Sea-Bird Electronics SBE 11 plus V2 User Manual

SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit

For use with SBE 9plus CTD

Note: NEW ADDRESS

as of January 18, 2010

User’s Manual

Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc. Manual Version #012, 09/05/08
13431 NE 20
Bellevue, Washington 98005 USA Digital - 5.2 and later

Telephone: [phone] Modem - 2.0c and later
Fax: [phone] Receiver - 2.1 and later
E-mail: [e-mail] Remote Output - 1.0 and later
Website: www.seabird.com Software Versions:
SEASAVE V7 version 7.18 and later
SBE Data Processing version 7.18 and later

th

Street PCB Firmware Versions:

Limited Liability Statement

Extreme care should be exercised when using or servicing this equipment. It should be used or serviced
only by personnel with knowledge of and training in the use and maintenance of oceanographic
electronic equipment.

SEA-BIRD ELECTRONICS, INC. disclaims all product liability risks arising from the use or servicing
of this system. SEA-BIRD ELECTRONICS, INC. has no way of controlling the use of this equipment
or of choosing the personnel to operate it, and therefore cannot take steps to comply with laws
pertaining to product liability, including laws which impose a duty to warn the user of any dangers
involved in operating this equipment. Therefore, acceptance of this system by the customer shall be
conclusively deemed to include a covenant by the customer to defend, indemnify, and hold SEA-BIRD
ELECTRONICS, INC. harmless from all product liability claims arising from the use or servicing of
this system.

2

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Section 1: Introduction........................................................................ 5

About this Manual .............................................................................................5

How to Contact Sea-Bird...................................................................................5

Unpacking SBE 11plus V2................................................................................6

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2 ........................................... 7

System Description............................................................................................7

Deck Unit Specifications ...................................................................................8

System Communications ...................................................................................9

Deck Unit Front Panel .....................................................................................10

Deck Unit Back Panel......................................................................................12

Section 3: Mounting and Wiring System......................................... 13

Mounting Deck Unit........................................................................................13

Wiring System .................................................................................................13

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software........................ 16

Installing Software...........................................................................................16

Using SEATERM............................................................................................17

Using SEASAVE.............................................................................................19

Using SBE Data Processing.............................................................................21

Section 5: Setting Up System ............................................................ 23

Setting Operating Parameters in SEATERM...................................................23

Commands Entered with SEATERM.......................................................24

Setting Up CTD Configuration (.con) File in SEASAVE ...............................26

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface............................................ 28

NMEA Interface Commands...........................................................................29

Commands Sent by User with SEATERM...............................................29

Commands Sent Automatically by SEASAVE........................................29

Setting Up NMEA in SEATERM....................................................................30

Setting Up and Testing NMEA in SEASAVE.................................................31

Troubleshooting NMEA Interface...................................................................32

NMEA Message Simulation Program..............................................................32

NMEA Navigation Device Message and Data Formats...................................34

Message Formats......................................................................................34

Data Formats.............................................................................................35

Section 7: Setting Up Surface PAR .................................................. 36

Surface PAR Commands.................................................................................36

Setting Up Surface PAR and Adjusting for Drift in SEATERM.....................36

Setting Up CTD Configuration (.con) File in SEASAVE ...............................37

Surface PAR Data Format ...............................................................................37

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output.............................................. 38

Pressure Frequency and Pressure Temperature................................................38

Converted Data Output (CDO)........................................................................39

Calibration Coefficients and PROG11V2.................................................39

Configuring CDO .....................................................................................40

CDO Commands Entered with SEATERM..............................................41

Converted Data Output Data Format........................................................45

Section 9: Setting Up Water Sampler .............................................. 46

Setting Deck Unit Modem PCB Dip Switches ................................................46

Setting Up Water Sampler in SEASAVE........................................................47

3

Table of Contents

Section 10: Setting Up RS-232 Serial Data Uplink ......................... 49

Serial Data Output Instrument Requirements..................................................49

SBE 9plus CTD Requirements........................................................................50

SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit Requirements........................................................50

System Limitations..........................................................................................50

Theory of Operation.........................................................................................51

Section 11: Operating System........................................................... 52

Acquiring Real-Time Data and Firing Bottles from SEASAVE......................52

Firing Bottles from Deck Unit Front Panel......................................................54

Processing Data................................................................................................55

Section 12: Data Formats.................................................................. 56

Deck Unit LED Display Format......................................................................57

Raw Output Data Format.................................................................................58

IEEE-488 Output......................................................................................58

RS-232 Output..........................................................................................59

Calculation of Engineering Units in SEASAVE..............................................60

Calculation of Engineering Units in SBE Data Processing..............................60

Section 13: Troubleshooting.............................................................. 61

Problem 1: SEASAVE Does Not Collect Any Data........................................61

Problem 2: Deck Unit Completely Inoperable.................................................61

Problem 3: Deck Unit Overflow Light on........................................................62

Problem 4: CTD Does Not Respond................................................................63

Problem 5: Data LED Does Not Turn On........................................................63

Problem 6: RS-232 Interface Not Working .....................................................64

Problem 7: IEEE-488 Interface Not Working..................................................64

Problem 8: Tape Recorder Interface Not Working..........................................65

Problem 9: Modem Channel Not Working......................................................65

Glossary .............................................................................................. 67

Appendix I: Command Summary.................................................... 68

Appendix II: Commands Sent Automatically by SEASAVE......... 70

Appendix III: Functional Description and Circuitry .................... 72

Deck Unit Data Interfaces................................................................................72

Data Telemetry Receiver .................................................................................72

Deck Unit Modem ...........................................................................................72

Deck Unit Power..............................................................................................74

Sea Cable Supply.............................................................................................74

Deck Unit Cooling...........................................................................................74

Tape Recorder/VCR Interface .........................................................................74

Circuitry...........................................................................................................74

Appendix IV: Replacement Parts..................................................... 77

Index.................................................................................................... 78

4

Section 1: Introduction

Section 1: Introduction

This section includes contact information and photos of a standard
SBE 11plus V2 shipment.

About this Manual

This manual is to be used with the SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit.

It is organized to guide the user from installation through operation. We’ve
included detailed specifications, setup and operation descriptions, and helpful
notes throughout the manual.

Sea-Bird welcomes suggestions for new features and enhancements of our
products and/or documentation. Pl ease e-mail any comments or suggestions to
[e-mail].

How to Contact Sea-Bird

Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc.
1808 136
Bellevue, Washington 98005 USA

Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: http://www.seabird.com

Business hours:
Monday-Friday, 0800 to 1700 Pacific Standard Time

Except from April to October, when we are on summer time

th

Place Northeast

(1600 to 0100 Universal Time)

(1500 to 0000 Universal Time)

5

Section 1: Introduction

Unpacking SBE 11plus V2

Shown below is a typical SBE 11plus V2 shipment. Inclusion of test cables,
cables for optional interfaces, etc. is dependent on the order.

SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit

Deck Unit power cable

25-pin to 9-pin adapter

(for use with computer with

DB-25 connector;

4 adapters/Deck Unit)

NMEA Interface test cable

SBE 11plus V2
Deck Unit

Deck Unit Manual

Computer to Deck Unit cable for

SBE 11 Interface (RS-232) and Modem

Channel connectors (2 cables / Deck Unit)

Spare connector & hardware kit

(1 connector & hardware shown)

CDO Remote Out

Interface test cable

Software, and Electronic Copies of

Software Manuals and User Manual

6

Deck Unit to 9plus test cable

(Sea Cable, NMEA, &

Surface PAR connectors)

9600 Baud Uplink

Interface cable

Rack mount kit

(screws not shown)

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2

This section describes the functions and features of the SBE 11plus V2
Deck Unit, as well as system communications.

System Description

Notes:

• When the 9plus CTD is used with
the 11plus V2 Deck Unit, the system
is often referred to as the 911plus.

• It is possible to use the SEARAM to
record 9plus data in memory at the
same time as 9plus data is
transmitted real-time through the
Deck Unit. This provides a data
back-up in case there are data
transmission problems over the sea
cable. See the 9plus manual for
wiring and deployment details.

Note:
The 300 baud modem interface, now
standard in both the Deck Unit and
CTD, was optional in Deck Units with
serial number 700 and lower and in
9plus CTDs with serial number 785
and lower.

Note:
The RS-232 Serial Data Uplink
interface is standard on all Deck Units
with serial number 637 and higher;

however, the 300 baud modem
interface must also be installed in
the Deck Unit for the serial data
uplink to be operational. For older

units, the interface was included only if
the user ordered the Deck Unit with
the option.

The SBE 9plus CTD is used with the SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit for real-time
data acquisition, or with the SBE 17plus V2 SEARAM for in-situ recording.
This manual covers the use of the 11plus V2 Deck Unit with the 9plus.

The rack-mountable Deck Unit supplies DC power to the CTD, decodes the
serial data stream, and passes the data to a computer (in IEEE-488 or RS-232
format). The Deck Unit’s back-pan el switch permits operation from 120 or
240 VAC 50/60 Hz input power. The front panel pro vides numeric display of
frequency and voltage data via a thumbwheel switch and 8-digit LED readout.
Other features include:

• 300 baud modem interface - provides power and real-time control for a

water sampler (SBE 32 Carousel, or G.O. 1015 or 1016 Rosette) or
remote serial output device. The modem permits water sampler control
through the Deck Unit or via SEASAVE software. Bottles may be fired
sequentially or (SBE 32 and G.O. 1016 only) in any order.
The interface must be installed in the Deck Unit and CTD.
Additional information:
¾ SBE 32 Carousel - 911plus is compatible with full size

(SBE 32) and compact (SBE 32C) Carousel sizes.

