Applied Acoustics’ Field Engineer Mark Eccleston is recently back from Korea where he lead a training course covering all operational aspects of the new Easytrak Nexus, the latest USBL tracking system from the company. KORDI, the Korean Maritime and Ocean Engineering Research Institute, purchased the system unit following comparative trials over the summer months and it was put through its paces in the waters of Geoje Bay, SW of Busan, this October.

“The Korean engineers were very pleased with Nexus,” said Mark. “It has lots of special features which make it really flexible and versatile, and now with multiple target tracking and Spread Spectrum Technology for improved range stability, its accuracy could be demonstrated very clearly. Although my Korean is very limited, anyone could see the performance was good - the system spoke for itself.”

As with all Easytrak systems, Nexus works with a variety of Applied Acoustics’ underwater targets and beacon types including pingers, responders, release and positioning transponders. The Broadband Spread Spectrum Technology, which rejects unwanted reflected signals, makes operations easier in challenging locations such as the shallow waters of ports and harbours.

Applied Acoustics, a leading manufacturer of undersea positioning, tracking and sub-bottom profiling equipment, has a new 6000m rated pressure testing facility. Newly constructed in 2009, this facility is now available for hire at the Great Yarmouth factory.

The chamber has a maximum operating pressure of 690 bar and has an internal diameter of 340mm with a useable length of 1500mm. This allows for most transducer assemblies and towfish designs to be catered for. Assemblies of up to 500kg can be handled by the overhead hoist.

The Pressure Test Tank is sunk into the ground to ease the handling of the Devices Under Test (DUT) and is positioned close to roller-shutter doors for access. The Pressure Test Tank also has the facility to offer penetrator openings through the top end cap.

Hire rates are based on half, full-day or longer periods as required.

Increased sales in Applied Acoustics’ underwater positioning equipment and seismic survey systems has necessitated their move into larger premises. The new facility, more than twice the size of the previous building, houses spacious production areas, test facilities and administrative offices as well as a new suite to be used as a Training Centre. In addition, the company has invested in a spectacular new 6000m pressure test tank which will allow it to develop products for full ocean depth operations.

“The successful launch of several new products in recent years has meant our production facilities have been rather congested,” explained Managing Director Adam Darling, “but now with much more space we can offer a greater product range, shorter lead times and more products from stock.”

The staff have worked hard and a healthy order book reflects their efforts, so I’m delighted we can step up to provide an even better service in the months ahead.” he added.

Applied Acoustics was established in 1989 and now manufactures a wide range of positioning beacons, USBL subsea tracking systems and seismic sub-bottom profiling equipment used by commercial companies and academic institutions worldwide. Their latest new product, the rack-mounted, spread spectrum Easytrak Nexus was launched recently at Ocean Business in Southampton.

The new facility was officially opened by Norfolk MP Tony Wright on April 23rd with local VIPs, customers and suppliers invited to toast the company’s success.

Applied Acoustic Engineering launched its latest USBL tracking system at Ocean Business in Southampton, UK, in April. The new system, Easytrak Nexus, represents the latest in a series of innovative developments in subsea acoustic tracking by the company. Now incorporating Spread Spectrum Technology, Nexus combines its high accuracy performance with versatility and ease of operation.

The rack-mounted Easytrak Nexus determines the position of a dynamic subsea target through the transmission and reception of acoustic signals between the submerged transceiver and the target beacon. By incorporating Spread Spectrum Technology, the frequency of the transmitted signal is able to be varied, reducing its susceptibility to interference and enabling the calculation of accurate positioning information. Spread Spectrum Technology also rejects unwanted reflected signals that have made operating in challenging locations such as ports or harbours difficult in the past.

As with all Easytrak systems, Nexus works with a variety of underwater targets and beacon types including Pingers, Responders, Release and Positioning Transponders. Furthermore, Nexus operates in both traditional ‘tone-burst’ and new Spread Spectrum modes. The Spread Spectrum (SS) Beacons include an enhanced 1000 Series with a depth telemetry option and a Bi-directional Spread Spectrum version for improved range stability. With low-power consumption the bi-directional Spread Spectrum beacons can be connected to peripheral devices subsea to send back digital data, for example current flow or heading, as well as simultaneously being used as navigation transponders.

Nexus has a built in PC running embedded Windows XP with a solid state HD. The positioning information is displayed on a separate monitor where activity of up to ten subsea targets within a specified operating area can be viewed. These targets can be Applied Acoustics’ beacons or those operating in the same frequency range from other sources.

The Swedish Coastguard has recently awarded Applied Acoustic Engineering a contract for two Easytrak Portable subsea tracking systems through its partner CA Clase AB of Göteborg. Easytrak is a comprehensive USBL tracking system that can provide vital location information on moving targets such as divers and ROVs operating out of sight underwater, and will be primarily used in the authority’s search and rescue operations, both along Sweden’s coastline and in its many lakes.

As well as the numerous vessels, boats and vehicles the Coastguard requires to patrol, rescue and assist in maritime operations, the authority also recognises the need for specialist technical equipment to add to its effectiveness and efficiency. During dynamic sea trials, Easytrak proved that it could precisely match this requirement by accurately plotting target locations, planning routes and monitoring the paths of divers and subsea vehicles in real-time, saving time and providing safety benefits in the challenging underwater environment.

“The Coastguard in Sweden is a very well respected and professional organisation with extremely high standards of expertise, personnel and equipment, so we are particularly pleased that our Easytrak tracking system was selected to add to its overall capability,” commented Gavin Willoughby, Sales Manager.

The Swedish Coastguard is the first such authority to use Easytrak in its search and rescue missions, but several European Navies already use Easytrak for mine counter measure operations and harbour surveillance while other national organisations, including police authorities, are successfully utilising Easytrak systems for a range of underwater positioning tasks.

Applied Acoustic Engineering’s range of sub-bottom profiling equipment has recently won critical acclaim during a number of operations in the harsh working conditions north of the Arctic Circle, firstly as part of a research study by the University of Bergen and secondly in the search for hydrocarbons beneath the seabed.

Scientists from Bergen, Norway, have been conducting studies to determine the origin of the Alpha Ridge north of Greenland which required them to obtain seismic data from the seabed underneath autonomous drifting buoys placed on multi-year ice. Personnel from the university had developed their own sparker sound source to suit their specific requirements, but needed an energy supply to operate remotely, in sub-zero temperatures, for a period of approximately 6 months, recharging itself from its own power supply.

Applied Acoustics’ technicians, in conjunction with the university, tackled this challenge by developing a novel seismic energy supply capable of firing a 4.8KJ shot using energy harnessed from the sun. A series of solar cells were incorporated into the unit to recharge the capacitor banks easily and sufficiently, creating a viable and environmentally friendly way round what could have been a major obstacle. The successful arrangement meant that with the buoy drifting at an average speed of 5km/day, the system could fire the sparker every 50m of movement.

The reflected seismic energy, received by a single hydrophone, was digitised and recorded, and sent to Bergen via the Iridium Satellite Network. This enabled the University’s scientists to monitor the operation remotely, returning to the region to retrieve the equipment at the end of the project. Three of these drifting seismic buoys are planned for further deployment in the Spring of 2009.

Elsewhere in the Polar region, Applied Acoustics’ geophysical capabilities have been put to the test in a very different way. Their 6000J Delta Sparker with CSP-S energy source have been utilised in geohazard surveys off the northern Alaskan coast to establish the presence, or not, of shallow gas, active faulting and potential hydrate zones. The Ultra High Resolution (UHR) multichannel seismic surveys utilised a 48-channel streamer at 6.25m spacing in conjunction with the multi-tip Delta Sparker array.

