MAPPING DATA ACQUISITION 

SUMMARY REPORT

CRUISE EX-18-99 

Post dry dock transit and ADCP acceptance trials

September 12 - September 19, 2018

Norfolk, VA – Davisville, RI

Mashkoor Malik and Charles Wilkins

September 19, 2018
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1. Introduction

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer was in dry dock from August 1 - Sept 10, 2018. During this 

time, the EM 302 receive array, ADCP 300 kHz sonar transducer, and EK 60 (18 kHz) sonar 

transducer were replaced. This expedition is focused on conducting harbor and sea 

acceptance trials for these replaced sonar systems, calibrating the multibeam sonar and 

ADCP, and completing shakedown work on ship and mission equipment to ensure the ship 

is operationally ready. Due to unavailability of technical representative from Kongsberg 

(sonar manufacturer of EM302, EK60) only ADCP sea acceptance trials were completed 

during this expedition. EM302 and EK60 remained secured during this cruise. 

2. Cruise Objectives

ADCP 300 kHz was replaced by Teledyne during August dry dock. A detailed report of the 

ADCP replacement is available as Appendix A (Teledyne rep trip report WHMVM300). Sea 

Acceptance Trials as per instructions from Teledyne were completed during this expedition. 

Table 1. Following personnel participated in the cruise in support of mapping operations.

NAME ROLE AFFILIATION 

CDR Eric Johnson Commanding Officer NOAA Corps

LT Rosemary Abbitt Field Operations Officer NOAA Corps

Mashkoor Malik Expedition Coordinator NOAA OER 

Charles Wilkins Senior Survey Technician NOAA 

Andy O’brien Network support GFOE

Andy Lister Network support GFOE

Roland Brian Network support GFOE

3. Summary of Mapping Results

Teledyne ADCPs

Okeanos Explorer currently has two ADCP data acquisition systems (DAS): 

1. Teledyne provided data acquisition system: VmDAS (Vessel Mount Data Acquisition 

Software) version 1.49.

2. University of HI provided data acquisition system (UHDAS, a linux based system)

These two separate and independent DAS were used for testing of ADCP. University of Hawaii 

(UH) has an ongoing contract with OMAO to manage the Okeanos Explorer ADCP data and is 
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the default DAS used for regular operations with ability to be monitored and operated remotely. 

Teledyne, however, has requested to run the acceptance trials using Teledyne DAS. Only details 

of VmDAS are included in this report. 

Data acquisition parameters 

Preliminary test plan 300 kHz ADCP based on input from Teledyne rep:

Harbor Acceptance Trial: 

The ship came out of dry dock on 10 September 2018. A harbor acceptance trial was completed 

on 11 September 2018 where the self-checks were run while alongside pier. All tests except PC

Card #0 and #1 passed. Teledyne confirmed that these cards are not crucial to ADCP operations. 

Table 2. Print out of ADCP self-test. 

[BREAK Wakeup B]

WorkHorse Mariner ADCP Version 52.41

Teledyne RD Instruments (c) 1996-2014

All Rights Reserved.

>cr1

[Parameters set to FACTORY defaults]

>ck

[Parameters saved as USER defaults]

>pa

PRE-DEPLOYMENT TESTS

CPU TESTS:

 RTC......................................PASS

 RAM......................................PASS

 ROM......................................PASS

RECORDER TESTS:

 PC Card #0...............................NOT DETECTED

 PC Card #1...............................NOT DETECTED

DSP TESTS:

 Timing RAM...............................PASS

 Demod RAM...............................PASS

 Demod REG...............................PASS

 FIFOs....................................PASS

SYSTEM TESTS:

 XILINX Interrupts... IRQ3 IRQ3 IRQ3 ...PASS

 Wide Bandwidth...........................PASS

 Narrow Bandwidth.........................PASS

 RSSI Filter..............................PASS

 Transmit.................................PASS

SENSOR TESTS:

