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Environment Meters

Handheld and fixed instruments for testing the environment around you. Including wind meters, thermometers, sound meters, water quality testing systems and weather stations.

Sub Categories

Anemometers

Anemometers

Measure wind speed with vane, hot wire and cup anemometers.
Colorimeters

Colorimeters

Measure pH, Cyanuric Acid, Chlorine Dioxide, Ozone and Chlorine using colorimetry.
Conductivity, TDS, Salinity  Meters

Conductivity, TDS, Salinity Meters

Measure the salt content in liquids easily with handheld meters.
Dial-Analogue Thermometers

Dial-Analogue Thermometers

Highly visual dial style thermometers.
Dissolved Oxygen Meters

Dissolved Oxygen Meters

Measure the quantity of dissolved oxygen in liquids.
Gas Detectors

Gas Detectors

Monitor gas levels with handheld or permanent alarm systems.
Humidity Meters & Hygrometers

Humidity Meters & Hygrometers

Handheld and display meters for humidity, %RH along with temperature.
IR Thermometers

IR Thermometers

Non contact temperature instruments, point and shoot.
Light Meters

Light Meters

Measure light levels inside and outdoors (LUX, Lumens and UV).
Moisture Meters

Moisture Meters

Get simple measurements of wood, concrete, soil and more...
ORP Meters

ORP Meters

Meters to measure Oxidation reduction potential in liquids.
pH Meters

pH Meters

Hand held and bench meters to read pH easily.
Psychrometer

Psychrometer

Wet bulb, dew point and dry bulb temperature meters.
Sound Level Meters

Sound Level Meters

From basic dB meters to high quality equipment for safety checks and regulation audits.
Temperature Meters

Temperature Meters

Measure ambient, probe and outside temperature.
Thermal Cameras

Thermal Cameras

Infrared thermography, thermal imaging, and thermal video to get the whole temperature picture.
Turbidity Meters

Turbidity Meters

Measure total suspended solids easily and effectively.
Weather Stations

Weather Stations

Monitor weather conditions including wind speed, rain levels, temperature and humidity.

Products

Kestrel-4500 - Pocket Weather Tracker

Kestrel-4500 - Pocket Weather Tracker

Kestrel-4500 - Pocket Weather Tracker

Manuals, Specifications & Datasheets

Pocket Weather Tracker Kestrel-4500 - Pocket Weather Tracker
Kestrel-4500 - Pocket Weather Tracker
 
 

Product Description & Specifications

For years our customers have been asking for wind direction along with wind speed. New for 2007, the Kestrel 4500 does just that with its built in digital compass. But it doesn’t stop there. It also calculates crosswind and headwind/tailwind with reference to a user-set target heading, and stores the information along with all the other environmental readings in its 1400 data point memory.

Pair the 4500 Wind Meter with the Kestrel Vane Mount and you have a data-logging weather station that sets up in seconds and rotates in the slightest of breezes. Did we mention that the whole kit is the ultimate in portability? It packs down into a 2 x 6 inch pouch and weighs under 8 ounces.

Also available in the NV Configuration

Military personnel and pilots flying in darkness are often concerned with preserving their night vision. Due to overwhelming demand from our military customers, the Kestrel NV line was added in 2005.

The Kestrel 4500NV has a night-vision preserving backlight which helps users to sustain natural night vision. The NV's backlight incorporates an optical filter to reduce overall brightness and minimize blue and green spectrum light to preserve night vision. Additionally, NV backlights are also much dimmer than a standard backlight, making it more difficult to detect with the naked eye in night operations. This backlight appears soft greyish pink, not red, and is still in the visible spectrum, so is not compatible with night-vision equipment.

It takes 30 to 45 minutes for the average eye to adapt to darkness and maximize night vision. Even a short burst of white, yellow, green or blue light “bleaches out” the rod cell photoreceptors in the eye and causes night blindness until the entire adaptation process can take place again. Light in the red spectrum does not cause this “bleaching out”, preventing night blindness and night vision fatigue.

Kestrel 4500 Measures

* Heading (true & magnetic)
* Wind direction
* Crosswind
Headwind/tailwind
* Altitude
* Pressure trend
* Barometric pressure
* Wet bulb temperature
* Relative humidity in %
Heat stress index
* Dewpoint
* Wet bulb temperature
* Density altitude
* Wind chill
* Air, water, and snow temperature °F or °C
* Current, average, and maximum air velocity

Kestrel 4500 Features

* Waterproof and floats
* Time and date
* Easy- to-read backlit display
* Data Logger (automatic and manual)
* Customizable data storage - 1400 data points
* Minimum, Maximum and Average values
* Multi-Function 3-line display
* Humidity sensor can be recalibrated in the field with our Relative Humidity Calibration Kit.
* Exterior temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors for fast and accurate readings
* Customize screens to display user-selected measurements
* Graph and recall trends
* User-replaceable impeller
* Flip-top impeller cover allows use of other functions while protecting the impeller
* Data charting
* Upload to a computer (with optional interface)
* Five languages (English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian)
* US Patent Nos. 5,783,753 and 5,939,645 and 6,257,074
* 5-year warranty
* Assembled in the USA

