Gaps M7

Positioning System

User Guide
 Gaps M7 - User Guide

Revision History

Edition Date Comments

F 5/2016 Pack Soft 6

G 3/2018 Pack Soft 7
H 11/2019 Pack Soft 8
I 02/2020 Name change Gaps -> Gaps M7

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Copyright
All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, whether electronic, printed manual or otherwise, including but not limited to
photocopying, recording or information storage and retrieval systems, for any purpose without
prior written permission of iXblue.

Disclaimer
iXblue specifically disclaims all warranties, either expressed or implied, including but not
limited to implied warranties about merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with
respect to this product and documentation. iXblue reserves the right to revise or to make
changes or improvements to this product or documentation at any time without notify any
person of such revision or improvements.
In no event shall iXblue be liable for any consequential or incidental damages, including but not
limited to loss of business profits or any commercial damages, arising out of the use of this
product.

Export Control
This product is subject to export control regulations. Please refer to the commercial offer or
contact iXblue for details about the applicable export control regulations and restrictions.

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Guide Overview
This document is the User Guide for Gaps M7. It must be read and understood prior to using
the system. The manufacturer shall in no case be held liable for any application or use that
does not comply with the stipulations in this guide. Gaps M7 User Guide is divided into the
following parts:

● Introduction - This section contains a general and technical description of Gaps M7.

● Conventions and Specifications - This section gathers all important information about
reference center, reference axes, signs of attitude angles etc.

● Installing Gaps M7 - In this section, you find the procedure to install the Gaps M7
system, to assess its geometrical configuration parameters, and to plan all connections to
external systems.

● Configuring Gaps M7 - In this section, you find the procedure for configuring Gaps M7
with the help of the Web-based User interface. It describes all required parameters before
operating the system.

● Setting Gaps M7 to Work - This section gathers all tasks that have to be gone through
before the start of the survey.

● Visualizing USBL Data with DELPH RoadMap - This section describes how to use
DELPH RoadMap software in order to visualize USBL data coming out of Gaps M7.

● Coupling Gaps M7 and Subsea INS - This section describes the connection between
Gaps M7 and a subsea INS installed on an ROV.

● Dynamic Positioning Modes - This section details the operation of Gaps M7 in

conjunction with a dynamic positioning system.

● Operating Gaps M7 - This section provides the full description of operation of Gaps M7.

● Maintenance - This section provides the preventative and corrective maintenance for
Gaps M7.

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Abbreviations and Acronyms

AHRS Attitude and Heading Reference System
AUV Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle
CAF Common Acknowledgment Frequency
CIF Common Interrogation Frequency
CRF Common Reply Frequency
CRP Central Reference Point
DVL Doppler Velocity Log
IIF Individual Interrogation Frequency
INS Inertial Navigation System
IRF Individual Response Frequency
GPS Global Positioning System
HRP Heading Roll Pitch
LBL Long Base Line
LED Light Emitting Diode
MFSK Multiple Frequency Shift Keying
MMI Man Machine Interface
PHINS PHotonic Inertial Navigation System
ROV Remote Operated Vehicle
RT Release Transponder
RTK Real Time Kinematic
SIN Spectral Isotropic Noise
SLAM Simultaneous Localization And Mapping
UDP User Datagram Protocol
USBL Ultra Short Base Line
UTC Universal Time Coordinated

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Text Usage

Bold text is used for items you must select or click in the software. It is
Bold
also used for the field names used into the dialog box

Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should enter from the
Courier keyboard, the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories, programs,
functions, filenames and extensions

Italic text is the result of an action in the procedures. It is also used for ref-
Italic
erencing to other document titles

Icons

The Note icon indicates that the following information is of particular interest
and should be read with care.

Important
The Important mention indicates that the following information should be read
to forbid or prevent a product dysfunction or a faulty operation of the equip-
ment.

The Caution icon indicates that the following information should be read to for-
bid or prevent product damage.

The Warning icon indicates that possible injury or death could result from fail-
ure to follow the provided recommendation.

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION 14
1.1 PRINCIPLE 14
1.2 EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION 16
1.2.1 Overview 16
1.2.2 Gaps M7 Head 17
1.2.3 Gaps Box 18
1.2.4 Web-Based User Interface 18
1.2.5 Acoustic Transponders 19
1.2.6 Optional Integrated DGPS 20
1.2.7 USBL Telemetry 20
1.2.8 Ping Stacking 20
1.2.9 Optional HiSys Hoisting System 20
2 CONVENTIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS 22
2.1 CONVENTIONS 22
2.1.1 Center of Measurements, Acoustic Center and Reference Axes 22
2.1.2 Hydrophones and Reference Frame 22
2.1.3 Attitude 23
2.2 SPECIFICATIONS OF GAPS M7 ACOUSTIC ANTENNA 24
2.2.1 General Characteristics 24
2.2.1.1 Positioning 24
2.2.1.2 Operating / Environment 24
2.2.2 Mechanical Specifications 24
2.2.3 Electrical Specifications 25
2.2.3.1 Main Cable 25
2.2.3.2 Optional Repeater Box for the Main Cable 27
2.2.3.3 Optional Gaps M7 GPS Cable 29
2.2.3.4 Optional Gaps M7 Y Cable 29
2.2.3.5 Gaps Box 31
2.2.3.6 Power Supply 33
2.2.3.7 Synchronization Signals 34
2.2.3.8 Serial Link Wirings 34
3 INSTALLING GAPS M7 35
3.1 CHECKING THE DELIVERY 35
3.2 INSTALLING THE ACOUSTIC ANTENNA 36
3.2.1 Recommendations 36
3.2.1.1 Cable Curvature 36
3.2.1.2 Environmental Noise 36
3.2.1.3 Reflective Surfaces 36
3.2.1.4 Corrosion 37
3.2.2 Principles 37
3.3 INSTALLING THE GAPS BOX 39
3.3.1 Electromagnetic Compatibility Recommendations 39
3.3.2 Cable Curvature 39
3.3.3 Connecting the Gaps Box 40

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3.4 INSTALLING THE GPS ANTENNA 41

3.4.1 Installing an External GPS 41
3.4.2 Installing the Optional iXblue DGPS 42
3.4.3 Identifying the GPS Lever Arms 43
3.4.3.1 GPS Antenna above Gaps 43
3.4.3.2 GPS Antenna not above Gaps 44
3.4.4 GPS Time 45
3.5 INSTALLING THE TRANSPONDERS 45
4 CONFIGURING GAPS M7 46
4.1 W EB-BASED USER INTERFACE GENERAL OVERVIEW 46
4.1.1 Main Window 47
4.1.2 Windows and Menus Handling 48
4.1.3 Logo Handling 48
4.1.4 Color Code 49
4.1.5 General Rules for Using Command Windows 50
4.1.6 Web-Based User Interface Options 51
4.1.7 Saving and Restoring the Settings and Options 53
4.1.7.1 Saving the Settings 53
4.1.7.2 Restoring the Settings or Loading Options 54
4.2 CONFIGURING THE NETWORK 55
4.2.1 Connecting Gaps M7 Directly to a Computer 55
4.2.1.1 Default IP Address 55
4.2.1.2 Configuring the Computer 56
4.2.2 Connecting Gaps M7 to a Local Network 58
4.2.2.1 Configuring Gaps M7 Network Interface 59
4.2.2.2 Connection Procedure 60
4.3 CONFIGURING THE ACOUSTIC ANTENNA 61
4.4 CONFIGURING THE INPUT AND OUTPUT PARAMETERS 63
4.4.1 Configuring the Inputs 63
4.4.1.1 Input Stream Parameters 63
4.4.1.2 Configuring the Position Input 64
4.4.1.3 Configuring the UTC Input 66
4.4.1.4 Configuring the Pressure Input 67
4.4.1.5 Configuring the Telemetry 68
4.4.1.6 Configuring the Hoisting System 69
4.4.2 Configuring the Outputs 70
4.4.2.1 Output Stream Parameters 70
4.4.2.2 Configuration Procedure 71
4.5 CONFIGURING THE INTERNAL INS OF GAPS M7 72
5 SETTING GAPS M7 TO WORK 73
5.1 DEFINING THE TRACKING PARAMETERS 73
5.1.1 Synchronization Modes 73
5.1.2 Recurrence and Blanking Time 74
5.1.3 Internal Synchronization 75
5.1.4 External Synchronization 76
5.1.5 Ping Stacking 77

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5.1.5.1 Description 77
5.1.5.2 Procedure 78
5.1.5.3 Ping Stacking Limitations 78
5.2 ENTERING A SOUND VELOCITY PROFILE 79
5.2.1 Loading a Profile from a Data File 79
5.2.2 Entering Manually a Profile 80
5.3 SETTING UP THE TRANSPONDERS 82
5.3.1 Adding a Transponder 85
5.3.2 Configuring a Transponder 86
5.3.2.1 Parameters 86
5.3.2.2 Procedure 88
5.3.3 Activating a Transponder 90
5.3.4 Deleting a Transponder 90
6 VISUALIZING GAPS M7 DATA IN DELPH ROADMAP 91
6.1 INTRODUCTION 91
6.2 DELPH ROADMAP FEATURES 92
6.2.1 Navigation Menu 92
6.2.2 Toolbars and Panels 92
6.2.2.1 Equipment Toolbar 93
6.2.2.2 Panels 93
6.2.2.3 Mobile Toolbar 95
6.3 REAL -TIME MODE 96
6.3.1 Defining an Equipment 96
6.3.2 Configuring the Connection 97
6.3.3 Configuring the Logging 99
6.3.4 Connecting Equipment and Logging Data 100
6.3.5 Editing the Display 102
6.4 REPLAY MODE 104
6.4.1 Importing a Navigation Data File 104
6.4.2 Replaying a Dataset 105
6.5 VISUALIZATION TOOLS 106
6.5.1 Mobile Immersion 106
6.5.2 Vertical Axis 107
6.5.3 Range Circle 108
6.5.4 Uncertainty Ellipse 109
6.5.5 LBL Range 110
6.5.6 North Oriented View 112
6.5.7 Heading Oriented View 113
6.5.8 Mobile Information 114
6.5.9 Relative Positioning 115
6.5.10 Event Marks 116
6.5.10.1 Creating an Event Mark 116
6.5.10.2 Managing Event Marks 118
6.5.11 Waypoints 119
6.5.11.1 Creating a Waypoint 119
6.5.11.2 Managing Waypoints 121

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6.5.12 Measurements 122

6.5.12.1 Creating a Measurement 122
6.5.12.2 Managing the Measurements 124
6.5.13 Exporting a Trajectory 125
7 COUPLING GAPS M7 AND SUBSEA INS 127
7.1 LIST OF IXBLUE SUBSEA INS 127
7.2 COUPLING PRINCIPLE 128
7.3 PROCEDURES 130
7.3.1 Output Configuration in Gaps M7 Web-based User Interface 130
7.3.2 Input Configuration in the Subsea INS Web-based User Interface 131
7.4 COUPLING USING MTBX2 ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION 133
8 DYNAMIC POSITIONING MODES 134
8.1 DEFINITION 134
8.2 L-USBL MODE 135
8.3 L-USBL-INS MODE 136
8.4 PROCEDURE 138
9 OPERATING GAPS M7 140
9.1 DEPLOYING THE TRANSPONDERS 140
9.2 LAUNCHING THE SURVEY 141
9.2.1 Initializing the INS 141
9.2.2 Initializing Gaps M7 142
9.3 CONTROLLING THE DATA 143
9.3.1 Data Control Windows 143
9.3.1.1 CONTROL Window 144
9.3.1.2 NAVIGATION Window 145
9.3.2 Checking the Current Voltage of a ZTA02C Transponder 146
9.3.3 Deselecting a Channel for a USBL Computation 147
9.3.4 List and Meanings of Status, Warning and Errors 148
9.3.5 Frequency Spectrum of the Hydrophones 150
9.3.6 Controlling Data Acquisition using iXblue Multilogger 151
9.4 RECOVERING THE EQUIPMENT 153
9.4.1 Recovering Gaps M7 153
9.4.2 Recovering Transponders with the Telecommand 153
10 MAINTENANCE 155
10.1 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE 155
10.1.1 General Recommendations 155
10.1.2 Checking the Electrical Ground 157
10.1.3 Connecting a new Gaps Box to Gaps M7 158
10.1.4 Maintaining SUBCONN Connectors 159
10.2 MAINTENANCE FROM THE W EB-BASED USER INTERFACE 160
10.2.1 Calibrating the Gaps M7 Acoustic Antenna 160
10.2.2 Updating the System 160
10.2.3 Checking the Currently Installed Options 161
10.2.4 Resetting the System to Factory Settings 161
10.2.5 Contacting iXblue Technical Support 162

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IXBLUE CONTACT - SUPPORT 163

APPENDICES 164
A PREVENTING JAVA SECURITY WARNING DIALOG BOX 164
B RESTRICTIONS ON IP, GATEWAY AND MASK 166
C THIRD PARTY TRANSPONDER CODES 167
D CHORUS CODES 169
E SONARDYNE WIDEBAND® 1 TRANSPONDERS 170
F SETTINGS EXAMPLES 171
F.1 ONE TRANSPONDER 171
F.2 TWO TRANSPONDERS - SAME INTERROGATION CODE 171
F.3 TWO TRANSPONDERS - TWO INTERROGATION CODES 172
F.4 FOUR TRANSPONDERS - THREE INTERROGATION CODES 173
F.5 FOUR TRANSPONDERS - FOUR INTERROGATION CODES - TWO REPETITION FACTORS 174
G CONFIGURING QINSY CONNECTED TO GAPS M7 175
H INPUT PROTOCOLS 176
H.1 GPS 176
H.2 PRESSURE DATAGRAM PMEVL 178
H.3 ITS TELEMETRY 179
H.4 HOISTING SYSTEM 187
I OUTPUT PROTOCOLS WITH TRANSPONDER(S) POSITION 188
I.1 MINIMUM OUTPUT RECURRENCE VS. BAUD RATE 188
I.2 BLANKING TIME AND RECURRENCE EXAMPLES 189
I.3 CONTENTS OF VARIOUS DATAGRAMS 190
I.4 DATA STANDARD 192
I.4.1 PTSAG 192
I.4.2 PTSAX 193
I.4.3 PTSAY 194
I.4.4 PTSAZ 195
I.4.5 PTSAH 195
I.4.6 PIXOG 196
I.4.7 PTSAQ 196
I.4.8 PIXSE,LABEL 197
I.5 DATA LEGACY 198
I.6 DATA PTSAG 198
I.7 GAPS STANDARD 199
I.8 GAPS STANDARD ALTITUDE 203
I.9 GAPS STANDARD TRANSPONDER 206
I.10 DATA LIGHT 206
I.11 HIPAP HPR 400 207
I.12 HIPAP HPR 418 (FIX AND MOBILE) 208
I.13 HPR BCD 211
I.14 IXSEA USBL INS 1 217
I.15 IXSEA USBL INS 2 219
I.16 NAUTRONIX ATS II 221

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I.17 POSIDONIA 6000 222

I.18 USBL_POSTPRO 223
I.19 PIFM-POPSN 232
J GAPS M7 PHINS LEVER ARM 232
K OUTPUT PROTOCOLS WITH INS POSITION 233
L GAPS M7 ANTENNA MECHANICAL DRAWING 235
M MAIN CABLE REPEATER BOX MECHANICAL DRAWING 236
N GAPS BOX MECHANICAL DRAWING 237
O RACKABLE GAPS BOX MECHANICAL DRAWING 238

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1 Introduction

1.1 Principle
The Global Acoustic Positioning System Gaps is a portable Ultra Short Base Line (USBL) with
an integrated Inertial Navigation System (INS inside Gaps M7) or an Attitude and Heading
Reference System (AHRS inside Gaps M5) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
Plug and Play Gaps M7 system is recommended for mobile or fixed installations. It can be combined with an
additional hoisting system. It is a plug & play installation. No calibration is required before
using your Gaps M7.
Accuracy Gaps M7 system is used to deliver:
● The position of one or more underwater objects or vehicles, which can maneuver at depth
up to 3,000 meters. Deeper is possible depending on the type of beacon used.
● Accuracy is up to 0.06 % of the slant range depending on operational conditions.
● The heading, attitude, motion and position of the support vessel or buoy.
Operation The underwater objects or vehicles are tracked using acoustic transponders. Gaps M7
Principles
antenna is deployed underwater and is usually mounted below the ship hull.

Figure 1 - Gaps M7 typical mounting

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Gaps M5 vs. M7 In the table below are gathered the main differences between Gaps M5 and Gaps M7.

Table 1 - Summary of Gaps M5 and M7 differences

Gaps M5 Gaps M7
Heading / Roll / Pitch accuracy 0.5 / 0.1 / 0.1° 0.01°
Maximum positioning range 995 m 3,000 m
Weight in air / water 14 / -5 kg 16 / -7 kg
Housing height 520.8 mm 638 mm

32 W nominal 37 W nominal
Consumption < 100 W at starting up < 100 W at starting up
50 W transmission 60 W transmission

Ping stacking No Yes

Inertial core AHRS INS

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1.2 Equipment Description

1.2.1 OVERVIEW

Figure 2 - Two possible architectures

Elements Gaps M7 system is based on the following elements:
● Head, 1.2.2
● Gaps box connects the head and the other system elements, 1.2.3
● Web-based User Interface is used to configure (mandatory) and to monitor (optional) the
real time data, 1.2.4
● Up to 40 moored or mobile acoustic transponders, 1.2.5
● Optional integrated DGPS antenna provides absolute positions of the ship to Gaps M7
Cables Three cables are used in Gaps M7 system:
● Main cable links the head to the Gaps box
● Optional Y cable connects the GPS and the Gaps box directly to the head
● Optional GPS cable links the Y cable to the GPS antenna
User GPS If the expected accuracy of an external GPS is better than the integrated DGPS, it is possible
to connect it to the Gaps box (through the External GPS RS 232 serial link) and to use its
positioning data. In that case, the “Y” cable is not used.

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1.2.2 GAPS M7 HEAD

Figure 3 - Gaps M7 Head

Description Gaps M7 head is equipped with a carbon housing. It is composed of:
● An upper flange for handling and fastening
● A central transmission transducer
● Four arms (with reception hydrophones) of different lengths to take 3D measurements
● The four hydrophones are protected by plastic caps
● A SUBCONN connection plug
Contents Gaps M7 head contains:
● The acoustic electronics for reception based on the MFSK Chirp modulation technique
● An Inertial Navigation System (INS)
● The acoustic transmitter electronics
Gaps M7 Head Gaps M7 head ensures
● The acoustic transmission or electrical triggering signals to the transponders
● The reception of the replies
● The processing taking into account the attitude provided by the fiber-optic sensor
● The transmission of the results

Maximum speed with deployed Gaps M7 antenna: 12 knots.

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1.2.3 GAPS BOX

The Gaps box connects all the different elements of the system together. The Gaps M7 head
and the external sensors (GPS, Synchronization) are directly connected to the Gaps box. The
ship power supply is provided to the Gaps box. Ethernet and serial links connectors are
available for data output. The Gaps box is necessary to the operation of Gaps M7.

Figure 4 - Gaps box

Connectors Below are listed the connectors of the Gaps box:
● Ethernet: control / command and four input and output links
● Four input and output serial links
● Two synchronization outputs and one synchronization input
● One PPS link
● Power supply VDC / AC
Rack option On customer request, the Gaps box can be rackable (19''rack). See appendix O.

1.2.4 WEB-BASED USER INTERFACE

The Web-based user interface is a web application enabling configuration of the system (lever
arms, management of connections, celerity profile, configuration and management of
transponders) before each mission and checking the data input during the mission. This
application also enables recording of data and the sending of signals for the remote control.
4.1.

Figure 5 - Main window of the Web-based user interface

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1.2.5 ACOUSTIC TRANSPONDERS

The transponders compatible with Gaps M7 are listed below. Please report to specific User
guides. Contact iXblue to know if compatibility exists with other models.

Table 2 - Gaps M7 compatible transponders

iXblue MT8

iXblue MT9

iXblue ET / RTAx2

iXblue ZTA02C

iXblue RAMSES

iXblue CANOPUS

iXblue STAx2

iXblue MTBx2

Applied 1019 software permitting *

Mini beacon 5 & 6 Sonardyne

Sonardyne
Wideband® 1 compatible

Compatt 5 & 6 Sonardyne

Sonardyne
Wideband® 1 compatible

* Only the “software permitting”. Make sure your Applied beacon has the iXblue codes
compatibility before operating.

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1.2.6 OPTIONAL INTEGRATED DGPS

The optional integrated DGPS antenna is compatible with SBAS signals. The MMP26C-
2212S1 connector is IP 67 (resists to immersion at 1 meter during 30 minutes).

Figure 6 - Optional Integrated DGPS

1.2.7 USBL TELEMETRY

Gaps M7 communicates via USBL telemetry with specific transponders (ITS beacons
equipped with the specific technology, contact iXblue for more details). Data sets are
transmitted both ways in a synchronized way with the acoustic positioning cycles.
Telemetry is carried by the acoustic signals of the ITS beacons.:
● Interrogation signals MF CHORUS CIS and MF CHORUS IIS
● Reply signals MF CHORUS CRS and MF CHORUS IRS
Typically, the transponder transmits the measurements of its sensors (depth, sound velocity,
etc.) in order to improve the accuracy of the Gaps M7 USBL positioning.
Gaps M7 transmits orders to the transponder (release, etc.) via the telemetry.
Configuration of the telemetry in input and output is described in section 4.4.1.5
The telemetry datagram uses ITS TELEMETRY (NMEA 183 / $PTLMT) protocol datagram
that is described in appendix H.3.

1.2.8 PING STACKING

The ping stacking mode consists of increasing the positioning rate independently of the slant
range between the USBL antenna and the transponder. The Gaps M7 pings at a faster rate
than usual and does not wait for the detection of the transponder before pinging again.
See section 5.1.5 for a complete description of the ping stacking mode.

1.2.9 OPTIONAL HISYS HOISTING SYSTEM

The Gaps M7 acoustic antenna may be fastened to an iXblue HiSys hoisting system. A
connection between the hoisting system and the Gaps box allows the monitoring of the actual
operating states of the hoisting system directly on the Web-based User Interface. Please refer
to HiSys specific user guide for complete operational procedure.

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Figure 7 - HiSys hoisting system

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2 Conventions and Specifications

2.1 Conventions
2.1.1 CENTER OF MEASUREMENTS, ACOUSTIC CENTER AND REFERENCE AXES
Center of The Gaps M7 center of measurements is in the center of the mounting flange of the acoustic
measurements
antenna. In the Web-User Interface, the Gaps M7 center of measurement is equivalent to the
CRP (Common Reference point). The Gaps M7 center of measurement is the reference point
for the determination of external sensor (i.e., GPS) lever arms.
Acoustic The distance between the center of the measurements (center of the top flange) and the
Center
acoustic center is approximately 0.6 m (589.3 mm). The acoustic center is at the barycenter of
the four hydrophones.
Reference The lever arms of the external sensor with respect to the Gaps M7 center of measurements is
frames
represented by three lengths LV1, LV2, LV3 defining the position of the external sensor in the
(XV1, XV2, XV3) vessel reference axes.

Figure 8 - Center of measurement and reference axes

Misalignment The misalignments of the acoustic antenna are measured between the reference frame of
Gaps M7 and the reference frame of the vessel. The three misalignment angles are entered by
the operator in the Web-User Interface (MECHANICAL PARAMETERS menu).

2.1.2 HYDROPHONES AND REFERENCE F RAME

Gaps M7 reference frame is based on H1, H2, H3 and H4 hydrophones. H1 must be directed
towards the bow of the ship. Hydrophone names are printed above the arms.

Figure 9 - H1 and H2 hydrophones

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2.1.3 ATTITUDE
The attitude angles are defined as follows:
● Roll is positive when Port goes up.
● Pitch is positive when the bow is down.
● Heading is positive when it goes to Starboard.

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2.2 Specifications of Gaps M7 Acoustic Antenna

2.2.1 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
2.2.1.1 Positioning

Coverage 200° below the acoustic array

Acoustic Level 191 +/-3 dB ref. 1 µPa @ 1 m

Operating frequency 22 to 30 kHz MFSK chirp modulation technique

Heading / Roll / Pitch accuracy 0.01°

Receiving voltage sensitivity -206 dB re 1 V / µPa (± 3 dB) 56 µV / Pa (nominal)

Horizontal directivity Omnidirectional ± 2 dB at 100 kHz (Typical)

Vertical directivity 270° ± 2 dB at 50 kHz (Typical)

2.2.1.2 Operating / Environment

Power supply 100-240 VAC / 24 to 36 VDC

37 W nominal
Consumption < 100 W at starting up
60 W transmission

Operating temperature -5 °C to 35 °C

Storage temperature -40 °C to + 70 °C

Highest humidity 95% at 40°C

Vibration range from 1 to 55 Hz at 1 mm / 10 m/s2
Shock acceleration 15 m/s2 for 15 ms, ½ sinus

2.2.2 MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Housing Painted carbon fiber

Weight in air / water 16 kg / -7 kg

Housing diameter x H (mm) 296 x 638 (fits in DN350 gate valves)

Up to 25 m for nominal accuracy

Array depth-rating
Up to 100 m non destruction

Maximum sailing speed 12 knots

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2.2.3 ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS

2.2.3.1 Main Cable
The main cable of Gaps M7 (reference 930 0243A-xx) is connected to the acoustic antenna
and to the Gaps box. Find below the description of the 21 pins MCOM21F SUBCONN
connector and the 23 pins UT061823PH SOURIAU connector (see Table 3).

Length L 50 m ± 1.5 m (option of 95 m ± 3 m)

Diameter 15.0 mm +/- 0.8 mm
Minimal bending radius 75 mm
Maximum pulling strength 150 N

Insulation Tests are performed at 500 VDC for conductor to conductor, conductor to shield and
Values
conductor to body (SOURIAU). Accepted result above 200 MΩ. All measured values are
above or equal to 500 MOhm.
SUBCONN Maximal diameter: 42 mm (diameter of the red locking)
Connector
Minimal rigid length with dummy plug: 200 mm
Minimal rigid length without dummy plug: 150 mm

SOURIAU Maximal diameter: 45 mm, molding diameter thicker than the plug
Connector
Minimal rigid length plug and molding: 170 mm

To remove the connector: hold the molding, push the connector toward the box and unscrew at
the same time. If you do not push the connector, the unscrewing is difficult.

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Table 3 - Wiring of the 23-pin SOURIAU and 21-pin SUBCONN connectors

SUBCONN (Gaps side) SOURIAU (Box side) Signal

1 N Ethernet Rx-

2 X Ethernet Tx-
3 Not Connected
4 Not Connected , used by iXblue GPS
5 C Sync PPS–
6 B Sync IN 1-
7 K Sync OUT 1–
8 F Sync OUT 2–
9 Not Connected
10 Not Connected
11 M Ethernet Rx+
12 Y Ethernet Tx+
13 Not Connected
14 Not Connected , used by iXblue GPS
15 T Sync PPS+
16 A Sync IN+
17 J Sync OUT 1+
18 U Sync OUT 2+
19 Not Connected
20 R,W Power Supply -
21 Z,S Power Supply +
D,E,G Ethernet and Synchro pairs shield
H,L,P,V Reserved by iXblue

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2.2.3.2 Optional Repeater Box for the Main Cable

The Repeater box is necessary when two main cables (95 + 95 m or 95 + 50 m) are used
simultaneously between the Gaps box and the Gaps M7 unit. The Repeater box realizes the
junction between the two cables. Standard main cables are used so the connectors on the
Repeater box are similar to connectors on the Gaps box and on the Gaps M7 antenna.

Figure 10 - Repeater box

Figure 11 - Repeater box operation principle (95 m + 50 m or 2 x 95 m)

Only one Repeater box can be used with a Gaps M7 unit.

Specifications The general characteristics of the Repeater box are the following:
● Weight 2.15 kg
● Size: 217 x 188 x 68.5 mm
● Operating temperature: -20°C / +70°C
● Storage temperature: -20°C / +80°C
● IP rating classification: IP65
The mechanical drawing of the Repeater box is available in appendix K.

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Power Supply Power supply from Gaps box: 32 to 38.5 VDC (for 1 repeater box and two 95 m cables).
Connectors The SOURIAU 23-points connector (SOURIAU UT061823SH) and its wiring are the same as
on the Gaps box. The wiring description is to be found in the Gaps user guide.
The SUBCONN 21-points connector (SUBCONN MCOM21M) and its wiring are identical on
the Gaps M7 antenna. See wiring description in section 2.2.3.1

Figure 12 - SOURIAU (left) and SUBCONN (right) connectors

Installation The Repeater box is classified IP65. We recommend an indoor installation. The repeater box
may be installed on any vertical or horizontal surface.
Electrical The Repeater box must be connected to the electrical ground and shield via the threaded rod.
Ground

Figure 13 - Shield threaded rod

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2.2.3.3 Optional Gaps M7 GPS Cable

The 15 m GPS cable links the GPS antenna to the Y cable.

Figure 14 - GPS Cable connectors

2.2.3.4 Optional Gaps M7 Y Cable
The 1 m long Y cable (MP-FR10141 rev C) is used to connect the GPS unit and the Gaps box
to the Gaps M7. The cable can be immersed for long period in 500 m water depth.

