GUIDANCE MARINE RangeGuard Monopole Operator's Manual

Guidance Marine Ltd, 5 Tiber Way, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE19 1QP, UK www.guidance.eu.com

T: [phone] E: [e-mail] www.marine.direct

RangeGuard Monopole Operator’s Guide

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0191

VYMRangeGuard

Guidance Marine Ltd,
5 Tiber Way
Meridian Business Park
Leicester
LE19 1QP
UK

Tel: [phone]

UK Support:
[phone]
(365 days a year, 08:00 - 20:00 hours UTC)
[e-mail]

USA Support: [phone]
[e-mail]

Asia Support: [phone]
[e-mail]

Web: www.guidance.eu.com/customer-support

Copyright © 2016 Guidance Marine Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright in the whole and every part of this document belongs to Guidance Marine Limited
(the “Owner”) and may not be used, sold, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part
in any manner or form or in or on any media to any person other than in accordance with the
terms of the Owner’s Agreement or otherwise without the prior written consent of the Owner.
“RangeGuard Monopole“ is a trademark and “RangeGuard” is a registered trademark of Guidance
Marine Ltd. ”Windows” is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand or product names
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or organisations.

Serial No:

Date of Shipment from UK:

Server Software Version: Dashboard Software Version:

RangeGuard Monopole Operator’s Guide.
Document No: 94-0522-4-A

FCC ID: VYMRangeGuard

FCC Warning Statement

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC (USA Federal Communications Commission) rules.

Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and

2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.

This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled
environment. End users must follow the specific operating instructions for satisfying RF exposure
compliance. This transmitter must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other
antenna or transmitter.

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible.

Processing Unit IP Address:

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Document History

Document Number Changes Issue Date

94-0522-4-A

RangeGuard Monopole Operator’s Guide 02/12/2016

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Introduction

Welcome ................................................................................................................... 6

System Overview ...................................................................................................... 7

Getting Started

Dashboard Start Up and Shut Down ........................................................................ 9

Start Up.............................................................................................................................................. 9

Shut Down ......................................................................................................................................... 9

Screen Layout ........................................................................................................ 10

Main Screen and Bird's Eye View (BEV) .......................................................................................... 11

Side Bar ........................................................................................................................................... 13

Hotkey Buttons ................................................................................................................................ 14

Menu Pane ....................................................................................................................................... 15

Coordinates View ............................................................................................................................. 16

Vessel Orientation ............................................................................................................................ 17

Display Views ......................................................................................................... 18

Tracking Basics

Working with Reections ........................................................................................ 20

Detecting a Target ............................................................................................................................ 20

Reections Pane .............................................................................................................................. 20

Tracking Information Quality ................................................................................... 21

DP Feed .................................................................................................................. 22

Viewing DP Feed information .......................................................................................................... 22

Target Tracking

Introduction to Target Tracking ............................................................................... 24

To Start Tracking ............................................................................................................................. 24

To Stop Tracking ............................................................................................................................. 24

Positional Display Modes ....................................................................................... 25

Range & Bearing ............................................................................................................................. 25

Bow and Starboard Axes ................................................................................................................ 25

Multi - Dashboard Systems

Dashboard In Command Mode .............................................................................. 27

Dashboard Monitoring Mode ................................................................................. 28

Support Information

Serial Numbers and Software Versions ..................................................................30

Software Version Information ........................................................................................................... 30

To Display the About System Pane ..................................................................................................30

Product Labels ................................................................................................................................. 31

Data Logging .......................................................................................................... 32

Logging Extended Data ................................................................................................................... 32

Starting and Stopping Manual Logging ........................................................................................... 32

To start manual logging ....................................................................................................................32

To stop manual logging ....................................................................................................................32

Exporting Data Logs ........................................................................................................................ 33

Taking Screenshots .......................................................................................................................... 33

Using the On-Screen Keyboard ............................................................................. 34

Working with Alarms ............................................................................................... 35

Filtering Alarms ................................................................................................................................ 35

Using the Current and Historic Alarms Tabs .................................................................................... 36

International Standards Compliance ...................................................................... 37

System Specications ............................................................................................ 38

Index ....................................................................................................................... 39

Table of Contents

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This section provides an introduction and overview of the RangeGuard Monopole system.
It contains the following pages:

•

Welcome (Page 6)

•

System Overview (Page 7)

Note that whilst we endeavour to describe system functionality correctly in this document,
we do not guarantee that it exactly represents the version of the system that you are
running, particularly after any future upgrades to the software.

