The PLUS Family is capable of long-term unattended deployments because of its low battery power consumption and expanded internal data memory. These instruments also have a standard real-time data port which customers can remotely access via cables, acoustic modems, inductive modems, AIS AtoN (Aid to Navigation) transmitters, as well as turnkey cellular data plans with cloud based web services through the ThingSpeakTM IoT Analytics Platform.
In the past FSI has offered two standard housings – a 200 meter version for shallow water applications, and a titanium 7,000 meter version for deep moorings and other full ocean depth deployments. Based on customer feedback FSI has recently updated and requalified the shallow version to be rated to depths of 300 meters. Additionally they have added an anodized aluminum 3,000 meter version to the menu.
“The increased rating to 300m allows us to address the needs of scientists and surveyors working towards the edge of the continental shelf where water depths exceed the previous 200m rating” said FSI’s president, John Baker. “And the 3,000m aluminum version is a cost-effective solution for deep water applications that don’t require the full-ocean-depth capability of titanium”.
Along with the new depth ratings, FSI is announcing the option of integrating an internal pressure sensor to embed real-time depth readings into the instrument’s serial data output. Full-scale accuracies of 0.01% or 0.03% are available. And for those who need it, FSI’s fully integrated CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) module is still available for the 300m and 7,000m versions.
Existing Customers with older 2D-ACM and 3D-ACM models should contact FSI to learn about the cost-effective PLUS-UPGRADE program to refurbish, recalibrate, and update their instruments to get the full benefits of the PLUS architecture. Upgrades can be done at FSI or at its authorized repair centers, and the upgraded instrument will come back to them with a fresh, one-year warranty.