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Operation Manual

FarSounder, Inc.

F31552 (Rev. 2.6.1)

Page 16 of 56

2. SonaSoft™ User Interface Computer
Requirements

2.1. Overview

The SonaSoft™ software package has significant hardware resource requirements. Performance may be
affected if SonaSoft™ is run on a platform that does not meet these requirements. It is recommended
that no other software applications are run during SonaSoft™ operation. As with any shipboard electronic
systems, it is highly recommended that both the user interface computer and the FarSounder Power Module
be powered through a UPS.

2.2. Minimum Requirements for FS-3DT,
FarSounder-500, and FarSounder-1000 systems

•

CPU: Intel i7 (six core)

•

RAM: 6 GB minimum

•

Video Card: nVidia GTS450

•

Video Card Resolution: 1280 x 1024 minimum

•

NIC: 1 Gb/s minimum

•

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Windows 7 Pro 64 bit (US Version)

•

Serial: RS-232 or NMEA interface port

•

Optical Drive: DVD-ROM required

•

Keyboard: yes (set up only)

•

Mouse/Trackball/HID: yes

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Summary of Contents for FarSounder-500

Page 1: ...right 2006 2012 FarSounder Inc FarSounder is committed to providing the best quality and performance possible with our products As part of this policy all information herein is subject to change as new and improved versions of our software and hardware are released FarSounder the FarSounder logo Power Module Transducer Module and SonaSoft are trademarks of FarSounder Inc Jeppesen Jeppesen Marine J...

Page 2: ...onnecting NMEA Devices 22 4 3 System Settings Options 25 4 4 Chart Set Up 26 5 The 3D Sonar Display 27 5 1 Overview 27 5 2 3D Volumetric Standard View 27 5 3 Profile View 28 5 4 Forward Looking Alarm Use 29 5 5 Menu Bar Controls 30 5 6 Mouse Controls 31 5 7 3D Sonar Processing Options 31 5 8 Control Settings Examples 33 6 Chart Display 38 6 1 Overview 38 6 2 Chart Overlay Explained 38 6 3 Menu Bar...

Page 3: ...eration Manual FarSounder Inc F31552 Rev 2 6 1 Page 3 of 56 2 Every 3 Months 53 3 Every 6 Months 53 D Troubleshooting 54 1 Overview 54 2 Power Module LED Descriptions 54 3 Power Module LED Diagnostics 54 ...

Page 4: ... 1 Transducer Module The most obvious component in your sonar system is the Transducer Module Though different models are supplied with the FarSounder 500 and FarSounder 1000 the installation concepts discussed here are the same for all Transducer Modules Figure 1 FarSounder 500 Transducer Module Figure 2 FarSounder 1000 Transducer Module The Transducer Module should be installed as far forward an...

Page 5: ...can be connected dry or underwater Before connecting a small amount of silicon O ring lubricant should be put around the black rubber portion of the pins on the Transducer Module s mating connector If connecting underwater lubricant may not be necessary Warning Do not get the lubricant on the metal conductor pins The wet end connector should not be left unconnected while wet or underwater for exte...

Page 6: ...ve connector cap from cable 4 Connect the Transducer Module Connection Cable to Transducer Module Be sure that the connector is fully connected The black rubber on the cable and the Transducer Module connectors should be flush with each other 5 Hand tighten the red connector locking collar on the cable and Transducer Module Figure 5 Connect cable and locking ring 6 Connect the Transducer Module in...

Page 7: ... and the side of the urethane array face This allows the zincs to be inspected and replaced by diver without removing the Transducer Module Important If painting the Transducer Module be certain NOT to paint the urethane array face Also be certain that the paint used will not dissolve destroy or otherwise harm the urethane since it is likely that some paint will touch the edge of the urethane arra...

Page 8: ...et is used to connect AC mains power to the Power Module The recptical includes a replaceable fuse line filter and a master power switch It is recommended that an Uninterpretable Power Supply UPS be used to power the Power Module Important If the Power Module is located in a location that is not easy to access it is recommended that a dedicated circuit with circuit breaker in the main bridge circu...