 H/W Operation............................PASS

>pt3

Correlation Magnitude: Wide Bandwidth

 Lag Bm1 Bm2 Bm3 Bm4

 0 255 255 255 255

 1 166 168 171 169

 2 21 25 33 28

 3 13 10 3 11

 4 18 15 15 14

 5 12 14 11 12

 6 2 5 2 1

 7 6 4 2 8

 High Gain RSSI: 32 36 37 34

 Low Gain RSSI: 5 10 10 7

 SIN Duty Cycle: 50 51 49 50

 COS Duty Cycle: 50 48 49 50

Receive Test Results = $00000000 ... PASS

>pt6

Receive Bandwidth:

 Sample bw bw bw bw bw

 rate expect Bm1 Bm2 Bm3 Bm4

 307 120 108 106 106 105 Khz

 results PASS PASS PASS PASS
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Sea Acceptance Trials

Sea acceptance trials consisted of running the following three tests. For each test VmDAS 

generated these file types: *.ENR, *.ENS, *.ENX, *.LOG, *.LTA, *.N1R, *.NMS, *.STA, and 

*.VMO. These files were shared with Teledyne and UH. 

1) Transducer alignment ; Bottom track should be ON

a) Hold course for 45 minutes 

b) Slow, smooth turn ~20 minutes

c) Run reciprocal line over same course

d) Slow, smooth turn ~20 minutes

e) Run reciprocal line over same course preferred, 

Both Teledyne and UH processed the data and came to same alignment angle of 45.63 deg. for 

the transducer offset. The transducer offset angle was put in UHDAS by UH (Jules Hummon). 

The offset angle was not put in VmDAS. for the final command setup, the command file needs to 

have EA command with the new offset added. In future if VmDAS is needed to be run this 

angular offset will need to be included in the command file: See example below.
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Figure 1. Plot of ship track showing locations of ADCP trials. 

2) Ringing test (Bottom tracking ON)

Hold course at normal survey speed for 1 hour.

3) Profile test (deep water required for usable data, minimum depth for usable data =300m) 

(Bottom tracking should be OFF)

Collected data for 15 minutes at speeds of; drift, 3, 6, and 9 (maximum speed). 

The data collected during profile tests were shared with Teledyne representative on shore who 

provided the following estimates of ranges: 

Table 3. Speed vs. profile range. 

Speed Profile Range (m)

Drifting 130 m

3 Kts 127 m

6 Kts 110 m

Max 105 m 
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Figure 2. Image showing the range vs. speed comparison. Image courtesy Jules Hummon (UH/NOAA) 

Table 4. ADCP field testing notes and weather conditions. 

EX ADCP 300kHz SAT Field Notes

All times are UTC

9/16/2018

VMDAS Ringing Test

Filename: EX ADCP 300 Ringing 

Test_20180916T171502_010_000000

2115 Begin Ringing Test

Speed 6.2 kts

Heading 171 deg.

2215 End Ringing Test

VMDAS Transducer Alignment Test

Filename: EX ADCP 300 Transducer 

AlignmentTest_20180916T182719_010_000000

2225 Begin Line 1

Speed 6.5 kts
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Heading 358 deg.

2322 End Line 1 Begin Turn

2343 End Turn Begin Line 2

Speed 6.4 kts

Heading 171 deg.

0034

Halt Test line for unexpected Bridge 

/ Deck ops. 

0038 End Line 2 Begin Turn

0054 End Turn Begin Line 3

Speed 6.4 kts

Heading 355 deg.