Introduction

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Welcome to the RangeGuard Monopole Operator’s Guide. It explains how to use the
RangeGuard Monopole system once it has been fully installed. For instructions on how to
install the system onto a vessel, please see the RangeGuard Monopole Installer’s Guide
(Doc No 94-0523-4).

The

System Overview on page 7 describes the different components of the system and

how they work together.

The

Getting Started section on page 8 explains how to get the system up and running and

how to shut it down again. It also details what you will see on the Dashboard screen when
the system is running, and how to interpret the information.

The

Tracking Basics section on page 19 covers the basic elements of successful tracking

with a RangeGuard Monopole system.

The

Target Tracking section on page 23 gives a thorough explanation of the concepts

involved in target tracking. It is important that you clearly understand all the material
included in this section before attempting to use the RangeGuard Monopole system for
target tracking.

Further useful information is included in the

Support Information section on page 29.

Welcome

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The RangeGuard Monopole system is the latest generation of Guidance Marine’s radar­based position reference products. Delivering accurate positional data to marine vessel
Dynamic Positioning (DP) control systems for automated approach and station keeping,
against simple monopole targets.

The RangeGuard Monopole System consists of three main parts:

•

RangeGuard Sensors

•

RangeGuard Monopole Processing Unit

•

RangeGuard Monopole Dashboard Software

RangeGuard Sensors

The RangeGuard Monopole system utilises two radar sensors which each have a fixed
beam with a 110° field of view in the horizontal plane. They are mounted on the edge of a
vessel so that the two sensor beams overlap which allows them to observe a monopole
target simultaneously. This information is then passed on to the processing unit so that it
can calculate the position of the monopole target.

System Overview

RangeGuard Monopole Processing Unit

The RangeGuard Monopole Processing Unit takes the observed signal from the two
sensors and uses this to calculate a precise range measurement from each sensor to the
monopole target. From these two measurements it then calculates the target position
relative to the vessel through trilateration and passes this value on to the client software
and the vessel’s DP system.

RangeGuard Monopole Dashboard Software

The RangeGuard Monopole Dashboard is the software application used to control
and monitor the RangeGuard Monopole system. It is installed on one or more marine­specification Type 3 Marine Processors or other computers running Windows® 7, usually
mounted on the bridge near to the controls of the vessel’s DP system.

The Dashboard gives the DP operator control of the RangeGuard Monopole system and
the data stream being fed to the DP system.

RangeGuard Monopole Dashboard Software

RangeGuard

Monopole

Processing Unit

RangeGuard Sensors

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Getting Started

This section covers the basics of using the RangeGuard Monopole system.
It contains the following pages:

•

Start Up and Shut Down (Page 9)

•

Screen Layout (Page 10)

•

Display Views (Page 18)

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RangeGuard Monopole Dashboard not
tracking

In Command
Dashboard

Monitoring
Dashboard

Dashboard Start Up and Shut Down

See Multi Dashboard
Systems (page 27)
for information on In
Command/Monitoring
functionality.

Shut Down

To Exit or Disconnect

Click on the Guidance button in the lower left corner of the screen. The set of buttons
revealed will depend on whether the Dashboard is In Command or in Monitoring mode.
Each button is explained below.

•

Disconnect—Ceases communications between the Dashboard computer and the

RangeGuard Monopole Processing Unit but leaves the Dashboard open.

•

Exit—Closes down the Dashboard without affecting the RangeGuard Monopole

Processing Unit.

Start Up

To Start the RangeGuard Monopole Dashboard

1. Ensure that the RangeGuard Monopole Processing Unit
is powered on.

2. Double-click on the Dashboard icon.
(Or run the Dashboard application from

Start > All Programs > Guidance Marine Ltd >
RangeGuard > RangeGuard Monopole Dashboard).

3. The Dashboard screen will appear. If a target is in view,
it will be displayed

To Connect

The Dashboard will automatically connect to the
RangeGuard Monopole Processing Unit at start up. If
the Dashboard has been manually disconnected or has
failed to connect then you can attempt to re-establish
communications using the Connect button.

Disconnected
Dashboard
Controls

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Screen Layout

The Dashboard screen is split into
three distinct sections, these are:

•

Main Screen and Bird’s Eye
View (BEV) (see page 11)

•

Side Bar (see page 13)

•

Menu Pane (see page 15)

Main Screen and Bird’s Eye View (BEV)

Menu PaneSide Bar

Dashboard Screen

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Main Screen and Bird's Eye
View (BEV)

The circular BEV depicts the operational area of
the RangeGuard Monopole system from above.

Vessel Outline

The length and breadth of the vessel can be
configured on the Vessel tab of the RangeGuard
Service Interface (see Installer’s Guide) so that the
vessel outline is correctly scaled and positioned
on the BEV.

Sensors

The black squares on or around the vessel
outline represent the RangeGuard Monopole
sensors. Their position and orientation relative
to the vessel are configurable using the
RangeGuard Service Interface (see Installer’s
Guide).

The field of view (FOV) of each sensor is indicated
by the shaded area radiating from each of the
sensors. When blanking is configured at short
range the shaded areas are offset to illustrate the
blind spots. Only areas where the two sensor
FOVs overlap are considered for target tracking.

Reference Point

The red dot on or near the vessel outline is
the reference point. This does not necessarily
correspond to a physical object, but is the point
in relation to which the range and bearing of the
target are expressed. The reference position
is configurable using the RangeGuard Service
Interface (see Installer’s Guide).

Target

The target is always at the centre of the BEV
and only available for RangeGuard Monopole
systems.

Screen Layout (Continued)

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Screen Layout (Continued)

Range Circles

The Range Circles act as a visual guide to show the distance between the vessel and the
detected target. Distances are shown in metres from the target. Use the Zoom Control to
change the scale of the display. (See page 12).

Radial Markers

These form an angular scale in degrees, clockwise around the circumference of the BEV.
Zero is defined by the direction of the bow of the vessel.

Bearing Tags

The bearing tag is displayed on the Radial Marker when the system is in tracking mode,
to indicate the bearing of the target. The visibility of this element depends on the which
coordinate system is being used to display the positional information (see Positional

Display Modes

on page 25).

Data Logging Indicator

This symbol is displayed when data is being logged to disk on the RangeGuard Monopole
Processing Unit. During a tracking operation the symbol is steady and when manual
logging is in progress it flashes.

Zoom Control

Click on the left-hand side of the control (marked ‘-’) to zoom out of the BEV display and
on the right-hand side (‘+’) to zoom in.

Status Display

This consists of two fields:

Primary

The primary part of the status display is in the upper-right corner of the Main Pane. It
indicates the current status of the system:

•

System Running Normally

•

System Disconnected

•

Waiting for connection

•

Communications Lost

•

Communications Error

Secondary

The secondary status display is located in the lower right corner of the Main Pane (beneath
the zoom function) and is normally hidden. It displays a flashing message for a number of
seconds in order to confirm an action taken by the user, e.g. starting manual data logging.
It can also display a persistent, static message if there is a communications problem.

Vessel Name

The name of the vessel configured on the Vessel tab of the RangeGuard Service Interface
(see Installer’s Guide).

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Screen Layout (Continued)

Side Bar

The Side Bar, the black pane to the left of the BEV, contains control and display
components in addition to the coordinates pane.

After pressing the
Guidance button: