A campaign has one window
and no second chance
Compact, low-power sensing for field campaigns and portable deployments, where weight, power draw and setup time decide whether the dataset comes back complete.
Everything is decided before you get there
A field campaign has a fixed window, a fixed budget and usually a site that takes a day to reach. The dataset either comes back complete or the campaign is repeated next year, and there is no version in between.
What decides it is rarely the sensor specification. It is whether the equipment fitted in the vehicle, whether the power lasted, whether it could be configured in wind and rain by someone wearing gloves, and whether anything failed on day three with nobody within reach of it.
Those are all specification decisions, and they are the ones most often left until packing. A better instrument that arrives without its power budget checked produces a shorter record than a simpler one that ran.
Every research question starts at a measurement point
A research site measures across the whole landscape. Three-dimensional wind above and below the canopy. A vertical profile across several heights. Reference conditions, radiation, precipitation and the river the catchment drains to.
Above-canopy flux measurement
Eddy covariance resolves the vertical wind component fast enough to see the flux itself, which is a data-rate problem before it is anything else.
Sub-canopy and understorey measurement
Below the canopy the flow is slow, sheltered and three-dimensional, and a sensor designed for storm survival will not resolve it.
- HS-50 horizontal head, minimal geometric disturbance to vertical flow
- WindMaster HS horizontal head, 32 Hz, stainless steel
- WindMaster 3-axis to 20 Hz with a 32 Hz option
Profile mast at several heights
A vertical profile is what turns a point measurement into a gradient, and the sensors have to be separated properly rather than stacked.
- MetConnect THP WMO-compliant separation, Pt100 and analogue inputs
- WindSonic 60 0.5 kg, low cost per additional level
- WindObserver 70 heated head for the exposed upper level
Reference weather enclosure
The reference station is the record everything else is compared against, so siting and continuity matter more than headline accuracy.
- MetConnect THP temperature 0.2 degrees C, humidity 1.5 percent RH, pressure 0.5 hPa
- MaxiMet GMX551 wind, T, H, P, solar and rainfall in one housing
- MaxiMet GMX300 temperature, humidity and pressure only
Precipitation measurement
A tipping bucket blocks with leaf litter and under-reads in drizzle, which on a ten-year dataset is a systematic error rather than a gap.
- TruMet PW100 optical, 0 to 200 mm/hr, 5 percent, 0.1 mm resolution
- MaxiMet GMX603 integrated optical rainfall, 5 percent or better
- MetConnect THP contact-closure input for the TruMet pulse output
Surface energy balance plot
Closing the energy balance needs radiation, soil and turbulent fluxes measured together, and the wind term is the one most often under-resolved.
- R3-50 50 Hz 3-axis for the turbulent flux terms
- MaxiMet GMX301 solar radiation, 0 to 1600 W per square metre
- MetConnect THP four-wire Pt100 input to IEC 60751 for soil probes
Canopy roughness and footprint
The flux footprint moves with wind direction and stability, so the tower has to see the whole rose rather than one prevailing sector.
- R3-100 100 Hz for high-frequency loss correction
- WindMaster Pro symmetrical head for all-direction work
- WindMaster asymmetrical head where the flow has a known direction
Crop and land-use plots
Comparing plots only works if the meteorology over each is measured the same way, with the same instrument and the same calibration history.
- MaxiMet GMX551 one unit per plot, one cable, one output string
- MaxiMet GMX550 wind, T, H, P and rainfall without solar
- WindSonic 60 a repeatable wind reference at plot scale
River gauging and hydrometeorology
Catchment work pairs rainfall with what the river actually does, and both records have to be continuous through the events that matter.
- TruMet PW100 no moving parts, less to block at a remote gauge
- MetConnect One SDI-12 v1.3 into an existing hydrometric logger
- MaxiMet GMX400 temperature, humidity, pressure and rainfall
Air quality and dispersion
A concentration reading without the meteorology beside it cannot be attributed to a source, and attribution is usually the point.
- WindMaster Pro 3-axis to 32 Hz for dispersion and turbulence
- MetConnect THP two analogue inputs for third-party gas analysers
- WindObserver 75 long-duration wind reference on the same mast
Remote power and telemetry
On a solar and battery site the power budget decides what can be measured at all, so draw is a specification, not a footnote.
