C-SCAN-450 & 450 PC Side Scanning Sonar

Sidescan Sonar is a powerful underwater survey technique that until now could only be afforded by the Government Agencies and Large Private Corporations. Using such equipment, it is possible to build up a map-like picture of the topography of the sea bed and objects on the bottom in great detail.

Now, for the first time, Underwater Systems Special Product Group brings this technology within reach of leisure and small businesses. Applications include inspection, the mapping of pipelines and cable runs, geological surveying, search operations , wreck finding and mine detection

The 450 Sidescan Sonar is designed for use from small open boats. The control unit and printer are built into a single waterproof case / heavily splash proof when the case is open and in operation. The weight of the equipment, totaling less than 25kg (55lbs), makes it very portable and simple to use from a variety of small craft. Another feature would be the internal rechargeable 12 volt battery allowing an operating time of approximately 4 hours. The system can also be supplied by an external 12 volt power source.

The 450 Sidescan Sonar can cover a maximum swath of 200 Meters in width on a single sweep enabling large areas to be "fine-combed" effectively.

The towfish weighing approximately 9kg (20lbs) enables a single person to deploy and operate the system from very small boats. The fish itself has a built in depressor that is designed to be towed with excellent stability under most sea conditions.

The towfish has a "Flip-over" feature that consists of a shear pin mechanism. When in the case of seabed collision, the shear pin will break and cause the fish to "Flip over", thus freeing itself from the obstacle.

CABLE LENGTH:

Although the Towfish is capable of resisting pressures in excess of 1,000 meters, standard electronics was designed to support cable lengths up to 150 meters. Due to the Voltage-drop in the cable for lengths over 150 meters the electronics and the cable have to be modified.

SONAR CONTROLS:

Range 50/100 meters range to port and starboard. Scale lines (one pixel wide, inverse video) divide the image width into 10 mtr. Equal increments when set to 50 meters. When set to 100 meters increments equal 20 meters.

Towfish Height control enables removal of the water column from the printout. With this control set to 0 meters, there will generally be two echoes either side of the towfish track down the center of the printout. The strong signal will be from the sea bed and the weak signal will be from the surface. The scale lines allow good estimates to be made of the towfish height from the sea bed and it's depth below the surface. As the towfish is lowered towards the sea bed, the surface signal will get weaker and also farther from the center of the printout whilst the bed signal will get closer to the center.

When the towfish is flying at the correct altitude, the wasted center section of the printout may be utilized by setting the Towfish Height control to equal the estimated height of the towfish from the sea bed. However, in so doing, you lose your check on the safe height of the towfish

• Towfish speed control adjusts the print speed in order to correct for various speeds over ground (which may not be the same as the speed through the water, depending on tidal currents). 1 to 5 knots speed over ground correction potentiometer.
• Print Test momentary pushbutton to advance a 16 level gray scale pattern.
• Advance Paper momentary pushbutton to advance white paper.
• Threshold potentiometer to set first gray level on the test pattern to just visible.
• Contrast potentiometer to set darkest gray level on the test pattern to full black.

The Computer Interface Option was recently developed, it is the latest introduction to the product line of Underwater Systems Special Products Group. The P.C. interface card enables you to utilize a Pentium 100 personal computer via the serial port 1 and a G.P.S. On serial port 2. The windows based software package supplied allows Side Scan data / G.P.S. Data to be recorded on the computer's hard disk or other media such as Zip Drive, whilst scrolling the images down the V.G.A. display. The data being recorded may be enhanced by using the image controls "PREVIEW" functions. The C-Scan 450 P.C. is available in two different options.

The C-Scan 450 military unit was developed to meet the demanding needs of the military, realizing the importance of a compact portable unit, it's low-cost, innovative design and high quality, marks this unit as the new generation in side scanning sonar. With built in computer and G.P.S. enclosed in a water proof military type casing. The image display and system control all in one unit results in unprecedented ease of use. The specifications of the military unit is as follows: