I fixing to rent a Hydrolite depth sounder to use with our Leica Viva data collectors and GS15 receivers to map about 1000 feet of relatively shallow river (I'm guessing 6 - 10 feet deep). These things are advertised in the magazines.
Anybody have any experience with the unit? How did it work out?
> I fixing to rent a Hydrolite depth sounder to use with our Leica Viva data collectors and GS15 receivers to map about 1000 feet of relatively shallow river (I'm guessing 6 - 10 feet deep). These things are advertised in the magazines.
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> Anybody have any experience with the unit? How did it work out?
I used one last summer to do some serious sea floor mapping...the data was all corrupted and I'll be revisiting the job this summer with different instrumentation. Make sure it's absolutely stable and don't move at a speed where air can percolate around or near the transducer. I think it's a good instrument for what your talking about but certainly not for what I was doing. I was also hampered in that I was using a topcon data collector and not the Trimble one that came with the unit because I needed to communicate with my Topcon receivers and the Hydrolite software on the Topcon data collector did not work properly. The Tech support is good though if you run into problems....they walk you through it and even will check your raw data files if you get in a fix...no complaints there. Drop some lead lines to check against the soundings for confidence.
From my experience it works a lot smoother with the Trimble TSC2 or later version data collector. Definitely worth renting the data collector if you can. Dont forget to download the Style Sheets from the Trimble website and upload to the data collector.
I used to set my rod up on the transponder (any good depth finder), then as code key in the reading on my depth finder. Then in the office we reduced the data to correct elevations. Takes a little time, but unless your doing a lot of these surveys it works great.
Daryl gave sound (no pun intended) advice. I rented a unit last year to do two different ponds/lakes. It was connected to the TSC2 via bluetooth. The unit works great if you can keep the unit under the water. I mounted it midway from the front of the boat and used a small electric motor to push around the lake. Don't be afraid to put the unit under the water (but of course be careful not to scrape it as you come into the shallow areas). I sat at the front while the boat captain sat at the back to keep the boat level. I did notice the unit will not penetrate moss or floor vegetation (which you will have at those depths). Dropping lead lines is the best suggestion you could get. Support is awesome. Rented our unit from WDS in Texas. The template was the best to get the data out.
6-10 feet you say? How about a range pole?
Beat me to it, on something that shallow if current isn't an issue nothing beats a prism on a prism rod with a boot.
Hydro is great when done right in the right context, but like everything else, there are a lot of tricks of the trade.
The Hydrolite unit is really a very simple piece of equipment. Just make sure the transponder is underwater enough to prevent data corruption from cavitation. The help from Seafloor Systems is top notch. Call Cody and have him walk you through.