Development of an acoustic current meter: Lessons taught by clients and colleagues

In development of the Modular Acoustic Velocity Sensor [1, 2], MAVS, from a research instrumentation project under an NSF grant to a commercial product, I have been taught lessons by clients and colleagues that have led to changes in the product and improved the instrument made and marketed by Nobska Development, Inc. The lessons and their resulting improvements can be grouped by application and by clients who have been willing to share their successes and their difficulties. These applications range from hydrothermal vents to a coral reef, from breaking wave measurements to a very quiet lake, from near-surface wave measurements under a pier to cable connected observatory measurements, and from moored measurements to a profiler tethered to a drifting buoy.