HydroPos Manual (Ver 2)

USER‟S MANUAL
for
HydroPos (Seismic)
Version 2.00
1st August 2010
© Copyright Sonardyne International Ltd. 2010

HydroPos 2.00 Sonardyne International Ltd.
User‟s Manual August 2010
Revision 1 Page 2 of 91
CONTENTS
1. Introduction………………………………………………………... 5
1.1 New Features………………………………………………. 6
2. Operation - Overview…………………………………………….. 9
Acoustic Acquisition………………………………………. 10
Transponder Deployment (RFiD)…………………………. 11
Transponder Deployment (ReProgrammer)……………….. 12
3. Operation………………………………………………………….. 13
3.1 Mode……………………………………………………….. 16
3.2 System Files……………………………………………….. 16
3.3 System Setup………………………………………………. 18
3.3.1 Geodetic Database…………………………………….. 18
3.3.1.1 Ellipsoids……………………………………….. 18
3.3.1.2 Projections……………………………………… 19
3.3.1.3 Datum Shifts……………………………………. 20
3.3.2 Vessel Setup…………………………………………... 21
3.3.2.1 Interface Setup………………………………….. 21
3.3.2.2 Surface Reference Computations………………. 25
3.3.2.3 Helmsman Display……………………………… 25
3.3.2.4 Vessel Outline…………………………………... 27
3.3.2.5 Vessel Offsets…………………………………... 28
3.3.3 Survey Data…………………………………………… 28
3.3.3.1 Survey Lines……………………………………. 28
3.3.3.2 Targets………………………………………….. 29
3.3.4 Current Configuration………………………………… 30
3.3.4.1 Projection Configuration……………………… 30
3.3.4.2 Project Headers………………………………... 31
3.3.4.3 Graphics Display……………………………… 32
3.3.4.4 Alarm Configuration………………………….. 35
3.3.5 Current Transponder/Line Setup……………………… 37
3.4 View Options………………………………………………. 42
3.4.1 Transceiver/RFiD Data……………………………….. 42
3.4.2 Transponder Solutions………………………………... 42
3.4.3 Cable Deployment…………………………………….. 42
3.4.4 Raw GPS Data………………………………………… 42
3.4.5 Raw I/O Data………………………………………….. 43
3.4.6 Refresh Graphics……………………………………… 43
3.4.7 Transponder Information……………………………... 43
3.4.8 Double Graphics Scale………………………………... 44
3.4.9 Halve Graphics Scale…………………………………. 44
3.4.10 Error Messages………………………………………... 44
4. Acoustic Acquisition……………………………………………… 45
5. Cable Deployment (RFiD)………………………………………… 51
6. Cable Deployment (ReProgrammer)……………………………… 55

6.1 Project Files………………………………………………... 56
6.2 Create Auto-Deploy File…………………………………... 56
6.3 ReProgrammer Operation…………………………………. 58
6.4 Cable Deployment…………………………………………. 60
6.5 Monitor ReProgrammer…………………………………… 60
7. Processing…………………………………………………………. 61
7.1 Batch Processing…………………………………………... 61
7.2 Transponder Results……………………………………….. 64
7.3 Processing Menus………………………………………….. 67
7.3.1 Files…………………………………………………… 67
7.3.2 System Setup………………………………………….. 68
7.3.3 Output Results………………………………………… 69
8. Program Licencing and Security…………………………………... 71
9. Technical References……………………………………………… 72
Appendix A - Interfacing Telegram Details…………………………… 75
Appendix B - Data File Formats……………………………………….. 83
Appendix C – Program Release Notes………………………………… 89
1.0 INTRODUCTION
HydroPos (Seismic) Version 2 is a 32 Bit program providing a management and data

logging facility for Sonardyne International Ltd‟s OBC12 acoustic ranging system. The
package monitors and time tags the data received from surface navigation systems and
the Sonardyne 7911 Transceiver, to provide a time de-skewed solution for deployed
seabed Transponders during Ocean Bottom Cable (OBC) and Transition Zone (TZ)
surveys.
During cable deployment HydroPos can either utilise Sonardyne‟s Radio Frequency
Identity (RFiD) reader to determine the Transponder‟s settings or, utilising the Re-
Programmer, the system can reprogram the Transponders attached to the cable to a set of
user predefined settings. The use of the Re-Programmer simplifies the management of
the OBC cables from a positioning perspective as the user no longer needs to monitor the
location of individual Transponders on the cable. In the RFiD mode, as the
Transponders are deployed past the RFiD reader, HydroPos uses the data from the
surface navigation system to derive approximate positions for each Transponder and, if
applicable, determine the Receiver Group the transponder is connected to. In the
ReProgrammer mode, the user generates the required Transponder settings for each
Transponder attached to the cable. HydroPos provides helmsman guidance as the cable
is deployed and each Transponder is reprogrammed on the fly to the predetermined
settings. As the Transponder is deployed the battery status is read. This allows the user
to more easily manage the maintenance of the Transponders.
During Acoustic Acquisition the solution for the transponder positions is derived by
Least Squares Adjustment. This is an iterative solution using the time tagged vessel
positions and a series of acoustic ranges measured to the individual transponders. A
minimum of four good ranges are required to determine an individual transponder
position, with subsequent ranges contributing to the redundancy of the positioning
solution. During data acquisition, HydroPos provides an initial online position solution
for the transponders, with an indication of the data quality, to enable the user to
determine if sufficient data has been acquired to derive a final post-processed solution.
Typically, 40 good ranges in reciprocal directions, are sufficient to determine the
Transponder position with confidence. HydroPos also provides on-line vessel
positioning information to the user, to enable acquisition by the most efficient sail line
plan, and at the optimum interrogation speed and geometry as well as an independent
helmsman‟s display to provide vessel guidance.
HydroPos records and holds all the system settings in a single, user selectable,
configuration file (.CFG) providing a fast start up facility.
All raw and processed data is stored in a single, user-selectable, logging file (.LOG) to
allow easy archiving of the data. The recorded .LOG file contains all the online
acquisition parameters as a header, followed by blocks of recorded data. Whenever the
acquisition parameters are changed a new header is written to the .LOG file, enabling the
data to be easily processed as blocks of data, either at a later date, or at a remote location.
HydroPos is designed to operate on Microsoft Windows XP or above and requires a PC

capable of running the operating system. A minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768 is
required. If sufficient space is available on the vessel, the use of a second screen is
recommended to allow the user to easily monitor the HydroPos operation using the
various graphical and numerical displays.
To ensure that a fast data acquisition cycle with accurate time tags is achieved, an
intelligent I/O device providing a dedicated interrupt for each device is recommended.
The system supports 401 active addresses with 9 Channels for each address providing
3609 unique transponder addresses. HydroPos allows the user to link Line Names and or
Receiver Group names to each Transponder and hence an unlimited number of unique
locations can be defined. During deployment, however, care should be taken to ensure
that Transponders with duplicate Address and Channel settings, are not deployed closer
than twice the maximum acoustic range to ensure the system can correctly allocate the
range to the appropriate Transponder location.
The .log file can contain unlimited numbers of Transponder locations, however, care
should be taken to ensure that the file remains a manageable size on the operating PC.
The amount of hard disc space required for recording .LOG files depends on the number
of Transponders interrogated and the number of interfaced sensors. As a rough guide, 1
hour of acquisition from 50 active Transponders and the corresponding surface
navigation data, would require 4 Mb of file space. This is based on a vessel speed of
around 4 Knots with a surface navigation position update rate of 1 second and heading
update rate of 0.1 seconds. This file size can be reduced by 75% using WinZip or an
equivalent program.
Technical references to this manual are listed in Section 6 and are referred to in the text
by [nn], where nn is the reference number.
1.2 NEW FEATURES
HydroPos Version 1 was originally released in March 2005. Regular updates were
issued following successful deployment with various OBC operations worldwide. The
final version being 1.0.24 released in March 2010.
HydroPos Version 2 builds on the features of Version 1 and provides additional

functionality based on comments from these various users. The major new features are
described below:
1. Redesigned User Interface (UI). While retaining the original design aspect of the
User Interface, Version 2 allows the user greater freedom in the data display and
provides quicker access to the various features and displays. New features
include:- adding Targets directly from the graphics display, mouse wheel control
of the graphics scale and the inclusion of more user control of the information
shown on the graphical display.
2. The Input/Output of the data to/from the survey sensors has been greatly
improved. Full support is provided for the full range of the 255 Serial Ports
accessible under Microsoft Windows. If, following a restart of the application, a
specified serial port is not detected then the device is flagged as having an error
and the user can easily reassign a different serial port to the device.
3. An independent display is provided to generate a simplified display for the

vessel‟s helmsman. This stand-alone application communicates with HydroPos
using TCP/IP across the vessel‟s internal network.
4. Following the completion of data acquisition, the raw data can be exported from
the HydroPos proprietary format into the OGP P2/94[6] format for submission to
the client.
2.0. OPERATION - Overview
Throughout this manual, it is assumed that the user is familiar with the principles of
OBC / TZ surveys and the operation of the OBC12 system. The various HydroPos
operating screens can be accessed via the pull-down menus. HydroPos utilises menu
short-cuts and these are referenced in the manual e.g. m or bC to assist the user with
accessing the system menus.
The operation of the HydroPos system is controlled by a hardware key or Dongle. The
Dongle, manufactured by Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd., can be purchased to be
interfaced either through the computer‟s parallel or USB port.
On commencing a new survey, the user has to initiate a new .cfg file which is project
specific. It is strongly recommended that the .cfg file name reflects the project
description e.g. HydroPos P1800.cfg. HydroPos by default automatically generates a
blank .CFG file called HydroPos.cfg and this will prevent any inadvertent overwriting of
a user defined .cfg file.
A HydroPos .cfg file is contains the relevant spheroid, grid projection and datum shifts
from WGS84 (GPS datum). Any number of navigation, heading and depth sensors can
be interfaced to the system. The user then selects which interfaced configuration is
required as displayed in the “Current Configuration” option (bC). These parameters can
be input by individually selecting the required data page from the “System Setup” option
on the Main Menu Bar or using the tabbed pages in the Setup screen. For either editing
route, the parameters are then saved in the pre-selected .cfg file as defined in section 3.1
below.
A .lines file is either opened or a new file created. This file holds the information
pertaining to the Seismic pre-plot lines to be acquired. The user can either create the
lines within the HydroPos system by specifying start and end coordinates, or
alternatively the data can be imported from an existing UKOOA P190[3], SPS[7] or
Comma/Space/Tab separated format file. Once the lines have been spatially defined the
user can either assign Transponders to the Receiver Group locations manually or the
system can be interfaced into Sonardyne‟s RFiD receiver to automatically detect the
deployed transponders and assign them to the appropriate Receiver Groups.
HydroPos can operate in three distinct modes :-
1) Acoustic Ranging
2) Cable Deployment (RFiD or ReProgrammer)
3) Post Processing
The user‟s access to the different operating modes is determined by the licences
purchased/authorised on the security Dongle (See Section 8 on Page 71). In Acoustic
Ranging Mode the system can interrogate deployed Transponders and acquire acoustic
ranges and surface navigation data.
During Cable Deployment the system operates either in RFiD mode or ReProgrammer
mode. The licence held on the Dongle determines which device the system will support.
In Cable Deployment (RFiD) Mode the system allows the user to acquire surface
navigation and monitor the RFiD tags attached to the transponders as they pass the RFiD
reader. Using the intended locations of the cables, as defined in the .lines file, the
system can automatically determine which Transponder has been deployed at which
receiver group.
In the Cable Deployment (ReProgrammer) mode, the user predefines the location of the
Transponders on the Pre-Plot lines and then the system reprograms the Transponders as
they pass the ReProgrammer‟s antenna prior to deployment. As the Transponder is
reprogrammed its internal battery voltage is read and recorded to assist in the
maintenance of the Transponders. In both the deployment modes, the Transponder
configuration can be exported into a file which can then be imported by another vessel
operating HydroPos in Acoustic Acquisition mode. This vessel can is able to derive the
definitive as-deployed positions of the Seismic Cable.
On commencing the acquisition process, a .log file has to be initiated by the user. The
.log file contains not only the raw data but also header information. This header
information is an abstract of the information recorded in the current .cfg file and
precedes the raw data records. During processing, the .log file can be reformatted into a
text format file to enable the user to input the HydroPos raw data into other applications
as well as exporting the raw data in a UKOOA P2/94[6] format.
The names of the created .cfg, .lines and .log files can be determined by the user and may
reside in any directory or logging device accessible to the user‟s PC.
After the acquisition parameters have been configured in the .cfg file, a .lines file has
been defined and a .log file has been opened, the system is ready to start acquiring data
on-line.
Acoustic Acquisition
During Acoustic Acquisition the system provides access to the OBC12 Transceiver. The
user commences real time access to the OBC12 Transceiver by pressing the “Start
Pinging” button on the main system screen. To commence logging, the user simply
presses the “Start Logging” button. The interrogating vessel should be on a pre-
programmed route or sail line, to efficiently gather the data.
The OBC12 system is programmed to request ranges from a single Transponder