The deployment of the CSP-D and Delta Sparker system offered speed of mobilisation as it required only a two-man operation and a readily available single-phase generator on a vessel of opportunity rather than a cumbersome air compressor and air-gun arrangement on a dedicated platform.

The Automatic Variable Input Power (AVIP) circuitry of the CSP-S also proved important. By smoothing the input voltage to the energy source, a soft start is provided which gradually increases the power output, reducing the load on the equipment and keeping generator requirements to a minimum.

The project was mobilised in the western Alaskan port of Nome in October 2008 and in order to maximise weather conditions the survey was performed ‘single pass’ with good quality high resolution data achieved.

Applied Acoustics have recently returned from a police diving conference where the latest equipment and techniques for policing maritime operations were discussed. Gavin Willoughby, Sales Manager, gave a presentation about Easytrak, the underwater tracking system which can provide police diving teams with vital underwater location information.
Easytrak is used to plot targets, plan the route to a specific seabed or lake location of interest while the divers’ path is monitored on shore or on a vessel above in real-time. Gavin explained, “Underwater dive operations are fraught with difficulty and one of the biggest challenges is knowing where you are, where you’re going and where you’ve been. With Easytrak on the team it’s possible to save a lot of time during a search – plus your colleagues know exactly where you are, so it adds to your safety.”

Applied Acoustics has appointed a new agent in Italy. Mepeco S.r.l , based in San Donato Milanese, near Milan, has been operating since 1978 and supplies equipment and services for oil and gas exploration, drilling and production as well as Ocean Engineering. Applied Acoustics’ range of sub-bottom profiling equipment, subsea location and tracking devices will sit very well with Mepeco’s other sensors, instruments and components for oceanography and hydrography.

Roberto Balistrieri, Sales and Technical Director of Mepeco, is delighted to have added the Applied Acoustics’ products to his company’s portfolio. He says, “These products are very well known throughout the world for their high quality, engineering excellence and reliability so I am very pleased to be able to offer these to our clients in Italy, and some of the former Yugoslav countries.”

Commenting on the development Gavin Willoughby, Sales Manager of Applied Acoustics, said, “The appointment of specialist organisations to represent our products is a vital part of our overall sales strategy, so we are delighted to welcome Mepeco to our team of agents, and look forward to building a successful working relationship with them. This appointment will strengthen our presence in Southern Europe and will help to bring the Applied Acoustics name to the attention of new and existing markets.”

Applied Acoustics have added a further streamer hydrophone to their range of sub-bottom profiling products. Up to now the company has offered standard streamer hydrophones with 1-8 or 20 element designs but from July it is introducing a 12 element hydrophone spacing, with the array calculated to offer the optimum resolution and penetration for either sparker or boomer applications.

The length of the hydrophone streamers, as with the other variants, remains at 4.5m with a robust 50m tow leader as standard, but the elements are spaced at 250mm. Extensive trials proved this was an ideal specification to bridge the gap between earlier models.

Applied Acoustics supply complete seismic sub-bottom profiling systems including the Seismic Energy Source, the Seismic Sound Source (boomer or sparker) as well as streamer hydrophones so can provide the best package of components tailored to each application. Several hundreds of these systems are in use worldwide by marine survey companies, government departments and academic institutions.

Applied Acoustics, based in Gt.Yarmouth UK, has been manufacturing sub-bottom profiling systems for over 15 years. With advances in technology the company has been able to steadily enhance its product range to meet the ever increasing demands of the industry as regards both performance and safety. For example, the discharge mechanism has evolved from a mechanical device to a solid state switch and the mains supply demand has improved due to the efficiency and averaging rate of the charger. A very recent development, the ‘Dual Voltage Setting’ adds extra versatility by enabling the operator to ‘tune’ the boomer to a lower operating frequency and thus obtain both increased penetration and resolution. Across the product range, output current is monitored shot by shot for fault conditions. Operator safety has always been a top priority so several dual layer features are incorporated to ensure very high safety standards are met.

In the past year alone the company has launched three new Seismic Power Sources; the CSP-D and CSP-P with their special dual voltage output and the CSP-S, a compact ‘all in one’ 6000 Joule power source.

Launched at Oceanology International in London in March, the CSP-S provides both requirements geophysicists have when examining the subsea sediment layers; high resolution, shallow penetration or low resolution, high penetration. It operates both with lower powered boomer plates, such as the AA300 boomer as well as the 6000J sparkers.

Applied Acoustic Engineering is launching its latest Beacons at Oceanology International. The new range, the 1000 Series, is a more electronically sophisticated product with improved reliability. Clever engineering design has also made the new product simpler to use. The Channel Selector switches have gone and in their place is digital control from an external Smart Switch.

The palm sized Smart Switch, with direct connection to the beacon, is packed full of useful electronic circuitry enabling the device to perform a multitude of important tasks in addition to transponder configuration. These include battery diagnostics, trickle charge/fast charge monitoring & control, and depth telemetry selection. Easy to use, the small device provides a smooth and efficient set-up and provides valuable operational information on the clear LCD screen. The
new 1000 Series can also be configured direct from a PC.

“Using our years of experience and useful feedback from our customers we knew exactly what was required when we started designing this product, “ said Neil MacDonald AAE’s Technical Manager, “so we’ve perfected the set-up function and provided the operators with really useful data - just what they need in the field. Even the firmware can be updated remotely via the internet.

“This is an extension to our product range, a means by which we can cater for all tastes, as the 900 Series of beacons will retain their strong role in our product portfolio.” he added.

The addition of a standard 5-pin bulkhead connector, offering pin-for-pin compatibility, improves the versatility and worldwide appeal of the product.

“This is a important new product for the company, ”said Gavin Willoughby, Sales Manager. “The quality of our products and our engineering excellence is recognised across the globe, so Oceanology International will provide us with the perfect platform to let our customers know about this exciting development.”

Such is the enthusiasm for Applied Acoustics’ Easytrak USBL Tracking System, that three organisations have recently added extra systems to their initial investment. The customers involved have been using Easytrak in a variety of applications showing how truly versatile and valuable the product has proved to be.

GSE Rentals in Aberdeen, UK, now have two Easytrak systems in their rental fleet. “We found the one unit we had was in constant demand both to our customers in the North Sea and further afield, so it was an easy decision to double up.” said Alan Cameron, Engineering Manager of GSE Rentals.

A similar endorsement was received from Gardline Environmental, based in Great Yarmouth, UK,  who found the accuracy and reliability of Easytrak during subsea survey tasks crucial to operational success and cost-effectiveness.  Gardline’s second and third systems were delivered at the end of 2007.

The third customer ordering again is the Royal Danish Navy, who use Easytrak in their specialist diving and mine counter measure operations.  The Navy will take delivery of their third unit during the first quarter of 2008.

“We’re particularly pleased that the global customer base for this product continues to expand,” said Gavin Willoughby, AAE’s Sales Manager, “but what’s equally satisfying is the knowledge that Easytrak is fulfilling a number of key roles within individual organisations, which breeds confidence in the system, resulting in a number of repeat orders.”

Software enhancements to Applied Acoustics’ Easytrak subsea tracking system will make their debut on stand 409 at UI in New Orleans. The new sophisticated package complements the software already in the main console by providing an additional display on an external PC via Ethernet. The intuitive software also allows the user to resize or rescale the vessel graphic, utilize a measurement tool and customise the workspace.

The innovative USBL tracking system, Easytrak, is manufactured in the UK by Applied Acoustic Engineering and sold in the US by Subsea Technologies of Houston.

