Kestrel 5500 Pocket Weather Meter with LiNK and Vane Mount, Yellow

Kestrel 5500 weather station arrived quickly from Amazon. Instructions were through and clear. This is a very high quality professional level instrument. Some reviews cite a lack of instructions. My device came with complete instructions. Kit included the carrying case; the 5500; a lanyard; a lithium battery; a weather vane kit for mounting the device to a tripod so it free wheels into the wind; and a link capability to bluetooth link the 5500 with a mobile device or PC. It also has a port for a wired connection to a PC.I found the device easy to use after spending about 30 minutes learning the simple menu system. You can customize a 3 row initial screen with measurements of your choice or scroll down to look at them individually. Some people are confused by the station pressure vs barometric pressure. Station pressure is the actual pressure at your station. As an example, my site is about 4300 feet above sea level. Station pressure in this case is the actual atmospheric pressure adjusted for the elevation since less air is above my site. It typically reads something like 25.xx inches of mercury for station pressure instead of 29.xx inches of barometric pressure. Pressure change is the most important thing to keep in mind and that change will ripple into both barometric and station pressure. You may find atmospheric pressure given both ways on some internet sites depending upon the site. Typically barometric pressure is more common and provides a simple way to track pressure changes. I've found that pressure going up causes wind as does pressure going down. Pressure going down is indicative of a low pressure storm moving in and increasing pressure indicates warmer weather coming.One needs to use the app for mobile devices to pair the 5500 with your mobile device via bluetooth (assuming you have the 5500 with link). I tried paring it without using the app and it would not connect. Just scroll thru the multiple screens on the app after it is loaded and you will get to a page where it allows you to connect to your mobile device. The Kestrel web site has great instructions on pairing as well.I hope this review helps to clear the air on this very powerful device.

I use the Krestrel 5500 every day and love it. The App works great on my iPad and Samsung Android phone. Only word of caution is that the lanyard is poorly made and can come apart. Mine did and I fortunately was not.in a boat or over water! The Kestrel is rugged and showed no damage from falling 4 feet to the floor. I modified the lanyard so that the string and the cord are tied together. Then I added some industrial epoxy/glue and pulled the small black cover back over the knot. Presto - I don’t have to worry about the lanyard breaking again.

I use this weather station for added situational awareness when flying a drone. Usually I set it up to monitor local conditions. If there's going to be wind or potentially rain I need to make sure I'm not exceeding the drone's capabilities. When using it with an iPhone that was also used for controlling the drone I couldn't leave it running. Kestrel has allowed the app to be used with MacOS (M1 processors only) and iPadOS so now I can keep it open while flying (along with DUMP1090 ADSB receiver) to keep tabs on local airspace. The Bluetooth range is good enough to mount it on a short telescoping pole or tripod to get away from ground effect. The windvane uses a standard ¼-20 UNC (camera tripod) thread so options easy to find. Battery life is very good although it will auto-shutdown which can be annoying. Accuracy is comparable to my Davis Vantage VUE system.

I like this device, it is easy to calibrate the direction and it connects quickly and easily with devices (my phone is an android). I bought mine in 2018 and it still works well in 2021!

I'm going to post my final review first, below was my initial review:The product is well built but it doesn't do enough for something that costs over $400. I would expect an integrated GPS at least. The product is well made and there is nothing wrong with it other than it is insanely expensive. My phone can tell my altitude and barometric pressure better than this can. The altitude is also frequently wrong (again it needs GPS for better accuracy). It is also only slightly more accurate than other cheap 20 dollar sensors.My initial review:For 400 dollars for a weather sensor I expect the best. The plastic film that covered the sensor was scratched (thankfully not the actual screen) out of the box and there were plastic hairs next to the buttons. I also saw logs from 2021 as well which either means they were logging in the factory and testing it or I was sold a used product as new. I think it was tested though based on the measurements.Its accurate but takes way too long to cool down. One of the selling points is that it takes a few seconds to take accurate measurements.Also the lithium battery is only half full per the indicator out of the box. It was also very cold when it was delivered.After using it for a day it is more accurate and faster to cool down than my Protomex which was 20 dollars.It really feels like a Nokia when you are holding it. Its solidly built. Everything that moves feels sturdy including the battery door and cover for wind protector.The propeller sounds a little brittle but that might just be the design and it works well.For some reason it is not taking a regular Energizer Max battery it only takes the liion version which are very pricey.The return is taking a lot longer than expected.

This is the real deal. Accurate, ruggedly built, made in USA. Extremely pleased with this unit