Check with us to make sure your drifter will be launched in a place that is optimum for long voyages. We will also make sure your GPS is set up before deployment.
ID Convention
There are two numbers associated with a deployment. The first is the “electronic serial number” of the transmitter (typically 6 digits) that is assigned by the manufacturer. The second is a distinct deployment “ID”. This ID is the key field in the database. While it was originally a 5-digit number, in the fall of 2009 it was modified to be a 9-digit number in order to accommodate nation-wide deployments. This ID is automatically generated based on user’s entries in the web-served deployment documentation. In other words, users will see what the unique deployment number is after they have entered the deployment information. It is defined as follows:
- 1st-2nd digits = year (“10” for 2010)
- 3rd digit = month (where all drifters dropped Oct-Dec have a month code of “0”)
- 4th-5th digit = latitude (integer degree)
- 6th-8th digit = longitude (integer degree)
- remaining digits = consecutive deployment number associated with this geographic and temporal block
EXAMPLE: 098430702 is the 2nd drifter dropped in August 2009 at approximately 43N and 070W