Kestrel(R) 4000 Pocket Weather™ Tracker™ (Compact, Hand-Held Weather Station with 10 Weather Measurements)

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For each of its 10 different weather measurements, the Kestrel 4000 provides 3 User Modes (screen displays). These modes are:

• Current -- displays the instantaneous reading.
• Min/Max/Avg -- displays the minimum, maximum, and average readings from stored data.
• Chart -- displays a graphical representation of up to 250 stored data points. Scroll a cursor through the data points, and view the data value above the graph and its date and time below the graph.

The Kestrel 4000 has both automatic and manual memory storage capability. You can manually store data at the push of a button, or you can program the instrument to automatically store data at 15 different rates from 2 seconds to 12 hours. The instrument continues to store all data except wind speed when power is turned off. Please be aware that battery life may be shortened if data is stored frequently.

If a particular weather measurement is of no interest to you (such as wind chill in a tropical region), you can hide it from the normal measurement navigation pattern. You can also change the auto-off time from the factory-default 15 minutes, and you can adjust the contrast of the LCD panel for optimum viewing.

On the back of the Kestrel 4000 is an optical coupler for uploading data to your computer. The required software and serial port interface are sold separately.

We mentioned that the Kestrel 4000 is easy to use. This is due in no small part to its intelligent design, but a well-written, easy-to-understand, and comprehensive instruction manual (plus a quick-start guide if you're in a hurry) helps a lot. We were surprised at how much information--including screen graphics, application examples with appropriate memory settings, default measurement settings, and full specifications--are packed into fewer than 20 pages.

The Kestrel 4000's precision impeller turns on sapphire bearings and is replaceable if it ever becomes damaged. A tough plastic swivel cover protects the impeller when the unit is not in use.

Included with the Kestrel 4000 are the two required AAA (1.5V) alkaline batteries, a soft carrying case, and lanyards for both wrist and neck. The Kestrel 4000 is assembled in the USA and bears two U.S. patent numbers.

A true story...
We at giftngadget.com think the Kestrel 4000 is one impressive little weather instrument, but you don't have to take our word for it. If you have access to the September 8, 2003, issue of AutoWeek^(R) magazine, check out the article on page 22 entitled 'Weather at Your Fingertips." A major Top Fuel drag racing team tells how weather is a critical factor in their tune-up decisions. For every 400 feet of density altitude, they change their compression by 0.003 inch (which is a whole lot in a nitro-fueled car) by using different head gaskets. Recently, during night qualifying in Denver, their $3000 weather station was completely down. Earlier, however, the AutoWeek folks had given them a Kestrel 4000 to try out on their swing through the western states. Their crew chief used the Kestrel 4000 for the required measurements and then asked a friendly Funny Car team for its weather data for checking purposes. He found that the two sets of data were so close, he could have easily made the correct tune-up decisions based solely on the Kestrel 4000! Now his team is wondering why they paid so much for their weather station when they could have gotten a Kestrel 4000 at about one-tenth the cost.