In this video we’ll cover how to set up your EXO Sonde for deployment using the Kor Mobile App. You can also use the EXO Handheld or Kor Software on your PC.
EXO uses deployment templates for convenience; this allows you to save the deployment settings as a file on your mobile device which can be applied to other sondes. You can even share this file with colleagues! The deployment template can be configured without the sonde being connected to Kor. Once you are ready to apply the deployment settings to the sonde, connect the EXO to the mobile app via Bluetooth.
I’ll get our sonde connected. Using Kor Mobile, navigate to the deployment menu. At the top of the screen, you will see the template that is currently applied to the sonde. Here you can check the deployment status and Start or Stop the deployment. If you select ‘Start Deployment,’ logging will begin with the deployment settings that are currently loaded on the sonde. ‘Stop Deployment’ will end the logging. These options are only available if a sonde is connected.
Below that is a list of templates that exist in the mobile app. A couple of default templates and any user-created templates will be listed here. There is a deployment menu in the top right-hand corner which allows you to import existing deployment templates or perform bulk operations which basically allows you to select a single or multiple templates to delete or transfer to another instance of Kor.
Back on the main deployment screen, let’s walk through creating a new deployment template. Tap the ‘Create New Template’ button and you will see options to modify the existing templates, the current sonde template, or start with a blank template. We’ll go with a blank template.
The deployment template configuration is broken up into three parts. ‘Basic Deployment Settings’ are necessary for every deployment. ‘SDI-12 Output’ is relevant if you are communicating with a data logger. And ‘Advanced’ are optional settings for further deployment configuration.
Let’s look at the basic settings first, as this will be relevant for all deployments. The first thing you’ll want to do is name the deployment template. This is the name that will show up if you want to select this configuration to apply to additional sondes.
Next, you can specify the logging interval. This represents how often the sonde will wake up and take a reading. Notice that you must choose a time interval in order to proceed. I’ll choose 30 minutes. You may choose to specify a File Name Prefix. These characters will appear at the beginning of the name of any logged files using this deployment configuration, which may allow for easy search or file organization. However, this field is optional, so you can leave it blank if you prefer.
Also optional is specifying a Site Name and User Name. With the site name, you can choose from a list of sites that exist in the app. If you choose a site, the site name will be tagged with all of the logged files associated with this deployment. The same applies to User Name. If you prefer not to specify a user name, then “default user” will be applied. You may choose to input a description or additional information for reference with this deployment. This is also optional. I’ll leave it blank.
That is everything associated with a basic deployment! If you are preparing the sonde for unattended logging and don’t need any advanced features, then you can go ahead and save and apply the template to the sonde.
If you plan to transmit the sonde data via SDI-12, then you will need to configure SDI-12 Output. Here you can set the SDI-12 address and the order of the parameter data that is transmitted to the data logger. Tap the ‘SDI-12 Parameters’ field and then ‘Add Parameter.’ Tap the plus sign next to the parameters that you would like to transmit. Then tap ‘Next.’ Now you can drag and drop the selected parameters in order to match the settings of your data logger.
Remember the SDI-12 address and parameter order must be consistent between the sonde and the datalogger; otherwise you may have communication errors or incorrect values. Tap ‘Done’ when you are finished ordering your parameters.
Finally, let’s take a look at the Advanced deployment settings; starting with logging mode. Normal Logging mode is selected by default. This means the sonde will wake up and take a reading at the logging interval specified in the Basic Settings. Right now our sonde is set to wake up every 30 minutes, log a single data point and go back to sleep. You can use the additional ‘Averaging Duration’ setting to log an average based on the specified duration. For example, if we select 10 seconds, then the sonde will wake up and log the average of 10 one-second readings to a single data point.
Tap the Logging Mode to change to Burst or Sample and Hold. For Burst Mode, instead of waking up and logging a single data point, the sonde will log readings once per second for a user-specified duration. If I choose five seconds, then the sonde will log five data sets at a one-second interval every 30 minutes, based on our current deployment settings. With this mode, you cannot apply additional averaging.
Sample and Hold should be selected if you plan to transmit to a data logger. This mode ensures that there will be no discrepancy between the data logged internally to the sonde and the data that is transmitted. Basically, the sonde wakes up, takes a reading at the logging interval we’ve set; it then holds that data to send to the data logger when it receives the command. For our purposes, I’ll go back to normal mode.
Next let’s look at ‘Samples per Wipe.’ This allows us to specify how often the wiper will clean the sensors. The default setting is 1 sample per wipe, meaning the wiper will activate once right before each sample which is currently set for 30 minutes. If we change it to 2 samples per wipe, then the wiper will activate once an hour to clean the sensors, so two data sets will be logged for every single wipe. For most applications we recommend sticking with one sample per wipe. The System-wide Averaging Mode allows you to adjust the data filtering that is applied to the sensors for each measurement. You can choose Default, Accelerated, or Rapid.
Default averaging is recommended for fixed deployments and allows for optimum data filtering for all sensors. In Accelerated mode, sensors record data with a smaller rolling average window, so changes in sensor response are more quickly observed. Accelerated mode is recommended when the sensors are moving through the water. Rapid mode should be used when the sonde is moving very quickly through the water, such as with rapid profiling and unique applications like towing the sonde. In this mode, readings may appear noisy and will not stabilize on a single value. We’ll keep the default average selected.
Finally, we have an optional adaptive logging feature. This allows the sonde to log at an alternative time interval if readings go above or below a user-specified parameter threshold. For example, if after 30 minutes our sonde wakes up and logs a turbidity value above 20 FNU, then adaptive logging will immediately start forcing the sonde to log every minute until turbidity drops below 20 FNU. You can set up to two conditions for adaptive logging. Once logged readings drop below the threshold, the sonde will go back to its normal logging interval. The sonde will continue to log every 30 minutes unless a value triggers adaptive logging again. I’ll keep it off for the purposes of our video.
That covers all of the Advanced Deployment Settings! Tap ‘Save’ to save the template to the mobile device. Then tap ‘Apply’ to apply these settings to the sonde. The app will then ask if we would like to start the deployment. If you select no, the deployment settings will still be applied to the sonde, it will just not start logging internally, and you will need to reconnect to start the deployment. If you select Yes, then it will ask you to select the start time.
Here you have 3 options. If you select ‘Next Interval,’ the sonde will start logging at the next interval based on the hour. Since we have a 30-minute log interval, logging will start at 11:30 and the next log will be at 12, and so on. Selecting ‘Now’ will start the internal logging immediately. ‘Custom’ will allow you to specify a date and time in the future to start. We’ll select ‘Next Interval.’ You can also tap ‘Deployment Status’ to view some useful information related to the deployment settings, sonde memory, and battery life.
That covers deployment setup using Kor Mobile. Please be sure to check out our other EXO University videos and thanks for watching!