¾ G.O. 1015 - Deck Unit must also have optional 1015 control module.

• NMEA Interface that merges position data with the CTD data. The

NMEA Interface decodes messages that are output from navigation
devices supporting NMEA 0183 protocol. Decoded Latitude and
Longitude are appended to the CTD data stream in the Deck Unit, and are
passed to the computer for storag e and display with the CTD data.

• A/D converter for a Surface PAR light sensor. The Deck Unit supplies

12 volts to power the sensor, and merges the PAR data with the CTD data.

• Tape recorder interface for recording the digital data stream on an

audiocassette recorder or VCR.

• Remote output. The Deck Unit provides two remote outputs -
¾ Pressure frequency and pressure temperature, transmitted 24 times

per second, can be used to control a towed vehicle.

¾ Any combination of temperature, conductivity, pressure, depth,

salinity, sound velocity, and altimeter height, in engineering units.
A limited set of these parameters can be displayed on an SBE 14
Remote Depth Readout or SBE 46 LCD Display Box.

• Audible alarm, which sounds based on data from the CTD pressure
sensor, data from a bottom contact switch connected to the CTD,
and/or data from an altimeter connected to the CTD.

• RS-232 Serial Data Uplink interface - provides RS-232 out put from the
Deck Unit for data from a remote serial output device connected to the
CTD. The interface must also be installed in the CTD, and is included
in the CTD only if ordered with the option.

7

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2

Notes:

• Help files provide detailed
information on SEATERM,
SEASAVE V7, and SBE Data
Processing.

• NMEATest, a NMEA navigation
device simulation program, is part
of the SBE Data Processing
installation.

• Separate software manuals on CD­ROM contain detailed information on
the setup and use of the software.

• Sea-Bird also supplies an older
version of SEASAVE, SEASAVE­Win32. However, all SEASAVE
instructions in this manual are
written for SEASAVE V7. See
SEASAVE-Win32’s manual and/or
Help files if you prefer to use the
older software.

The Deck Unit is supplied with a powerful Windows 2000/XP software
package, SEASOFT-Win32, which includes:

• SEATERM – terminal program for easy setup.

• SEASAVE V7 – program for acquiring, converting, and displaying real-

time or archived raw data.

• SBE Data Processing – program for calculation and plotting of

conductivity, temperature, pressure, auxiliary sensor data, and derived
variables such as salinity and sound velocity..

Notes:

• Computer, slip ring-equipped winch,
conductive cable, and NMEA 0183
navigation device are not supplied by
Sea-Bird.

• When used without a water sampler, the
SBE 9plus is deployed in a vertical
orientation.

• Standard and optional auxiliary sensors
on the 9plus CTD are not shown.

• SEASAVE 7.17 or later also supports
acquisition of data from a NMEA device
connected directly to the computer
(instead of the deck unit).

Deck Unit Specifications

Power
Requirements

Sea Cable
Compatibility

Deck Unit
Dimensions

120 VAC or 240 VAC 50/60 Hz (selectable)

Single or multi-core armored cable up to
10,000 meters (32,800 feet) long with inner core
resistance of up to 350 ohms

132 x 432 x 432 mm (5.2 x 17 x 17 inch) cabinet with
standard 19-inch (distance between centers of
mounting holes) rack mounting brackets

8

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2

System Communications

System communications are summarized below:

Note: A NMEA navigation device can be connected directly to the computer instead of to the Deck Unit. This feature is
supported in SEASAVE V7 version 7.17 and later. The output from SEASAVE is the same, regardless of whether the NMEA
data was appended in the Deck Unit or in the computer.

9

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2

Deck Unit Front Panel

1 Power button - turns power to the Deck Unit on/off. When turned on,

voltage is applied to back panel Sea Cable connector immediately.

2 Word Select thumbwheel switch - used to select any sensor channel, data

buffer status, or other diagnostic indicators for LED display.

3 Word Display LED - used to view individual data words (uncor rect ed

frequencies, A/D voltages, etc.) and data buffer status.

4 NMEA LED - flashes each time a NMEA message is successfully decoded.

Note:

Water sampler bottles can also
be fired from the computer
using SEASAVE real-time data
acquisition software or user­developed software.

5 Overflow LED - turns on when output buffer has overflowed because

computer did not take data from Deck Unit (through IEEE-488 or RS-232
interface) quickly enough. When this occurs, some data has been irretrievably
lost. LED stays on until Reset button is pushed or a reset command is received.

6 Receive LED - flashes when Deck Unit receives characters from computer

over IEEE-488 or RS-232C interface.

7 Transmit LED - flashes when Deck Unit sends data to computer over

IEEE-488 or RS-232C interface.

8 and 9 Error and Data LEDs - Data LED comes on and stays on to indicate

Deck Unit is successfully receiving data from CTD at expected rate and
format. Error LED flashes when data from the CTD is incorrect (that is,
modulo count indicates a skipped scan). In general, if Data LED is on and
Error LED is off, CTD and telemetry link are working properly.

10 Alarm buzzer - sounds based on alarm logic for bottom contact switch,

altimeter, and/or pressure.

11 SBE or G.O. LED - Water sampler type is controlled by SW1 on the Deck

Unit Modem PCB. If SW1 is set to SBE 32 Carousel, SBE LED comes on and
stays on. If SW1 is set to General Oceanics 1015 or 1016 Rosette, G.O. LED
comes on and stays on.

12 and 13 Home/Arm and Fire pushbuttons and LEDs - operation varies,

depending on water sampler type:

• SBE 32 Carousel -
¾ Home/Arm button resets Carousel, so it will close bottle at position

#1 next time Fire button is pushed. When confirmation is received
from Carousel, Home/Arm LED comes on and stays on until you fire
first bottle.

¾ Fire button causes Carousel to fire, closing next position bottle. When

confirmation is received from Carousel, Fire LED comes on and stays
on until the next time you push Fire or Home/Arm button.

¾ When Carousel is fired via software, Fire LED comes on for

5 seconds when confirmation is received.

10

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2

• G.O. 1015 Rosette -

¾ Home/Arm button powers Rosette. Home/Arm LED comes on

15 seconds later, when confirmation is received from Rosette,
indicating pylon is powered and ready to fire. Home/Arm LED stays
on until you push Fire button. You must power Rosette each time
you fire a bottle.

¾ Fire button causes Rosette to fire, closing next bottle. Fire LED

comes on when confirmation is received from Rosette, and remains lit
until Home/Arm is pushed again. Fire button is active only when

Home/Arm LED is lit.

¾ When Rosette is fired via software, Fire LED comes on for 5 seconds

when confirmation is received.

• G.O. 1016 Rosette -
¾ Home/Arm button resets Rosette, causing arm to move to Home

position (ready to fire bottle #1) with an offset specified by SW1
on Deck Unit Modem PCB. When confirmation is received from
Rosette, Home/Arm LED comes on and stays on until you fire
first bottle.

¾ Fire button causes Rosette to fire, closing next position bottle. When

confirmation is received from Rosette, Fire LED lights co mes on and
stays on until the next time you push Fire or Home/Arm button.

¾ When Rosette is fired via software, Fire LED comes on for 5 seconds

when confirmation is received.

14 Carrier LED - turns on and stays on when Deck Unit modem (for

communications with water sampler or remote serial instrument) detects signal
from modem in CTD (i.e., CTD has modem interface and is connected to
Deck Unit).

15 Reset button - resets system. Empties output buffers and halts input until

instructions are received from computer. Always Reset before beginning a
CTD cast; otherwise, first data sent to computer may be old data left over from
end of a previous cast. SEASAVE performs this reset function automatically
before beginning a cast.

16 Signal Source switch - place in Fish position when data is to be acquired

from CTD. Place in Tape position when previously recorded data is to be
played back from an audio recorder.

11

Section 2: Description of SBE 11plus V2

Deck Unit Back Panel

1 Fuse - 2 amp (for 120 V) or 1 amp (for 240 V).
2 and 3 AC Voltage Switch Selector and AC Input - select 120 VAC or

240 VAC 50/60 Hz.

4 SBE 11 Interface - Channel (IEEE-488 or RS-232) between Deck Unit and

computer sends commands to and receives replies from CTD. Note that
Sea-Bird’s terminal program for setting up the system, SEATERM, works
only with RS-232.

Note:

An 11plus V2 with jumpers set for
serial data uplink (#6) cannot output
data through Tape Recorder (#5).
See Section 10: Setting Up RS-232
Serial Data Uplink.

Note:

A NMEA navigation device can be
connected directly to the computer
instead of to the Deck Unit. This
feature is supported by SEASAVE V7
version 7.17 and later; see Setting Up

CTD Configuration (.con) File in
SEASAVE in Section 5: Setting Up
System. The output from SEASAVE is

the same, regardless of whether the
NMEA data was appended in the Deck
Unit or in the computer.

5 Tape Recorder - connects to an audio tape recorder or VCR. Connect tap e

recorder’s Line In to Deck Unit Record. Connect tape recorder’s Line Out to
Deck Unit Play. Note that while Deck Unit has two Record and two Play
jacks, these are internally connected in parallel. This permits a redundant
connection to a typical recorder’s stereo channels. Stereo connection is not
mandatory; error-free recording can be expected even when using recorder’s
second channels for voice annotation or other purp oses .

