The 6415 Ultrasonic anemometer is, as its name clearly suggests a wind sensor that works by measuring delays in ultrasonic sound waves caused by the passage of wind currents through the sensor and is therefore a sensor with no moving parts. This sensor should therefore have good environmental resistance and will obviously not suffer from issues like bearing wear that are inevitable in the longer term for mechanical anemometers.
This anemometer is actually manufactured by the French company LCJ Capteurs, who make an extensive range of ultrasonic anemometers. The Davis 6415 is based on the Sonic-Anemom-DZP unit which is part of the LCJ Meteorological Station range. However, the DZP is apparently slightly modified in the Davis 6415 version to make battery changing easier (and also has the Davis logo applied of course).
The 6415 sonic anemometer is directly plug-compatible with the standard 6410 anemometer and no further adapter is required. The 6415 is therefore engineered to generate the same 1 pulse per mph in each 2.25 seconds measurement period as the standard 6410 anemometer, and also has compatible wind direction sensing.
Unlike the 6410, the 6415 sonic anemometer is not purely passive, but does require some electrical power to operate. In the 6415, this power is provided by a small solar panel built into the top of the unit, plus a rechargeable lithium ion (LFP) 18650 internal battery. The 6415 is designed to work with only minimal power consumption and therefore even the small solar panel should be sufficient to keep the battery charged in most locations. However, eventually, the battery may degrade and benefit from replacing by a new battery. In this case it is important to use the official Davis spare part (7011.026) and not a generic 18650 cell.
Note that although the 6415 may appear symmetrical, it must be mounted in the correct orientation. A simple tool is provided to help with this, as described in the 6415 manual. Failure to achieve the correct orientation will result in incorrect wind direction readings.
Unlike the standard 6410 anemometer, the 6415 obviously needs no secondary correction for wind cup size etc, and so in the console settings, the wind cup size should be set to ‘Other’ for optimal accuracy.
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