Address. All transponders, within acoustic range of the Transducer, that are configured
for that particular address will respond, irrespective of their designated Channel. For
each trigger from the Transceiver, up to 9 transponders can reply. HydroPos can be
configured to trigger the OBC12 Transceiver either automatically or manually. In
automatic mode the system will compute which Addresses are within acoustic range and
cyclically trigger the Transceiver. In manual mode the user can enter up to a maximum
of 10 Channels to be triggered. As soon as a response has been received by the
HydroPos system, it will trigger the next Address for data.
The Navigation sensors are continuously monitored and as new data is acquired it is
processed. If required, Geodetic Datum Shifts are applied; the grid coordinates
computed and the graphical and numerical data quality displays are updated. As the
acoustic system is interrogated, the surface position for each individual range is derived
from the acquired Navigation position. To achieve accurate surface or vessel position
for each of the measured acoustic ranges, a time based interpolation against the Surface
Navigation updates is used.
When data logging is activated, all the data from the active Transponders, as well as the
surface navigation updates, are recorded in the active .log file. All the raw navigation
data is recorded, along with the raw acoustic ranges and times. If necessary the user can
edit all the configuration parameters in the header during reprocessing, and therefore
reprocess the raw data with a different set of parameters.
During the online operation, the raw data can be displayed by enabling any one of the
monitoring screens, via the options in the main menu. These screens enable the user to
monitor the raw data and ensure that the system has not only been configured correctly,
but is also operating correctly.
The “Monitor Transceiver” screen (m) shows the data messages sent to and
received from the OBC12.
The online “Transponder Computations” screen (n) shows the ongoing

computations for each Transponder. These computations can be either reset
or “tied” to a line or target to assist with the determination of an online
position solution.
It should be noted that while system can resolve for depth during post-processing, the
online computations can only derive a 2D position solution.
Transponder Deployment (RFiD)
During Transponder Deployment the system provides support for the Sonardyne RFiD
Reader. Utilising the “Deploy Screen” (o) the user selects the appropriate Pre-Plot line
over which the OBC Cable, and the associated Transponders, is to be deployed. The line
is displayed on the graphical display along with all Receiver Group locations. To assist
in the deployment operation, the system will differentiate between the receiver groups
which have Transponders associated with them and those that don‟t. As the RFiD reader
detects a Tag, it passes the Transponder‟s Address, Channel and Asset Description read
from the Tag to the HydroPos system. Using the interfaced surface navigation data,
HydroPos then determines which Receiver Group the Transponder is associated with and
automatically includes this information with the line definition in the .CBL file. The
transponder positions can be adjusted after deployment and any gaps in the data, due to
misread or missing tags, can be manually included. It is recommended that the data
logged during deployment is saved to a different .LOG file than that created during
acoustic acquisition. It should be noted that RFiD Tag is an electronic descriptive tag
and is programmed independently to the Transponder. If the Transponder is
programmed and the Tag information is not updated the information read by HydroPos
will not relate to the current status of the beacon.
Transponder Deployment (ReProgrammer)
During Transponder Deployment the system provides access to the Sonardyne

Transponder ReProgrammer. Utilising the “Deploy Screen” (o) display, the user selects
the appropriate Pre-Plot line over which the cable is to be deployed. The Transponder
information (Interrogate Address and Reply Channel) should be entered via the
Transponder/Line Data screen (t). Care should be taken to ensure the distribution of the
Transponders on the physical cable match the distribution on the Pre-Plot receiver
locations e.g. every 3rd Group.
During deployment the system provides Helmsman display guidance to deploy the cable
over the required section of the Pre-Plot line. As a Transponder is held next to the
ReProgrammer‟s antenna it is automatically programmed with the appropriate
Interrogate Address and Reply Channel. Once the Transponder has been programmed
the battery status is read and the ReProgrammer indicates to the back deck crew that the
programming has been completed and the Transponder is ready to be deployed. The
system displays both the distance and the time to the deployment position. The time to
go until Transponder/Receiver Group deployment is based on the current vessel speed
over the ground and is derived from the GPS VTG NMEA[2] data telegram.
When the vessel is in the deployment location for the next Receiver Group, the system
triggers an alarm on the ReProgrammer, indicating that the Transponder/Receiver Group
should be released into the water.
In all online modes, the user can define alarm conditions (bA). If these alarms are set,
then the program automatically monitors the status of the received navigation data. If the
data acquired falls outside these user-defined tolerances, the program displays a visible
warning which remains active until it is acknowledged by the user. Any alarm
conditions are also recorded in an error log file called HydroPos.err which is located in
the same directory as the current Log file. This facility allows the user to be able to
review the frequency and extent of any periods of poor data. Any navigation data that
falls outside the defined tolerance is flagged as unusable for use in any subsequent
computations. If Data Logging is active, then the error conditions are also recorded in
the .log file and can be displayed in Processing.
HydroPos is designed to provide a clear graphical and numerical display allowing the
user to easily assess the quality and progress of data acquisition process. The user
interface, wherever possible, is designed to emulate standard Microsoft Windows
displays as found in most other packages, providing a familiar display to the user.
3.0 OPERATION - Detailed description
The HydroPos main system screen is a graphical display, showing the current position of
the vessel and any user selected attributes to the graphical display.
The main menu provides access to the four principal

menu items :
Mode - (aM)
Files - (aF)
System Setup - (aS)
View - (aV)
Help - (aH)
The options for each of these main menu items are addressed in detail from sections 3.1
onwards. The current HydroPos operating mode is displayed in the Main Menu.
The information panel above the graphical display and to the right of the “Start Pinging”
and “Start Logging” buttons, shows the geodetic parameters used in the computations
and the currently selected positional information. The user can select the appropriate
positional information for display from the pull down menu. The selected position is
also the position display on the Helmsman‟s Display. The positional data is shown in
both Latitude and Longitude as well as projection grid coordinates. The displayed height
value is in ellipsoidal units and the Depth value is that of the water column relative to sea
level. The Vessel Attitude (Gyro) value is either derived from the GPS string as course
made good (CMG), observed from an interfaced Gyro, or any other heading device. The
Heading (Hdg) is the computed grid heading. The Helmsman display only shows the
Gyro heading.
The Target, selected by the user on-line, refers to any one of the “Targets” input to the
“Targets” option in the “Setup Parameters” or the Receiver Group selected via the
Graphical Display (See Section 3.3.3.3 Page 32). The range and bearing display refers
to the target position from the selected display position and is shown in grid units. The
Line shown is the currently selected Survey line, or a sail line generated from the Survey
Line. The along and across display are the along track and cross track distances relative
to the selected line. It should be noted that the Starboard Positive (+ve) convention is
applied. If the “Reverse Line” option is selected it “reverses” the Line Coordinates
ensuring that the correct along line and cross line information is displayed if the vessel is
travelling in the opposite direction to the line definition.
In the graphical, or “Chart” area, the mouse or pointer used has additional properties. A
left button held down will allow the user to reposition that part of the screen display to
where the mouse drags it, shown as a blue line. A right button held down while dragging
from one location, will display a red line and a text box showing the relative range and
bearing from the first location to the
new pointer position.
If the key T is pressed while the right

mouse button is depressed, a new
Target is created at the location of the
mouse pointer. Double clicking on
the Target launches the Edit Target
window, (see Section 3.3.2.7 on page 28). This facility allows the user to mark features
such as fishing floats that could impact the survey progress.
Using jand the Left Mouse Button, the user can “draw” a zoom box on the chart to
refresh the graphical display. When the mouse is focussed on the graphics window the
mouse wheel will increase or decrease the graphical scale. The graphical scale can also
be changed using the qor rbuttons.
The panel below the graphical display provides additional information for quick
reference. The Status box displays error messages. Any error messages can be cleared,
or accepted, by clicking with the left mouse button. As the mouse pointer is moved
within the graphical display area, the grid coordinates shown in the adjacent box, update
with the current pointer position.
The System Status bar also includes the names of the currently selected .cfg, .lines and
.log files. If the Mouse is held over the panel, the full path and filename appears in a
balloon display. The physical size of the Log file is also displayed to ensure that the data
files can be retained in a manageable size. On the right hand side of this area is the
current system time and date. The bottom right hand side of the display shows the
“System Heart Beat”, displayed when an OBC12 Transceiver is interfaced into the
system. The button is normally green, indicating the system is running, however, when
the Transceiver has been triggered for data and is waiting for the reply, the button is
changed to Red. When the data is received the button returns providing a useful
indicator that the system is interrogating at a regular frequency.
3.1 Mode
HydroPos can be operated in one of three

operational Modes :-
a) Acoustic Ranging
b) Cable Deployment
c) Post Processing
The access to these different operational modes is controlled by the licence on the
Dongle.
The current operating mode is shown at all times in the main menu. As the operation
mode is changed, menu items are automatically enabled or disabled.
When exiting HydroPos confirmation is required to avoid accidental termination of the

application.
3.2 Files (aF)
From the Files menu, the user can

access the screen where the project
files are displayed.
The selected project files can be

displayed at any time, however file
selection is prohibited while the
system is actively Pinging for
acoustic data or data Logging is active.
The user can either select a new file or save the active file under a new name. To create
a new file, simply type the new file name in the file selection screen and HydroPos will
automatically create the appropriate file.
When changing from one project to another it is recommended that the .cfg file is
“Saved-As” a new file. This means that all the common information, e.g. vessel offsets
and sensor interfacing details, can be easily transferred to the new project file.
If there is raw navigation data stored in the currently selected .log file the data can be
exported to a UKOOA P2/94[6] format file.
When the system is operating in the ReProgrammer Deploy mode, the files menu
provides some different options and these are described in Section 6.1 on page 56.
The system maintains the currently selected system in a comma separated text file called
HydroPos (OBC12) Data Files.txt located in the Program Directory. An example of
the file is shown in Figure 1 below.
01, ConfigPath, C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\

02, ConfigFile, HydroPos P1800.CFG
03, LogPath, C :\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\Manual Files\
04, LogFile, HydroPos Demo.log
05, LinePath , C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\Manual Files\
06, LineFile, HydroPos Demo.lines
07, ProcessPath , C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\
08, ProcessFile, HydroPos.LOG
09, ImportPath , C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\
10, Printer,
11, CablePath,
12, CableFile,
13, TransferPath , C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\
14, IO Log Path, C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\
15, Auto Deploy Path, C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\
16, Deploy File Path, C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\
17, Deploy File,
18, TideFile,
19, TidePath,
Figure 1
It is not recommended that this file is edited outside of the HydroPos environment,
however, in the event that a file becomes corrupted and the system cannot restart
automatically, deleting this text file will force HydroPos to recreate the default files and
restart in its default mode.
3.3 System Setup
The options in this menu selection comprise fifteen

options for user editing, although once an option is
selected, the setup page allows the user to easily
navigate to the remaining options from within the
Setup Window.
The various setup menus can be accessed either via

the main setup menu, using the mouse, or via
designated shortcut keystrokes. When editing
parameters, the user is able to build up a database of different setup parameters and
select the appropriate ones for the current configuration, or future applications. The
various options are grouped together in logical sections which are described in more
detail below.
3.3.1 Geodetic Database
HydroPos maintains an internal database within the .cfg file of Ellipsoids, Projections
and Datum Shifts. When a new .cfg file is created a default set of Geodetic Parameters
are created which the user can add to if necessary depending on the location and
requirements of a particular project.
3.3.1.1 Ellipsoids (bE)
The first three ellipsoids are provided as default and cannot be edited or deleted. The
user can add any number of user defined ellipsoids to populate the internal database.
The name is a free text file and the ellipsoid needs only to be defined by entering the
Semi-major axis and one other parameter. The remaining two parameters will be
automatically calculated and displayed to provide a check on the entered data.
3.3.1.2 Projections (bP)
The first four projections are provided as default and cannot be edited or deleted. The
user can add any number of user defined projections to populate the internal database.
HydroPos supports the following types of projections :
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM).

Transverse Mercator (TM).
Lambert Conical (1 and 2 Standard Parallels).
When selecting a UTM projection the user can select the required projection either by
entering the Central Meridian or supplying the required zone number. Checks are carried
out to ensure that the input data for a specific projection complies with its definition.
3.3.1.3 Datum Shifts (bD)
The first two datums are provided as default and cannot be edited or deleted. The user
can add any number of user defined datum shifts to populate the internal database. The
system provides full support for datum shifts with up to 7 parameters.
The sign convention for the rotations is the Position Vector computation method. If
the datum shift parameters are provided in the Coordinate Frame Rotation notation,
then the signs of the Rotations must be reversed.
The exception to the standard 7 parameter shift are the shifts peculiar to the Norwegian
Sector of the North Sea. This particular datum shift is Latitude dependent and HydroPos
provides full support of the WGS84-ED87-ED50 polynomial calculations [1].
If the datum shift is selected in the Project Configuration (see Section 3.3.3 page 30)
HydroPos will automatically detect if the datum shift is defined as “to WGS84” and
automatically reverses the transformation when applying it to the received GPS data.
3.3.2 Vessel Setup
When a vessel is mobilised with HydroPos, various vessel dependant parameters need to
be established. If the HydroPos is a permanent installation these parameters generally do
not need to be changed from one project to the next.
3.3.2.1 Interface Setup (bI)
HydroPos can interface up to 12 Serial Devices in real time. All active ports are polled
for data and the data processed when a full data message is received. To ensure that a
fast data acquisition cycle with accurate time tags is achieved, an intelligent I/O device
providing a dedicated interrupt for each device is recommended.
To create a new device the user simply selects “Add Device”. This will add a new
Device to the list. The device, I/O Port, Baud Rate and Protocol are selectable from pull
down menu selections.
HydroPos automatically detects which Ports are available from within the Windows
Serial Ports. In the above example, the Sonardyne RFiD Reader is highlighted in red and
the status message indicates the Port was not found. This can occur when a plug in
Serial Device, such as a USB Multi Serial Card, has either not been connected to the PC
or the Port numbers have been automatically reassigned by the Windows Operating
System. In this instance to reactivate the device a different Port should be selected from
the available list.
The default interface device settings are normally quoted in the manufacturer‟s system
manuals though they generally are :-
Baud Rate 9600

Protocol 8-None-1
When selecting the OBC12 Transceiver, RFiD reader or ReProgrammer the default
baud rate is set to 38400.
The device assigned to the port can be selected from the “Device” pull-down menu list.
This lists all the devices supported by HydroPos, and full details of the interfacing
telegrams are included in Appendix A. The user needs only specify the type of device
being interfaced e.g. NMEA Depth Device or NMEA Heading Device and the system
will automatically detect which data telegram is being used from the NMEA telegram
header.
The Data Latency and Offset entry boxes are only accessible when the relevant device is
being edited. Latency Corrections are only applicable to the Surface Positioning Devices
whereas the Offsets are applicable to both the Surface Positioning Devices and the
OBC12 Transducer. The Transducer offset, which may refer to a hull mount, over-side
mount or towed transducer mounted on a sled, should be entered here, using the
convention described below.
Offsets are defined as distances in the X and Y axes of the Sensor from a Common
Reference Point (CRP) on the vessel. This is an imaginary point from which all the
devices are referenced by fixed offsets in dX, dY and dZ. The use of a common
reference point enables devices to be defined and edited independently of each other on
the vessel. For example if a GPS antenna is moved to a different location on the vessel,
only the offsets for that particular device need to be edited and not for the other devices
or the vessel outline.
The following offset conventions are applied :-
All offsets are measured from the Common Reference Point to the Device
X Offset +ve Starboard, -ve Port.
Y Offset +ve Forward, -ve Aft.
To avoid any confusion with the signs for the Z-Offset, HydroPos automatically detects
the type of device and prompts the user for the appropriate setting e.g. for Echo Sounders
and the Acoustic Transducer the system requires a value for the Depth below the
waterline, whereas for the GPS device, the system requires a height above the waterline.
It should be noted that when setting up the Sonardyne RFiD or ReProgrammer the
offsets should be provided not for the physical location of the antennae but the point
where the cable leaves the vessel e.g. the cable chute. This will ensure that the position
recorded will reflect the position of the Receiver Group as it is deployed from the vessel.
The Latency of the data is normally associated with GPS receivers and is defined as the
delay in the receiver acquiring the Pseudo-Ranges and outputting the position to the
computer. This delay is peculiar to each type of GPS receiver but is generally in the
order of 0.8 s. It should be noted that the Latency can dramatically increase, up to 1.4
seconds, if the receiver is programmed to output several different messages. It is
therefore recommended that only those outputs required by the interfaced devices are
enabled on the receiver. In real terms, the effect of 0.8 seconds latency error for a vessel
steaming at approximately 5 Knots will be in the order of 2.5 m in a horizontal position.
If uncorrected, this latency effect can only be resolved during the Least Squares
processing if data is recorded on reciprocal passes either side of the Transponder.
HydroPos supports the use of a GPS 1 PPS output to provide accurate time stamping of
data. The system does not reset the local PC clock. It simply uses the GPS time tag to
correlate the different interfaced devices. The output Time message (UTC) transmitted
immediately prior to the output Pulse should be interfaced on a separate RS232 port. It
is recommended that the Time Message is transmitted with the standard positioning
message from the GPS device. The diagram above shows how the GPS 1 PPS is
referenced to the GPS positional device.
To interface to a 1 PPS device the +ve signal should be interfaced to Data Set Ready
(DSR) line of the RS232 interface and the Ground should be connected to the Signal
Ground.
It should be noted that, generally, the Pulse transmitted by the GPS device is too short to
be detected by an RS232 device. It is recommended that the interfacing is done
incorporating a Signal Pulse stretcher.
When the Sonardyne OBC12 device is selected, an additional option is displayed, “Test
Transceiver”. When selected, the Monitor Transceiver window is displayed and
communication with the Transceiver is attempted. If full communication is established
the output will be displayed as below. The series of commands communicates with all
the internal boards within the OBC12 and the results are displayed as below. This
provides the first step to ensure that the OB12 has been successfully interfaced. The full
functionality of the Monitor Transceiver display is described in Section 4.0 on page 46.
Once the interfaced devices have been configured the data streams can be monitored to
ensure that the expected telegrams are being received. The Monitor IO screen can also
be accessed from the main HydroPos display using the MENU shortcut jp.
The interfaced devices can be included or excluded from the display using the tick boxes
on the left hand column. The scrolling display displays the selected interface telegrams
in time sequence and shows the Port number, the direction of the data message as well as
the time of the data transmission or receipt.
The data can be displayed as either ASCII or hexadecimal (HEX) characters and the
results output as a single file or individual files for each interfaced device.
The data can be displayed either as a complete Data String or in Raw Input format. In
the Data String display, the data is only displayed when a recognisable data string is
received for that particular device. If the baud rate or data protocol is wrongly selected,
HydroPos cannot determine when a valid data telegram is received. If the Raw Input is
selected, all the raw data received on a port is displayed.
In the example on the following page, the interfaced GPS Sensor has the baud rate set
incorrectly indicated by the intelligible data telegram. When the correct baud rate is
selected a recognisable data telegram is displayed.
The display can be paused to allow the user to read the actual data telegram. Raw data
can also be logged into a text file. While the majority of sensors output standard NMEA
0183 telegrams, some devices do not always provide fully compliant telegrams, and
recording the received data for analysis by Sonardyne Support technicians can often
prove to be vital in providing remote assistance during mobilisation. The data files are
time stamped with the start of the data recording and which port the data was recorded
from e.g. HydroPos Port ALL 13-Aug-10 @101311.txt
3.3.2.2 Surface Reference Computations (bN)
The surface reference calculation creates a link between the interfaced sensors to derive
a surface position. In the above example the GPS and the Gyro on Ports 60 and 50
respectively are used to derive a position. These calculations are then subsequently
selected as active calculations in the Configuration page, see Section 3.3.3 page 30. A
maximum of three computations can be created in HydroPos.
3.3.2.3 Helmsman Display (bY)
A new feature of HydroPos Version 2 is the Helmsman display. This is a stand alone
application that can be installed on any PC on the vessel to provide a remote display.
Depending on the size of vessel these could be on the bridge to provide guidance for the
Helmsman or on the back deck to assist the crew during cable deployment.
The Helmsman display application can also be run on the same PC as HydroPos. This
could allow a single PC with two monitors to display a helmsman display on one screen,
to assist with navigation, while allowing the HydroPos user access to all the various
displays to monitor the data acquisition.
The helmsman display is configured from within HydroPos. The update of the remote
displays can either be based on time e.g. every 1 or 2 seconds etc, or automatically.
Whenever a change occurs e.g. vessel attitude or position change the remote displays
immediately show the change. No configuration needs to take place on the remote
application.
HydroPos uses a UDP broadcast on the network to look for the remote displays and then
sets up a secure TCP/IP connection with each of the remote displays. If either
application is stopped or restarted the connection is re-established with no further
intervention from the user.
To support communication with the remote displays HydroPos uses three memory Ports.
The default settings for these Ports are 6125,6126 and 6127 and hence these should not
be blocked by any firewall application if the remote displays are to be used. If
necessary, due to clashes with other applications, the Port assignments can be changed.
Changes to the Port assignment can be done by editing the Windows registry and should
therefore only be carried out by a competent IT technician. It should be noted that
incorrect use of the Registry editor can cause serious problems that might require the
reinstallation of the Windows Operating system. Before any changes are made it is
strongly recommended that a backup of the Windows registry is made before any
settings are modified. It is worth noting that the Registry entries are only created when
the Helmsman display is enabled from within HydroPos for the first time. Any changes
made to the Port assignment on the HydroPos PC should be reflected in any PC that will
run the remote display application.
The location of the registry entries are as follows :-
Directory My Computer/HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Hydro Projects/HydroPos/Display

Entry Name Type Data
1 DisplayBroadCast REG_DWORD 6125
2 HydroPosBroadCast REG_DWORD 6126
3 TCPPort REG_DWORD 6127
3.3.2.4 Vessel Outline ( bV)
A vessel outline can be included in the graphical display. The offsets that define the
vessel outline are centered on the Common Reference Point as described in section 3.3.4
above.
The Common Reference Point is shown on the graphics as a cross with the interfaced
sensors plotted and annotated with their descriptions to aid identification. This graphical
plot provides a visual overview to assist in checking that no errors have occurred in
defining the offsets for the positioning calculations.
To build up the vessel outline, enter a series of coordinates, relative to the Common
Reference Point, in the left hand table. Each point will join to the next, and so on until
the figure is complete.
If the Vessel Outline is enabled for display, see Section 3.3.3.3 on page 32, the outline is
shown at „true‟ scale, i.e. the user will only see it when the chart scale is suitably high.
At smaller scales, however, the Common Reference Point will still appear as a cross with
an arrow displaying the heading.
3.3.2.5 Vessel Offsets ( bO)
In a similar manner to the vessel outline, additional offsets can be created for the vessel.
These can be selected from the main screen to navigate the vessel around an offset
location.
3.3.3 Survey Data
For each Project
3.3.3.1 Survey Lines ( bL)
Survey lines can be incorporated into the HydroPos graphical display to provide
additional information for the user. These lines are in addition to the Pre-Plot Survey
lines which are added automatically. In the above display Line 1 is a manually added
line indicating the position of a line of fishing pots. Lines 2 through to 11 are the Pre-
Plot lines where the Seismic Cables are to be deployed. The process of importing the
pre-plot lines is described in more detail in Section 3.3.4 on page 37.
The lines definitions can be entered as either grid or geographical coordinates defining
the start and end of the line, or a single coordinate and Line Bearing and Distance can be
used to derive the end of the line. Different display types can be used to enhance the
main graphical display but the choice of Line Type is entirely cosmetic.
To assist in Navigating the vessel during acoustic acquisition or cable deployment, Sail
Lines offset to the Survey Lines with a Run-In and Run-Out can be defined. This
process is described in more detail in Section 4.0 on page 45.
3.3.3.2 Targets ( bT)
In a similar manner to the Survey Lines, see section 3.3.9, Target information can be
included in the .CFG file. The positions can be entered in either Grid or Geographical
coordinates. Targets can also be created from the Graphical Menu by pressing . This
feature is particularly useful in creating a target a potential hazard to the survey
operations e.g. Fishing Pot located certain distance from the Port or Starboard side of the
vessel. This process is described in more detail on Page 14.
Targets are assigned one of a preset series of symbols for display on the graphical area.
To change the displayed symbol type, use the radio buttons at the foot of the page. Any
Target entered in the list can be used as a target to derive a Range and Bearing from the
current navigation position. The choice of symbol is entirely cosmetic.
In the example above, entry No.2 is a manually entered Target to identify the location of
a Fishing Pot in the vicinity of the survey area. The first Target is the Receiver Group
440 located on the Pre-Plot Line 1095. The process of selecting Receiver Groups as
Targets is described in more detail on Page 41.
3.3.4 Current Configuration
The Current Configuration contains data that is changed on a project by project basis
dependent on the individual project requirements.
3.3.4.1 Project Configuration ( bC)
The Project Configuration allows the user to select the various Interfaced device and
Geodetic Parameters relevant to a specific project.
As the user selects a parameter the relevant

options are displayed for selection. The Vessel
Surface Reference Calc selects which position
calculation is used to compute the various fixed
locations on the vessel e.g. Echo Sounder, RFiD
deployment position, Re-Programmer. If required a different Surface Reference Calc
can be selected for the OC12 acoustic Transducer. Generally the same calculation will
be selected for both the vessel and the OBC12, however, this facility does allow the
Transducer to be mounted on a towed sled to decouple the acoustic measurements from
the vessel to minimise noise interference. In this scenario a second GPS would be
mounted on the sled and hence the position would be different to that of the vessel.
The values for the Transmit Power and Receive Sensitivity are described in detail in
Sonardyne's Operating Manual for the OBC12.
The Geodetic Parameters for a particular project can be selected from the internal
Geodetic Database, see Section 3.3.1 on Page 18. The Datum is a descriptive field and
the user should enter the description for the specified Survey Datum e.g. WGS84 or
ED50.
If a Datum shift is selected and the Source or Destination Ellipsoid does not match the
currently selected Ellipsoid the user is provided with a warning message and the current
Ellipsoid automatically changed to the Destination Ellipsoid of the Datum Shift.
Once the Geodetic Parameters are entered the Test

