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Desert Star Acoustic Release Control System, Manual

The Desert Star Acoustic Release Control System user manual is available for free download on our website. This comprehensive manual provides step-by-step instructions on how to properly operate and maintain your system. Visit manualshive.com to access the manual and get the most out of your Desert Star product.

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particular ARC unit will cause the ARC unit not to respond to the STM surface station effectively, leaving an operator unable 

to command and control the ARC unit. 

YOU HAVE TO KNOW EXACT SERIAL NUMBER OF THE DEPLOYED UNDERWATER ARC 
UNIT IN ORDER TO COMMUNICATE WITH IT. 

One you have entered the Serial Number, your comments, and clicked the “ok” button, the STM 
surface station will initiate a communication link with the ARC unit. You should monitor the status 
LED blinking pattern of the ARC unit to confirm that the communication is the progress 
(Double-blinks indicate successful communications). Meanwhile the software will present a new 
window titled “Communication Connection Test Dialog”. In this window the operator will be able to 
monitor the progress of a communication between ARC unit and the STM surface station. The 
“Connection Status” field will go through a various stages. 

 

Summary of Contents for Acoustic Release Control System

Page 1: ... submerged ARC unit holding the payload in place under the body of water and the Surface Transponder Module or as commonly referred in this manual the STM Surface station functioning as a remote control The two way communication between the ARC unit and the STM Surface station when deployed to the sea floor with the payload is accomplish via acoustic sonar signals The submerged ARC station is desi...

Page 2: ...PICTURE A ship at the surface with a single STM unit and a multiple ARC stations submerged under the vessel 1 How the ARC station releases from the anchor The ARC station placed at the sea floor uses a unique release mechanism designed exclusively by Desert Star Systems Once the command is sent to the ARC station from the surface the release is accomplished by melting an easily replaceable nickel ...

Page 3: ......

Page 4: ...Please make sure that you are familiar with a basic principle of the release mechanism and the nickel chromium wire replacement procedure so that ARC station can be redeployed after it has surfaced ...

Page 5: ...r to replace the nickel chromium wire you will need the following set of tools and components 1 Nickel Chromium wire also referred in this manual as release wire 1 Type Nickel Chromium Alloy 60 nickel 16 chromium 24 iron 2 Length 2 in needed for a single deployment 3 Gauge 26 AWG 4 Manufacturer McMaster Carr Part 8880K24 1 4 lb spool 5 Desert Star Systems Part WIR00332 2 Torque wrench with 5 64 Al...

Page 6: ...in order to prevent a dissimilar metal corrosion and a subsequent disconnect of the loop s ends During the loop s manufacturing please ensure proper crimp placement over the cable ends Pay close attention to the amount of force used to secure the crimp Please make sure to use a proper crimping tools so that the loops ends are secured and the loop wire is capable of withholding the adequate amount ...

Page 7: ...ides Make sure to inspect the holes in the posts The holes must be clear so that new nickel chromium cable can be threaded through the sides of the posts STEP 2 Move the lever arm in to open position so that the path for the anchor wire cable loop is clear Place the wire cable anchor loop in the the designated path within the release mechanism assembly Anchor weight attaches to this wire cable loo...

Page 8: ...ection the lever should be moved STEP 3 Once the anchor wire cable is loaded in to the release assembly move the lever arm in to a closed position locking the anchor wire cable When lever arm is placed in to closed position correctly the end section of the lever arm will be right between two posts ...

Page 9: ...e release assembly STEP 4 Insert the nickel chromium wire from the outside of the post and through the hole in the post so that the nickel chromium wire passes across the lever arm and out through the hole of the second post When a nickel chromium cable is threaded correctly the end section of the lever arm will be trapped by the nickel chromium cable between two posts ...

Page 10: ...at the flat part of the posts If posts do move only slightly out of the alignment it is not a concern because each post sealed within the body of ARC unit by a rubber O ring Excessive turning or twisting the posts may cause a disconnect from the internal electronic components of ARC unit and should be avoided STEP 6 Cut the excess of nickel chromium wire leaving about 1 8 on the side of the each p...