6 9600 Baud Uplink (currently standard, optional on 11plus V2 with serial

number 636 and lower) - provides RS-23 2 o ut p ut from Deck Unit for an
RS-232 instrument connected to CTD. Requires modem channel and jumper
changes for operation.

7 Modem Channel (currently standard, optional on 11 plus V2 with serial

number 700 and lower) - Channel (RS-23 2) bet ween Deck Unit and computer
sends commands to and receives replies from water sampler.

8 Sea Cable - connects to CTD.
9 Remote Out - has two outputs:

A. Pressure frequency and pressure temperature, transmitted 24 times

per second, intended to be used to control a towed vehicle.

B. Any combination of temperature, conductivity, pressure, depth,

salinity, sound velocity, and altimeter height, in engineering units.
A limited set of these parameters can be displayed on an SBE 14
Remote Depth Readout or SBE 46 LCD Display Box.

10 NMEA - connects to a NMEA 0183 navigation device.
11 Surface PAR - connects to a Surface PAR sensor.

12

Section 3: Mounting and Wiring System

Section 3: Mounting and Wiring System

This section covers:

• Mounting the Deck Unit

• Wiring the system

Mounting Deck Unit

Detachable rack mount ears are provided for mounting the Deck Unit to
standard 19-inch electronics bays.

Wiring System

WARNING!
Life threatening voltage
(+250 VDC) is present on the sea
cable when the Deck Unit is
powered. This voltage persists
for up to 1 minute after removing
power. Verify that the Deck Unit
is disconnected from the AC
power source before connecting
the sea cable to the Deck Unit.
Unplug the AC power cord and
wait 1 minute after power is
removed before working on the
Deck Unit sea cable connector or
sea cable circuits.

Note:

A NMEA navigation device can be
connected directly to the computer
instead of to the Deck Unit. This
feature is supported by SEASAVE
V7 version 7.17 and later; see

Setting Up CTD Configuration
(.con) File in SEASAVE in
Section 5: Setting Up System. The

output from SEASAVE is the same,
regardless of whether the NMEA
data was appended in the Deck
Unit or in the computer.

Sea Cable from Deck Unit to CTD

Terminate the sea cable leads from the winch slip rings with the supplied MS
connector (MS3106A12S-3P). Connect positive power (+, cable inner
conductor) to pin B and negative power (-, cable armor) to Pin A. Connect to
the Sea Cable connector on the Deck Unit back panel.

See the SBE 9plus CTD manual for connection of the sea cable to JT1 on
the CTD.

Computer to Deck Unit

Deck Unit communication with the computer is provided in two channels. The
SBE 11 Interface channel (RS-232 or IEEE-488) sends commands to and
receives replies from the CTD. The Modem channel (RS-232) sends
commands to and receives replies from the water sampler and/or remote serial
instrument (through the CTD). Connect the computer to SBE 11 Interface and
Modem Channel on the Deck Unit back panel using the supplied cables.

NMEA Navigation Device to Deck Unit

Connect the NMEA navigation device to the NMEA connector on the Deck
Unit back panel with the supplied 2-pin MS connector (MS3106A12S-3S).
The connector pin designations are:

Deck Unit Function

Pin A NMEA A (signal)
Pin B NMEA B (signal return)

13

Section 3: Mounting and Wiring System

Surface PAR Sensor to Deck Unit

Connect the Surface PAR sensor to the Surface PAR connector on the Deck
Unit back panel. A 4-pin MS-style connector (MS3106A14S-2P) was supplied
if a cable was not provided. The connector pin designatio n s are:

Deck

Unit

Pin A Signal (ground) Pin 3
Pin B Power (+12 volts) Pin 4

Power (ground) - Deck Units with

Pin C

Pin D Signal Pin 2

- - Pin 5
Note: Biospherical sold the Surface PAR sensor with other connector types in
the past. See the appropriate drawing for pinout details if your sensor does not
have a Switchcraft connector.

Digital PCB Assembly 40937C or

greater use pin C. All previous versions

Function

do not use pin C.

Biospherical Surface

PAR Sensor with

Switchcraft Connector

Pin 1

Deck Unit to Remote Output

Connect to the Remote Out connector on the Deck Unit back panel, which has
two real-time outputs:

• Raw Pressure - Pressure frequency and pressure temperature, transmitted

24 times per second, intended to be used to control a towed vehicle.

• Converted Data Out (CDO) - Any combination of temperature,

conductivity, pressure, depth, salinity, sound velocity, and altimeter
height, in engineering units. A limited set of these parameters can
be displayed on an SBE 14 Remo te Depth Readout or SBE 46 LCD
Display Box.

A 5-pin MS-style connector (MS3106A14S-5P) was supplied if a cable was
not provided. The connector pin designati o n s are:

Deck Unit Function

Pin A Ground
Pin B CDO RS-232 receive
Pin C CDO RS-232 transmit
Pin D Raw pressure RS-232 transmit
Pin E Power (+12 VDC)

Deck Unit to RS-232 Uplink

Connect a computer to the 9600 Baud Uplink DB-9S connector on the Deck
Unit back panel, using the supplied cable. The connector pin designations are:

Deck Unit Function

Pin 3 Transmit to PC
Pin 5 Common

14

Section 3: Mounting and Wiring System

CTD to Auxiliary Sensors and Water Sampler

See the SBE 9plus CTD manual for details on wiring of the CTD to
auxiliary sensors.

For wiring of the CTD to the water sampler:

• SBE 32 Carousel - Connect the CTD’s 6-pin top center JT7 connector to

the 6-pin bulkhead connector at the bottom of the Carousel electronics
housing with the 6-pin to 6-pin jumper cable (17198).

• G.O. 1015 Rosette - Connect the CTD’s 3-pin JT4 connector to the

Rosette. The G.O. 1015 has 2 polarity settings, normal and reverse, which
refer to the sea cable polarity. Most commonly, it is set to reverse,
especially when used with a MK III CTD. The 9plus CTD can be used
with the G.O. 1015 in either setting by choosing the appropriate interface
cable: 17196 for reverse or 17533 for normal. If you have only one
interface cable, the polarity setting of the G.O. 1015 can be changed to
correspond with your cable. Application Note 35 gives detailed
instructions.

• G.O. 1016 Rosette - Connect the CTD’s 6-pin top center JT7 connector

to the Rosette.

WARNING!
Some oceanographic vessels
isolate (un-ground) the AC power
ground circuit. If the Deck Unit
is being installed on a vessel
with an isolated AC power
ground, a secure separate
ground connection must be
made between the Deck Unit
chassis and the ship’s hull for
SAFETY REASONS.

Power to Deck Unit

Verify that the Deck Unit back panel power selector switch is in the correct
position (120 or 240 VAC) for your mains power source. Connect power to the
AC Input connector on the Deck Unit back panel using the supplied cable.

CAUTION:

Connecting a Deck Unit set for
120 volts to a 240 volt power supply
will cause severe damage to the
Deck Unit.

15

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Sof tware

This section briefly covers:

• Installing Sea-Bird software

• Using SEATERM terminal program software for instrument setup

• Using SEASAVE real-time data acquisition software

• Using SBE Data Processing post-processing software

See the software manuals and Help files for detailed information.

Installing Software

Sea-Bird recommends the following minimum system requirements for
SEASOFT-Win32: Windows 2000 or later, 500 MHz processor, 256 MB
RAM, and 90 MB free disk space for installation.

If not already installed, install Sea-Bird software programs on your computer

Notes:

• Help files provide detailed
information on SEATERM,
SEASAVE V7, and SBE Data
Processing.

• NMEATest, a NMEA navigation
device simulation program, is part of
the SBE Data Processing
installation.

• Separate software manuals on CD­ROM contain detailed information on
the setup and use of the software.

• Sea-Bird also supplies an older
version of SEASAVE, SEASAVE­Win32. However, all SEASAVE
instructions in this manual are
written for SEASAVE V7. See
SEASAVE-Win32’s manual and/or
Help files if you prefer to use the
older software.

using the supplied software CD.

Install as follows:

1. With the CD in your CD drive, double click on Seasoft-Win32.exe.

2. Follow the dialog box directions to install the software.

Install all the components, or just install SEATERM (terminal program),
SEASAVE V7 (real-time data acquisition), and SBE Data Processing (data
processing). The default location for the software is c:\Program Files\Sea-Bird.
Within that folder is a sub-directory for each program.

16

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software

Using SEATERM

1. Connect the desired Deck Unit connector (SBE 11 Interface RS-232,

Notes:

• See SEATERM’s Help files for

detailed information.

•

The IEE-488 interface does not
work with SEATERM. You must
use the RS-232 interface for
setting up the instrument in
SEATERM.

Remote Out, 9600 Baud Uplink, or Modem) to the computer using the
supplied cable.

2. Double click on SeaTerm.exe. If this is the first time the program is used,

the setup dialog box may appear:

SBE11 Remote Out

Select the instrument type (for example, SBE 11 Remote Out if connected
to the Remote Out connector) and the computer COM port for
communication with the instrument. Click OK.

3. The main screen looks like this:

Menus

Toolbar

Command/Data Echo Area

Capture

Status bar

Computer

Instrument

SBE11Remote

Instrument

EPROM version

COM port

Baud rate, data bits,

stop bits, and parity

• Menus – For tasks and frequently executed instrument commands.

• Toolbar –Buttons for frequently executed tasks and instrument

commands. All tasks and commands accessed here are also available
in the Menus. To display or hide the Toolbar, select View Toolbar in
the View menu. Grayed out buttons are not applicable.

