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7.2 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair
7.21 General Maintenance
The EcoMapper requires relatively little maintenance. Most maintenance will be preventative inspections conducted
to avoid incidents. However, any repairs not listed in the ‘Repair’ section should not be attempted. The following list is
a suggested overview of the vehicle. Prior to each deployment, or after a vehicle “incident” (collision, drop, etc.), you
should perform this basic visual inspection.
Visually inspect:
• The nose cone
• All vehicle sensors
• The vehicle hull
• Balance weights
• Antenna (including all lights and screws)
• The tail section (including all screws and zinc plates)
• All control planes (check for bent shafts or cracks that may indicate a collision. Replace cracked fins.)
• Propeller and propeller guard
7.22 Swap the Nose Cone
When the EcoMapper is not in use, the sensor array on the front of the vehicle should remain in a water-saturated air
environment provided by the clear screw-on cup. However, when the vehicle is in use, the black nose guard should be
attached to protect the sensors and optimize flow past the probe. To attach, twist the cup/cone clockwise. To remove,
twist the cup/cone counter-clockwise.
Out-of-Water:
Fill the clear transport cup with approximately 1 cm of water (just enough to keep the air saturated.
Screw the cup onto the nose until snug. Be sure not to cross-thread; the cup should attach easily to the vehicle.
In-Water:
Screw the black protective nose cone onto the vehicle until snug. Be sure not to cross-thread; the cup
should attach easily to the vehicle.
7.23 Zinc Plates
Two zinc plates are located on the bottom side of the tail section. These plates are used as anodes to protect the AUV
from corrosion. When more than 60% of the plates are gone or they no longer make tight contact with the body of the
AUV, you should replace them.
1. Unscrew the 6/32" flat-head screw from the plates.
2. Remove and inspect the plates. Replace if necessary.
3. Tighten the flat-head screw back into its original hole.
7.24 Buoyancy Trim Weights
YSI will balance the EcoMapper for the customer’s intended application (freshwater,
saltwater or brackish) prior to delivery. Spare weights will be provided with the unit should
you desire to change the application. The track weights on the bottom of the EcoMapper must be changed and the
vehicle balanced again before deployment in a new environment. Remove the screws that hold the plates on the and
move the weights to the desired locations. You may also add or remove weights by sliding one of the plates out of the
track
.
Refer to Section 4.34 for instruction on balancing the EcoMapper.
7.25 Storage
When the EcoMapper will not be in use for a long time period, it should be stored dry in its shipping crate.
7.2