The Spotter buoy is a turnkey solution for collecting ocean data. Solar-powered and extremely durable, Spotter measures wave spectra, wind (derived), sea surface temperature, and atmospheric pressure.
This guide takes you through the entire onboarding process, from setting up your Dashboard account to deploying your Spotter and reviewing the collected data.
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Table of Contents
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This guide covers Spotter buoys without Smart Mooring.
For Smart Mooring onboarding, see Smart Mooring Product Documentation & Onboarding.
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The Spotter Dashboard is your conduit to ocean insights, where you can manage, monitor and track your Spotter(s), view and download observation data, configure data modes and alerts, access your API token, set up delivery endpoints, manage your data subscription, and much more.
Follow these steps to get your Spotter Dashboard account set up:
Create an account, if you haven’t already:
Register your Spotter to your account:
Add a payment method to your account to maintain real-time access to Spotter data, even after your Remote Access Package expires:
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A Spotter needs at least one active telemetry line to be able to transmit data to the Spotter Dashboard and API.
As long as you register your Spotter within a year of shipment, your Spotter’s telemetry line(s) will be enabled by default upon registration. Otherwise, you will need to enable them yourself. For information on how to manage your Spotter’s telemetry lines, see Change your telemetry lines.
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To ensure that your Spotter is able to establish a connection with the Spotter Dashboard, we recommend running a system test prior to deployment. Setup will only take a few minutes of your time, but the test will take around 2 hours.
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Follow the steps in this guide to run a full system test: Run a Full System Test
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Your Spotter’s data mode determines which data products it transmits to the Dashboard and API, and the associated update or processing rate determines how often they are transmitted. You can configure these settings in the Spotter Dashboard to tailor your Spotter’s behavior to your individual applications.
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For more information on the available data modes and how to configure them: Spotter Data Modes.
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Spotter can drift freely or be anchored to the seafloor. If you are planning to anchor Spotter to the seafloor, you need to build a mooring.
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For information on building a lightweight and low-cost mooring solution for your Spotter: ‣
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Turn on your Spotter, confirm it is in RUN mode with solid green SYSTEM and GO LEDs, and secure the lid by hand-tightening the 5 captive lid screws in a star pattern using a 5 mm hex key before deploying it in water.