Nortek Vectrino Profiler User manual

NORTEK QUICK GUIDE
Vectrino Profiler
Oct. 2017

Please check that all
expected items are
included in the shipment:
The instrument
External power/signal cable
NORTEK equipment storage
box/toolkit
RS485 to USB high speed adaptor
AC/DC voltage transformer
Power cable
(European or American)
250 ml bottle with seeding
Software on USB memory stick
Final test check list
Packing list
Warranty card
Install the Nortek software
The instrument’s software is
located on the attached
memory stick.
Please check the web
regularly for updates on both
software and firmware.
This Quick Guide provides you with the basic information you need to get the
Vectrino Profiler up and running as quickly as possible. The sensor is an
extremely powerful tool for flow measurement. It is a seemingly simple system but
requires consideration of many different parameters to produce the highest quality
data. The biggest key to its successful use if an understanding of the basic
concepts of its operation and the potential problems that can occur. Experience
with the system is an important factor as well, and the value of test deployments
cannot be overemphasized. We encourage you to consult the Vectrino Profiler
User guide (available within the software) to get a more profound knowledge
covering both the sensor- and software capabilities. You will also find lots of useful
information at the Nortek web: www.nortekgroup.com
Preparation
Install the software located on the USB memory stick. The Vectrino Profiler
acquisition software requires Java virtual machine (JVM) to operate (download
from www.java.com if not prompted by the software).
Using the enclosed cables, plug in the AC adapter, and connect the Vectrino
Profiler cable and USB converter to the USB port on your computer. At high
sampling rates (above 60 Hz), the driver parameters need to be tuned to
provide an adequate display rate for the application software. Without this
tuning, higher sampling rates will result in a sporadic display update. Please
refer to the SW User Guide, in the software (click Help) for more information.
Start the Vectrino Profiler software.
Click Communication > Connect >Vectrino
Select the appropriate serial port and port speed (baud rate) and press Apply.
It is recommended to use a baud rate of 937500 for optimized performance.
You may take this opportunity to provide a specific “Instrument Name” for your
device. This may help differentiate instruments if you have several in the same
experiment.
Run a Probe check in accordance with the procedure described in the Vectrino
Profiler User Guide to verify that the instrument is working as expected.
Test the measurement quality with the Probe Check function: Open
Configuration; tick the Probe Check and Start Data Collection. Make sure
the instrument is submerged in water during this test.
Configuration
Click the Configuration button to activate the dialog for configuring the
instrument velocity settings, bottom check settings and disk file parameters. A
description of each submenu and each parameter can be found in the SW User
Guide. Extra attention should be given to the Velocity range parameter. Read
more about Weak Spots below.
When the parameters are adjusted, press Apply and/or OK and accept the
changes.
By using the Open/Save commands in the File menu the configuration
parameters can be saved to a *.nts file at any given time and reloaded when it
is time to deploy the instrument.
Getting Started
Data can be displayed by clicking the Start Collecting Data button.
After data collection has started, the button switches to Stop Collecting Data.
The button switches back to Start mode when the instrument has been verified
to complete collecting data.
The display window shows profiling and time series graphs for data currently
being collected. A status display is shown on the upper right of the panel. This
shows four lights used to display status information while collecting data (run
status, collection status, connection status, and instrument status). Hovering
the mouse over each status light will display more detailed information.
Save to Disk can be enabled either before data collection is started or during
data collection. The preferred mode is enabling before starting collection.

