Patent ID: 7885143

Claim:
A recorder for a seismic acquisition system, comprising: an acquisition central system configured to calculate a predetermined start sweeping time for one or more vibrators; a system controller in communication with the acquisition central system, wherein the system controller receives the predetermined start sweeping time from the acquisition central system; a timing system configured to receive a firing order containing the predetermined start sweeping time from the system controller, wherein the timing system comprises a first real time clock and a second real time clock, and wherein the first real time clock is synchronized with a first global position system and the second real time clock is synchronized with a second global positioning system; and a recorder vibrator control system in communication with the timing system, wherein the recorder vibrator control system starts a reference sweep cycle at the wherein the timing system sends a pulse, in response to receiving the firing order, to the recorder vibrator control system a predetermined amount of time prior to the predetermined start sweeping time to cause the recorder vibrator control system to start a reference sweep cycle in the vibrators at the predetermined start sweeping time, wherein the predetermined amount of time is based on the amount of time it takes for the recorder vibrator control system to prepare a sweep generator to start at the predetermined start sweeping time, and wherein the predetermined start sweeping time is based on the first real time clock and the second real time clock.