Figure 15 - Y Cable connectors

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Table 4 - Wiring of the Y cable connectors

1 1 Ethernet Rx-
2 2 Ethernet Tx-
3 3 Not Connected
4 7 GND Signal
5 7 GND Signal
6 6 Sync IN 1-
7 7 Sync OUT1-
8 8 Sync OUT2-
9 9 Not Connected
10 Shield
11 11 Ethernet Rx+
12 12 Ethernet Tx+
13 13 Not Connected
14 4 TxA GPS - RS232
15 8 Sync PPS+
16 16 Sync IN+
17 17 Sync OUT 1+
18 18 Sync OUT 2+
19 19 Not Connected
20 20 2 Power Supply -
21 21 1 Power Supply +
3 RxA - GPS RS232
5 RxB - GPS RS232
6 TxB - GPS RS232

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2.2.3.5 Gaps Box

Figure 16 - Gaps box front face and back face

Table 5 - Operating / Environment characteristics

Characteristics Values

24 to 36 VDC / 5.6 W
Power supply / Consumption
100-240 VAC

Weight 4.6 kg

Operating temperature -5 °C to 50 °C

Storage temperature -20 °C to + 80 °C

Highest humidity 95% at 40°C

Vibration range from 1 to 55 Hz at 1 mm / 10 m/s2
Shock acceleration 15 m/s2 for 15 ms, ½ sinus

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Table 6 - FRONT face from left to right

Label Type
PPS
SYNC OUT 2 status light
SYNC IN Status light
ON / OFF Status switch and light

Table 7 - BACK face from left to right

Label Type

• 24 – 36 VDC, 50 W (2 A) power supply

• 100 – 240 VAC, 50- 60 Hz power supply, automatically
Power supply detected, no adaptation needed
• Compartment with 2 fuses (1 A, 5x20 mm) ref: D1 TD : REF
SCHURTER 7030.332

23- pins connector for the Acoustic Array cable (SOURIAU

Gaps
UT061823SH)

ETHERNET Access to network

4 DB9 connectors for RS232 or RS422/485 serial links (use of
SERIAL A, B, C, D
straight cables)

2 BNC connectors. Acoustic recurrence triggered by an external

SYNC IN, TRIGGER, PPS
device (side-scan sonar for example)

SYNC OUT, MAIN,

2 BNC connectors to trigger the transponder in responder mode
SECONDARY

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2.2.3.6 Power Supply

AC Power The whole system (Gaps M7 + Gaps box + computer) must be powered by a 100 - 240 V / 50
Supply
Hz source. The 100 – 240 VAC is converted into 36 VDC inside the Gaps box.
Consumption
37 W nominal
< 100 W at starting up
60 W transmission

The 100 – 240 V socket-outlet shall be installed near the equipment and shall be easily
accessible. The Gaps box must be power supplied with either VAC or VDC but not both
simultaneously.

DC Power Gaps M7 is powered by a 24 to 36 V / 60 W DC source on a 4-pins SOURIAU UTO00104PH

Supply
connector. The DC connector is the only way to disconnect the DC power supply (no switch).

Figure 17 - AC-DC power supply connectors

DC Cable The Gaps box is supplied with a SOURIAU female connector UTO00104PH on which can be
welded a 24 – 36 VDC power supply cable of your own. The female connector is made of the
following references (1 x UT06104SH, 4 x RC16SE4K, 1 x UTG10ST). The minimal wire
section of DC power cable is 0.75 mm2.

Table 8 - Connector and wiring of the 24 – 36 VDC external power supply connector

Standalone female connector Pin # Signal

Male connector wiring
A +VCC

B GND

C Earth

D Earth

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2.2.3.7 Synchronization Signals

SYNC OUT The two SYNC OUT connectors are called MAIN and SECONDARY. Responder mode signal
is sent to the transponder only if the responder mode is requested.
● Type: Differential
● Levels: 0 / +4.5 V
● Signal +: 0 / +4.5 V active high (0 / 2 V minimum if charge is 50 Ω)
● Signal -: 0 / +4.5 V active low (0 / 2 V minimum if charge is 50 Ω)
● Pulse length: 10 ± 1 ms
SYNC IN The two SYNC IN connectors are called PPS and TRIGGER. The external triggering signal is
an active high pulse. The Gaps M7 is triggered on the rising edge.
● Type: TTL
● Levels: 0 / 5 V in standard mode (maximum level 10 V) active high, rising edge
recommended
● Length from 5 to 30 μs. Length down to 1 µs without flashing LED.
● For the PPS input: configurable via the Web-based User Interface for the rising edge.
The LED flash is a copy of the incoming signal. If short PPS pulses are used, the LED may
not flash but this doesn’t mean that the system is not detecting the signals.

If Gaps M7 is triggered in responder mode from the outside, with a transponder in responder
mode triggered on the sync IN input (the triggering pulse length must be higher than 5 ms), the
synchro shift between the recurrence and the transponder lasts 100 µs maximum. For this
reason, it is strongly recommended to trigger the transponder on the Sync OUT.

External GPS An optional external GPS may be connected to the external optional GPS message input
serial link. Baud rate, parity and bit stop are adjustable from the Web-based User Interface.
The message expected by Gaps is the standard NMEA $GPGGA message and GPZDA is
automatically taken into account for the update of the Gaps internal time if available.

In case of an external GPS, the Y cable MUST NOT be used.

2.2.3.8 Serial Link Wirings

The four serial links are compatible with RS232 and RS422/485 protocols. The RS422/485
link is a simplex link working only in input or output. The wiring of the connectors is:

Pin / Protocol RS232 RS422 / 485

1 Tx+
2 Tx+ Tx-
3 Rx+ Rx+
4 Rx-
5 Ground

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3 Installing Gaps M7

Before installing Gaps M7 for the first time, we recommend that you check all the parts in the
delivery box, 3.1. The installation is then achieved in four steps:
● Gaps M7 antenna, 3.2
● Gaps box, 3.3
● Optional DGPS Antenna, 3.4
● Transponders, 3.5

3.1 Checking the Delivery

You have just received your equipment in protective boxes. Before starting the installation
procedure, we recommend that you check the contents of the pack and the equipment
immediately on receipt of your System. Check that all items are present on delivery and
that none of them has been damaged during shipping.
Use the packing-list detailing all the shipped items. This packing list was compiled by iXblue
shortly before shipment.

On receipt of the equipment, its overall condition should be checked and iXblue informed of
any damage suffered during shipping. Check that every parcel shock label is still white. In the
opposite case it is highly recommended to contact the insurance company.

Never open the Gaps M7 head.

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3.2 Installing the Acoustic Antenna

3.2.1 RECOMMENDATIONS
Containing its own attitude sensor, Gaps M7 can be installed at the location and in the position
that best suit the operational constraints. Nevertheless, some factors concerning the
installation can decrease the final global system performances if not taken into account.

3.2.1.1 Cable Curvature

As seen in section 2.2.3, the integration of the Gaps M7 head must allow a space around the
main connector. This space corresponds to the minimum bending radius (75 mm) of the main
cable and the minimum rigid length (150 mm) of the SUBCONN connector.

3.2.1.2 Environmental Noise

As every acoustic system, the noise generated by the environment lower the system
performance. Positioning range and accuracy depend on the signal to noise ratio.
On a ship, it is recommended to install the Gaps M7 head in the front third of the ship (in order
to decrease the noise level from the propeller) and as far as possible from any water discharge
system.

3.2.1.3 Reflective Surfaces

Even though the MFSK signal processing increases the multi- path immunity, there are
situations where the direct signal detection is disturbed by reflective signals. To avoid such
cases, we recommend keeping Gaps M7 at least 1 m away from reflective surfaces.
The sea surface may be considered as a reflective surface depending on the depth of the
transponder: if both the transponder and the acoustic array are close to the surface, there will
be multi-path phenomenon at specific distances.
The transponder depth is usually an operational constraint and therefore difficult to change. In
that case, it is recommended to increase the depth of Gaps M7. For deep-water applications
(more than 250 m), a depth of 1 m is usually enough for the acoustic array.

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3.2.1.4 Corrosion
Gaps M7 is an electrical equipment that goes underwater. It may be submitted to differences
of potential that can lead to corrosion of the antenna mechanical structure.

It is your responsibility to minimize the differences of potential between the Gaps M7 antenna
and the surrounding structures. The Gaps M7 antenna must benefit from the electrolytic
protection of the vessel.

Contact iXblue technical support if you notice corrosion damages on the 8 titanium screws
holding the Gaps M7 or directly on the antenna housing (blisters of the paint).

3.2.2 PRINCIPLES
H1 When you set up Gaps M7 on the ship, it is recommended to set the hydrophone H1 towards
the bow of the ship. Positioning H1 towards the bow generates more drag but, in this position,
the acoustic noise is reduced.
Electrical In case Gaps M7 is fixed on metallic plates of different materials (electro-chemical potential,
Insulation
aluminum for example) it is necessary to electrically insulate it in order to avoid any electro-
galvanic reaction that will result in structure corrosion and Gaps M7 acoustic array fouling.
Location and There must be enough space for the wire way on the connector side of Gaps M7. is fixed using
Dimensions
the eight M8 screws.

The torque to mount the eight M8 screws must be from 15 Nm to 17 Nm. There is no need to
use Loctite glue or similar.

see Appendix Lthe dimensions of the antenna on the mechanical drawing.

Misalignment You can intentionally tilt the Gaps M7 antenna in any directions as long as you precisely
measure the tilt angles. The angle values have to be entered into the Web-based User
Interface during the configuration of the antenna. 4.3.
Antennas If you wish to exchange one acoustic antenna by another one on the same Gaps box, follow
exchange
the procedure below:

1. Turn OFF the Gaps box.

2. Exchange the Gaps M7 acoustic antenna.

3. Turn ON the Gaps box.

4. Wait one minute.

5. Turn OFF and ON the Gaps box.

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Figure 18 - Gaps M7 fixed on the hull and a transponder on a ROV or tow fish

Figure 19 - Transponder fixed on a scuba cylinder

Figure 20 - Gaps M7 antenna on a pole, underneath the keel or in a moon pool

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3.3 Installing the Gaps Box

The connections between the different devices can be set up through the Gaps box. Set up all
connections between the different devices of the system. The mechanical drawing of the
Gaps box is available in Appendix M.

The Gaps box is classified as IP 51 (NF EN 60529 2000). The Gaps box must be installed
inside the ship. If you have to operate the Gaps box on the deck, make sure to use the
appropriate protection for the Gaps box.

The exchange of one Gaps box by another requires that you reboot the computer on which
runs the Web based User Interface before powering the new Gaps box.

3.3.1 ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY RECOMMENDATIONS

Gaps system has been qualified with the following standards:
● EN 60945: 2002
● EN 61000-3-2: 2006 / A1: 2009 / A2: 2009
● EN 61000-3-3: 2008
It is recommended to install ferrite cores on the serial cables plugged on to the Gaps box.

Figure 21 - Ferrite cores set up on the serial cables of the Gaps box

The recommended ferrite cores have the following references:

● WURTH 742 711 12 for Synchro coaxial cables
● WURTH 742 712 21 for serial link cables

3.3.2 CABLE CURVATURE

As seen in section 2.2.3, the integration of the Gaps box must allow a space around the main
connector. This space corresponds to the minimum bending radius (75 mm) of the main cable
and the minimum rigid length (170 mm) of the SOURIAU connector.

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3.3.3 CONNECTING THE GAPS BOX

Figure 22 - Connection of the Gaps box and signal types

Figure 23 - Architecture of the Gaps M7 positioning system

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3.4 Installing the GPS Antenna

Two configurations are possible. See 1.2.1. You can use your own GPS or use the GPS
provided by iXblue. The integrated DGPS antenna has to be fixed in clear view from the sky.

Figure 24 - DGPS antenna installation

3.4.1 INSTALLING AN EXTERNAL GPS

Connection In this case, you must not use the Y-cable to be plugged to the Gaps M7. Plug your GPS
directly on the Gaps box via the GPS DB9 connector or on Ethernet.
Quality The Gaps M7 takes into account the quality of the positioning of an external GPS up to mode
4. The mode 5 is taken by Gaps M7 as a mode 4.

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3.4.2 INSTALLING THE OPTIONAL IXBLUE DGPS

The DGPS DB9 connector of the Gaps box is not used in this case. Plug the 15 m GPS cable
on the Y-cable and then plug the DGPS to the 15 m cable.

Figure 25 - Architecture of Gaps system with the use of the optional iXblue GPS

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3.4.3 IDENTIFYING THE GPS LEVER ARMS

Even though it is designed to work in the vertical position, Gaps acoustic array can be tilted if
necessary and also be placed in the horizontal position or even upside down.
To calculate the absolute position of a transponder, Gaps needs to know its own absolute
position. The GPS provide an absolute position. The offsets between the GPS antenna and
the Gaps acoustic array allow the computation of the absolute position of Gaps.
If no misalignment offsets are entered, the reference axes are linked to the Gaps.
When Gaps is tilted, the three offsets between the GPS antenna and the acoustic array have
to be entered accurately. When Gaps is in horizontal position, the axes are inverted and the
attitude outputs are irrelevant.
There are 2 different solutions to install the GPS antenna with different implications on the
mounting of the acoustic array:
● GPS antenna right above Gaps
● GPS antenna not above Gaps

3.4.3.1 GPS Antenna above Gaps

Rigid Link This is typically when Gaps M7 is mounted on a mast or held by a rigid pole with the GPS
antenna installed on top of the mast. When Gaps is vertical, all the offsets between the GPS
antenna and the acoustic array are set to 0 except the height (h) which must be entered
accurately in order to calculate the position offset when the system attitude changes.

Figure 26 - Vertical GPS antenna lever arm

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Flexible link This is typically when Gaps is held by a rope. In that case, the height value (h) must also be
set to 0 (to avoid the calculation of the offset). The accuracy of the positioning decreases if the
position of Gaps relative to the GPS antenna changes.

Figure 27 - Vertical GPS antenna lever arm

3.4.3.2 GPS Antenna not above Gaps
When the GPS antenna is not located right above Gaps, its position in the CRP / Gaps frame
has to be determined. The definition of these lever arms, LV1, LV2 and LV3 are given in below.

Figure 28 - GPS antenna lever arms (antenna not above Gaps)

The closer Gaps is to the GPS, the better is the accuracy of the measurement of the heading
of the acoustic array.
The required precision on the lever arm is below 10 cm.

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Figure 29 - Measure of GPS lever arms with respect to Gaps

3.4.4 GPS TIME

Gaps automatically updates its internal time. No menu in the Web-based interface enables
you to do it. Two cases can occur:
● ZDA is provided by the GPS: ZDA is the reference for time stamping the position and
attitude delivered by the Gaps M7
● No ZDA: the last time recorded by Gapsis used

A PPS can be interfaced with the Gaps box in order to improve the time stamping.

3.5 Installing the Transponders

The transponders are installed on the fixed or the mobile device that you intend to track. The
installation depends mainly on your equipment. Keep in mind that the transponder head must
be as much as possible.
● Free from obstacles
● Directed towards the hydrophones of the Gaps M7 antenna
Please refer to the specific transponder manual. The parameters for installation are to be input
in the Web-based user interface. See section 5.3.2.

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4 Configuring Gaps M7

The configuration of Gaps M7 is carried out from the Web-based User Interface. Before having
access to the interface, you have to connect a computer to the system via the Ethernet link.
Once the system is inserted in the local network, you can launch the Web-based User
Interface and you configure the installation parameter and the survey parameters.

4.1 Web-Based User Interface General Overview

Environment The Web-based User Interface has been optimized and qualified based on the environment
described on the release note delivered with your product. It is highly recommended to
upgrade your computer with the provided CD.
On a computer The communication with the computer can be performed either directly through Ethernet link or
through a local network. The communication is made in an http or https domain which includes
encryption and secure identification of Gaps M7.
The Web-based User Interface is launched from the WEB browser hosted on the computer.
You enter the IP address of Gaps M7 in the browser. See section 4.2.1.1.
Multi user When several users are connected to the same Web-based User Interface:
● One of the users edits Gaps M7 configuration and the others just watch the web pages:
this asks more CPU charge for the system but it should not freeze the interface.
● The different users edit simultaneously the Gaps M7 configuration: this may lead to
confusion about the operation of the system and as well to the freeze of the interface. This
must be avoided !

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4.1.1 MAIN WINDOW

The main window of the Web-based user interface is made of:
● Access to all data values (navigation data menu)
● Access to the maintenance tasks (maintenance menu)
● Language selection (French, English or Russian)
● Operating mode (day or night modes)
● Menu bar
● Command buttons
● System status display
● Main data display
You can re-size the page. Some elements disappear as you decrease the size of the window.

Figure 30 - Web-based Interface main window

Logo The logo appears on every page and tab of the Web-based user interface. It supplies you with
visual information on the status of the system using an associated color coding system. By
clicking on this you obtain a quick access to detailed status displays of the system’s different
elements.

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4.1.2 WINDOWS AND MENUS HANDLING

Use the menu to navigate in the interface windows as shown below.

Figure 31 - Navigation through the interface pages

4.1.3 LOGO HANDLING

A click on the logo opens the status pop-up. Figure below sums up the status of:
● Antenna: concerns the status of the equipment of Gaps M7 itself
● INS: concerns all status messages coming from the internal INS of Gaps M7
● External Sensors: concerns all errors of the data input from external sensors
● Electronic: concerns all errors of the data input from external sensors

The color code applies for the indicators and text labels displayed in these pop-up windows.
When a problem occurs, the color of the logo changes and these pop-up automatically appear
showing immediately which equipment has raised the problem. Close the pop-up windows by
clicking on the logo.

While tracking, repetitive clicks on the main logo or on the STATUS label on the left of the
main logo display alternatively the SYSTEM DETAILED STATUS and the list of the active
transponders and their associated parameters. A click on the frame of a transponder of the list
allows the display of another set of parameters of the transponder.

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4.1.4 COLOR CODE

Valid for text labels, status indicators and logo, the color code is defined below:

Table 9 - Color code definition

Color Definition

Grey Inactivity

Flashing Grey / Blue System Configuration (during initialization)

Blue Activity, nominal operation

Orange Activity, warning, the system works with limited efficiency

Red Activity, alarm, part of the system is not working correctly

Figure 32 - Warning and alarm status examples

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4.1.5 GENERAL RULES FOR USING COMMAND WINDOWS

You display and modify the configuration parameters via the command windows. At first,
these parameters are set to default values. You have to modify them to fit your needs:
Scrolling list By selecting it directly in the scrolling list:

You can also use the up / down arrows[↑] [↓] keys to scroll the list.
Text box By typing it in the dedicated area:

You may also use the up / down arrows [↑] [↓] keys to change the numerical values. An
incorrect value is immediately indicated by red color:
Expanding In order to keep each web-based page as small as possible, only the main parameters are
hidden area
default visible. You can expand the hidden area by clicking on its text label title:

OK / Cancel Each command page contains the same buttons. The buttons appear as soon as a
buttons
modification or a selection has been made in the command page:

To validate the new configuration and store it in the electronic of the system.

To return to the previous entered values.

Tool Tips Move your pointer above some parameters and logo to access its tool tip.

Other Button On “mouse over” action, orange color may surround a button to indicate that the action
performed on the button has important consequences. Example: the system restarts.

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4.1.6 WEB-BASED USER INTERFACE OPTIONS

The options menu on the upper right corner of the main window allows you to edit:
● Language (French, English or Russian)
● Mode of Display (Day Mode and Night Mode). The night mode is designed to prevent
the light of the screen to disrupt the navigation of the ship.

Figure 33 - Day and Night modes

● Coordinates format in UTM or Latitude / Longitude

● Simulation mode Real (default) or Artificial . The artificial mode simulates an actual
operating mode. It allows the user to validate beforehand the chosen configuration without
the need to deploy the acoustic antenna into the water.
● Hydrophone Disabling: Select H n disabled to exclude all detections made by H n. See
section 9.3.3.
● Dynamic Positioning Mode: See section 8.
> Automatic (default): GPS, LBL or inverted USBL are used in the order: Position
sensor, LBL if no GPS available and Inverted USBL if no LBL and no GPS available
> GPS Only: only data from GPS are used for DP
> LBL Only: only data from LBL are used for DP
> USBL Only : only data from USBL are used for DP

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1. Click on options in the upper right corner of the main window.

The OPTIONS page opens.

2. In Display, select the Language and the Day or NightMode in the scrolling list.

3. In Coordinates, select the System in the scrolling list (UTM or Latitude/Longitude).

For UTM system, select the Zone in the scrolling list.
For Latitude/Longitude system, select the Notation in the scrolling list.

4. In Simulation Mode select between Real (default) and ArtificialDetection.

5. In Hydrophones Disabling, select between Automatic or one of the hydrophone disabled.

See section 9.3.3.

6. In Dynamic Positioning select between Automatic(default); GPS Only, LBL Only and
USBL OnlyMode.

7. Click on OK to validate your choice and to apply it to the Web User Interface.

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4.1.7 SAVING AND RESTORING THE SETTINGS AND OPTIONS

This section describes how to make a backup of the
● Full settings
● Transponder settings
● Sound Velocity Profile
in a text file and how to restore previously saved product settings. In the settings file are
stored all the different communication parameters as well as all the survey parameters. This
tool can be used as a backup of a specific installation on a ship as well as a specific survey
configuration.

Make sure to ZIP the options files when sending them by mail in order to avoid any file
corruption caused by mail applications.
Make sure to UNZIP the options files that you have received by mail before loading them into
Gaps M7.

4.1.7.1 Saving the Settings

1. Select the SETUP > SETTINGS MANAGEMENT menu item.

2. In the SAVE SETTINGS frame, edit the Filter and the default File name of the text file in
which you want to save the product settings.

3. Click on the Save Settings button. A window opens offering you to select the location where
to store the file, choose this location and click on the OK button.
The product settings are now saved in a text file at the chosen location.

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4.1.7.2 Restoring the Settings or Loading Options

The same procedure is used to restore the previously saved settings or to load newly acquired
options. Settings and options are stored in CNF_ files.

Gaps M7 settings are not compatible with Gaps M5 Web User Interrface and vice versa.

1. Select the SETUP > SETTINGS MANAGEMENT menu item.

The page opens.

2. In the RESTORE SETTINGS frame, click on Browse… to select the CNF_ file.
Once selected the name of the file appears in the File field.

3. Click on the button Restore Settings.

A Sending File frame appears briefly. Once the frame has disappeared, the product settings
or options are loaded in the Web-based User Interface.
If you have loaded an option, then the new option is listed in the MAINTENANCE page inside
the SYSTEM OPTIONS frame. See below for the Sonardyne Wideband® 1 option.

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4.2 Configuring the Network

Gaps M7 can only be configured via a Web Based User Interface from any computer. The
purpose of this section is to explain how to connect Gaps M7 to a computer that is part of a
local network or not. You can be in one of the two situations:
● Connect Gaps M7 to a single computer
● Connect Gaps M7 to the local network

4.2.1 CONNECTING GAPS M7 DIRECTLY TO A COMPUTER

In this section you connect Gaps M7 to a single computer via an Ethernet cable. Then you
configure the computer network parameters in order that the computer “sees” Gaps M7.

Figure 34 - Connecting a computer to edit the network configuration of Gaps M7

Equipment Needed:
● 1 x computer or Laptop (with an unused Ethernet port)
● 1 x Cat 5 Cross Ethernet Cable
By default, Gaps M7 is already assigned with an IP address. When connecting only one
computer to Gaps M7, it is only necessary to adapt the computer to Gaps M7 configuration.

4.2.1.1 Default IP Address

The default IP address is: http://192.168.36.1xx
XX being the last two digits of the serial number of the product. The URL is redirected to
https://192.168.36.1XX/control/.
For products delivered before 30 April 2016, the default IP address is: https://192.168.64.19
The user name and password asked are: admin and admXI.

If you have lost Gaps M7 IP address, you can easily recover this address by connecting an
hyper terminal (115200, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop) to one of the four serial links of the Gaps box
. When you switch OFF and ON the BOX, the IP address of the system is displayed in the
hyper terminal as well as the firmware version and the ID of the serial link.

192.xxx.xxx.xxx is an address of class C, the corresponding mask is by default

255.255.255.0

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4.2.1.2 Configuring the Computer

IP Address Assuming that the system IP address is 192.168.36.19, and the subnet mask is
255.255.255.0. Before configuring the computer, choose the computer IP address. This
address must be taken from the same subset as the address configured in the system. In this
example, 192.168.36.20 is used for the computer IP address.
Subnet Mask The subnet mask must be the same between Gaps M7 and the computer.

1. Access on the computer to the Network Connections Window:

● Locate the icon “My Network Places” on the desktop screen of the computer, right click
on the icon then select Properties
● If you cannot locate this icon, you can still proceed by selecting Start menu > Connect
To > Show all connections.
● Select Start menu > Settings > Control Panel, then double click on the icon Network
Connections.

2. Right click on Local Area Connection icon and select Properties:

The Local Area Connection Properties window opens:

3. Double click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) label text.

The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window opens.

4. Select the option Use the following IP address and enter 192.168.36.20 for the IP address
field and 255.255.255.0 for the Subnet mask.

5. Leave the Default gateway and DNS server addresses blank.

6. Click on OK button to validate the modifications.

You have set up the computer configuration to enable the Ethernet communication between
the computer and Gaps M7.

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The computer IP address used here takes into account that Gaps M7 is using its default
configuration with its default IP address. You may change the IP address and subnet mask of
Gaps M7. In either case the subnet masks of both computer and Gaps M7 must be identical.

If you have no idea on which IP address Gaps M7 has been configured, you may recover this
IP address by connecting a HyperTerminal on the computer to one of the RS232 connector
and configuring the terminal to the following settings: 115200 bauds, 8, none, 1. The IP
address is then being broadcasted by Gaps M7 on the HyperTerminal.

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4.2.2 CONNECTING GAPS M7 TO A LOCAL NETWORK

In this section, you connect Gaps M7 to the local network via an Ethernet switch as shown
below. Then you set up a computer from the network to have access to Gaps M7 network
parameters. You edit these parameters to makeGaps M7 compatible with the network (see
section 4.2.2.1). The global procedure follows (see section 4.2.2.2).

Figure 35 - Gaps M7 connected to the local network

Equipment Needed:
● One Cat 5 Straight Ethernet Cable to set between the BOX and the switch
● A free slot in the local network switch
You configure the Gaps M7 to make it compatible to your local network.

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4.2.2.1 Configuring Gaps M7 Network Interface

Connect Gaps M7 powered on to a computer, launch the Web-based User Interface on the
computer and edit the network parameters. Make Gaps M7 compatible to your local Ethernet
network.
Every Gaps M7 has its own IP address and net mask. In order to insert Gaps M7 in your local
network, edit the network parameters.
Important

Restrictions on the choice of Gaps M7 IP address and mask are detailed in annex B.

Gateway IP address is the address of the workstation connected to other networks of the
vessel.

Turn Gaps M7 OFF and ON after every IP address edition.

1. Click on INSTALLATION in the menu and select NETWORK.

The NETWORK SETTINGS window opens.

2. Edit the IP Address by clicking in the fields and entering new values.

3. Edit the Net Mask by clicking in the fields and entering new values.

4. Edit the Gateway by clicking in the fields and entering new values.

5. Click on OK to validate the input of the values.

6. Turn the system OFF and then ON.

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4.2.2.2 Connection Procedure

1. Connect physically Gaps M7 to the local network as shown in section 4.2.2. Gaps M7 being
in default network configuration that is not compatible with your local network, Gaps M7 is not
visible from any computer present in the network.

2. Select one computer from which you are going to access and configure Gaps M7. Note the IP
address of this computer. You need this IP address in step 7.

3. Follow the procedure of section 4.2.1to set the computer to see Gaps M7 from this computer.
Gaps M7 is now visible from this computer.

4. Choose an IP address compatible to the local network. You are going to assign this address
to Gaps M7.

5. Add this address to the list of IP addresses of the elements present in the local network.

6. Launch the Web-based User Interface. See section 4.1

7. See section 4.2.2.1 to edit Gaps M7 network parameters. Once the computer is configured
and that you can see Gaps M7 from the computer, assign the new IP address to Gaps M7.
For the Net Mask, enter the local network mask.

8. Configure back the computer in its original IP network configuration (before step 3).
Now all computers in the network can see Gaps M7.

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4.3 Configuring the Acoustic Antenna

The center of the mounting flange of the Gaps acoustic antenna is taken as the position of the
CRP. The misalignments and antenna depth are calculated just after installation and must be
checked every time the vessel goes into dry dock. These parameters are:
● Misalignments: three angular offsets of the antenna’s axes compared with the boat’s
axes. They are measured during the installation process.
● GAPS depth: the distance from the CRP to the sea level.
● Lever arm for relative coordinates (for HPR400, HPR418 & HPRBCD protocols only):
If you plan to output data using these protocols, you must add a lever arm (position of
Gaps with respect to the center of gravity of the vessel) in order to reference the position
to the center of gravity of the vessel.

It is necessary to fill the GAPS Depth field even if you use only the altitude of the
transponder for a correction of the sound velocity profile.

