Kestrel 4500 - Manual (Page 6)

Kestrel ® 4500 Pocket Weather ® Tracker 11
Press the button to return to the Chart Mode.
SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
User Screens
The Kestrel Meter has three User Screens that can be customized to display three
current measurements simultaneously. These screens can also be turned off. (See the
Main Menu section for setup instructions.)
Max/Avg for Wind Speed, Direction, Headwind/Tailwind, Crosswind & Wind Chill
The Max/Avg values for the Wind Speed and Direction values are measured independently from the
stored and charted data. (The Direction measurement does not record the Max and Average since it is
not applicable, and will display N/A on the Min/Max/Avg screen.)
This allows the user to start and stop the averaging period in the most appropriate manner for their
application. Averaging on all wind-related values (Wind Speed, Crosswind, Headwind and Wind Chill)
will be started and stopped together.
While viewing the Min/Max/Avg screen for any of these measurements, hold the unit into the wind, and
press the button when the screen displays “--average” to begin collecting data for all measurements,
and again when the screen displays “--stop” to stop collecting data and hold the values on the
display. Press the button when the screen displays “--clear” to clear the data. This routine will work
Value
Date & Time
Chart
Cursor
simultaneously for all measurements, regardless of which one is displayed while the routine is run. The
Max/Avg for these wind values will not affect any other Min/Max/Avg or stored data.
Manual Data Storage
To manually store data, press the button. One of the following will appear: Data Stored (data has
been captured and will appear on chart), Full (Overwrite is off and data log is full), or Off (Manual Store
button has been disabled). (See the Main Setup Menu section for more information on memory.)
Backlight
The Kestrel Meter has a high-visibility green backlight, which makes the display easily read in low-light
conditions.The Kestrel 4500 NV 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, the backlight is 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 it 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.
Press the button to activate the backlight. The light will remain activated for one minute. Press the
button within one minute to deactivate the light manually.
Measuring Direction
Before you begin, there are three simple things that are important to understand before using the
Kestrel 4500 to take compass readings: