FTS RSS Temperature Test 1, John C. Stennis Space Center, Nov 2015

Two identical Radar Stage Sensors from Forest Technology Systems, were evaluated to determine if they are suitable for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologic data collection. The sensors were evaluated in laboratory conditions to evaluate the distance accuracy of the sensor over the manufacturer’s specified operating temperatures and distance to water ranges. Laboratory results were compared to the manufacturer’s accuracy specification of ±0.007 foot (ft) and the USGS Office of Surface Water (OSW) policy requirement that water level sensors have a measurement uncertainty of no more than 0.01 ft or 0.20 percent of the indicated reading. In the temperature chamber test, both sensors were within the manufacturer’s specification for more than 90 percent of the data points collected over a temperature range of –40 to +60 °C at a fixed distance of 8 ft. Initial testing was performed with radar firmware version 1.05.