0150 End Line 3

0150 End Test

UHDAS Transducer Alignment Test

0200 Begin UHDAS Acquisition

09/17/2018

VMDAS Profile Test

Filename: EX ADCP 300 Transducer Profile 

Test_20180917T212002_010_000000

0047 Begin Drift Test

Wave 2-3 ft

Swell 3.5 ft

Swell Dir. 140 deg

Wind Speed 22 kts

Wind Dir. 180 deg

0105 End Drift Test

0119 Begin 3kts Test

Wave 2-3 ft

Swell 3.5 ft

Swell Dir. 140 deg

Wind Speed 18 kts

Wind Dir. 168 deg

0134 End 3kts Test

0138 Begin 6kts Test

Wave 2-3 ft

Swell 3.5 ft

Swell Dir. 140 deg

Wind Speed 20 kts

Wind Dir. 169 deg

0156 End 6kts Test

0201 Begin Max Speed Test

Wave 2-3 ft

Swell 3.5 ft

Swell Dir. 140 deg
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Wind Speed 23.5 kts

Wind Dir. 170 deg

0217 End Max Speed Test

GAMS Calibration 

The GAMS calibration was conducted between 1800-2030 on 18 September 2018 (EDT). This 

calibration followed the GAMS SOP. A heading threshold of 1 degree was used while running 

GAMS calibration. On a steady course 15 minutes of data were logged before commencing 

GAMS calibration. After zeroing of the GAMS parameters, the ship conducted tight figure of 8 

turns to lower the estimated heading accuracy. Once the heading accuracy was lower than 1 

degree and have been stabilized, the GAMS calibration was manually started. Three runs of the 

GAMS calibration were completed. 

Following figure shows the pre- GAMS solution along with the three runs of GAMS solutions. 

The X component shows the largest change in this lever arm, according to the GAMS result. 

Comparing the results from different runs, it appears the GAMS results varied up to 22 mm 

(compare 22 mm, 31 mm and 9 mm offset obtained for x-components in three runs). At the very 

least, it confirms that no major modification was made unintentionally to the antenna position 

during dry dock. However, large differences between the three runs need further investigation. 

The values from the latest land survey (NGS, 2015) were put in as GAMS parameters. Heading 

accuracy stabilized to 0.026 degrees a short time after putting the GAMS parameters based on 

land survey. 

Figure 3. GAMS solution prior to GAMS calibration. 
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Figure 4. GAMS solution obtained from three runs of GAMS calibration.

The land survey conducted in 2015 (NGS, 2015) showed the following values for the base line 

vector: 

Table 5. POS MV antennas baseline vector compute from land survey (NGS, 2015). The baseline vector is computed with 

STBD antenna as a reference. 

Baseline vector Land survey value

X 0.007 m

Y 2.302 m

Z 0.013 m

3. Mapping Statistics

No mapping data except for ADCP testing data collected during this expedition. 
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4. Mapping Sonar Setup

UHDAS runs on a Linux machine while VmDAS was setup temporarily on the Science Client 1 

machine for this cruise. The switch over between the two machine was completed by swapping 

the USB cable from the 8 port serial box. 

Figure 5. 8 port serial box behind the UHDAS machine

Figure 6. UHDAS cable connected to serial cable box

Figure 7. VMDAS cable connected to serial box
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Instructions for running VmDAS

Run VmDAS by selecting the VmDAS from desktop 

Select collect data from File drop down menu

The main interface for VmDAS
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Various settings for VmDAS can be accessed through program options

WH300MisalignmentAngle.txt setup file was used during the data acquisition 
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The data were recorded locally on VmDAS machine. 

Bottom track can be turned on through display options. 
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VmDAS display while collecting data. 

The chart axis can be controlled through 2D chart control properties. 

5. Data Archival Procedures

This is a shake down / sonar acceptance cruise. Decision for data archival and report 

generation will depend on the quality and type of test data. Archival of cruise data will be 

decided in consultation with NCEI after the completion of cruise.

6. Cruise Calendar
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September 2018

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat

9/10

Ship refloating

Depart dry dock

9/11

Fueling

9/12

Depart Norfolk

9/13

Shelter in 

Chesapeake Bay

9/14

Shelter in 

Chesapeake Bay

9/15

Shelter in 

Chesapeake Bay

9/16

Small boat 

personnel 

transfer. 

Commence 

transit to RI. 