Point option can be selected. A separate window
appears that allows the user to enter a location GPS
for the antenna.
Generally, clients provide a test point for the survey

to ensure that the data from the GPS device is
correctly transformed into the geodetic system for
the survey area. The input data is defined as the
data received from the interfaced device, e.g. the
GPS receiver. The computed position is the derived
position after any Datum Shift has been applied, if
selected in the Project Configuration, and the
Geographical coordinates have been converted into the required Projection system.
The Speed of Sound is used to derive the Acoustic Ranges from the travel times received
from the OBC12. The speed of sound entered in the configuration menu is used purely
for the Online Computations. During Processing the speed of sound can be changed and
the data set reprocessed.
The water depth is a general water depth for the survey area. The depth is used to
correct the observed slant ranges to derive an Online 2D solution. If the depth of a
Transponder is entered into the Transponder/Line definitions in the .lines file, (see Page
39 of Section 3.3.4), then the individual depths will be used during the online
computations.
3.3.4.2 Project Headers (bH)
HydroPos supports various formats for data to be exported out of the internal proprietary
data formats. The UKOOA P190 and P2/94 as well as the SPS format specify certain
information to be included in the data header to ensure that the data can be imported
correctly into a third party application. The header information is essential if the
HydroPos data will be processed in a remote location as it provides vital information
regarding the data acquisition and job parameters.
The Project Header fields are free text and should be used to ensure that another operator
can understand where and when the data has been acquired. Having entered the Project
Configuration information and Project Header data the user can view the Headers that
will be generated for and subsequent P190,P2/94 or SPS data files.
This information can be saved in a file containing no data but simply the header
descriptions to ensure that the correct information will be recorded into the subsequently
acquired HydroPos Log files.
3.3.4.3 Graphics Display (bG)
The Graphics display window provides the user with access to customising the main
graphical display.
The Chart origin can be specified manually by either entering the coordinates, using the
coordinates from one of the currently selected Targets or using the Auto-Set Option.
The auto-set option centres and scales the display to show the currently selected Pre-Plot
Lines.
The users can include or exclude information on the screen based on individual
preference. To ensure that the user can effectively monitor the acquisition of acoustic
data or monitor the deployment of a cable, it is often necessary to exclude or include
information from the screen in real-time to ensure the display is uncluttered and easily
readable. The tick boxes on the right hand side of the screen enable the user to achieve
this in real-time, as follows :-
Snail Trail - This enables or disables the tracking of vessel‟s passage, shown on the
screen as a series of up to 50 dots. As each navigation cycle is received, the vessel
position is automatically updated on the screen and the previous vessel position
added to the snail trail list. The snail trail update refers to the frequency at which the
previous vessel position is marked for historical reference.
Laptop Colours - Under normal circumstances the chart background is light blue.
This background can make the display difficult to see on some laptop displays and
the laptop option removes background colour.
Refresh Screen on Vessel Position - If selected, the chart is always refreshed to

ensures that the current vessel position is within the chart view window. As the
vessel moves off the chart display area, the chart is automatically redrawn with the
current vessel location at the specified origin.
Display Vessel Outline – The current offset position on the vessel is always shown as
an arrow with the orientation indicating the vessel heading. If selected, the outline of
the vessel, as defined at Section 3.3.2.4 on Page 27, above, is also included on the
display. The vessel shape can be displayed either as a solid shape or a wire line
display simply indicating the vessel outline.
Display Acoustic Hits – The acoustic responses to the interrogation request are
shown graphically as green lines from the vessel location to the intended location of
the transponder. If an in-range reply is missing from the response from the OBC12
Transceiver, the line is shown in red to indicate that a potential range has been
missed.
Display Transponder Solutions - If selected, the

position of the Transponders in the currently
selected Log file are displayed on the chart.
During data acquisition the Transponder
positions are updated as an improved solution
is derived. The Transponder solution display
can be colour coded to assist the user with the
assessment of the acquired acoustic data and determine if additional data should be
acquired. The HDOP of the solution provides an indication of the distribution of the
data and whether statistically a good solution should be achievable from the acquired
data. Colour coding the solutions based on the distance from the Pre-Plot location
provides an indication of how well the cable has been laid.
Display Receiver Groups – This option allows the user to select how the Pre-Plot
receiver groups should be shown on the graphics and which labels should be
displayed.
Display Sail Lines – Sail lines are generated as either coincident with, or offset from,
the Pre-Plot Lines. These can be included or excluded from the display and labelled
to suit the users requirements.
Display Targets – The Targets can be included or excluded from the display and
labelled to suit the users requirements. The radius of the Tolerance circle drawn
around the active Target is user definable. A radius of 0m will exclude the tolerance
circle from the display.
Show Acoustic Coverage – A hatched circle representing the active range of the
OBC12 allows the user to monitor which Transponders will be selected for acoustic
interrogation. The size of the coverage circle is based on the maximum slant range
set for the OBC12 (see Section 4.0 on page 47) and the depth of water in the survey
area (see Section 3.3.3.1 on Page 30). It should be noted that the Acoustic Coverage
display is purely indicative as a mean water depth is applied. While Transponders
might be within acoustic range, actual data might not be received due to the attitude
of the Transponder on the sea bed. In some scenarios Transponders outside of the
coverage may reply as all Transponders of the specific Address within acoustic range
will reply when they received an interrogation command from the OBC12.
The Acoustic Coverage display is however still a useful tool in monitoring acoustic
data acquisition.
If Transponder/Lines have been defined (see Section 3.3.4 on Page 37), the pre-plot
or intended location of the Receiver Group is included as a circle. Any receiver
groups with Transponders assigned are shown as a solid circle.
The Angular display allows the user to select the

required format of angular data. This includes positions
displayed in Latitude and Longitude, as well as any
Bearing information. It is worth noting that,
irrespective of the currently selected format, data can be
entered in any format and the system will recognize the
user‟s input. Once entered, the data will then be
redisplayed in the selected format.
The “Origin for Chart Refresh” option allows the user to

minimize the number of screen refreshes. This option is
most useful when the Chart is automatically refreshed
on the current vessel position. If the vessel passage is
East/West then selecting the Left option ensures that the
vessel will travel the full width of the Chart before
another screen refresh is required
A short cut selection menu can be easily accessed from

the graphics menu to allow the user easy access to
enable or disable graphical features while HydroPos is actively acquiring data.
3.3.4.4 Alarm Configuration ( bA)
Alarm settings can be defined by the user, to automatically flag unacceptable data. The
alarms are based on the surface positioning criteria only. If the alarms are enabled and
the positioning quality is out of tolerance, then the positions are still recorded to the
selected .LOG file. However, the data is then flagged as not to be used for deriving
positions for the Transponders.
The alarm conditions are also recorded in an error text file called HydroPos.ERR. This
file is generated in the HydroPos program directory. The log file entry gives the Time
and Date when the alarm condition was activated and also when the data returned is
within tolerance. For example, if the GPS loses differential corrections for thirty
minutes, only two entries would be included in the HydroPos.ERR file to indicate when
the corrections were lost and when corrections resumed. If an alarm condition is
activated, a warning message is displayed on the screen to alert the user. This message
has to be acknowledged to clear the screen. If the alarm condition persists, the message
is automatically redisplayed. If, however, the data returns to within the acceptable
tolerance prior to the message being acknowledged, the message remains on the screen,
though the message is shown low-lighted to indicate the error condition has been
rectified.
If Logging is active then the Error Messages are also recorded in the .log file for
subsequent review during processing. This gives the processor an indication of any
problems that were occurring during the data acquisition.
3.3.5 Current Transponder/Line Setup (t)
The Current Transponder/Line Setup imports/exports and controls the Pre-Plot Line data
and Transponder locations for the data help in the .lines file.
Predefined Pre-Plot lines can either be imported into or created manually within
HydroPos.
HydroPos supports a number of Import formats,

UKOOA P190, SPS or CSV file formats. If a CSV
file is supplied, a user defined format can be setup to
import into HydroPos the information needed to
define the intended Seismic Line.
HydroPos can also import lines stored in a separate

HydroPos .lines file as well as the HydroPos Auto Deploy Files. This feature is often
used when Line information is transferred from one vessel to another. The Auto Deploy
File format is described in more detail in Appendix B on page 85.
If the supplied UKOOA P190 or SPS file contains multiple lines within one file, the
system allows the user to select lines singly or all together. Prior to importing the data,
the Header information from the P190 file is displayed. This allows the user to confirm
that the data in the pre-plot file is in the correct geodetic datum. The Import function
does not include any facilities to apply a datum shift and hence it is the user‟s
responsibility to ensure compatible data is being used. The diagram below shows the
input screen allowing the user to select the appropriate pre-plot files and the header data.
When importing line data from CSV files, the user is able to specify the format which
allows HydroPos to import data created by other applications. Once the format has been
created, it is stored for importing other similar files.
The CSV import option operates in a similar manner to the P190 and SPS imports. If the
display does not reflect what is expected from within the file, in terms of lines names and
receiver groups, it is often because the Import Format is incorrect.
The file import routine allows the user to

specify if the data fields are separated with a
comma, space or tab. HydroPos only allows
the user to import the data fields that are
required in the system. Other fields can be
ignored by using the Ignore/Blank field. This
allows the user to import data from the file
structure of a third party application. The list
on the left shows the data fields not selected
for import and the list on the right shows the
fields selected for import. The order of the
import fields can be changed once they have
been selected for import.
Line information can also be created from within the HydroPos

application. Either a single line can be created, or a block of
lines generated with a user definable offset distance from the
main line.
When creating lines from within HydroPos the lines can be

defined as both start and end coordinates or as a range and
bearing from a specified start or end point. As a reminder to
the user the current Geodetic Parameters are displayed at the
top of the form.
If Geographical coordinates are entered, they are converted, on the fly, to Projection
coordinates, and vice-versa, to provide additional checks on the users input. A common
depth can be assigned for all the receiver groups, however these can be edited
individually once the line has been created. The Receiver Group interval is specified
along with any prefix,
suffix and increments for
the naming convention.
To provide additional
checks on the input, the
total line length, the line
bearing and the number of
receiver groups are
computed and displayed.
When generating a block

of lines the offset interval
and line naming
convention is specified.
Once the Pre-Plot line

information has been
setup within the HydroPos
environment, part of the
data can be subsequently
edited. For example the
depths can be edited for
specific receiver groups.
Double clicking on the Depth column highlights the column and an entered depth will be
applied to all the receiver groups. This facility allows the user to assign depths for
locations where no depth information is supplied in the import file.
Prior to Seismic operations, the Transponders are attached at specific receivers in the
seismic cable. As the seismic cables are laid over all or part of the Pre-Plot line, the
Transponder becomes associated with the physical location of a Receiver Group. This
association between Transponder and Receiver Group can be established in HydroPos
either automatically, using the RFiD or ReProgrammer systems, or manually in the
Transponder/Line Setup screen.
The P190 and SPS formats are purely positioning information file formats and make no
provision for Transponder locations. The Transponder information must therefore be
assigned from within HydroPos.
Manually Assigned Transponder Information.
Active Selection
Transponder information can be entered type in the appropriate cell. The Transponder
Address must lie in the range 1-401 and the Reply Channel 1 – 9. This provides the
facility for 3609 unique Transponder identifiers. If any changes are made to the
Transponder definitions, “Apply Changes” appears. When the changes are applied the
system checks to see that there is no duplication of transponder definitions on the line. If
duplicated transponders exist, the system is unable to detect which range should be
assigned to which solution and hence
the user is warned that a conflict
occurs.
Transponders can be assigned in

batches. Double clicking on either
the Address or Channel cell, displays
a form to input Transponder settings
for a range of Transponder Channels. This feature is particularly useful when using the
ReProgrammer as it doesn‟t matter which Transponder is physically attached to the cable
as it will be reprogrammed to match the required settings during deployment.
For a Seismic Survey there is the potential for a large number of lines to create the entire
Survey definition. These lines could be imported from a single P190 line definition file.
During the survey operations, cables will be deployed in smaller patches within the
survey area definition. When pinging the acoustic Transponders HydroPos
automatically detects which Transponders are within acoustic range of the vessel. If all
the lines are included in the active Transponder list, HydroPos not only has to parse
every line to test for acoustically visible transponders, it also has to include all the Lines
and Groups in the graphical display. It is recommended that to keep the application
cycle time as low as possible, and therefore maximise the potential acoustic response
from the Transponders, only the lines with Cables deployed on them or those in the
vicinity of the survey vessel are selected as active. During Survey operation the active
list can be increased or decreased without stopping the acquisition process.
Similarly, if very long lines are in the survey definition, the HydroPos overhead can be
reduced by only including Receiver Groups where there is an associated Transponder.
This can be achieved by un-ticking the “Load all
Receiver Groups” option.
Having created or imported the line information, the

lines can then be exported in a different format. This
facility allows the users to create P190 or SPS files
from a manual data entry. The creation of a Hydro Pos
Auto Deploy File is described in more detail in Section
6 on Page 57, but it allows the user to create a file that
can be used when using HydroPos in ReProgrammer
mode. The cable and line definition can be created on
one vessel and the deployment file provided to the cable layer. This reduces the number
of skilled HydroPos users that are required as the ReProgrammer can operate in a far
more automated manner, and also retain the decision regarding the deployment to a
centralised location.
Both the Line Data list and the Receiver Groups list allow
the use of the Mouse Right Click to launch menus.
If cables are laid over different sections of a single Pre-

Ploy line, copying the Line allows the user to create
distinct lines for each deployment scenario E.g Line 1
Transponder on Groups 300 – 600 and also a copy with Line 1
Transponder on Groups 700 – 900
With the receiver group menu the user can select a

specific Receiver Group to be the active target and also
centre the graphic at the location.
N.B. If the graphics option is set to Refresh on Vessel

Position this option will not change the display if the vessel and the specified receiver
group cannot be displayed on the same graphical screen.
3.4 View Options
The View options enable the user to change the

graphical display and which text windows are
selected. The shortcut keystrokes are shown in
brackets after the menu title. Menu options are
disabled or enabled depending on the HydroPos
operating mode.
3.4.1 Transceiver/RFID Data ( m )
Depending on the HydroPos operating mode, this screen shows the data transmitted to
or received from, either the OBC12 Transceiver or the Sonardyne RFID reader. It also
allows the user to control the interrogation of the OBC12.
3.4.2 Transponder Solutions ( n )
This display shows the results for the online 2D solutions for each Transponder and is
described in more detail in Section 3.5 - Acoustic Acquisition on page 45.
3.4.3 Cable Deployment ( o )
This display allows the user to setup and monitor the deployment of the cable using
RFiD and is described in more detail in Section 3.6 – Cable Deployment (RFiD) on page
51.
3.4.4 Raw GPS Data ( p )
This option allows the user to review the

raw data telegram from the GPS receiver.
The position (Latitude, Longitude and
Height) of the GPS antenna usually refers
to WGS84. In certain circumstances,
however, the GPS receiver can be
programmed to perform its own Datum
shift calculations and the user ensure that
the Receiver is outputting data in the
expected datum. The number of satellites
refers to the total Space Vehicles being
used in the position solution. The horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) of the
solution is displayed as a factor (generated by the GPS receiver) which, if multiplied by
the expected pseudo-range error (for example 2.5 m), provides a likely 2D error estimate
at 95% probability. The reference Station ID refers to the Differential base station used
for correcting the raw GPS ranges and the quality indicator is from a preset list of text
messages supported by the NMEA $__GGA string [2]. The GPS operating manual should
be consulted for further details on this. Finally, the age of SC104 Update in seconds is
also provided as part of the NMEA output string.
If a GPS 1 PPS device is interfaced into the system the computed latency of the received
GPS data will be displayed. It should be noted that if the latency appears to be
excessive, it should be checked to see if the GPS UTC Time message is output before or
after the output Pulse. HydroPos expects the time message to proceed the trigger Pulse.
3.4.5 Raw IO Data ( jp )
This display allows the user to monitor the raw data being received in the Serial IO
Ports. This display is described in more detail in Section 3.3.2.1 – Interface Setup on
Page 24.
3.4.6 Refresh Graphics ( bG )
This option allows a refresh of the display in the graphical area.
3.4.7 Transponder Information Î

This option allows the user to determine
information about the Transponder
positions displayed on the graphics
screen. If the F11 screen is enabled, as
the mouse is moved over the Pre-Plot or
As-Positioned transponder locations the
pertinent information is displayed on the
screen.
This feature allows the user to easily

reference the transponder to the Receiver
Group location on the Pre-Plot position.
The Pre-Plot information shows the

transponder assigned to the receiver
group location. The As-Pinged location
shows the information for the actual
transponder and the Along and Cross line errors. This allows the user to easily identify
if the cable has been deployed with a lateral shift from its intended location.
3.4.8 Double Graphics Scale ( q )
This option will make the displayed graphics appear at 50% of the current scale.
3.4.9 Halve Graphics Scale ( r )
This option will make the displayed graphics appear at 50% of the current scale.
3.4.10 Error Messages ( s )
Any error messages that occur when Logging is active are recorded in a file named
“HydroPos.ERR” in the application directory. This display shows the error conditions as
they occur and when they are cleared. The error messages are also stored in the .log
file. Clearing the error messages only clears the Error File on the users PC and does not
delete the errors recorded in the .log file.
4.0 Acoustic Acquisition
Having setup the vessel and current project information the vessel can acquire acoustic
data, or ping the deployed Transponders.
The OBC12 provides a single range to the Transponder in the active Address and hence
to acquire a spatially distributed data set the vessel should sail on both sides of the
deployed Seismic Cable pinging the Transponders attached to it. The recommended
offset from the cable is twice the water depth and, if practically possible, the lines should
be in opposite directions to allow any errors in offsets on the vessel to be corrected for
during the Least Squares computations. To provide guidance for the helmsman, a sail
line can be generated within HydroPos.
In the example above, the Line 1095 with Receiver Groups 300 to 500 has a cable with
Transponders laid over it between Receiver Groups 360 to 440. The Receiver Groups
with Transponders are identified as solid. The sail line is generated to guide the vessel
only where acoustic data can be reliably received from the Transponders. The sail line is
defined with a Run-In/Out and the Run-In location has been selected as the target to
guide the vessel to the start of the acoustic acquisition run. The convention used in
specifying the offset direction is Left of the line has a negative (-ve) offset, and Right of
the line has a Positive (+ve) offset.
At the end of a pinging run the vessel is turned to follow the reciprocal heading on the
other side of the deployed cable, simply clicking the Reverse option will move the Sail
Line to the other side of the pre-plot line and the Offset and Distance Along the line will
reflect the new direction.
When the vessel is in position the Acoustic Cycle can be started using the “Start
Pinging” button.
The Monitor Transceiver or m screen allows the user to monitor the data being received
from the Transponders. It is recommended that prior to commencing the Pinging run,
the Transponders are monitored to ensure that acoustic data is being received prior to the
vessel commencing the positioning run.
Transceiver Initialisation Sequence
Request for Range
No Valid Range Received
Valid Range Received
If the entire data string is comprised of groups of “FFFFFFFFFFE” responses, then no

valid ranges have been received from the enabled transponders.
When the m screen is docked, it appears as a display at the top of the graphics screen.
The display does not show the received Transceiver telegrams, however, the user is able
to change the Max Slant Range and the Transponder Interrogation if set in Manual
Selection mode.
HydroPos has the ability to Auto-Select the Transponders for interrogation or the user
can select the transponders for interrogation manually. If the latter methodology is
selected, the user can manually
enter up to a maximum of 10
Addresses for interrogation.
This selection can be changed
as Pinging and Logging is
active. Generally the Auto-
Pick methodology is recommended as the most efficient. If the system fails to detect a
certain group of transponders then the most efficient use of vessel time is to break off the
acoustic pinging run, manually select the missing Transponder Address and re-ping in
the immediate vicinity in an attempt to position the relevant section of cable. Once
sufficient data has been acquired, the system can be returned to Auto-Pick and the
Pinging run resumed.
The maximum Slant Range for the acoustic acquisition is user selectable. The selection
of the maximum slant range as well as the Transponder distribution is critical in
obtaining a good data set. As previously mentioned the recommended sail line offset is
2 times the water depth. The OBC12 is capable of receiving ranges of approximately
1000m however, the majority of the long ranges would not enhance the solution as they
would, in shallow water, be affected by reflections from the sea surface and seabed.
Considering the magnitude of the sail line offset the longer ranges would be poorly
distributed spatially and hence would be rejected during processing. The combined
acquisition cycle of HydroPos and the OBC12 is 1.2 seconds per Address range request.
Therefore, acquiring long ranges that would be subsequently rejected in processing
wastes acquisition time that could be used to acquire data from closer transponders.
As there are 9 Channel replies from each Range request, the system can acquire data
from 9 transponders every 1.2 seconds if they are located within the maximum acoustic
range. Care needs to be taken to ensure that transponders with the same address are
adjacent to each other to maximise the effective acoustic ranges for each interrogation
cycle. As the survey progresses and the cables are lifted, divided and re-deployed the
management of the Transponders becomes much more difficult. The ReProgrammer
allows the user o manage the Transponder distribution more effectively, as the
Transponders can be reprogrammed during deployment to the optimal settings.
Once communication has been established with the Transponders the “Pinging” run can
commence. The lines selected as active in the Transponder/Line Setup (t) are visible in
the Monitor Transponder page (n). The Acoustic hardware relates to the seabed
Transponders purely in terms of their Address and Reply Channel whereas, the Seismic
user is more conversant with Line name and Receiver Group locations.
Active Transponders
HydroPos provides the link that matches the two definitions together. By clicking on the
display header on the n screen the display can be ordered in either Line Name order or
Address/Channel order. This can be changed on the fly allowing the user to easily
monitor the data acquisition process.
The display highlights which transponders are active, i.e. which are currently being
requested for ranges. If the system is using auto-pick these will continually change as
the vessel sails past the deployed transponders. The display shows when the last
acoustic range and time of receipt in the current Pinging cycle. The positions are only
computed when the Logging is active.
The online position computation is intended purely to provide an indication of the

position. The solution is a 2D solution (fixed depth) with the Transponder depth derived
from the preplot position. No solution is acquired until 5 ranges have been received
from the Transponder. The HDOP figure provides an indication of how the data is
spatially distributed, similar to the manner in which GPS devices indicate the
distribution of the satellites used in a position fix. HDOP does not give an indication of
accuracy, merely that with the data set acquired it is mathematically possible to achieve a
good solution. A position with a low HDOP could be in the completely wrong position.
This is best illustrated in a Transponder solution being the wrong side of a baseline as
shown below.
Vessel Sail Path
A B
The four ranges, shown as red and green, acquired by the vessel can be resolved as two
mathematically correct positions at locations A and B. The spatial distribution of the
data results in a low HDOP, however, the discrepancy in the position, in the order of
70m, shows that the low HDOP does not provide a measure of absolute accuracy.
When the initial position is computed, it is often based on a spatially poor distribution of
ranges. As more data is acquired the solution should improve. If the position remains
poor this could be attributed to either poor acoustic data or the mathematical solution is
effected by the initial poor quality ranges. In this instance the user can reset the
computation by selecting the Transponder and pressing Reset. This forces the Least
Squares algorithm to reset itself with all the available data.
During acoustic acquisition the combination of the numerical displays and the graphical
display allows the user to continually monitor the acquisition and alter the parameters if
necessary.
5.0 Cable Deployment (RFiD)
The management of the Transponder can become difficult in an OBC spread with
multiple deployment vessels and cables being deployed, recovered, broken apart,
reassembled and subsequently re-laid.
One method of overcoming this issue is the use of the Sonardyne RFiD system. Rather
than the user having to know which Transponder is attached to the cable and setting the
appropriate values in the Transponder/Line Deployment t screen, as the cable passes the
RFiD antenna the settings are read. Using the surface position of the deploy point on the
vessel, HydroPos computes the location of the nearest Receiver Group and automatically
assigns the Transponder to the location.
Having switched to the Cable Deployment Mode, the Cable Deployment (n) screen
becomes active. Within the Cable Deployment window the user can create the definition
for a new cable to be deployed. The Seismic Line
is selected from the active Lines in the
Transponder/Line Setup t window. The first
Receiver Group for the cable is specified and the
cable can be laid either up or down Receiver
Group. As HydroPos has no knowledge of the
size of the cable, it assumes that the cable will be
laid from the start point to the end of the line, or
the beginning, if the “Down Group” option is
selected. The user can define the Receiver Group
interval for the expected transponders e.g. every
2nd,3rd etc group. This option is purely cosmetic
and it provides guidance to the user as to when
the system expects there to be a Transponder. If
the cable has an irregular transponder distribution
the value should be set as 1 and the system will
still detect the transponders and assign them to the correct location on the cable. Once
the deployment definition has been created, this is saved in the current .log file for use
during deployment operations.
When the line to be deployed is

loaded into HydroPos the
graphical display shows the
section of the cable to be laid in
black. Sections of the Pre-Plot
line that will not be covered by
the cable are shown greyed out.
The Receiver Groups where
transponders are expected to fall
are shown with a box drawn
around them. Any of the
Receiver Groups drawn on the screen can be selected as the active target by using the
band Left Mouse button.
In a similar manner to the OBC12 it is recommended that the RFiD device is started
prior to commencing deployment to ensure HydroPos is communicating with and
reading the RFiD tags on the beacons. The Monitor Transceiver/RFiD or mdisplay
shows the data being received from the RFiD reader.
The display on the left
shows the data being
received from the RFiD
tags. Each tag can contain a
user programmable Asset
field, 8 Characters Long, as
well as the Address and
Channel of the beacon it is
attached to. HydroPos reads
all the information from the
tag and displays it on the
Monitor screen.
It should be noted that the