1. Click on the menu INSTALLATION > MECHANICAL PARAMETERS.

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2. In Misalignments (optional), enter the values of Roll, Pitch and Heading. Input only angles
between -45° and +45°.

3. In GAPS Depth, enter the Distance of the flange of the antenna to the water surface.

4. If it is needed, enter the Lever arm for relative coordinates, the LV1, LV2 and LV3
coordinates in meters.

5. Click on OK to validate your input data configuration and send this data to the Gaps M7.

The heading of Gaps is different from the heading of INS inside Gaps M7 if you have entered
an offset in the Web-based User interface.

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4.4 Configuring the Input and Output Parameters

This section describes the configuration of the communication between Gaps M7 and the
external sensors. These parameters are divided in input (4.4.1) and output parameters (4.4.2).
The parameters are in the INPUTS and OUTPUTS items of INSTALLATION menu.

4.4.1 CONFIGURING THE INPUTS

The following inputs (Position , UTC , Pressure, Telemetry and Hoisting System ) are
configured here:
Position Position data input comprises position, time and date. GPS is plugged directly to the Gaps
M7 antenna or to the Gaps box. The GPS antenna broadcasts data on Ethernet or serial link.
GPS lever arms are input in the User Interface or in a navigation software but not in both!
UTC External sensors delivering UTC are connected to a serial plug or via the Ethernet network.
Pressure Pressure data input allows the computation of immersion (see Appendix H.2). Pressure
comes from a pressure sensor installed on the underwater vehicle or is broadcasted on an
Ethernet or serial link. A pressure offset can be added to the incoming data.
Telemetry Under Telemetry , set the identical configuration than in the equipment that output the
telemetry datagram. Only one protocol ITS TELEMETRY is available.
Hoisting Sys. State of the hoisting system is displayed as antenna status in the CONTROL menu.

4.4.1.1 Input Stream Parameters

Below, you find the various parameters that you have to set up:
● Input: Choose the Port among the Serial A, B, C, D and Ethernet A, B, C, D ports.
Select Embedded (for Position and UTC ) if you use the iXblue GPS. Select None if
there is no external sensor.
● Protocol : type of Protocol sent by the chosen sensor. The protocol may be
accompanied by a synchronized PPS (for UTC ) used to record incoming data. The 4
PPS options are: rising or falling edge, before or after the data . Timeout (for Pressure) of
the PPS below which it does not operate can also be recorded. see Appendix H.
● Serial: (only for GPS) if the chosen link is Serial, the link parameters are as follows:
> Parity: None, Odd, Even
> Stop bits: 1.0 or 2.0
> Standard: RS422/485 or RS232
> Baudrate: selected from a predefined list ranging from 1,200 to 115,200 bauds
● Ethernet: if the chosen link is Ethernet, the link parameters are as follows:
> Transport layer: may be TCP Server, TCP Client or UDP Broadcast (only TCP
Client for the GPS case).
> IP: the IP address of the target (only for a transport layer TCP Client)
> Port: the number of the port
● Lever arms (only for GPS): the lever arms represent the distance along the vessel’s three
reference axes between the position of the sensor and the position of the CRP.
● Forced Mode (only for GPS): the INS inside Gaps M7 takes all GPS positions that come
in input whatever their quality might be. If the Gaps is turned off in forced mode, it will
restart in forced mode.

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4.4.1.2 Configuring the Position Input

1. Click on the INSTALLATION > INPUTS.

2. Click on Position to display the parameters.

3. In Input, select the Port between Serial A, B, C, D or Ethernet A, B, C, D or select

Embedded if you use the iXblue GPS.
We recommend to set the same port for Position and UTC.

4. In Protocol, select the protocol in the corresponding scrolling list.

5. For a Serial link, enter the Parity, Stopbits, Standard and Baudrate.

6. For a Ethernet link, select the Transport Layer, IP address and Port.

7. Lever Arms, enter LV1, LV2, LV3 separating GPS from the CRP. Make sure the GPS lever
arms have not been input in a third party navigation software. See note below.

8. You may set the Gaps M7 in Forced Mode by selecting the corresponding check box. All
GPS positions are input in the INS

9. Click OK to validate your input configuration and send this data to Gaps M7.

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You may enter the lever arms in the Gaps Web-based User Interface or in the third party
navigation software. The drawing below describes the two options.

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4.4.1.3 Configuring the UTC Input

1. Click on the INSTALLATION > INPUTS.

2. Click on UTC to display the parameters.

3. In Input, select the Port between Serial A, B, C, D or Ethernet A, B, C, D or select

Embedded if you use the iXblue GPS.
We recommend to set the same port for Position and UTC.

4. In Protocol, select the Protocol and the PPS in the corresponding scrolling lists.

5. If you have selected Serial in step 3, enter the following parameters:

6. If you have selected Ethernet in step 3, enter the following parameters:

7. Click on OK to validate your input configuration and send this data to the Gaps M7.

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4.4.1.4 Configuring the Pressure Input

1. Click on the INSTALLATION > INPUTS.

2. Click on Pressure to have access to the pressure sensor parameters.

3. In Input, select the Port between Serial A, B, C, D or Ethernet A, B, C, D.

4. In Protocol, select the Protocol and the Timeout in the corresponding scrolling lists.

5. In Protocol, enter an Offset in millibar for the pressure sensor.

6. For a Serial link, enter the Parity, Stopbits, Standard and Baudrate.

7. For an Ethernet link, enter the Transport Layer, possible IP and Port.

8. Click on OK to validate your input data configuration and send this data to the Gaps M7.

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4.4.1.5 Configuring the Telemetry

Input
1. Click on the INSTALLATION > INPUTS.

2. Click on Telemetry to have access to the specific parameters.

3. In Input, select the Port between Serial A, B, C, D or Ethernet A, B, C, D.

4. In Protocol, select ITS TELEMETRY.

5. If you have selected Serial in step 3, enter the following parameters:

6. If you have selected Ethernet in step 3, enter the following parameters:

7. Click on OK to validate your input data configuration and send this data to the Gaps M7.

The ITS TELEMETRY protocol is produced each time telemetry data is received.

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4.4.1.6 Configuring the Hoisting System

1. Click on the INSTALLATION > INPUTS.

2. Click on Hoisting System to have access to the pressure sensor parameters.

3. In Input, select the Port between Serial A, B, C, D or Ethernet A, B, C, D.

4. In Protocol, select NMEA 183 / PMEVL and enter a Timeout (from 1 to 10 s).

5. If you have selected Serial in step 3, enter the following parameters:

6. If you have selected Ethernet in step 3, enter the following parameters:

7. Click on OK to validate your input data configuration and send this data to the Gaps M7.

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4.4.2 CONFIGURING THE OUTPUTS

The Gaps M7 calculates the various positions of the immersed transponders. Four serial links
and a four-port Ethernet link are available to transmit these positions to other appliances. A
certain number of formats are also available to enable Gaps M7 compatibility with other
devices.
Each serial link and Ethernet link can be used simultaneously for input and output. Only the
serial links configuration must be the same for input and for output. This is not the case for
Ethernet links.

4.4.2.1 Output Stream Parameters

For each outgoing link, the parameters to be configured are as follows:
● Port number and type of link: a chart shows the eight available ports and the associated
link. This enables you to choose the port and the type of link.
● Protocol: a list of protocols is available which allows compatibility between the Gaps M7
and other devices. and I . Note: For protocols with INS position, the primary lever arm
translates the INS position to the Gaps M7 center of measurements.
● Frequency: of the outgoing data is configurable. Values are presented in ms and Hz and
range from 20 ms – 50 Hz to 10,000 ms – 0.1 Hz.
● Serial: if chosen link is Serial, the link parameters are as follows:
> Parity: None, Odd and Even
> Stopbits: 1.0 or 2.0
> Standard: RS422/485
> Baudrate: selected from a predefined list ranging from 600 to 115,200 bauds (output
from port A is permanently fixed at 115,200 bauds), see Appendix I.1 for the minimum
output recurrence with respect to baud rate and type of datagram
● Ethernet: if the chosen link is Ethernet, the link parameters are as follows:
> Transport layer: may be TCP Server, TCP Client or UDP Broadcast.
> IP: the IP address of the target (only for a transport layer TCP Client)
> Port: the number of the port

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4.4.2.2 Configuration Procedure

The configuration procedure of output data is detailed in this section.

1. Click on the INSTALLATION > OUTPUTS menu.

2. Click on the port of your choice: Serial A, B, C, D or Ethernet A, B, C, D.

The selected port is highlighted in blue. According to the type of link, the Serial or Ethernet
component appears below.

3. In Protocol, select a Protocol and a Frequency if necessary:

4. If you have selected a Serial link, enter the parameters of this link:

5. If you have selected an Ethernet link, enter the parameters of the link:

6. Click on OK to validate your output configuration positioning data.

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4.5 Configuring the Internal INS of Gaps M7

Access to the Web-based User Interface of the internal INS of Gaps M7 is possible via the
Web-based User Interface:

http://IP.IP.IP.IP/ins_restricted_area/

Please refer to Phins Web-based User Interface for a complete description of the configuration
of the internal INS of Gaps M7.

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5 Setting Gaps M7 to Work

This chapter concerns the actions and procedures to be carried out just before starting
positioning operations. These actions are as follows:
● Definition of the tracking parameters, see section 5.1
● Configuration of transponders (USBL and L/USBL modes), see section 5.3
● Measurement and input of profile celerity of sound, see section 5.2

5.1 Defining the Tracking Parameters

5.1.1 SYNCHRONIZATION MODES
The acoustic cycle of Gaps M7 is defined as follows. The main parameter is the
Synchronization Mode:
● Internal Synchronization : Interrogation time for the transponder is automatically
determined by Gaps M7. Internal recurrence is fixed. It is configured to a fixed value.
● External Synchronization: An external system sends a trigger to Gaps M7.
● External Synchronization with inhibition: Gaps M7 minimum recurrence inhibits the
short external recurrence after a received trigger. Gaps M7 triggered on signal rising edge
as shown below.

The configuration of positioning parameters is carried out in the TRACKING component from
the menu SETUP.

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5.1.2 RECURRENCE AND BLANKING TIME

The recurrence of Gaps M7 sets the update rate of the transponders positions. The
recurrence may be chosen in order to have approximately one second for each 750 meters
traveled by the signal. The recurrence obeys the inequalities:
In responder mode: In transponder mode:

R is the recurrence. TAT is the turn around time (90 ms most of the time, 20 ms in deep water).
The blanking time of the transponders sets the transponders acoustic reception window.
These windows must be as short as possible in order to avoid multipath detections and long
enough to allow the motion of the transponder between two interrogations of Gaps M7.
The recurrence is to be defined before the blanking time.
Choice of the recurrence:
The choice for the recurrence is mainly made upon the maximal travel distance.

Table 10 - Maximum working distance versus recurrence with a TAT = 90 ms

Maximum working distance (m)

Responder Mode Transponder Mode

1 1,365 682

2 2,865 1,432

3 4,365 2,182
Recurrence (s)
4 5,865 2,932

5 7,365 3,682

6 8,865 4,432

When telemetry data is received during the positioning cycle, keep in mind that the decoding
of the telemetry data takes approximately three seconds. The choice of the recurrence must
take this time into account.
Choice of the blanking time
The choice of the blanking time depends on
● Recurrence of Gaps M7
● Number of different interrogation frequencies used for the active transponders
● Repetition factor
One rule might be to remove 200 ms to the interrogating rate of each transponder in order to
find the blanking time. A series of examples is given in appendix E.

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5.1.3 INTERNAL SYNCHRONIZATION

During internal synchronization, Gaps M7 antenna transmits according to the defined value of
recurrence. In this mode, Gaps M7 can activate another acoustic device if the need arises.

1. Click on the menu SETUP and select TRACKING.

The TRACKING window opens.

2. Select Internal from the Synchro Mode scrolling list.

The TRACKING window shows the following parameters:

3. Enter the value of Recurrence.

4. Click on OK to validate the configuration of the internal synchronization mode.

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5.1.4 EXTERNAL SYNCHRONIZATION

During external synchronization, the acoustic emission of Gaps M7 antenna is set off by an
external appliance. This mode is chosen when Gaps M7 is simultaneously operating with
another acoustic system. A signal is sent to Gaps M7 by one of the two BNC links located at
the front and at the back of the BOX. The parameters associated with external
synchronization are:
● Inhibition: this is the time after setting off during which Gaps M7 cannot receive other
signals which could activate it at an untimely moment.
● Activation: this is the part of the signal where, on reception, the setting off takes place on
a Rising Edge of the signal.
● Min. Duration: this is the minimum length of time necessary for the setting off after
activation during which the signal must remain stable (high after a rising edge and low
after falling edge). Its values range from 50 µs to 1000 µs.

1. Click on the menu SETUP and select TRACKING.

The TRACKING window opens.

2. Select External from the Synchro mode pull-down list.

The TRACKING window shows the following parameters:

3. Enter the Inhibition value.

4. From the Activation pull-down list, set the type of edge on which the acoustic emission is to
be set off to Rising Edge.

5. Select the value of the Min. Duration from the associated pull-down list.

6. Click on OK to validate the configuration of the internal synchronization mode.

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5.1.5 PING STACKING

5.1.5.1 Description
Ping stacking increases the positioning rate independently of the slant range between USBL
and transponder. The USBL pings at a faster rate than usual and does not wait for the
detection of the transponder before pinging again.
Application Ping stacking mode is typically needed for tracking a tow fish with large slant ranges:
transponder in responder mode, USBL in external synchronization, up to 10 km slant range.
Discovery Ping stacking starts by a discovery period run at the main recurrence during two
period
consecutive recurrences. During the discovery mode, the system opens a tracking window
to validate the presence of the signal coming from the transponder. The objective of the
tracking window is to filter the detections and avoid detecting on echoes coming from previous
recurrences. The main recurrence must allow the interrogation / answer / detection cycle.
The switch between discovery mode and ping stacking mode occurs when all the
transponders "in use" are detected two times consecutively and when the second slant range
is inside the tracking window that was open in the last recurrence.
Ping stacking Once the tracking window defined, the system pings at the wished ping stacking
recurrence. In fact a slightly different recurrence is used in order to take into account the
estimation of the arrival times of the signals and of the USBL deaf periods. This recurrence is
called effective ping stacking recurrence. During ping stacking, an algorithm associates the
detection to the actual ping to which it comes from, it also converts relative time travel into
absolute time travel. Ping stacking aborts after ten recurrences without detection.

Figure 36 - Ping stacking mode

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5.1.5.2 Procedure

1. Go to SETUP > TRACKING.

2. In Ping Stacking, set the switch button to ON.

3. Enter a ping stacking Recurrence (internal synchro mode) or Inhibition (external synchro
mode) in the corresponding field.

4. Click on OK to validate the ping stacking parameters.

5. Click on Start Tracking.

The discovery mode starts with its two recurrences.
The ping stacking mode starts only if all transponders that are set "in use" are consecutively
detected twice or that the second averaged travel time is within the tracking window.
If no transponder is detected during ten consecutive recurrences, the USBL switches to
discovery mode.

5.1.5.3 Ping Stacking Limitations

Multi The ping stacking mode operates with limited number of transponders and every transponder
transponders
must have a specific answering code (even with specific interrogation code).
Telemetry Telemetry may be active with the ping stacking. The processing time of the telemetry is 2 s.
The choice of wished ping stacking recurrence must take into account this telemetry
processing time.
External The use of an external synchronization signal is possible during ping stacking. The rate of the
synchro
external synchro must match the wished rate of the ping stacking. The discovery mode is
necessary: during the first recurrences, the USBL inhibits the external synchro on the base of
the main recurrence in order to maintain the discovery mode and to secure the tracking of the
answer signal.
Recurrence Editing the recurrence in order to avoid deaf periods is not possible, teh answer signal of the
edition
transponder can arrive during the deaf period of the USBL system and then there is no
detection of the transponder.

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5.2 Entering a Sound Velocity Profile

Gaps M7 measures the angle and the signal time between the acoustic antenna and the
immersed transponder. In order to convert the data into distance time, you have to know the
speed of the sound in the entire water column. An operator equipped with a sounding line takes
this measurement at the beginning of the mission. The corresponding values are then entered
into the system via the Web-based user interface so that the necessary calculations can be
carried out as accurately as possible. These values comprise data concerning both depth and
speed. They can be input manually or via a data file.

It is necessary to fill the GAPS Depth field (section 4.3) even if you use only the altitude of
the transponder for a correction of the sound velocity profile.

A complete SVP down to the deepest transponder is recommended. If a transponder is

deeper than the last layer of the SVP, the last layer is virtually extended at 10,000 m depth.

5.2.1 LOADING A PROFILE FROM A DATA F ILE

It is possible to load a file containing the sound velocity profile in the Web-based user
interface. The format of this file must respect the following rules:
● The file is in ASCII format.
● The name of the file must start by “CEL_”.
● The two first numbers of each line of the file are read like the depth and velocity. The other
numbers after these first two are ignored.
● Any separator can be used to separate the two values of depth and velocity.
● The depth must be in meters and the velocity in meters per second.
● The depth must be strictly increasing from one line to the other. If it is not the case, the file
is sorted out to have a strictly increasing series of depth.
● The data over limits are ignored.

1. Click on Browse… and select the file containing the sound velocity profile.

2. Click on Send File.

The file is read and the depth and velocity data are displayed in the table.

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The speed profile is pre-processed when uploaded. This processing removes outliers and
duplicated values, sorts the data in a depth growing order and optimizes the number of couples
to 55 for computing purposes without altering the accuracy of the profile.

5.2.2 ENTERING MANUALLY A PROFILE

The depth and velocity couples are entered directly in the array. The [tab] key moves the
cursor from one cell to another. Messages, warnings and errors provide guidance.

Table 11 - Messages for Manual Input of Sound Velocity

Message Action

Valid Profile You may validate the profile by clicking OK

Low interval between two depths, you may val-

Thin Slice (< 1 m)
idate the profile by clicking OK
High interval between two velocities, you may val-
High Gradient
idate the profile by clicking OK

Missing Depth Enter a new depth value

Missing Velocity Enter a new velocity value

Velocity out of Bounds (1375 – 1900) Enter a new velocity inside the validity interval
Enter a new depth value respecting the increasing
Depth not Increasing
order

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1. Select SETUP > SOUND VELOCITY PROFILE.

2. Click on the first line of the Depth (m) column.

3. Enter the valid depth value (between 0 and 10,000m).

4. Click on [Tab].
The velocity corresponding to the depth value entered is highlighted.

5. Enter the new velocity value (between 1,375 and 1,900 m) matching the entered depth.

6. Click on [Tab].
The depth value of the following line is highlighted.

7. Go back to step 3 until you have entered all the depth and velocity data from your profile.

8. Click on OK to validate your choices and to send this data to the system.

One value which is outside validity appears in red. It will be impossible for you to validate the
speed profile before having replaced these values with valid data.

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5.3 Setting Up the Transponders

Gaps M7 tracks iXblue transponders and transponders using Sonardyne Wideband® 1 signals
(option). Interrogation and reply signals are given below. Contact iXblue for more information.

Table 12 - iXblue Transponders compatible with Gaps M7

F1, F2, F3 & F4

MT8 MFSK 22 - 23
19.5 – 21, 0.5 kHz steps

F1, F2, F3 & F4 MFSK 22 - 23

MT9
19.5 – 21, 0.5 kHz MFSK 00 - 09

19.5 – 30.5, 0.5 kHz 19.5 – 30.5, 0.5 kHz

ET/RTAx2
MFSK 22 – 23, 0 – 45 MFSK 22 – 23, 0 – 45

MFSK 0 – 44, MFSK 0 – 44,

ZTA02C
45 telemetry 45 telemetry

19.5 – 30.5, 0.5 kHz

RAMSES MFSK 22 – 23, 0 – 35
MFSK 22 – 23, 0 – 35

STAx2 MFSK 21.5 - 30.5 kHz MFSK 21.5 - 30.5 kHz

CW 19 to 32.5 kHz CW 19 to 32.5 kHz

CANOPUS MFSK 22, 23, 0 to 45 MFSK 22, 23, 0 to 45
CHORUS, telemetry CHORUS, telemetry

CW 19 to 32.5 kHz CW 19 to 32.5 kHz

MTB MFSK 22, 23, 0 to 45 MFSK 22, 23, 0 to 45
CHORUS, telemetry CHORUS, telemetry

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Table 13 - Third party transponders that are compatible with Gaps M7

Applied 1019

Sonardyne Wideband® 1 Mini beacons (5 & 6)

F1 – F14, CIF

28% (60) of
Sonardyne
Sonardyne COMPATT 5 COMPATT6 Wideband® 1 codes*
F1 – F14, CIF
(CRF and IRS)
100% of
Sonardyne
Wideband® 1
codes* (CIF &
IIF)

* see Appendix C for a complete list of Sonardyne Wideband® 1 codes.

The Gaps M7 positions the immersed transponders. Before starting positioning, you have to
list, configure and activate the transponders via the web user interface.
Access the management of transponders in the TRANSPONDER component from the
SETUP menu. Transponders which are already present in the data base are listed in this
window and you can see at a glance how these transponders were configured and whether
they are still active or not. See the transponder window below.
Multi Several transponders can be simultaneously interrogated. The interrogation then takes place
Transponders
on as many cycles as there are various frequencies. The transponders are separated thanks
to different MFSK reply codes and Individual Interrogation Frequencies (IIF). Two
transponders cannot have the same interrogation frequency and reply codes. If different
interrogation frequencies are used simultaneously, the Gaps M7 makes a recurrence for each
interrogation frequency. We can also mix responder and transponder modes to interrogate the
transponders. In addition the repetition factor parameter can be used to increase the acoustic
update rate for one specific interrogation frequency.
Below is listed the limitations of the system in terms of multi transponder configuration:
● 500 transponders simultaneously configured (not activated)
● 18 recurrences per cycle
● 40 activated transponders
● 15 different response codes per cycle
● 15 different response codes per recurrence
You can interrogate transponders in transponder mode and in responder mode in the same
configuration.

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When the two interrogation frequencies are different, the blanking time is higher than the
acoustic recurrence. In a single transponder mode, you cannot have a blanking time higher
than the acoustic recurrence. So when you use two transponders with two different
frequencies, make sure to have the correct settings in the transponder hardware.

Codes There are, see table above, several families of interrogation/reply codes:
● Codes 22 / 23
● Codes 0 to 45
● Codes Sonardyne Wideband®1
It is recommended to use codes from only one family in the frequency plan. iXblue guarantees
the intercorrelation properties only within the same family of codes.

Sonardyne Wideband® 1 transponders must be in ENABLE state in order to be interrogated

by Gaps M7.

Figure 37 - Transponder Window

From this window, you can carry out the following tasks:
● Add a transponder to the list
● Configure a transponder (interrogation, reply, dynamic positioning mode, filtering)
● Activate a transponder
● Remove a transponder from the list

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5.3.1 ADDING A TRANSPONDER

Each transponder is defined by an Identifier, a Type of transponder and a Manufacturer. The
standard transponders being tracked by Gaps M7 are the MT8, MT9, ET/RTA, ZTA,
RAMSES, ITS - beacon and Sonardyne Wideband® 1 transponders.

1. Click on the menu SETUP and select TRANSPONDERS.

Go to step 5 if you want to configure a transponder that already exists.
The management of transponders opens.

2. Click on Add a transponder.

The window shows:

3. Type an ID Number from 1 to 9999. Unavailable identifiers appear in red.

4. Select one of the transponders listed under Type (optional) and click on Create.
If you have the Sonardyne Wideband® 1 option*, select WB 1 for the Type (optional) in order
to configure Gaps M7 for a transponder using Sonardyne Wideband® 1 signals.
The configuration window opens.

5. Configure the transponder. See section 5.3.25.3.2

6. Once the transponder is configured, click on Go back to transponders list.

* Check on the maintenance page if you have the Sonardyne Wideband® 1 option:

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5.3.2 CONFIGURING A TRANSPONDER

5.3.2.1 Parameters
Interrogation ● In Responder Mode the transponder is set off by an electrical signal and responds via
acoustics. Two different responder modes (Responder Main. and Responder Sec.) can
be selected for two series of transponders. These two modes correspond to the two BNC
connectors on the rear face of the BOX. In responder mode, Gaps M7 does not transmit
any acoustic interrogation signal.
> Position update is twice faster in responder mode because there is only one acoustic
travel. The first travel is electric. There are two acoustic travels in transponder mode.
> The transponder cannot be accidentally triggered by any parasitic sound source.
> The transponder is always triggered even in a noisy environment (ROV propellers).
> Depending on environmental conditions, the maximum range of the system is
sometimes limited by the reception of the acoustic triggering signal by the
transponder. This is no more limitation in responder mode and the maximum range is
only limited by the reception of the reply by the acoustic array.
> The drawback is that the electrical signal has to be transmitted up to the transponder
usually through an electrical or a fiber optic wire or by using synchronous clocks
(Gaps M7 in external synchronization mode).
● In Transponder mode, the interrogation and response are transmitted via acoustics.
● Code: monochromatic signal, for all possible interrogation codes

Reply Under Reply are the acoustic parameters that characterizes the transponder response.
● Code: defines a medium frequency MFSK signal, for all possible reply codes depending
of the transponder type.
● Turn Around Time : Inactivity period between the start of the interrogation signal
reception and the beginning of the response emission. Between 20 and 200 ms.

Additional Additional information may be:

Information
● None : If there is no additional information to be notified, you can select a Station
Keeping option. In this case, you have to enter the position and depth with accuracy.
● External Pressure: Pressure transmitted by serial link from a pressure sensor. This
sensor might be the transponder or the vehicle pressure sensor. Input an Accuracy.
● Fixed Depth: Enter the corresponding Depth and Accuracy.

DP See section 8 for more details dynamic positioning.

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Filtering The filtering heading enables you to apply a filter on positional data. The available options are:
None, Fixed and Mobile:
● None (with rejection): Default mode, the system outputs raw position but filter the outlier
position.
● None (without rejection): outlier filter is fully disabled, the system outputs all raw
positions.
● Fixed or Mobile: In both cases, the measured position is input in a Kalman filter. This
option artificially increases the output rate of positions and achieves a prediction of the
position. These output positions are not the measured acoustic positions.

By default, do not activate the filter. Activate the filter if the unfiltered positioning is stable and
if the increase of the output rate is necessary.

Other ● The Label is a name (eight characters) associated to the transponder.

● The Repetition Factor allows a different interrogation rate for each of the active
transponders. Gaps M7 interrogates each transponder the number of times (up to 5)
defined by the Repetition Factor before interrogating another transponder. see Appendix
E for configuration of Sonardyne Wideband® 1 transponders.
● For transponders equipped with telemetry, the Position Management can be set to
Regular or Send by Telemetry. With the Send by Telemetry option, the USBL position
computed by Gaps M7 is sent to the transponder.

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5.3.2.2 Procedure

1. Select SETUP > TRANSPONDERS.

2. Click on Change Settings for the appropriate transponder to be configured.

The configuration window opens. The image shown corresponds to a RTA transponder.

3. In Interrogation, select Mode and Code from the scrolling lists.

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4. In Reply, select Code and Turn Around Time from the scrolling lists.

5. In Additional Information, select Source from the scrolling list.

● If you select External Pressure, enter a pressure Accuracy.
● If you select Fixed Depth, enter a Depth with the associated Accuracy.
In case of ZTA transponder configuration a button Get Current Voltage appears grayed. This
button is accessible while the system is in tracking mode. A click on the Get Current Voltage
sends a signal to the transponder which returns the current available voltage.

6. In Dynamic Positioning, set the Mode to L/USBL if you use the current transponder to
compute the position of the USBL antenna.
Enter manually the Latitude, Longitude, Depth and Accuraciesof the transponder or click on
Get Current Position to get the transponder USBL position.
If no reference has been set yet, select Use as reference transponder to set the current
transponder as reference. The antenna position is computed with the reference transponder.

7. In Filtering, select the Type of filter from the scrolling list.

8. In Other,
● Enter an 8-characterLabel
● Select a Repetition Factor in the scrolling list
● Set the Position Management to Sent by Telemetry if you wish to send to the
transponder its own USBL position so the transponder can possibly transmit its position
to other device.

9. Click on OK to validate your choices and to send the data into the system.

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5.3.3 ACTIVATING A TRANSPONDER

A transponder present in the database must be activated before being positioned.

1. Select SETUP > TRANSPONDERS.

2. Click on depending on which transponder you would like to activate.

The button becomes . The transponder is activated.

5.3.4 DELETING A TRANSPONDER

A transponder can be removed from the transponder list.

1. Select SETUP > TRANSPONDERS.

2. Click on Erase depending on which transponder you wish to delete.

The transponder disappears and has been deleted. The last transponder cannot be deleted.

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6 Visualizing Gaps M7 Data in Delph RoadMap

6.1 Introduction
Delph This section describes the visualization of USBL data in Delph RoadMap application. For a
RoadMap
complete description of the Delph RoadMap application and of all its generic functions, please
refer to the specific Delph RoadMap User Guide.
Visualization Delph RoadMap is designed to visualize in three dimensions all kinds of geographical data.
You can visualize in Delph RoadMap the USBL geographic positions in real-time as well as in
off-line mode. Delph RoadMap displays the USBL data with the navigation of the ship as well
as any background images and coastlines.
Visualization These are the ways to visualize USBL data in Delph RoadMap:
modes
● Real-time mode: the real-time data is sent via the Ethernet or serial link, transmitted to
Delph RoadMap and displayed in Delph RoadMap main display area.
● Replay mode: the data is directly imported in Delph RoadMap and all at once displayed in
the main graphic area.

Figure 38 - Visualization of USBL data in real-time mode

Figure 39 - Visualization of USBL data in off-line mode

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6.2 Delph RoadMap Features

Here are described the Delph RoadMap features that are specific to USBL data.

6.2.1 NAVIGATION MENU

The Navigation menu gives access to the waypoint mode, the Waypoint Creator tool as well
as the addition of a measurement and of an equipment.

Figure 40 - Navigation menu

6.2.2 TOOLBARS AND PANELS

The toolbars and panels that are specific to USBL data visualization are accessible via the
Display menu or via a right click on the ribbon.

Figure 41 - Display menu

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6.2.2.1 Equipment Toolbar

Figure 42 - Equipment toolbar

Selection of the equipment

Start the connection to the equipment data output to Delph RoadMap.

Start the logging of equipment data.

Close the current log file and start a new one.

6.2.2.2 Panels

Control and management of a list of measurements

between mobiles or annotation point items
(annotations, sonar targets etc.).

Control and management of specific data from the

mobile: Depth, X and Y positions, heading, date
and time, uncertainty ellipse size and orientation,
altitude standard deviation, range and residual
range.

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Panel that displays the graphic of the least 1000

positions in a forward and vertical plane.

This panel displays the storage information relative

to the current logging activities: the free space left
on the disc when critical, the name, size and
logging time of the file(s) in which are stored data
from different pieces of equipment.

This panel replays offline data. A time span may be

selected and only the data from this period is
displayed. The window is shifted at a certain
speed. All the time window may also be selected to
have a complete view of the dataset from all data
files.

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6.2.2.3 Mobile Toolbar

Figure 43 - Mobile toolbar

Choice of an equipment. Maybe All equipment or any single device.

Choice of a mobile from the equipment above.

Enable or disable automatic tracking of the selected mobile. Centers the map on the
current position of the selected position source and the centering is updated as the position
changes. Only in real time mode.

Show or hide the mobile on the immersion panel . The immersion of the different
sources of position are gathered in the immersion panel so their evolutions are compared one
to the other, you can choose with this button which source of position to display in the
immersion panel. Only in real time mode.

Show or hide the vertical axis. A vertical axis is displayed at the current position of the
selected position source. Only in real time mode and in 3D view.

Show or hide the range circle. This tool draws a circle at a certain distance from the
mobile. The distance is editable in the mobile Properties. Only in real time mode.

Show or hide the uncertainty ellipse around the selected mobile in the 3D view. Only in
real time mode.

Show or hide the LBL range of the selected mobile towards the system mobile (if
available) in the 3D view. Only in real time mode.

Clear the track history for the selected mobile. Removes all displayed past positions of the
selected position source. The track keeps being displayed starting at the position where you
have clicked on the button. Only in real time mode.

Switch to a 2D north up display mode. Switches the current view to a view which is seen
from above and in which the North is oriented to the top.

Switch to a 2D heading up display mode. Switches the current view to a heading-

oriented (computed course over ground of the selected position source) view which is seen
from above. Only in real time mode.

Create an event. Keeps track of a particular event and display a sign in the geographic view
at the location of the selected position source. All related information is recorded in a KML
data file. Only in real time mode.

Create a waypoint. Waypoints creation in the main display by a double click.

Open the waypoint editing tool

Add a measurement . Creation of a measurement between two elements (mobiles or

annotation items).

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6.3 Real-Time Mode

This chapter describes how to visualize in Delph RoadMap the real-time data being output
from equipment among the following devices: Gaps M5, Gaps M7, Posidonia (USBL-Box),
Ramses, INS or GPS. The different steps are:
● Defining equipment in Delph RoadMap, see section 6.3.1
● Configuring connection parameters, see section 6.3.2
● Configuring logging parameters, see section 6.3.3
● Connecting Delph RoadMap to the equipment, see section 6.3.4

6.3.1 DEFINING AN EQUIPMENT

You may define one or several equipment devices to match your system configuration.

1. Select the Navigation > Add equipment… menu or in the Project view panel, right click on
Navigation and select Add equipment… in the menu that opens.
The Equipment window opens. The General tab is by default opened.

2. Choose a Label for the equipment.

The Label is used by default as a prefix of the name of the files that are logged.

3. Select the Type of equipment in the scrolling list.

The type of equipment defines a default connection protocol.

4. You may enter a text Description of your piece of equipment.

5. Click on OK.
The chosen equipment is defined. An item with the Label as name and with a red icon is
added under the Navigation in the Project view.

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6.3.2 CONFIGURING THE CONNECTION

The equipment has been created in section 6.3.1. The connection between the equipment and
Delph RoadMap is configured both in the dedicated user interface of the device and in Delph
RoadMap. Please refer to the chapter describing the configuration of the output data flow in
the appropriate device user guide. The configuration of Delph RoadMap is described below.
The following ASCII protocols may be received on the same connection when they are
present in the device data output:
● Acoustic Positioning iXblue Standard (GAPS Standard, DATA Standard, RAMSES
Standard, etc.)
● INS iXblue Standard (PHINS Standard)
● GPS NMEA (GPGGA, GPGLL, GPRMC, etc.)

Only ASCII protocols are decoded.

1. Select the Connection tab.

2. Select one or several Protocols to receive from the equipment if relevant.

3. Select the Connection between Ethernet TCP, UDP and PC Serial Port.

4. If you selected Ethernet TCP, enter a Communication Port and the IP address.

5. If you selected Ethernet UDP, only enter the Communication Port.

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6. If you selected PC Serial Port, select the Port Number and click on the button to open the
serial port configuration window. Select the Bits Per Second, Data Bits, Parity and Stop
Bits parameters.

7. Click on OK to validate the configuration connection.

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6.3.3 CONFIGURING THE LOGGING

Once the equipment has been created (see section 6.3.1) and the connection configured (see
section 6.3.2 ), the next step is to configure the logging of the data being received and
displayed in Delph RoadMap 3D interface.

1. Open the Logging tab.

2. Select the Type of data to be stored. The choice has to be made between All datagrams (all
received data is stored) and Interpreted datagrams only (all decoded data is stored).

3. Type in a file Prefix and a Suffix.

4. Select the path of the Output Folder where to store the logged files.

5. Select an Automatic Switching Mode between None, File Size or Duration and the
corresponding limit of file Size (ko) or limit of Duration.

6. Click OK to validate the logging configuration.

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6.3.4 CONNECTING EQUIPMENT AND LOGGING DATA

Once the configuration steps are achieved, the data output by the equipment that has been
defined may be received, displayed and logged. Several data flows coming from different
devices may be input and logged together.
Connection There are two ways to initiate the connection:
● Under Navigation, right click on the equipment and select Connection in the menu:

● In the equipment toolbar, select the piece of equipment or All equipment (if you wish to

connect all equipment at once) and click on the button .

Once connected, the symbols of all the equipment turn green: .

All the mobiles whose protocols are present in the data flow are displayed in the project view
below the corresponding equipment. These mobiles are also all present in the graphic display
and in below the equipment in the project view tree.
Logging There are two ways to initiate the data logging:
● Under Navigation, right click on the equipment and select Logging in the menu:

● In the equipment toolbar, select the equipment or All equipment (if you wish to log data

from all equipment at once) and click on the logging button .

The symbols of all the pieces of equipment that are logging are displayed as follow: .
Open the Logging panel to display the size and recording duration of the logging files as well as
the logging status or remaining disk space available when critical.

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Switch to new There are two ways to manually switch the logging to a new file outside the duration and file
log file
size limit that you might have configured:
● Right click on the equipment item under Navigation and select Switch to a new log file
in the menu that opens.

● In the equipment toolbar, select the equipment device or All equipment (if you wish to
switch to a new log file for all equipment devices at once) and click on the switch button

.
As soon as one of the two limitations described above is reached, the current log file is closed
and a new file is opened for recording the incoming data flow.

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6.3.5 EDITING THE DISPLAY

The display in real-time and playback modes of the mobile can be edited. Here are the
parameters that you can edit:
● Source: Spatial reference, geodesy
● Symbol (3D image describing the mobile or device producing the positions)
> Appearance ( Style , Color , File , Wireframe display and Apply vertical
exaggeration options): the file defining the style of the mobile is a .3ds or .dxf file
present in the folder \Delph RoadMap
> Model Size tab: User defined symbol size option, Size (Length (m) ,
Width/Radius (m) and Height (m))
> Offsets tab: Offset X, Y and Z in meters and degrees of the three dimensions model
with respect to the incoming navigation. These offsets are computed in the Delph
RoadMap reference frame (X positive on starboard, Y forward and Z downwards, roll
positive leaning to starboard, pitch to the back, yaw to the right).
● Track Properties
> History Length (Maximum number of points, Maximum duration)
> Scale (Display vertical axis)
> Range circle (Display range circle of radius)
> Ellipse (Display uncertainty ellipse)
> LBL (Display range)
● Pen (Width, Style and Color)
● Points (Width, Style and Color)
● Label
> State
> Font (Name, Size, Bold and Italic)

Figure 44 - Mobile Properties

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1. Right click on a mobile under Navigation > Equipment in the Project view panel and select
Properties in the pop-up menu that opens.

2. In the Mobile properties window, in the Source tab, select the proper geodesy.

3. Select the Symbol tab:

• Select the Style in the scrolling list. If you select User-Defined, provide the .3ds or .dxf
File.
• Select the Color in the Select color … window that opens when you click.
• Select the File that defines the style of the mobile. This option is only active when the User-
Defined Style is selected.
• You may check the Wireframe display and/or Apply vertical exaggeration options.
• In the Model Size tab, you may select the User-defined symbol size (if you chose the
User-Defined Style) or enter a value for the Width/Radius (m), Length (m) and Height (m).
• In the Offsets tab, enter the optional Offsets X, Y, Z in meters and/or degrees.

4. Select the Track Properties tab:

• Activate the Maximum number of points option if you wish to enter such a value.
• Activate the Maximum duration option if you wish to enter such a value.
• You can activate the Display vertical axis option.
• You can activate the Display range circle of radius option and input a radius.
• You can activate the Display uncertainty ellipse option.
• You can activate the LBL > Display range option and input a circular arc length.

5. Select the Pen tab:

• Select a Width in the scrolling list.
• Select a Style in the scrolling list.
• Select the Color in the Select color … window that opens when you click.

6. Select the Points tab:

• Select a Width in the scrolling list.
• Select a Style in the scrolling list.
• Select the Color in the Select color … window that opens when you click.

7. Select the Label tab, activate or not the display of the label. If you set it to Active, edit the
Font Name, Size, Bold and Italic parameters.

8. Click on the button OK to validate your choices.

The result is right away visible on the graphic display.

It is recommended to set a limitation of the track size (number of points or duration) in order to
avoid decreased performance over time.

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6.4 Replay Mode

The replay mode consist of the importation of a navigation file into Delph RoadMap.

6.4.1 IMPORTING A NAVIGATION DATA F ILE

1. Define the equipment from which you import data as detailed in section 6.3.1.

2. In the project view panel, under Navigation, right click on the name of the equipment and
select the Import > Navigation Data… menu.

3. Select the data file.

4. Choose and validate the geodesy.

The navigation data is being imported.

In the Project view panel, the mobiles that are present in the file are listed below the selected
equipment. Below the mobiles are listed the imported data files.

The trajectories of the mobiles are displayed in the 3D view.

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6.4.2 REPLAYING A DATASET

This tool replays the imported dataset and is accessible on Time panel. You may display only
a part of the imported dataset by selecting a time interval within the files limits. The speed of
the replay may be increased by a multiplicative factor (Playback speed). This tool simulates
the real-time and allows a closer look at some details in the data.
● During a full extent replay, the data is displayed at the selected speed progressively from
the starting time to the end time of the file and back again to the beginning.
● During a time segment replay, only the time segment data is displayed and is shifted at
the selected speed from the start time to the end time of the file and back again.

1. Select Display > Panels > Time or right click in the ribbon and select Time in the menu.

2. Move the two cursors at each side of the time scale and place them at the locations of the
time interval of your choice. You may also directly enter, in the Start Time and End Time
fields, the Date and Time of the interval of your choice.
Double click on the scale bar resets to the full extent.

Only data from the imported file acquired during the chosen time interval is displayed.

3. Choose a Playback Speed multiplicative value. Default value is x1.

4. Click on the Play button to initiate the replay.

The button becomes a pause button . The interval is shifted at the required speed and only the
data from the interval is displayed. Editing the parameters.

5. Click on the pause button to end the replay.

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6.5 Visualization Tools

6.5.1 MOBILE IMMERSION
This tool is available in real-time mode.
This panel is accessible from the menu Display > Geographic view > Mobile immersion.
This panel displays the immersion of the mobile(s) on a vertical scale. All the mobiles for

which you have clicked on the button are present in the Mobile Immersion. The panel
is automatically rescaled as data comes in to optimize the visualization of the immersions for

the last received position. You can add or remove a mobile by clicking on .

Figure 45 - Immersion panel

The Mobile Immersion panel is configurable via the Settings window. The units of the
positions, latitude longitude angle distances, distances and depth are editable in the
application settings.

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6.5.2 VERTICAL AXIS

This tool is available in real-time and replay modes.

You can display a vertical axis for a specific mobile by clicking on the button after
having selected the mobile in the scrolling list. This axis helps you to visualize the depth of a
mobile. The vertical axis has an automatic scaling in order to optimize the visualization. See
an example of such a display below.

Figure 46 - The vertical axis displays the immersion of the selected mobile

The vertical axis can also be activated by following the procedure:

1. In the Project View panel, right click on the mobile and select Properties.

2. In the Properties window, select the Track Properties tab and activate the Display vertical
axis option.

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6.5.3 RANGE CIRCLE

This tool is available in real-time and replay modes.
The range circle tool draws a circle around a mobile. The user sets the radius of the circle as
he wishes. This tools allows a quick evaluation of distance in a 3D display.

The tool is accessible via the button in the Equipment toolbar.

Figure 47 - Range circle around a ROV

Circle Radius In order to edit the radius of the range circle, follow the procedure:

1. In the Project view, right click on the mobile around which you want to draw a circle and
select Properties in the menu that opens.

2. Open the Track Properties tab. Under Range circle, edit the Display range circle of radius
field.

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6.5.4 UNCERTAINTY ELLIPSE

This tool is available in real-time mode for USBL, INS and GPS data.
This tool draws an ellipse representing the confidence region for the two coordinates of a
mobile. This tools allows a quick evaluation of the uncertainty of the position of the mobile.

The tool is accessible via the button in the Equipment toolbar and via the mobile
properties window.

Figure 48 - Uncertainty ellipse

Figure 49 - Mobile properties window

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6.5.5 LBL RANGE

This tool is available in real-time mode for LBL data.
This tool draws a circular arc of a certain length with a radius equal to the range computed by
the LBL device. When several ranges are drawn from the beacons to the positioning device,
one can visually estimate the accuracy of the positioning and contributing beacons.

Access the tool via the Equipment toolbar button or the mobile properties window.
The objective is to visually check the residuals of the range to the transponders to help
determine whether sound velocity is under-estimated or over-estimated.
The range residuals are the difference between the following distances:
● Acoustic distances measured by Ramses
● Distances computed by Ramses between the acoustic-inertial position of the vehicle and
the known position of the received transponder

Figure 50 - Example of under-estimated (left) and over-estimated (right) sound velocity

Figure 51 - Range circular arcs from the beacons to the positioning system

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Figure 52 - Mobile properties window

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6.5.6 NORTH ORIENTED VIEW

This tool is available in real-time and replay modes.
You can at any time switch from the current view to a 2D North-oriented view by clicking on

the button or by selecting the menu Display > 2D View North up. This view is a 2D
view in which the top side is oriented to the North. See below the orientation of the compass
(in the top right corner) and the 3D axis in the bottom right corner.

Figure 53 - North Oriented view

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6.5.7 HEADING ORIENTED VIEW

This tool is available in real-time mode.
You can at any time switch from the current view to the heading-oriented view by clicking on

the button or by selecting the menu Display > 2D View Heading up. This view is
centered on the selected mobile. The heading of the position source stays always directed to
the top of the display. Equidistant concentric circles are drawn to indicate the distance to the
tracked mobile. Rays of these circles are drawn at regular angular intervals to indicate the
angle with respect to the heading of the mobile.

Figure 54 - Heading oriented view

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6.5.8 MOBILE INFORMATION

This tool is available in real-time mode.
This panel is accessible from the menu Display > Panels > Mobile information. This panel
displays some key values (Depth, X and Y Positions, Heading, Date, Time, Uncertainty
Ellipse Size and Orientation, Altitude Standard Deviation, Range and Residual Range)
for a selected mobile of an equipment. Select the Equipment and the Mobile in the scrolling
lists, edit the font size, the background and text colors of the displayed text.

Figure 55 - Mobile Information panel

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6.5.9 RELATIVE POSITIONING

This tool is available in real-time mode.
This panel is accessible from the menu Display > Panels > Relative Positioning. This
panel displays the history of the positions of the mobiles of an equipment in the plane defined
by the Forward (m) and Immersion (m) axis centered on the vessel. The last 1,000 points of
the tracks are displayed.

● Click on the button to auto scale the display of the mobile track.

● Click on the button to hide or show the link between the vessel (0) and the current
position of the mobile.

● Click on the button to remove all the already displayed history.

Important

Keep in mind in this graph that the vessel is moving. The displayed track(s) includes, without
showing it, the motion of the vessel.

Click left or right to zoom in and out.

Figure 56 - Relative positioning panel

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6.5.10 EVENT MARKS

This tool is available in real-time mode.

6.5.10.1 Creating an Event Mark

Click on to create an event mark. The event mark is displayed at the current location of
the selected mobile at the time when you clicked on the button. A KML file is created. This file
can contain several event marks. Another file can be created to store other marks. The mark
can be labeled (the label appears on the display), described and its width, style, color and
transparency can be edited. Date, time, position and immersion of the mark are displayed in
the Feature Data tab.

Figure 57 - Event creation window

1. During real-time display, if an event occurs and you want to create a mark to keep track of

this event, click on the button or hit [F12].

2. In Feature tab enter a Label and a Description for the mark.

3. In Label tab, set the label to Active or Inactive. Edit the Font of the label (Name, Size, Bold
or Italic).

4. In Style tab, you may choose to use a Style. In this case, select a Style in a style File to
apply to the mark.

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5. In Points tab, select the Width and Style in the corresponding scrolling lists. Click on the
arrow in front of Color to open the Select Color… window. Click OK.

6. In Display properties tab, move the cursor along the Transparency scale to choose a value
between 0 and 100%.

7. Click OK to validate the creation of the event mark.

The event mark is created and displayed on the position track. A data file and an event are
added to the Annotations folder in the Project view panel. The event can look like this on the
display:

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6.5.10.2 Managing Event Marks

Event Mark When an event mark is created, it is added to a KML file. If no KML file exists at the time of the
Files
event creation, then a KML file is automatically created, inserted under the Annotations /
Data Files / Annotation files directory and set by default to Active. You can edit the file
properties by right clicking on the event file in the Project view panel:

Figure 58 - Event mark data file and its pop-up menu

If you do not want the next created event mark to be written in the same file, unselect Active
in the pop-up menu. At the creation of the next event mark, a new KML file is created.
If you remove an event mark data file, all the event marks written in the data file are also
removed from the Project view panel.

Event Mark You can perform a few operations directly on an event mark. In the Project view panel, under
Edition
Annotations / Features, if you right click on one event mark, a pop-up menu opens:

Figure 59 - Event mark pop-up menu

From the event mark pop-up menu you have access to the following items:
● Remove: the mark does not appear anymore in Delph RoadMap (but is not deleted from
the KML file).
● Visible: you can hide or show the mark.
● Zoom to: you can set the view of the main graphic display to focus on the event mark.
● Delete: Event is deleted from the KML file and from the application.
● Properties: you edit the same parameters as explained during the event mark creation.

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6.5.11 WAYPOINTS
6.5.11.1 Creating a Waypoint

Click on to create a waypoint. The waypoint is displayed at the current location of the
mouse cursor. A KML file is created. This file can contain several waypoints. Another file can
be created to store other waypoints. The waypoint can be labeled (the label appears on the
display), described and its width, style, symbol, color and transparency can be edited. Date,
time, position and immersion of the mark are displayed in the Feature Data tab.

Figure 60 - Waypoint creation window

1. Click on to select the waypoint mode. Move the mouse cursor at the location where you
want to create a waypoint and double click.
The waypoint is created and the waypoint creation window opens.

2. In Feature tab: enter the Label of the waypoint. You may enter a Description. You may edit
the associated KML File and Folder.

3. In Feature data tab, the coordinates of the waypoint are available. You may edit the
Immersion value set to zero by default.

4. In Label tab, set the label to Active or Inactive. Edit the Font of the label (Name, Size, Bold
or Italic).

5. In Style tab, you may choose to use a Style. In this case, select a Style in a style File to
apply to the mark.

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6. In Symbol tab:
● Select the Style in its scrolling list. For User-Defined, provide the .3ds file.
● Select the Color in the Select color … window that opens when you click.
● Select the File to define the style of the mobile. This option is only active when the User-
Defined Style is selected.
● You may check the Wireframe display and Apply Vertical exaggeration options.
● In Model Size tab, enter a Length (m), Width/Radius (m) and the Height (m) values.
● In Offsets tab, enter the optional Offsets X, Y, Z in meters and/or degrees.

7. In Points tab:
● Select a Width in the scrolling list.
● Select a Style in the scrolling list.
● Select the Color in the Select color … window that opens when you click.

8. Open the Display properties tab and move the cursor along the Transparency scale to
choose a value between 0 and 100%.

9. Click on the button OK to validate your choices.

The waypoint is created and displayed on the mouse cursor position. A data file and an
waypoint are added to the Annotations/Features/Waypoints folder in the Project view panel.

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6.5.11.2 Managing Waypoints

Waypoint Files When a waypoint is created, it is added to a KML file. If no KML file exists at the time of the
creation, then a KML file is automatically created, inserted under the Annotations / Data
Files / Annotation files directory and set by default to Active. You can edit the file properties
by right clicking on the event file in the Project view panel:

If you do not want the next created waypoint to be written in the same file, unselect Active in
the pop-up menu. At the creation of the next waypoint, a new KML file is created.
If you remove a waypoint data file, all the waypoints written in the data file are also removed
from the Project view panel.
Waypoint You can perform a few operations on a waypoint. In the Project view panel, under
Edition
Annotations > Features, if you right click on one waypoint, a pop-up menu opens:

From the waypoint pop-up menu you have access to the following items:
● Remove: The mark does not appear anymore in Delph RoadMap.
● Visible: Hide or show the waypoint.
● Zoom to: Set the view of the main graphic display to focus on the waypoint.
● Delete: Waypoint is deleted from the KML file and from the application.
● Edit: Change the coordinates, altitude and name as well as the geodesy
● Properties: Edit the same parameters during the waypoint creation.
Global Edition In the Project view, Right click on the Waypoints folder to open the edition window. In this
window, you may edit the coordinates, altitude and geodesy of all the existing waypoints.

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6.5.12 MEASUREMENTS
The measurement window is used to follow the distance between two displayed objects.
These objects may be mobile or not. All items in the Navigation Data , point type
Annotations, waypoints, events, sonar targets may be selected to compute measurements
among them.

6.5.12.1 Creating a Measurement

Access for For USBL/LBL data, the measurement tool is available from
USBL Data
● The menu Navigation > Add Measurement…

● The toolbar button

The Measurement Pair Selection window (see below) allows the selection of a pair of object
between which may be monitored several kinds of distances and angles:
● Horizontal (Projected and Geographic), Vertical and Slant Distances
● Horizontal (Projected and Geographic) and Vertical Angle
Drag and Drop In the Project view, in the Navigation folder, a simple drag and drop from one object onto the
other also adds a measurement in the list displayed in the Measurement window. By default,
the measurement drawn in the geographic display has the color from the source item color.
The last selected measurements from the pair selection window are also used by default.

Figure 61 - Drag and drop measurement

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Measurement The following procedure details how to make measurements with the pair selection window.
Pair Selection

1. Select the menu Navigation > Add Measurement… or click on the measurement toolbar

button .
The Measurement Pair Selection window opens.

2. Select a Navigation or Annotation item in the #1 Project Item list and another Navigation
or Annotation item in the #2 Project Item list.

3. Select which measurement(s) you want to monitor in the Measurements frame.

4. Click on OK to validate your choice.

The Measurement window opens if it was not opened yet. The measurement you configured
appears now in this window with the actual measurement value(s) on the right hand side. A
solid line is drawn on the geographic display between the two selected objects. The values
are updated in real time mode. The configured measurement appears also now in the Project
view under New Project > Measurements. It is possible to edit the measurement from both
places.

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6.5.12.2 Managing the Measurements

A measurement may be edited from the Measurement window or the Project view. On the
Measurement window are available the following buttons to edit the measurement. These
operations may be applied to several selected measurements.

Table 14 - Measurement window buttons

Icon Task

Select in the list the values to display.

Flip objects of a measurement

Change the item color and the displayed line

Show / hide the measurement in the 3D display

Font size for the window

Set the list of measurement in bold

Set the color of the background

In the Project view the right click pop-up menu allows the user:
● To Flip the two objects between which the measurement is computed
● To make the measurement Visible or not
● To Remove the measurement

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6.5.13 EXPORTING A TRAJECTORY

The track of a mobile (from imported data files, not from real time data files) is exported to be
visualized in other geographic applications. The parameters are:

Figure 62 - Trajectory Export window

● General
> File Name: the name of the source navigation file
> Equipment: label of the selected equipment
> Mobile: label of the selected mobile
> Z Level: if you have selected Google Earth (KML) as a File Format, you may select
the source of the exported depth, the default value for other File Formats than
Google Earth (KML) is Surface:
- Clamp to sea level the trajectory is displayed on the surface,
- Clamp to seabed the trajectory is displayed on the seabed
- Relative to sea level the trajectory is displayed relatively to the surface
> Track: this option includes the track in the output, a Color may be selected (Color is
set by default to white for other File Formats)
> Positions: this option includes the positions in the output, a Color may be selected
(Color is set by default to white for other File Formats)
● Output
> File Format: three formats are available
- Google Earth (KML) you may then choose the type of Z Level above
- ESRI Shape File (SHP)
- Autocad DXF File (DXF)

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> Storage Folder: complete path of the storage folder

> File Name: three ways to build the file name
- FileName_Mobile (line01_Vessel_trajectory)
- FileName_FileFormat_Mobile (line01_dat_Vessel_trajectory)
- User defined: your own file name

1. In the Project View panel, under Navigation, right click on the file from which you want to
export the trajectory.
The Trajectory Export window opens.

2. If the export File Format is Google Earth (KML), select the Z Level in the corresponding
scrolling list.

3. You may activate the Track and/or Positions options. If the export File Format is Google
Earth (KML), select the Color of these two options.

4. Expand the Output item and select a File Format, enter a Storage Folder path and choose
a File Name type.

5. Click on Start to run the export. You may select the Close window at the end of the
processing option and/or the Open processing result option if the File Format is Google
Earth (KML).
The completion state of the export process is displayed on the progress bar.

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7 Coupling Gaps M7 and Subsea INS

7.1 List of iXblue Subsea INS

In the table below are listed the iXblue INS that can be coupled to Gaps M7.

Table 15 - iXblue INS

Phins Compact series (C3, C5, C7)

Rovins Nano

Rovins

Phins Subsea

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7.2 Coupling Principle

The coupling with an INS (+DVL) is the optimal solution for positioning a deep water vehicle.
Gaps M7 locates itself in a field of fix transponders and is bidirectionally coupled with an INS.
The physical link can be made via an umbilical, with an acoustic communication system
(modem for example) or with a MTB transponder (see section 7.4). The two devices exchange
their own navigation and transponders positioning. They correct themselves respectively. The
distances to the transponders provided by Gaps M7 feed the Kalman filter of the
INS preventing the drift of the inertial navigation. The provided navigation is therefore very
precise and drift free even with the use of a single transponder or depending of the trajectory of
the vehicle among some sparse transponders (sparse array application, i.e. pipeline tracking).

Figure 63 - Coupling Gaps M7 and an INS

In this section, is detailed how to connect Gaps M7 to the INS in order for Gaps M7 to provide
to the INS the needed absolute positioning. Gaps M7 must be configured to output data to the
INS and the INS must be configured to input data coming from Gaps M7. The protocols that
must be used are the following:
● GAPS STANDARD: this protocol has several drawbacks :
> ASCII format (not optimal in term of bandwidth in an umbilical or acoustic modem)
> Many telegrams are not used by the INS
> Standard deviation is estimated in INS
> Positions are time stamped so it is mandatory that Phins and Gaps M7 receives ZDA
● IXSEA USBL INS 1:
> Binary (optimal in term of bandwidth in an umbilical or acoustic modem)
> Positions are time stamped so it is mandatory that the INS and Gaps M7 receives
ZDA
> Standard deviation is estimated by USBL
● POSIDONIA 6000:

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> Binary (optimal in term of bandwidth in the umbilical or acoustic modem)

> Age of the position (no requirement for ZDA synchronization)
> Standard Deviation estimated by USBL
● USBL POST PRO:
> Binary (optimal in term of bandwidth in the umbilical or acoustic modem)
> Age of the position and time stamping (no requirement for ZDA synchronization)
> Standard Deviation estimated by USBL

Figure 64 - Coupling Gaps M7 to an INS

When post-processing Gaps M7 and the INS data files, keep in mind that a lever arm must be
included in the parameters. See appendix J

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7.3 Procedures
7.3.1 OUTPUT CONFIGURATION IN GAPS M7 WEB-BASED USER INTERFACE

Make sure that for each used transponder, the filter on the positions is set to None:

1. Click on the INSTALLATION > OUTPUTS.

2. Click on the port of your choice: Serial A, B, C, D or Ethernet A, B, C, D.

3. Select IXSEA USBL INS 1 or POSIDONIA 6000 for the Protocol and the Minimum
Frequency of your choice from the pull-down list:

4. If you have selected a Serial link, enter the parameters of this link:

5. If you have selected an Ethernet link, enter the parameters of the link:

6. Click on OK to validate your output configuration positioning data.

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7.3.2 INPUT CONFIGURATION IN THE SUBSEA INS WEB-BASED USER INTERFACE

The distance between the subsea INS and the Gaps M7 transponder installed on the ROV
along the three axis of the INS reference frame must be known so the INS can correct the
positions provided by Gaps M7. The following values must be filled in:
● LV1 signed distance from the center of the INS to Gaps M7 on axis 1.
● LV2 signed distance from the center of the INS to Gaps M7 on axis 2.
● LV3 signed distance from the center of the INS to Gaps M7 on axis 3.

1. In the INS Web-based User Interface, select INSTALLATION > INPUTS.

The INPUT AND EXTERNAL SENSORS SETTINGS opens.

2. Select a port among the ports A to E and click in the table, in the column of the selected port
and in the USBL line.
The selected table cell is highlighted.

3. Select IXSEA USBL INS 1 or POSIDONIA 6000 in the Protocol list.

The protocol appears now in the first line of the table. All the other cells of the selected port
column are grayed because only USBL data will enter this port.

4. Select Ethernet_only or Serial_only in the Physical Link.

Once the physical link selected, the corresponding parameters appear below.

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5. For a Serial link, set up the Parity, Stopbits, Standard and Baudrate.

6. For an Ethernet port, select the Transport Layer, the IP address (in the case of a TCP
Client Transport Layer) and the Port number.

7. In Beacon Selection enter the Beacon ID and its corresponding TP Code.

8. In Lever Arms enter the LV1, LV2 and LV3 values in meters.

9. Click on OK to validate your choices and to send the configuration in the INS.

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7.4 Coupling Using MTBx2 Acoustic Communication

MTB is Gaps M7 compatible for tracking and telemetry. The MTB sends and receives data via
telemetry during the positioning cycle. This data can be packed into a service (e.g. update the
position of a vehicle INS) or as a robust acoustic communication channel from and to the
vehicle to monitor its operations. The MTB position is sent over the acoustic communication
every three recurrences. The sent position is not the latest one but two positions before.
Constraints and coupling details are to be found in the MTB user guide.

Figure 65 - Gaps M7 - INS coupling using MTBx2

1. Connect MTBx2 and INS subsea (refer MTBx2 user guide).

2. Configure the INS subsea with USBL input (protocol iXblue STD BIN).

3. In the Gaps M7 Web-based Interface, select SETUP > TRANSPONDER and add a MTB.

4. In the list of transponders, click on Change settings for the MTB. Configure the transponder.
In Other, for the Position management, select Send by Telemetry.

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8 Dynamic Positioning Modes

8.1 Definition
Gaps M7 can be used as an external hydro acoustic position reference for the Dynamic
Positioning (DP). Gaps M7 is directly interfaced to the DP and outputs the position of the
vessel to the DP using referenced moored acoustic transponders.
The purpose of this mode is that DP cannot only trust the GNSS data. If there is a GNSS
failure or outage, the hydro acoustic position reference still provides an accurate positioning of
the surface vessel. These hydro acoustic position references are essential for DP class 2 and
3. The INS becomes the core component of the positioning system and achieves the data
fusion of all available sensors (LBL, USBL and GNSS).
When L/USBL or L/USBL/INS mode is activated, Gaps M7 can still simultaneously track
mobile transponder in USBL.

Figure 66 - Gaps M7 in DP Mode and other operations

Definition The use of L/USBL mode requires calibrating the fixed transponders to precisely determine
their positions. This is done by surveying the moored transponders using the USBL
positioning. These transponders can then be used as LBL transponders to compute the
position of the surface vessel. The optimal geometry for different numbers of transponders is
described below.

Figure 67 - Geometry of the field of transponders

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8.2 L-USBL Mode

In L/USBL mode, the USBL system feeds a DP with the positions of the acoustic antenna.
● If less than three moored transponders are available then the position is computed by
USBL (see figure below on the left).
● If at least three moored transponders are available then the positioning is provided by both
USBL and LBL computations (see figures below). The LBL computation is made from the
travel distances of at least three moored transponders.

Figure 68 - USBL computation Figure 69 - LBL computation

Depending on the selected output protocol, the LBL computed position is either given with
respect to the position of a reference transponder, or directly the absolute georeferenced
vessel position (with GNSS data available).

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8.3 L-USBL-INS Mode

In this mode, the INS included in Gaps M7 becomes the core component of the positioning
system. The INS performs the fusion of all available sensors:
● Accelerometers and Gyroscopes of the INS
● LBL range from fixed moored transponders
● USBL position to a fixed moored transponder
● GNSS absolute position of the vessel
The INS provides the combined position of all above sensors. The INS improves the
robustness, redundancy, reliability and accuracy of the global position.

Figure 70 - Data fusion of Gaps INS

There is no constraint on the number of transponders to deploy. Only a single transponder can
be used. The addition of several transponders increases the redundancy and accuracy of the
final position. Figure below presents examples of performances that can be reached
depending on the number of deployed transponders.

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Blue: USBL computation with a single transponder on the seabed

Red: L/USBL/INS computation with a single transponder on the seabed
Green: L/USBL/INS computation with 3 transponders on the seabed

Positioning accuracy for the vessel (water depth = 500 m)

Transponder # USBL LBL L/USBL/INS

1 0.95 N.A. 0.31
2 0.67 N.A. 0.22
3 0.55 0.43 0.14
5 0.43 0.33 0.11
10 0.3 0.23 0.08

Fixed transponders are placed in order to give maximum observability for surface positioning.
Vessel position is centered into the field of transponders.
Subsea array size (distance between subsea fixed transponders) is in same order of magnitude than water depth.
USBL SNR = 30 dB, N = 100 (number of USBL recurrences for the box-in of fixed transponders).

Figure 71 - Performances of the various modes

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8.4 Procedure
Prerequisite The INS of Gaps M7 must be aligned (see section 9.2.1).
Box-in Once the transponders have been deployed, they must be calibrated. Box- in of one
transponder typically requires 100 USBL fixes. Once calibrated, the positions of the fixed
transponders have to be input in the dynamic positioning parameters. There are two ways to
input these parameters:
● Recover these coordinates by clicking on the Get Current Position button (only
available when the USBL system is tracking) to fill these fields automatically with the
current USBL position of the transponder.
● Input manually the position of the transponder in the dedicated fields.
Only one transponder can be set as a reference at a time. The position of the USBL antenna is
computed with respect to the position of the reference transponder.
DP Protocols The protocols to select in the output configuration and that can be read by a DP system are :
● HIPAP HPR 400
● HIPAP HPR 418 fix or mobile
● KONGSBERG BCD

Gaps M7 can be used without GPS.

Options Four different modes are available:

● Automatic (default): the GPS, LBL or inverted USBL are used in the order:
> Position sensor
> LBL if no GPS available
> Inverted USBL if no LBL and no GPS available
● GPS Only: only data from GPS are used for DP
● LBL Only: only data from LBL are used for DP
● USBL Only : only data from USBL are used for DP

1. Click on options.

2. Under Dynamic Positioning, select Automatic (default), GPS Only, LBL Only or USBL
Only..

3. Click on OK to validate your choice.

4. Moore the transponder(s) and sail the vessel to the center of the field of transponders.

5. Run the next three steps for each or the transponders.

6. In SETUP > TRANSPONDERS, click on Change Settings for a moored transponder.

In the Dynamic Positioning section, let the Mode to None.
In the Filtering section, set the Type of filter to Fixed to start the averaging .

7. Click on OK to exit the transponder settings and switch ON the transponder.

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8. Click on Start Tracking and wait 100 USBL fixes without any filter reset status.

9. Select SETUP > TRANSPONDERS . Click on Change Settings of the corresponding

transponder. In Dynamic Positioning, click on the Get Current Position button to recover
the actual transponder position.

The displayed position is the average position of all USBL fixes (if no reset of the filter).
For a more precise transponder position, the median of the positions of the transponders can
be estimated and entered manually in the transponder window. To calculate the median, use
the positions information given in the message starting with $PTSAG of the log repeater
document recorded during the tracking. Each transponder can be recognized by its
transponder number included in the $PTSAG message (description in the DATA STANDARD
protocol in appendix I.4).

10. Select INSTALLATION > OUTPUTS, configure an output serial or Ethernet (see section
4.4.2) and select a DP Protocol (HIPAP HPR 400, 418 fix or mobile, KONGSBERG BCD).
Click OK to validate your choice.

11. Configure the moored transponders (see section 5.3.2). In Dynamic Positioning, select a
Mode. Make sure one transponder is configured as a reference transponder (check box Use
as reference transponder activated).

12. Finish configuring the survey (see section 9.2). Run the DP survey.

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9 Operating Gaps M7

Every operation starts by the initialization and the survey configuration of the system (see
section 5.1). During the survey, you can control the incoming data (see section 9.1).

Do NOT sail faster than 12 knots with the Gaps M7 head in the water. It is the mechanical
limit of the Gaps M7 unit.

9.1 Deploying the Transponders

The transponder to be positioned is either mobile on an underwater vehicle or attached to a
mooring. The deployment of an underwater vehicle is specific to that particular vehicle. Please
refer to the specific User Guide of the transponder for more operational details.

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9.2 Launching the Survey

9.2.1 INITIALIZING THE INS
● During the first 5 minutes after powering-on, the system performs a coarse alignment:
> Inertial sensor data (accelerometers and gyrometers) are computed to estimate
heading, roll and pitch angles.
> No estimation of position or speed, nor errors, are done by the INS during the rough
alignment: the data provided by external sensors (lever arm compensated) are used
directly.
● At sea, it is recommended that the system is kept as steady as possible during coarse
alignment: oscillations around a mean position or smooth drift are permitted but
accelerations should be avoided. Leaving the vessel adrift for 5 minutes would lead to
satisfactory conditions for coarse alignment.
● After the coarse alignment phase, the Gaps M7 is ready for navigation. Kalman filter is
activated to compute and estimate position and speed with an optimal accuracy. The INS
switches to the “fine alignment” phase to improve the accuracy of roll, pitch and heading
estimations.
> During the fine alignment phase, movements of the vessel are required. 90 degrees
rotations are even recommended so that the Kalman filter assesses the sensors bias
on different axes.
> Error estimations from the INS Kalman filter are improved when optimal trajectories
are performed. The optimal trajectory to achieve fast fine alignment is “staircase”
shaped, as illustrated in figure below, with a typical duration of 3 to 5 minutes for each
step. Such a trajectory allows the Kalman filter to assess all sources of errors of the
system, to correct them and to achieve optimal performances at the end of the fine
alignment process.
> When a “staircase” shaped trajectory is performed, the fine alignment phase would
typically last for less than 20 minutes.
> Fine alignment requires the GPS to provide valid data to the system. the INS uses
both inertial sensors and external sensors to compute optimal estimates of position,
speed, attitude and heading.
> Fine alignment ends automatically when the heading covariance is below 0.1 °.

Figure 72 - Illustration of optimal trajectory for fine alignment

The inertial sensor status light turns green at the end of the coarse alignment. You can then
start to operate with Gaps M7. The accuracy of the INS is optimal at the end of the fine
alignment. At the end of the fine alignment, the message “fine alignment” disappears from the
inertial sensor tool box.

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9.2.2 INITIALIZING GAPS M7

If you turn off Gaps M7 by pressing the power switch on the Gaps box, make sure to wait at
least 20 s before turning it on again.

Do NOT transmit acoustically with Gaps M7 in the air.

1. Check the power supply (24/36 V DC, 100/240 V AC).

2. Switch the Gaps box on.

Gaps M7 is powered.

3. Launch your browser and enter the Gaps M7 IP address https://xx.xx.xx.xx.

The Gaps M7 control web page opens.

4. Configure (or check if it has already been done) the Gaps M7 network interface. See section
4.2.

5. If an arm or an hydrophone has been replaced, Gaps M7 antenna must be calibrated. Please
check Gaps M7 Maintenance User Guide for complete calibration procedure. In the other
case, no calibration is needed for Gaps M7 before using it. Enter the misalignments and
immersion of the antenna. See section 4.3.

6. Configure the input and output if there are new sensors during this mission. See section 4.4.

7. Configure the tracking parameters. See section 5.1.

8. Configure the transponders to be positioned during the mission. See section 5.3.

9. Enter the speed profile. See section 5.2

10. Press Start Tracking button.

The Start Tracking button is grayed and the Stop Tracking button becomes active. Gaps
M7 starts its acoustic cycle. The INS needs 5 minutes to be operational.

11. Open the navigation window in order to check the acquired data. See section 9.3.

12. Perform the alignment of the INS (see section 9.2.1). Remain in static position or drifting (no
acceleration, no heading change) for the rough alignment (5 minutes). Perform the fine
alignment if necessary (20 minutes while performing steps or eight-shaped trajectory).

13. Start the survey.

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9.3 Controlling the Data

9.3.1 DATA CONTROL WINDOWS
Controlling data from Gaps M7 is carried out via:
● Navigation window
● Control window

Figure 73 - Data monitoring via CONTROL and NAVIGATION windows

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9.3.1.1 CONTROL Window

On the control window are displayed the following data:
● Heading, Roll, Pitch, Speed, Noise (only in tracking mode, maximum value of the 4
hydrophone noise values in the Navigation window)
● Time, UTM Zone, UTM Northing, UTM Easting or Time, Latitude, Longitude
● Messages, warnings, errors are shown under the heading STATUS
● While tracking, repetitive clicks on the main logo or on the STATUS label on the left of the
main logo display alternatively the SYSTEM DETAILED STATUS and the list of the
active transponders and their associated parameters. A click on the frame of a
transponder of the list allows the display of another set of parameters of the transponder.

Figure 74 - Display managed by the logo

The time of last detection is displayed for each transponder in the figure above, note that the
elapsed time since this last detection is also displayed between brackets: (< 01”) for less than
one second, (~ xx”) for the number of seconds and (> 99”) for more than one minute.

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9.3.1.2 NAVIGATION Window

On the navigation window are displayed the following data:
● Navigation data: Heading and attitude (Heading, Roll, Pitch), Position (UTM Zone, UTM
North, UTM East, Depth, Speed), Heave (Heave, Surge, Sway), Time (Run Time, UTC
Time), Acoustics (Tracking, Noise Lev., Noise lvl H1, Noise lvl H2, Noise lvl H3, Noise
lvl H4), GPS (Attitude, Mode, Std. Dev, Time)
● Positioned transponder data:

Data Definition

Latitude
Geographic coordinates of the transponder
Longitude

Depth Depth computed with acoustic data and optional external sensors data

Sensor depth Depth provided by optional external sensors

X Rel. Antenna Transponder coordinates with respect to the frame centered on the
Y Rel. Antenna antenna and to the antenna axes

X Rel. North Transponder coordinates with respect to the frame centered on the
Y Rel. North antenna and to the geographical axes

Slant Range Traveled distance

H. Distance Horizontal distance

Transponder angle seen from the antenna with respect to the along
Bearing
track axe of the ship

Azimuth Transponder angle seen from the antenna with respect to the North

Vertical Angle Transponder angle seen from the antenna with respect to the vertical

SNR, SNR H1,

SNR H2, SNR H3, Signal to noise ratio global and specific to each hydrophone
SNR H4

Travel Time Travel time of the acoustic wave to reach the transponder

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9.3.2 CHECKING THE CURRENT VOLTAGE OF A ZTA02C TRANSPONDER

During the tracking, it is possible to interrogate each of the ZTA02C transponders in use on
their current voltage.

1. During tracking, select the SETUP > TRANSPONDERS menu.

2. Click on Change Settings for one of the active ZTA02C transponders.

3. Click on the Get Current Voltage button.

After a moment the current voltage of the transponder is displayed in the Voltage field.

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9.3.3 DESELECTING A CHANNEL FOR A USBL COMPUTATION

It is possible to exclude one channel of the USBL from the computation. In case of one faulty
hydrophone, it improves greatly the positioning accuracy to be able to perform the positioning
without this hydrophone. A faulty hydrophone may greatly decrease the quality of the
positioning.
The automatic (default) mode rejects the erroneous detections of any hydrophone when it is
the case.

1. Even during tracking, click on options in the top right corner of the application.

2. Select Hn disabled to exclude all detections made by the Hn hydrophone.

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9.3.4 LIST AND MEANINGS OF STATUS, WARNING AND ERRORS

Blue Message: information, Orange Message: warning, Red Message: error
SENSOR X (X being UTC/GPS, USBL, GPS, …):

Message Meaning Action

Check the quality
Input X - Unusable data Data received but consistency & integrity tests fail
of serial links
Input X – Data Timeout Time interval too long

ELECTRONIC:

5 V Analog Supply Internal electrical problem Switch off the rack and contact iXblue.
5 V Digital Supply Internal electrical problem Switch off the rack and contact iXblue.
12 V Analog Supply Internal electrical problem Switch off the rack and contact iXblue.
Clock Updating System time is not up to date Configure a UTC sensor.

Internal problem coming from the sig- Switch off the rack and turn it on again. If the
DSP Communication
nal processing module. problem remains, contact iXblue.

Internal problem coming from the sig- Switch off the rack and turn it on again. If the
DSP Configuration
nal processing module. problem remains, contact iXblue.

Internal problem coming from the sig- Switch off the rack and turn it on again. If the
Signal Processing
nal processing module. problem remains, contact iXblue.
DSP Overload Data processing is overloaded.
Telemetry Overflow
USBL Net. Overflow Network is overloaded Reduce number of output protocols and rates
Too many layers or depth not strictly
Profile consistency I, II Correct the velocity profile
increasing
At least 2 transponders with com-
Transp. consistency I, II Check / correct transp. parameters
mon interr. Parameters.
Interrogation Overflow Too many interr. by recurrence. Lower interrogation number per recurrence.
Transponders Overflow Too many transp. by recurrence. Lower number of transp. by recurrence.
Lower number of interrogated transp. by
Response Overflow Too many answers in a recurrence.
recurrence.
Transp./Int. Overflow Too many transp. by interrogation. Reduce number of transp. by interrogation.
Response not supported Unknown ID of acoustic response
Outputs consistency Too many output signals. Reduce number of outputs.
Sensors consistency Too many sensors in input. Reduce number of sensors in input.
LBL Base Not enough transp. for a LBL base. Add more transponders.
DP Triangulation Wrong geometry of DP transp. field. Inappropriate DP base for DP operation.
DP Reference No DP reference transponder. Add a DP reference transponder.
Timeout Synchro IN PPS Delay on incoming trigger pulse

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Hoisting Sys. UP Antenna stored in service chest

Hoisting Sys. DOWN Antenna deployed
Gate Valve CLOSED Gate valve closed
Gate Valve OPEN Gate valve opened
Hoisting Sys. Fault Hoisting System out of service

ANTENNA:

Transponder Int. The system is not triggered. Check that the synchro is sent to the rack.
Internal problem coming from the signal Switch off the rack and turn it on again. If
Data Sampling
processing module. the problem remains, contact iXblue.
One or several detections are close to
Maximum Range Increase the interrogation rate.
the end of the acquisition period.
If message appears for a short time, it may
The system does not detect the signal be due to external environment. If problem
Channel 1/2/3/4 detection coming from the transponder on the remains continuously, there might be a
channel 1, 2, 3 or 4. problem with the antenna or with the
antenna cable. Contact iXblue.
Error occurred on one of the four chan-
Hydrophone broken or a lot of noise detec-
Channel 1/2/3/4 NIS Error nels 1, 2, 3 or 4. 5 dB detected between
ted by one hydrophone.
two channels.
Ship sails too fast, antenna mechanical
Speed Limit (12 kt) Reduce speed.
limit might be reached.
Stacking Init Discovery mode for the ping stacking
Stacking Ping stacking mode active

TRANSPONDERS:

Expected Transponders that are expected in the next interrogation.

No Detection Less than 3 hydrophones providing data.
No Position Impossible to compute a position.
Pressure Received Data collected from pressure sensor.
Pressure Used Pressure data required by transponder and used.
Antenna not calibrated The antenna is not calibrated.
Simulated Detections The delivered positions are coming from simulated detections.
Ping Navigation No navigation at interrogation time.
Detected Navigation No navigation at detection time.
1 Disabled Hydro. One hydro is deactivated.

Gaps box:

No GAPS BOX Cannot find the Gaps box

Network Configuration Network configuration error
Serial A/B/C/D Configuration Serial input error
Ethernet A/B/C/D Configuration Ethernet input error

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9.3.5 FREQUENCY SPECTRUM OF THE HYDROPHONES

This tool helps the user to control the operating state of the four transponders. The control is
made via a frequency graph for each hydrophone. Such a display is shown below. For each
hydrophone you display the actual magnitude, the mean of the magnitude over time or the max
of this magnitude over time. This tool is available with the appropriate version of Java and of
the Web browser. Compatible versions are available in the release note.
Zoom A few graphical tools are available from the mouse:
● Zoom on the graph with the scroll wheel of your mouse.
● Draw a zoom rectangle with left mouse button.
● Unzoom backto normal display with the right mouse button.

The range of the measurement is precise between 60 and 100 dB. Any noise measurement
outside this range may have degraded accuracy.

Figure 75 - SPECTRUM window and zoom effect

1. Select TOOLS > SPECTRUM.

2. Click on the Enable button.

3. Click on the Hydro selection button to select which hydrophone you want to display the
frequency spectrum. You may select Hydro x, Hydro mean x or Hydro max x.
The graph of the selected data is displayed.

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9.3.6 CONTROLLING DATA ACQUISITION USING IX BLUE MULTILOGGER

iXblue Multilogger checks in real-time the consistency of several data streams carried by
different protocols (PHINS_STANDARD, POSTPROCESSING, NMEA ...). Erroneous data
are then detected in real-time and appropriate adjustments can be carried out immediately.
Repeater log The repeater log is available in TCP connection on port 8210.

1. Open iXblue Multilogger.

2. Click on the general configuration button.

Set up the logging file and folder, session name, automatic log, date and hour format.
Set up the time out configuration, time stamping, segmentation options, log report.
Set up the display options and files lock. Click on OK.

3. Click on one of the flow configuration button.

Set up the Flow type (Serial or Ethernet).

Set up the Flow log name, Segmentation and Decimation.
Select a Protocol: PHINS_STANDARD, NMEA, ASCII...
Select the Operation to run: Check consistency or Decode and check.

Set up the Settingsand click on OK to validate, the flow button becomes:

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4. Once configured, click on the Start button.

A window asks you which flow(s) you want to start.

5. Click on the flow view button.

Check the Settings, Status and Flow Log History.

Three status give you the quality of the message: NORMAL, WARNING, ERROR. You can
easily see if one data stream carries erroneous data.
Navigate from one flow to another with the Previous flow and Next flow buttons.

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9.4 Recovering the Equipment

9.4.1 RECOVERING GAPS M7

1. Click on the Stop Tracking button.

2. Recover Gaps M7 unit.

3. Rinse Gaps M7 unit with fresh water.

4. Fasten the hydrophone caps back in place.

9.4.2 RECOVERING TRANSPONDERS WITH THE TELECOMMAND

The moored transponders are recovered with the remote control function in the
TELECOMMAND menu. iXblue TT801 remote control also performs this task.
The remote control transmits a signal to the transponders. Once the signal received by the
transponder, the transponder answers by an acknowledgment signal (CAF). The hook engine
rotates, freeing the release ring and the weight. Another acknowledgment signal is transmitted
by the transponder after the complete rotation of the engine. The transponder goes up towards
the surface carried by the buoys at the speed of approximately 1 to 2 m/s. Once at the surface,
the transponders are ready for recovery.

Click on the Stop tracking button before any recovery operation. The USBL antenna must not
be pinging while the remote control is operating.

Gaps M7 sends commands to the transponders. Commands are configured by the input of the
following parameters:
● Bit0 and Bit1: two frequencies defining the 0 and 1 values of the coded signals
● CAF: acknowledgment signal send by the transponder
● ARM: hexadecimal value of the arming command that wakes the transponder up
● CMD: hexadecimal value of the command
● Acknowledgment Timeout: from 1 to 60 s in which the device waits for an
acknowledgment signal of the command from the transponder
Transponder Command codes can be found on the manufacturer label stuck on the transponder. These
Label
codes are in hexadecimal format. Table below links hexadecimal values to code numbers.
Table 16 - Correspondence between frequencies and hexadecimal codes

Code 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
kHz 19.5 20 20.5 21 21.5 22 22.5 23 23.5 24 24.5 25 25.5 26 26.5 27

Decoding the transponder build sheet:

The frequency FR0 (19.5 kHz) in first column corresponds to code 0.
The frequency FR1 (20.5 kHz) in first column corresponds to code 2.
ARM/RANGING (0251), made of 0 (FR0), 2 (FR1) and 51, is the arming code.

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1. Select TOOLS/TELECOMMAND menu.

2. Under Frequencies, select Bit0, Bit1and CAF.

3. Under Codes, set ARM and CMD codes (RELEASE) in the corresponding drop-down lists.

4. Under Acknowledgment Timeout, select the Timeout.

5. Click on Send to validate your choice and to send the parameters to the USBL system.

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10 Maintenance

10.1 Preventive Maintenance

10.1.1 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Gaps M7 has been designed to avoid as much as possible any preventive maintenance
operation.
Nevertheless, Gaps M7 has to be used with the usual precautions as for any other underwater
equipment:
● Rinsing: Each time Gaps M7 has been used in salted water, it must be thoroughly rinsed
with fresh water.
● Check dive: If Gaps M7 is permanently immersed in salty water. Make sure to regularly
send a diver check for signs of corrosion on the antenna housing every two to six months
depending on water temperature.
● Hydrophones caps: Gaps M7 must be handled with great care, especially concerning
the hydrophones. Remove these caps before deploying Gaps M7 antenna. As soon as
Gaps M7 is not any more in the water, the hydrophone protective caps must be put in
place.
● Hydrophones:
> Do not paint hydrophones with traditional painting
> Do not use metallic instruments to clean hydrophones
> Do not use water with pressure to clean hydrophones
> Do not use solvent
> To limit growth on hydrophones we recommend to use International TRILUX 33 or
SigmaCoatings blue Sigma-glide (we didn't characterized yet the impact on reception
but it should be limited)

Avoid transmitting acoustically with Gaps M7 in the air.

● Connector greasing: Spray silicone grease LOCTITE 8021 must be regularly applied on
the male and female part of the SUBCONN connector.
● Dummy Plug: When the cable is not connected to Gaps M7, make sure to use the
dummy plug to protect the cable termination.

Figure 76 - Gaps M7 cable dummy plug

● Handling: The best way to carry Gaps M7 is to hold it by the upper disc in one hand and
one of the arms in the other hand.

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Figure 77 - Handling Gaps M7

Do not hold Gaps M7 by its hydrophones.

When Gaps M7 is not used, the four hydrophones must keep their protection caps. Remove
them just before putting Gaps M7 into water.

● The equipment must be placed back in its transport box and stored in a dry area until it is
installed. The equipment must always be stored in its packaging. The limits of storage
temperature are the following:

Item Min T° Max T°

Acoustic Array - 40°C +70°C

Acoustic Transponders - 20°C +70°C

Bad storage conditions may void certain clauses of the guarantee.

● Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/CE:

Only operate Gaps M7 under water.

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10.1.2 CHECKING THE ELECTRICAL GROUND

You must ensure that the electrical installation is correct in order to prevent the antenna from
corrosion. Before proceeding to the test, please make sure that you have:
● Installed the Gaps M7 acoustic antenna
● Installed and powered the Gaps box
● Connected the cable between the Gaps box and the acoustic antenna
The test consists in measuring the voltage between the Gaps M7 antenna and the hull of the
ship with a multitester.

1. Put the first probe of the multitester on a conductive part of the housing of the Gaps M7
antenna. It can be the transducer titanium plate or the titanium screws.

2. Put the second probe on a conductive part of the ship hull.

3. Read the voltage between these two points.

The voltage must be below 1.0 V.

If the voltage between the Gaps M7 antenna and the hull of the ship is below 1.0 V, the system
is electrically well installed.

If the voltage between the Gaps M7 antenna and the hull of the ship is greater than 1.0 V,
corrosion will impact your system. Contact iXblue technical support.

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10.1.3 CONNECTING A NEW GAPS BOX TO GAPS M7

The following procedure concerns the exchange of one Gaps box with another one.

1. Switch off the Gaps box and disconnect it.

2. Connect the new Gaps box to the Gaps M7. See section 3.3.

3. Turn on the Gaps box.

Gaps M7 starts the configuration of the Gaps box.

4. Wait 30 seconds until the configuration of the Gaps box is completed.

5. Turn off and then on the Gaps box.

The Gaps M7 is ready for operation.

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10.1.4 MAINTAINING SUBCONN CONNECTORS

System: Gaps M7 Preventive Maintenance

Sub-system: SUBCONN connector Reference: PM01 Page: 1/1

Maintenance level: 1
Subject: Cleaning and greasing
Periodicity: Every time before mating
SUBCONN connectors
Duration: 5 minutes

Equipment Isopropyl alcohol, Loctite 8021 medium grease

Precaution Disconnect by pulling straight, not at an angle.

Do not pull on the cable and avoid sharp bends at cable entry.
When using a bulkhead connector ensure that there are no angular loads.
Do not over tighten the bulkhead nuts.
SUBCONN connectors should not be exposed to extended periods of heat or direct sunlight. If
a connector becomes very dry, it should be soaked in fresh water before use.
We recommend to replace the SUBCONN connector every 4 years.

Preliminary None
Steps

1. Remove any accumulated sand or mud on the connector using spray based contact cleaner
(isopropyl alcohol).

2. Apply a layer of grease corresponding to approximately 1/3 of socket depth to the female
connector.
All sockets should be completely sealed, and transparent layer of grease left visible on the
face of the connector.

3. After greasing, fully mate the male and female connector and remove any excess grease from
the connector joint.

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10.2 Maintenance from the Web-Based User Interface

You have access to a series of maintenance tasks from the Web-Based user interface
maintenance button. These tasks are:
● Calibrating the Gaps M7 after removing a whole arm or an hydrophone
● Updating the system
● Checking the options that are currently installed
● Resetting to factory settings
● Contacting iXblue technical support

10.2.1 CALIBRATING THE GAPS M7 ACOUSTIC ANTENNA

Important

If one or several hydrophones have been replaced by other ones, your Gaps M7 antenna
needs to be calibrated again. Please refer to the maintenance user guide for complete details
on the calibration procedure.

10.2.2 UPDATING THE SYSTEM

iXblue sends to you an update file when available. The update file names have:
● “.srec” or “.sre” extension
● “TQ_” prefix for the mother board
● “G4W_” for the signal processing board
Upload this file from your computer directly into Gaps M7 via the procedure below. In case of
two successive updates, you may reboot Gaps M7 between the updates.

Firmware updates for Gaps M5 and Gaps M7 are not compatible.

ZIP the update files when mailing them to avoid file corruption caused by mail applications.
UNZIP update files received by mail before loading them into Gaps M7.

If both TQ and G4W firmware have to be updated: make sure that you download the
Gen4Ways (G4W) firmware before the PowerPC (TQ) firmware into Gaps M7.

Save your current configuration before performing the update.

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1. Save your current configuration. See section 4.1.7 menu.

2. Click on maintenance in the upper right corner of the window.

3. In front of File, click on the Browse button and select the update file “.srec”.

4. Click on Update.
The logo flashes alternatively gray and blue. A Sendingfile label appears in the UPDATE
SYSTEM area. After a while the file is uploaded and the updating is complete.

5. Check that all the versions numbers listed above the Load File button are updated.

6. Empty the cache of your browser and reload the page before using the User Interface.

10.2.3 CHECKING THE CURRENTLY INSTALLED OPTIONS

In the maintenance page, you may check which options are currently installed. In the
SYSTEM OPTIONS frame are listed all the options and their status (active: yes or no).

10.2.4 RESETTING THE SYSTEM TO FACTORY SETTINGS

Sometimes it can be useful to reset the system to the factory settings. These settings are set
as default settings when the unit is shipped to you by iXblue. You just have to press the Reset
button in the RESET TO FACTORY SETTINGS area.

Figure 78 - Reset to factory settings

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10.2.5 CONTACTING IXBLUE TECHNICAL SUPPORT

You can contact iXblue with the coordinated listed at the end of this document. However, the
Web-based user interface offers to you a handy way to contact iXblue technical support.

Figure 79 - Contact support

E-mail Click on the Contact Support button in the CONTACT SUPPORT area to send an e-mail to
iXblue technical support with all related information of your system (Product name and serial
number and other information that you can fill in the corresponding fields).
Configuration If you click on the click here link, you save a configuration file that you must add to the e-
File
mail for iXblue technical support. This tool gives to the iXblue technical support as much
information as possible to help you to answer a question or to overcome an eventual problem.

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iXblue CONTACT - SUPPORT

For non-URGENT support:

● by email: support@ixblue.com
● using the form on the iXblue web site www.ixblue.com

For 24/7 URGENT SUPPORT:

● North America / NORAM
+1 617 861 4589

● Europe Middle-East Africa Latin-America / EMEA-LATAM

+33 1 30 08 98 98

● Asia Pacific / APAC

+65 6747 7027

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Appendices

A Preventing Java Security Warning Dialog Box

Here is detailed a procedure to follow in order to prevent the security warning box from Java to
appear when you click on the Data Logging menu.

1. Open the Java Control Panel on your computer:

Windows XP
● Click on the Start button and then click on the Control Panel option.
● Double click on the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
Windows 7, Vista
● Click on the Start button and then click on the Control Panel option.
● In the Control Panel Search enter Java Control Panel.
● Click on the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
Windows 8
● Use search to find the Control Panel
● Press Windows logo key + W to open the Search charm to search settings
● OR drag the Mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner of the screen, then click on the
Search icon.
● In the search box enter Java Control Panel
● Click on Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.

2. Select the Security tab.

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3. Click on Edit Site List…

The Exception Site List window opens:

4. Enter the IP address of Gaps M7 Web-based User Interface.

5. Press Enter or click on Add.

6. Click on OK to validate your choice and to close the window.

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B Restrictions on IP, Gateway and Mask

IP - Gateway A few restrictions rule on the choice of an IP and Gateway addresses:
● 255 is not allowed for any of the four fields
● 0 is not allowed for fields 1 and 4
● 10 and 20 are not allowed for field 1
● 0.0.0.0 is allowed for a Gateway address

Mask Only the listed values below are allowed

0.0.0.0
128.0.0.0
192.0.0.0
224.0.0.0
240.0.0.0
248.0.0.0
252.0.0.0
254.0.0.0
255.0.0.0
255.128.0.0
255.192.0.0
255.224.0.0
255.240.0.0
255.248.0.0
255.252.0.0
255.254.0.0
255.255.0.0
255.255.128.0
255.255.192.0
255.255.224.0
255.255.240.0
255.255.248.0
255.255.252.0
255.255.254.0
255.255.255.0
255.255.255.128
255.255.255.192
255.255.255.224
255.255.255.240
255.255.255.248
255.255.255.252
255.255.255.254
255.255.255.255

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C Third Party Transponder Codes

Table below gather reply codes from Sonardyne Wideband® 1 transponders partly compatible
with Gaps M7. Note the compatible area.

Table 17 - Sonardyne Wideband® 1 reply codes and compatibility with Gaps M7

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Table 18 - Sonardyne Wideband® 1 interrogation codes and compatibility with Gaps M7

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D CHORUS Codes

In order to address all operational needs without ambiguity, it is necessary to have access to a
pool of codes allowing the maximum number of transponders. With Canopus, it is possible to
address a maximum of 9 families of 15 transponders, 135 transponders.
The Chorus codes are made of:
● 144 interrogation codes (9 * 15 IIS + 9 CIS)
● 144 response codes (9 * 15 IRS + 9 CRS)
Each transponder is characterized by its family ID and its individual ID: Chorus XX.YY
● XX carries information on CIS and CRS codes
● YY carries information on IIS and IRS codes
Example All transponders from the 01 family can be interrogated on the CIS 0100 and every transponder
can answer on the CRS 0100 code.

CIS 00.00 01.00 02.00 03.00 04.00 05.00 06.00 07.00 08.00

00.01 00.02 00.03 00.04 00.05 00.06 00.07 00.08 00.09 00.10 00.11 00.12 00.13 00.14 00.15

01.01 01.02 01.03 01.04 01.05 01.06 01.07 01.08 01.09 01.10 01.11 01.12 01.13 01.14 01.15

02.01 02.02 02.03 02.04 02.05 02.06 02.07 02.08 02.09 02.10 02.11 02.12 02.13 02.14 02.15

03.01 03.02 03.03 03.04 03.05 03.06 03.07 03.08 03.09 03.10 03.11 03.12 03.13 03.14 03.15

IRS 04.01 04.02 04.03 04.04 04.05 04.06 04.07 04.08 04.09 04.10 04.11 04.12 04.13 04.14 04.15

05.01 05.02 05.03 05.04 05.05 05.06 05.07 05.08 05.09 05.10 05.11 05.12 05.13 05.14 05.15

06.01 06.02 06.03 06.04 06.05 06.06 06.07 06.08 06.09 06.10 06.11 06.12 06.13 06.14 06.15

07.01 07.02 07.03 07.04 07.05 07.06 07.07 07.08 07.09 07.10 07.11 07.12 07.13 07.14 07.15

08.01 08.02 08.03 08.04 08.05 08.06 08.07 08.08 08.09 08.10 08.11 08.12 08.13 08.14 08.15

00.01 00.02 00.03 00.04 00.05 00.06 00.07 00.08 00.09 00.10 00.11 00.12 00.13 00.14 00.15

01.01 01.02 01.03 01.04 01.05 01.06 01.07 01.08 01.09 01.10 01.11 01.12 01.13 01.14 01.15

02.01 02.02 02.03 02.04 02.05 02.06 02.07 02.08 02.09 02.10 02.11 02.12 02.13 02.14 02.15

03.01 03.02 03.03 03.04 03.05 03.06 03.07 03.08 03.09 03.10 03.11 03.12 03.13 03.14 03.15

IIS 04.01 04.02 04.03 04.04 04.05 04.06 04.07 04.08 04.09 04.10 04.11 04.12 04.13 04.14 04.15

05.01 05.02 05.03 05.04 05.05 05.06 05.07 05.08 05.09 05.10 05.11 05.12 05.13 05.14 05.15

06.01 06.02 06.03 06.04 06.05 06.06 06.07 06.08 06.09 06.10 06.11 06.12 06.13 06.14 06.15

07.01 07.02 07.03 07.04 07.05 07.06 07.07 07.08 07.09 07.10 07.11 07.12 07.13 07.14 07.15

08.01 08.02 08.03 08.04 08.05 08.06 08.07 08.08 08.09 08.10 08.11 08.12 08.13 08.14 08.15

CRS 00.00 01.00 02.00 03.00 04.00 05.00 06.00 07.00 08.00

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E Sonardyne Wideband® 1 Transponders

Figure below gathers screen shots of the windows dedicated to the configuration of a
Sonardyne Wideband® 1 transponder in different software interfaces.
The interrogation and reply codes, the turn around time (TAT) and the name of the transponder
are highlighted.
A Sonardyne Wideband® 1 transponder interrogated by CIS signal, replies with IRS signal.
A Sonardyne Wideband® 1 transponder interrogated by a IIS signal, replies with CRS signal.

Figure 80 - Location of the transponder characteristics in different software interfaces

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F Settings Examples

F.1 One Transponder

TP Interr. code Reply code TaT Rep. factor
TP1 1 22 90 ms x1

Distance max (m) < 682 < 1432 < 2182 < 2932 < 3682 < 4432

Gaps Recurrence 1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s

Blanking time TP1 0.8 s 1.8 s 2.8 s 3.8 s 4.8 s 5.8 s

F.2 Two Transponders - Same Interrogation Code

TP Interr.code Reply code TaT Rep. factor
TP1 1 22 90 ms x1
TP2 1 23 90 ms x1

Distance max (m) < 682 < 1432 < 2182 < 2932 < 3682 < 4432
Gaps recurrence 1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s
Blanking time TP1 0.8 s 1.8 s 2.8 s 3.8 s 4.8 s 5.8 s
Blanking time TP2 0.8 s 1.8 s 2.8 s 3.8 s 4.8 s 5.8 s

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F.3 Two Transponders - Two Interrogation Codes

TP Interr. code Reply code TaT Rep. factor
TP1 1 22 90 ms x1
TP2 2 22 90 ms x1

Distance max (m) < 682 < 1432 < 2182 < 2932 < 3682 < 4432
Gaps recurrence 1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s
Blanking time TP1 1.8 s 3.8 s 5.8 s 7.8 s 9.8 s 11.8 s
Blanking time TP2 1.8 s 3.8 s 5.8 s 7.8 s 9.8 s 11.8 s

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F.4 Four Transponders - Three Interrogation Codes

TP Interr. code Reply code TaT Rep. factor
TP1 1 22 90 ms x1
TP2 1 23 90 ms x1
TP3 2 22 90 ms x1
TP4 3 22 90 ms x1

Distance max (m) < 682 < 1432 < 2182 < 2932 < 3682 < 4432
Gaps recurrence 1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s
Blanking time TP1 2.8 s 5.8 s 8.8 s 11.8 s 14.8 s 17.8 s
Blanking time TP2 2.8 s 5.8 s 8.8 s 11.8 s 14.8 s 17.8 s
Blanking time TP3 2.8 s 5.8 s 8.8 s 11.8 s 14.8 s 17.8 s
Blanking time TP4 2.8 s 5.8 s 8.8 s 11.8 s 14.8 s 17.8 s

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F.5 Four Transponders - Four Interrogation Codes -

Two Repetition Factors
TP Interr. code Reply code TaT Rep. factor
TP1 1 22 90 ms x2
TP2 1 23 90 ms x2
TP3 2 22 90 ms x1
TP4 3 22 90 ms x1

Distance max (m) < 682 < 1432 < 2182 < 2932 < 3682 < 4432
Gaps recurrence 1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s
Blanking time TP1 0.8 s 1.8 s 2.8 s 3.8 s 4.8 s 5.8 s
Blanking time TP2 0.8 s 1.8 s 2.8 s 3.8 s 4.8 s 5.8 s
Blanking time TP3 3.8 s 7.8 s 11.8 s 15.8 s 19.8 s 23.8 s
Blanking time TP4 3.8 s 7.8 s 11.8 s 15.8 s 19.8 s 23.8 s

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G Configuring Qinsy Connected to Gaps M7

Here are several pieces of advice for configuring Qinsy connected to Gaps M7:
● GPS level arms must be set in Gaps M7 OR in QPS ( not both)
● Select a geodetic parameter in QPS according to your working area
● Gaps M7 is set as a POSITION NAVIGATION SYSTEM in QPS
● Add a Tp by adding a new object in QPS data base
● Associate a POSITION NAVIGATION SYSTEM to this beacon and select the pilot QPS
for Gaps M7 ( for example iXSea GAPS $PTSAG)
● The receiver number (Tp number) must be the same in the Gaps M7output string and in
QPS

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H Input Protocols

H.1 GPS
Standard Input ASCII
Data received Time, latitude, longitude, altitude, hemisphere, quality factory, number of satellites, HDOP,
depth, Geoidal separation, Checksum NMEA
The ZDA is not taken any more into account when screens UTC are received. If no screen
UTC is received during 60 seconds, the ZDA can again be taken into account.

$__GGA $--GGA,hhmmss.ss,llmm.mm,a,LLLmm.mm,b,q,ss,y.y,x.x,M,g.g,M,a.a,zzzz*ck

hhmmss.ss UTC of position

llmm.mm Latitude in degrees (ll) and in minutes (mm.mm)
a Hemisphere N: North S: South
LLLmm.mm Longitude in degrees (LLL) and in minutes (mm.mm)
b Longitude sign E: East W: West
q GPS quality indicator
0 and ≥ 6 fix invalid
1 = GPS SPS Mode, fix valid
2 = Differential GPS, SPS Mode, fix valid
3 = GPS PPS Mode, fix valid
4 = RTK. Satellite system used in RTK mode with fixed integers
5 = Float RTK. Satellite system used in RTK mode with floating integers
ss Number of satellites
y.y Horizontal dilution of precision. (NOT USED)
x.x Antenna altitude
M Units of antenna altitude (meters)
g.g Geoidal separation. (NOT USED)
M Units of geoidal separation (meters) (NOT USED)
a.a Age of differential GPS data. (NOT USED)
zzzz Differential reference station ID. (NOT USED)
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

$__ZDA $--ZDA,hhmmss.ss*ck

hhmmss.ss UTC of the last PPS

*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

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$__GST $--GST,hhmmss.ss,x.x,. x.x,. x.x,. x.x,. x.x,. x.x,. x.x,*ck

hhmmss.ss UTC time of the GGA fix associated with this sentence
x.x RMS value of the standard deviation on pseudo-ranges
x.x Standard deviation of semi-major axis of error ellipse
x.x Standard deviation of semi-minor axis of error ellipse
x.x Orientation of semi-major axis of error ellipse
x.x Standard deviation of latitude error, in meters
x.x Standard deviation of longitude error, in meters
x.x Standard deviation of altitude error, in meters
ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

UTC UTC yy.mm.dd hh:mm:ss ab

UTC Fixed text header

yy.mm.dd Year month and date
hh:mm:ss UTC time not GPS time
a Integer number representing the position-fix type: (NOT USED)
1 = time only
2 = 1D & time
3 = currently unused
4 = 2D & time
5 = 3D & time
b Number of GPS satellites being tracked. (NOT USED)

If the receiver is not tracking satellites, the time tag is based on the receiver clock. In this
case, a and b are represented by “??”. The time readings from the receiver clock are less
accurate than time readings determined from the satellite signals.

$__RMC $--RMC,hhmmss.ss,A,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,a,x.x,x.x,ddmmyy,x.x,a,a *ck

hhmmss.ss UTC time of the position

A Status: A=data valid, V= Navigation receiver warning
llll.ll Latitude, (NOT USED)
a N/S (NOT USED)
yyyyy.yy Longitude, (NOT USED)
a E/W (NOT USED)
x.x Speed over ground, in knots (NOT USED)
x.x Course over ground, in degrees true (NOT USED)
ddmmyy Date (NOT USED)
x.x Magnetic variation (NOT USED)
a =E: easterly variation substracts from True course or =W: westerly
variation adds to true course (NOT USED)
a Mode indicator (NOT USED)
ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

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$__GLL $--GLL,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,a,hhmmss.ss,A,a*ck

llll.ll Latitude
a N : North S : South
yyyyy.yy Longitude
a E : East W : West
hhmmss.ss UTC time of position
A A= data valid; V= data invalid
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

Important notes
● Very often for TRIMBLE GPS the 1 PPS signal must be associated to the UTC telegram
and not the ZDA. If the iXblue inertial navigation system receives at the same time ZDA,
UTC and RMC time telegram it uses the telegram with the following priority: UTC, ZDA,
RMC.
● For TRIMBLE GPS, the proper settings is Time + PPS Rising while using PPS + UTC.
Avoid using ZDA only on TRIMBLE GPS.
● If no GST string is received, the quality factor is interpreted by INS as follow. At input INS
converts quality factor to standard deviation on position according to correspondence
table.

H.2 Pressure Datagram PMEVL

$PMEVL Data received: Pressure value

$PMEVL,XP,MEA,C,VVVVV*cc<CR><LF>

XP is the transponder ID (from 001 up o 128)

MEA is a mnemonic
C is the analog channel, C = 8
VVVVV is the Pressure value
VVVVV = 0 to 65535 dBars (integer)
or VVVV.V = 0.0 to 9999.9 dbars (float)
*cc is the checksum

Conversion of the pressure to immersion:

● G is the gravity: 9.79337750716075
● D is the water density: 1.026952
● A is the atmospheric pressure in mb: 1015.0
● P is the pressure in mB

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H.3 ITS TELEMETRY

Description of $PTLMT protocol: The $PTLMT protocol contains 2 types of telegrams :
● T Version: Description of data to be transmitted by telemetry and transmit conditions.
● R Version: Description of received data and reception conditions.

$PTLMT,T,bal,typ,ndu,duk*ck<CR><LF>
$PTLMT,R,bal,typ,nds,nqs,ndu,nqu,dsi,…,qsj,duk,…,qul,…*ck<CR><LF>

Fields Domain Description

Transponder ID
bal >0 T version: Telemetry is sent when the transponder bal is interrogated
R version: bal is the ID of the transponder from which the answer carries data.

Type of telemetry data (unsigned 16 bit)

• b15 : 0 = request, 1 = answer
typ -
• b14.. b03 : telemetry type (0 = user format)
• b02.. b01 : version of the protocol (0 = initial version)

nds 4 Number of user data bytes

nqs 1 Number of user data bytes

ndu 20 Number of user data bytes
nqu 5 Number of user data bytes

Service data with i ∈ {1, …, nds }

• ds 1 : reserved
• ds 2 : NMEA telemetry checksum on ds 03,ds 04,du01..du20 bytes
ds i {00hex , …, FFhex } > ck = 0 (initialized to 0)
> ck = XOR of the selected bytes
> ck ? = ds 2 to check the acoustic transmit
• ds 3ds 4 : typ (integer 16)

qs j {0hex , …, Fhex } Quality of data with j ∈ {1, …, nqs } 0 : worst quality, F : good quality

duk {00hex , …, FFhex } USER DATA with k ∈ {1, …, ndu}

qul {0hex , …, Fhex } Quality of data with l ∈ {1, …, nqu} 0 : worst quality, F : good quality

Checksum NMEA 183 of the string

ck {00hex , …, FFhex } • ck = 0 (initialized to 0)
• ck = XOR of the bytes between and not including ‘$’ and ‘*’

Example Tdbar $PTLMT,T,01,28,20,00,0B,C6,0B,D4,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00*09

Example R $PTLMT,R,50,16,4,1,20,5,00,8E,00,10,8,02,5A,84,13,E5,00,00,04,B0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,
00,00,00,A,9,B,9,9*1F

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Checksum The following definition stands for all protocols based on a NMEA sentence. The information is
computation
stored between the "$" and the "*" characters. The checksum is the 8-bit exclusive OR (no
start or stop bits) of all characters in the sentence, including "." delimiters, between but not
including "$" and the "*" delimiters. The hexadecimal value of the most significant 4 bits of the
result is converted to two ASCII characters (0- 9, A- F (upper case)) for transmission. The
most significant character is transmitted first.

Code example :
char checkSum(String theseChars)
{
char check = 0;
// iterate over the string, XOR each byte with total sum:
for (int c = 0; c < theseChars.length(); c++)
{
check = char(check ^ theseChars.charAt(c));
}
// return the result
return check;
}

Data integrity The telemetry signal modulation is using channel coding techniques (mainly based on
verification
checksum verification). The goal is to add redundant information to a message to compensate
for noise on the communication channel. Consequently, when the beacon receives a
telemetry message, it is able to validate or not the content of decoded information. 3 cases
can happen:
● The checksum is correct: the received information is transferred onto its output port (to
the INS or to the AUV controller) and the acoustic acknowledgment is sent to the Gaps.
● The checksum is not correct: nothing is transferred onto the output ports but the acoustic
acknowledgment is sent to the Gaps. This acknowledgment contain the information that
decoded checksum was not correct.
● The beacon never receives the telemetry: nothing happen (no transmission of information
on output port and no acknowledgment).

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Identification The typ field is coded on 16 bits and specifies a datagram:

Byte Short name Description

0-1 version Datagram version
2-14 code Object of the datagram (see below)
15 type PTLMT,T => 0, PTLMT,R => 1

Return code Answer to a request provides a return code giving the request status in the first byte. In the
case of a datagram having a code = 0 for user data, the first byte for the status is not filled
because the user data uses all the available 20 bytes.

Return code value Description

0 No error
1 Integrity error
2 No data received
3 Wrong argument in the request
4 Not supported request
5 Timeout
6 Target is busy
7 Wrong ticket number (only for asynchronous request)
8 Error occurred during request execution
9 Sensor is not implemented

User data The du field represents actual useful data of the datagram. Below are described all these data
(20 bytes) for each type of datagram.
Code = 0
$PTLMT,T (transmit → typ = 0x0000): All 20 bytes are dedicated to the user
$PTLMT,R (reception → typ = 0x8000): All 20 bytes are dedicated to the user

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Position Code = 1
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x0004

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1 Age of data at time of message transmission 8 bits 0.1 s
2 Transmission delay if Tx→Tp, if not 0 8 bits 0.1 s
3-6 Latitude 32 bits 0.0000001 +/- 180 deg
7 - 10 Longitude 32 bits 0.0000001 +/- 180 deg
11-12 Immersion 16 bits 0.1 [0-6000] m
13 Latitude standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
14 Longitude standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
15 Longitude/latitude standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
16 Immersion standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
17-19 N/A 8 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x8004

In reply, the request is duplicated to act the reception of the position datagram. Only the status
is updated with the return code (see return code table above).

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
1 Age of data at time of message transmission 8 bits 0.1 s
2 Transmission delay if Tx→Tp, if not 0 8 bits 0.1 s
3-6 Latitude 32 bits 0.0000001 +/- 180 deg
7 - 10 Longitude 32 bits 0.0000001 +/- 180 deg
11-12 Immersion 16 bits 0.1 [0-6000] m
13 Latitude standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
14 Longitude standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
15 Longitude/latitude standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
16 Immersion standard deviation 8 bits 0.05 [0-10] m
17-19 N/A 8 bits

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Pressure Code = 2
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x0008

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-19 N/A 152 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x8008

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
1 Age of data at time of message transmissione 8 bits 0.1 s
2 Transmission delay if Tx→Tp, if not 0 8 bits 0.1 s
3-4 Pressure 16 bits 0.1 [0:6000] dbar
5-19 N/A 120 bits

Temperature Code = 3
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x000C

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-19 N/A 152 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x800C

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
1 Age of data at time of message transmission 8 bits 0.1 s
2 Transmission delay if Tx→Tp, if not 0 8 bits 0.1 s
3-4 Temperature 16 bits 0.025 [-5:+65] deg
5-19 N/A 120 bits

Celerity Code = 4
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x0010

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-19 N/A 152 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x8010

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits

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1 Age of data at time of transmission 8 bits 0.1 s

2 Transmission delay if Tx→Tp, if not 0 8 bits 0.1 s
3-4 Celerity 16 bits 0.017 [1375:1600] m/s
5-19 N/A 120 bits

Inclinometer Code = 5
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x0014

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-19 N/A 152 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x8014

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
1 Age of data at time of transmission 8 bits 0.1 s
2 Transmission delay if Tx→Tp, if not 0 8 bits 0.1 s
3-4 Roll 16 bits 0.01 [-180:180] deg
5-6 Pitch 16 bits 0.01 [-180:180] deg
7-19 N/A 104 bits

Transponder Code = 6
Release
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x0018

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-19 N/A 152 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x8018

Byte Description Coding Resolution Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
1 Ticket number (asynchronous request) 8 bits
2-19 N / A 144 bits

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Ranging - Code = 7, version = 0

Measures
request $PTLMT,T → typ = 0x001C

Byte Description Coding Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-2 Interrogation code (IIS, CIS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
3-4 Answer code (IRS, CRS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
5 Number of measures, 0→5, 1→10, 2→15 8 bits [0:2]
6-19 N/A 112 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x801C

Byte Description Coding Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
1-2 Interrogation code (IIS, CIS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
3-4 Answer code (IRS, CRS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
5 Number of measures, 0→5, 1→10, 2→15 8 bits [0:2]
6 Ticket number (asynchronous request) 8 bits
7-19 N/A 104 bits

Ranging - Code = 7, version = 1

Measures
request $PTLMT,T → typ = 0x001D

Byte Description Coding Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-2 Interrogation code (IIS, CIS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
3-4 Answer code (IRS, CRS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
5 Number of measures, 0→5, 1→10, 2→15 8 bits [0:2]
6-7 Wake Up Tone frequency, 0→no WUT 16 bits [0 ;19500 ;20000] Hz
8-19 N/A 96 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x801D

Byte Description Coding Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
1-2 Interrogation code (IIS, CIS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
3-4 Answer code (IRS, CRS) 16 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
5 Number of measures, 0→5, 1→10, 2→15 8 bits [0:2]
6-7 Wake Up Tone frequency, 0→no WUT 16 bits [0 ;19500 ;20000] Hz
8 Ticket number (asynchronous request) 8 bits
9-19 N/A 88 bits

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Ranging - Code = 9
Collect data
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x0024

Byte Description Coding Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1 Ticket number 8 bits
Answer code (IRS, CRS) 13 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
2-3
Number of measures, 0→5, 1→10, 2→15 3 bits [0:2]
4-19 N/A 128 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x8024

Byte Description Coding Res. Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table ) 8 bits
1 Ticket number 8 bits
Answer code (IRS, CRS) 13 bits [1000:2151], [2500:3651]
2-3
# of measures 0→5,1→10,2→15 3 bits [0:2]
4-19 5 measures of travel time, 24 bits * 5 120 bits 0.5 [0:8000ms] μs

Transponder Code = 11
Status
$PTLMT,T → typ = 0x002C

Byte Description Coding Range Unit

0 Status (Not used, for compatibility answer) 8 bits
1-19 N/A 152 bits

$PTLMT,R → typ = 0x802C

Byte Description Coding Range Unit

0 Return code (see return code table above) 8 bits
Battery voltage 7 bits [0-19.05] Volt
1
Transponder position, vertical or horizontal 1 bit [0-1]
2-4 Number of seconds since Unix EPOC (1/1/1970) 16 bits s
5-19 N/A 128 bits

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H.4 Hoisting System

The hoisting system uses a PMEVL MEA datagram type.

