Sonardyne Micro Ranger 2 USBL System
Micro-Ranger 2 is designed as a shallow water USBL system for tracking of divers and small remotely operated autonomous underwater vehicles
Description
Portable and quick to mobilise, Micro-Ranger 2 can be deployed from any waterside location or vessel, including RHIBs and small survey vessels. This makes it ideal for supporting marine operations conducted in rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The system has an operating range of 995 metres and can update you with the position of each target being tracked up to twice a second
- Recommended for shallow water tracking
- Operating range up to 995 metres
- Track up to 10 targets
- Easy to use with no previous experience
Watch this video to find out more.
Micro-Ranger 2 Overview
Micro-Ranger 2 works using a positioning technique known as Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) to calculate the position of underwater targets. A transceiver at the surface transmits an acoustic signal to transponders attached to each of the targets you wish to track. Using the return signal from each transponder, Micro-Ranger 2 determines its range (distance), bearing (heading) and depth, displaying the results on a radar-style software display.
If you’re a first time user of USBL technology, you’ll find Micro-Ranger 2 incredibly easy to use. Simply connect your computer, external GPS and transceiver to the system’s interface unit, then attach a transponder to each target you want to monitor the position of. With the transceiver lowered into the water, you’re ready to start tracking up to 10 divers, underwater vehicles or equipment. To deliver the best possible positioning performance and operator experience, Micro-Ranger 2 is built around the same market-leading 6G hardware and Wideband 2 digital acoustic technology you’ll find in our family of deep water USBL systems, Mini-Ranger 2 and Ranger 2, but for significantly less cost and complexity
Topside Equipment
MICRO-RANGER TRANSCEIVER
The Micro-Ranger Transceiver (MRT) is the key innovation at the core of the Micro-Ranger 2 system. Extremely small and light, the MRT can be deployed from the side of any vessel, pontoon, or even USV (Unmanned Surface Vessel). The configuration of the receiver elements inside provide omni-directional acoustic tracking coverage, so is ideal for tracking targets in shallow water all the way to the surface. Its design offers unrivalled range resolution and precision for a USBL system of this size.
To optimise performance in different operating environments, the MRT has a built-in diagnostics mode to both listen to, and visualise signals and noise in the water.
ETHERNET SERIAL HUB
The 1U-high Ethernet Serial Hub (ESH) provides a single, but all encompassing interface between peripheral sensors (e.g. external GPS receiver), acoustic instruments, mains power and the software running on your PC. Communications are all Ethernet based, enabling you to connect to a vessel’s onboard network if one’s available. The ESH also supports responder trigger and 1PPS (Pulse Per Second) time synchronisation across other survey systems. It can be mounted in a 19” instrument rack or in a soft case for complete portability.
SOFTWARE
Micro-Ranger 2 software comes with a lot of advanced and powerful features selected from our Mini-Ranger 2 and Ranger 2 USBL systems to ensure you have everything you need to track underwater targets. Designed for PCs running Windows 7 and Windows 10 operating systems, it’s intuitive layout means you’ll quickly feel comfortable using Micro- Ranger 2 and in no time be ready to carry out your first underwater tracking mission.
If you need to track and also communicate with small AUVs and drones, an optional Marine Robotics feature pack is available. Used in conjunction with our Nano AvTrak 6 OEM transceiver on your vehicle, the pack unlocks a host of features such as Data Exchange – used to enable modem functionality utilising Wideband 2 digital signal processing supporting user data transfer rates from 100 to 9000 bps
