USER'S GUIDE Vaisala Radiosonde RS41-SG M211667EN-A
PUBLISHED BY Vaisala Oyj Phone (int.): +358 9 8949 1 P.O. Box 26 Fax: +358 9 8949 2227 FIN-00421 Helsinki Finland Visit our Internet pages at http://www.vaisala.com/ © Vaisala 2013 No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical (including photocopying), nor may its contents be communicated to a third party without prior written permission of the copyright holder. The contents are subject to change without prior notice.
________________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Contents of This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Version Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Related Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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________________________________________________________________________________ List of Tables Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Manual Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Related Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Unwinder Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 RS41 LED Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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________________________________________________________________________________ List of Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 20 Vaisala Radiosonde RS41-SG with Unwinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 RS41 Unwinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Ground Check Device RI41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 1 ________________________________________________________ General Information CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION This chapter provides general notes for the manual and the product. About This Manual This manual provides information for operating Vaisala Radiosonde RS41-SG. For information on preparing the balloon and optional sounding accessories, see Vaisala Guide to Sounding Preparations, Technical Reference.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ - Chapter 5, Technical Support: This chapter presents information about the failure report and radiosonde warranty. - Appendix A, Replacing Radiosonde Batteries: This appendix provides information on replacing radiosonde batteries. Version Information Table 1 Manual Versions Manual Code Description M211667EN-A October 2013. First version.
Chapter 1 ________________________________________________________ General Information Product-Related Safety Precautions WARNING Conduct soundings in a safe environment and in accordance with all applicable restrictions and regulations. WARNING Do not use the radiosonde in an area with power lines or other obstructions overhead. Make sure that you check the area for such obstructions before using the radiosonde.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ - If you are unable to take either of the above precautions, touch a conductive part of the equipment chassis with your other hand before touching ESD sensitive components. - Always hold component boards by the edges and avoid touching the component contacts. Lithium Battery-Related Precautions CAUTION Do not place the lithium battery in fire or apply heat to the battery.
Chapter 1 ________________________________________________________ General Information Recycling Recycle all applicable material. Dispose of batteries and the unit according to statutory regulations. Do not dispose of with regular household refuse.
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Chapter 2 __________________________________________________________ Product Overview CHAPTER 2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW This chapter introduces the features and advantages of the radiosonde. Introduction to Vaisala Radiosonde RS41-SG Vaisala Radiosonde RS41-SG offers excellent data availability and accuracy of humidity, temperature, pressure, and wind measurement. The radiosonde is fast and stable with individual, SI-standard traceable calibration.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ RS41 Unwinder The unwinder is specifically designed for use with Radiosonde RS41. The unwinder is installed to the radiosonde so that it bends the sensor boom to the correct sounding position, ensuring repeatable results in the soundings. See Figure 2 on page 16 for an illustration of the unwinder.
Chapter 2 __________________________________________________________ Product Overview Figure 1 0705-015 Vaisala Radiosonde RS41-SG with Unwinder 1 = Sensor boom 2 = Power switch 3 = Additional sensor interface connector 4 = Antenna 5 = LED light 6 = Unwinder 7 = Unwinder stick VAISALA _______________________________________________________________________ 15
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ Figure 2 1309-228 RS41 Unwinder 16 ___________________________________________________________________M211667EN-A
Chapter 3 ________________________________________________________________ Operation CHAPTER 3 OPERATION This chapter contains information that is needed to operate this product. General It is essential that you carry out the pre-launch steps as instructed and always in the same way. The workorder for a sounding is as follows: 1. Unpack and prepare the balloon, the unwinder and the optional sounding accessories. 2. Unpack and prepare the radiosonde with the ground check device. 3.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ Preparing the Sounding with Ground Check Device RI41 In the sounding preparations, RI41 is connected to the sounding workstation PC via a USB cable and operated with the help of the sounding software. RI41 is switched on by connecting it to the sounding system and turning on the sounding workstation PC. For information on configuring RI41 as the ground check option in the sounding software, see the MW41 on-line help.
Chapter 3 ________________________________________________________________ Operation CAUTION Do not touch the radiosonde sensors, they are fragile and can be easily contaminated. Figure 4 1309-231 Do Not Touch the Radiosonde Sensors Follow the steps below to prepare the radiosonde for a sounding with RI41: 1. Place the radiosonde on RI41 carefully. Make sure that the radiosonde sensor boom does not hit the support plate on RI as this might damage the sensor boom.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ 2. The sounding software automatically detects the radiosonde and begins the sounding preparations. The sounding software goes through reconditioning and ground check. The status is clearly indicated with a progress bar. During the ground check, the following preparation steps are performed for the radiosonde: 3. - T check: The radiosonde performs an in-built functional temperature check.
Chapter 3 ________________________________________________________________ Operation Checking RS41 LED Light After preparing radiosonde RS41 for the sounding, check the radiosonde GPS reception by checking the LED light on the radiosonde cover. RS41 LED light will switch off automatically after the launch. Table 4 RS41 LED Lights Green LED is blinking. Green LED is lit and burns steadily. Red LED is lit.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ Preparing RS41 Unwinder To start using the RS41 unwinder, first detach the unwinder stick (number 1 in Figure 6 on page 22) from the unwinder body. The stick is attached between two plastic clips in the unwinder hook (number 2). Detach the stick from between the plastic clips and pull it out from the unwinder bottom plate (3).
