New to the concepts of Arduino so looking for wisdom and knowledge. I am a mechanical engineer and rocketeer. During my last launch, my sons came up with the idea to use Arduino to use inputs from an anemometer (maybe?) to measure wind speed and direction and to automatically adjust the azimuth and elevation (from vertical) for multiple launch pads. Conceptually, I understand the components - servo drives, torque, rotation speed etc. but my knowledge base falls off quickly when it comes to A/D and such....internet searches provide some ideas for azimuth/elevation, pan/tilt etc. for tracking satellites, planetary bodies and such but seeing if anyone out there has had experience I could forward to my much more IT Tech savvy...Any help would be greatly appreciated. - Thanks, Kevin
Before you spend more time on the mechanics and electronics of this project, I suggest you spend some time on a study of wind currents from 0 to 50 feet above ground. You will discover turbulence in that area diminishes as altitude increases, so what you measure for wind speed and direction at 20 feet will be totally different at 100 feet.
Paul
I am a rocketeer as well. This sounds like an interesting project! Here are some random ideas I have:
- If you are supporting multiple pads you might want to consider looking at some of the weather station designs that use MQTT or even HTTP to transmit data in order to reduce wiring. You could use a wireless technology on the station that supports the anemometer. Each pad could query the station for windspeed direction prelaunch and adjust the azimuth and launch angle. Keep in mind NAR specifies the maximum launch angle.
- Servos would be pretty simple. There are libraries to support them and since you are a mechanical engineer you can figure our gear ratios and such to determine the proper torque required. Servos will require their own power source. Also, you may want to have a microswitch or proximity switch to provide failsafe feedback.
Thanks Paul, for the rapid response - I've been launching for almost 50 years now (oh dear!) to altitudes nearing 10k feet and am quite familiar with the speed/direction changes at various altitudes. That's what makes launches so entertaining! Anyway, my "standard" manual method to set elevation/azimuth is to set for ground wind speed/ direction (~20'), then modify as required based on the behavior of trees, flags, clouds, etc. I then launch a couple of small models to get a feel for conditions at altitude and tweak as necessary. As the day progresses, we observe the flights and perform minor adjustments based on visual cues from weathercocking and exhaust trails. Automating the initial settings that would perform the primary adjustments based on ground info would make my life slightly easier and provide and interesting project for me and my sons to work on together.
Thank you Todd, I am president of NAR Section #897 so me and the NAR go way back. (I responded to another fellow that I have been launching for 50 years now). I have all the lovely engineering side sketched and laid out but when it comes to the electronic and IT side, I back off and hand it over to the guys who know that stuff. Our current launch system runs (8) pads for low to mid power rockets and is set up for 12v or 24v. I've avoided wireless launch capability because I have seen numerous "accidents" over the years. Hard wiring doesn't tend to malfunction. Anyway, using wireless for the controllers sounds intriguing. As we get deeper into this, I will probably be asking many more questions - Kevin
I don't favor wireless ignition either. I think, however, wireless acquisition of the wind speed and direction for azimuth and launch angle would not be much of a safety concern but rather how far you have to chase your rocket. 
I was VP of NAR section #403 for many years!
Todd,
Thanks - I agree - right now I have the pads set 150' from the control panel and spaced 15-20' apart so it would be just that must less wiring to run (YAY!). I am thinking to just add the anemometer to the 15' flag pole near the pads and send the signal(s) to the pads. Any recommendations on a brand or species of anemometer or favorite servo brands to look into? I will have my boys look into the software side of the project. My software knowledge fell off somewhen around FORTRAN a million years ago 
Can't say. I started to build a weather station but got distracted. I have used various hobby servos for some fun projects. Once you determine the torque you need that might limit your choices. I will say what I did find was that some of the Chinese knockoffs for the more popular servos advertised "metal gear". It turned out that ONE gear was metal and the rest nylon! They stripped pretty quickly!
Guess you are all set, then. You never know who posts o the forum!
Paul
'Tis true, 'tis true - thanks again for the assistance