Applied Acoustics has recently announced the sale of its 50th Easytrak subsea tracking system at Offshore Europe, Aberdeen. The system is one of a pair that has been ordered by CaspianLab in Azerbaijan for use in their operations in the Caspian Sea. The first Easytraks were delivered in June 2005, with NIWA, the New Zealand based oceanographic institute, one of the first to recognise the benefits of the Easytrak system. Since then other units have been purchased by international survey companies such as Fugro and Gardline for user in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, SE Asia and the North Sea. Further users include police authorities, marine project engineering firms as well as a number of European Navies.

Easytrak is a compact, portable Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) tracking system that uses a multi-element single transducer to send and receive acoustic signals to and from multiple underwater targets from which range, bearing and depth information can be determined.

“We designed Easytrak not just to be reliable but specifically to be user-friendly and uncomplicated, even for a relatively inexperienced user,” explained Gavin Willoughby, Sales Manager, “So we’re pleased that it is proving its worth in so many diverse situations and different applications, including successfully tracking floating targets.” he added.

Seatronics, one of the offshore industry’s leading rental companies, prides itself on offering its many clients the latest technology from leading manufacturers. This strategy has seen them make a significant investment in further equipment from Applied Acoustic Engineering (AAE) to expand the sub-bottom profiling stock available from their Abu Dhabi operation. The additional CSP1500 and AA300 boomer plate system has been immediately used on a pipeline route survey between Qatar and the UAE and is already earmarked for other engineering surveys offshore UAE and Oman.

“The AAE equipment is our system of choice, particularly for shallow water Boomer/Sparker applications, because of its ease of use, high performance and reliability, coupled with its universal acceptance by the industry worldwide.” says Seatronics’ Director Graeme Ross, based in Aberdeen.

We know that the many AAE systems available for rent from our bases in Aberdeen, Gt.Yarmouth, Houston, New Iberia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore will provide us with a rental asset with good price/performance ratios because we are confident in the system’s reliability and the first class technical support from AAE.” he adds.

Applied Acoustic Engineering offers both Boomer Plate and Sparker Assembly sound sources as well as a variety of CSP seismic energy sources, so the optimum package can be tailored to the application.

Following on from their success supplying Easytrak underwater tracking systems to both the UK Royal Navy and Royal Danish Navy, Applied Acoustics announce a similar order for two Easytrak systems for the Estonian Navy, to be used in their mine counter measure operations.

The militarised version of the Easytrak Lite will be used by the Estonians with Ultra Electronics’ Seafox mine disposal system, an expendable remotely operated underwater vehicle containing an explosive warhead designed to neutralise the mine. Easytrak, along with the vehicle’s own on board sonar, will guide Seafox to the target.

Easytrak is an Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) tracking system that uses a multi-element single transducer to send and receive acoustic signals to and from multiple underwater targets from which range, bearing and depth information can be determined. Available as both a specialist militarised product or a commercial off the shelf system, Easytrak is acclaimed for accuracy and stability during a multitude of subsea tracking tasks in which divers, ROV’s or AUV’s are involved

Applied Acoustic Engineering proudly announce the launch of their new range of CSP Seismic Energy Sources, the latest in a long line of products from the company constantly setting new industry standards for performance. Developed with their vast experience and taking advantage of new improved technologies, the CSP-D range is set to become the benchmark ‘workhorse’ seismic power supply.

Along with an increased energy output, the innovative feature of the CSP-D is its unique dual voltage output, giving the product extra versatility. By adjusting the output, switchable on the front panel, better penetration can be achieved from the boomer plate sound source, a feature previously only obtainable to the same extent with sparker assemblies.

The other notable feature of the CSP-D (as with some other units from AAE) is the incorporation of a special ‘slow-start’ feature. This is a means of gradually increasing power output to ease the load on the sound source, so helping to avoid any potential interference with marine mammals.

The new CSP-D is available with a charging rate of 1500 J/second in three variants producing up to 700J, 1200J or 2400J per shot respectively.