Tag information is only
applied to the cable being
deployed when the Logging
is active.
When the Logging is switched to Active, HydroPos records the RFiD information and
using the surface navigation data assigns a location for the position of the tag, and
therefore the transponder. The transponder position is in turn compared with the
Receiver Group position in order to determine the location of the Transponder on the
deployed cable.
The Tag data is held in the order that the tags are read, and the Tag asset data is
displayed along with the Transponder Information, Address and Channel, read from the
Tag.
If the cable is paid out and the next Receiver Group is held in the deployment engine the
position of the Transponder will be continually updated until the Receiver Group is
released to the seabed.
If the cable is being deployed in deeper water, depending on the Receiver Group interval
and the distribution of the Transponders, two transponders could be in the water column
at the same time. In this instance, the system will derive two very similar positions.
Once the cable deployment has been completed the user can move the transponders on
positions by using the menu options or displaying the menus by using the Right Mouse
button on the appropriate line on the display. If a Tag has been read but the system has
been unable to assign a location for the Transponder automatically, the user can
manually assign the Tag to a Receiver Group, (see diagram on the following page). The
system will not allow the user to place a Tag out of the Read Sequence e.g. if the Tags
are read as Tag1, Tag2, Tag3,Tag4 the user cannot assign them on the cable in the order
Tag1, Tag3, Tag2, Tag4 as it is assumed that the cable must be laid straight along the
Pre-Plot Line.
Occasionally, the RFiD reader will fail to read a tag and it will be missing from the cable
definition. In this instance, a manual Transponder can be assigned to the cable.
In the display above, the following information is highlighted.
1) Receiver Group 350 – A manual Transponder has been assigned hence the only
information available is the Address and Channel.
2) Receiver Group 410 – The Tag Tag002-2 has been manually moved. This is
indicated by the Deployed Position being shown with a line through it. This
indicates that a position was read for the Tag but the user assigned location for
the Tag does not correspond to the position that HydroPos observed.
3) Receiver Group 400 – A Tag is missing and the system has detected that there is
an unassigned Tag read after the previously assigned Tag, located at Receiver
Group 380, and before the next assigned Tag, located at Receiver Group 410.
This unassigned Tag can be allocated manually to any of the intermediate
Receiver Groups.
The cable can also be moved up and down the cable. This situation could occur if the
cable lay plan was that the start of the Cable would be at Receiver Group 360. When the
cable was actually deployed, however, it touched down two receiver groups „up‟ the
line. From a Seismic perspective this might be acceptable for the Seismic acquisition
program, and hence the cable will not be recovered and redeployed. This mathematical
adjustment of the cable ensures that the deployed cable defines the cable in relationship
to its actual location as opposed to the original design.
Once the cable has been

deployed and the user has
made any adjustments to the
Transponder Assignments the
data can be exported in a
number of different formats.
If the HydroPos licence

supports Cable Deployment
and Acoustic Acquisition
then the distribution of the Transponders can be updated in the current .line file so the
vessel can commence Acoustic Acquisition to derive the as-laid position of the cable.
Alternatively the information can be exported as a new .line file or as a CSV file for
importing into another HydroPos application.
It is worth noting that Deploy Positions are only provided for locations where the
Tag/Transponder has been assigned by HydroPos, based on the last recorded position of
the Tag immediately prior to deployment. When Tags/Transponders have been included
manually or the Tag data has been manually moved, no positions are included. The
display below shows the CSV export from the example on the previous page where the
Transponder at Receiver Group was manually entered and the Tag at Receiver Group
410 was manually moved from its original assigned location.
6.0 Cable Deployment (ReProgrammer)
In order to maximise the acoustic responses, careful planning needs to be given to the
distribution of the Transponders Addresses on the Seismic Cables. As cables are
deployed, recovered, and redeployed often in different directions, managing the location
of the Transponders becomes increasingly difficult. When using RFiD as described in
the previous section there is an inherent weakness in the system, in that the RFiD Tag
needs to be updated if the Transponder Address and Reply Channel are changed. If this
is not carried out then the Transponder information read during RFiD deployment does
not match the actual Transponder settings and the user is no wiser as to the location of
the actual Transponders attached to the cable.
An alternative solution is to re-program the Transponder information during the actual

deployment. In this scenario the user defines the ideal Transponder distribution using
the Transponder/Line Deployment t screen. Instead of having to physically reprogram
each beacon while the cable is on deck, the Transponders are automatically
reprogrammed as they pass the ReProgrammer during cable deployment.
The ReProgrammer option can operate in one of two ways. If the HydroPos Licence is a
620-0183 and only allows for Transponder Re-Programming then the application is
designed to provide a simplified operation which requires less skill to operate once the
initial setup has been carried out, generally during mobilisation or project start up. In
this mode, the deployment schedule is designed on another vessel and supplied to the
Deploy Vessel as a HydroPos Auto-Deploy File, HAD.txt. The file name is based on
the Line Name, First Lay Group and Last Lay Group suffixed with HAD.txt. The file
can be provided on a Memory Stick or a specified Network Directory if the crew is
operating a WiFi network. When the application is launched, HydroPos automatically
reads the HAD.txt file and initialises the system to start deploying this cable definition.
Recognising that space on the Cable Deploy Vessels is often limited, the ReProgrammer
main operating screen is designed more around the helmsman display providing
guidance to both the back-deck crew as to when to deploy the Receiver Groups, as well
as for the helmsman in navigating the vessel. Once the deployment has completed, the
data file is updated and this file can then be passed to the Pinging vessel(s) where a
higher level of HydroPos operator can position the as deployed cable.
If the HydroPos Licence also has the Acoustic Acquisition access then the Cable
Deployment (ReProgrammer) module can be launched from the standard HydroPos
application, as with the Cable Deployment (RFiD) module.
The file that provides the information for cable deployment can be created from within
the HydroPos environment or with another application, such as Microsoft‟s Notepad or
WordPad, using the format described in Appendix A.
6.1 Project Files (aF)
When in ReProgrammer Mode, the Project Files options, as described in Section 3.2 on
page 16, include an additional user option.
The display, as shown on the following page, includes the option for the HydroPos Auto
Deploy File. This is the location where the auto load file(s) can be located. When
HydroPos starts in ReProgrammer mode this location is checked to see if an auto deploy
file exists.
If multiple files exist in the specified location the user can select which file to use. The
information in the .had file is transferred from the ASCII format on the removable media
into a proprietary format and renamed into a Deploy File or .dpl file. The directory for
the .dpl file is the Current Deploy File Path. During deployment operations all the raw
data is logged into a Log file automatically created in the same directory and uses the
same naming convention as the had.txt and .dpl files. If required, the data from this .log
file can be exported into P2/94 if required.
If applicable, when switching from Acoustic Acquisition mode to ReProgrammer mode

the system checks for any .dpl files and allows the user to choose which file to load,
alternatively, the ReProgrammer application can be run with no cable information loaded
and the user can setup a new cable to deploy.
6.2 Create Auto-Deploy File
The Cable/Line Setup display (t) allows the user to allocate Transponders to specific
Receiver Group locations. Once the Transponder information has been setup, the
information can be Exported into an Auto Deploy File (had.txt). This file can be created
from any of the HydroPos applications and hence the files can be created on one vessel
and transferred to another. If the Auto Deploy File is created while HydroPos is in
ReProgrammer mode this deploy scenario is automatically loaded as the current line to
deploy.
The display to the left shows the line

selected for export and the first and last
Receiver Groups specified.
The display below shows the created

Auto-Deploy file as view using
Microsoft‟s Notepad application. The
format is self explanatory and can be
created by any third party application as
long as the format is adhered to.
6.3 ReProgrammer Operation
The display below shows the ReProgrammer main screen with the Line 1093 configured
to deploy the cable between Receiver Groups 360 and 440. To assist the helmsman the
Line/Lay Direction is shown.
The receiver Groups are shown and the Groups where Transponders have been specified
are shown as solid red. The areas of the pre-plot line not covered by the Seismic Cable
are shown in grey. In this scenario there is a Transponder allocated every second
Receiver Group.
The system monitors both the location of the Receiver Groups as well as the
Transponders. The distance and time to drop for each receiver group is displayed and an
alarm is triggered on the ReProgrammer box to indicate that the Receiver Group should
be released from the vessel. The time to drop is based on the vessel speed over the
ground and this required the NMEA $__VTG message to be output from the interfaced
GPS receiver.
When the Trigger is sent to indicate the Receiver Group should be deployed, the position
of the ReProgrammer is read to record the as-dropped position for the Receiver Group.
The user can select whether the system should monitor and trigger on all the Receiver
groups or only the ones that have Transponders assigned. This can be set in the Project
Configuration Page (bC). When the application is in ReProgrammer mode these
additional options are available.
The Along Line Tolerance is the distance prior to the Deploy Point that the Trigger is
sent to the ReProgrammer. This distance will depend on the amount of notice the back-
deck crew need to release the Receiver Group off the vessel.
The system also recognises which Transponder will be the next one to be deployed. The
system continually attempts to program the information for the next beacon. When the
ReProgrammer has successfully programmed the beacon HydroPos reads the battery
status of the Transponder. Once the Drop Trigger has been issued for the Transponder,
the system sets itself up to program the next Transponder to be deployed. This allows
the deployment crew to set up the next transponder before it has to be deployed from the
vessel.
The main display also includes a Left/Right indicator. This is to provide a visual
reference to the helmsman as to the position of the vessel in relation to the Pre-Plot Line.
The Course Made Good (CMG) is also displayed to assist the vessel‟s helmsman in
navigating the vessel. This later value is also derived from the MENA $__VTG
telegram output from the GPS sensor interfaced into HydroPos.
6.4 Cable Deployment - (o)
The same process described in Section 6.2 to create a new Deployed Cable, can also be
achieved using the Cable Deployment (o) screen. This allows the user to follow the
same procedure as in the RFiD deployment process and select one of the active pre-plot
lines to deploy the cable over.
If space onboard the vessel allows, and the main screen is not being used for the
helmsman, the cable deployment can be monitored using the o screen. The display
shows the as dropped coordinates including depth if an echo-sounder is interfaced as
well as the battery status of the deployed Transponder.
Once the cable deployment has been completed. The data can be exported back into the
.HAD.txt file. This can then be transferred to the Acoustic Acquisition vessel to ping the
as-laid cable to derive the final positions
of the Receiver Groups.
6.5 Monitor ReProgrammer - (m)
In a similar manner to the RFiD and

OBC12, the data sent to and received
from the ReProgrammer can be
monitored using the m screen.
7.0 Processing
The processing menu is designed to interactively solve individual data sets for a
particular Transponder, or Batch Process an entire .log data file.
The main page is divided into two tabbed setup pages :
Batch Processing
Transponder Results
The shortcut keystrokes are Alt + the underlined letter in each case.
The header above all the pages in the processing screen display information about the
currently loaded .log data file. These are the Headers recorded in the file during data
acquisition and detailed on Page 32.
7.1 Batch Processing
The Batch processing page tabulates the current estimate of the position of each
Transponder and the Flags used for setting different processing methods. Only
Transponders with a minimum of 4 received ranges are featured in the Processing menu
and so not all the Transponders listed in the F3 screen in the Online Screen will be
featured in the Processing menu.
The Batch process option is to provide a facility to set a few parameters for the total data
set and then quickly process an entire .LOG file. The parameters that can be set are
outlined in the following section.
In general the parameters can be altered by highlighting the required Transponder(s) and
then setting the parameters. Groups of Transponders can be selected by using Standard
Windows multiple selection techniques. To include an individual Transponder in the
Batch Processing the status of the Process column can be toggled to Yes or No. The
selection is changed by pressing the “Yes” or “No” button at the bottom of the screen.
The Least Squares seed is the position used as the trial point for the subsequent iterations
that should converge on the final adjusted position. The trial point can either be the mean
vessel position, the online position solution, the position recorded on a P190 file, or any
one of the available waypoints or lines.
The system can derive the depth of the Transponder in a number of different ways. The
depth solution options are :
Solve, i.e. derive the depth as a product of the Least Squares adjustment.
Read the depths from a File, i.e. a P190.
Hold the depth Fixed, as during the data acquisition.
Take the depth data from the .LOG file containing Echo soundings (if available).
The velocity of sound in water may be adjusted for the whole data set or for individual
Transponders. This is a useful feature if an area of the cable is affected by fresh water
egress from a river. The depth of the Transponder can only be edited if the “Depth
Solution” is selected as “Fixed”.
The controls for setting global processing parameters are in the bottom panel and are as
follows:-
High Residual Rejection Mask. This is a measure of the fit of the data to the
adjusted solution. If the residual of the processed range exceeds this value then that
particular range will be rejected during processing and a new solution derived.
Range limits Minimum and Maximum. This option also excludes individual ranges
from the position solution if any of the ranges are outside the selected tolerances.
This is a simple method of rejecting spurious data before the Least Squares
Adjustment.
Depth File (P190) is applicable if the “Depth Solution” is selected as File, anywhere
in the data set.
Apply Tidal Correction is applicable if the adjacent toggle box is ticked, whereupon
a selection can made from any Tidal files available on the PC directories.
When the processing parameters are set up, the batch process can be activated by
pressing the “Run Process” button. The processing system begins the batch process run
and iterates a new Least Squares solution for each Transponder where the Process option
is set to YES. The progress of the processing is displayed along with an “Abort” button
which provides a method of halting the processing if required.
Having completed the Batch processing, the user can view individual Transponder
results by selecting the Transponder from the pull-down list in the Transponder Results
page, or by double-clicking the entry in the batch process menu.
7.2 Transponder Results
The “Transponder Results” page allows the user to take a more detailed look at the data,
in both numerical and graphical format, for all the transponders listed on the Batch
Processing page.
During the Least Squares computations, individual ranges can be rejected, either
automatically or based on the user defined rejection criteria. The Status flags to indicate
rejected ranges are outlined in the table on the following page. Ranges can be edited out
of the re-processed solution by highlighting that range and pressing the “Reject
Range(s)” button. Conversely, rejected ranges can be re-accepted by using the “Accept
Range(s)” button. Standard Windows methods of multiple selections can be applied to
Accept / Reject groups of ranges. The horizontal and vertical scroll bars can be used to
move around the data display window.
For each acoustic range the following values are included in the display :-
1. Time & Date of Range Acquisition.

