UK: Datawell to Launch DWR4 with ACM at OI2012 in London

The long anticipated, in-home developed, Waverider that integrates wave and current measurements, will be launched at Oceanology International 2012.

The DWR4 with ACM is a Directional Waverider extended with an Acoustic Current Meter for measuring surface current velocity. Within the familiar 90 cm hull, and without compromising robustness or low power performance, a proprietary current meter is integrated, consisting of three acoustic transducers. Each transducer uses the Doppler effect to measure a velocity component. The current meter realizes an excellent current velocity measurement by fully compensating for the buoy’s motion using the output of the renowned Datawell sensor.

Concurrent with the development of the ACM, several improvements to the DWR are carried through: higher resolution, higher sampling rate, higher GPS position update, improved transmission link, and extended spectral frequency range. The DWR4 /ACM is completed with an upgraded RX-C receiver and a new software suite, named Waves4. Additionally for those users who develop their own software, a complete software library is available for both Windows and Linux programmers.

In the middle of this year, the DWR4 with Acoustic Current Meter will be available in a 0.9 m AISI316 hull and with the options HF, Argos, Solar power system and power switch.

The DWR4 /ACM is at display in our stand F555. We kindly invite you to get informed about the new buoy and all other developments. For instant information you are welcome to contact our Sales department.

 Economic use of battery power with Intelligent Test Box (ITB)

The battery configuration of a Waverider consists of several paralleled “strings” of batteries. The Waverider drains all the batteries simultaneously. Straightforward design and optimal load distribution are obvious advantages of this configuration.

However, in case of an (unexpectedly) short buoy deployment it is more economical to discharge only a selected part of the batteries and leave the remaining batteries unused. For this purpose we have developed the Intelligent Test Box (ITB). The ITB discharges only one string of batteries at a time. If a string has been completely discharged, the next string is used.

The ITB’s physical appearance is quite similar to the standard test box’s and includes all familiar test sockets for checking the battery voltages and various other parameters like pitch, roll, compass and accelerometer measurements

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Offshore WIND staff, March 06, 2012; Image: rsaqua