Page 11: ...es of an ARC Station You have two options powering your Acoustic Release Control ARC station Please note that your ARC units will come pre loaded with a standard alkaline battery configuration STANDARD OPTION With the maximum total life time of 130 days consists of eight 8 1 5 volt AA size batteries installed in two packs of four 4 Total number of batteries eight 8 ...

Page 12: ...consist of four 4 1 5 volt AA size batteries installed in one pack and the second pack of single Lithium D Cell battery Total number of batteries five 5 Four 4 alkaline batteries Type Alkaline Size AA Brand Duracell Model MN 1500 Volts 1 5 volt Amps 2 5 Ah One 1 Lithium D Cell battery Type Lithium Size D cell Brand Tadiran Model TL 5930 F Volts 3 6 volt Amps 18 5 Ah In this battery configuration t...

Page 13: ... 9 hazardous material and must be transported accordingly The improper handling and shipping such materials is a subject of significant fines as mentioned in above regulations Please take all necessary precautions to comply with your local state and federal regulations when considering purchase of Lithium batteries 3 1 Other Battery Configurations If your specific application of the ARC station re...

Page 14: ...sonar transducer end cap out of the main ARC body slightly twisting it back and forth while pulling away at the same time Take care to prevent a jerking motion when the sonar transducer end cap separates from the main body of the ARC station so that the cable connecting the sonar transducer end cap to the internal electronics does not get damaged STEP 3 ...

Page 15: ...ery pack to the electronic compartment of the ARC station Each battery pack power cable has a plastic female male type of connector Use this connector to disconnect the battery pack from the power cable leading to ARC unit internal electronic components STEP 5 Install batteries in to the battery pack holster making sure to insert each battery according to corresponding and polarity When inserting ...

Page 16: ...the opposite side marked with the arrow and the positive sign STEP 5 1 If you are using the Lithium battery follow the instructions in Step 5 for the first battery pack The Lithium battery connects directly to the power cable instead of the second battery pack loaded with AA type of batteries Remove the second battery pack completely and store in a safe place for future use ...

Page 17: ... to the condition of the rubber O ring stretched around the inner edge of the sonar transducer end cap If you notice any debris or cracks in the structure of the rubber O ring pull it from its groove Remove all the dirt and debris from the groove before re installing the rubber O ring Please take special care handling the rubber O ring because it is relatively fragile and can be damaged by sharp m...

Page 18: ...nug fit Do not over tighten the screws Acoustic Release System Manual Part 2 4 Battery Life Expectancy As discussed earlier there is two options for powering an ARC unit Option 1 Alkaline batteries only will provide at least 130 days or 4 months Option 2 Alkaline plus Lithium batteries will provide at least 520 days or 17 months This is the timeframe between the initial ARC deployment and the firs...

Page 19: ...nd cap secured the ARC unit is now set and ready to communicate with the Surface Transponder Module STM The following section of this manual will guide you through the STM surface station functions and operations 5 Surface Transponder Module STM The Surface Transponder Module STM Model Number STM 3 facilitates a relay converter function between a software running on the PC and the submerged ARC un...

Page 20: ...l rechargeable battery for mobile operations when an external power source is not available The power supplied to the STM surface station via power cable with a standard IEC 60320 C13 coupler External power charges the internal battery as well as providing a main power for the continues operation ...

Page 21: ... in a log file along with the unique Serial Number of the deployed ARC unit The communication with the optional GPS unit is done via USB interface For more information on the GPS unit please see the GPS unit section The power switch controls the power distribution of the STM surface station The neutral middle position of the switch is an OFF position When the switch is flipped up this is ON positi...

Page 22: ...TM surface station The STM surface station equipped with three sockets for connection of a sonar transducer s When only one sonar transducer is used make sure to connect it to the socket marked Sonar 1 The STM surface station is equipped with the three sonar transducer sockets because the STM 3 is a component in other systems designed by Desert Star Systems LLC For more information regarding these...

