Professional Documents
Culture Documents
User Interface Software for the FS3, FS-3DT, and FS-3DL Sonar Systems F31552 (Revision 2.1.1)
FarSounder, Inc.
SonaSoft Manual: User Interface Software for the FS-3, FS-3DT, and FS-3DL Sonar Systems: F31552 (Revision 2.1.1)
FarSounder, Inc. Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 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. Maptech, the Maptech logo and Maptech ChartKit are trademarks of Maptech, Inc.
Table of Contents
1. SonaSoft User Interface Computer Requirements ............................................................... 1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 1 Minimum Requirements ............................................................................................... 1 2. The User Interface Workspace .......................................................................................... 2 Overview .................................................................................................................. 2 Managing the Sidebar Workspace .................................................................................. 2 Dragging the Sidebar .......................................................................................... 3 Resizing Sidebar Windows ................................................................................... 3 Swapping Sidebar and Main Workspace Displays ..................................................... 3 Using The Application Buttons ..................................................................................... 3 System Menu ..................................................................................................... 3 System Status .................................................................................................... 4 SonaSoft Help ................................................................................................ 6 Exit .................................................................................................................. 6 Color Themes .................................................................................................... 6 3. 3D Sonar Display ........................................................................................................... 7 Overview .................................................................................................................. 7 3D Volumetric/Standard View ...................................................................................... 8 Profile View .............................................................................................................. 8 Forward Looking Alarm Use ........................................................................................ 9 Alarm Configuration ........................................................................................... 9 Alarm Operation ............................................................................................... 10 Menu Bar Controls ................................................................................................... 11 Processor Settings ............................................................................................. 11 Standard/3D View ............................................................................................. 11 Activate Alarm ................................................................................................. 11 Color Map to Depth/Signal Level ........................................................................ 11 Mouse Controls ........................................................................................................ 12 Mouse Drag Left Button (Any Direction in 3D View) ............................................. 12 Mouse Drag Right Button (Up and Down) ............................................................ 12 Mouse Hover Over Color Scale (When Shown) ...................................................... 12 Mouse Hover Over Color Scale Extent Numbers .................................................... 12 3D Sonar Processing Options ...................................................................................... 12 Processing Mode Drop Down Selector .................................................................. 12 Detect Bottom Check Box .................................................................................. 13 Auto Squelch Check Box ................................................................................... 13 Bottom and In-water Squelch Controls ................................................................. 13 Control Settings Examples .......................................................................................... 14 4. Chart Display ............................................................................................................... 19 Overview ................................................................................................................. 19 Menu Bar Controls ................................................................................................... 19 Open .............................................................................................................. 19 Auto Center ..................................................................................................... 19 Zoom In .......................................................................................................... 20 Zoom Out ........................................................................................................ 20 Show Scale ...................................................................................................... 20 Mouse Controls ........................................................................................................ 20 Left Button Mouse Drag .................................................................................... 20 Right Button Mouse Drag .................................................................................. 20 Configuration Manager Options ................................................................................... 20 History Length ................................................................................................. 21
iv
SonaSoft Manual
Show Heading .................................................................................................. Show Lat/Long of Cursor ................................................................................... 5. Nav Info Display .......................................................................................................... Overview ................................................................................................................. Configuration Manager Options ................................................................................... 6. Connecting NMEA Devices ............................................................................................ Overview ................................................................................................................. COM Port Configuration ............................................................................................ COM Port Check Box ....................................................................................... Baud Rate Drop Down Box ................................................................................ Show Trace Button ........................................................................................... Re-Scan for Available Ports Button ...................................................................... NMEA Message Selection .................................................................................. 7. System Settings Options ................................................................................................. Overview ................................................................................................................. System Depth Units .................................................................................................. System Range Units .................................................................................................. Set Vessel Draft ....................................................................................................... Advanced Settings .................................................................................................... A. Understanding Interference and Other Limitations .............................................................. Overview ................................................................................................................. Other Sonar Interference ............................................................................................ Bubble Cloud/Wake Interference ................................................................................. Sea State Limitations ................................................................................................. Vessel Speed Limitations ........................................................................................... B. Understanding Water Depth Performance ..........................................................................