Page 9: ...eriod of time after the unit is powered down Installation The Power Module can be installed in any dry location within 100 feet of the Transducer Module There are no user interface components on the Power Module other than a power switch This means that even though it has blinking lights it does not need to be located in a convenient to access location Warning Make sure the Power Module is switche...

Page 10: ...urethane jacket and braided shield should be removed about 7 5 19 cm from the end of the cable This will expose the bundled wires Be sure not to damage the internal conductors The Cat 5 cable to the bridge should be prepared for a standard Ethernet connection Note that all of the conductors from the Transducer Module Connection Cable will fit through the gland even with the BNC and RJ 45 connector...

Page 11: ...Termination Tools Terminating the Individual Conductors The six individual conductors are connected to the Power Module using standard terminal strips No connectors are required Mating the Connections Connect the BNC and RJ 45 to their respective receptacles on the Power Module s circuit board Follow the labels on the pcb to ensure that each RJ 45 is connected to the correct receptacle Connect the...

Page 12: ...ing grease to the black portion of the pins on the Transducer Module The wet end connector is approximately 2 4 inches 6 cm in diameter Warning This connector can be mated and un mated underwater as long as the Power Module is switched off If this connector is to be left un mated in a wet environment or underwater it is necessary to protect it using the supplied Connection Cable End Cap Figure 11 ...

Page 13: ... system electronics in the Transducer Module In these sonars the Transducer Module operates at 192 168 95 6 and the computer subnet must be configured appropriately All computers running SonaSoft should be configured with the following network values Subnet Mask 255 255 255 0 IP Address 192 168 0 xxx where xxx is an unused unreserved IP DHCP services may be used Gateway 192 168 0 1 DNS not needed ...

Page 14: ...he host computer has multiple COM ports the software can be configured to listen on multiple ports to multiple sensors Additionally a standard NMEA multiplexer can be used to connect multiple sensors to a single COM port Computers supplied by FarSounder come with two RS 232 ports standard Additional ports can be added via PCIe adapter cards or USB to RS232 connectors Additionally most vessels will...

Page 15: ...c states These are used for FarSounder testing purposes only and have no user application The state of these LED s may change from time to time depending upon the particular mode setting of the sonar system After cold booting the Ctrl A and Ctrl B LEDs will blink alternating AA BB AA BB the hardware is in standby mode waiting for a SonaSoft connection and able to accept firmware updates The first ...

Page 16: ...g SonaSoft operation As with any shipboard electronic systems it is highly recommended that both the user interface computer and the FarSounder Power Module be powered through a UPS 2 2 Minimum Requirements for FS 3DT FarSounder 500 and FarSounder 1000 systems CPU Intel i7 six core RAM 6 GB minimum Video Card nVidia GTS450 Video Card Resolution 1280 x 1024 minimum NIC 1 Gb s minimum Operating Syst...

Page 17: ...re much smaller The user can interact with the workspace through the following actions Managing the Sidebar Workspace Resizing the Sidebar Using the Application Buttons 3 2 Managing the Sidebar Workspace Windows in the sidebar workspace have a vertical window resizer bar along their bottom edge They also have a left arrow button which when pressed will cause the selected side bar window to swap pl...

Page 18: ...y to resize the window is the sizer bar along the bottom border To resize a sidebar window click on the resizer bar and drag with the mouse while holding down the left mouse button Swapping Sidebar and Main Workspace Displays The Swap with Main Workspace Button moves a display from the sidebar workspace and places it in the main workspace It is located on the dropdown toolbar The view previously d...

Page 19: ...ed in the individual component help descriptions Figure 14 The System Menu System Status The System Status display window displays real time status information produced by various components of SonaSoft Some components include a status indicator icon This icon is a circle colored either Green Yellow or Red Green indicates all systems are functioning properly Yellow indicates there is a system warn...

