"Our Windsond operations have been a successful endeavor. Our use has been twofold: education in elementary and middle schools, and boundary layer research. We used the Windsond system as a complement to a research aircraft. The aircraft could get soundings down to 1000 ft (ca 300m), and we would launch a sonde to that height directly underneath to instantaneously complete the profile. We have used the reusable radiosondes S1H2-R. We have done about twelve launches total, with four of them reused, and have not yet lost or damaged a single one! The sondes work very well. In terms of performance, they seem to do exactly as advertised. I have found that the antenna has better reception when attached to a large sheet of metal (car roof). We have trained about ten students to use the system, and involved nearly fifty others in hands-on operation; this amounts to about half of our department. The software is easy to use and the landing prediction has thus far performed as well as possible."

Timothy B Keebler 
Millersville University

"I was using the Windsond sounding system for my field campaign in northern Canada this summer. I was very happy with the system. I really liked the software, easy to use and to understand. My objective was to find the boundary layer height, the software allowed me to detect it by looking at the potential temperature profile that is generated. I was also impressed by the accuracy of the landing prediction and by the google earth extension, I found most of my sounds in a range of 10 to 30 meters around the landing prediction spot and by bringing the RR2 with me, it was easy to spot them."

Vincent Graveline
Université de Montréal

“I have been using the Windsond system in pretty harsh conditions in Puerto Rico. I have to say that it is has been responding efficiently. I particularly like the ease of use. It merely takes us 2-3 minutes to set up and launch. The other system we had in the past would take 15-20 minutes. We have used the single-use radiosondes S1H3-S. I also really like the software, the standard graphs displayed are very effective; I think plenty of thought has gone in to it. My undergraduate research assistants are learning quite a bit. On almost all the times, the sondes reached a maximum height of 10 000m. We are in the tropics. Except ones when it was caught in a thunderstorm.”

Prathap Ramamurthy
The City College of New York

“I have launched several Windsonds and the system is fantastic. Data is high quality, accurate, and valuable. Several of the Windsonds I’ve launched have exceeded expectations and data was collected to 35,000 feet (about 10,600m). I’ve received data from 30-40 miles away. I love Windsond, I’m glad it exists and I hope its around forever!”

Curtis Wagner
Mississippi State University

“I’ve done a couple of soundings now, and so far I’m very happy with the system! The mobility is a real plus – with no need to carry a big helium canister, we can launch a series of sondes anywhere. And the software is very easy to use and sensible output formats. We use Windsond” to let students explore the structure of the boundary layer, and learn by interpreting what they find. Without Windsond, basic atmospheric phenomena (lapse-rates, inversions) are just theory subjects.  Nothing makes students (or their teachers) more interested in a subject than discovering that the real world differs from the text-book!"

David Rayner
University of Gothenburg