Chapter 3 ________________________________________________________________ Operation One way of avoiding the unwinder string from unwinding too much and getting tangled is to attach the unwinder stick to the hole in the bottom plate. See Figure 7 on page 23 for an illustration.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ Before launching the radiosonde, bend the sensor boom to the correct sounding position using the unwinder stick: push the unwinder stick to its position at the end of the radiosonde. As you push, the unwinder stick pushes the sensor boom to the bent position and the unwinder snap lock clicks into place. Make sure that the unwinder is firmly attached to the radiosonde. See Figure 8 on page 24 and Figure 9 on page 24.
Chapter 3 ________________________________________________________________ Operation If necessary, push the unwinder stick in two places: hold the radiosonde in your left hand and push the stick with your thumb as shown in Figure 9 on page 24. Use your right hand thumb to push the stem of the stick against the edge of the radiosonde. Make sure that the unwinder string does not unwind too much at this stage. It might get tangled during the preparations.
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Chapter 4 __________________________________________________ Storage and Transportation CHAPTER 4 STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION This chapter provides information for the transport and storage of the product. Storage Radiosondes must be stored and used properly in accordance with applicable instructions, the User’s Guide, and specifications issued by Vaisala.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ Transportation Vaisala radiosondes must be transported in their original shipping packages. These packages are designed and built to survive and protect their contents in the environmental conditions described herein with the terminology and standards per standard: IEC 60721-3-2.
Chapter 4 __________________________________________________ Storage and Transportation Figure 10 1002-100 NOTE Lithium Battery Handling Label If the lithium battery is faulty, do not transport it.
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Chapter 5 _________________________________________________________ Technical Support CHAPTER 5 TECHNICAL SUPPORT This chapter presents information about technical support. Product Returns If the product is found faulty, please follow the instructions below to speed up the process and to avoid extra costs to you. NOTE 1. Read the radiosonde warranty information. 2. Contact Vaisala technical support via e-mail or fax and request for RMA (Return Material Authorization) and shipping instructions. 3.
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Appendix A _____________________________________________ Replacing Radiosonde Batteries APPENDIX A REPLACING RADIOSONDE BATTERIES This appendix provides information on replacing the radiosonde batteries. NOTE Note that inserting or replacing radiosonde batteries is not part of the normal operation of the radiosonde. It is only needed in a possible error situation indicated by the radiosonde or the ground equipment. RS41-SG uses two lithium batteries which have power for approximately five hours.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ Figure 11 1309-231 1. Do Not Touch the Radiosonde Sensors Loosen the radiosonde cover by placing the tip of the screwdriver to the small slots at the antenna end of the radiosonde and twist the screwdriver carefully. See Figure 12 on page 34 for an example. At the same time, slightly press the sides of the bottom half of the radiosonde to loosen the snap locks. See Figure 13 on page 35.
Appendix A _____________________________________________ Replacing Radiosonde Batteries Figure 13 1310-004 CAUTION Opening the Snap Locks Be careful not to accidentally touch the pins in the additional sensor interface connector with the screwdriver, you might short circuit the radiosonde. 2. Open the radiosonde cover by lifting the antenna end first and remove the styrofoam case from inside the radiosonde. Figure 14 1310-005 3.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ CAUTION Do not touch the PCB board. You might deliver electrostatic discharge and damage the radiosonde. Figure 15 1310-006 4. RS41 Batteries in the Battery Holder Remove the old batteries from the battery holder.
Appendix A _____________________________________________ Replacing Radiosonde Batteries 5. CAUTION Before placing the new batteries, check the battery polarity symbols on the radiosonde battery holder carefully. See Figure 16 on page 37 for an illustration of RS41 battery holder polarity symbols. Make sure to check the battery polarity symbols in the battery holder carefully and to place the new batteries correctly. Placing both battery poles in the wrong direction damages the radiosonde.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ 6. When placing the new batteries, it is easier to insert the batteries by first pushing them against the spring clips, circled in Figure 17 on page 38. Figure 17 1310-009 7. RS41 Battery Holder Spring Clip Put the battery holder and the PCB board back inside the styrofoam bottom case and put the styrofoam cover back on.
Appendix A _____________________________________________ Replacing Radiosonde Batteries 8. Put the styrofoam case back inside the radiosonde bottom cover. Check the positioning of the sensor boom: Make sure the small hole at the stem of the sensor boom meets the white pin on the edge of the radiosonde cover. Use your thumb to push the stem of the sensor boom, if necessary, but do not touch the sensors. Figure 18 1310-008 9.
User's Guide ______________________________________________________________________ 10. Snap the radiosonde covers together and make sure the that the three snap locks on both sides of the radiosonde are locked. Check all the seams to make sure that the radiosonde covers are tightly attached. Figure 20 1310-010 Snapping Radiosonde Covers Together 11.
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