Page 20: ... and is awaiting data from the sensor It also indicates the sonar s current roll and pitch orientation relative to the earth in degrees This indicator may display a yellow or red status if there are problem connecting to the Transducer Module The Hydrophone Data display is somewhat different It is a graphical display of hydrophone data This display is very useful for debugging purposes and to conf...

Page 21: ...Themes The color themes button is shaped like three vertical rectangles Clicking this button opens a simple menu which lists the available color themes Each theme is a set of colors that facilitates the use of the software in various lighting conditions Currently the software supports Day Dusk Night and Red color themes A theme may be selected by clicking on a theme from the list ...

Page 22: ...isplaying vessel position displaying echo sounder information The SonaSoft software has been designed to accept information from external sensors via standard NMEA 0183 sentences SonaSoft connects to these NMEA sensors via the host computer s COM ports SonaSoft can listen to and process the following sentences RMC VHW VTG HDG HDT DBT DPT In most cases the host computer s COM ports will be basic se...

Page 23: ...vailable COM ports will be listed in the COM port list NMEA Message Selection At the bottom of this window there are four rows of drop down selectors where the NMEA messages to be used for Depth Heading Position and Speed can be selected The Heading and Speed selections also have a second drop down selector for configuring options specific to certain messages SonaSoft will only listen to the messa...

Page 24: ...Operation Manual FarSounder Inc F31552 Rev 2 6 1 Page 24 of 56 ...

Page 25: ...rds meters kilometers miles statute miles nautical cables Set Vessel Draft The value entered here is used for all calculations within SonaSoft which require knowing the draft of the vessel For large vessels that frequently load and discharge cargo or fuel this value may need to be updated frequently Smaller vessels may never need to update this value Note To ensure that all displayed depths are co...

Page 26: ...h the display is automatically part of SonaSoft chart databases and eToken drivers must be installed on each computer where chart data will be used The easiest way to do this is to run the SonaSoft installer and select the Run C Map Installer Wizard when prompted This wizard will install the eToken driver and launch Jeppensen Marine s C Map Chart Manager The C Map Chart Manager is used to load and...

Page 27: ...ross multiple pings but is not detected on a subsequent ping the target is shown on the screen at the predicted location based on previous track locations and vessel movements as a translucent in water target The user can select between various display modes such as the 3D volumetric display which allows the user to rotate the 3D image with real time perspective and the standard display which show...

Page 28: ...a 2D depth profile ahead of the vessel is shown in the Profile View The number at the end of the profile selector denotes the bearing of the profile selector relative to the vessel s bow or the actual compass heading This option is configured in the 3D sonar view s configuration options The depth profile slice specified with the Profile Selector is shown in the Profile View 5 3 Profile View The Pr...

Page 29: ...nfigured under the System Menu s 3D Sonar Display option When configuring the alarm the user can define the volume of water within which targets will trigger the alarm The trigger area is defined to be the volume of water bounded by 4 thresholds Max Depth Min Range Max Range and Field of View FOV angle Figure 21 Alarm configuration settings The FOV setting specifies the sector width of the alarm t...

Page 30: ... of the 3D Sonar Display window Once active the alarm conditions will take effect The alarm will ONLY be triggered if the button is set to active When active the alarm button is depressed Figure 22 Alarm acknowledge button Should the alarm be triggered a warning will sound the 3D Sonar Display window will blink blue and an alarm acknowledge message box will appear in the lower left corner of the s...

Page 31: ... volume Mouse Drag Right Button Up and Down In the 3D view this action will zoom in and out enlarging the data up and shrinking the data down This control is valid in both 3D Mode and Standard Mode In the Profile View this action changes the aspect ratio of the profile view Note The angular line extending downwards from the boat icon represents a 45 degree angle from horizontal Mouse Hover Over Co...

