Instrumentation Evaluations
The HIF evaluates equipment and instruments in an effort to ensure that these devices will meet the requirements of the USGS for hydrologic data collection. These requirements include accuracy, performance under a wide range of environmental conditions, and cost effectiveness.
Equipment and instruments selected for evaluation must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Unmet measurement need
- Reduces ownership costs
- Replaces discontinued/obsolete equipment
- Increases equipment choice and types
- Reduces initial equipment cost
- Improves safety
Equipment and instrument evaluations usually involve testing in environmental chambers or at field sites. Evaluations are usually conducted following test plans that allow for observation of the performance of the device over most, if not all, of its stated temperature range. For devices that measure a specific quantity (for example pressure or specific conductance), the test plan also will provide for exposing the device to a significant portion of, if not the entire, stated range of measurement for the quantity being measured. This document provides guidance for selecting and conducting evaluatoins of hydrologic instruments and equipment.
| INSTRUMENT/EQUIPMENT | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| HACH Ott MF Pro | Electromagnetic velocity meter |
| TRDI Vertical ADCP | Fixed vertical velocity acoustic profiler |
| Seba AquaProfile M-Pro | Velocity profiler on a wading rod with depth |
| FTS Ubicorm (cellular) | Radio |
| Sutron CDMALink (cell) | Radio |
| Campbell CR6 logger | Logger |
| Wellntel | Non contact well level |
| Xylem Nile radar | Radar water level sensor |
| LISST ABS | Acoustic sediment sensor |
| pHenom | New pH technology |
| Campbell CS475 Radar | Radar water level sensor |
| FTS LT1 DCP | Small inexpensive logger, IOT based |
| Iridium Radio Test | Test of multiple (3-4) Iridium transmitters |
| FTS Bubbler | Bubbler |
| Campbell SBS500 Rain Gage | Rain gage |
| Hydrolab HL7 | Multiparameter sonde |
| Manta 30 & 20 | Water quality multiprobe |
| Ayyeka Wavelet | IOT logger |
| Campbell CCFC Camera | Camera for observation/velocity |
| CTD-Diver | Small CT sensor |
| Campbell CR310 Logger | Small logger with updated software interface |
| KPSI 601 | Ceramic submersible presser sensor |
| Sutron Geo Antenna | Omni-directional antenna with GPS |
Last updated February 2023.
Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.