Bottom Check
In addition to velocity measurements, the backscatter signal can be used to
determine the instrument elevation above the bottom. A high intensity echo is
produced when the transmit pulse hits the bottom. The central transducer of the
Vectrino Profiler includes a transmit/receive switch allowing profiles over the full
elevation range of the instrument to be collected. The bottom check feature
collects a profile over a selected range and finds the maximum peak within this
range. A quadratic fit to the peak is used to determine the associated distance
to the bottom. Bottom check data is interleaved with the velocity data and can
be sampled at a rate of up to 10 Hz (dependent upon velocity sampling rate).
The bottom check simplifies the data analyses by allowing all the velocity data
points to be referenced to the bottom position. It is very important to adjust the
Gain Reduction option such that the return signal strength is below
approximately -10 dB to get accurate bottom measurements (see software
manual for more information).
Mounting Guidelines
Make sure that there are no obstructions between the sensor and the focal
point (sampling volume) located about 5 cm from the center transducer.
The sensor is a pulse coherent system which means it is susceptible to
pulse interference when measuring near boundaries. This interference is
called “Weak spot” and should be avoided. More information about this can
be found in the Comprehensive Manual –where a table presenting the
distances where weak spots can occur can be found.
Consider the effects of large objects on the flow itself. The flow disturbance
is greatest directly downstream in the wake behind the object.
All acoustic transducers must be submerged during data collection.
Operating the Vectrino when the transducers are out of water will not cause
any damage. For side-looking probes; it is possible to collect 2D data with
only the lower receiver arms (and center transducer) submerged.
The best quality is achieved if the main flow direction is perpendicular to the
transmit axis. Flow directly into the transmit axis should be avoided.
Make sure your mounting structure is stable. Small vibrations in the
mounting can generate large accelerations in the data.
The sensor is not designed to be used in saline environments, and using it
outside lab may cause corrosion on the probe. If used in saline waters,
make sure to use it for only short periods and clean it properly with fresh
water after the measurements are done.
Note: When mounting; use the grooves to strap the sensor to the structure.
Never use the probe stem as mounting point.
Proper mounting of the sensor is crucial for collecting quality data. Read more
about this in the Mounting Guideline.
Seeding
In order to measure water velocities, the sound waves emitted by the center
transducer must be reflected by scattering material suspended in the water. The
velocity that is measured is consequently the velocity of the water, assuming
the particles move with the same average speed as the surrounding water. If
the instrument is to be used in a laboratory environment, one will need to add
seeding. If you are unsure about the amount of particles to add, please check
the Manual or contact us for further guidance.
Basic Principles
The Vectrino Profiler profiles
the sampling olume over a
30 mm range and provides
three-component velocity
observations with a
resolution as fine as 1 mm,
and with a sampling rate as
high as 100 Hz. The
Vectrino Profiler can
measure the distance to the
bottom at rates of up to 10
Hz by interleaving bottom
detection pings and velocity
profiling pings. The Vectrino
Profiler use separate
transducers to transmit and
receive the acoustic signal,
and is thus a so-called bi-
static sensor.
Software
New software provides
enhanced capabilities such
as real-time plots of velocity
profiles, velocity standard
deviation, energy spectra
and color contour plots. The
acquisition software is used
to configure the instrument
and to collect, save and
display data in real time.
Proper visualization of data
as it is being collected
greatly facilitates the
operation of the instrument,
allowing early detection of
incorrect configuration
parameters or anomalous
behavior of the instrument
due to external factors.
The software is also
capable of supporting
multiple instruments
simultaneously. Each
instrument is provided with
its own panel created in a
separate tab.

Data Conversion
The Data Menu is used to export the proprietary binary
data files into other formats.
Export Matlab creates .mat files that are directly
readable by Matlab and other common numerical
analysis packages. Note that large data files will be
broken down into smaller .mat files by the export
process.
Export ASCII creates ASCII data files that may be
imported or read by other software applications (e.g.
Excel).
Due to the amount of data produced, we consider the
Matlab binary export to be the best option. The file can
be read by most common numerical analysis packages
and produces much smaller files than the ASCII
export. For guidance in looking at the data, we
recommend reading the FAQ’s on single point and
profiling Velocimeters and reference books or articles on
data analysis techniques and methods.
Power and Communication
The Vectrino Profiler is shipped with a 12-pin connector
and cable which supplies external DC power (12-48 V)
and provides two-way serial communication with an
external computer. The cable also provides
synchronization options.
Synchronizing Multiple Instruments
Your Vectrino Profiler can serve as a master for other
Vectrinos, or other sensors can control its sampling. This
comes in handy when you need to use several
instruments for a single set of measurements. A
description on how to configure the instrument for
synchronization can be found in the SW User Guide.
Troubleshooting
As most problems are caused by simple mistakes,
please initially check if
you have forgotten to power the system
the connector has fallen out of the computer
you are using the wrong serial port or baud rate
You may find that there is a lot of noise in the velocity
data. This may be caused by
not enough particles in the water
the velocity range set too high
the sampling volume located beyond the bottom
reflection and reverberation conditions at
the bottom
probe malfunction. Test the probe with the Probe
Check feature
When all obvious mistakes are ruled out, please turn to
our Troubleshooting Guide. The FAQ site may also be
helpful.
If the problem is still present contact Nortek
support at [e-mail]
Underwater Connector
Termination
Pin. no
Wire Color
Purpose
Pin
Description
1
White
Rx +
3
DB-9 connector,
pins 1 and 5 are
grounded.
2
Black
Rx -
8
3
White/Grey
Tx -
2
4
White/
Purple
Tx +
7
5
Not Used
6
White/Blue
Sync -
Terminal block
7
White/
Green
Sync +
8
Not Used
9
Not Used
10
Not Used
11
White/
Brown
Power
Ground
Power Supply
Connector
12
Black/Red
Power +
Shield
Power
Ground
Connected
internally to
Power Ground
Ref: N2100-304
Wiring of Vectrino Profiler cable for RS485 communication.