• Command/Data Echo Area – Echoes (if applicable) a command

executed using a Menu or Toolbar button, as well as the instrument’s
response. Additionally, a command can be manually typed in this
area, from the available commands for the instrument.

• Status bar – Provides status information. To display or hide the Status

bar, select View Status bar in the View menu.

Upload

parameter

to file

status –

grayed

out if not

capturing

17

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software

Following are the Toolbar buttons applicable to the Deck Unit (varies,
depending on which interface is connected):

Toolbar
Buttons

Connect

Description

Re-establish communications with instrument.
Computer responds with S> prompt.

Equivalent

Command

(press Enter key)

Capture instrument responses on screen to file;

Capture

useful for diagnostics. File has .cap extension.
Press Capture again to turn off capture.

—

Capture status displays in Status bar.
Free computer COM port used to communicate

Disconnect

with instrument. COM port can then be used

—

by another program.

4. In the Configure menu, select the interface corresponding to the

connection between the computer and the Deck Unit:

• SBE 11 Interface - connection to SBE 11 Interface RS-232 used for

general Deck Unit setup; see Section 5: Setting Up System for details

• SBE 11 Modem

• SBE 11 Remote Out - used to set up Converted Data Output (CDO);

see Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output for details

• SBE 11 9600 Baud Uplink
The Configuration dialog box appears (exam ple sho w n fo r
SBE 11 Remote Out).

Computer COM port, baud rate,
data bits, and parity for
communication between computer
and Remote Output interface

5. Turn on power to the Deck Unit. Send commands as desired. See

For communication
between computer and
Remote Output interface

Make the selections in the Configuration Options dialog box to
correspond to the information on the Deck Unit Configuration Sheet.
Click OK to save the settings.

Section 5: Setting Up System, Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output,
Section 9: Setting Up Water Sampler, and Section 10: Setting Up RS-232
Serial Data Uplink for details.

18

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software

Using SEASAVE

Notes:

• See SEASAVE V7’s help files for

detailed information.

•

Older SEASAVE versions (<6.0)
saved CTD data coming from the
Deck Unit as a .dat file instead of a
.hex file.

SEASAVE provides real-time data acquisition and display of data, as well as
control of bottle firing for a system with a water sampler. When used with the
SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit, SEASAVE can save the real-time data to a .hex
file on the computer.

1. Double click on Seasave.exe. SEASAVE’s main window looks like this:

• Title bar – The title bar shows the selected instrument type and the

path and file name for the program setup (.psa) file. The .psa file
contains all the instrument setup information as well as size,
placement, and setup for each display window.

• Menus - The Menus contain options for setting up the instrument and

the displays, as well as for starting data acquisition.

• Status display - This display provides the following information:

¾ If SEASAVE is acquiring real-time data or reading archived data
¾ If SEASAVE is storing real-time data to a file; output data

file name

¾ Instrument configuration (.con) file name
To display or hide the Status, select Status in the Display menu.

• Data display windows – SEASAVE can display as many data

windows as desired (within the limits of your computer’s resources).
The windows can be set up to display real-time data (conductivity,
temperature, pressure, etc.) as well as calculated parameters such as
salinity and sound velocity. There are three windows types:
¾ Fixed Display has a vertical list of selected parameters to the left,

and displays their current values to the right.

¾ Scrolled Display has a list of selected parameters across the top,

and displays the data in scrolling vertical columns.

¾ Plot Display plots 1 parameter on the y-axis and up to 4 on t he

x-axis, or 1 parameter on the x-axis and up to 4 on the y-axis.

2. Add displays as desired by selecting Add New . . . Display Window in the

Display menu.

19

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software

3. In Configure Inputs, set up the following:

• Instrument Configuration – instrument configuration (.con) file,

which defines what sensors are integrated with the CTD and what
channels are used by the sensors, sensor calibration coefficients, and
what other data is integrated with the data stream from the 9plus

• Serial Ports – define communication parameters for SBE 11 Interface

channel (sends commands to and receives replies from 9plus); COM
port for Modem Channel (sends commands to and receives replies
from the water sampler, and sends pump on/off commands to 9plus
with custom pump control); and COM ports for serial data ou tput and
SBE 14 Remote Display

• Water Sampler – enable and set up control of bottle firing for a

water sampler

• TCP/IP Ports – define ports for communication with SEASAVE and

for publishing data to remote clients

• Miscellaneous – define parameters req uired for out p ut of de pt h,

average sound velocity, descent rate, acceleration, oxygen, plume
anomaly, and/or potential temperature anomaly

• Pump Control – enable user pump control for a custom 9plus

4. In Configure Outputs, set up the following:

• Serial Data Out – enable and set up output of selected raw data

(frequencies and/or voltages) and/or convert ed dat a (en gi ne e ri n g
units) to a COM port on your computer

• Serial Ports – define communication parameters for SBE 11 Interface

channel (sends commands to and receives replies from the 9plus);
COM port for Modem Channel (sends commands to and receives
replies from the water sampler, and sends pump on/off commands to
9plus with custom pump control); and COM ports for serial data
output and SBE 14 Remote display

• Shared File Out – enable and set up output of selected raw data

(frequencies and/or voltages) and/or convert ed dat a (en gi ne e ri n g
units) to a shared file on your computer

• Mark Variables - define variables to be written to a file each time the

user marks a scan in SEASAVE during data acquisition

• TCP/IP Out – enable and set up output of raw and/or converted

(engineering units) data to TCP/IP ports

• TCP/IP Ports – define ports for communication with SEASAVE and

for publishing data to remote clients

• SBE 11plus Alarms – enable and set up Deck Unit’s pressure and/or

Notes:

• The Deck Unit’s alarm does not
require any setup for a bottom
contact switch integrated with
the 9plus.

• SBE 14 Remote Display does not
apply to an SBE 14 connected

directly to the Deck Unit’s Remote
Out connector, which is the typical
usage. See Section 8: Setting Up
Remote Output for setup for the
typical usage.

altimeter alarm
SBE 14 Remote Display – enable and set up data output to an SBE 14

•

Remote Display, and set up SBE 14 pressure, altimeter, and/or
bottom contact switch alarms, for an SBE 14 connected to a
computer COM port

• PC Alarms – enable and set up pressure, altimeter, and/or bottom

contact switch alarms in the computer running SEASAVE

• Header Form – create a customized header written to the data file

• Diagnostics – enable and set up diagnostic outputs, to assist in

troubleshooting if you encounter difficulty running the software

5. When ready to begin data acquisition , select Start in the Real-Time Data

menu. See Section 11: Operating System for details.

20

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software

Using SBE Data Processing

SBE Data Processing provides post-processing modules for the real-time data
acquired in SEASAVE. The modules include:

Note:

Older SEASAVE versions (<6.0) saved
CTD data coming from the Deck Unit
as a .dat file instead of a .hex file.

Module Description

Data Conversion Modules

Data
Conversion
Bottle
Summary

Convert raw .hex data from SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit to
engineering units, and store converted data in a .cnv file.
Summarize data from water sampler bottle .ros file,
storing results in .btl file.

Mark Scan Create .bsr bottle scan range file from .mrk data file.

Data Processing Modules
Align CTD

Bin Average

Buoyancy
Cell Thermal

Mass

Align data (typically conductivity, temperature, and
oxygen) relative to pressure.
Average data into bins based on pressure, depth, sca n
number, or time range.
Compute Brunt Väisälä buoyancy and stability
frequency.

Perform conductivity thermal mass correction.
Calculate derived variables, such as salinity, density,

Derive

sound velocity, oxygen, potential temperature, dynamic
height, etc.

Loop Edit

Mark a scan with badflag if scan fails pressure reversal or
minimum velocity tests.

Wild Edit Mark a data value with badflag to eliminate wild points.
Window Filter

Filter data with triangle, cosine, boxcar, gaussian, or
median window.

File Manipulation Modules

ASCII In

Add header information to a .asc file containing rows and
columns of ASCII data.
Output data portion and/or header porti o n fr om .cnv file

ASCII Out

to an ASCII file; useful for exporting converted data for

processing by other (non-Sea-Bird) software.
Section Extract rows of data from .cnv file.
Split Split data in .cnv file into upcast and downcast files.
Strip Extract columns of data from .cnv file.

Translate

Convert data format in .cnv file from ASCII to binary, or

vice versa.

Data Plotting Modules

Sea Plot Plot data at any point after Data Conversion has been run.

Miscellaneous

SeacalcW

Calculate derived variables from one user-input scan of

temperature, pressure, etc.

21

Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software

To get started using SBE Data Processing:

Note:

See SBE Data Processing’s Help
files for detailed information.

1. Double click on SBEDataProc.exe. SBE Data Processing’s main window

looks like this:

Note:

The .con file used in SBE Data
Processing is the same as the file
that is used during real-time data
acquisition in SEASAVE.
convenience, both SEASAVE and
SBE Data Processing allow you to
create/modify a .con file.

For user

The window’s menus are described below:

• Run -
¾ List of the post-processing modules: Select the desired module to set

up the module parameters and process data.

¾ Run Options: Select Run Options to assist in automating processing.
¾ Exit: Select to exit the program.

• Configure - contains a list of Sea-Bird instruments that require a
configuration (.con) file. Select the desired instrument (911/917plus CTD)
to modify or create a .con file for that instrument. The .con file defines the
number and type of sensors interfacing with the instrument, as well as the
sensor calibration coefficients.

