Vaisala TCI101 NiteStar - Manual (Page 18)

PRM 30 - TIME-SPEED-DELAY (TSD) NS-50/60
Traffic engineers often use TIME-SPEED-DELAY (TSD) measurements
to evaluate roadways. They drive the road recording total trip time
and total distance. Then dividing total distance by total time to get
an average speed for the road segment. This measurement can be
done at various times (i.e. at night, rush hour etc.) measuring conges-
tion and other factors affecting traffic flow. The NITESTAR (50 & 60)
after revision 3.0 has this function built in. When running in TSD
mode, distance is accumulated and displayed as normal but the inter-
val window now displays the elapsed trip time in minutes and seconds.
The speed displayed is not the instantaneous speed but the average
computed from the total distance divided by the total time.
TIME-SPEED-DELAY USE
STEP 1 : Make sure your NITESTAR is version 3.0 or above, when you
turn it on make sure it shows 3.0 or greater in the interval window. (It
if does not ,contact your distributor or Nu-Metrics)
STEP 2 : Verify your Nitestar has been calibrated and is measuring dis-
tance correctly.
STEP 3 : Move to the start of the surveyed road. Then press PGM30,
then MARK/ENTR. The display will then flash SP-DEL three times and
the distance, interval and speed will all be zero.
STEP 4 : The following keys are active now:
RUN/HOLD : Starts the distance,speed & elapsed time counters
DISP/HOLD : Freezes the distance, elapsed time & speed displays
UNITS : Changes distance units on display
SPEED : Changes speed units on display
CLEAR : In COUNT HOLD, exit TSD. (Otherwise ignored)
PRINT : In COUNT HOLD & Model 60 will print header.
Otherwise same as MARK/ENTR
MARK/ENTR : In Model 60 will print:
# Distance Delta Dist Elapsed Time Speed
STEP 5 : Run your route recording the time, speeds and distances.
On the Model 50 you will have to write them down. On a Model 60 the
values can be printed on a DPU-411 or captured on a computer.
STEP 6 : When you are done, go to COUNT/HOLD using the RUN/HOLD
key. Then press CLEAR to exit TSD mode. Use PRM30, MARK/ENTR
to enter it again for another run.
While running TSD you can press either DISP/HOLD or RUN/HOLD to
stop the display. These two have very different actions.
RUN/HOLD - Stops Time & Distance Count. Use to pause the survey.
DISP/HOLD - Holds the display ONLY.
Time and Distance continue to accumulate.
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TIME-SPEED-DELAY LIMITS
The Time Speed Delay survey cannot run longer than 255 minutes
(4 hours 15 minutes). Beyond this point the printed time will be
incorrect. The time on the display will only go to 99 minutes
(1 hour 39 minutes). The speed results are correct after these
times but the displayed times will not be correct.
0 - 99 Min. Displayed time OK, Printed Time OK, Speed OK
100-200 Min. Displayed time off, Printed Time OK, Speed OK by 100 minutes
201-255 Min. Displayed time off, Printed Time OK, Speed OK by 200 minutes
256-
∞ Min. Displayed time off, Printed Time off , Speed OK
If you need longer times, consult Nu-Metrics. The NITESTAR-60
with a laptop computer can do longer surveys with TSD software.
PRINTER USE
If you have an NS-60 and a printer these functions will print out a
summary of the calculation. With the result displayed and the
printer ON ; pressing PRINT will print the following:
SERIAL INPUT / OUPUT
DATA FORMATS
BAUD Rates: 9600, 4800, 2400, 1200, 600, 300
(See Selection Method on the Next Page)
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AREA Calculation
WIDTH: 10 FT
DIST: 1000 FT
AREA: 1111 SQ YD
VOLUME Calculation
WIDTH: 10 FT
HEIGHT: 6 IN
DIST: 1000 FT
AREA: 185 CU YD
COST Calculation
WIDTH: 10 FT
HEIGHT: 6 IN
DIST: 1000 FT
AMOUNT: 1.5
AREA: 185 CU YD
COST 283
TONNAGE Calculation
WIDTH: 10 FT
HEIGHT: 6 IN
DIST: 1000 FT
VOLUME: 185 CU YD
DENSITY: 3960 LB/CU YD
MASS: 366 TON
TONNAGE Cost Calculation
WIDTH: 10 FT
HEIGHT: 6 IN
DIST: 1000 FT
VOLUME: 185 CU YD
DENSITY: 3960 LB/CU YD
MASS: 366 TON
AMOUNT: 2.00
COST: 732