SHFT-02e

Product Manual
Version 1.0

Author: U. Matzander
About this Manual Page 3

Revision History
Manual name: SHFT-02E Product Manual
Serial Description Revision Date of
No. index alteration
1.0 Initial released version 1.0 19.11.2014

Copyright

 2014 metronix Meßgeräte und Elektronik GmbH. All rights reserved.

All information and indications in this document have been composed most
conscientiously. However, any differences between the information contained in
the document and the product cannot be totally excluded. metronix will not be
responsible for possible resulting faults or damages. Furthermore, our company
will not be responsible for damages resulting from the use of the device. metronix
reserves the right to change, supplement or improve the documentation without
informing the customer. This document may not be partially or completely
reproduced, translated into another natural language or one which can be read by a
machine without the permission of the author. This may not be done
electronically, optically, mechanically or in any other manner.

Trademark
All product names used in this documentation may be registered trademarks. All
the trademarks in this document will just be used to identify the respectively
treated product.
Page 4About this Manual

Group of persons this manual is aiming at

This manual is mainly aimed at persons who want to get an overview about the
technical operation of the SHFT-02E.
It describes the hardware, the setup in field and gives instructions about trouble
shooting, maintenance and repair.

Other Manuals
The following manuals exist about the GMS-07 measurement system:
 SHFT-02E magnetometer manual (this manual)
 ADU-07e data logger
 MFS-06e magnetometer manual
 MFS-07e magnetometer manual
 Manual about system software MAPROS
 Manual about the data processing software PROCMT

Packing list
Dear Customer, please check the completeness of the delivered goods against the
delivered packing list.
If it happens that items are missing or damaged, please contact us straight away.
Many thanks!

metronix Messgeräte und Elektronik GmbH

Kocherstr. 3
D-38120 Braunschweig
Germany
Tel.: +49 / 531 / 8668-0
Fax.: +49 / 531 / 8668-555
Getting Started Page 5

The Meaning of the Symbols

Caution Symbol: Note the Safety Instructions!

If the safety instructions are not noted

personal injury and property damage can
occur.

Information Symbol: Important tips and tricks, which save time

and make the work easier.

SHFT-02
Page 6Table of Contents

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. 6

1. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................. 7

1.1. Features ................................................................................................................................................... 8

1.2. Technical Data ........................................................................................................................................ 9

2. SENSOR ........................................................................................................... 10

3. TRANSFER FUNCTION OF SHFT-02E............................................................ 11

4. CALIBRATION BY MANUFACTURER ............................................................ 12

5. SENSOR NOISE ............................................................................................... 17

6. INSTALLATION OF MAGNETOMETER .......................................................... 19

6.1. Electrical Connection ........................................................................................................................... 19

7. PINOUT OF EXTERNAL CONNECTORS ....................................................... 21

8. TROUBLE SHOOTING ..................................................................................... 23

8.1. Check of Magnetometer Cable ............................................................................................................ 23

8.2. Parallel Sensor Test .............................................................................................................................. 23

SHFT-02
Product Description Page 7

1. Product Description
The high-frequency induction coil
magnetometer SHFT-02E has
been developed to measure
variations of the Earth´s magnetic
field, particularly for applications
in Audio-Magnetotellurics
(AMT), Radio Magnetotellurics
(RMT) and Controlled Source
Magnetotellurics (CSMT). It
covers a frequency range from
1kHz up to 300 kHz. In spite of its
small outer dimensions, the
SHFT-02E shows excellent low-
noise characteristics. The SHFT-
02E is the result of many years of
experience of metronix in the
design, manufacture and
application of induction coil
magnetometers.

metronix magnetometers have

been used by numerous customers
throughout the world - including
geophysical exploration com-
panies and research institutes.

Only one SHFT-02E is required to

measure the magnetic field in 3
orthogonal axes. The sensors and
electronics are enclosed in a shock
resistant plastic case that acts as a
protection against mechanical stress. The sensor is connected to the metronix ADU-07e data
logger (or any other custom electronics) by a cable of up to 10 m length. Special care is taken
to the fact that magnetometers are often used under rough environmental influences. The
cable has ruggedized water protected push-pull connectors. The high quality of the SHFT-02E
data is achieved by a unique design of the ultra-low noise preamplifier.

When connected with an ADU-07e data logger, the sensor type, serial number and transfer
function is read out automatically. In this case the user has not to care about transfer function
and sensor settings.

SHFT-02
Page 8Product Description

1.1. Features
The SHFT-02E has several outstanding features which make it a first class instrument for the
electromagnetic exploration:

 Frequency range from 1 kHz to 300 kHz

 3 sensors in one casing

 Low noise

 Small outline

 Wide operating temperature range from -25° C to +60° C

 High stability of the sensor´s transfer function

 Built-in signal amplification and conditioning electronics

 Automatic sensor detection

 Automatic transfer of calibration functions

 Easy field handling

SHFT-02
Product Description Page 9

1.2. Technical Data

Frequency range 1kHz ..... 300 kHz

Sensor noise 5*10-5 nT/Hz @1000 Hz

8*10-6 nT/Hz @10000 Hz
8*10-6 nT/Hz @ 100000 Hz

Output sensitivity 0.05 V/nT f > 1000Hz

for exact values refer to individual calibration file

Output voltage range +/- 10V

Function induction coil with current amplifier

Connector 30 pole push-pull connector

Supply voltage +/- 12V to +/-15V stabilised and filtered

Supply current +/- 50mA

Case ruggedized, waterproof case

Weight ca. 5.5 kg

External dimensions l70 mm x 190 mm x 170 mm (L,W,D)

Operating temperature range -25°C ..... + 60°C

SHFT-02
Page 10 Sensor

2. Sensor
The central part of the SHFT-02E magnetometer are the 3 sensor coils. They consist of a high
permeable ferrite core and a few hundred turns of copper wire. Due to its low skin depth the
core material prevents the occurrence of eddy currents in the measurement frequency range.

Induction coil sensors do not measure the magnetic field itself but its time derivative. This is
expressed in the law of induction:

d
Vind  n 
dt
with
Vind induction voltage
n number of turns
 magnetic flux

The flux  which flows through one loop of the coil is calculated as

  B  A  0  c  H  A

with

B magnetic flux density parallel

to the sensor axis
µ0 permeability constant
µc permeability of the core
A cross section of the core
~
H magnetic field amplitude (  Hˆ  e jt )
f frequency

~
For a sinusoidal magnetic field which can be written with a phasor as H  Hˆ  e jt the
induced voltage of the sensor output becomes
~ ~
Vind  Vˆind  e j t  j  2  n   0 c  A  f  Hˆ  e j t  j  f  S0  H
 
S0

S0 is defined as the sensor’s sensitivity constant which gives the relation between the
magnetic field’s amplitude and the induction voltage. This equation is only a theoretical one.
A non ideal sensor’s equivalent circuit does not only contain the field proportional voltage
source (which itself is not really proportional) but also some further elements.

SHFT-02
Transfer Function of SHFT-02E Page 11

3. Transfer Function of SHFT-02E

The transfer function of the SHFT-02e magnetometer is determined by the transfer function of
the preamplifier and the sensor transfer function.

The theoretical overall transfer function is defined by the following equation:

Voutput V 1
FSensor   0.05 
H nT 1  P1

f
with P1  j 
300 kHz

This theoretical transfer function is only an approximation of the real transfer function
which is obtained by the calibration of the sensor. Each sensor is delivered with a calibration
file which has a 3 column ASCII format. The left column represents the frequency, the middle
V
one represents the sensor sensitivity in and the right one the phase in degree.
nT  Hz

SHFT-02
Page 12Calibration by Manufacturer

4. Calibration by Manufacturer
metronix takes special care of the initial calibration of all SHFT-02E magnetometers as part
of the ISO9001/2008 certified production process. Tests have demonstrated an excellent long
time stability of the transfer function.
The calibration is performed in a Helmholtz coil arrangement. It is used to generate a
homogeneous magnetic field of known strength as input signal. The input signal for the
solenoid coil comes from a frequency response analyser which is able to perform calculation
of transfer functions with a given statistical accuracy.

Each magnetometer is calibrated to a set value of

mV
E  50
nT

at a frequency of 10 kHz.

A calibration file is generated in a frequency range between 300 Hz and 300 kHz.

