Welcome to the TriSonica Mini

Welcome, and thank you for your purchase of the LI-550 TriSonica Mini Wind and Weather Sensor. The LI-550 is an ultrasonic anemometer that measures 3-dimensional wind speed and direction, as well as air temperature, humidity, and pressure. It features a built-in magnetometer and accelerometers to measure tilt, orientation, and movement. LI-550 bodies are injection molded of glass-reinforced nylon with carbon fiber posts. This instruction manual provides operating information for the flat-base (LI-550F) and pipe-mountable (LI-550P) models.

Introducing the LI-550F and the LI-550P

The LI-550F features a flat base with four mounting holes for M3 or 3/16" bolts. The LI-550P mounts on a hollow ½" schedule 10 pipe or 22-mm carbon fiber tube (set screws are tightened with 0.05 inch hex key). Mounting adapters are available to mount either model of LI-550 to a common tripod with ¼-20 threads.

Accessories

A variety of accessories are available for TriSonica products.

USB interface adapter

Part number 550USB

USB interface adapter for the LI-550 and LI-560 sensors. Used to configure the devices and view data on a computer. Not for outdoor use.

LI-570 TriSonica Data Logger

Part number LI-570

The LI-570 TriSonica Data Logger powers and logs data from up to four LI-550s, up to three LI-560s, or a combination of up to two LI-550s and two LI-560s. It features two 6-pin connectors to connect to 3rd party equipment (radio or GPS receiver), one 3-pin connector for power.

Mounting adapters

Mounting hardware is designed to simplify the installation of the LI-550s.

550FM flat base mounting adapter

Part number 550FM

The flat base mounting adapter is to mount the LI-550F to a camera tripod or other platform that uses ¼-20 threads.

550PM pipe mounting adapter

Part number 550PM

The pipe mount adapter is to mount the LI-550P to a camera tripod or other platform that uses ¼-20 threads.

Data and power cables

Several cables are available for power and transfer data from the device (see Table 1‑1).

Table 1‑1. Cables available for the LI-550s and LI-560s.

Part Number	Description
571D-10	10-meter data and power cable with connectors at each end. Connects a LI-550P or LI-560 to the LI-570 Data Logger.
571D-1	1.25-meter data and power cable with connectors at each end. Connects a LI-550P or LI-560 sensor to the LI-570 Data Logger.
571S-1	1.25-meter data and power cable with connector at one end and blunt cut at the other.
571D-C	Two connector assemblies for a customer-built cable connecting a LI-550P or LI-560 sensor and the LI-570 Data Logger; 25-meter maximum length.

Software

A simple Windows®-compatible user-interface application is available for download from licor.com/support/LI-550/software.html.

Note: This application is not suitable for long-term data logging. It does not communicate with the LI-570 Data Logger at this time.

We recommend the use of a terminal emulator, such as Tera Term, to record data to a personal computer. The data stream from the anemometer also can be received, stored, and interpreted by an appropriate device of your choice, so long as it is connected to the anemometer by the proper communications protocol.

TriSonica anemometer comparison

The LI-550F and LI-550P TriSonica Mini and LI-560 TriSonica Sphere share many features, as shown in Table 1‑2. If you have a TriSonica Mini with a serial number below M00841, or an Anemoment product that is not described here, documentation for your product is available at licor.com/support/Anemometers/home.html.

Table 1‑2. TriSonica family comparison guide.

Instrument	Mount	Connection	Protocols	Outputs	Measurements
LI-550F TriSonica Mini	Flat Base	4 Wires	EIA232	ASCII String	Wind Direction, Wind Velocity, Air Temperature, Air Pressure, Humidity, Tilt, Orientation
LI-550P TriSonica Mini	Pipe Mount	12-wire Connector	EIA232, EIA422, EIA485, LVTTL‑UART	ASCII String	Wind Direction, Wind Velocity, Air Temperature, Air Pressure, Humidity, Tilt, Orientation
LI-560 TriSonica Sphere	Pipe Mount	12-wire Connector	EIA232, EIA422, EIA485, LVTTL‑UART	ASCII String	Wind Direction, Wind Velocity, Air Temperature, Tilt