User Manual for AML Oceanographic Base
X
10
•
Plug the data/power cable into the instrument. If you power the instrument externally over
a long cable, please note the following:
o
Voltage drop due to cable resistance increases with cable length. The voltage drop
on a standard AML cable, with a standard
Minos•X
, is about 2 volts per 100m of
cable while sampling and 0 volts per 100m when in low power mode.
o
The instrument’s
low voltage warning triggers at 6.9 volts.
o
The instrument’s auto shutdown
triggers when supplied with 6.5 volts or less.
o
The instrument’s maximum voltage is 26
volts.
o
The voltage at the instrument, while sampling, must be above the shutdown level
for the instrument to operate.
•
With the instrument in air, use the
ZERO
command to zero the barometric pressure offset
(P•Xchange™ only).
•
Securely attach the lowering cable to the instrument shackle bar.
•
Lower the instrument until the sensors are fully submerged; the LED should start to flash
green. Keep the instrument at this depth for 2 minutes prior to beginning the cast. This allows
the sensors time to wet, and the pressure case to shed heat.
•
Begin monitoring data using SeaCast or HyperTerminal.
•
Send the instrument down to the desired depth and return it to the surface.
•
Note that with Base
•X
in the typical vertical orientation, the downcast is usually more
accurate than the upcast data since the downcast measurements are not contaminated by
the thermal shedding from the pressure case.
Post-Deployment Procedures
•
When the instrument is pulled from the water it should be rinsed in fresh water.
•
Dry the area around the connectors with a clean cloth or compressed air prior to
disconnecting the plugs or cables.
Do not blow compressed air into the
Pressure•Xchange™
sensor. Doing so may damage the sensitive pressure transducer diaphragm.
•
Remove the shorting plug or cable. Place dummy plug in the connector to protect it.
•
Dry the instrument and stow it securely.
Viewing your Data
You may download and view data directly through the terminal, or automatically using SeaCast. The
SeaCast manual has more information. Alternately, use the following instructions to access the data
manually.
•
Connect the instrument to the computer using the data/power cable.
•
With the terminal, use the
DIR
command to list all the files on memory, then the
DUMP
command to retrieve the file of interest. For example:
Base.X Version 4.09 SN:2501
AML Oceanographic Ltd.
968.5 MBytes installed
>
dir
test .raw 5598 02/24/10 14:41:55.00
data .txt 3987 02/24/10 14:45:08.00
960 MBytes free
7 MBytes Used