Page 23: ...a sonar transducer s The most common and simple application is an over the side sonar transducer connected to the STM surface station by the 50 ft cable additional cable length options available upon request When connecting the sonar transducer to the STM surface station make sure to insert the plug firmly in to the socket on the front panel and rotate the ring around the plug to secure it in the ...

Page 24: ...irectly down To accomplish this attach the weight on the opposite side of the communication cable on the cage surrounding the sonar transducer When deploying the sonar transducer overboard please take into consideration the depth of the thermocline applicable to a large body of water To improve the range and the clarity of the sonar signal consider lowering your sonar transducer beyond two meters ...

Page 25: ......

Page 26: ... transducer PICTURE A vessel with a through hull transducer mounted on the bottom and the 90 degree range transducer able to hear from A Through hull transducer is the type of the transducer that is mounted on the bottom of the vessel with the directional 90 degrees beam shaped in a cone pattern Through hull transducers are mounted through a hole drilled in the bottom of the boat and protrude dire...

Page 27: ... as well as connect the GPS unit to STM surface station Make sure to keep GPS unit energized and connected to the STM surface station during the deployment of the ARC unit s in order to retain GPS coordinates of the deployment site 6 Software Overview Acoustic Release Control Software v1 0 The remote control of the ARC unit s is done via Desert Star Systems software Acoustic Release Control is ins...

Page 28: ...ert Star Systems customer PCs who buy the ARC system is fish without the quotes Please contact Desert Star Systems customer support if this is not the default password The STM surface station is designed to communicate with the PC via USB cable Please follow these steps to connect the STM surface station with the PC already running STEP 1 Before making any connections please make sure that the pow...

Page 29: ...he STM unit STEP 3 Insert the other end of the USB cable with the USB Type A connector in to one of the USB ports of the PC The Windows 8 Operating System will detect USB device connected Please allow Windows to finish its USB mapping procedure before continuing ...

Page 30: ...Desert Star Systems STEP 4 Move the Power Switch into an ON position on the front panel of STM surface station Pay attention to the blink pattern of the status LED located directly below the power switch The STM surface station will go through an internal start up cycle During the start up the LED will flash different patterns Once the STM surface station is operational and ready to communicate wi...

Page 31: ...presented with a main window Please direct your attention to the bottom right corner of the window Look for a field titled Current Status The Current Status field stating Surface Station Link Established is an indication that your STM surface station is communicating with the PC via USB cable and the Acoustic Release Control software correctly STM surface station is now operational and ready for t...

Page 32: ...interface a correct COM port needs to be assigned to a USB device PICTURE Please navigate to Control Panel of your Windows Operating System Under Control Panel items locate Device Manager Double click the Device Manager Once you are presented with the Device Manager Window and the list of the devices please look thought the list and click on the item Ports COM LPT ...

Page 33: ... Control Panel Device Manager Ports COM LPT ...

Page 34: ...string The number you are looking for is a COM number listed in parenthesis This is the COM port number your STM surface station is connected to This parameter must be set in Acoustic Release Control software Please run the Acoustic Release Control software You may be presented with an error message Unable to Open Surface Station Communications on COM Port 1 click OK ...

Page 35: ......

Page 36: ... click on Options In the drop down menu navigate to the Surface Station COM Port item By doing so you will be presented with a list of Com Ports Recall the Com Port number you discovered earlier in Device Manager and select the Com Port number corresponding to the Com Port assigned to SeaLINK 232 USB to RS 232 Converter COM X in Windows Device Manager ...

Page 37: ... resolve the communication error message upon start up of the Acoustic Release Control software To verify close the Acoustic Release Control software and re open it again The error message will no longer appear ...

Page 38: ...ablished The Current Status field stating Surface Station Link Established is an indication that your STM surface station is communicating with the PC via USB cable and the Acoustic Release Control software correctly STM surface station is now operational and ready for ARC unit s deployment sequence Move on to the next section 8 Preparing for the First Deployment Before the first actual deployment...

Page 39: ...the Acoustic Release Control software is already running During the testing procedure monitor the status LED of the ARC unit The status LED is located inside the body of the ARC station and can be visualized in a dimmed environment shade or a dark room The location of the LED in ARC unit Status LED Pattern Description LED is off ARC unit is in sleep mode passively listening for the sonar commands ...

