Spotter Data Modes

Your Spotter has three (3) remotely configurable modes (Waves: Standard, Waves: Spectrum, and Track). For each mode you can set a range of update rates so you can tailor your Spotter’s behavior to your specific application needs. These changes are achieved via your Spotter’s 2-way satellite communications interface, and can be changed at any time from your Dashboard regardless of where your Spotter is in the world.

Waves: Standard

In this mode your Spotter calculates wave statistics based on a 30-minute sample period, and transmits bulk wave statistics through the satellite network (see the technical manual for more specifics on the on-board calculations of wave bulk statistics). You can select a satellite update rate of 30 minutes or 60 minutes (default). In the default setting, Spotter will include two 30-minute samples in its hourly update. The 30-minute update option can be selected if more real-time updates are required for your application, but will incur higher data usage costs

Figure 1 The Waves: Standard mode uses 30-minute sampling periods to calculate wave statistics. You can select either 30-minute or 60-minute (default) update intervals. If the 60-minute update rate is selected, two sample periods are included in a single update to the Dashboard, which saves data transfer costs. If data updates are required faster, you can set your Spotter to send updates every 30 minutes.

Waves: Spectrum

If Waves: Spectrum mode is activated, your Spotter transmits the variance density spectrum and directional moments (a­1, b1, a2, b2) as a function of frequency (for further details, see the technical manual). In this mode, the system uses a 60-minute sample period to improve the statistical estimate of spectrum and directional moments. The user can select an update rate of between 1 and 6 hours. Update rates faster than 6 hours will incur higher data usage costs than Waves:Standard mode due to the increase in amount of data transmitted.

Figure 2 In Waves: Spectrum mode, Spotter uses a 60-minute sampling period to compute wave statistics. The user can select update intervals between 1 and 6 hours. Example for 1-hour (top), 2-hour (middle), and 3-hour (bottom) update intervals shown in figure.

Track

In this mode, Spotter transmits five samples of its position (lat/lon) separated by 3 minutes, every 15 minutes. Measurement resolution is 1/100,000th minute of arc. This mode is designed to provide high-resolution location track data for retrieval or surface current tracking. Based on the location data, the Dashboard continuously calculates and provides a 15-minute forecast of Spotter position (to aid retrieval) and estimates surface drift rates based on differential position.

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