ADCP shallow 

water trials

9/17

Continue transit 

to RI. 

Deep water 

ADCP trials. 

9/18

Continue transit 

to RI. 

GAMS 

calibration. 

9/19

Arrive Davisville, 

RI

7. Daily Cruise Log Entries 

Generated from the daily expedition situation reports. All times listed are in local ship time 

(+13 hours from UTC)

9/12-9/15

No update. Ship sheltering in northern Chesapeake Bay due to Hurricane Florence. 

9/16/2018

Three personnel were transferred via small boat from Annapolis, MD. ADCPs were turned on 

while leaving harbor and were kept on with bottom tracking (for the purposes of calibration). 

The data will be examined by UH. Further tests may need to be run for ADCP. Shallow water 

transducer alignment test was completed using VmDAS. 

9/17/2018

Deep water ADCP profile test at different speeds in water depth of 300 m was completed using 

VmDAS. 

9/18/2018

In transit to Davisville, RI. Conduct GAMS calibration. 

9/19/2018

Continued transit to Davisville, RI. Arrived at Davisville, RI ~ 1000 (EDT). Secured all sonars. 
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8. References

1) EX-18-99 Project Instructions can be obtained by contacting NOAA Ship Okeanos 

Explorer at ops.explorer@noaa.gov.

2) NGS, 2 January 2015, POS MV Antennas survey report prepared by Kevin Jordan. 

Available onboard or by request from ops.explorer@noaa.gov. 

Appendix A: Teledyne Service Report 

Trip Report: NOAA R/V Okeanos Explorer

Dates of Service: August 2nd to August 7th 2018.

Customer Contact: Kenneth Nadeau

TRDI Representative: Tony Phakonekham, Field Service Engineer

Reason for Visit: Supervision/Installation/Cable Termination/Sea Trial

Summary of Events: Preparing and testing Mariner300 after installation onto the vessel. 

August 2nd, arrived at Colonna’s shipyard Norfolk, VA to supervise transducer installation, 

perform cable termination and inspection Mariner300. Met with Ken Nadeau and the rest of 

the crews to plan the work of ADCP.

Vessel (Okeanos Explorer) found in dry dock. While waiting for transducer and cable to be 

removed/installed/pulled, tested the new transducer serial number 24600 with the help of 

Mike Peperato with two deck boxes; one from Okeanos the other was a loaner from University 

of Hawaii. Dedicated deck box and new transducer functioned as expected. Loaner did not 

work.

Performed failure analysis on WHMVM300-I-CUSTOM serial number 14608 after it was 

removed from the transducer well by electrician; transducer was flooded. See pictures below 

for more details. It appeared that the ingress of water/moisture through connector.

Damaged PIO board.
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Wiring cable from the end cap, this is very likely the ingress of moisture/water path. 
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Per Ken Nadeau, checked wet-end transducer cable of OS38; found corrosion on multiple pins. 

O-Ring (2-022) was intact. See pictures below.

Cable resistance on D-C is at 22Ω, shorted.
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Notes: 

Trasnducer installation and cable pulling was performed by shipyard; was there to supervise 

only and did not participate is the actual installation and cable pulling.

Day 1. Waiting for shipyard crew for clean out of transducer well/blister on the vessel.

Day 2. Crew finished clean out, diconnected and inspected transducer cable on 

WHMVM300kHz-CUSTOM and OS38.

Day 3. Supervised the removal of WHMVM300kHz CUSTOM transducer. Waited for electrician 

to remove old transducer cable. It appeared that one of the gland nuts had been damaged 

during the removal.

Day 4. Supervised/guided transducer installation.

Day 5. Standby at the shipyard.

Day6. Tested WHMVM300-I-CUSTOM after electrician temporarily pulled the new transducer 

cable. ADCP functioned as expected.

Attachments: U:\RDI\CustService\CUSTSVS\FieldService\Trip Reports\Trip 

Data\180801_RV_OKEANOS_EXPLORER_Norfolk_VA