Table 4-1 gives an example of a calibration file delivered along with the sensor. Note that not
all calibration results are given here due to limited space, gaps are marked by dots.

Each magnetometer is shipped with the original calibration data set which contains the
measured values of amplitude and phase of the transfer function over the specified frequency
band. Additionally, the calibration data set is stored in an EEPROM chip on the preamplifier
and can be read out by the ADU-07e.

Figure 4-1 and Figure 4-2 show the plots of the calibration function of SHFT-02E (here the x-
component).

SHFT-02
Calibration by Manufacturer Page 13

Figure 4-1: Typical sensitivity calibration curve of SHFT-02E (Ser.#001 x-component)

SHFT-02
Page 14Calibration by Manufacturer

Figure 4-2: Typical phase calibration curve of SHFT-02E (Ser.#001 x-component)

SHFT-02
Calibration by Manufacturer Page 15

------------------------
Mode FRA
Amplitude 1.00E+01
Frequency 1.00E+03
D.C. Offset 0.00E+00
Waveform Sine
Sweep Single
Sweep Start 3.00E+02

SHFT-02E #001 X-Component

Frequency (Hz) Sensitivity (V/nT*Hz) Phase (degrees)

3.000000E+02 1.682466E-04 4.287700E+01
3.216900E+02 1.563255E-04 3.860600E+01
3.449400E+02 1.460239E-04 3.511000E+01
3.698700E+02 1.367787E-04 3.274700E+01
3.966100E+02 1.274981E-04 3.015400E+01
4.252800E+02 1.188892E-04 2.797300E+01
4.560200E+02 1.108112E-04 2.579300E+01
4.889800E+02 1.034252E-04 2.390400E+01
5.243300E+02 9.645234E-05 2.207000E+01
5.622300E+02 8.978493E-05 2.041100E+01
6.028700E+02 8.379996E-05 1.897200E+01
6.464500E+02 7.803376E-05 1.745300E+01
6.931800E+02 7.265600E-05 1.621700E+01
7.432900E+02 6.767203E-05 1.500300E+01
7.970200E+02 6.304465E-05 1.388100E+01
8.546300E+02 5.871369E-05 1.287600E+01
9.164100E+02 5.472398E-05 1.191500E+01
9.826500E+02 5.098221E-05 1.101300E+01
1.053700E+03 4.752811E-05 1.015700E+01
1.129900E+03 4.427693E-05 9.405900E+00
1.211500E+03 4.125191E-05 8.670900E+00
1.299100E+03 3.845253E-05 8.016800E+00
1.393000E+03 3.581924E-05 7.377300E+00
1.493700E+03 3.339674E-05 6.800100E+00
1.601700E+03 3.111260E-05 6.238300E+00
1.717500E+03 2.899484E-05 5.714800E+00
1.841600E+03 2.702229E-05 5.246500E+00
1.974700E+03 2.518642E-05 4.790300E+00
2.117500E+03 2.347167E-05 4.364500E+00
2.270500E+03 2.187741E-05 3.973800E+00
2.434700E+03 2.038788E-05 3.601600E+00
2.610600E+03 1.900541E-05 3.247200E+00
2.799400E+03 1.771342E-05 2.918100E+00
3.001700E+03 1.651012E-05 2.620100E+00
3.218700E+03 1.538994E-05 2.297900E+00
3.451400E+03 1.434406E-05 1.977100E+00
3.700800E+03 1.336971E-05 1.727000E+00
3.968400E+03 1.246385E-05 1.468900E+00
4.255200E+03 1.161576E-05 1.212600E+00
4.562800E+03 1.082645E-05 9.826800E-01
4.892600E+03 1.009434E-05 7.428500E-01
5.246300E+03 9.407286E-06 5.128900E-01
5.625500E+03 8.769127E-06 2.729400E-01
6.032200E+03 8.175075E-06 7.768800E-02