2. Interpolated Surface Position for the range ( Easting & Northing ).
3. Range and Range Status.
4. Least Squares Residual.
5. Residual Standard Error.
6. Tau Statistic and W Statistic.
7. Tide.
Transponder Range Status

Status Flag Description
N No Navigation data available for the range.
D Distance. The range is outside of the Maximum & Minimum
Range Window.
M Manually rejected.
R Residual. The range is outside of the Maximum Residual Limit.
C Computer. An error occurred during the Least Squares
computation and the computer automatically rejected the range to
allow the position to resolve.
The data can also be viewed in a graphical format. This display includes a scatter plot of
the residuals and ranges observed to the Transponder. The scatter plot of the ranges
includes the 95% certainty Error Ellipse for the solution. As the mouse pointer is moved
over either the Scatter Plot or the Range Distribution plots, the Residual or Range at the
mouse pointer location is displayed beneath the graphics. This feature helps assist the
operator in assessing the overall spread of the data and computational results. The data
associated with any ranges not used in the calculation, rejected either manually or
automatically, are displayed in red.
As any adjustments are made and the data set re-computed, the positional summary on
the right-hand side of the page is updated.
A full description of the statistical testing used for each adjustment is outside the scope
of this manual, but a summary of the terms and their implications follow :
The Data Quality indicators are :
Residual (m) The distance by which an observed range miscloses with the adjusted
position. Poor quality ranges should have higher residuals and can
therefore be edited out of the final solution.
Residual Std Error The standard error of a range residual, computed from the entire data
set of residuals.
Tau Statistic The residual divided by the product of the residual‟s standard error and
the standard error of an observation of unit weight. This is computed
for every range observed in a data set and is useful in conjunction with
a table of critical Tau values governed by the number of observations
and the degrees of freedom in the solution [4, page 96].
W Statistic Ratio of a residual to its standard error. This is computed for every
range observed in a data set and is used to check for normal
distribution of the data.
The Position Quality indicators are :
HDOP Horizontal dilution of precision. This is a factor computed from the

geometry of the acoustic ranges observed in the Horizontal plane and
can be multiplied by the likely system error to approximate the semi-
major axis of a 2D error ellipse.
VDOP Vertical dilution of precision. This is a factor computed from the
geometry of the acoustic ranges observed in the Vertical plane.
Sd (m) Standard Deviation of the derived position. The square root of the sum
of the squares of the residuals divided by the number of observations.
This is computed for each Transponder solution.
Error Ellipse (95%) A theoretical 2D ellipse within which 95% of the derived positions
from each range in the data-set would lie. The larger this figure is, the
more scattered and therefore less precise, the data is. 95% probability
equates to the 2.5 level for a 2D position solution.
Direction An error ellipse will have a semi-major axis longer than its semi-minor
axis. The Direction of the long axis is quoted.
Semi Major Axis (m) The long axis dimension
Semi Minor Axis (m) The short axis dimension
SE of Unit weight The square root of the reference variance
Ref Variance Reference Variance. The sum of the squares of the residuals divided by
the number of degrees of freedom
F Test A test on the Ref Variance, by its departure from unity. This test is
governed by the number of observations and the degrees of freedom in
the solution [4, page 94].
7.3 Processing Menus
From the Processing main page, additional menu options are presented in the same way
as the HydroPos main menu and comprise :
Files
System setup
Output results
7.3.1 Files
The menu options are described in order :-
“Log File ”
“Log File - Open” - The current .LOG file can be unloaded and a new file loaded from
any accessible directory. During the loading of the .LOG file, a data integrity check is
performed to make a preliminary analysis of the recorded data.
“Log File – Save As” - The currently loaded .LOG file can be saved under a separate
name for archive purposes. It is recommend that any online acquisition files are saved as
processing copies prior to any processing of the data.
“Log File – Merge Log File” - Disparate .Log files can be merged together to create a
single data set prior to processing. This facility allows the user to combine data from
individual “pinging runs” from either the same or different vessels. The data sets are
held in discrete blocks within the .Log file ensuring that different positions and offsets
can be handled within the same data file.
Log File – Create Blank Log File - If different data files are to be combined prior to
processing it is recommended that a new or blank file is created to import the data into.
This ensures that the original acquisition files are retained for archiving or processed
independently if required.
Load Depth File (P190 Format) - The depth information recorded in a UKOOA P190
Format[3] file can be integrated with a .LOG file by using this option. There is no
facility within a P190 format file to correlate shot point or receiver group with a specific
Transponder ID. HydroPos assigns the depth to each Transponder by interpolating the
Transponder position against the Shot point / Receiver Group positions in the P190 data
file. This can, therefore, be a time consuming option, especially as P190 files covering
an entire prospect, can become very large, and hence the user may prefer to avoid this by
assigning depths manually in the .LOG file on a “Fixed Depth” basis for each individual
Transponder.
Load Tidal Data File - The Tide files are comma separated text files (CSV) with three
columns of data : Date, Time and Height of tide above a suitable datum (LAT or MSL).
This option is available for the reduction of the tide, as added to the Depth information
when computing the slant range reduction. The tidal data can be created externally from
HydroPos using any program that will create a CSV file, for example Microsoft‟s Excel,
or internally by HydroPos as described below, see Appendix B.3 for the file format.
The tidal data is computed by linear interpolation for each acoustic range within the
.LOG file. As a linear interpolation computation is applied, sufficient data needs to be
provided to accurately reflect the changes in the tidal level. The time of acquisition of
each acoustic range, internal PC time, is used during the interpolation and hence the
Tidal data times must be quoted in the same time zone.
Edit Tide File - The user can either edit or view an existing tide file or create a new file
by manually entering the data.
Exit Processing - This option exits the Processing Menu and returns the user back to the
main HydroPos page.
7.3.2 System Setup
The options in this group are simply replicating the original System Setup options
described in section 3.2. When accessing the System Setup via the Processing menu,
however, only the “Survey Lines” & “Waypoints” tabbed setup pages are made available
to the user. There are no facilities for changing the geodetic parameters once processing
is being performed.
7.3.3 Output Results
Having processed the acquired data various output functions are available to the user.
Output Processed Results in P190 Format - This option allows the user to create a
P190 File with the processed results.
The user can select

which lines from the
.LOG file are
included in the P190
file.
The P190 file that is

created, includes all
the Receiver Groups
included in the
original line
description. As per
the P190 definition,
the Receiver Groups
are flagged with the
Record Identification
of “G” in Column 1 of the data record and the position data shown is the pre-plot or
intended position. If a Transponder with a processed solution is available for a Receiver
Group the identifier is changed to a “Z” and the position data is the processed result.
The latest time is also included in the data file. The time quoted for a transponder is the
time of the latest acoustic range received.
Create Text File with Processed Results - This option allows the user to create a file(s)
which can be used to import HydroPos data into another software system. The
HydroPos.TXT file is an ASCII file which is in both Comma Separated Value (CSV)
and Fixed Column Format. The following output options are available :-
Output Results Only - For each processed Transponder, the Processed Results
(H1 Record) and the Statistical Analysis of the Results ( H2 Record ) are output
into the HydroPos.TXT File. Full details of the H1 and H2 record sets are
included in Appendix B.1 on Page 87.
Output Raw Ranges Only - For each Transponder, the Acoustic Ranges (R1
Record) are output into the file. Full details of the R1 record set is included in
Appendix B.1 on Page 87.
Output Results & Ranges - Both the Processed Results and Raw Ranges, as
described in the above options, are output for all Transponder Solutions.
Create Raw Data File - This option extracts all the raw data, both surface navigation
(GPS events) and acoustic, from the .log file to allow independent analysis of the
acquired Data Set.
The output files are linked to the original .log file with the extension changed to .pos,
.raw or .P294.
.pos file The .pos file is a semi-processed data set. The file contains two distinct
records sets for position and acoustic range. (see Appendix B.2 on Page
89) The position records are the processed positions of the Transceiver
and the Acoustic give the time of acoustic measurement, the two-way
millisecond travel time and the identity of the remote Transponder
(Address and Channel).
.raw file The .raw file is a ASCII text file containing the raw data strings read from
the I/O devices tagged with a common time stamp.
.P294 The P294 file is the standard UKOOA raw data file with full data header
descriptions.
Print Results - This option is only available from the “Transponder Results” page. A
print out of the Processed Results for the selected Transponder with Statistical Analysis
and graphical plots.
The user can select which printer is to be used by HydroPos from a list of printers
supported in the PC‟s Windows Print Manager.
8.0 Program Licencing and Security
The software is supplied with a DONGLE. This is a security device to prevent unlawful
use of the software. The Dongle can be supplied to connect to the PC either via the
Parallel Port or the Universal Serial Bus (USB). The type of Dongle should be specified
when the product is ordered.
The Dongle also contains the name of the

company that holds the application
License. This information, along with the
unique Serial Number of the Dongle, is
stored with all the recorded data providing
traceability to the data sets.
If no DONGLE is detected on either the

PC‟s parallel, or USB, port then the
software will prompt for either one to be
provided or allow the user to operate the
system in a demonstration mode. In
demonstration mode the system allows
the user to have full access to the system with the exception of receiving data on the
interface ports or creating listings on the printer. During processing, if the software is in
demonstration mode, only the example data file and Transponder/Line file provided with
the HydroPos system can be processed.
It should be noted that any changes to the Transponder/Line file or Processing of the data
will be lost when the program is closed and the files will revert to their original state on
program startup.
The program access is controlled by the licencing on the Dongle and the following
display access from the Help About screen lists the Sonardyne Product Order Codes.
9.0 Technical References
[1] Norwegian Statens Kartverk Geodetic Publication Nr. 1990:1 “The transformation
between ED50 and WGS84 for exploration in the North Sea”
[2] National Marine Electronics Association Standard for interfacing Marine

Electronic Devices. NMEA 0183 Version 3.0 July 1st 2000.
[3] United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) Surveying and

Positioning Committee P190 Exchange Format for Processed Positioning Data.
[4] Polytechnic of East London. Working Paper No 6. “Advanced least squares

Applied to Position Fixing”. PA Cross. ISSN 0260-9142. January 1990.
[5] “Type 7911 OBC12 Transceiver Interface Specification Issue D Revision 2”.
Sonardyne International Limited, 27th July 2004.
[6] United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) Surveying and

Positioning Committee P2/94 Exchange Format for Raw Marine Positioning Data.
[7] Shell Processing Support Format for 3D Surveys (SPS). Revision 2.1.
Appendix A
Interfacing Telegram Details
The following pages give specific details of the data telegram messages recognised by
the HydroPos software.
Section A.1 - NMEA Interface Standards.
The Telegrams are as specified by the NMEA 0183 Standard For Interfacing Marine
Electronic Devices Version 3.0 July 1st 2000. Additional information can be obtained
from the NMEA National office :-
E-Mail info@nmea.org
Internet http://www.nmea.org
A.1.1 - NMEA 0183 GGA - Global Positioning System Fix Data
Time, position and fix related data for a GPS receiver.
Field Description
$--GGA,hhmmss.ss,LLLLL.LL,N,YYYYY.YY,A,Q,SS,D.D,H.H,M,G.G,M,T.T,XXXX*hh<CR><LF>
$--GGA NMEA Data Message Identifier Global Positioning System Fix Data
hhmmss.ss UTC of position
LLLLL.LL Latitude of Position
N Sign Of Latitude N or S
YYYYY.YY Longitude of Position
A Sign of Longitude W or E
Q GPS Quality Indicator 1
SS Horizontal Dilution of position
D.D Number Of Satellites used to derive the position (00-12) 2
H.H Antenna Altitude Ref Mean Sea Level (Geoidal Height)
G.G Units of Antenna Altitude, metres
M Units Of Geoidal Separation
T.T Age of Differential GPS data
XXXX Differential Ref. Station 3,4
*hh Optional Checksum Field
<CR><LF> End of Message Terminator
Notes :-
1 GPS Quality Indicator 0 Fix not available or invalid