22

Section 5: Setting Up System

Section 5: Setting Up System

This section covers:

• Setting up general operating parameters for the Deck Unit in SEATERM

• Setting up the CTD configuration (.con) file in SEASAVE

See the following for details on setting up:

• NMEA Interface - Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

• Surface PAR - Section 7: Setting Up Surface PAR

• Remote Output - Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

• Water Sampler - Section 9: Setting Up Water Sampl e r

• RS-232 Serial Data Uplink - Section 10: Setting Up RS-232 Serial

Data Uplink

Setting Operating Parameters in SEATERM

1. Connect the Deck Unit’s SBE 11 Interface RS-232 connector to
the computer.

2. Double click on SeaTerm.exe.

3. In the Configure menu, select the SBE 11 Interface. The Configuration
Options dialog box appears. Set:

• Firmware Version - Version 5.0 or greater

• Comm Port - for connection of SBE 11 Interface to computer

• Baud Rate - 19200

• Data Bits - 8

• Parity - none

• Mode - RS-232

Click OK to save the settings and exit the dialog box.

4. Turn on power to the Deck Unit, or if already on send the status (DS)
command. The display in SEATERM looks like this:

SBE 11plus V 5.2
number of scans to average = 8
pressure baud rate = 9600
NMEA baud rate = 4800
surface PAR voltage added to scan
A/D offset = 0
GPIB address = 1
advance primary conductivity 0.073 seconds
advance secondary conductivity 0.073 seconds
autorun on power up is disabled

See Commands Entered with SEATERM below for a description of each
output line from the status command.
If the system does not respond as described:

• Verify the correct instrument interface (SBE 11 Interface) was

selected in the Configure menu and the settings were entered
correctly in the Configuration Options dialog box.

• Check cabling between the computer and Deck Unit.

5. Send commands to modify the system setup as desired. See Commands
Entered with SEATERM below.

23

Section 5: Setting Up System

Commands Entered with SEATERM

Notes:

• S> prompt indicates Deck Unit is
connected to computer and ready for
a command.

• Commands can be entered in upper
or lower case.

• When the computer is connected to
the SBE 11 Interface, SEATERM
does not echo commands as you
type them. Verify that a command
was interpreted correctly by sending
DS to check appropriate
parameter(s).

Note:

Response to status command appears
automatically when Deck Unit is
powered up, except if AutoRun=Y.

The following status and setup commands are transmitted by the user to the
Deck Unit’s SBE 11 Interface using SEATERM.

Status Command

DS Display Deck Unit setup and status parameters.

List below includes, where applicable, command
used to modify parameter:

• Digital PCB firmware version

• Number of scans to average in Deck Unit -

Deck Unit averages and saves to disk at this
rate. For full rate data (24 Hz), set to 1

• Pressure baud rate for communication through

Remote Out connector (PBaud=)

• NMEA baud rate for communication through

NMEA connector (NMEABaud=)

• Surface PAR voltage added to scan; appears

only if Surface PAR enabled (AddSPAR=)

• A/D offset for Surface PAR to adjust for drift

in electronics (Offset=); appears only if
Surface PAR enabled

• GPIB address for IEEE-488 communication

with computer (GPIB=); must be 1 for use
with SEASAVE

• Advances for any conductivity (AdvanceCn=)

and voltage (AdvanceVn=) channels; each
channel appears only if its advance is not zero

• Start sampling automatically when power

applied (AutoRun=)?

• Add NMEA to CTD data status

(AddNMEA=); appears after autorun status
only if autorun is enabled

Example: (command used to modify parameter shown in parentheses)

SBE 11plus V 5.2
number of scans to average = 8

pressure baud rate = 9600 [PBaud=]
NMEA baud rate = 4800 [NMEABaud=]
surface PAR voltage added to scan [AddSPAR=]
A/D offset = 0 [Offset=]
GPIB address = 1 [GPIB=]
advance primary conductivity 0.073 seconds [AdvanceC0=]
advance secondary conductivity 0.073 seconds [AdvanceC1=]
autorun on power up is disabled [AutoRun=]

IEEE-488 Command

GPIB=x x= IEEE-488 address. Factory default setting is 1.

Must be set to 1 for Deck Unit to work
with SEASAVE.

24

Section 5: Setting Up System

Conductivity and Voltage Channel Advance Commands

These commands align parameter data in time, relative to pressure. This
ensures that calculations of salinity, dissolved oxygen concentration, and other
parameters are made using measurements from the same parcel of water.
Channel Advance commands allow alignment to be performed in the Deck
Unit, so the real-time data output to SEASAVE is already aligned. If you save
full rate (24 Hz) data and the data analysis indicates that additional alignment
changes are required, use the Align CTD module in SBE Data Processing to
correct any residual misalignment in the saved data.

Note:

CTD systems with atypical flow paths
(for example, supporting flow-through
fluorometers) may require different
settings. See the discussion of Align
CTD in the SBE Data Processing
manual and Application Note 38 for
calculation of optimal advance values.

AdvanceCn=x n= conductivity channel number (0 or 1).

x= time (seconds) to advance conductivity channel.

Conductivity measurement on a water parcel is
delayed because the TC duct presents water to the
conductivity sensor after the water has passed the
temperature sensor. Since the pump sets a constant
flow speed, the delay is constant. To compensate
for the delay so salinity can be computed with
minimum spiking, the Deck Unit can advance the
conductivity measurement in time to coordinate it
with the appropriate temperature measurement.
This advance occurs before any averaging, so a bias
error is not introduced in the calculated salinity.

Typical advance for 9plus (and factory default)
is 0.073 seconds (= 1.75 scans * 1/24).

See Configuration Sheet for setting for your uni t .

Example: Set advance for both conductivity channels (primary and secondary) to 0.073 se conds.

ADVANCEC0=0.073
ADVANCEC1=0.073

Example: Set advance for A/D voltage channel 0 to 2 seconds, and for A/D vo l tage channe l 4 to 0 .04 se conds.

ADVANCEV0=2.0
ADVANCEV4=0.04

Note:

See Section 6: Setting Up NMEA
Interface.

AdvanceVn=x n= A/D channel number (0 - 7).

x= time (seconds) to advan ce A/D channel

(maximum 10 seconds).
Advance A/D channels for auxiliary sensors as

needed; see manufacturers’ specifications for
information on time constants.

SBE 43 Oxygen data is often systematically
delayed with respect to pressure. The two primary
causes are the long time constant of the oxygen
sensor (ranging from 2 seconds at 25 ºC to
approximately 5 seconds at 0 ºC) and an additional
delay from the transit time of water in the pumped
plumbing line. As with conductivity, you can
compensate for this delay by shifting oxygen data
relative to pressure. Typical advance for SBE 43

used with SBE 9plus is 2 to 5 seconds.

NMEA Baud Rate Command

NMEABaud=x x= baud rate for communication between Deck Unit

and NMEA navigation device (4800 or 960 0 ).

25

Section 5: Setting Up System

Notes:

• AddSPAR= must be consistent
with setting in configuration
(.con) file.

• See Section 7: Setting Up
Surface PAR.

Surface PAR Commands

AddSPAR=x x= Y: Add Surface PAR voltage to CTD

data stream.

x= N: Do not.

Offset=x x= offset voltage count (0-99) used to adjust

Surface PAR data for drift in Deck Unit electronics.

Note:

See Section 8: Setting Up Remote
Output.

Pressure Baud Rate Command

PBaud=x x= baud rate for pressure frequency and pressure

temperature output from Deck Unit (1200, 2400,
4800, 9600, or 19200).

Autorun Commands

Autorun allows the user to automatically start sampling when power is
applied. This may be useful for a system that is not using SEASAVE to
control and monitor data acquisition.

AutoRun=x x=Y: When power is applied, automatically send

GR to start sampling and put data into RS-232C

buffer. Do not send and display response of status

Note:
AddNMEA= is applicable only if
AutoRun=Y. If AutoRun=N,

SEASAVE automatically sends NY
or NN to enable or disable NMEA
data, based on the setting in the
configuration (.con) file.

AddNMEA=x x=Y: Add 7 bytes of Lat/Lon data to CTD data.

command on power up.
x=N: Wait for a command when power is applied.
Default.

x=N: Do not add Lat/Lon data to CTD data.

Setting Up CTD Configuration (.con) File in SEASAVE

Note:

When Sea-Bird ships a new
CTD, we include a .con file that
reflects the current CTD
configuration as we know it. The
.con file is named with the CTD
serial number, followed with the
.con extension. For example, for
a CTD with serial number 2375,
Sea-Bird names the .con file

2375.con. You may rename the

.con file if desired; this will not
affect the results.

SEASAVE, Sea-Bird’s real-time data acquisition and display program,
requires a .con file, which defines the CTD - auxiliary sensors integrated with
the instrument, and channels, serial numbers, and calibration dates and
coefficients for all the integrated sensors (conductivity, temperature, and
pressure as well as auxiliary sensors). SEASAVE (as well as our data
processing software) uses the information in the .con file to interpret and
process the raw data. If the .con file does not match the actual instrument

configuration, the software will not be able to interpret and process the
data correctly. To verify the contents of the .con file:

1. Double click on Seasave.exe.

2. Click Configure Inputs. On the Instrument Configuration tab, click Open. In

the dialog box, select the .con file and click Open.

26

Section 5: Setting Up System

p

3. The configuration information appears on the Instrument Configuration

tab. Verify the .con file matches your system. Click Modify to bring up a
dialog box (shown below) to change the configuration and/or to
view/modify calibration coefficients.

Channel/Sensor table reflects this
choice. Typically:

• 0 = SBE 3plus or 4C plugged into
JB5 (COND 2) on 9plus (dual
redundant sensor configuration)

• 1 = SBE 3plus or 4C plugged into
JB4 (TEMP 2) on 9plus and not
using JB5 (COND 2) connector
(single redundant sensor
configuration)

• 2 = no redundant T or C sensors

For full rate (24 Hz) data, set to 1.
Example: If number of scans to
average=24, SEASAVE averages
24 scans, saving to computer at
1 scan/second.

• NMEA - Select if NMEA
navigation device used, and
select whether NMEA device is
connected directly to 11plus Deck
Unit or to computer. If NMEA
navigation device connected to
computer, you can also append
NMEA depth data (3 bytes) and
NMEA time data (4 bytes) after
Lat/Lon data. SEASAVE adds
current latitude, longitude, and
universal time code to data
header; appends NMEA data to
every scan; and writes NMEA
data to .nav file every time Ctrl F7
is pressed or Add to .nav File is
clicked. See Section 6: Setting Up
NMEA Interface.

• Surface PAR - Select if Surface
PAR sensor used; must agree
with Deck Unit setup
(AddSPAR=). SEASAVE
appends Surface PAR data to
every scan. Adds 2 channels to
Channel/Sensor table. Do not
decrease Voltage words

suppressed to reflect this; Voltage
words suppressed reflects only

external voltages going directly to
9plus from auxiliary sensors.
See Section 7: Setting Up
Surface PAR.

• Scan time - Select to include time
of each scan (seconds since
January 1, 1970 GMT) with data.

Channel/Sensor table reflects this choice. Total voltage
words is 4; each word contains data from two 12-bit A/D
channels. 11plus V2 suppresses words starting with
highest numbered word. Number of words to keep is
determined by highest numbered external voltage input
that is not a spare:
Words to suppress = 4 - Words to Keep
External Voltage
(not spare)
0 or 1 JT2 (AUX 1) 1
2 or 3 JT3 (AUX 2) 2
4 or 5 JT5 (AUX 3) 3
6 or 7 JT6 (AUX 4) 4

Click a (non-shaded) sensor and click Select to pick a
different sensor for that channel; dialog box with list of
sensors appears. After sensor is selected, dialog box for
calibration coefficients appears. Select sensors after

Frequency channels suppressed and Voltage words
suppressed have been specified above.

IEEE-448 or RS-232C for CTD data
interface between Deck Unit and com

Connector Words to Keep

uter.

Shaded sensors cannot be
removed or changed to
another type; others are
optional.

Click a sensor and click Modify
to view/change calibration
coefficients for that sensor.

4. Click Save or Save As to save any changes to the .con file. Click Exit

when done reviewing / modifying the .con file.

27

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

The Deck Unit includes a NMEA 0183 Interface that permits position data to

Notes:

• To save the NMEA data with the
CTD data, select NMEA position
data added when setting up the CTD
configuration (.con) file in
SEASAVE.

• A NMEA navigation device can be
connected directly to the computer
instead of to the Deck Unit. This
feature is supported by SEASAVE
V7 version 7.17 and later; see

Setting Up CTD Configuration (.con)
File in SEASAVE in Section 5:
Setting Up System. The output from

SEASAVE is the same, regardless
of whether the NMEA data was
appended in the Deck Unit or in the
computer. See NMEA Navigation
Device Message and Data Formats
in this section for the required NMEA
data format.

be merged with the CTD data. The NMEA Interface is designed to decode
messages that are output from navigation devices supporting NMEA 0183
protocol. The Deck Unit automatically decodes GGA, GLL, RMA, RMC, and
TRF NMEA messages.

The decoded Latitude and Longitude is appended to the CTD data stream in
the Deck Unit and passed to the computer for storage and/or display with the
CTD data. The NMEA LED on the Deck Unit front panel flashes each time a
NMEA message is successfully decoded (should flash at the same rate at
which the navigation device is transmitting). The Deck Unit appends the same
NMEA message multiple times, until a new message is decoded:

• If the Deck Unit is communicating with the computer via IEEE-488, the

navigation data is appended to each CTD scan sent from the Deck Unit
to the computer.

• If the Deck Unit is communicating with the computer via RS-232, the

navigation data is transmitted by the Deck Unit to the computer only
once per second. In SEASAVE, the navigation data is then appended to
each CTD scan, so the output from SEASAVE is the same, regardless of
whether IEE-488 or RS-232 communication was used.

Example: The CTD is sampling at 24 Hz, and not averaging the data.
A navigation device outputs its NMEA message once every 5 seconds.
The NMEA LED flashes every 5 seconds.

• If communicating with the computer via IEEE-488, the same message

is appended to each scan of CTD data within that 5 seconds (that is,
24 scans/second x 5 seconds = 120 scans show the same NMEA data).

• If communicating with the computer via RS-232, the same message is

transmitted only 5 times (for example, NMEA data is transmitted only
after CTD scans 1, 25, 49, 73, and 97). In SEASAVE, the same
message is then appended to each scan of CTD data within that
5 seconds.

Note that this section covers setting up and troubleshooting NMEA that is
acquired through the Deck Unit; it is not applicable to the acquisition of data
from a NMEA device connected directly to the computer.

28

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

NMEA Interface Commands

Commands Sent by User with SEATERM

Notes:

• S> prompt indicates Deck Unit
is connected to computer and
ready for a command.

• Commands can be entered in
upper or lower case.

• When the computer is
connected to the SBE 11
Interface, SEATERM does not
echo commands as you type
them. Verify that a command
was interpreted correctly by
sending status (DS) command
to check appropriate
parameter(s).

Notes:

• If NMEA position data added
is selected in the CTD
configuration file, but the
Deck Unit is not connected to
a NMEA navigation device,
SEASAVE will give you an
error message when you try
to start data acquisition.

• If NMEA position data added
is selected in the CTD
configuration file, SEASAVE
also automatically sends NSR
or NSI at the beginning of the
cast, and places the NMEA
data in the output file header.

The following commands are transmitted by the user to the Deck Unit’s
SBE 11 Interface using SEATERM.

Baud Rate Command

NMEABaud=x x= baud rate for communication between Deck Unit

and NMEA navigation device (4800 or 960 0 ).

Diagnostic Commands

These commands can be used for diagnostic purposes in SEATERM to display
navigation data, to verify that the NMEA navigati on device and the interface
in the Deck Unit are functioning properly. Hex latitude/longitude data from the
NMEA navigation device is converted to ASCII text. Format is:
LAT 47 37.51 N
LON 122 09.41 W
If NMEA message RMC is decoded, date and time display on next line with
this format:
DDMMYY HHMMSS

NSR Output Lat/Lon ASCII data over the RS-232

SBE 11 Interface to computer. One scan of NMEA
data appears in SEATERM.

NSI Output Lat/Lon ASCII data over the IEEE-488

SBE 11 Interface to computer. One scan of NMEA
data appears in SEATERM.

Commands Sent Automatically by SEASAVE

The following command (NY or NN) is sent automatically by SEASAVE to
configure the Deck Unit, based on the setting for NMEA position data added
in the CTD configuration (.con) file. This setting is not stored in the Deck
Unit’s EEPROM. The command remains in effect until the Reset button on the
Deck Unit front panel is pushed or a new command is sent.

Nx x=Y: Add Lat/Lon data to CTD data.

x=N: Do not add Lat/Lon data to CTD data.

29

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

Setting Up NMEA in SEATERM

1. Connect the Deck Unit’s SBE 11 Interface RS-232 connector to

the computer.

2. Double click on SeaTerm.exe.

3. In the Configure menu, select the SBE 11 Interface. The Configuration

Options dialog box appears. Set:

• Firmware Version - Version 5.0 or greater

• Comm Port - for connection of SBE 11 Interface to computer

• Baud Rate - 19200

• Data Bits - 8

• Parity - none

• Mode - RS-232

Click OK to save the settings and exit the dialog box.

4. Turn on power to the Deck Unit, or if already on send the status (DS)

command. The display in SEATERM looks like this:

SBE 11plus V 5.2
number of scans to average = 8
pressure baud rate = 9600

NMEA baud rate = 4800

surface PAR voltage added to scan
A/D offset = 0
GPIB address = 1
advance primary conductivity 0.073 seconds
advance secondary conductivity 0.073 seconds
autorun on power up is disabled

5. Check the NMEA baud rate in the status command response. If necessary,

send NMEABaud= to change the baud for communication between the
Deck Unit and NMEA navigation device (4800 or 9600).

6. Turn off the Deck Unit.

30

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

Setting Up and Testing NMEA in SEASAVE

Notes:

• The Deck Unit must be connected to
the CTD to test the NMEA interface.
If it is not connected, noise on the
open Sea Cable connector will
interfere with communication with
the Deck Unit.

• See SEASAVE’s Help files for
detailed information.

Note:

If the selected .con file does not
indicate that NMEA position data is to
be added:

• Latitude and longitude will not be
available as display variables in the
fixed, scrolled, or plot display.

• NMEA Display will not be available
in the Display menu.

1. Connect the Deck Unit’s SBE 11 Interface RS-232 connector to the

computer, the NMEA connector to the NMEA navigation device, and the
Sea Cable connector to the CTD.