SHFT-02
Page 16Calibration by Manufacturer

6.468200E+03 7.620510E-06 -1.412200E-0

6.935800E+03 7.103476E-06 -3.592200E-01
7.437100E+03 6.622376E-06 -5.732900E-01
7.974700E+03 6.172387E-06 -7.840200E-01
8.551200E+03 5.754272E-06 -9.971500E-01
9.169300E+03 5.363908E-06 -1.212300E+00
9.832100E+03 5.000014E-06 -1.432800E+00
1.054300E+04 4.656968E-06 -1.656400E+00
1.130500E+04 4.341071E-06 -1.885600E+00
1.212200E+04 4.046627E-06 -2.122200E+00
1.299800E+04 3.772167E-06 -2.365300E+00
1.393800E+04 3.516147E-06 -2.621000E+00
1.494500E+04 3.277718E-06 -2.884800E+00
1.602600E+04 3.055571E-06 -3.154100E+00
1.718400E+04 2.848021E-06 -3.450600E+00
1.842600E+04 2.654828E-06 -3.754500E+00
1.975800E+04 2.474426E-06 -4.072900E+00
2.118700E+04 2.306471E-06 -4.413500E+00
2.271800E+04 2.150044E-06 -4.765100E+00
2.436000E+04 2.003965E-06 -5.142400E+00
2.612100E+04 1.868003E-06 -5.541700E+00
2.800900E+04 1.740483E-06 -5.968500E+00
3.003400E+04 1.622200E-06 -6.421700E+00
3.220500E+04 1.511799E-06 -6.902200E+00
3.453300E+04 1.408910E-06 -7.412800E+00
3.702900E+04 1.313033E-06 -7.961000E+00
3.970600E+04 1.223380E-06 -8.542400E+00
4.257600E+04 1.139994E-06 -9.164000E+00
4.565400E+04 1.062157E-06 -9.828500E+00
4.895400E+04 9.894168E-07 -1.054000E+01
5.249300E+04 9.216501E-07 -1.129900E+01
5.628700E+04 8.584389E-07 -1.211000E+01
6.035600E+04 7.993685E-07 -1.297900E+01
6.471900E+04 7.442789E-07 -1.390000E+01
6.939700E+04 6.927504E-07 -1.489900E+01
7.441300E+04 6.446421E-07 -1.595800E+01
7.979200E+04 5.998023E-07 -1.708700E+01
8.556000E+04 5.578234E-07 -1.829000E+01
9.174500E+04 5.187225E-07 -1.957800E+01
9.837700E+04 4.821408E-07 -2.095500E+01
1.054900E+05 4.479259E-07 -2.242600E+01
1.131100E+05 4.159743E-07 -2.399900E+01
1.212900E+05 3.860046E-07 -2.567400E+01
1.300600E+05 3.579923E-07 -2.746200E+01
1.394600E+05 3.317935E-07 -2.936100E+01
1.495400E+05 3.072275E-07 -3.138200E+01
1.603500E+05 2.842487E-07 -3.353000E+01
1.719400E+05 2.627487E-07 -3.580900E+01
1.843700E+05 2.426204E-07 -3.822300E+01
1.977000E+05 2.237489E-07 -4.077800E+01
2.119900E+05 2.061589E-07 -4.348000E+01
2.273100E+05 1.897575E-07 -4.635000E+01
2.437400E+05 1.744780E-07 -4.940300E+01
2.613600E+05 1.602058E-07 -5.266300E+01
2.802500E+05 1.468324E-07 -5.614700E+01
3.005100E+05 1.343255E-07 -5.982600E+01

Table 4-1: Example for a calibration file of one component

SHFT-02
Sensor Noise Page 17

5. Sensor Noise
In an electromagnetic measurement system special care has to be taken to noise. The various
sources of noise in the system can be summed up to an equivalent input noise voltage at the
preamplifier input which is expressed in the equation

2 2
u2 u amp u 2 iamp
  R   ( 2 L2 )
f f f f
with
2
uamp f preamplifier noise voltage density (typ. 0.9 nV / Hz )

uR2 f thermal noise of sensor resistance (typ. 0.28nV / Hz )

2
iamp f preamplifier noise current density (typ. 1 pA/ Hz )

In order to reference this noise voltage back to the magnetic field the formula

u2
H2 f 1nT u2
  
f Eo  f V f
0.02 f
Hz

V
is used with the sensor coil´s sensitivity of E0  0.02
Hz

These two equations show that the current noise is spectrally flat whereas the voltage noise of
the amplifier and the coil resistance increase proportional with 1/f to low frequencies.