- R3-50 9 to 30 V DC, under 4 W in operation
- MetConnect THP 5 to 30 V DC, less than 70 mA at 12 V DC
- MaxiMet GMX200 0.5 kg, wind only, for a minimal-power node
Portable and campaign deployments
A field campaign is judged on whether it came back with a complete record, and setup time in bad weather is where records get lost.
- MaxiMet GMX200 0.5 kg, wind only, quick to mount on a temporary mast
- WindUltra compact 2-axis, IP69k, low power, built for mobile use
- WindSonic 60 0.5 kg, straightforward to configure with MetSet
UAV atmospheric profiling
Airborne profiling puts the sensor on a platform where every gram is traded against endurance.
- WindUltra compact 2-axis, IP69k, low power
- WindSonic 60 0.5 kg ground reference for launch and recovery
- MaxiMet GMX200 portable wind reference at the operating site
Cold climate and harsh sites
The seasons that break the instrument are usually the seasons the study is about, and a gap in winter is a gap in the conclusion.
- WindObserver 75 heated, icing tested to MIL-STD-810F
- WindSonic M heated aluminium body, operating to -40 degrees C
- R3-50 operating -40 to +60 degrees C
Logging, outputs and data continuity
A dataset that changes instrument or protocol mid-series carries a step change that has to be explained in every paper that uses it.
- R3-100 14-bit digital, RS422 native, RS232 and analogue via PCI
- MetConnect One ASCII, Modbus RTU and ASCII, NMEA 0183, SDI-12 v1.3
- MetConnect THP MetSet and MetView configuration and logging software
Calibration and traceability
Published work is defended on traceability. An accredited certificate is the part of the method section nobody argues with.
- UKAS-accredited air velocity calibration traceable certification for anemometers
- Multi-parameter calibration six parameters, equipment from any manufacturer
- Recalibration scheduling intervals, reminders and turnaround
Weight, power and setup decide the record length
Weight sets how much can go. A campaign carries instruments, masts, power, shelter and people, and every kilogram of sensor is a kilogram of something else left behind. GMX200 measures wind at 0.5 kg, which changes what else fits.
Power sets how long it runs. On a battery and solar deployment the power budget is the campaign length, and a sensor drawing more than expected shortens the record without failing.
Setup time sets how much of the window is spent measuring. An instrument that takes an hour to commission in poor conditions has taken an hour out of a fixed window, and the conditions at setup are rarely good.
Robustness closes it. Anything with a moving part is a field repair waiting to happen, and a field repair on day three usually means the rest of the campaign is a gap.
Every kilogram displaces something else
A portable deployment is a packing problem before it is a measurement problem. The mast, the power and the shelter are fixed costs, so the instrument weight decides how much redundancy or how many extra positions fit in the vehicle.
GMX200 provides wind-only measurement at 0.5 kg, and WindUltra is a compact 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer designed for mobile and airborne platforms, sealed and rated IP66, IP68 and IP69K for deployments that get wet.
Light enough to take a spare
View WindUltraConfigured once, in poor conditions
Setup happens on arrival, in whatever weather the site has, by people who want to be measuring rather than configuring. A compact station that returns a complete parameter set on one cable removes most of that.
MaxiMet brings wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rainfall into one unit with one output string, which is one configuration, one power connection and one thing to check rather than six.
One unit, one cable, one output string
View MaxiMetA campaign dataset is published
Field campaign data ends up in papers, models and the justification for the next round of funding, and it is read by people who were not there. The questions are the familiar ones: which instrument, sited how, calibrated when.
Because a campaign is short, calibration is often the thing that gets arranged afterwards or not at all. Specifying instruments that can be supplied with traceable calibration, and calibrating before the window rather than after it, keeps the dataset usable.
Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited laboratory operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, calibrating equipment from any manufacturer, which suits a campaign carrying borrowed and shared instruments.
What a portable campaign carries
Compact stations and anemometers chosen for weight, power draw and setup time, with the research-grade options where the science needs them.
Compact and portable
MaxiMet
All-in-one weather station, no moving parts
Wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rainfall from one unit on one cable, with GMX200 at 0.5 kg for wind only.
WindUltra
Compact 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer
A compact 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer for UAV, USV, vehicle and portable mast deployments, rated IP66, IP68 and IP69K.
WindSonic
Lightweight 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer
Lightweight ultrasonic measurement for temporary masts, with heated options where the campaign runs into the cold.
Research grade
WindMaster
3-axis ultrasonic anemometer
Three-axis measurement where the campaign is measuring the flow itself rather than the conditions around it.
Research range
50 Hz and 100 Hz 3-axis anemometers
50 Hz and 100 Hz three-axis measurement at 14-bit resolution for flux and boundary layer campaigns.
TruMet PW100
Infrared optical rain gauge
Optical rainfall measurement with no mechanism to block or to level precisely on uneven ground.
Where portable deployment does the work
Short-window measurement
High-rate three-axis measurement deployed for a season and then recovered.
Platform-mounted
Compact, low-mass sensing where every gram is traded against endurance.
Mobile survey
Measurement that moves with the survey rather than waiting at a fixed point.
Unattended runs
Deployments where the next visit is recovery, so the power budget is the record length.
Rapid setup
Equipment configured by different people each year and expected to work immediately.
Unplanned deployment
Measurement raised quickly at a location nobody planned for.
UKAS-accredited calibration for six measurement parameters
Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited calibration laboratory, Lab 0625, operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. It provides calibration across gas and air flow, air velocity, liquid flow, pressure, temperature and humidity.
For a campaign carrying anemometers, thermal probes, pressure instruments, temperature and humidity probes and data loggers, often borrowed across groups, one accredited laboratory keeps everything traceable to the same schedule before the window opens.
Gas meters · Mass flow controllers · Dispensing systems
Anemometers · Pitot tubes · Thermal probes
Flow meters and sensors · Process control equipment
Gauges · Transducers · Manometers · Transmitters
Thermometers · Probes · Thermocouples · Data loggers
Hygrometers · Probes · Transmitters
Getting a complete record back
A campaign dataset has to be recoverable, consistently formatted and consistently time-stamped across every instrument, because reconciling it afterwards is what eats the analysis budget.
Gill supports environmental monitoring, industrial sensing, embedded electronics and systems integration, so research groups, consultants and survey teams can bring portable measurement into loggers and acquisition chains.
Whether the requirement is SDI-12 into a low-power logger, a digital output into an acquisition system, or analogue into an existing channel, Gill engineers can support integration from specification through commissioning.
Outputs and options
- Modbus RTU : Site systems and SCADA
- SDI-12 & serial : Loggers and remote telemetry
- 4-20 mA & 0-10 V : Existing analogue channels
- Traceable calibration : So the record holds up on review
What the specification looks like in practice
Light enough to take a spare
GMX200 measures wind at 0.5 kg, and WindUltra is designed for platforms where mass is traded against endurance.
One unit, one configuration
A compact station returns the parameter set on one cable, which is one thing to set up and one thing to check.
Low power, so the record is long
Low-power operation suits battery and solar deployments, where the power budget is the campaign length.
Nothing to repair in the field
No rotating sensing element to ice, foul, wear or seize, which removes the day-three failure.
Sealed for what the site does
WindUltra is rated IP66, IP68 and IP69K, for deployments that get wet rather than damp.
Traceable before the window opens
Independent UKAS-accredited calibration across six parameters, for equipment from any manufacturer.
Questions about field campaigns and portable deployments
Usually weight, power and setup time rather than sensor specification. The record ends when the power does, and the window is shortened by every hour spent configuring in poor conditions.
WindUltra is the compact 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer designed for UAV, USV and mobile deployments, sealed and rated IP66, IP68 and IP69K, with low-power operation.
GMX200 provides wind-only measurement at 0.5 kg, and WindUltra is designed specifically where mass is traded against endurance.
MaxiMet brings wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rainfall into one instrument with one output string, which suits a campaign that wants one configuration rather than six.
WindMaster provides three-axis measurement at 20 Hz with options up to 32 Hz, and the Research range provides 50 Hz and 100 Hz at 14-bit resolution for flux and boundary layer work.
Yes. Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited calibration laboratory, Lab 0625, operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, calibrating equipment from any manufacturer across gas and air flow, air velocity, liquid flow, pressure, temperature and humidity.
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