VENDOR Letter SonTek-FT2 Sole Source Justification v2.pdf

FlowTracker2 Sole Source Justification

To Whom It May Concern, The SonTek FlowTracker2 Handheld Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) and FlowTracker2 Lab-ADV systems are unique, state-of-the-art velocity and discharge measurement devices designed for use in a wide variety of natural and man-made channels, laboratory tanks and flumes, aquaculture tanks and raceways, aquariums, etc.

Features of all FlowTracker2 systems include:

1. The FlowTracker2 is a 10 MHz acoustic Doppler current measurement system and as such it is unaffected by the presence of electromagnetic or ferromagnetic structures, and it also does not have any zero-velocity drift or offset issues. Therefore, the system does not require periodic recalibration

2. The FlowTracker2 is a bi-static Doppler instrument: it uses separate transducers for transmission and reception of acoustic energy. The system uses pure pulse-coherent processing to compare the phase shift of successive measurements using a proprietary combination of fast Fourier transformation and auto-correlation. This makes the FlowTracker2 far more accurate than any other velocity measuring technologies.

3. The instrument firmware has an auto-velocity range feature for automatically computing the best velocity scaling to use, which optimizes the accuracy of the instrument's measurements against the actual water velocity. Thus, there is no need for the user to manually scale velocities and the FlowTracker2 is as capable of measuring velocities down to 0.001 m/s as it is for velocities up to 4 m/s.

4. Specifically designed to be durable for field deployments; transducer head is made from 316 stainless steel with industrial strength fittings, and receiver arms are 3/8 inch thick stainless steel.

5. Velocity measurement range of +/- 4m/sec, velocity measurement accuracy of +/-1%, and velocity resolution of 0.0001 m/sec.

6. The unique 2D side-looking ADV probe head design enables the FlowTracker2 to measure precise 2-axis water velocity in water as shallow as 2 cm. There is also available a 2D/3D side-looking ADV probe assembly, which will provide the vertical velocity information when the depth is sufficient.

7. Optional probe configurations available with a pressure sensor to provide depth data, where the depth data is compensated for real-time velocity, temperature, salinity and altitude effects (accuracy:

+/- 0.1% FS (temperature compensated over full operating range); +/- 0.05% static (steady-state at 25° C).

FlowTracker2 Handheld ADV additional features:

1. Data is recorded at a 2 Hz sample rate.

2. The FlowTracker2 probe assembly incudes a 1.5m cable and can be detached from the handheld unit, and therefore any FlowTracker2 ADV probe assembly can be used with any FlowTracker2 handheld unit.

3. The handheld housing is watertight and features a keypad interface and a large back-lit color display, which is readable in direct sunlight and has multiple color theme options including grayscale (non-color), which may be required for some personnel. Available color graphics include wading rod setup (for both Universal and top-setting wading rods), tilt sensor, acoustic beam check, discharge summary, and real-time time-series data of velocity and other QC parameters.

4. Audio prompts, which can be enabled or disabled

5. Includes automatic discharge computation protocols for ISO/USGS mid-section, mean-section and Japanese methods, as well as a general-purpose velocity measurement mode.

6. Includes 16 GB internal memory, which holds up to 10 million individual velocity samples or 10,000 discharge measurements, and is non-volatile.

7. The system includes an internal GPS, which allows the measurements to be georeferenced.

8. The system supports the use of re-useable templates that minimize the need for repeated entry of administrative data in a measurement file.

9. Data downloads can be done via wireless Bluetooth or micro USB connection.

10. Multi-language support. The system supports English, Spanish, Catalan, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages from the factory. The system also has a built-in translator tool which can allow for many more languages, should the user wish to perform the translation for his language.

11. Removable battery cartridge that holds 8 AA batteries, easily replaceable from a screw-top battery lid that requires no hardware to access. Batteries can be replaced even in the middle of a measurement, with no loss of data. Power loss for any reason, or the need to temporarily close a measurement, will not prevent the user from re-opening and finishing a measurement.

12. SmartQC feature, in which the system uses an adaptive technique to monitor various parameters such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), velocity error, boundary checks, temperature, etc., and automatically notifies the user of potential measurement issues.

13. Built-in tilt sensor to record tilt values throughout a measurement and issue warnings accordingly.

14. Handheld Unit is IP67 rated.

15. CSV data file export via FlowTracker2 software

16. Optional upgrade for probe assemblies provided with the Handheld configuration to allow for use as a Lab-ADV with faster sampling rates and a direct connection with a computer. This provides for a single solution for handheld applications as well as direct connections with a computer using the FlowTracker2 desktop software.

FlowTracker2 Lab-ADV additional features:

1. Data is recorded at a user-selectable sample rate of 1, 2, 5 or 10 Hz.

2. User-selectable velocity ranges.

3. FlowTracker2 probe assemblies provided with the Lab ADV configuration can also be used with the Handheld display, allowing for a single solution for handheld applications as well as direct connections with a computer using the FlowTracker2 desktop software.

4. Automatic output of CSV file by FlowTracker2 software.

The FlowTracker2 is manufactured and distributed by SonTek, a division of YSI Inc. and a brand of Xylem Inc., in San Diego, CA, USA. SonTek is the sole manufacturer of the FlowTracker2, and to the best of our knowledge there is no other system available that has the unique features, capabilities and specifications as described in this document and in the FlowTracker2 brochure.

SonTek, FlowTracker2 and ADV are registered trademarks of Xylem Inc.