RS Aqua Ltd. 46 Hurst Barns, Privett, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 3PL
Tel: +44(0)1730 828222 Fax: +44(0)1730 828128 Email: [email protected] Web: www.rsaqua.co.uk
E4. If WaveView software is not used, what is the documentation of the hardware and
software protocol?
A: The message from WaveRadar Rex is a fixed length string of binary values that mainly
contains address and command codes, byte counter, distance measurement of values in
1/10mm steps, radar status, other byte allocated data plus a two byte CRC check sum
sequence. The output from the FBM is RS232 with a baud rate of 4800, 8 data bits, no parity
and 1 stop bit. A full description is given in the WaveRadar Rex Operating Manual.
E5. Is a data output available from WaveView?
A: Yes. An ASCII serial data stream output is provided for remote applications. This one
line of data comprises a date and time stamp, raw distance (Range), water level (Tide),
significant wave height (Hs), mean zero crossing point (Tz), maximum wave height (Hmax),
maximum wave crest height (HCrest), crest period (TC) and peak wave period (TP). It is
available from the PC second COM port and is updated every minute.
E6. Can a datum offset be input to WaveView?
A. Yes. A datum offset can be entered by the user via the on screen display controls.
E7. Is the raw distance measurement stored by WaveView?
A: Raw data in the form of distance measurements, with no offset for radar datum
positioning and radar status data from the WaveRadar, are stored in a file created hourly.
Control of storage is operator selected.
E8. How does WaveView calculate tide data?
A: The incoming data stream from the WaveRadar Rex (default 4Hz) is collected for 256
values (60 seconds approximately) and processed to derive a tidal value. The value is
updated every minute. The tidal value is written to file.
E9. After the “tide level” is derived what type spectral processing does WaveView use
to derive the wave parameters?
A. Distance measurements are collected in an array and a Fast Fourier Transform is
applied to produce Hs and Tz. Also from this array Hmax is produced.
E10. How often are WaveView displays updated?
A: Range and tide are updated every minute. On completion of the processing of the first
wave array, approximately 30 minutes after startup, the wave displays are updated every
minute.
