Seafloor HydroLite Plus Single Frequency Instruction Manual

Single Beam Sonar
HydroLite Plus Single Frequency
Instruction Manual

Introduction

Overview
The HydroLite Plus Single Frequency system is a hydrographic grade echosounder kit.
This system’s rugged design and flexibility address the need for general land survey applications and more detailed hydrographic surveys. The system has the ability to integrate with traditional land survey data collectors and software to generate generic bottom track elevation data. It can also output high quality echogram data into dedicated collection software to post process the bottom track more accurately.

Components *GPS & data collector not included
HydroLite Plus topside
HydroLite Plus transducer
Charger
Data cable
RS232 – USB adapter
3x Poles
Transom mount
4mm allen Driver
Null modem
Gender changer

Warranty Information

Seafloor Systems, Inc. makes every effort to assure its products meet the highest quality, reliability and durability standards and warrants to the original purchaser or purchasing agency that each HydroLite Plus be free from defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from date of shipment.
Warranty does not apply to defects of misuse, negligence or accidents. Warranty also does not cover repairs or alterations outside of our facilities, or use of the HydroLite Plus for purposes other than water measurements. Seafloor is not responsible for loss of instruments, damage to property, or injury/death associated with the use of any of its products or 3rd party products that may be included or used with Seafloor products. Seafloor does not warranty third-party products sold by Seafloor. These may include GPS, depth sounders and other ancillary equipment. All warranty services are FOB Seafloor’s facility in Shingle Springs, California, U.S.A.

Assembly

To assemble the HydroLite Plus, attach the transducer to one of the provided survey poles. Loosen the locking nut on the Transom Mount and slide the pole through both holes, tighten the locking nut when in the desired position. When mounting on the side of a vessel, ensure that the pole is as close to vertical as possible. Additional 2ft pole sections can be threaded on.
Attach the HydroLite Plus topside to the pole using the included allen driver and plug in the transducer cable. To the “Sonar/Charger” port. The included MilSpec-RS-232 cable attaches to the RS-232 port. Note – When this is plugged in, Bluetooth output is disabled.
Connection – Windows Device
Power on the HydroLite Plus by pushing the button the front face of the unit. This system is capable of connection over either Bluetooth or hardwire connection.
Bluetooth – Connection and Com Port

1. Open Settings in Windows 10/11

2. Select Bluetooth and Devices

3. Add Device
   a. Device ID: HYDROLITE### (serialized per device)
   b. Password: SEAFLOOR

4. Open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers (Win 11 when in Hardware and Sound, right click Devices and printers and select Open in New Window)

5. Scroll to the bottom where the “Unspecified” devices are. Double Click the HydroLite and navigate to the Hardware Tab. From there, Note the COM number assigned to the Device. See figure on next page.

Hardwire – Connection and Com Port

1. Connect the Milspec-RS232 cable to the sonar port on the HydroLite Plus Topside.
2. Connect the system to the RS232-USB adapter supplied with the system.
3. Open Device manager and select the dropdown for Ports (COM & LPT)
4. Plug in the USB Adapter and it should automatically download and install the correct driver for the device. A new port should appear with a COM number assigned to it. (If it doesn’t, Look under Other devices and see if the adapter is under that category. The driver needed for this adapter is called CH340. See image on next page.

Offset
Enter rod height from: Device Settings
Control Program
The control program is included on the USB dongle, if misplaced it is also available on seafloorsystems.com
Connect to the control program by selecting the COM port assigned to the echosounder.
Echosounder default baud rate: 115200
GPS: None
Once connected you can use this program to monitor your bottom track as well as change the parameters of the system to better suit the environmental condition. On the left-hand side of the window you can see the different parameters that can be changed.
On the right will be a bottom track of the system returns this can be utilized to better tune the system.
Bottom left will display information regarding the transducer status, and bottom right displays the terminal commands being broadcast.

Parameters
The setup parameters are as follows:

• Range, m
  o Range in meters

• Tx length, μsec
  o Set transmitted pulse length in microseconds. (Up to 100 μsec)

• Interval, sec
  o Interval (repetition rate) between pulses in seconds. (From 0.1 to 3600 (1 Hour))

• Deadzone, mm
  o Near field zone where detection is ignored

• Offset, mm
  o Vertically offset the position of the device in millimeters.

• Altimeter threshold, %
  o Altimeter threshold percentage of full scale (return sensitivity)

• Gain, dB
  o Analog gain of amplifier in dB

• Sound Speed, m/s
  o Speed of sound in water

• Output mode
  o Select output data formats
  – Altimeter simple
  – Echosounder
  – Altimeter NMEA
  – Echosounder fixed 200 samples
  – Echosounder fixed 500 samples
  – Echosounder fixed 1000 samples
  – PSA-916
  – Altimeter simple & temperature
  – Hydrolite DFX
  – Hydrolite OLD

Each of these settings can be adjusted by using the drop-down menus. For the settings to be updated on the echosounder, one must hit “Apply” after any changes are made. There are range limitations for certain intervals, baud rates, and output modes. See next page for more information.
Baud Rate: 115200 bps

Altimeter Mode

Interval (sec)| Maximum Range (m)
0.1| 10
0.2| 40
0.25| 80
0.3| 100
Echosounder Mode
Interval (sec)| Maximum Range (m)
0.1| —
0.2| 1
0.25| 2
0.5| 8
1| 20
2| 80
2.5| 100

Baud Rate: 921600 bps

Altimeter Mode

Interval (sec)| Maximum Range (m)
0.1| 15
0.2| 40
0.25| 100
0.3| 100
Echosounder Mode
Interval (sec)| Maximum Range (m)
0.1| 2
0.2| 10
0.25| 15
0.5| 30
1| 100

Echogram
The Echogram is an important feature of this system when data is being collected in software that can utilize the results to better post process. This is also a useful tool for configuration and troubleshooting issues. Below is an example of the echogram window and descriptions of the different functions.

• Data scale: Echo signal can be changed between linear scale and dB scale
• Data output: Display max or mean amplitude
• Range: Sets the range of the echogram shown on screen (does not affect raw data)
• Color palette: Select different color schemes

When the real time returns are being shown in the echogram, the altitude is determined when the signal passes the set threshold parameter. For this reason, altitude threshold, deadzone, and gain are the important settings when tuning the system. See example on the next page. All tuning should be conducted with the output mode: echosounder
Notice that the circled altitude is reporting a depth of 0.387 m. This is due to the initial reverberation
(1), being picked up as a return.
To avoid this, make sure that the dead zone parameter, is large enough to bypass the reverberation and track the real reflection (2).
In altimeter modes (simple, NMEA, PSA-916, OLD Hydrolite) increase the gain, so the return signal can be saturated enough to strongly reflect the true bottom.
Furthermore, the altitude threshold should be as small as possible without generating returns off of the unwanted signals. If this is not set properly, the system will generate false returns from reflections in the water column and not off the true bottom.
Seafloor settings:

Terminal
The system can also be connected to a terminal program to quickly check and adjust settings or view the data being output. This is an alternative to the control program for adjusting settings, not recommended for tuning the system. The terminal can be used to alter the NMEA messages as well as adjust the baud rate of the system. These adjustments cannot be made in the control program and must be edited through the terminal program. See example below of the terminal program displaying settings of the echosounder. Connect
Open TeraTerm. Click Setup>Serial port. Select the com port assigned to the system either hardwired or Bluetooth. Adjust baud rate to 115200. Then click “New Setting” to open the port.
Once connected, data will start coming across. To issue commands the data coming in needs to be stopped by pressing the space bar.
Commands
The next page contains a list of commands that can adjust the settings of the system.