI:
THI, (Temperature-Humidity Index) has been used for decades as a measure to classify heat stress risk in many livestock production and transportation operations. This measurement includes both temperature and relative humidity and is a basis for both strategic and tactical management practices which benefit animal health, productivity and well-being. The Kestrel 3550AG calculates and logs on-site THI based on user selection of either the NRC (National Research Council, 1971) or Yousef (Yousef, 1985) accepted THI calculations. Objective and accurate site-specific measurements are critical to ensuring a heat stress management strategy that is cost effective; and they’re at your fingertips with the 3550AG.
Barn / Housing Ventilation Assessments:
Regardless of the type of barn/house design all livestock require proper ventilation and air movement to maximize health, growth, and comfort. The Kestrel 3550AG provides air speed and air flow measurements to quickly quantify air movement in the vicinity of livestock, locate drafts and measure fan effectiveness.
Microclimate, Harvest and Storage Conditions:
Many livestock professionals also grow and store grains, hay and other feedstuffs. The Kestrel 3500AG can measure micro-climates around the farm to determine where mould and disease may be a problem, ensuring conditions are right for harvesting, drying, and storage. Leave the Kestrel 3500AG in place anywhere in the field, barn or greenhouse to get a history of overnight conditions, the K1-3000 Series Vane and Mount with Tripod create a stand-alone monitoring station.
Mil-SPEC-810G drop tested with an IP67 waterproof rating the Kestrel 3500AG is designed and constructed to withstand the harsh working environment it will encounter on farms. The unit comes with a five-year warranty and certificate of conformity as standard.
Features
• Simple 3-Button Control
• High Contrast, Sunlight Readable Monochrome LCD Display
• Green Backlight
• FREE Kestrel LiNK Software for iOS and Android
• Minimum/Maximum/Average Reading
• Standard user replaceable CR2032 Coin Cell Battery (Average Life 300 Hours)
• Data Hold Function
• Digital Compass
• Date & Time
• Pressure Sensor
• Relative Humidity Sensor
• Temperature Sensor (Patented External Isolated)
• Field Humidity Calibration/Correction Routine
• Drop-Tested to MIL-STD-810G
• Neck Lanyard
• Patented Impeller and Sensor Technology (user-replaceable)
• Slip-On/Off Protective Cover
• Waterproof to IP67 (1m for 30 minutes) and Floats
• Certificate of Conformity
• 5 Year Warranty
Specification
| Primary Measurement | Units | Resolution | Accuracy (+/-) |
Range: Max Operational Specification (if less) |
Notes |
| Wind Speed or Air Velocity |
m/s | 0.1 | Larger of 3% of reading, least significant digit or 20 ft/min | 0.6 to 60.0 m/s 0.6 to 40.0 m/s |
1 inch diameter impeller with precision axle and low-friction Zytel® bearings. Start-up speed stated as lower limit, readings may be taken down to 0.4 m/s | 79 ft/min | 1.5 km/h | .9 mph | .8 kt after impeller start-up. Off-axis accuracy -1% @ 5° off-axis; -2% @ 10°; -3% @ 15°. Calibration drift < 1% after 100 hours use at 16 MPH | 7 m/s. Replacement impeller (NK PN-0801) field installs without tools (US Patent 5,783,753). |
| ft/min | 1 | 18 to 11,811 ft/min 118 to 7,874 ft/min |
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| km/h | 0.1 | 2.2 to 216.0 km/h 2.2 to 144.0 km/h |
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| mph | 0.1 | 1.3 to 134.2 mph 1.3 to 89.5 mph |
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| knots | 0.1 | 1.2 to 116.6 knots 1.2 to 77.8 knots |
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| Beaufort | 1 | 0 to 12 B | |||
| Temperature | °F | 0.1 | 1.8 °F | -49.0 to 257.0 -20.0 to 158.0 |
Air, water or snow temperature. Hermetically-sealed, precision thermistor mounted externally and thermally isolated (US Patent 5,939,645) for rapid response. Airflow of 2.2 mph | 1 m/s or greater provides fastest response and reduction of insulation effect. Calibration drift negligible. |
| °C | 0.1 | 1.0 °C | -45.0 to 125.0 -29.0 to 70.0 |
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| Relative Humidity | %RH | 0.1 | 3.0 %RH | 0.0 to 100.0% 5.0 to 95.0% non-condensing |
Polymer capacitive humidity sensor mounted in thin-walled chamber external to case for rapid, accurate response (US Patent 6,257,074). To achieve stated accuracy, unit must be permitted to equilibrate to external temperature when exposed to large, rapid temperature changes and be kept out of direct sunlight. Calibration drift +/- 2% over 24 months. RH may be recalibrated at factory or in field using Kestrel Humidity Calibration Kit (NK PN-0802). |
