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Lowell Instruments TCM-3 Deep Water Tilt Current Meter

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SKU
LI-TCM3
£0.00 £0.00

Tilt Current Meters measure current using the drag-tilt principle. The physical design is simple; the meter is buoyant and is secured by a flexible tether to a fixed anchor or tripod.  Moving water tilts the logger in the direction of flow.  A 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis magnetometer determine tilt and bearing. The meter also contains a thermistor for recording temperature.

The meter’s electronics are housed in a titanium pressure case with no external sensors. The floatation is derived from toughened syntactic foam.  The built-in data logger includes a USB communication interface, a microSD flash memory card, and a long-life lithium battery. Windows® software is used to configure the TCM-3 for deployment and to process data.

The TCM-3 is available at a fraction of the cost of acoustic meters and is simple to setup and deploy.  The low total cost permits multiple current meters to be deployed in many locations simultaneously, thereby increasing spatial data density and reducing uncertainty.

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Affordable & Easy-to-Use Meter for Deep Water

The Lowell Instruments TCM-3 Tilt Current Meter records water velocity in an affordable, easy-to-use package. The meter designed for use beyond the edge of the continental shelf up to 4500 meters depth. It is easy to deploy with a simple ground anchor from a remotely operated vehicle.

Key Features

Low Cost

Water velocity measurements for a fraction of the cost of an acoustic meter

4500m Depth Rating

Operate off the continental shelf

Rugged Construction

Titanium pressure housing with toughened syntactic foam flotation

Small and Light

Easy to deploy with small ROVs

Long Battery Life

1-minute velocity sampling for more than 1 year

Large Memory

microSD memory card virtually eliminates memory concerns

Temperature Sensor

Internal thermistor accurate to <0.1 °C with resolution of < 0.01 °C

USB 2.0 Interface

Connect with standard USB cables

More Information
Country of Manufacture United States
Explanation

Tilt Current Meters measure current using the drag-tilt principle. The physical design is simple; the meter is buoyant and is secured by a flexible tether to a fixed anchor or tripod.  Moving water tilts the logger in the direction of flow.  A 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis magnetometer determine tilt and bearing. The meter also contains a thermistor for recording temperature.

The meter’s electronics are housed in a titanium pressure case with no external sensors. The floatation is derived from toughened syntactic foam.  The built-in data logger includes a USB communication interface, a microSD flash memory card, and a long-life lithium battery. Windows® software is used to configure the TCM-3 for deployment and to process data.

The TCM-3 is available at a fraction of the cost of acoustic meters and is simple to setup and deploy.  The low total cost permits multiple current meters to be deployed in many locations simultaneously, thereby increasing spatial data density and reducing uncertainty.

The core of the TCM-3 is the MAT-1 Data Logger. The MAT-1 data logger was designed for NOAA and is ideally suited as the "brains" of a tilt current meter.

 

Specifications

 

Range

Accuracy

Resolution

Speed
(Low Range)

0-80 cm/s

3 cm/s + 3% of reading

0.1 cm/s

Speed (High Range)

0-120 cm/s

Not specified

0.1 cm/s

Direction

0-360°

5° (for speed >5 cm/s)

0.1°

Temperature

-5 to 30 °C

 0.1 °C

<0.005 °C

-20 to -5, 30 to 50°C

0.2 °C

<0.01 °C

 

 

Electronics

 

Memory

8 GB microSDHC flash card (standard)

 

Communications

Full speed USB micro-B port

 

Battery Type

3.6 V, size A, user replaceable lithium (from Lowell Instruments)

 

Battery Life

Months to years depending on recording rates

 

Internal Clock

< 1 minute of per month

 

Operating Modes

 

Start and Stop

Start and Stop at user defined times

 

Burst Mode

Variable rate logging at user defined interval

 

Recording Rate

Current: 64 Hz to 1 sample per hour

Temperature: 1 Hz to 1 sample per hour

 

Mechanical

 

Depth Rating

4,500 m (14760 ft), tested to 6,000m (19700 ft) m (100 ft)

 

Dimensions

Flotation Diameter: 5.08 cm (2.00”)

Pressure Housing Diameter: 2.54 cm (1.00”)

Overall Length: 77.6 cm (30.6”)

Floatation Length: 60.9 cm (24.0”)

 

Weight

1.29 kg (2.84 lb)

 

Construction

Floatation: Toughened Syntactic Foam with Titanium pressure housing and Buna 90 Durometer O-ring

 

Software

 

User Interface

Windows® Compatible Software Download

 

USB

USB 2.0 compliant MSC and CDC Classes

 

Firmware

Field upgradable via USB cable

 

Contents
  • TCM-3 Tilt Current Meter
  • Lithium battery (installed in logger)
  • 8 GB microSD card (installed in data logger)
  • 1 m (3 ft) USB A to micro-B Cable
  • Spare O-ring (pre-lubricated)
  • 30 cm (12") lanyard
Brand Lowell Instruments
Typical applications Datalogging
Measurements Water Flow

Standard delivery (Royal Mail) - £3.95 to £4.99

Available for purchases under £100. Your order should be with you within 4-5 working days.

 

Tracked delivery - £5.95 to £6.50

Our tracked delivery is either Royal Mail tracked, Parcelforce or UPS. Your order should be with you within 1-2 working days.

 

Next Day service - £9.95

Place your order before 2:30pm Monday - Friday and receive your order the next working day (excludes Saturdays, Sundays and Public holidays). Orders placed at the weekend are shipped on the next working day and usually arrive the following day. Goods shipped on a next working day service may be subject to delays by the courier which are outside of our control. Services to outlying areas may differ and take longer and enhanced services may not be available.

 

International delivery

International delivery is available for this product. The cost and delivery time depend on country.

 

Collection

You can collect from our showroom. Please call before visiting to ensure we have your order ready.

Data Sheet (155.37 kB)
User Guide (2.81 MB)
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