10/04

Fall greetings! Thanksgiving will soon be here and so will cold weather (for most of us). Here are two maintenance items for the recording raingage that you should work into your site schedule.
Pre-winter Raingage Inspection and Cleaning - You will need to remove the case for the following two tasks.
1) Debris Check/cleaning - All kinds of critters may make want to make the raingage their home, so an inspection and cleaning are needed occasionally. Note the area labeled with the arrow in Figure 1. Take a medium stiffness 2 in. paint brush and remove any spider webs, ant nests, etc from these areas. Spray the area with a solvent such as GUMOUT or an electrical contact cleaner. Note: DO NOT USE WD-40 or "oily" lubricants. 2) Dashpot Fluid Check - (See Figure 2) Remove the dashpot and check its contents. Is the fluid inside clean? Does it have water in it? If it’s dirty or watery the fluid should be emptied, the dashpot wiped out with a cloth, and the fluid replaced. The CAL can provide the dashpot fluid—just circle it on your field form in the SUPPLIES block.
Field Chemistry Protocol Change: There is an important memo enclosed from the NADP Coordinator, Van Bowersox which announces a network protocol change. Beginning January 1, 2005, the NADP will no longer support field chemistry measurements (pH and specific conductance) for the NTN. After this date, the CAL will no longer provide pH electrodes or supplies for these measurements. We will be sending you the following information in next month’s mailing: (1) instructions for aliquot removal if your site selects to continue field chemistry measurements; (2) a list of supplies and vendors, and (3) the new NTN FORF with the field chemistry section removed. An informative brochure on field chemistry measurements is also enclosed. It’s important that you continue field chemistry through Dec. 2004. The CAL thanks you for your dedication to this effort over the years. Call or email us is you have any questions or concerns.
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/cal/		E-mail: cal@sws.uiuc.edu
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11/04

Holiday Greetings,
This month we have enclosed detailed information on the site operations changes that will take place in January 2005. This mailing contains a memo from the CAL and five procedural updates. Please add these updates to your NTN Site Operation Manual as indicated.  New NTN Field Observer Report Form (FORF) For Use Starting January 2005, pg 3-11 Changes to the NTN Weekly Sampling Procedure for Discontinuing Field Chemistry Measurements Starting January 2005, pg 3-25a Removing an Aliquot to Conduct On-site pH and Conductance Measurements Starting January 2005, pg 3-25b New FORF and Sample Bottle Bag Bar Code Labels for Use Starting January 2005, pg 3-31 NADP National Trends Network Field Chemistry Site Supplies List (revised 12/3/2004), pg A-3 In a separate mailing, all NTN site operators will receive a Tyvek mailing envelope containing a 6-month supply of the new NTN FORF and a 1-year supply of the new CAL bar code labels. You will apply these labels to the white copy of the FORF and to the bottle bag each week (see the enclosed procedural update entitled New FORF and Sample Bottle Bag Bar Code Labels for use Starting January 2005). A copy of the new NTN FORF for use beginning January 2005, is attached for your reference.    Contact Scott (1-800-952-7353) or email ntn@sws.uiuc.edu if you have any questions or concerns. Your continuing cooperation and dedication keeps this first-rate network strong and ready to meet the needs of the research community.
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/cal/	E-mail: cal@sws.uiuc.edu
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12/04