What is new about the MeteoWind IoT Pro Gen2 transmitter enclosure?
/QUESTION: What does the new MeteoWind IoT Pro Gen2 transmitter bring to its users?
ANSWER: A completely redesigned, starship-shaped transmitter enclosure that protects better against the weather, installs faster and lasts longer in severe outdoor environments. Gen2 also brings updated internal electronics and firmware, while keeping the high-fidelity 4 Hz wind measurement MeteoWind is known for.
MeteoWind IoT Pro smart city wind sensor new Gen 2 transmitter box overlooking Barcelona city skyline with Torres Glorias in the background.
The Gen2 transmitter integrates cable sealing, antenna protection and solar-panel mounting into one enclosure, protected from weather and UV radiation for a long life in the most extreme environments. It carries Jan Barani's signature aerospace-inspired design lines: unconventional, functional and good-looking, unlike the usual rectangular electronics enclosure boxes.
The goal is simple: fewer exposed parts, fewer installation steps and better protection from rain, snow, ice, UV radiation and physical damage.
MeteoWind IoT Pro Gen2 all-weather transmitter enclosure
The new starship-shaped enclosure brings these improvements:
- IP68 protection. Fully sealed, the enclosure is designed for IP68 in marine environments. With the pressure-equalizing breather valve installed in terrestrial installations, it is IP67W, designed for the most extreme weather.
- Cable entries for round and flat cables. The new cable entries also seal flat sensor cables, which conventional glands handle poorly.
- No gland nut to forget. No more wasted time and frustration after forgetting to slide the cable through the gland nut before wiring, and then having to rewire every lead.
- No sealing plug to forget. Unused cable ports come pre-sealed, so equipment can no longer fail from water getting in through an entry where a technician forgot the plug.
- Up to 50% faster sensor cabling. Fewer loose parts and easier cable insertion cut the time needed to connect sensors in the field.
Cable entries are protected from rain, snow and ice
On a conventional outdoor electronics box, the cable glands face wind-driven precipitation directly. On the Gen2 transmitter, the cable entries are recessed under a skirt underneath the enclosure, using gravity to their advantage in keeping water out when technicians forget to tighten a seal. This shields the cable entries from:
- wind-driven rain
- wind-driven water ingress
- wet snow
- freezing rain
- ice buildup
- direct sunlight
Room to keep the antenna hidden inside
External antennas are among the most vulnerable parts of outdoor wireless equipment. They get damaged during:
- transport
- installation
- maintenance
- icing
- severe wind
- impacts from falling or wind-blown objects
The Gen2 enclosure has enough internal volume for the antennas used in BARANI wireless sensors and devices. The antenna stays fully protected inside instead of sticking out into the weather.
Integrated solar-panel mounting
The enclosure has built-in mounting slots for solar panels. The panels mount at an incline instead of lying flat on top of the box, which helps them:
- shed snow
- drain rainwater instead of holding standing water
- get washed clean by rain
Up to three solar panels can be mounted 120° apart. This helps maximize early-morning solar power, and it matters in the Arctic, where the sun can travel more than 300° of azimuth between sunrise and sunset.
The inclined mounting is particularly useful for unattended stations running through winter and for sites with large bird populations.
Why does the Gen2 transmitter look like a starship?
Aerospace engineering, right down to the electronics enclosure.
The shape is not just cosmetic. It carries design lines from the designer's aerospace background. Instead of the typical rectangular electronics enclosure, the Gen2 transmitter uses a streamlined, tapered housing inspired by spacecraft nose-cone geometry.
The shape is protected by design patents for electronics enclosures in many countries worldwide.
Removing the flat horizontal surfaces, exposed corners and abrupt edges of conventional boxes was a priority. On a rectangular box, those are exactly the places where birds perch and where snow, ice, water and debris collect.
Paradoxically, the round outer shape is highly spacious inside for vertically positioned rectangular circuit boards (PCBs) and batteries, and it gives great finger access to make wiring quick and even enjoyable.
High UV resistance for permanent outdoor installation
The enclosure is made of high-grade outdoor ASA, in black or white. We chose ASA for its resistance to UV radiation and weathering, and for its high impact strength.
The enclosure is designed for 15+ years outdoors, from high solar-load equatorial sites to cold, snow-covered polar and high-altitude installations.