| Pressure | inHg | 0.01 | typical 0.04 inHg max 0.07 inHg |
0.30 to 32.48 inHg | Air pressure at the location. Adjustable reference altitude allows display of station pressure or barometric pressure corrected to MSL. Monolithic silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor with second-order temperature correction. Pressure sensor may be recalibrated at factory or in field. Kestrel 2500 and 3500 display continuously updating three-hour barometric pressure trend indicator: rising rapidly, rising, steady, falling, falling rapidly. Kestrel 4000 series displays pressure trend through graphing function. |
| hPa (mb) | 0.1 | typical 1.5 hPa max 2.5 hPa |
300.0 to 1100.0 hPa 10.0 to 1100.0 hPa | ||
| Wind Chill | °F | 0.1 | 1.8 °F | Refer to stated ranges for wind speed and temp. | Perceived temperature resulting from combined effect of wind speed and temperature. Calculated based on the NWS Wind Chill Temperature (WCT) Index, revised 2001, with wind speed adjusted by a factor of 1.5 to yield equivalent results to wind speed measured at 10 m above ground. Specification temperature limits established by WCT Tables. |
| °C | 0.1 | 1.0 °C | |||
| Heat Index | °F | 0.1 | 3.6 °F | Refer to stated ranges for temp. and relative humidity. | Perceived temperature resulting from the combined effect of temperature and relative humidity. Calculated based on NWS Heat Index (HI) tables. (Specification temperature limits established by HI tables.) |
| °C | 0.1 | 2.0 °C | |||
| Wet Bulb Temperature (Psychrometric) | °F | 0.1 | 3.6 °F | Refer to stated ranges for temp., relative humidity and pressure. | Temperature indicated by a wet bulb psychrometer under forced aspiration. Calculated from temperature, relative humidity and pressure. |
| °C | 0.1 | 2.0 °C | |||
| Dewpoint | °F | 0.1 | 3.6 °F | Refer to stated ranges for temp. and relative humidity. | Temperature to which the air must be cooled at a constant pressure for water vapour to condense into water. Calculated from temperature and relative humidity. |
| °C | 0.1 | 2.0 °C | |||
| Altitude | ft | 1 | typical 50 ft max 98 ft |
-2,300 to 85,000 ft | Height above Mean Sea Level (“MSL”). Temperature compensated pressure (barometric) altimeter requires accurate reference barometric pressure to produce maximum absolute accuracy. |
| m | 1 | typical 15 m max 30 m |
-700 to 25,900 m | ||
| Max/Avg Wind | One-button clear and restart of Max Wind Gust and Average Wind measurement by powering down and restarting unit. | ||||
| Display & Backlight | Reflective 5 digit LCD. Digit height 0.36 in / 9 mm. Choice of aviation green or visible red (NV models only) electroluminescent backlight. Manual activation with auto-off. | ||||
| Response Time & Display Update | All measurements except those based on relative humidity respond accurately within 1 second. Relative humidity and all measurements which include RH in their calculation may require as long as 1 minute to fully equilibrate to a large change in the measurement environment. Display updates every 1 second. | ||||
| Clock / Calendar | Real-time hours:minutes clock. | ||||
| Operational & Storage Temperature Range | The operational temperature range of the liquid crystal display and batteries is 14° F to 131° F / -10 °C to 55 °C. Measurements beyond the operational range can be taken by briefly exposing unit to extreme conditions such that the display and batteries remain within the operational range. Storage range -22 °F to 140 °F / -30 °C to 60 °C. | ||||
| Auto Shutdown | After 45 minutes of no key presses. | ||||
| Certifications | CE certified, RoHS and WEEE compliant. Individually tested to NIST-traceable standards (written certificate of tests available at additional charge). | ||||
| Battery | CR2032, one, included. Average life, 300 hours. Battery life reduced by backlight use in 2000 to 3500 models. | ||||
| Environmental | Waterproof (IP67 and NEMA-6). MIL-STD-810F, Transit Shock, Method 516.5 Procedure IV; unit only; impact may damage replaceable impeller. | ||||
| Size & Weight | 4.8 x 1.9 x 1.1 in / 12.2 x 4.8 x 2.8 cm, 3.6 oz / 102 g (including slip-on cover). | ||||
| Colour Options | Yellow | Olive Drab (NV version) | ||||
The manufacturer reserves the right to amend the specification and therefore the information in this document may be subject to change.
Documentation
User Manual
Kestrel 3550AG Agricultural Weather Meter with LiNK