2. Double click on Seasave.exe.

3. Click Configure Inputs. On the Instrument Configuration tab, select the

configuration (.con) file for your instrument. See Setting Up CTD
Configuration (.con) File in SEASAVE in Section 5: Setting Up System for
details. Verify that the .con file indicates that NMEA position data is
to be added.

4. Set up a display window as a fixed display, and select Latitude,

Longitude, and Time as display variables for that window. -OR-
In the Display menu, select NMEA Display.

5. Start real-time data acquisition - In the Real-Time Data menu, click Start;

then click Start in the dialog box (see Section 11: Operating System for
details). You should begin seeing latitude, longitude, and time display in
SEASAVE. Each time position data is successfully decoded, the NMEA
LED on the Deck Unit should flash. If the data is correct and is updating
properly, the NMEA Interface is working.

• If position data does not appear, verify that the Deck Unit is

connected to the NMEA navigation device with the proper cable.

• See Troubleshooting NMEA Interface below for additional

instructions if needed.

31

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

Troubleshooting NMEA Interface

Problem 1: NMEA LED Not Flashing, or NMEA LED Flashing but Lat/Lon Data Not Displaying

Cause/Solution 1: Wiring may be incorrect. Check cables and connections
between the Deck Unit, NMEA navigation device, and computer.

Cause/Solution 2: NMEA navigation device may be set to the wrong baud
rate (Deck Unit requires 4800 or 9600 baud). Verif y Deck Unit’s NMEA
Interface baud rate with DS in SEATERM. Reset device’s baud rate if
necessary.

Cause/Solution 3: NMEA navigation device may not be transmitting data. See
the device manual for setup details. To verify that it is sending data, connect
an oscilloscope with ground on NMEA B (T17) and the probe on NMEA A
(T16). The signal should be less than 0.5 volts between messages and have
pulses greater than 4 volts for at least 0.2 milliseconds during the message.

Cause/Solution 4: NMEA Interface in the Deck Unit may not be operating
properly. To verify, use the GPS simulation program, NMEATest, supplied
with SEASOFT-Win32. This program simulates a NMEA navigation device
transmitting a NMEA message. See NMEA Message Simulation Prog ra m
below for details.

NMEA Message Simulation Program

Sea-Bird provides a NMEA message simulation program, NMEATest, as a
troubleshooting aid. NMEATest, part of the SEASOFT-Win32 package,
simulates a NMEA navigation device transmitting messages in RMA, RMC,
GLL, or GGA format. If the system does not work with the NMEA navigation
device, but works with NMEATest, the problem is with the interface cable
from the NMEA navigation device to the Deck Unit or in the NMEA
navigation device itself.

NMEATest is just a simulation, and does not provide an actual data stream
from an actual NMEA navigation device. The data transmission baud rate
(4800 or 9600) and time between messages are user-programmable. The
NMEA message format (RMA, RMC, GLL, or GGA) generated by the
program is also user-programmable. Alternatively, the user can specify an
existing raw NMEA data file to use for the simulation; see NMEA Navigation
Device Message and Data Formats below for the required raw data format.

Note:
You can also run the simulation
using only one computer, if the
computer has a spare COM port.

Note:
The Deck Unit must be connected
to the CTD to test the NMEA
interface. If it is not connected,
noise on the open Sea Cable
connector will interfere with
communication with the CTD.

To execute the simulation program, a second computer (computer 2) is
needed to emulate the NMEA navigation device. A laptop computer is
adequate for this purpose. Install NMEATest on computer 2 (NMEATest is
part of the SBE Data Processing installation).

Use the NMEA Interface test cable to connect the Deck Unit NMEA to the
simulation computer. The simulation test cable connections are:

MS3102A12S-3P DB-9S Function

Pin A Pin 3 NMEA A (signal)

Pin B Pin 5 NMEA B (signal return)

32

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

Proceed as follows (instructions are written assuming you are using a second
computer to emulate the NMEA navigation device):

1. On computer 1, in SEATERM, note the NMEA baud rate in the status

command response – 4800 or 9600 (see Setting Up NMEA in
SEATERM above).

2. On computer 2, double click on nmeatest.exe (in same directory as

SBE Data Processing). The NMEATest screen appears.

3. On the NMEATest screen, click on the Configure menu. The Configure

dialog box appears. Select:

• NMEA message to be simulated (RMA, RMC, GLL, or GGA) or

select an existing NMEA data file on your computer by clicking Send
File and browsing to the desired file.

• Baud rate (4800 or 9600) for transmission of simulated NMEA data

to Deck Unit – must match NMEA baud rate set in the Deck Unit
(see Step 1).

• COMM port on computer 2 for transmission of NMEA data to

Deck Unit.

• Message interval (time between simulated messages to be transmitted

to Deck Unit).

Click OK.

4. On the NMEATest screen, click Start. NMEA data should begin to display

on the NMEATest screen on computer 2. The NMEA LED should flash
each time the simulation program transmits a new position.

5. On computer 1, set up SEASAVE and start data acquisition (Steps 1

through 5 in Setting Up and Testing NMEA in SEASAVE above). NMEA
data should display in SEASAVE.

The latitude and longitude displayed by SEASAVE should correspond to that
of the simulation program (see NMEA Navigation Device Message and Data
Formats below for the raw and decoded NMEA message formats). If properly
decoded data appears on the screen, the NMEA Interface in the Deck Unit is
working properly. If the system works with the simulation program but does
not work when connected to the actual NMEA navigation device, the problem
is with the cable from the NMEA navigation device to the Deck Unit, or in the
NMEA navigation device itself.

• Verify that the cable pinouts are correct, especially at the NMEA

navigation device. See Wiring System in Section 3: Mou nti n g an d Wi ri ng
System and also refer to the NMEA navigation device documentation.

• If the cable is correct, verify that the NMEA navigation device is on and is

configured to send data. Many NMEA navigation devices have
programmable NMEA outputs and may need to be configured before they
will transmit NMEA messages. Again, refer to the NMEA navigation
device documentation, or contact the device’s manufacturer for
customer support.

33

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

NMEA Navigation Device Message and Data Formats

Message Formats

Notes:

• -- represents two device­specific characters.

• See the table below
for definitions of
message parameters.

• <CR> is carriage return

• <LF> is line feed.

Field Type Symbol Definition

Status A

Single character field:
A = Yes, data valid, warning flag clear V = No, data invalid, warning flag set

Fixed/Variable length field:
degrees|minutes.decimal - 2 fixed digits of degrees, 2 fixed digits of minutes, and variable

Latitude

llll.ll

number of digits for decimal-fraction of minutes. Leading zeros always included for degrees and
minutes to maintain fixed length. Decimal point and associated decimal-fraction are optional if
full resolution not required.

a N or S

Fixed/Variable length field:
degrees|minutes.decimal - 3 fixed digits of degrees, 2 fixed digits of minutes, and vari able number

Longitude

yyyyy.yy

of digits for decimal-fraction of minutes. Leading zeros always included for degrees and minutes to
maintain fixed length. Decimal point and associated decimal - fraction optional if full resolution
not required.

b E or W

Fixed/variable length field:
hours|minutes|seconds.decimal - 2 fixed digits of hours, 2 fixed digits of seconds, and variable

Time hhmmss.ss

number of digits for decimal-fraction of seconds. Leading zeros always included for hours,
minutes, and seconds to maintain fixed length. Decimal point and associated decimal-fraction
optional if full resolution not required.

* Optional Checksum Delim iter.

Checksum

hh

Optional Checksum Field:
Absolute value calculated by exclusive OR’ing 8 data bits (no start or stop bits) of each character
in message, between, but excluding $ and *.

GGA - Global Positioning System Fix Data

Time, position, and fix related data for a GPS receiver.

$--GGA,hhmmss.ss,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,b,x,xx,x.x,x.x,M,x.x,M,x.x,xxxx*hh<CR><LF>

GLL - Geographic Position - Latitude/Longitude

Latitude and Longitude of present position, time of position fix, and status.

$--GLL,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,b,hhmmss.ss,A*hh<CR><LF>

RMA - Recommended Minimum Specific Loran-C Data

Position, course, and speed data provided by a LORAN-C receiver.

$--RMA,A,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,b,x.x,x.x,x.x,x.x,x.x,a*hh<CR><LF>

RMC - Recommended Minimum Specific GPS/TRANSIT Data

Time, date, position, course, and speed data provided by a GPS or TRANSIT
navigation receiver.

$--RMC,hhmmss.ss,A,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,b,x.x,x.x,ddmmyy,x.x,a*hh<CR><LF>

TRF - TRANSIT Fix Data

Time, date, position, and information related to a TRANSIT fix.

$--TRF,hhmmss.ss,ddmmyy,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,b,x.x,x.x,x.x,x.x,xxx,A*hh<CR><LF>

34

Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface

Data Formats

For IEEE-488 interface, 7 bytes of position data are appended to the end of
each CTD scan sent from the Deck Unit to the computer.

For RS-232C interface, 14 ASCII characters of position data followed by a
carriage return and line feed are transmitted once per second. For example, if
sampling at 24 Hz, NMEA data will be transmitted after CTD scans 1, 25, 49,
etc., while the intermediate scans will contain only CTD data. Note that in
SEASAVE, the navigation data is then appended to each CTD scan, so the
output from SEASAVE is the same regardless of whether IEE-488 or RS-232
communication was used.

Our software calculates latitude and longitude as follows:

Latitude (deg) = (byte 1 * 65536 + byte 2 * 256 + byte 3) / 50000

Longitude (deg) = (byte 4 * 65536 + byte 5 * 256 + byte 6) / 50000

Notes:

• If bit 1 in byte 7 is 1, this is a new position.

