STRATABOX
™
Operations and Maintenance Manual
INTRODUCTION 1-1
©
2006 SyQwest Incorporated
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 General
Information
The StrataBox™ is a portable, low power, high-resolution, and water-resistant marine sediment imaging
instrument capable of delivering 6 cm of marine sediment strata resolution with bottom penetration of up
to 40 meters. It is designed exclusively for inshore and coastal geophysical marine survey up to 150
meters of water depth and operates at 10 kHz. Included with the StrataBox™ product is the following:
•
StrataBox™ Sensor Unit
•
StrataBox™ Transducer Assembly
•
StrataBox™ Installation CD
•
StrataBox™ Manual
StrataBox™ Sensor Unit provides all of the transmit/receive electronics, and all of the signal processing
functions. It is powered from a 10-30VDC source and consumes 8 watts of power. It interfaces to the
Host PC via a single COM port. The mechanical case for the Electronics Unit is Water Resistant to the
EN60529 IP65 Specification and is also UV Stable and Chemical Resistant.
The StrataBox™ Transducer Assembly is a Line-in-Cone type transducer with an anodized aluminum
ring attached. The ring provides a means to affix the transducer to the appropriate mounting hardware.
The transducer itself provides 300 Watts of Low Frequency energy for bottom penetration of up to 40
meters (sediment dependent). It is lightweight and well suited for portable applications.
The StrataBox™ Installation CD will install the PC software used to configure, control, and acquire data
from the StrataBox Sensor device. It will also include this manual in PDF format and any Release Notes
that have been generated.
A hardcopy of the StrataBox™ Manual is also included so that the user may learn to install, operate, and
maintain the StrataBox™ Equipment and Accessories. The manual also includes a section on acoustic
theory.
The StrataBox PC software was designed for use with the Windows 98 operating system, but should
operate under Windows 95/ME/NT/2000/XP also. We recommend the software be used on a PC with a
processor speed of at least 266 MHz. The software requires at least 1 available Serial Port for connection
to the StrataBox instrument, and optionally, additional Serial Ports for NMEA Navigation/GPS Input,
NMEA Depth Out, and External Annotation. The software features Navigation Input, External
Annotation, Data Storage, Zoom Modes, Thermal Printer output, Automatic/Manual Eventing, and more.
The StrataBox software interface is divided into two fields. The
Controls
field is located on the left and
contains navigation/depth information, configuration buttons, and system status. The
Data
field is
located on the right and contains the actual acoustic echo data.
1.2
About This Manual
This manual contains important information regarding acoustic theory, installation, operation and
maintenance of your new equipment. The user should take sufficient time to read the entire manual and
to understand the full functionality of the StrataBox Sensor and PC Software.
The manual is organized into four chapters:
1) An introduction (this section), which provides a system overview and basic outline of echosounding
acoustics.