21 21 22 22 22 24 24 25 25 25 25 25 25 27 27 27 27 27 28 29 29 29 31 32 32 33
List of Figures
2.1. The user interface workspace .......................................................................................... 2 2.2. Left Click and Drag to resize the sidebar workspace ........................................................... 3 2.3. The System Menu ........................................................................................................ 4 2.4. System Status display window ........................................................................................ 5 3.1. The 3D Sonar Display ................................................................................................... 7 3.2. Standard Mode ............................................................................................................. 8 3.3. Alarm Volume shown in red .......................................................................................... 9 3.4. Alarm configuration settings ......................................................................................... 10 3.5. Alarm acknowledge button ........................................................................................... 11 3.6. Processor Configuration Window ................................................................................... 12 3.7. Bridge piling used in control setting images .................................................................... 15 3.8. A sea floor and a single piling target with "good" settings .................................................. 16 3.9. Color mapped to signal strength with "poor" settings ......................................................... 17 3.10. Color mapped to signal strength with "somewhat poor" settings ......................................... 18 4.1. SonaSoft Chart Display ............................................................................................ 19 4.2. Chart Display Configuration Manager Options ................................................................. 20 5.1. The Nav Info Display .................................................................................................. 22 6.1. COM Port NMEA configuration options ......................................................................... 24 7.1. System Settings dialog box ........................................................................................... 27 A.1. Echo sounder interference ............................................................................................ 30 A.2. Echo sounder interference ............................................................................................ 30 A.3. Echo sounder interference ............................................................................................ 31 A.4. Wake interference ...................................................................................................... 32
vi
Minimum Requirements
Processor Type: Core2 Duo Processor Speed: 2.6 GHz minimum Front Side Bus: 800 MHz Memory size: 1 GB minimum Memory Speed: 533 MHz Dual Channel Video Card: Fully OpenGL and CUDA compatible (nVidia works well) Video Card Memmory Size: 1 GB minimum Video Card Resolution: 1280 x 1024 minimum NIC: 1 Gb/s minimum Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Pro (US Version) Serial: RS-232 or NMEA interface port Optical Drive: CD-ROM required Keyboard: yes (set up only) Mouse/Trackball/HID: yes Recommended video card: - NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Figure 2.2. Left Click and Drag to resize the sidebar workspace
Between the two workspaces there is a vertical bar called the sidebar resize splitter. The user can drag the splitter with the mouse to resize the sidebar. To hide the sidebar (and all the windows it contains), drag the resize splitter to the right side of the screen. To quickly toggle between showing and hiding the sidebar workspave, double click on the resize splitter.
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 displayed in the main workspace is moved to the location sidebar where the new display in the main workspace was previously located.
System Menu
The system menu button is shaped like a gear. Clicking this button displays the system menu. This menu provides access to: Configuration options for various components System Status display Help Documentation About Panel Exit button Information about the particular configuration options available for each component is described in the individual component help descriptions.
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 warning. Red indicates there is a serious problem with part of the system.
SonaSoft Help
The help button icon is a circle with a question mark in the middle. Clicking this button brings up the SonaSoft documentation.
Exit
The exit button is square with an X-shape through the center. Clicking this button will shut down SonaSoft.
Color 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.
3D Sonar Display
3D Volumetric/Standard View
This view shows the data in either 3D Volumetric or Standard modes. To switch between these modes, click the mode button in the menu bar. In the 3D volumetric mode (as shown above), the data is shown with shading and perspective on. Color is mapped to depth, where blue is deep and red is shallow as defined in the color scale. Any mouse movement while clicking and holding the left mouse button will rotate the 3D entire volume of data. Any mouse movement while clicking and holding the right mouse button will zoom the data in and out.
Profile View
The Profile View shows the depth profile (bathymetry) ahead of the vessel at the bearing selected by the Profile Selector in either the 3D Volumetric or Standard View. The bearing angle of the Profile Selector and the depth profile currently selected is shown in the lower left corner of the Profile View. In the Configuration Manager options, the user can select between displaying the Profile Selector bearing relative to either the vessel or the absolute heading.
3D Sonar Display
Alarm Configuration
The user definable alarm is configured 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.
3D Sonar Display
Alarm Operation
Once configured, the alarm is simple to use. The alarm can be turned on by clicking the Alarm button in the Menu Bar at the top 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.
10
3D Sonar Display
Standard/3D View
Click this button to toggle between standard view mode and 3D view mode. By default, both of these modes map the color of sonar targets to depth, where blue is deep and red is shallow. The user can define these values with the Color Bar. Additionally, for advanced applications, the color map can be changed so that color indicates the strength of the received signals from a particular target. In this mode, red is loud and blue is quiet.
Activate Alarm
When depressed, the alarm is active, and will be triggered by objects in the alarm volume.
