User manual

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quadrants of an HX vs. HY compass plot and can be used to calculate offsets and scale factors.
An example is shown above. The offsets and scale factors calculated for this data set, using the
simplex algorithm, are:
X
O
= +0.019 Y
O
= -0.009
X
S
= +0.703 Y
S
= +0.675
In a vertically uniform flow field, however, the heading will stay relatively constant and
measurements on a compass plot will fall into a single quadrant. Data processed with the Nelder-
Mead routines do not need to be evenly distributed, but must be distributed through all four
quadrants. Compass measurements from these profiles cannot be used to determine offsets and
scale factors. An example is shown above. The simplex algorithm fails when applied to this
data, returning patently false results after an unreasonably large number of iterations.
ACM Compass Calibration Step 4 – Conduct a Spin Test
A spin test is conducted to generate compass calibration corrections. The spin test data is
collected by rotating the profiler on its base and aligning the sting to the eight cardinal points of
the compass in sequence. The purpose of the eight element spin test data is to remove the bias
angle when you map the raw horizontal compass measurements to the unit circle. The bias may
be as large as 10° to 20°. An angular bias of 5° to 10° or more is clearly evident in the plots of
corrected, eight element, spin test data.
Corrected
Corrected
H
CorrectedH
CorrectedH
HY
HX
HY
HX
=
=
=
θ
θ
θ
tan
cos
sin
The heading calculations described above could then be applied to the corrected data
without the need for horizontal normalization, which is included in the calibration.
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