Page 32: ... feature is useful when operating in water depths beyond 160 feet approximately 50 meters deep If Detect Bottom is checked in deep water conditions the processing software may falsely interpret in water targets as the bottom and create some strange images Note If this check box is not checked and there is a bottom then that bottom may show up as a large number of targets provided the squelch is se...

Page 33: ...ctivity of the target the higher the SNR from the reflected signal Additionally a target at close range will have a higher SNR than the same target at far range Because of these two controlling metrics the system must filter out targets that have low signal levels at varying ranges These signals may be from targets that are too far away or physically too small to detect Larger more reflective targ...

Page 34: ...e piling used in control setting images is processed with various control settings This environment was used because of the simple sea floor and simple in water target environment NOTE Once the sonar s settings are set appropriately it will generally not be necessary to frequently change the settings unless the water environment changes drastically NOTE In very soft silty bottom environments the b...

Page 35: ...nerated from a single ping of a deep water bridge piling The piling is clearly detected ahead of the vessel at about 165 meters 545 feet range In this image color is mapped to depth and appropriate control settings have been used The control settings used to generate this image are shown at the top of the screen shot In this image the Squelch is set to 170 dB Let us now discuss how it was determin...

Page 36: ...isely to where the piling was visually sighted All of the other in water targets are most likely noise blips caused by poor settings Certainly there may be other legitimate in water targets that are in the water column and not visible to the eye above the water However they would likely be much louder than the sea floor and nearer to the signal level of the piling Proper adjustment of the Squelch ...

Page 37: ...the In Water Squelch is still too low Notice that many of the in water targets are very close in signal strength to the sea floor and that they appear to be truncated by the surface of the sea floor itself These two characteristics are indications of noise blips rather than less reflective legitimate targets The original image generated in Figure 25 A sea floor and a single piling target with good...

Page 38: ...e chart and showing Lat Long coordinates of the cursor position Figure 28 SonaSoft Chart Display shows a sample screen shot The various features and controls are explained in the following subsections Figure 28 SonaSoft Chart Display 6 2 Chart Overlay Explained In water targets detected by the sonar are display as an overlay on top of the nautical chart This overlay capability increases user compr...

Page 39: ...the newly zoomed view If auto center is not checked then the zooming will be centered on the position of the cursor 6 4 Mouse Controls Left Button Mouse Click Clicking the left mouse button will pan the chart image by centering the chart on the mouse position Right Button Mouse Drag Dragging the mouse with the right mouse button down will draw an orange range line from the initial mouse position w...

Page 40: ...ious locations and a line is drawn between consequitive points that are close together The number of most recent locations noted is defined by the Track History Length setting A setting of 0 removes all history markings from the chart Show Lat Long and Scale If this option is selected the latitude and longitude at the cursor s position as well as the chart s scale is shown in the lower left hand c...

Page 41: ...ses have been purchased for this database use the Licenses tab in the Chart Manager to unlock the purchased areas Please refer to documentation from Jeppesen for more information about using C Map licenses 6 6 Requirements In order to take advantage of SonaSoft s chart display the following must be configured on each computer where the Chart Display will be used C Map chart database must be instal...

Page 42: ...lay Please see the section called NMEA Message Selection for more details 7 2 Configuration Manager Options In order for this component to work properly NMEA compatible depth heading GPS and speed sensors must be connected to the SonaSoft User Interface computer These sensors include echo sounder GPS gyro compass Doppler speed log paddle wheel transducer etc More information on NMEA connections ca...

Page 43: ... either sensor heading course values magnetic heading course values or true heading course values When available the user can select the values they prefer For vessel position the user can select from the following NMEA messages GGA Global Positioning System Fix Data GLL Geographic Latitude and Longitude RMC Recommended minimum Specific GNSS data For vessel speed the user can select from the follo...

Page 44: ...under When this feature is activated a zip file will be saved to the desktop containing raw sonar data for the last few pings SonaSoft log files and all registry settings used by SonaSoft The zip file can be sent to FarSounder for evaluation The contents will allow FarSounder engineers to see exactly what was seen on the vessel It will also allow them to reprocess the raw sonar data with alternate...