Kestrel 4500 Includes

* Soft carry pouch
* Neck lanyard
* Batteries - 2 AAA
* Kestrel Certificate of Conformity

<>td>0.0 to 100.0 %RH, -45.0 to 125.0 °C
Measurement
Response Time
Units Operational Range Resolution Accuracy
(+/-)
Specification Range
Wind Speed
1 second  
m/s 0.4 to 60.0 m/s 0.1   0.4 to 40.0 m/s
ft/min 59 to 11,948 ft/min 1   59 to 7877 ft/min
km/h 1.0 to 218.0 km/h 0.1 Larger of 3% of reading or least significant digit 1.0 to 144.0 km/h
mph 0.8 to 135.0 mph 1   0.8 to 89.0 mph
knots 0.6 to 118.3 kt 0.1   0.6 to 78.0 kt
Beaufort 0 to 12 B 0.1   0 to 12 B
1 inch diameter impeller with precision axle and sapphire bearings.  Off-axis accuracy -1% @ 5º off-axis; -2% @ 10º; -3% @ 15º.  Calibration drift < 1% after 100 hours use at 16 MPH / 7 m/s.  Sustained operation above 60 MPH / 27 m/s will wear impeller rapidly and may cause destruction of impeller.  Replacement impeller (NK PN-0801) may be field-installed without tools (US Patent 5,783,753).
Wind Direction / Forward Heading
1 second
° 360° 1 0 to 360°
Cardinal Points 360° 16 Points 0 to 360°
2-axis solid-state magnetoresistive sensor mounted perpendicular to unit plane to permit operation while measuring wind speed. Declination/variation adjustable for True North readout.  Accuracy of measurements dependent upon unit's vertical position. Self-calibration routine eliminates magnetic error from batteries or unit and must be run after every full power-down (battery removal or change).
Temperature  
1 second
°F -49.0 to 257.0 °F 0.1 1.8 °F -20.0 to 158.0 °F
°C -45.0 to 125.0 °C 0.1 1.0 °C -29.0 to 70.0 °C
Measures air, water and snow temperature.  Thermally isolated, hermetically sealed, precision thermistor mounted externally (US Patent 5,939,645).  Calibration drift negligible.
Relative Humidity
1 minute
%RH 0.0 to 100.0 % 0.1 3.0 %RH  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 relative humidity accuracy, unit must be permitted to equilibrate to external temperature when exposed to large, rapid temperature changes and must be kept out of direct sunlight.)  Calibration drift +/- 2% over 24 months. Relative humidity may be recalibrated at factory or in field using Kestrel Humidity Calibration Kit (NK PN-0802).
Pressure  
1 second  
(mb & PSI 4000 model only)
inHg 0.3 to 32.5 inHg 0.01 0.05 inHg At 77.0 °F, 22.1 to 32.5 inHg
hPa / mb 10.0 to 1100.0 hPa / mb 0.1 1.5 hPa / mb At 25.0 °C, 750 to 1100 hPa / mb
PSI 0.15 to 16.0 PSI 0.01 0.02 PSI At 77.0 °F, 10.9 to 16.0 PSI
Monolithic silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor with second-order temperature correction. Maximum error over temperature range 32 to 158 °F (0 to 70°C) , +/- 0.06 inHg / +/-2.0 hPa. Calibration drift typically -0.03 inHg / -1.0 hPa per year. Pressure sensor may be recalibrated at factory or in field.
Altitude  
1 second
ft -6000 to 30000 ft 1 50 ft At 77.0 °F, <19,700 ft. Max error +/- 98 ft
m -2000 to 9000 m 1 15 m At 25.0 °C, <6,000 m.  Max error +/- 30 m
Temperature compensated pressure (barometric) altimeter. 
Crosswind
Headwind, Tailwind