Magnetometer noise is measured at metronix with an HP spectrum analyser. To keep

environmental noise away from the sensor the measurements are done with the magnetometer
in a multiple shielded chamber.

Figure 5-1 shows the typical noise characteristics of the SHFT-02E.

SHFT-02
Page 18Sensor Noise

Typical Noise Level SHFT-02

1.0E+02

1.0E+01

1.0E+00
Noise Level [nT/root(Hz)]

1.0E-01

1.0E-02

1.0E-03

1.0E-04

1.0E-05

1.0E-06
100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Frequency [Hz]

Equivalent Magnetic Field Noise

Figure 5-1: Typical noise curve of SHFT-02E

SHFT-02
Installation of Magnetometer Page 19

6. Installation of Magnetometer

Special care has to be taken to the exact alignment of the magnetometer. The casing of the
sensor shows an arrow which must point to the North. The built-in level gives information
about the horizontal position of the sensor.
The positive sensor direction points to

 X magnetometer to the North

 Y magnetometer to the East
 Z magnetometer to the ground

A positive flux change in the positive sensor direction will cause a positive change in the
output voltage.

6.1. Electrical Connection

The metronix magnetometer cables are shielded twisted pair cables which perform optimum
protection against external distortion. The connectors have best outdoor characteristics.
Nevertheless, care should be taken to avoid intrusion of particles. Each connector has a
protection cap which can be removed by pulling. Please ensure that the expensive connectors
are always protected by the caps during assembling or disassembling of the MT system.
To connect a cable to a magnetometer rotate it to the red coded position, put connector into
the input plug and just push until it snaps in.

The SHFT-02E can be directly connected to the ADU-07e data logger. Use the multi-purpose
connector Input 2 to connect the sensor with the ADU-07e.
In case that other custom electronics are used a connection should be simple according to the pin
assignment given in

Table 7-1.

SHFT-02
Page 20Sensor Noise

Special care must be taken with custom electronics to avoid a wrong use of
the power supply inputs! The magnetometer electronics may be damaged
immediately if the power is connected the wrong way!

SHFT-02
Pinout of External Connectors Page 21

7. Pinout of External Connectors

The following tables show the wiring of the connectors of the SHFT-02E.

Socket Signal Category

(SHFT-02E socket)
1 +12V Power
2 -12V Power
3 SGND Screen
4 SGND Screen
5 n.c.
6 n.c.
7 n.c.
8 n.c.
9 Hx Signal Signal
10 Hx GND Signal
11 Hy Signal Signal
12 HY GND Signal
13 Hz Signal Signal
14 HZ GND Signal
15 n.c.
16 n.c.
17 n.c.
18 n.c.
19 n.c.
20 n.c.
21 n.c.
22 n.c.
23 n.c.
24 n.c.
25 I2C SDATA Logic
26 I2C SDATA Logic
27 n.c.
28 n.c.
29 n.c.
30 n.c.

Table 7-1: Pinout of SHFT-02E socket

SHFT-02
Page 22Pinout of External Connectors

Origin Origin Signal Colour Cat.

ODU MiniSnap ODU MiniSnap
Series K, 30 pole Series K, 30 pole
S23K0N-P30PFG0-0200 S23K0N-P30PFG0-0200
1 1 +12V white twist w. 9

2 2 -12V black twist w.10

3,4 3,4 Screen
9 9 HX Signal green \ twist
10 10 HX GND yellow / ed

11 11 HY Signal grey \ twist

12 12 HYGND pink / ed

13 13 HZ Signal blue \ twist

14 14 HZ GND red / ed

25 25 SDATA brown twist w.1

26 26 SCLK violet twist w .2

Table 7-2: Pin-out of magnetometer cable

SHFT-02
Page 23Pinout of External Connectors

8. Trouble Shooting
This chapter describes our experience to localise possible errors of the system and methods
how to fix them or get around it.

8.1. Check of Magnetometer Cable

The pin-out of the magnetometer cable is given in chapter 7. Check the cable by using an
Ohm-meter pin by pin according to the table. Also check for damages of the cable´s isolation.

8.2. Parallel Sensor Test

In case you own two or more SHFT-02E sensors you could perform a parallel sensor test. You
should position the sensors side by side with a distance of 1 m and both pointing to the North.
Start a short recording and compare the signals of the 3 components.