11
3D Sonar Display
Mouse Controls
Mouse Drag Left Button (Any Direction in 3D View)
Left dragging has two different behaviors, depending on where the user starts dragging the mouse. When positioned at the end of the profile selector, a large double sided arrow will appear. In this case, left dragging will change the angle of the profile selector. When in 3D mode and not over the end of the profile selector, left click dragging the mouse will rotate the 3D display volume.
12
3D Sonar Display
90 x 110m (360 ft) (FS-3, FS-3DT, FS-3DL) 90 x 220m (720 ft) (FS-3, FS-3DT) 90 x 330m (1080 ft) (FS-3, FS-3DT) 60 x 440m (1440 ft) (FS-3DT only) Alternating between 90 x 330m (1080 ft) and 60 x 440m (1440 ft) (FS-3DT only)
13
3D Sonar Display
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 targets will be detected at longer ranges than smaller, less reflective targets. Note that when changing any of the processor settings (ie. Squelch levels, processing ranges, etc.) changes will not take effect until the next complete processing cycle. This typically means 2 pings after adjusting the control, you will see the change, since generally when you see an image that needs adjusting there is already another ping processing with those same settings internal to the software. Changes will be applied to the next "fresh" ping.
14
3D Sonar Display
tioned controls. For this discussion, a single ping of a deep water bridge piling (Figure 3.7, Bridge 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. When learning to use the sonar, it may be useful to practice adjusting the settings in a simple environment where you have a good idea of what is actually under the water. Like any navigation tool, you should practice using the tool and get comfortable with the display and data representation in good weather and in good conditions so that when you find yourself in situations where you really need the sonar, you will be comfortable and well versed in its operation. Note that 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.
15
3D Sonar Display
Figure 3.8. A sea floor and a single piling target with "good" settings
Hint: When adjusting the Processor Control Settings, try imaging a simple environment. Begin by setting the controls to values within their suggested range. Try using "Auto Squelch" rather than manually setting the Bottom Squelch and In-Water Squelch: 175 dB. When setting these values it is important to try and find good settings for the sea floorbefore concentrating on displaying in-water targets. Generally the "Auto Squelch" setting for Bottom Detection will perform better than manual settings. However, if you do want to use manual Bottom Squelch settings try around 150 dB. When operating manually, if you are unhappy with the sea floor image, try lowing the Bottom Squelch value just a little. Remember that the sonar is an 8 water depth sonar. This means that the sea floor can be mapped out to 8 times the depth of water below the transducer. Sometimes you may find slightly less coverage at the edge. Often, you will find much better that 8 water depth performance. The lower the Bottom Squelch, the more erratic the sea floor becomes. Generally you do not want or need to change this setting. If it is set too low, noise in the raw sonar data may be mistaken as the sea floor. This noise comes from electrical noise spikes and acoustic reflection from small bits of debris or bubbles in the water column. These noise levels should be filtered out with the proper setting of this control. Some signs that this value is set too low may include: 1. Random humps in the sea floor that are not present for more than one ping. These may cause drastic irregularities in the bottom contours. 2. Extremely long range bottoms that end up going very deep at the longest ranges. Note that in very soft, silty bottom environments, the bottom may not be detected well or at extended water depths. Even in this case though, in-water targets will be well detected. Large rocks, pilings or other
16
3D Sonar Display
hard targets sitting in the silt will also be detected well. These targets may be shown as in-water targets rather than the sea floor. Generally, if the Bottom Squelch is set too low, there will be bottom spikes indicating very shallow water at or near the surface and at VERY close range. Additionally, if the bottom has narrow but tall lumps, this is also a sign that the Bottom Squelch is set too low. You may find that there is a range of values for the Bottom Squelch setting that look good and have very little effect on the bottom. Again, in most cases, using "Auto Squelch" for the Bottom Detection will work better than the manual settings. Figure 3.9, Color mapped to signal strength with "poor" settings shows the same ping with poor processor settings. In this image, color has been mapped to signal strength. Red shows that a target is highly reflective, where blue shows that a target is less reflective. One can clearly see that there is a nice regular looking sea floor, but there is a lot of in-water target clutter. In this test case, we know that there should be a single in-water target that is a strong reflector; the piling. In the figure, one can clearly see that there is a single very reflective in-water target (the red blip). Its position corresponds precisely 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. After finding settings for the sea floor, the In-Water Squelch should be adjusted in order to remove false in-water targets and clutter. As mentioned previously, in-water targets are typically much more reflective than the sea floor. Because of this a separate, higher level cutoff is needed for in-water targets to avoid showing clutter and detecting false targets.