1 second
mph 0.8 to 135.0 mph 1 5% 8.5 to 89.0 mph
ft/min 59 to 11,880 ft/min 1 5% 750 to 7832 ft/min
km/h 1.0 to 217.3 km/h 0.1 5% 13.7 to 143.2 km/h
m/s 0.4 to 60.0 m/s 0.1 5% 3.8 to 40.0 m/s
knots 0.6 to 117.3 kt 0.1 5% 7.4 to 77.0 kt
Calculated from the primary measurements of wind speed, wind direction and target heading.  Auto-switching headwind/tailwind indication.  Ranges expressed refer to primarywind speed.
Wind Chill  
1 second  
°F 0.7 to 135.0 MPH, -49.0 to 257.0 °F 0.1 1.8 °F 1.8 to 89.0 mph, -50.0 to 50.0 °F
°C 0.4 to 60.0 m/s, -45.0 to 125.0 °C 0.1 1.0 °C 0.4 to 40 m/s, -45.6 to 10.0 °C
Calculated from the primary measurements of wind speed and temperature.  Utilizes 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.)
Heat Index  
1 minute  
°F 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, -49.0 to 257.0 °F 0.1 3.6 °F 70.0 to 130.0 °F, 0 to 100% RH
°C 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, -45.0 to 125.0 °C 0.1 2.0 °C 21.1 to 54.4 °C, 0 to 100 %RH
Calculated from the primary measurements of temperature and relative humidity.  Utilizes the NWS Heat Index (HI) tables.  (Specification temperature limits established by HI tables.) 
Dewpoint  
1 minute 
°F 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, -49.0 to 257.0 °F 0.1 3.6 °F -20.0 to 158.0 °F, 20.0 to 95.0% RH
°C0.1 2.0 °C -29.0 to 70.0 °C, 20.0 to 95.0 %RH
°F 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, -49.0 to 257.0 °F 0.1 3.6 °F -20.0 to 158.0 °F, 20.0 to 95.0% RH
°C 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, -45.0 to 125.0 °C 0.1 2.0 °C -29.0 to 70.0 °C, 20.0 to 95.0 %RH
Calculated from the primary measurements of temperature and relative humidity. Temperature to which the air would need to be cooled at a constant pressure to become saturated.
Wet Bulb Temperature
1 minute
°F -49.0 to 257.0 °F, 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, 8.86 to 32.48 inHg 0.1 3.6 °F 32.0 to 100.0 °F, 5.0 to 95.0% RH, 8.86 to 32.48 inHg, <19700 ft
°C -45.0 to 125.0 °C, 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, 300.0 to 1100.0 hPa 0.1 2.0 °C 0.0 to 37.8 °C, 5.0 to 95.0 %RH, -2000.0 to 9000.0 hPa, <6000 m
Calculated from the primary measurements of temperature, relative humidity and pressure. Temperature indicated by a wet bulb psychrometer.
Density Altitude 
1 second  
ft -49.0 to 257.0 °F, 0.0 to 100.0 % RH, 8.86 to 32.48 inHg 1 246 32.0 to 100.0 °F, 5.0 to 95.0 %RH, 8.86 to 32.48 inHg, <19700 ft
m -45.0 to 125.0 °C, 0.0 to 100.0 %RH, 300.0 to 1100.0 hPa 1 75 0.0 - 37.8 °C, 5.0 to 95.0 %RH, -2000 to 9000 hPa, <6000 m
Calculated from the primary measurements of temperature, relative humidity and pressure.  Air density converted to equivalent sea level elevation at the International Standard Atmosphere.
Max/Avg Wind Speed (Air Velocity),
Crosswind, Headwind/Tailwind
One-button clear and restart of Max Wind Gust and Average Wind measurement.
Data Storage / Display Minimum, maximum, average and logged history stored and displayed for every measured value. 2900-point data logger with graphical display. Auto data storage; interval settable from 2 seconds to 12 hours. Manual data capture.  
Data Upload Requires optional PC interface (NK PN-0830) and provided software. RS-232 connection with USB adapter available.
Display Multifunction, multi-digit programmable dot-matrix display.
Display Update 1 second.
Display Backlight Choice of aviation green or visible red electroluminescent backlight. Automatic or manual activation.
Clock / Calendar Real-time hours:minutes:seconds clock, calendar, automatic leap-year adjustment.
Operational Temperature Range
(LCD and Batteries)
The operational temperature range of the liquid crystal display and batteries is 14° F to 131° F / -10 °C to 55 °C. Beyond the limits of the operational temperature range, the unit must be maintained within range and exposed for minimum time necessary to take reading.
Storage Temperature -22 °F to 140 °F / -30 °C to 60 °C.
Auto Shutdown User-selectable:  15 or 60 minutes with no key presses or disabled.
Languages English, French, German, Italian, Spanish.
Certifications CE certified. Individually tested to NIST-traceable standards (written certificate of tests available at additional charge).  
Batteries AAA Alkaline, two, included. Average life, 400 hours of use, +/-depending on backlight use.
Environmental Waterproof (IP67 standard). Drop-tested (MIL.STD.810F; unit only. Substantial impact may damage replaceable impeller.).
Dimensions Unit 5.0 x 1.8 x 1.1 in / 12.7 x 4.5 x 2.8 cm.
Weight Unit 3.6 oz / 102 g.

Kestrel Meters are designed and manufactured at NK’s facility in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, and are individually calibrated at the time of manufacture. Every Kestrel Meter comes with a Certificate of Conformity to document the unit’s accuracy—all Kestrel measurements are traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, ensuring the highest level of reliability.

 
Warranty: 5 Years