$PMEVL,0,MEA,type,%e1e2e3e4e5*ck<CR> <LF>
$PMEVL,0,MEA,type,%e1e2e3e4e5<CR> <LF> (1)
$PMEVL,0,MEA,10,%01010<CR> <LF> (2)

Field Range Description

type 0 to 10 10 : Hoisting System state

e1 0,1 High position (1: yes, 0: no)

e2 0,1 Low position (1: yes, 0: no)
e3 0,1 Door closed (1: yes, 0: no)
e4 0,1 Door opened (1: yes, 0: no)
e5 0,1 System default (1: yes, 0: no)

ck 00 to FF Checksum NMEA 183 of datagram

(1) When the computation of the checksum is not possible, it is OK to omit the checksum, in
this case, the [*] must be omitted as well.
(2) Example of a datagram from a fully deployed hoisting system without checksum

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I Output Protocols with Transponder(s) Position

I.1 Minimum Output Recurrence vs. Baud Rate

Table 19 - Minimum output recurrence

Baud rate (bps) 600 1200 2400 4800 7200 9600 14400 19200 28800 38400 57600 115200
Messages Size (number of characters)
GAPS Std 764 21010 10510 5260 2630 1760 1320 880 660 440 330 220 110
GPGGA 57 1570 790 400 200 140 100 70 50 40 30 20 10
HiPap 15 420 210 110 60 40 30 20 20 10 10 10 10
Nautronix 76 2090 1050 530 270 180 140 90 70 50 40 30 20
Gyrocompass 72 1980 990 500 250 170 130 90 70 50 40 30 20
Haliburton 233 6410 3210 1610 810 540 410 270 210 140 110 70 40
Navigation 113 3110 1560 780 390 260 200 130 100 70 50 40 20
HEHDT 16 440 220 110 60 40 30 20 20 10 10 10 10
PHINS Std 498 13700 6850 3430 1720 1150 860 580 430 290 220 150 80
SIMRAD 6 170 90 50 30 20 20 10 10 10 10 10 10
Autosub 29 800 400 200 100 70 50 40 30 20 20 10 10
Post Proc. 14 390 200 100 50 40 30 20 20 10 10 10 10
Posidonia 6k 26 720 360 180 90 60 50 30 30 20 20 10 10
USBL-INS 1 26 720 360 180 90 60 50 30 30 20 20 10 10

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I.2 Blanking Time and Recurrence Examples

Gaps recurrence 1 s Gaps recurrence 2 s

Interr. freq. Reply TAT Blanking Pos. rate Blanking Pos. rate
code

1 beacon

TP #1 F1 (19.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 0.8 s 1s 1.8 s 2s

2 beacons (options 1: highest rate)

TP #1 F1 (19.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 0.8 s 1s 1.8 s 2s

TP #2 F1 (19.5 kHz) 23 20 ms 0.8 s 1s 1.8 s 2s

2 beacons (options 2: lowest rate)

TP #1 F1 (19.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s

TP #2 F2 (20 kHz) 22 90 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s

3 beacons (options 1: highest rate)

TP #1 F1 (19.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s

TP #2 F1 (19.5 kHz) 23 20 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s
TP #3 F2 (20 kHz) 22 90 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s

3 beacons (options 2: lowest rate)

TP #1 F1 (19.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 2.8 s 3s 5.8 s 6s

TP #2 F2 (20 kHz) 22 90 ms 2.8 s 3s 5.8 s 6s
TP #3 F3 (20.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 2.8 s 3s 5.8 s 6s

4 beacons (options 1: highest rate)

TP #1 F1 (19.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s

TP #2 F1 (19.5 kHz) 23 20 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s
TP #3 F2 (20 kHz) 22 90 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s
TP #4 F2 (20 kHz) 23 20 ms 1.8 s 2s 3.8 s 4s

4 beacons (options 2: lowest rate)

TP #1 F1 (19.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 3.8 s 4s 7.8 s 8s

TP #2 F2 (20 kHz) 22 90 ms 3.8 s 4s 7.8 s 8s
TP #3 F3 (20.5 kHz) 22 90 ms 3.8 s 4s 7.8 s 8s
TP #4 F4 (21 kHz) 22 90 ms 3.8 s 4s 7.8 s 8s

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I.3 Contents of Various Datagrams

This section describes the following output data protocols that contain the transponder(s)
position. The protocols and their contents are listed in the table below.

Table 20 - Contents of the output protocols

Ship ID X X

Transponder ID X X X X X X X X X X

Nb of recurrences X X X X X X X

Time X X X X X X X X X X

Date X X X X X X

Latitude X X X X X X X X

Longitude X X X X X X X X

Forward rel. position X X X X

Starboard rel. position Y X X X

Accuracy of position X X X X X X

Depth of transponder X X X X X X X X X

Depth of sensor X X X X X X

Accuracy of depth X X

Roll X X X

Pitch X X X

Heading X X X X X X

Roll correction X X

Pitch correction X X

Heading correction X X

Speed X X X

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Figure 81 - Output protocols containing the transponder position and the INS positions

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I.4 DATA STANDARD

The DATA Standard protocol is composed of the POSIDONIA positioning messages:
$PTSAG, $PTSAX, $PTSAY, $PTSAZ , $PTSAH, $PTASQ, $PIXOG, $PIXSE

I.4.1 PTSAG
Transponder Absolute Positioning Message (geographical coordinates and depth)
$PTSAG,#nnnnn,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,bbb,ddmm.mmmmm,h,dddmm.mmmmm,d,a,dddd.dd,a,ss
ss.ss*ck
$PTSAG,#16068,124544.449,18,12,2017,1,4305.25355,N,00631.76852,E,F,1013.10,1,9999.00*23
$PTSAG,#16071,124546.173,18,12,2017,0,4305.25123,N,00631.79102,E,F,0002.89,1,9999.00*25

#nnnnn Recurrence frame number

hhmmss.sss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
dd Day (jj = 0 to 31)
mm Month (mm =1 to 12)
yyyy Year
bbb 0: Ship, 1 to 128: Transponder ID
ddmm.mmmmm Latitude degrees, minutes and 1/100000
h Hemisphere (N: North, S: South)
dddmm.mmmmm Longitude degrees, minutes and 1/100000
d Longitude direction (E: East, W: West)
a Validity of acoustic hydrophones: 0 to F (binary coding, see below)
dddd.dd Calculated depth in meters
a Depth validity (0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor)
ssss.ss Sensor depth in meters
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

● Position validity: The value represents the acoustic hydrophone validity on 4 bits (from
0000 to 1111). 0 means channel not valid and 1 hydrophone operating properly. Gaps M7
can still output valid positions even if the validity is not 1111 (three channels are enough).
All output positions are valid.
> 1111 --> F (all 4 hydrophones OK)
> 1110 --> E (hydrophone #1 NOK)
> 1101 --> D (hydrophone #2 NOK)
> 1011 --> B (hydrophone #3 NOK)
> 0111 --> 7 (hydrophone #4 NOK)
● Calculated depth / Sensor depth: The antenna knows only one depth that is the fusion
of both depths (calculated and sensor). This “optimized” depth is in the “Calculated depth”
field.
● Sensor depth: if the Acoustic Transponder has no sensor, the value is 9999.
● In case of ship, the Calculated / Sensor depth is the depth of the acoustic center
(barycenter of the hydrophones). The Gaps Depth field in the INSTALLATION >
MECHANICAL PARAMETERS tab of the Web-based user interface is the depth of the
top flange of theGaps M7 unit. The distance between the top flange and the acoustic
center is approximately 0.6 m (589.3 mm).

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I.4.2 PTSAX
Transponder relative Positioning Message relative to the acoustic array (Relative coordinates
and depth)
$PTSAX,#nnnnn,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,bbb,xxxxx.x,yyyyy.y,p,oooo.oo,d,cccc.cc*ck
Example: $PTSAX,#16069,124544.449,18,12,2017,1,17.95,-25.58,F,1013.10,1,9999.00*27

#nnnnn Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.sss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
dd Day dd = 0 to 31
mm Month mm = 1 to 12
yyyy Year
bbb 1 to 128: Transponder ID
xxxxx.x X coordinate (+ forward) in meters
yyyyy.y Y coordinate (+ starboard) in meters
p Position validity (X, Y, Z): 0 to F: binary code of acoustic channel validity
oooo.oo Calculated depth in meters
d Depth validity (0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor)
cccc.cc Sensor depth in meters
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

● Position validity: The value represents the acoustic hydrophone validity on 4 bits (from
0000 to 1111). 0 means channel not valid and 1 hydrophone operating properly. Gaps M7
can still output valid positions even if the validity is not 1111 (three channels are enough).
All output positions are valid.
> 1111 --> F (all 4 hydrophones OK)
> 1110 --> E (hydrophone #1 NOK)
> 1101 --> D (hydrophone #2 NOK)
> 1011 --> B (hydrophone #3 NOK)
> 0111 --> 7 (hydrophone #4 NOK)
● Calculated depth / Sensor depth: The sensor knows only one depth that is the fusion of
both depths (Calculated and sensor). This “optimized” depth is in the “Calculated depth”
field.
● Sensor depth: if the Acoustic Transponder has no sensor, the value transmitted is 9999.

The X and Y positions are relative to the Acoustic Array.

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I.4.3 PTSAY
Transponder Relative Positioning Message relative to the sensor – NORTH orientation
(Relative coordinates and depth)
$PTSAY,#nnnnn,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,bbb,xxxxx.x,yyyyy.y,p,oooo.o,d,cccc.c*ck
Example: $PTSAY,#16057,124541.449,18,12,2017,1,8.89,-31.39,F,1013.22,1,9999.00*1E

#nnnnn Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.sss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
dd Day jj = 0 to 31
mm Month mm = 1 to 12
yyyy Year
bbb 1 to 128: Transponder ID
xxxxx.x X coordinates (positive northwards) in meters
yyyyy.y Y coordinates (positive eastwards) in meters
p Position validity (X,Y, Z): 0 to F: binary coding of acoustic channel validity
oooo.o Calculated depth in meters
d Depth validity 0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor
cccc.c Sensor depth in meters
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

● Position validity: The value represents the acoustic hydrophone validity on 4 bits (from
0000 to 1111). 0 means channel not valid and 1 hydrophone operating properly. Gaps M7
can still output valid positions even if the validity is not 1111 (three channels are enough).
All output positions are valid.
> 1111 --> F (all 4 hydrophones OK)
> 1110 --> E (hydrophone #1 NOK)
> 1101 --> D (hydrophone #2 NOK)
> 1011 --> B (hydrophone #3 NOK)
> 0111 --> 7 (hydrophone #4 NOK)
● Calculated depth / Sensor depth: The sensor knows only one depth that is the fusion of
both depths (Calculated and sensor). This “optimized” depth is in the “Calculated depth”
field.
● Sensor depth: if the Acoustic Transponder has no sensor, the value transmitted is 9999.

The X and Y positions are relative to the Acoustic Array

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I.4.4 PTSAZ
$PTSAZ,#nnnnn,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,#PTSAW,r,c.ccc,r.rrr,t.ttt,L.LLLL,l.llll,x.xxx,y.yyy,z.zzz*ck

#nnnnn Ethernet frame number

hhmmss.sss Time (hour, minute, second, milliseconds)
dd Day
mm Month
yyyy Year
#PTSAW Message header for attitude values during a reception
o R = Request
c.ccc Heading (rad)
r.rrr Roll (rad) [- π; + π]
t.ttt Pitch (rad) [- π; + π]
L.LLLL Latitude (rad) [- π; + π]
l.llll Longitude (rad) [- π; + π]
x.xxx Heading correction (rad) [- π; + π]
y.yyy Roll correction (rad) [- π; + π]
z.zzz Pitch Correction (rad) [- π; + π]
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

Ex: $PTSAZ,#00038,224357.921,19,05,2011,#PTSAW,R,0.012,0.025,- 0.004,0.5929326,-

2.0820059,0.004,-0.056,0.044*78

I.4.5 PTSAH
This message is used to transmit the heading to applications such as Delph RoadMap. This
message is sent at the same rate as the PTSAG ship.

$PTSAH,0,hhh.hh,ss.ss*ck

Example: $PTSAH,0,38.22,1.77*78

0 Ship’s number Always 0

hhh.hh Heading deg
ss.ss Speed over ground m/s
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

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I.4.6 PIXOG
$PIXOG,CONFIG,TIME,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy*ck

This string carries the time of the last interrogation.

Example: $PIXOG,CONFIG,TIME,083629.276,16,12,2010*4A

$PIXOG,CONFIG,TIME USBL
hhmmss.sss Interrogation time
dd Day
mm Month
yyyy Year
*ck Checksum in hexadecimal ('*' precedes the checksum value)

I.4.7 PTSAQ
Description Ellipse error of USBL positions

$PTSAQ,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,bbb,XX.XX,YY.YY,AAA.A,ZZ.ZZ*ck

hhmmss.sss Hour, minute, second, milliseconds

dd Day
mm Month
yyyy Year
bbb Transponder 1 to 128, Unknown Transponder -128 to –1
XX.XX Major axis XY long axe (in m) of the error ellipse representing the standard
deviation on the position in the XY plane m (float)
YY.YY Minor axis XY: small axe (in m) of the error ellipse representing the
standard deviation of the position in the XY plane m (float)
AAA.A Angle between the North and the major axis of the XY error ellipse Deg
(float) – 0 to 360°
ZZ.ZZ Standard deviation of the Z(m) position m (float)
*ck Checksum in hexadecimal ('*' precedes the checksum value)

Example:
$PTSAH,0,46.967,0.000*78
$PTSAG,#01396,000352.028,01,01,1970,0,4819.27243,N,06725.63359,E,F,0000.6,1,9999.0*22
$PTSAZ,#01397,000352.029000,1,1,1970,#PTSAW,R,-
0.8197,0.0122,0.0003,0.84336416,1.17682711,0.03,0.0017,0.0017,1*52
$PTSAG,#01398,000352.029,01,01,1970,1,4819.34848,N,06725.62896,E,F,0101.1,1,9999.0*21
$PTSAX,#01399,000352.029,01,01,1970,1,100.37,99.12,F,0101.1,1,9999.0*30
$PTSAY,#01400,000352.029,01,01,1970,1,140.95,-5.72,F,0101.1,1,9999.0*24
$PTSAQ,000352.029,01,01,1970,1,1.40,5.72,192.5,1.54*7E

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I.4.8 PIXSE,LABEL

$PIXSE,LABEL,aa,aaaa,c--c,aaaa,c--c,....*hh<CR><LF>

$PIXSE, Private iXblue string type

LABEL, String ID

aa, Number of couples (ID / Label)

aaaa, ID 1 Integer

c--c, Label of ID 1 ASCII* - 8 characters

aaaa, ID 2 Integer

c--c, Label of ID 2 ASCII* - 8 characters

...

*hh<CR><LF> Checksum and end of string + CR + LF As in NMEA

* no commas, accents or stars

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I.5 DATA LEGACY

BB Transponder No. or ship’s No. 0: Ship 01 to 15: Transponder

XXXXX X coordinates m
YYYYY Y coordinates m
A Position validity (XYZ) 0 to F: binary coding of acoustic
PPPP Depth BUC in meters
A Depth validity 0: none 1: BUC 2: Sensor
CCCC Sensor depth m

Example:
$PTSAX,01,00100,00199,F,0301,1,9999*16
$PTSAX,01,00100,00199,F,0301,1,9999*16

$PTSAX,04,-0010,00004,F,1135,1,9999*0F
$PTSAX,04,-0010,00004,F,1135,1,9999*0F

I.6 DATA PTSAG

The DATA PTSAG protocol is derived from DATA STANDARD protocol. DATA PTSAG
includes only the PTSAG message (see section I.4.1 ) only with transponder information
(ID field = 1 to 128).

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I.7 GAPS STANDARD

Definition GAPS Standard protocol is composed of iXblue POSIDONIA positioning messages
● $PTSAG
● $PTSAX
● $PTSAY
● all messages of PHINS Standard protocol

PTSAG Transponder Absolute Positioning Message (geographical coordinates and depth)

$PTSAG,#nnnnn,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,bbb,ddmm.mmmmm,h,dddmm.mmmmm,d,a,dddd.dd,a,ss
ss.ss*ck
$PTSAG,#16068,124544.449,18,12,2017,1,4305.25355,N,00631.76852,E,F,1013.10,1,9999.00*23
$PTSAG,#16071,124546.173,18,12,2017,0,4305.25123,N,00631.79102,E,F,0002.89,1,9999.00*25

#nnnnn Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.sss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
dd Day (jj = 0 to 31)
mm Month (mm =1 to 12)
yyyy Year
bbb 0: Gaps antenna; 1 to 128: Transponder
ddmm.mmmmm Latitude degrees, minutes and 1/100000
h Hemisphere (N: North, S: South)
dddmm.mmmmm Longitude degrees, minutes and 1/100000
d Longitude direction (E: East, W: West)
a Validity of acoustic hydrophones: 0 to F (binary coding , see below)
dddd.dd Calculated depth in meters
a Depth validity (0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor)
ssss.ss Sensor depth in meters
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

● Position validity: The value represents the acoustic hydrophone validity on 4 bits (from
0000 to 1111). 0 means channel not valid and 1 hydrophone operating properly. Gaps M7
can still output valid positions even if the validity is not 1111 (three channels are enough).
All output positions are valid.
> 1111 --> F (all 4 hydrophones OK)
> 1110 --> E (hydrophone #1 NOK)
> 1101 --> D (hydrophone #2 NOK)
> 1011 --> B (hydrophone #3 NOK)
> 0111 --> 7 (hydrophone #4 NOK)
● Calculated depth / Sensor depth: The Gaps M7 knows only one depth that is the fusion
of both depths (Calculated and sensor). This “optimized” depth is in the “Calculated depth”
field.
● Sensor depth: if the Acoustic Transponder has no sensor, the value is 9999.
● In case of ship, the four last fields are set to zero.

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PTSAX Transponder relative Positioning Message relative to Gaps array - Gaps orientation (Relative
coordinates and depth).
$PTSAX,#nnnnn,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,bbb,xxxxx.x,yyyyy.y,p,oooo.oo,d,cccc.cc*ck
Example: $PTSAX,#16069,124544.449,18,12,2017,1,17.95,-25.58,F,1013.10,1,9999.00*27

#nnnnn Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.sss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
dd Day jj = 0 to 31
mm Month mm =1 to 12
yyyy Year
bbb Transponder #: 1 to 128
xxxxx.x X coordinate (+ forward) in meters
yyyyy.y Y coordinate (+ starboard) in meters
p Position validity (X, Y, Z): 0 to F: binary code of acoustic channel validity
oooo.oo Calculated depth in meters
d Depth validity (0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor)
cccc.cc Sensor depth in meters
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

● Position validity: The value represents the acoustic hydrophone validity on 4 bits (from
0000 to 1111). 0 means channel not valid and 1 hydrophone operating properly. Gaps M7
can still output valid positions even if the validity is not 1111 (three channels are enough).
All output positions are valid.
> 1111 --> F (all 4 hydrophones OK)
> 1110 --> E (hydrophone #1 NOK)
> 1101 --> D (hydrophone #2 NOK)
> 1011 --> B (hydrophone #3 NOK)
> 0111 --> 7 (hydrophone #4 NOK)
● Calculated depth / Sensor depth: The Gaps know only one depth that is the fusion of
both depths (calculated and sensor). This “optimized” depth is in the “Calculated depth”
field.
● Sensor depth: if the Acoustic Transponder has no sensor, the value transmitted is 9999.

The X and Y positions are relative to the Gaps M7 Acoustic Array.

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PTSAY Transponder Relative Positioning Message relative to Gaps – NORTH orientation (Relative
coordinates and depth)
$PTSAY,#nnnnn,hhmmss.sss,dd,mm,yyyy,bbb,xxxxx.x,yyyyy.y,p,oooo.oo,d,cccc.cc*ck
Example: $PTSAY,#16057,124541.449,18,12,2017,1,8.89,-31.39,F,1013.22,1,9999.00*1E

#nnnnn Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.ss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
dd Day jj = 0 to 31
mm Month mm =1 to 12
yyyy Year
bbb Transponder 1 to 128, Unknown Transponder -128 to –1
xxxxx.x X coordinates (positive northwards) in meters
yyyyy.y Y coordinates (positive eastwards) in meters
a Position validity (X,Y, Z): 0 to F: binary coding of acoustic channel validity
oooo.oo Calculated depth in meters
A Depth validity 0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor
cccc.cc Sensor depth in meters
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

● Position validity: The value represents the acoustic hydrophone validity on 4 bits (from
0000 to 1111). 0 means channel not valid and 1 hydrophone operating properly. Gaps M7
can still output valid positions even if the validity is not 1111 (three channels are enough).
All output positions are valid.
> 1111 --> F (all 4 hydrophones OK)
> 1110 --> E (hydrophone #1 NOK)
> 1101 --> D (hydrophone #2 NOK)
> 1011 --> B (hydrophone #3 NOK)
> 0111 --> 7 (hydrophone #4 NOK)
● Calculated depth / Sensor depth: The Gaps M7 knows only one depth that is the fusion
of both depths (calculated and sensor). This “optimized” depth is in the “Calculated depth”
field.
● Sensor depth: if the Acoustic Transponder has no sensor, the value transmitted is 9999.

The X and Y positions are relative to the Gaps M7Acoustic Array.

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GPGGA Latitude, Longitude of the ship or Gaps, GPS quality

$GPGGA,hhmmss.ss,ddmm.mmmmm,a,ddmm.mmmmm,b,a,ss,xxx,xxx,x,xxx,x,xxx,xxxx*ck

hhmmss.ss UTC of position

ddmm.mmmmm Latitude in degrees and in minutes and 1/100000
a Hemisphere (N: North, S: South)
dddmm.mmmmm Longitude in degrees and in minutes and 1/100000
b Longitude sign (E: East, W: West)
q GPS quality indicator
• 0 Fix not valid
• 1 GPS SPS Mode fix valid
• 2 Differential Mode, SPS Mode, fix valid
• 3 GPS PPS Mode, fix valid
• 4 RTK
• 5 Float RTK
ss is the number of satellites
... ...
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

GPVTG Course Over Ground and Ground Speed

$GPVTG,x.x,T,x.x,M,x.x,N,x.x,K,a*hh

x.x,T Course over ground, degrees True

x.x,M Course over ground, degrees Magnetic
x.x,N Speed over ground, knots
x.x,K Speed over ground, km/h
a Mode Indicator (A autonomous, D differential, E estimated, M manual
input, S simulator, N Data not valid, never 0)
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

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I.8 GAPS STANDARD ALTITUDE

Definition GAPS STANDARD ALTITUDE is identical to GAPS STANDARD protocol (see appendix I.7)
except the field Transponder Altitude that is added at the end of the protocols PTSAG, PTSAX
and PTSAY. It is the only protocol where the PTSAG is different.
The transponder altitude is computed as described in the picture below:
● Transponder Depth = Z Transponder + Gaps Draft + Heave
● Altitude Gaps = GPS Lever Arm + GPS Altitude
● Transponder Altitude = Altitude Gaps - Z Transponder

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PTSAG Transponder Absolute Positioning Message (geographical coordinates and depth)

#NNNNN Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.ss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
jj Day (jj = 0 to 31)
mm Month (mm =1 to 12)
aaaa Year
BBB Transponder No. or ship’s No
0: Gaps antenna 1 to 128: Transponder
-128 to –1: Unknown Transponder
DDMM.MMMMM Latitude degrees, minutes and 1/100000
H Hemisphere (N: North, S: South)
DDDMM.MMMMM Longitude degrees, minutes and 1/100000
D Longitude direction (E: East, W: West)
A Validity of the four reception channels
0 to F: binary coding of acoustic hydrophone validity
MMMM.MM Calculated depth in meters
A Depth validity (0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor)
MMMM.MM Sensor depth in meters
NNNNN.N Altitude of the transponder

PTSAX Transponder relative Positioning Message relative to Gaps array - Gaps orientation (Relative
coordinates and depth).

#NNNNN Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.ss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
jj Day jj = 0 to 31
mm Month mm =1 to 12
aaaa Year
BBB Transponder 1 to 128, Unknown Transponder -128 to –1
XXXXX.X X coordinate (+ forward) in meters
YYYYY.Y Y coordinate (+ starboard) in meters
A Position validity (X, Y, Z): 0 to F: binary code of acoustic channel validity
PPPP.PP Calculated depth in meters
A Depth validity (0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor)
CCCC.CC Sensor depth in meters
NNNN.N Altitude of the transponder

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PTSAY Transponder Relative Positioning Message relative to Gaps – NORTH orientation (Relative
coordinates and depth)

#NNNNN Recurrence frame Number

hhmmss.ss Time in hours, minutes, seconds ,milliseconds
jj Day jj = 0 to 31
mm Month mm =1 to 12
aaaa Year
BBB Transponder 1 to 128, Unknown Transponder -128 to –1
XXXXX.X X coordinate (+ forward) in meters
YYYYY.Y Y coordinate (+ starboard) in meters
A Position validity (X, Y, Z): 0 to F: binary code of acoustic channel validity
PPPP.PP Calculated depth in meters
A Depth validity (0: None 1: Calculated 2: Sensor)
CCCC.CC Sensor depth in meters
NNNN.N Altitude of the transponder

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I.9 GAPS STANDARD TRANSPONDER

GPGGA(TP#1) This output protocol only includes a GPGGA string corresponding to the position of the
transponder with ID = 1.

GPGLL (TP#1) $GPGLL,4821.77993,N,00432.94054,W,100532.436,A,A*4A

GLL Geographic position, Latitude and Longitude

4821.77993,N Latitude 48 deg. 21,77993 min. North
00432.94054,W Longitude 432 deg. 32.94054 min. West
100532.436 Fix taken at 10:05:32.436 UTC
A Data Active or V (void)
*ck Hexadecimal checksum ('*' precedes the checksum value)

This output protocol only includes a GPGGA string corresponding to the position of the
transponder with ID = 1.

I.10 DATA LIGHT

The DATA LIGHT protocol contains only the strings PTSAG, PTSAX, PTSAY, PTSAH and
PTSAZ that are already present in the DATA STANDARD protocol.

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I.11 HIPAP HPR 400

Example: $PSIMSSB,,B01,A,,P,H,M,111.80,63.43,48.50,0.00,N,,*5E

Field Name Kongsberg Explanation iXblue values

$ Start Character
PSIMSSB Address Prop. Simrad address for SSBL
,hhmmss.ss Time Time of reception
,cc Tp_code Example: B01, B33, B47 %03d
,A Status A for OK and V for not OK A/V
,cc Error_code Empty or a three character error code ExD/ExM
,a Coordinate_system C for Cartesian, P for Polar, U for UTM coordinates C
,a Orientation H for Vessel head up, N for North, E for East H
,a SW_filter M means Measured, F Filtered, P Predicted M
,x.x X_coordinate See table below Northing
,x.x Y_coordinate See table below Easting
,x.x Depth Depth in meters depth
,x.x Expected_accuracy The expected accuracy of the position Sqrt(Tx2+ty2)
,a Additional_info N for None, C Compass, I inclimeter, D Depth, T Time forced to T
,x.x First_add_value Empty, Tp compass or Tp x inclination Travel time
,x.x Second_add_value Empty or Tp y inclination
*hh Checksum Empty or Checksum *ck
CRLF Termination CRLF

PSIMSSB fields PSIMSSB coordinates of TP

CO-ORD Coord. System Orientation X_coordinate Y_coordinate
Polar P H Horizontal range Bearing in °
Cartesian X/Y C H Starboard Forwards
Cartesian N/E C N North East
Cartesian E/N C E East North
UTM N/E U N Northings Eastings
UTM E/N U E Eastings Northings

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I.12 HIPAP HPR 418 (fix and mobile)

Please refer to the Kongsberg document HPR418BCD_revC.doc.
Transponder position message: the frame contains 32 bytes in binary format.
Example: X=1234.56 m Y=-987.65 m Depth 1234.5 m Heading 59.9° Pos. to ROV 15.

The difference between the mobile and fixed protocols is made in the Byte 3 Bit 5. The bit is
equal to 1 in the mobile case and 0 in the fixed case.

