BroadBand Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Last Updated:  1March1998

Details: This file contains our answers to the most Frequently Asked 
Questions for the BB ADCP.

How to Update to latest version: To download all of the latest FAQ Answers
click on the download button.  Once downloaded double click on the file 
and the self-extracting file will open allowing access to the text file 
FAQ-BB.TXT.

Next Scheduled Update:  Regular updates will occur.  Updates will be 
posted as part of the Last Updated date at the top of this file.

Send all questions to the Customer Service Department.

EMAIL Address: rdifs@rdinstruments.com

Current FAQs as of:
1.  What are the major differences between the Broadband (BB)
    setup and the Narrowband (NB) setup?
2.  How tight should I fasten the transducer head bolts and the
    end-cap bolts on the Workhorse and DR/SC-BBADCP systems?
3.  Does RDI have any programs that run in a Windows environment?
4.  What is the accuracy of the heading, pitch, and roll sensors
    installed in Broadband ADCPs?
5.  In TRANSECT, is there a way to freeze the last good bottom-
    track velocity values for displays and calculations (dis-
    charge, etc.)?
6.  When installing RDI software, why do I get the error message
    "Not enough environment space"?
7.  I want to produce a text file containing profiles of velocity
    data in a desired direction (e.g.; the direction of down-
    stream river flow).  Is there a way to do this using Broad-
    band Transect's "Projected Velocity" feature?
8.  What are the internal ADCP thresholds that exclude informa-
    tion from the Broadband data output stream?
9.  Is there a way to improve BBADCP bottom-track capability in
    areas that have a high sediment load in the water?
10. How do I change the baud rate in a BBADCP?
11. Can I calculate Absolute Backscatter using a BBADCP?
12. What interrupts do I need for COM3: and COM4:, and what
    circuit board can I get that will provide them?
13. How can I test a system for interference with another sensor?
14. Can I use an external trigger with the BBADCP to collect data
    from both the ADCP and an echo sounder without mutual
    interference?
15. I have a device that I want to use to send attitude data
    (heading, pitch, roll) to the Broadband Transect program.
    However, the same data appears on two different ASCII-output
    lines in the data stream, and each line has a slightly
    different starting delimiter.  How do I tell TRANSECT how to
    decode only one of the lines of data?
16. Do you have any information on using backscatter as a measure
    of turbidity?
17. How should I setup the NAVCFG smoothing filter used with
    NAVSOFT and TRANSECT?
18. How do I connect external heading/pitch/roll ASCII serial
    data to the BB TRANSECT program?
19. Is there a way to process BBADCP TRANSECT data to calculate
    discharge, elapsed time, elapsed distance, and cross- 
    sectional area?
20. I collect data in an area where salinity is more than 40 ppt.
    This exceeds the BBADCP limit. This will affect the speed of
    sound calculation. How do I compensate?
21. Can I put my new BB-VM 150-kHz transducer into the same
    physical location as my old NB-VM 150-kHz transducer?
22. What is "ringing," and what do I do about it?
23. Regarding battery capacities, what are the lower operating
    voltage limits at which the ADCP will operate satisfactorily?
24. Is there any way to squeeze more range out of my BBADCP?
25. How can I do a manual unconditional data dump of my BBADCP
    recorder board?
26. Can you give some recommendations for the Depth Cell Size and
    Blank After Transmit settings for broadband systems?
27. In TRANSECT, the menus display "garbage" characters. What can
    I do?