NEFSC_towed_array_manual

Author

Annamaria DeAngelis

Published

June 10, 2025

PURPOSE

START OF CRUISE

DRY LAB SETUP

Towed Array Order of Connection

  • Tail, End Array, attach to tow cable.
  • Tow cable and array in full deployed are attached to the deck cable.
  • Deck cable plugs into the front of the Acoustic Recording System (ARS).
  • ARS sound cards plug into the Recording and Tracking computers via black USB cables.

Power and Depth Sensor

  • White power cord at the back of the ARS plugs into ship’s UPS strip.
  • White USB cable from the back of the ARS plugs into the Recording computer.

START OF LEG

DRY LAB COLD START UP: TOWED ARRAY

  1. Power up Recording and Tracking computers.
  2. Login to encryption and Admin profiles.
  3. Update time on computers at beginning of the Leg (UTC).
  4. Configuring GPS: Use serial to USB adapter cables (Keyspan Tripp-Lite).

Tripp-Lite Serial to USB Adapter
  • Requires driver: USA-19HS Windows v3.7S.
  • Toggle Windows Security “Memory integrity” to Off to allow driver installation.
  • Plug in GPS USB AFTER the computer has been restarted to avoid the “jumpy mouse” problem.

Soundcard and Depth Sensor

  • Install NiDAQ_installer_1551.
  • Follow the setup wizard and ensure “Always trust software from National Instruments” and “Disable Windows Fast Startup” are checked.

NI-DAQ Driver Installation 1 NI-DAQ Driver Installation 2

Configuring Depth Sensor in Pamguard

  • Download Instacal to the recording computer.
  • Apply the Windows 11 fix from MicroDAQ.

MicroDAQ Windows 11 Fix
  • Ensure the USB-1208LS is recognized in Instacal.

Instacal Recognition
  • Configure Depth Readout in Pamguard settings.

Pamguard Depth Configuration 1 Pamguard Depth Configuration 2

TOWED ARRAY: DEPLOYMENT AND RECOVERY

MORNING

  • Contact Bridge for deck department assistance.
  • Deploy at speeds between 5-10 knots (5 preferred).
  • Do not deploy in waters less than 100 meters.
  • Safety: Always wear a life jacket during over-the-side work.
  • Two people should handle the oil-filled section (at least one acoustician).
  • Connect lines with carabiners to the Yale grip and secure to aft cleats.

Yale Grip

Bigelow Fantail Setup

ACTIVE ACOUSTICS

An active acoustic system (e.g. EK80/echosounder) will be alternated between “ON/ACTIVE” (1200 – 0700) and “OFF/PASSIVE MODE” (0700 – 1200) daily. This is because beaked whales exhibit an acoustic response to echosounders thus we need to balance collecting passive acoustic information on beaked whales, with the need to collect prey layer data from the echosounder, which has been found to be a useful covariate in some species models. The survey technician on board is responsible for changing the echosounder state, however, it is your responsibility to VERIFY that the EK80 has been turned to passive mode based on the proposed schedule. If it has not, find the survey tech and kindly ask them to turn it off.

 If you cannot find the survey tech, contact the bridge and ask for them, if that doesn’t work:

  1. On the Pisces, the EK80 controls are in the acoustics lab toward the galley. To change the status of the echosounder, select “Normal operation” button on the right. Under “Mode” select “Passive” for all echosounder rows. Click “Apply” and “Ok”. This sets the echosounder settings to “OFF”.

  2. Click the sound icon to the right of the “Ping” button to stop transmission.

  3. Remember to turn the echosounder back on at 1130 by doing the inverse steps.