High mechanical and impact resistance
Weather instruments face much more than normal rain and wind. Hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons and severe storms hit outdoor equipment with hail, broken branches, wind-blown debris and ice, on top of the knocks it takes during transport and installation.
The Gen2 enclosure combines:
- thick-wall ASA construction
- rounded external geometry
- a thick stainless-steel mounting bracket
- recessed cable entries
- protected internal electronics and antenna
Designed for easier field installation
Weather stations often go on rooftops, towers, poles and remote sites, where every extra installation step matters. The Gen2 enclosure needs fewer cable-gland parts and sealing components. In practice, an installer:
- mounts the transmitter base and its stainless-steel bracket with one or two stainless-steel hose clamps or U-bolts,
- with the transmitter base now in a comfortable position, inserts the sensor cables (no need to worry about forgetting or losing the cable-gland nuts) and hand-tightens the glands to keep the cables in place without needing a third hand,
- connects the starship-shaped enclosure's solar-panel connector to the PCB and secures the enclosure onto the base with three screws.
Two hands instead of three are now enough, and the installation is one-third simpler than that of the original rectangular box.
What changed compared with the previous MeteoWind IoT Pro?
| Feature | Previous Gen1 transmitter | MeteoWind IoT Pro Gen2 (NEW) |
|---|---|---|
| Enclosure shape | Rectangular box | Streamlined starship shape |
| Environmental sealing | IP67-class wireless module | Up to IP68 sealed; IP67W with breather valve |
| Cable entries | Conventional cable glands | Integrated cable sealing |
| Flat-cable sealing | Limited by conventional glands (unsupported) | Supported |
| Gland nut over cable | Required | Not required |
| Plugs for unused entries | Normally required | Not required |
| Cable-entry exposure | Exposed | Recessed underneath the enclosure |
| Internal antenna | Compromised due to limited vertical space | Can be protected inside the enclosure |
| Solar-panel mounting | Top-mounted | Integrated inclined slots for up to 3 panels |
| Snow shedding | Limited by horizontal surfaces | Significantly improved by inclined, rounded geometry |
| Bird-perching surface | Flat surfaces available | Reduced horizontal perching area |
| Bird droppings (guano) | Flat surfaces highly susceptible to guano on the solar panel | Reduced perching and angled solar panels greatly reduce guano accumulation on the solar panels and promote self-cleaning by rain |
| Housing material | Supplier-proprietary, susceptible to yellowing | Outdoor UV-resistant, impact-resistant, automotive-grade ASA |
| Mounting | Conventional box bracket | Heavy stainless-steel bracket for mounting with one or two steel cable ties or U-bolts |
Does the wind sensor itself change?
No. The redesign simplifies mounting and protects the electronics better. The measurement stays the same: high-fidelity wind data, measured 4 times per second.
High fidelity means the sensor keeps up with fast wind changes, as required for smart-city simulations. The MeteoWind IoT Pro Gen2 measures wind speed and direction together at 4 Hz, so every 3-second gust is calculated per WMO from 12 measurements in 3 seconds. Many low-power ultrasonic wind sensors save energy by measuring less often, some only once every few seconds, so short gusts can fall between their samples. In audio, a low sampling rate loses the sharp notes; in wind measurement, this low fidelity loses the wind gusts and thus skews averages.
The Gen2 datasheet specifies:
- wind-speed range from 0 to over 80 m/s
- starting wind speed of 0.2 m/s
- 1° wind-direction resolution
- 2° wind-direction accuracy
- 3-second and 1-second wind gusts reported simultaneously, from high-fidelity 4 Hz measurements
- solar charging with an internal lithium-ion battery that runs 4+ months without sun, enough to get through long winters
- operation from −45 °C to +80 °C
The Gen2 redesign improves everything around the measurement: environmental protection, mechanical strength and installation.
Why redesign something that already worked?
Outdoor reliability usually improves by removing weak points and simplifying where it matters, not by adding complexity. Every exposed antenna, cable-gland part, sealing plug, horizontal surface and external connection is one more place where years of weather and human intervention during servicing can eventually cause a failure. Gen2 removes as many of them as possible.
The result is a compact, better-looking transmitter, protected from the weather and built for long-term unattended installations.
New enclosure, same Hi-Fi wind data.