1 GPS SPS Mode, fix valid
2 Differential GPS, SPS Mode, fix valid
3 GPS PPS Mode, fix valid
2 Note this may differ from the number of satellites in view.
3 Time in seconds since last SC104 Type 1 or 9 update, null field when DGPS is not used.
4 Geoidal Separation: the difference between the WGS-84 earth ellipsoid and mean sea level (Geoid),
negative value indicates mean sea level below ellipsoid.
A.1.2 - NMEA 0183 VTG - Course over Ground and Ground Speed
The actual course and speed relative to the ground.
Field Description
$--VTG,g.g,T,c.c,M,s.s,N,v.v,K*hh<CR><LF>
$--VTG NMEA Data Message Identifier Course over Ground and Ground Speed
g.g,T Course Over Ground (COG) Degrees True
c.c,M Course Over Ground (COG) Degrees Magnetic
s.s,N Speed Over Ground (SOG) Knots
v.v,K Speed Over Ground (SOG) Km/hr
A.1.3 - NMEA 0183 HDT - Heading, True
IMO Resolution A.424 (XI). Actual vessel heading in degrees True, produced by any
device or system producing true heading.
Field Description
$--HDT,x.x,T*hh<CR><LF>
$--HDT NMEA Data Message Identifier Heading, True

x.x,T Heading Degrees True
A.1.4 - NMEA 0183 HDG - Heading, Deviation & Variation
IMO Resolution A.382 (X). Heading (magnetic sensor reading), which if corrected for
deviation, will produce Magnetic heading, which offset by variation, will provide True
heading.
Field Description
$--HDG,x.x,y.y,a,z.z,b*hh<CR><LF>
$--HDG NMEA Data Message Identifier Heading, True

x.x, Magnetic Sensor Heading, Degrees
y.y Magnetic Deviation, Degrees
a Sign of Deviation E or W 1,3
z.z Magnetic Variation, Degrees
b Sign Of Variation E or W 2,3
Notes
1To obtain Magnetic Heading: Add Easterly deviation (E) to Magnetic Sensor Reading Subtract Westerly
deviation (W) from Magnetic Sensor Reading.
2To obtain True Heading: Add Easterly variation (E) to Magnetic Heading. Subtract Westerly variation
(W) from Magnetic Heading.
3Variation and Deviation fields will be null fields if unknown.
A.1.5 - NMEA 0183 DPT - Depth
IMO Resolution A.224 (VII). Water depth relative to the transducer and offset of the
measuring transducer. Positive offset numbers provide the distance from the transducer
to the waterline. Negative offset numbers provide the distance from the transducer to the
part of the keel of interest.
Field Description
$--DPT,x.x,y.y*hh<CR><LF>
$--HDT NMEA Data Message Identifier Depth

x.x Water Depth relative to the transducer, metres
y.y Offset from the transducer1,2, metres
Notes
1 "Positive"= distance from transducer to water-line, "Negative" = distance from transducer to keel.
2 For IEC applications the offset shall always be applied so as to provide depth relative to the keel.
A.1.6 - NMEA 0183 DBS - Depth
Water depth referenced to the waterline.
Field Description
$--DBS,x.x,f,y.y,M,z.z,F*hh<CR><LF>
$--HBS NMEA Data Message Identifier Depth below Surface

x.x,f Water Depth, feet
y.y,M Water Depth, Metres
z.z,F Water Depth, Fathoms
User‟s Manual March 2005
Appendix B
Data File Formats
B.1 :- HydroPos.TXT - Processed Transponder Results and Ranges.
Record Field Start End Description Format
H0,001/1 ,Line 1 ,1-1 ,000001
H0 1 1 2 Record Description H0
3 3 Comma ,
2 4 13 Transponder Number 0/00 or 1/34(a)
14 14 Comma ,
3 15 26 Line Name Line 1
27 27 Comma ,
4 28 33 Group Name 1-1
34 34 Comma ,
5 35 40 Transponder Identifier 000001
H1, 000001, 1.000000000000,295430.18,N,0921108.47,W, 578612.1,3308912.0, 95.5
3 3 Comma ,
2 4 9 Transponder Identifier Link to H0 Record
10 10 Comma ,
3 11 25 Conversion Factor to Metres dd.dddddddddddd
26 26 Comma ,
4 27 35 Latitude DDMMSS.SS
36 36 Comma ,
5 37 37 Latitude Indicator N or S
38 38 Comma ,
6 39 48 Longitude DDDMMSS.SS
49 49 Comma ,
7 50 50 Longitude Indicator E or W
51 51 Comma ,
8 52 60 Easting ddddddd.d
61 61 Comma ,
9 62 70 Northing ddddddd.d
71 71 Comma ,
10 72 76 Depth ddd.d
H2, 0/27, 0.4, 0.4,117.1, 1.1, 0.9, 0.2, 0.030.5
3 3 Comma ,
2 4 9 Transponder Identifier Link to H0 Record
10 10 Comma ,
3 11 14 HDOP dd.d
15 15 Comma ,
4 16 19 VDOP dd.d
20 20 Comma ,
5 21 21 Error Ellipse Direction DDD.D (Degrees)
25 25 Comma ,
H2 Record Cont….
6 26 30 Error Ellipse Semi-Major dd.d
Axis
31 31 Comma ,
7 32 35 Error Ellipse Semi-Minor dd.d
Axis
36 36 Comma ,
8 37 40 Standard Error of Unit dd.d
Weight
41 41 Comma ,
9 42 45 Reference Variance dd.d
46 46 Comma ,
10 47 50 F-Test dd.d
Record Field Start End Description Format
R1,000001, 1.000000000000, 578288.7,3308801.0,236.80,355.20, -0.16, 1.44, -0.61, -0.11

R1,000001, 1.000000000000, 578299.6,3308811.9,227.75,341.63, 0.13, 1.44, 0.51, 0.09
R1 1 1 2 Record Description H1
3 3 Comma ,
2 4 9 Transponder Number Linked to H0 Record
10 10 Comma ,
3 11 25 Conversion Factor to Metres dd.dddddddddddd
26 26 Comma ,
4 27 35 Easting ddddddd.d
36 36 Comma ,
5 37 45 Northing ddddddd.d
46 46 Comma ,
6 47 52 Range - Milli-Seconds ddd.dd
53 53 Comma ,
7 54 59 Range - Distance Units ( As ddd.dd
defined above )
60 60 Comma ,
8 61 66 Range Residual ddd.dd
67 67 Comma ,
9 68 72 Range Standard Error dd.dd
73 73 Comma ,
10 74 79 Range Tau Statistic ddd.dd
80 80 Comma ,
11 81 86 Range W Statistic ddd.dd
B.2 :- HydroPos.POS - Raw Data derived from the .LOG File (CSV).
Field Description Format
P,02-Dec-98,10:44:00.02,29.904455833333,-92.192473,-1.2,1,6,45.21<CR><LF>
R,02-Dec-98,10:56:15.75,01,07,154.000<CR><LF>
P 1 Navigation Data Record Indicator 1 Character

2 Date of Position dd-mmm-yy
3 Time of Position hh:mm:ss.ss
4 Latitude of Position. Decimal Degrees. Free Format (Decimal)
(+ve North, -ve South)
5 Longitude of Position. Decimal Degrees. Free Format (Decimal)
(+ve East, -ve West)
6 Height above WGS84 Ellipsoid in Metres. Free Format (Decimal)
7 HDOP - Horizontal Dilution of Precision. Free Format (Decimal)
8 No of Satellites used in Solution. Free Format (Integer)
9 Vessel Heading (True) Degrees Free Format (Decimal)
10 Line Terminator <CR><LF> ( 2 Chars)
R 1 Range Data Record Indicator 1 Character

2 Date of Position dd-mmm-yy
3 Time of Position hh:mm:ss.ss
4 Transponder Group Code Free Format(Integer )
5 Transponder Identification Code Free Format(Integer )
6 One-way Travel Time in Milliseconds Free Format (Decimal)
7 Line Terminator <CR><LF> ( 2 Chars)
B.3 :- HydroPos.TID - Tidal Data File (CSV)
Field Description Format
10-Dec-98,05:45:00,1.85
1 Date of Tidal dd-mmm-yy

2 Time of Tide hh:mm:ss
3 Tidal Level above (below) Datum, Decimal Free Format (Decimal)
Metres.
B.3 :- HydroPos HAD.txt – Auto-Deploy File
The Auto Deploy file is a text file used to start the ReProgrammer option with a
predetermined lay sequence. Note, the file contains data for the whole Pre-Plot line and
the Header indicates where the cable is to be laid. The Line Data section is comma
separated, where there are no transponders the record is the pre-plot location.
Line Data Format

1 HydroPos Auto Deploy File File Descriptor
2 Blank
3 {Header} Start of Header Indicator
4 Line : 1093 Line Name
5 First Group : 360 First Laid Group
6 Last Group : 440 Last Laid Group
7 {End Header} End of Header Indicator
8 Blank
9 {Line Data} Start of Data Indicator
10 300,414479.72,5575648.98,0.00 Group, Easting, Northing, Depth
21 360,414691.85,5575861.11,0.00,017,5 Group, Easting, Northing, Depth, Address, Channel
Repeated for intermediate records

50 {End Line Data} End of Data Indicator
Appendix C
Program Release Notes
HydroPos Release Notes

Revision Date Details
2.0.1 August 2010 First Release of HydroPos Version 2.
2.0.2 February 2011 Minor Release Issues Fixed
2.0.3 March 2011 Minor Release Issues Fixed
2.0.4 March 2011 Minor Release Issues Fixed
2.0.5 Not Used
2.0.6 Not Used
Added support for Borneo Rectified Skew Orthomorphic Projection
2.0.7 July 2011
(BRSO).

HydroPos Manual (Ver 2)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

HydroPos Manual (Ver 2)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

USER‟S MANUAL

1st August 2010

© Copyright Sonardyne International Ltd. 2010

5. Cable Deployment (RFiD)………………………………………… 51

6. Cable Deployment (ReProgrammer)……………………………… 55

8. Program Licencing and Security…………………………………... 71

Appendix A - Interfacing Telegram Details…………………………… 75

Appendix B - Data File Formats……………………………………….. 83

Appendix C – Program Release Notes………………………………… 89

HydroPos (Seismic) Version 2 is a 32 Bit program providing a management and data

HydroPos is designed to operate on Microsoft Windows XP or above and requires a PC

1.2 NEW FEATURES

HydroPos Version 2 builds on the features of Version 1 and provides additional

3. An independent display is provided to generate a simplified display for the

2.0. OPERATION - Overview

HydroPos can operate in three distinct modes :-

The OBC12 system is programmed to request ranges from a single Transponder

The online “Transponder Computations” screen (n) shows the ongoing

Transponder Deployment (RFiD)

Transponder Deployment (ReProgrammer)

During Transponder Deployment the system provides access to the Sonardyne

3.0 OPERATION - Detailed description

The main menu provides access to the four principal

System Setup - (aS)

If the key T is pressed while the right

HydroPos can be operated in one of three

When exiting HydroPos confirmation is required to avoid accidental termination of the

3.2 Files (aF)

From the Files menu, the user can

The selected project files can be

01, ConfigPath, C:\Program Files\Hydro Projects\HydroPos 2.0.1\

3.3 System Setup

The options in this menu selection comprise fifteen

The various setup menus can be accessed either via

3.3.1 Geodetic Database

3.3.1.1 Ellipsoids (bE)

3.3.1.2 Projections (bP)

HydroPos supports the following types of projections :

Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM).

3.3.1.3 Datum Shifts (bD)

3.3.2 Vessel Setup

3.3.2.1 Interface Setup (bI)

Baud Rate 9600

The following offset conventions are applied :-

3.3.2.2 Surface Reference Computations (bN)

3.3.2.3 Helmsman Display (bY)

The location of the registry entries are as follows :-

Directory My Computer/HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Hydro Projects/HydroPos/Display

3.3.2.4 Vessel Outline ( bV)

3.3.2.5 Vessel Offsets ( bO)

3.3.3 Survey Data

For each Project

3.3.3.1 Survey Lines ( bL)

3.3.3.2 Targets ( bT)

3.3.4 Current Configuration

3.3.4.1 Project Configuration ( bC)

As the user selects a parameter the relevant

Once the Geodetic Parameters are entered the Test

Generally, clients provide a test point for the survey

3.3.4.2 Project Headers (bH)

3.3.4.3 Graphics Display (bG)

Refresh Screen on Vessel Position - If selected, the chart is always refreshed to

Display Transponder Solutions - If selected, the

The Angular display allows the user to select the