Page 45: ...experienced when the echosounders on large commercial ships are close to the user s vessel and when the FarSounder is pointed towards the other ship Such interference appears on the FarSounder display as a ring of echoes all at the same range as shown in Figure A 1 Echo sounder interference Usually they appear as in water targets but sometimes they can also appear as a raised mound or sharp dip in...

Page 46: ...heir sonars will not cause any harm to any marine life The duty cycles and transmit powers are significantly lower than those of other marine acoustic systems that are commonly accepted throughout the world In fact FarSounder s products have been reviewed by scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service and been found to have no negative impact on the marine environment 1 1 NOAA s Ocean Acou...

Page 47: ... cloud the more energy from the sonar is disrupted Bubbles are produced by a variety of things such as waves vessel wakes and turbulent current flows around stationary objects like pilings and buoys Each of these types of bubbles clouds will effect FarSounder sonars differently Waves produce bubbles by forcing pockets of air down into the water column as the waves splash and break The bigger the w...

Page 48: ...rectly at the transducer When inside a wake the Hydrophone Data viewer inside the System Status Display will show a short period of strong energy followed by a period of almost no energy Figure A 4 Wake interference shows an example of the sonar inside a wake The short strong energy seen is the transmit signal as it passes through the transducer before the bubbles block the signal Once the sonar p...

Page 49: ...arSounder 1000 sonars are designed for use at vessel speeds up to 20 and 25 knots respectively This rating is based upon an ideal installation where vessel induced mechanical vibration noise is not present Some vessels have significant mechanical vibration or create turbulence in front of the Transducer Module In these cases system performance may degrade a speeds less than the stated maximums Goi...

Page 50: ...es Water Depth Performance is the ratio between the depth of water below the transducer and the range at which the sea bottom can be mapped As an example if a 2 water depth sonar system is operating in 50 feet of water that system can generate bottom maps only out to 100 feet Water Depth Performance is limited by various physical effects and the bottom mapping range of a sonar is primarily a funct...

Page 51: ...the water depth limit at which a particular sonar can produce bottom maps ahead of the vessel As range increases the angle at which the incoming sound wave hits the sea floor becomes shallower At some angle not enough energy is reflected back to the receiver to allow for sea bottom detection and mapping The FarSounder 500 and FarSounder 1000 products are specified as 8 water depth sonars This mean...

Page 52: ... tell the exact depth of that obstacle but it can be clearly detected as an in water target Figure B 5 Reflecting off an in water target beyond bottom mapping range The ability to detect obstacles beyond a sonar s water depth limit is extremely important Vessel operators can detect the edge of rock ledges shore lines submerged coral reefs and other navigation hazards This is helpful even in charte...

Page 53: ...he received echoes If fouling is present it can be scraped off with a simple paint scraper or the handle of a wooden paintbrush When cleaning the Transducer Module s array face it is important that the urethane is not damaged Inspect the Transducer Module for corrosion A properly installed Transducer Module will be connected electrically to the vessel s ground and local zincs In these cases there ...

Page 54: ...r Module has power Bank 1 Indicates that one of the two large amplifier capacitors is charged Bank 2 Indicates that the other of the two large amplifier capacitors is charged Ping Indicates that the transmit amplifier is generating an output ping CTRL A and CTRL B Indicate states of the Output Select lines coming from the Transducer Module TX ON OFF Indicates if the amplifier circuit for the sonar...

Page 55: ...y for a SonaSoft connection or a firmware update Flashing A B A B After powering on the Power Module while waiting for a connection to SonaSoft The Transducer Module is ready for a SonaSoft connection Flashing Simultaneously 4 times While communicating with SonaSoft Possible data collection error If this condition continues restart Power Module Flashing PING While the Power Module is powered on Th...

Page 56: ...Operation Manual FarSounder Inc F31552 Rev 2 6 1 Page 56 of 56 ...

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