3D Sonar Display
Noise blips are spurious and are not generally consistent from ping to ping. If an in-water target is detected on multiple pings, even if it is of a lower signal strength, it is probably a legitimate target. Before changing the settings too much, look at multiple pings for consistent, low signal strength targets. From this single image, it is clear that the in-water target cutoff needs to be increased. Hint: Map color to signal strength in order to identify a single target against noise blips In Figure 3.10, Color mapped to signal strength with "somewhat poor" settings, the Bottom Squelch is still set to "Auto Squelch" and the In-Water Squelch has been increased. There are less in-water blips than in Figure 3.10, Color mapped to signal strength with "somewhat poor" settings, but still there is much more than just the single piling shown. It is likely that 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 3.8, A sea floor and a single piling target with "good" settings utilized a slightly higher In-Water level setting. This slight increase was enough to raise the in-water target cutoff slightly and clean up the image. During the rest of the cruise, these settings did not need to change.
Figure 3.10. Color mapped to signal strength with "somewhat poor" settings
18
Auto Center
When depressed, the map and the vessel graphic will be centered in the window with any new GPS information received by the Digital Chart Viewer. Otherwise, the vessel will move across the map with each latitude/longitude position update.
19
Chart Display
Zoom In
Clicking this button will zoom in on the scale of the chart. If auto center is depressed, then the boat will be at the center of the newly zoomed view. If auto center is not checked, then the zooming will be centered on the position of the cursor.
Zoom Out
Clicking this button will zoom out on the scale of the chart. If auto center is depressed, then the boat will be at the center of the newly zoomed view. If auto center is not checked, then the zooming will be centered on the position of the cursor.
Show Scale
When depressed, a range scale showing distances in the current system units will be displayed on the left hand side of the chart as shown in Figure 4.1, SonaSoft Chart Display. The units of this scale are displayed in the system units selected in the Configuration Manager's System Settings tab. Note: the scale is adjusted for the current zoom level.
Mouse Controls
Left Button Mouse Drag
Dragging the mouse with the left mouse button down will pan the chart image.
Chart Display
History Length
Every time a new latitude and longitude position is received by the system, the vessel's position is updated on the chart. A blue dot is placed on the chart at previous locations. The number of most recent locations noted is defined by the History Length setting. A setting of 0 removes all history markings from the chart.
Show Heading
If this option is selected, the vessel's heading as received from the selected NMEA message is displayed as text on the chart next to the vessel's icon.
21
22
For vessel heading, the user can select from the following NMEA messages: HDG: Heading, Deviation, and Variation. HDT: Heading True. RMC: Recommended minimum Specific GNSS data. VHW: Water Speed and Heading. VTG: Course over ground and ground speed. Due to the sensor type the data provided may be either heading or course. For example, some GPS units may output a message that is intended as heading yet the instrument fills the particular values with course data. You should consult your sensor's documentation to be sure of the information type displayed in SonaSoft's Vessel Heading Display. Some messages provide heading in 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 following NMEA messages: RMC: Recommended minimum Specific GNSS data. VHW: Water Speed and Heading. VTG: Course over ground and ground speed. Some messages provide speed in either knots or km/h. When available, the user can select the units they prefer.
23
24
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 serial ports (RS-232). However, some marine computers come equipped with true NMEA-0183 hardware ports (opto-isolated RS-422). In all cases, these COM port settings can be configured under the Configuration Manager's COM Port NMEA tab. If the 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.
25
NOTE: Message selection is independant of COM port selection. This means that if a particular message is selected for a given data type, it does not matter on which COM port it is received.
26
27
Advanced Settings
The current version of SonaSoft has a single advanced setting. This setting is the transducer depth relative to the vessel's keel or deepest draft location on the hull. This value is REQUIRED for setting all depth information relative to the surface or the keel. Positive values indicate that the transducer is above the keel. Negative values indicate the transducer is below the keel. This value is generally set once at installation, and does not need to be updated unless the installation is modified.
28
29
"NOAA's Ocean Acoustics Program (NMFS Office of Science and Technology) has assessed the technical specifications of the current version of the FarSounder sonar technology and concurs that, based on the sound source level, signal duration, directionality, and operational frequency band, there are no anticipated injurious effects on marine mammals or other marine species from it's deployment." --Brandon Southall, NMFS
30
31
32
33