Frequently asked questions

Yes. If possible, install the antenna outside of an enclosure. It is weather resistant and should tolerate outdoor conditions. Never install the antenna in a metal enclosure because metal will block radio signals from the GPS satellites. The original SmartFlux System GPS antenna was designed to be installed inside the LI-7550 box. The SmartFlux 2 or 3 System GPS antenna, however, should be installed with a clear view of open sky. If the GPS antenna is unable to receive satellite signals, the unit will be unable to set the time and there may be issues with time synchronization as a result.
Always set PTP to Automatic for all components in the system, including the LI-7500A/RS/DS, LI-7200/RS, and LI-7700. This instructs the system to use the best clock available, which will be the GPS clock in a satellite. If you choose another setting, the instruments may be unable to synchronize their clocks, and the data may be more difficult to align.
All of the SmartFlux Systems run EddyPro to compute results on site. The differences are given below.

Original SMARTFlux System:

  • For use with the LI-7500A/RS or LI-7200/RS.
  • Installs inside the LI-7550 case.
  • Reads analog data from the sonic anemometer.
  • The original SMARTFlux operating instructions are available here.

SmartFlux 2 System:

  • For use with the LI-7500A/RS or LI-7200/RS
  • Installs inside an enclosure. GPS antenna installs outside the enclosure.
  • Reads digital data and diagnostics from the sonic anemometer.
  • The SmartFlux 2 System operating instructions are included with the LI-7500RS and LI-7200RS documentation.

SmartFlux 3 System:

  • For use with the LI-7500DS.
  • Installs inside an enclosure. GPS antenna installs outside the enclosure.
  • Reads digital data and diagnostics from the sonic anemometer.
  • The SmartFlux 3 System operating instructions are included with the LI-7500DS documentation.

We have examined many different USB adapters and found the type that we sell to work best with all of our instruments. Other adapters may work, but they may not.

We can only guarantee the FTDI adapter that we sell. It is included with many of the LI-COR instruments that require serial communication with a computer. We have found that some third-party USB adapters (Prolific, for example) do not accurately transmit all the data from the instrument to the computer, or vice versa. You should use an adapter with an FTDI chipset, and Belkin and Keyspan adapters typically work well with our instruments too.

It is essential that whenever you update the firmware version of the LI-7550 to the latest version, you also update the SmartFlux firmware to the latest version.

Changes in the LI-7550 firmware can introduce changes to the file structure or format changes in metadata, which may require changes in EddyPro to process these files. Firmware changes in SmartFlux also incorporate the latest versions of EddyPro, which will have new features and bug fixes to produce accurate flux results.