Message
Byte 0 0xDF Start of message
Byte 1 0x01 Head byte
1- SSBL position

Byte 2 0xSS Status Byte 1

Bit 0: Position Measurement OK
Bit 1: Position measurement filtered
Bit 2: Position measurement predicted (always 0 for USBL-BOX)
Bit 3: Optional data SSBL OK (pressure sensor only for USBL-BOX TP)
Bit 4-6: Always 0
Bit 7: Transceiver error (opposite of Bit 0)

Byte 3 0x20 Status Byte 2

Bit 0-1: Transducer number (MSB s/n USBL-BOX)
Bit 2-3: Transceiver number (LSB s/n USBL-BOX)
Bit 4: Training mode (always 0 for USBL-BOX)
Bit 5: Mobil TP (SSBL) Rov TP (LBL) (0 fixed, 1 mobile)
Bit 6: LBL co-ordinates in UTM (always 0 for USBL-BOX)
Bit 7: Master 0, Slave 1 (always 0 for USBL-BOX)

Byte 4 0x01 TP. Inf.

0 - TP (Transponder)
1 - Depth TP Optional Data 1
2 - Inclinometer TP Optional Data 1&2 /* not used here
3 - Diff.in.TP Optional Data 1&2 /*not used here
4 - Compass TP Optional Data 1 /* not used here
5 - Acoustic control transponder /* not used here
6 - Beacon /* not used here
7 - Depth Beacon /* not used here
10 - Responder driver 1 /* not used here
13 - Responder driver 4

Byte 5 0x00 TP ID From 1 to 127

Byte 6 0xTT

Byte 7 0xsY X position s = 0 if Y positive (X HIPAP)

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Byte 8 0xYY s = D if Y negative

Byte 9 0xYY BCD coded, LSB = 1/10 of unit

Byte 10 0xsX Y position s = 0 if X positive (Y HIPAP)

Byte 11 0xXX s = D if X negative
Byte 12 0xXX BCD coded, LSB = 1/10 of unit

Byte 13 0xsZ Z position s = 0 if Z positive

Byte 14 0xZZ s = D if Z negative
Byte 15 0xZZ BCD coded, LSB = 1/10 of unit

Byte 16 0xHH Heading MSB 0° to 359.9° LSB=0.1°

Byte 17 0xHH Heading LSB BCD coded

Byte 18 XsD Sensor Depth Meters S = 0

Byte 19 0xDD Optional Data 1 BCD coded
Byte 20 0xDD

Byte 21 0x00 Optional Data 2 Always 0

Byte 22 0x00
Byte 23 0x00

Byte 24 0x00 Horizontal error Always 0

Byte 25 0x00 Ellipse direction

Byte 26 0x00 Horizontal error Always 0

Byte 27 0x00 Ellipse major

Byte 28 0x00 Horizontal error Always 0

Byte 29 0x00 Ellipse minor

Byte 30 0xXX Checksum

Byte 31 0xFF End of frame

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Transponder position message: the frame contains 32 bytes in binary format. This message is
sent every 20 seconds and if any change in the sequence.

Message

Byte 0 0xDF Start of message

Byte 1 0x03 Head Byte TP sequence Telegram

Byte 2 0xSS Number of TP in use From 1 to 13

Byte 3 0xTT Number of TP 1 From 1 to 127

Byte 4 0xTT

Byte 5 0xTT Number of TP 2 From 1 to 999

Byte 6 0xTT

Byte 7 0xTT Number of TP 3 From 1 to 999

Byte 8 0xTT

Byte 9 0xTT Number of TP 4 From 1 to 999

Byte 10 0xTT

Byte 11 0xTT Number of TP 5 From 1 to 999

Byte 12 0xTT

Byte 13 0xTT Number of TP 6 From 1 to 999

Byte 14 0xTT

Byte 15 0xTT Number of TP 7 From 1 to 999

Byte 16 0xTT

Byte 17 0xTT Number of TP 8 From 1 to 999

Byte 18 0xTT

Byte 19 0xTT Number of TP 9 From 1 to 999

Byte 20 0xTT

Byte 21 0xTT Number of TP 10 From 1 to 999

Byte 22 0xTT

Byte 23 0xTT Number of TP 11 From 1 to 999

Byte 24 0xTT

Byte 25 0xTT Number of TP 12 From 1 to 999

Byte 26 0xTT

Byte 27 0xTT Number of TP 13 From 1 to 999

Byte 28 0xTT

Byte 29 0x00 Dummy byte Filled with 0

Byte 30 0xXX Checksum Bytes OR exclusive (except Checksum and End of

frame). Bit 7 of the Checksum is always 0.

Byte 31 0xFF End of frame

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I.13 HPR BCD

Position Telegram SSBL
Example data: SSBL TP 133. X=123.4m Y=-567.8m Depth 1234.5 m One TP in use.
Heading = 359.9° TD 1 in use Wide beam Dif.Inc X = 0.3°.Y = -7.5°.

Byte # BCD INFO.

1 DF 1: SOT

2: Head byte.
2 01
1 - SSBL position

3: Status byte 1. (bit orientated)

Bit 0: Position measurement OK.
Bit 1: Position measurement filtered.
Bit 2: Position measurement predicted.
3 01 Bit 3: Optional data SSBL OK.
Bit 4: Narrow beam.
Bit 5: Spare
Bit 6: BCD Conversion error
Bit 7: Transceiver error.

4: Status byte 2. (bit orientated)

Bit 0-1:Transducer number.
Bit 2-3:Transceiver number.
4 00 Bit 4: Training mode
Bit 5: Mobil TP(SSBL) Rov TP (LBL)
Bit 6: LBL Co-ordinates in UTM
Bit 7: Master: 0; Slave: 11

5: TP. inf.
0 - Transponder
1 - Depth TP Optional Data 1
2 - Inclinometer TP Optional Data 1&2
3 - Diff.inc.TP Optional Data 1&2
5 02 4 - Compass TP Optional Data 1
5 - Acoustic control transponder
6 - Beacon
7 - Depth beacon
10 - Responder driver 1
13 - Responder driver 4

6 01 6: TP ID

7 33 TP from 1 to 299

8 00 7: X POS RAW

9 12 MSB used for sign. (“D” is negative)

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10 34 LSB is 1/10 of the unit. 123.4 m stbd of vessel

11 D0 8: Y POS RAW

12 56 MSB used for sign. (“D” is negative)

13 78 LSB is 1/10 of the unit. -567.8 m aft of vessel

14 01 9: Z POS RAW

15 23 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

16 45 1234.5 m depth.

17 35 10: HEADING

18 99 LSB is 1/10 of the unit. 359.9°

19 00 11: OPTIONAL DATA 1

20 00 MSB used for sign

21 03 LSB is 1/10 of the unit. 0.3°

22 D0 12: OPTIONAL DATA 2

23 00 MSB used for sign. (“D” is negative)

24 75 LSB is 1/10 of the unit. -7.5°

25 00 13: Horizontal error ellipse direction

26 00 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

27 00 14: Horizontal error ellipse major

28 00 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

29 00 15: Horizontal error ellipse minor

30 00 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

31 XX 16: CHECK SUM

32 FF 16: EOR

1 Slave = 1 only when Slave Transmit enabled, otherwise no data from Slave
Example: Transponder position relative to vessel: X. 123.4m, Y. -567.8m

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Position Telegram LBL

Example data: X = 1234.56 m Y = -987.65 m Depth 1234.5 m Heading 59.9° Pos. to ROV 15.
Training mode

Byte # BCD INFO.

1 DF 1: SOT

2: Head byte.
2 02
2 - LBL position

3: Status byte 1. (bit orientated)

Bit 0: Position measurement OK.
Bit 1: Position measurement filtered.
Bit 2: Position measurement predicted.
3 01 Bit 3: Spare.
Bit 4: Narrow beam.
Bit 5: Spare
Bit 6: BCD Conversion error
Bit 7: Transceiver error.

4: Status byte 2. (bit orientated)

Bit 0-1: Transducer number.
Bit 2-3: Transceiver number.
4 00 Bit 4: Training mode
Bit 5: Rov TP (mobile)
Bit 6: LBL Co-ordinates in UTM
Bit 7: Master: 0; Slave: 12

5: TP. inf.
0 - Position of Vessel
1 - Position of ROV 1
::
5 15 16 - Position of ROV 16
17 - Position of Relay 1
18 - Position of Relay 2
19 - Position of Relay 3
20 - Position of Relay 4

6: TP. array
1 - Array 1
6 01
::
4 - Array 4

7 00 7: X POS (raw or estimated)

8 00 MSB used for sign. (“D” is negative)

9 12 LSB is 1/100 of the unit.

10 34

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11 56 1234.56m north of LBL array

12 D0 8: Y POS (raw or estimated)

13 00 MSB used for sign. (“D” is negative)

14 09 LSB is 1/100 of the unit.

15 87

16 65 -987.65m east of LBL array

17 01 9: Z POS RAW (raw or estimated)

18 23 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

19 45 1234.5 m

20 05 10: HEADING

21 99 LSB is 1/10 of the unit. 059.9°

11: Number of Tp in Array

22 55 Bit 0-3: Total number of Tp in Array Bit 4-7: Number of ranges used
Total: 5, Used: 5

23 00 12: RMS of residuals

24 09 LSB is 1/10 of the uni: 000.9

25 00 13: Horizontal error ellipse direction

26 00 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

27 00 14: Horizontal error ellipse major axis

28 00 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

29 00 15: Horizontal error ellipse minor axis

30 00 LSB is 1/10 of the unit.

31 XX 16: CHECK SUM

32 FF 17: EOR

2 Slave = 1 only when Slave Transmit enabled, otherwise no data from Slave
The local coordinates are relative to the center (i.e. the origin) of the LBL array. For vessels,
the position is normally the position of the CG. For ROVs, the position is normally the position
of the transducer. Example: N. 1234.56 m , E. -987.65 m

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TP in sequence telegram
To be sent every 20 s, and if any changes in the sequence. List of active transponders to be
packed. Tp ID 300 is used to identify an LBL position. HAIN positions are not included in the
transponders in sequence telegram.
Example: TP 001/103/ 207/133/300 in use.

Byte # BCD INFO.

1 DF 1: SOT

2: Head byte.
2 03
3 - TP in sequence telegram

3 05 3: No of TP in use.

4 00 4: TP 1.

5 01 TP 1

6 01 5: TP 2.

7 03 TP 103

8 02 6: TP 3.

9 07 TP 207

10 01 7: TP 4.

11 33 TP 133

12 03 8: TP 5.

13 00 TP 300

14 00
9: TP 6.
15 00

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16 00
10: TP 7.
17 00

18 00
11: TP 8.
19 00

20 00
12: TP 9.
21 00

22 00
13: TP 10.
23 00

24 00
14: TP 11.
25 00

26 00
15: TP 12.
27 00

28 00
16: TP 13.
29 00

30 00 17: Dummy byte (filled with zero).

31 XX 17: CHECK SUM.

32 FF 18: EOR.

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I.14 IXSEA USBL INS 1

Byte Value
Field Bits Definition
number LSB Min Max

1 GGhex 8 header 55hex

Bits 2 to 0 3 Message number 001bin

2
Bits 7 to 3 5 Transponder ID NA 0 31

Latitude (deg)
3, 4, 5, 6 LLLLLLLLhex 32 180/232 -90° 90x(1-232)°
(Two-complement coded)

7, 8, 9, 10 NNNNNNNNhex 32 Longitude (deg) 360/232 0° 360.(1-232)°

ZZZZZhex
(8+8+4 bits:
0m +10485,75 m
- byte11, 20 Z(m), immersion 0.01 m
(0000hex ) (FFFFFhex )
- byte12,
- bits 3 to 0 of 13)

Bit 4 1 Reserved

11, 12 Major axe XY: long axe (in m) of the error ellipse representing the
standard deviation on the position in the XY plane
13 000: 0 m < standard deviation < 0,5 m
001: 0,5 m < standard deviation < 1,5 m
010: 1,5 m < standard deviation < 3 m
Bits 7 to 5 3
011: 3 m < standard deviation < 6 m
100: 6 m < standard deviation < 12 m
101: 12 m < standard deviation < 25 m
110: 25 m < standard deviation < 50 m
111: standard deviation > 50 m

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Bit 0 1 Reserved

Minor axe XY: small axe (in m) of the error ellipse representing the
standard deviation of the position in the XY plane
000: 0 m < standard deviation < 0,5 m
001: 0,5 m < standard deviation < 1,5 m
010: 1,5 m < standard deviation < 3 m
Bits 3 to 1 3
011: 3 m < standard deviation < 6 m
14
100: 6 m < standard deviation < 12 m
101: 12 m < standard deviation < 25 m
110: 25 m < standard deviation < 50 m
111: standard deviation > 50 m

Angle between the North

Bits 7 to 4 4 and the major axle of the 180/24 0° 15/16x180°
XY error ellipse l

Bit 0 1 Reserved

Standard deviation of the Z(m) position

000: 0 m < standard deviation < 0,5 m
001: 0,5 m < standard deviation < 1,5 m
010: 1,5 m < standard deviation < 3 m
15 Bits 3 to 1 3 011: 3 m < standard deviation < 6 m
100: 6 m < standard deviation < 12 m
101: 12 m < standard deviation < 25 m
110: 25 m < standard deviation < 50 m
111: standard deviation > 50 m

Bits 7 to 4 4 Reserved

16 PPhex 8 Reserved

It is the truncation of the (3 599 999 ms,

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
absolute time procided by i.e. 1h - 1ms
bin the GPS to the USBL-BOX, The largest
(8+8+6 bits of:
17, 18 22 keeping only the minutes, 1 ms 0 ms values of this
- byte 17,
19 seconds, and milliseconds. field do not
- byte 18,
It is coded in milliseconds have any
- bits 5 to 0 of 19)
number. meaning

Bits 7 and 6 of 19 2 Reserved

20 KKhex 8 Status byte, Bits 0 to 8 - Reserved

Checksum
21 SShex 8
exclusive OR by byte for the whole 20 first bytes thus header included.

Immersion The immersion corresponds to the mobile depth with respect to the mean sea level (thus
definition
heave corrected). This data is coherent with the one that would be given by a depth sensor on
the underwater mobile. But it does not allow to deduce the absolute position as there is no
compensation for tide.

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I.15 IXSEA USBL INS 2

Message $PXUI2,id,lat,lon,imm,maj,min,ang,dev,tim*CK

Field 1 Transponder ID

Field 2 Latitude (deg) Resolution: 180/232

Domain: [-90 .. 90 x (1-232)]

Field 3 longitude (deg) Resolution: 360/232

Domain: [-90 .. 360 x (1-232)]

Field 4 Immersion (m) Resolution: 0,01 m

Domain: [0 .. +10485,75]

Field 5 Major axe XY (m) 0: 0 m < standard deviation < 0,5 m

Long axe of the error ellipse representing the 1: 0,5 m < standard deviation < 1,5 m
standard deviation on the position in the XY plane 2: 1,5 m < standard deviation < 3 m
3: 3 m < standard deviation < 6 m
4: 6 m < standard deviation < 12 m
5: 12 m < standard deviation < 25 m
6: 25 m < standard deviation < 50 m
7: standard deviation > 50 m

Field 6 Minor axe XY (m) 0: 0 m < standard deviation < 0,5 m

Small axe of the error ellipse representing the 1: 0,5 m < standard deviation < 1,5 m
standard deviation of the position in the XY plane 2: 1,5 m < standard deviation < 3 m
3: 3 m < standard deviation < 6 m
4: 6 m < standard deviation < 12 m
5: 12 m < standard deviation < 25 m
6: 25 m < standard deviation < 50 m
7: standard deviation > 50 m

Field 7 Angle between the North and the major axe of the Resolution: 180/24
XY error ellipse Domain: [0 .. 15/16 x 180]

Field 8 Standard deviation of the Z(m) position 0: 0 m < standard deviation < 0,5 m
1: 0,5 m < standard deviation < 1,5 m
2: 1,5 m < standard deviation < 3 m
3: 3 m < standard deviation < 6 m
4: 6 m < standard deviation < 12 m
5: 12 m < standard deviation < 25 m
6: 25 m < standard deviation < 50 m
7: standard deviation > 50 m

Field 9 Truncation of the absolute time provided by the Resolution: 1ms

GPS to the USBL-BOX, keeping only the minutes, Domain: [0 .. 3 599 999]
seconds, and milliseconds. It is coded in The largest values of this field do not have
milliseconds number. any meaning

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Immersion The immersion corresponds to the mobile depth with respect to the mean sea level (thus
definition
heave corrected). This data is coherent with the one that would be given by a depth sensor on
the underwater mobile. But it does not allow to deduce the absolute position as there is no
compensation for tide.

Immersion = Measured depth (by the USBL acoustic array) - Heave + USBL immersion

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I.16 NAUTRONIX ATS II

Message Date Time B: Transp E: Status X: PosX Y: PosY D: psoZ H: Heading P: pitch R: roll <CR><LF>

Field 1 Date dd month AAAA

Field 2 Time HH:MM:SS:mmm

Field 3 Transponder number From 1 to 127

Field 4 Status 0

Field 5 X coordinate In meters (‘+’ when directed to starboard)

Field 6 Y coordinate In meters (‘+’ when directed to the bow)

Field 7 Z coordinate In meters (‘+’ when directed to the bottom)

Field 8 Heading In degrees (‘+’ clockwise)

Field 9 Pitch In degrees (‘+’ when bow up)

Field 10 Roll In degrees (‘+’ when starboard up)

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I.17 POSIDONIA 6000

● Data received: Transponder number, Transponder latitude, Transponder longitude,
Transponder depth, Latitude standard deviation, Longitude standard deviation, Depth
standard deviation, Delay
● Data frame: Binary format (32 bytes)

Message <Sync><F1><F2>…..<F8><Ch1Ch2>

Byte 0 0x24 Synchronization byte

Data Field 1 Warning: The first received number is used as a

Transponder number
Byte 1 synchronization byte for all the other inputs

Data Field 2
Transponder latitude +/-232 = +/-Pi signed 32 bits
Bytes 2 to 5

Data Field 3
Transponder longitude +/-232 = +/-Pi signed 32 bits
Bytes 6 to 9

Data Field 4 IEEE floating point format , meters

Transponder depth
Bytes 10 to 11 Warning: Not used by the INS

Data Field 5
Latitude standard deviation IEEE floating point format , meters
Bytes 12 to 17

Data Field 6
Longitude standard deviation IEEE floating point format , meters
Bytes 18 to 21

Data Field 7
Depth standard deviation IEEE floating point format , meters
Bytes 22 to 25

Data Field 8
Delay IEEE floating point format , seconds
Bytes 26 to 29

Addition of all the bytes from 0 to 29.

Bytes 30 to 31 Checksum
Warning: 2 characters

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I.18 USBL_POSTPRO
Terminology ● CRP: Common Reference Point
● BRD: Acoustic Antenna Mounting Flange
● CAC: Acoustic center of the acoustic antenna
● RIXI: iXblue Reference Frame
> X+: towards the bow (axis of the ship)
> Y+: towards starboard
> Z+: upward
> Roll+: port goes down
> Pitch+: bow goes down
> Heading+: Bow goes to port.
● RANT: Acoustic antenna reference frame
> X+ towards H1
> Y+ towards H4
> Z+ downwards
● RIXI o CRP : iXblue reference frame centered on common reference point
● RANT o BRD : Acoustic antenna reference frame centered on the center of the mounting
flange
● RANT o Hx : Acoustic antenna reference frame centered on hydrophone x
Overview USBL_POSTPRO protocol comprises all necessary data for post processing:
● Configuration data (supposed invariant)
> System characteristics
> Beacon characteristics
● Operational environment data
> System Installation
> Sound speed profile
● Input data
> Time
> Raw navigation data
> Detection characteristics
> Ancillary data
Protocol The protocol comprises binary datagrams produced by the equipment. It contains the
Structure
sufficient and necessary data for playback of the applied real time processing.
The datagrams comprise :
● Header for identification and characterization
● Main body of data described in the header
● Checksum (bytes sum)

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Data Type The following conventions are applied:

Type Description

byte Unsigned 8 bits integer

short Signed 16 bits Integer

ushort Unsigned 16 bits Integer

long Signed 32 bits Integer

ulong Unsigned 32 bits Integer

float Float IEEE 754 32 bits

● 16 and 32 bytes encoded data are described with the Big endian convention (strong
weight byte sent first)
● NaN have a value of Ox7FC00000
System Identification: This datagram gathers the configuration elements of the system.

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 30

Header
Datagram ID byte $80

Datagram release number byte $01

0 Unknown

1 Gaps - TITAN - CL

2 Gaps - CARBON - ML
Equipment Type ushort
Identification 3 Gaps - TITAN - ML

4 U-BOX - FLUSH

5 U-BOX - CAGE

Serial Number ushort

FPGA DSP ulong

MMSB implementation
Firmware DSP ulong
MSB lajor release
Version FPGA Mother board ulong
LSB minor release
Firmware Mother board ulong
LLSB correction
Algorithms ulong

Checksum ushort

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System Characteristics: This datagram gathers the identification elements of the system.

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 16

Header
Datagram ID byte $81

Datagram release number byte $01

Demodulation frequency float Herz

Parameters Maximum phase error float rad

Maximum phase jumps short

Checksum ushort

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Transponders Characteristics

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 35
Header
Datagram ID byte $82
Datagram release number byte $01

Transponder number short Positif, Base 0

Ctrl
Total number of transponder short Positif, max 50

Transponder ID short

-1 Generic
0 RT8 MF
1 Monotonal MF
2 RT9 MF
3 MT9 MF
Transponder type short 4 BT8 MF
5 RT9 BF
6 RAMSES 6000 BF
7 ET9 BF
8 RTT4 BF
9 RT8 BF

Code / interrogation frequency ushort -/Hz < 8000 : code MFSK

Code / response frequency ushort -/Hz >= 8000 : frequency

0 None
Transponder Operational behavior byte 1 Fixed transponder
2 Mobile transponder

0 Transponder
1 Primary responder
Interrogation mode byte
2 Spontaneous (pinger)
3 Secondary Responder

Turn around time short ms

Reply signal float Hz

0 No known depth
1 Pressure sensor
Depth management byte 2 Not used
3 Acoustic telemetry
4 Configuration depth

Accuracy of configuration depth float m

Depth accuracy by pressure meas. float m

Checksum ushort

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Antenna characteristics (theoretical and measured)

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 102
Header
Datagram ID byte $83
Datagram release number byte $01

Delta X float meter RANT o H1

Delta Y float meter RANT o H1
Pair H1 / H2
Delta Z float meter RANT o H1
Delta Phase float radian

Delta X float meter RANT o H2

Theoritical Delta Y float meter RANT o H2
Pair H2 / H3
antenna Delta Z float meter RANT o H2
Delta Phase float radian

Delta X float meter RANT o H3

Delta Y float meter RANT o H3
Pair H3 / H4
Delta Z float meter RANT o H3
Delta Phase float radian

Delta X float meter RANT o H1

Delta Y float meter RANT o H1
Pair H1 / H2
Delta Z float meter RANT o H1
Delta Phase float radian

Delta X float meter RANT o H2

Measured Delta Y float meter RANT o H2
Pair H2 / H3
antenna Delta Z float meter RANT o H2
Delta Phase float radian

Delta X float meter RANT o H3

Delta Y float meter RANT o H3
Pair H3 / H4
Delta Z float meter RANT o H3
Delta Phase float radian

Checksum ushort

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System Installation
This protocol gathers all the elements describing the system geometry.

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 62
Header
Datagram ID byte $84
Datagram release number byte $01

Delta Heading float degree RIXI

Attitude sensor Delta Roll float degree RIXI
Delta Pitch float degree RIXI
Misalignments
Delta Heading float degree RIXI
Mounting flange Delta Roll float degree RIXI
Delta Pitch float degree RIXI

Delta X float meter RIXI o CRP

Position sensor Delta Y float meter RIXI o CRP
Delta Z float meter RIXI o CRP

Delta X float meter RIXI o CRP

Offsets Mounting Flange Delta Y float meter RIXI o CRP
Delta Z float meter RIXI o CRP

Sea Level Delta Z float meter RIXI o CRP

Acoustic center Delta Z float meter RANT o BRD

Checksum ushort

Sound Velocity Profile Pair

The sound velocity profile comprises depth/velocity pairs.

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 18
Header
Datagram ID byte $85
Datagram release number byte $01

Pair number short >0, Base 0

Ctrl
Total number of pairs short >0, Maximum 55

Depth float meter >0

Pair
Velocity float m/s between 1400 and 1600

Checksum ushort

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Detection and detection context

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 219
Header
Datagram ID byte $86
Datagram release number byte $01

Transponder ID short

Seconds ulong s Base 01/01/1970 (time_t)

Interrogation
Micro seconds ulong µs
Time
Seconds ulong s Base 01/01/1970 (time_t)
Detection
Micro seconds ulong µs

Latitude ulong [-231..+231] ≡ [-180..+180]

Position Longitude ulong [-231..+231] ≡ [-180..+180]
Altitude float meter

Latitude float meter

Position
Longitude float meter
accuracy
Altitude float meter

Heading float degree

Inter. Roll float degree
Attitude
raw Pitch float degree
position Heave float meter

Heading float degree

Attitude Roll float degree
accuracy Pitch float degree
Heave float meter

North float m/s

Speed East float m/s
Vertical float m/s

Latitude ulong [-231..+231] ≡ [-180..+180]

Position Longitude ulong [-231..+231] ≡ [-180..+180]
Altitude float meter

Latitude float meter

Position
Detection Longitude float meter
accuracy
raw Altitude float meter
position Heading float degree
Roll float degree
Attitude
Pitch float degree
Heave float meter

Attitude Heading float degree

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Roll float degree

accuracy Pitch float degree
Heave float meter

North float m/s

Speed East float m/s
Vertical float m/s

H1 float s interrogation
H2 float s interrogation
Arrival time
H3 float s interrogation
H4 float s interrogation

H1 float radian
H2 float radian
Phase
H3 float radian
Acoustic H4 float radian
detection
(49) H1 float dB
Noise
H2 float dB
Signal
H3 float dB
Ratio
H4 float dB

H1 Bit 0 : [0,1] ≡ [invalid, valid]

H2 Bit 1 : [0,1] ≡ [invalid, valid]
Validity byte
H3 Bit 2 : [0,1] ≡ [invalid, valid]
H4 Bit 3 : [0,1] ≡ [invalid, valid]

Known depth float meter

0 : Invalid known position

1 : Pressure sensor
Origin of known depth byte 2 : Not used
3 : Acoustic telemetry
Auxiliary 4 : Configuration depth
data
Known CAC velocity float m/s

0 : Unknown CAC Velocity

Origin of the
byte 1 : Speed profile
known CAC velocity
2 : Temperature data

Checksum ushort

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Raw Transponder Position

This datagram contains the result of position computation made in real time.

Description Format Unit Observation

Synchronization byte '$'

Total Size byte 56
Header
Datagram ID byte $87
Datagram release number byte $01

Transponder ID short

Age of position ulong µs Since emission

Seconds ulong s Base 01/01/1970 (time_t)

Time Emission
Micro seconds ulong µs

Latitude long [-231..+231] ≡ [-180..+180]

Position Longitude long [-231..+231] ≡ [-180..+180]
Immersion float meter Not tide corrected

North / North float meter2

Transponder North /East float meter2
North / Depth float meter2
Covariance position
East / East float meter2
East / Depth float meter2
Depth / Depth float meter2

Checksum ushort

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I.19 PIFM-POPSN
$PIFM,POPSN,JJ/MM/AAAA,HH:MM:SS,DDD,ddd.dd,±vv.vv,±vv.vv,CCCC,nn,
JJ/MM/AAAA,HH:MM:SS.DDD,s,dd,mm.mmmm,s,ddd,mm.mmmm,mmmm,c,c, mmmm,
[CR][LF]

Message Format Bytes

Header ID $PIFM,POPSN, 12

Date JJ/MM/AAAA, 11

Time HH:MM:SS,DDD, 13

Heading, Speed Heading (0 à 360), degrees ddd.dd, 7

Speed X, knots ±vv.vv, 7

Speed Y, knots ±vv.vv, 7

Transponder or other Transponder or mobile device ID * 4 characters, 5

Mobile Device
Transponder number nn, 3
Position
Position date JJ/MM/AAAA, 11

Time position HH:MM:SS.DDD, 13

Latitude in degrees, s is the latitude sign s,dd,mm.mmmm, 13

Longitude in degrees, s is the longitude sign s,ddd,mm.mmmm, 14

Depth, meters mmmm, 5

Validity X, Y (F valid and 0 for invalid) c, 2

Validity Z (0: invalid, 1: computed value, 2: measure) c, 2

Depth sensor data, meters mmmm, 5

Message End End [CR][LF] 2

* ID: transponder ID in 4 characters (example for transponder 1: « 0001 », for transponder 26: «
0026 »)

J Gaps M7 Phins Lever Arm

The offset between Gaps M7 and Phins configuration files is:

X1 = +0.019, X2 = +0.002, X3 = +0.03

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K Output Protocols with INS Position

The output data protocols that contain the INS position are to be found in Phins User Guide.
Here is the list of the protocols output by Gaps and understandable by Phins:

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L Gaps M7 Antenna Mechanical Drawing

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M Main Cable Repeater Box Mechanical Drawing

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N Gaps Box Mechanical Drawing

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O Rackable Gaps Box Mechanical Drawing

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