Page 40: ...ur ARC unit with your own identifying markers and numbering system before deployment A common method is to use a simple wood burning kit to lightly burn your identifying marks or serial number into the delrin housing of the ARC unit STEP 3 Place the ARC unit into a plastic bucket filled with water so that the acoustic sonar transducer of the ARC unit is fully submerged Place the sonar transducer c...

Page 41: ...ield will corrupt formatting of the log file Log file can be later exported for automated processing and it is critical to avoid using a comma symbol because the log file is written in a comma separated values format csv Verify that the information is entered correctly and click the OK button Make sure you are entering the correct Serial Number of the ARC unit Every ARC unit has a unique Serial Nu...

Page 42: ... ok button the STM surface station will initiate a communication link with the ARC unit You should monitor the status LED blinking pattern of the ARC unit to confirm that the communication is the progress Double blinks indicate successful communications Meanwhile the software will present a new window titled Communication Connection Test Dialog In this window the operator will be able to monitor t...

Page 43: ...Please wait while communication is in progress Upon successful completion of the communication test the Instruction field will inform you of a successful test with an ARC unit and its Serial Number ...

Page 44: ...STEP 6 Click Continue button The ARC unit will be added to the main window s list ...

Page 45: ... be aware of the GPS coordinate recorded along with the ARC unit you just tested Since this is a pre deployment test if you are NOT at the actual deployment site the GPS coordinates recorded are NOT valid and have to be corrected once you reach actual site of the deployment ...

Page 46: ...e lower right corner of the window You will have to evaluate the current battery status to decide if the battery powering ARC unit is charged to acceptable level The Current Status field will display two parameters reporting a condition of the battery of your ARC unit Please use the following criteria for the battery charge evaluation ...

Page 47: ... deploy the ARC unit This is an indication that the battery must be changed If you need to change the batteries please read the section of this manual guiding you on how to install change the batteries of an ARC unit Once the new batteries are installed repeat the communications test If the Battery Voltage reported at 5 00 Volts or more AND the Release voltage reported at 25 00 Volts or more this ...

Page 48: ...e open waters Conducting the noise test will help you to adjust the sensitivity of the STM surface station to optimize the quality of communication link Common sources of noise include natural biological noises snapping shrimp etc as well as running engines of vessels operating at your deployment site The noise test will show if the noise level is high enough to interfere with communications betwe...

Page 49: ...nsducer is pointed directly down it will be able to hear incoming sonar signal within a 270 degrees angle to be safe assume 180 degree angle Consider attaching a weight to the protective cage of the sonar transducer in order to maintain it in position pointing directly down To accomplish this attach a weight on the opposite side of the communication cable on the metal cage surrounding the sonar tr...

Page 50: ...ed on the scale as a red line crossing the signal bar at 120 db When you move the Threshold Level you are changing the sensitivity of the STM surface station Find the Threshold when the color of the signal is displayed as green transitioning into a yellow at the red line of a 120 db STEP 4 Once you found the optimal position of the slider let go of the Threshold Level slider and click on a End Tes...

Page 51: ...sider the following recommendations The recommended flotation type of device to be used with ARC unit and attached payload is a trawl or hard float We recommend to use floats similar to a Trawl Works float Model 411 The flotation device must be rated for a depth exceeding the deployment depth by significant safety margin The maximum depth of the ARC unit is a 300 meters and the flotation device sh...

Page 52: ...pounds the weight of the payload must be measured also in pounds If a buoyancy of a flotation device is rated in kilograms the weight of the payload also must be measured in kilograms Ideally the result should be around 10lbs to 20 lbs however 40lbs 18 Kilograms can be safely tolerated If the result exceeds this criteria reduce the flotation device s buoyancy When considering the physical shape of...

Page 53: ... anchor to the cable loop loaded into the release assembly of ARC unit as described earlier in this manual STEP 2 PICTURE Attach a cable or a rope with one end to the vessel and the other end to the anchor directly Make sure to attach the cable rope to the anchor itself and NOT the body of the ARC unit If an unintentional release occurs you will use this cable rope to retrieve the anchor back to t...

Page 54: ...he anchor Lower the equipment column overboard into the open water Control the rope or cable attached to the the anchor and begin carefully letting go of the cable rope allowing the anchor to descend down under the water STEP 6 While the anchor carefully controlled by you is descending down the release mechanism of the ARC unit begins to experience pressure created by total sum of the water displa...

Page 55: ... done and the ARC station can be deployed in its current configuration STEP 8 Slowly pull the anchor by the cable rope back to the vessel s deck Detach the safety cable rope you used to control the anchor s descent Detach the safety cable rope you used to secure the equipment column 10 3 Equipment Column Checklist The following criteria must be met before you can continue The ARC unit s have a set...

Page 56: ...is action will update the current GPS coordinated in the data record for this particular ARC unit The Acoustic Release Control software will retain the recorded GPS coordinates so that you can locate the precise deployment site when you wish to retrieve the ARC unit If the unit is not already on your list you may need to click the Deploy Station button in order to add the unit to the list If you d...

Page 57: ...procedure The ARC unit is now resting underwater 11 ARC Unit Retrieval Procedure When it is time to retrieve the payload you deployed underwater with the ARC unit follow these steps to release the ARC unit from its anchor STEP 1 Navigate to the GPS coordinates of the particular ARC unit you wish to retrieve Once you are at the location where the ARC unit was deployed place the STM surface station ...

Page 58: ...n to send a search and awake command to the underwater ARC unit Direct your attention to the Current Status field at the bottom right corner of the Acoustic Release Control software window The status field will display Activating Serial Number of the ARC unit Sending ID Packet 1 Once the ARC unit hears the sonar signal sent from the surface by the STM surface station it will exit the sleep mode sh...

Page 59: ... to interpret the signal and exited the sleep mode As a confirmation the ARC unit will respond back to the STM surface station with current diagnostic data This data will be displayed in the Current Status field and will replace the Station Activated message with current battery charge levels The Range field also will get updated and the distance from the STM surface station s transponder and the ...

Page 60: ...on window will be presented Please pay close attention to the message in the window It will display the Serial Number of the ARC unit you are about to release from its anchor Please double check if this is in fact the ARC unit you wish to release to the surface One you have confirmed the identity of the ARC unit you are about bring up to the surface go ahead and click the YES button to initiate th...

Page 61: ... window will disappear Now direct your attention to the Current Status field It will display Arming Station For Release Please Wait Shortly thereafter this messages will be updated with Station Armed Triggering Release ...

Page 62: ......

Page 63: ... field will finally display the message Station Release Command Acknowledged This means the ARC unit triggered its release mechanism and therefore should separate from the anchor and be on its way to the surface ...

Page 64: ...Monitor the Range field the range should be rapidly decreasing indicating that ARC unit separated from anchor successfully and raising to the surface ...

Page 65: ...using approx 21 5 long Buoyancy slightly negative Capable of supporting a payload of 40 pounds 2X safety factor Depth rating 1000 feet Powered by standard alkaline batteries Battery life 6 months 2X safety factor Housed in serviceable Delrin and Noryl plastic housing with stainless steel release hardware Transponder functions support ranging to the units Station firmware can be upgraded through do...

Page 66: ...se Wire The ARC 1 is specified for use with the following release wire only Material Nickel Chromium Alloy 60 nickel 16 chromium 24 iron Gauge 26 AWG Supplier McMaster Carr Part 8880K24 1 4 lb spool Desert Star Part WIR00332 O Ring Specifications End caps Parker 2 130 Compound E515 qty 2 Desert Star Part ORI00058 Support Posts Parker 2 010 Compound E515 qty 2 Desert Star Part ORI00053 Battery Spec...

Page 67: ...mA for microprocessor in sleep mode less than 0 05 mA for sonar release section in sleep mode Note 2 We recommend putting a safety margin in for the battery life A very conservative approach would be half of the expected life time of the battery You should also take the environment into consideration you have a better chance of draining the battery in a very noisy harbor then you would in an open ...

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