Difference between revisions of "Discharge - tracer (Sommer TQ-System)"

Revision as of 14:31, 25 October 2013

previously advertised as "FlowTracer"

discharge

tracer dilution, sensors for conductivity (NaCl) and fluorescence (Uranine) available

comfortable usage on computer/PDA
wireless connection between computer/PDA and probes up to 120 m (specification of manufacturer)
guided measurement process in software, real-time visualisation of concentration and computation of discharge

only one software variant (Windows OR Windows Mobile) included, the other option must be purchased extra
the supplied software TQ-Commander did not recognize the internal Bluetooth device in a Panasonic Toughbook but required the USB-Bluetooth adaptor (included in the package)
the AutoConnect-Procedure is very unreliable: sometimes, everything worked like a charm, sometimes only one of the two probes was found, in other occasions none. Manually searching and connecting to the probes usually fixes this.
During the calibration procedure in the TQ-Commander, the software often does not accept the readings when only small (but still detectable!) changes in concentration occur. Since the TQ-commander does not allow modifying the injection amount, you can only abort and restart the procedure (meaning you have to flush and refill you calibration vessel with river water again)
the charge jack of the probes cannot be accessed when the device is in the cradle (coil of probe cable). If you fumble it out, check the correct connection with the cable of the probe when putting it back.

in a solitary test, the Bluetooth connection with one probe using the external BT-adaptor remained active till 160 m of distance (unobstructed line of sight). Resuming the broken connection required reducing the distance to 20 m again
although using the internal BT-device may be more comfortable than using the USB-BT-adaptor, in the case of the Panasonic Toughbook the USB-BT-adaptor seemed to have superior range (inferred from the detectability of the probes in the standard BT-pairing)

the manual advises specific orientation of the USB-BT-adaptor to maximize the stability of the connection. An analogous specification for the orientation of the probes would be valuable

Projects that used the above equipment:

Other related web sites:

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 * the AutoConnect-Procedure is very unreliable: sometimes, everything worked like a charm, sometimes only one of the two probes was found, in other occasions none. Manually searching and connecting to the probes usually fixes this.
 * During the calibration procedure in the TQ-Commander, the software often does not accept the readings when only small (but still detectable!) changes in concentration occur. Since the TQ-commander does not allow modifying the injection amount, you can only abort and restart the procedure (meaning you have to flush and refill you calibration vessel with river water again)
-* TQ-commander has minor bugs in the interface, responds sluggish (Windows version)
 * the charge jack of the probes cannot be accessed when the device is in the cradle (coil of probe cable). If you fumble it out, check the correct connection with the cable of the probe when putting it back.