Using the Ice Mode feature in the AquaCalc 5000 Advanced
The AquaCalc 5000 with the Advanced (H) firmware has an Ice Mode that helps when performing measurements in streams having a layer of ice on the water. This mode allows you to enter the ice draft in feet or tenths of a foot, and the total depth of the water.
The ice draft is the distance from the bottom of the ice to the surface of the water. The AquaCalc will subtract the ice draft from the total water depth when calculating the discharge.
Important Note
Two errors relating to the Ice Mode have been made in programming the AquaCalc:
- The Ice Draft is improperly called the Ice Thickness in the display prompt. Ice draft and ice thickness are not the same. Please enter the Ice Draft when asked for the Ice Thickness. The ice draft is the distance from the bottom of the ice to the surface of the water.
- The “+/-“ key must be pressed when you are prompted for the Ice Draft (Thickness) , but this is not indicated in the display.
Both problems will be fixed in future firmware releases.
Setting up a Transect to perform ice measurements
While in the Transect that you wish to perform ice measurements:
1. Press the “Menu/Setup/0” button to bring up the Main setup menu
2. Select "1=TrInfo" by pressing the “1” key to enter the Transect Setup mode
3. Select "2=Transect Info." by pressing the “2” key to enter Transect Information
4. Repeatedly Press the “Enter” key to scroll through the Transect Information items until you reach "=Chg ICE MODE"
5. Press the “+/-“ key to toggle the Ice Mode between "NO ICE TRANSECT" and "ICE INPUT REQ'D"
6. Repeatedly press the Enter key until you return to the Transect Setup menu.
7. Press the Menu key to return to the Main menu
8. Press the 0 key to return to the measurement screen.
Making a measurement using the Ice Mode
When entering the Depth using the Ice Mode, you will be prompted to enter the Ice Draft (Thickness) after entering the total water depth. The ice draft is the distance from the bottom of the ice to the surface of the water. You must press the +/- key when prompted, in order to enter the ice draft. The AquaCalc will subtract the ice draft from the total water depth when calculating the discharge.
1. Press the "Set Depth" key to enter a total water depth. Enter the depth and press the Enter key
2. You will be prompted to "SET IceThickness". (This is supposed to read “+ SET Ice Draft”)
3. Important: You must press the "+/-" key to enter an Ice Draft (Thickness).
4. Press the "+/-" key and enter an Ice Draft. Press the Enter key to return to the measurement screen.
If you are using the Auto Carry /Auto Observe mode, the Ice Draft will be carried over to the next station/observation in the same vertical / distance. When you change the Distance, you will need to enter a new Ice Draft. In the manual mode you must enter the ice draft each time you enter a depth.
Reviewing the Ice Thickness
To view a previously entered Ice Draft (Thickness):
1. Press the “Depth” key in the observation / station,
2. Press enter to accept the existing Depth setting and to view the Ice Draft (Thickness) display.
3. Press “Enter” to continue, or the “+/-“ key to edit the Ice Draft value.
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