• If bit 8 in byte 7 is 1, Latitude is negative.

• If bit 7 in byte 7 is 1, Longitude is negative.

• North latitudes are positive, south latitudes are negative.

• East longitudes are positive, west longitudes are negative.

Example:

Appended position data = 2455FC5D 32B141
byte 1 = 24 hex = 36 decimal
byte 2 = 55 hex = 85 decimal
byte 3 = FC hex = 252 decimal
byte 4 = 5D hex = 93 decimal
byte 5 = 32 hex = 50 decimal
byte 6 = B1 hex = 177 decimal
byte 7 = 41 hex = 01000001 binary

This is a new position (bit 1 in byte 7 is 1).
Latitude is positive (bit 8 in byte 7 is 0).
Longitude is negative (bit 7 in byte 7 is 1).
Latitude = (36 * 65536 + 85 * 256 + 252) / 50000 = 47.62616 degrees
Longitude = (93 * 65536 + 50 * 256 + 177) / 50000 = -122.1565 degrees

35

Section 7: Setting Up Surface PAR

Section 7: Setting Up Surface PAR

An A/D converter for a Surface PAR light sensor is included in the
Deck Unit. The Deck Unit can acquire the 0 to 5 volt output of a Biospherical
(QSR-240, QCR-240, QSR-2200, or QCR-2200) Surface PAR sensor, append it
to the CTD data stream in the Deck Unit, and pass it to the computer for
storage and/or display with the CTD data. All versions of S EASOFT-Win3 2
fully support the acquisition and display of data from a Biospherical Surface
PAR sensor.

Surface PAR Commands

Notes:

• S> prompt indicates Deck Unit
is connected to computer and
ready for a command.

• Commands can be entered in
upper or lower case.

• When the computer is
connected to the SBE 11
Interface, SEATERM does not
echo commands as you type
them. Verify that a command
was interpreted correctly by
sending status (DS) command
to check appropriate
parameter(s).

• AddSPAR= must be consistent
with the setting in the
configuration (.con) file.

The following commands are transmitted by the user to the Deck Unit’s
SBE 11 Interface using SEATERM.

Setup Commands

AddSPAR=x x= Y: Add Surface PAR voltage to the CTD

data stream.

x= N: Do not add Surface PAR voltage to the CTD

data stream.

Offset=x x= offset voltage count (0-99) used to adjust

Surface PAR data for drift in the Deck Unit
electronics (see below for procedure).

Setting Up Surface PAR and Adjusting for Drift in SEATERM

Use the following procedure to enable acquisition of Surface PAR data and
adjust the Surface PAR data to account for drift in the Deck Unit electronics:

1. Connect the Deck Unit’s SBE 11 Interface RS-232 connector to the

computer. Disconnect the Surface PAR sensor from the Deck Unit.

2. Double click on SeaTerm.exe.

3. In the Configure menu, select the SBE 11 Interface. The Configuration

Options dialog box appears. Set:

• Firmware Version - Version 5.0 or greater

• Comm Port - for connection of SBE 11 Interface to computer

• Baud Rate - 19200

• Data Bits - 8

• Parity - none

• Mode - RS-232

Click OK to save the settings and exit the dialog box.

36

Section 7: Setting Up Surface PAR

4. Turn on power to the Deck Unit, or if already on send the status (DS)

command. The display in SEATERM looks like this:

SBE 11plus V 5.2
number of scans to average = 8
pressure baud rate = 9600
NMEA baud rate = 4800

surface PAR voltage added to scan
A/D offset = 0

GPIB address = 1
advance primary conductivity 0.073 seconds
advance secondary conductivity 0.073 seconds
auto run on power up is disabled

Looking at the lines related to Surface PAR, which appear only if
Surface PAR has been enabled:

• Surface PAR voltage added to scan -

Surface PAR is enabled

• A/D offset - offset for Surface PAR to adjust for drift

in electronics

5. In SEATERM, send AddSPAR=Y (if not already enabled) and Offset=0.

6. Set the Deck Unit thumbwheel switch to 9.

7. The number displayed on the Deck Unit’s Word Display LED is the value

to use for the offset. In SEATERM, send Offset=x, where x is the number
displayed.

8. On the Deck Unit, verify that the LED shows 0. If not, repeat Step 7.

9. Turn off the Deck Unit.

Setting Up CTD Configuration (.con) File in SEASAVE

The Deck Unit integrates the position data from the Surface PAR sensor into
the CTD data stream. SEASAVE, Sea-Bird’s real-time data acquisition and
display program, stores and op tionally displays the Surface PAR data along
with the CTD data. SEASAVE requires a .con file, which defines the CTD.

The .con file must indicate if Surface PAR data is being added to the CTD
data by the Deck unit. See Setting Up CTD Configuration (.con) File in

SEASAVE in Section 5: Setting Up System for details on viewing and
modifying the .con file in SEASAVE.

Surface PAR Data Format

Surface PAR data is stored as a 12-bit binary number, with a decimal value of
0 to 4095 (corresponding to 0 to 5 volts respectively). See Section 12: Data
Formats for the location of the Surface PAR data in the CTD data stream.

37

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

The Deck Unit provides two remote outputs from the Remote Out connector
on the Deck Unit back panel:

• Pressure frequency and pressure temperature

• Converted Data Output (CDO)

Pressure Frequency and Pressure Temperature

Pressure frequency and pressure temperature, output at the full CTD data rate

Notes:

• S> prompt indicates Deck Unit is
connected to computer and ready
for a command.

• Commands can be entered in
upper or lower case.

• When the computer is connected
to the SBE 11 Interface,
SEATERM does not echo
commands as you type them.
Verify that a command was
interpreted correctly by sending
status (DS) command to check
appropriate parameter(s).

Note:

Averaging for data output from the
SBE 11 Interface and averaging of
CDO data has no effect on pressure
frequency and pressure temperature
output rate.

of 24 Hz (24 scans/second), can be used to control a towed vehicle.

Pressure Frequency and Pressure Temperature Commands

The following command is transmitted by the user to the Deck Unit’s
SBE 11 Interface using SEATERM.

PBaud=x x= baud rate for pressure frequency and pressure

temperature output from Deck Unit (1200, 2400,
4800, 9600, or 19200).

To send this command, follow the procedure in Setting Operating Parameters
in SEATERM in Section 5: Setting Up System.

Pressure Frequency and Pressure Temperature Data Format

Pressure frequency and pressure temperature are output in ASCII Hex at the
full CTD data rate of 24 Hz. Five bytes are sent ASCII-encoded, with each
byte sent as two ASCII characters. A carriage return and line feed terminate
each scan.

The first six characters represent 3 bytes of pressure frequency:

Pressure frequency = byte[0] * 256 + byte[1] + (byte[2] / 256)

The last three characters represent the 12-bit pressure temperature
compensation number:

Pressure temperature = M * (12-bit temp comp number) + B

Example:

Raw pressure scan = 80E881A81<CR><LF>
byte[0] = 80 HEX = 128 decimal

byte[1] = E8 HEX = 232 decimal
byte[2] = 81 HEX = 129 decimal
Pressure frequency = 128 * 256 + 232 + 129 / 256 = 33000.504 Hz

12-bit temp comp number = A81 HEX = 2689 decimal
If M = 0.01258 and B = -9.844 (from .con file),
Pressure temperature = 0.01258 * 2689 - 9.844 = 23.9 8 °C

38

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

Converted Data Output (CDO)

Converted data output can be any combination of temperature, conductivity,

Notes:

When an SBE 14 is used with the
Deck Unit, there are two possible
configurations:

• SBE 14 connected to Deck Unit’s
Remote Out port (typical):
SBE 14 setup is done by sending
commands to Deck Unit’s Remote

Out port using SEATERM. The
SBE 14 Remote Display tab in
SEASAVE’s Configure Outputs
dialog box does not apply.

• SBE 14 connected to computer
COM port: Computer must have
additional RS-232 serial port to
accommodate SBE 14, and
SBE 14 setup is done on the
SBE 14 Remote Display tab in
SEASAVE’s Configure Outputs
dialog box. This configuration is
not typical, and is not covered in
this manual. See SEASAVE’s
Help files.

pressure, depth, salinity, sound velocity, and altimeter height, in engineering
units. A limited set of these parameters can be displayed on an SBE 14
Remote Depth Readout or SBE 46 LCD Display Box.

A separate CDO microcontroller in the Deck Unit, with calibration
coefficients stored in EEPROM, converts the raw CTD data to the desired
parameters. Logic is provided to sound an alarm in the remote device
(SBE 14 or 46, or some other device) based on pressure, altimeter height,
and/or bottom contact.

CDO data is automatically output when the Deck Unit is powered on or reset.
Output is halted when a line containing a carriage return and line feed (in
SEATERM, press the Enter key) is received by the CDO microcontroller.

Calibration Coefficients and PROG11V2

The Deck Unit’s Remote Output interface requires the instrument calibration
coefficients to output data in engineering units (decibars, ºC, etc.). The
calibration coefficients are transferred by the user from the instrument
configuration (.con) file to the Deck Unit using PROG11V2.exe, which is
available on the CD-ROM that shipped with your instrument.
Proceed as follows:

1. Copy PROG11V2.exe from the CD -ROM to your computer.

2. Run PROG11V2.exe.

3. At the prompts, enter the Com port and baud rate for communication

between the Remote Output interface and the computer.

4. At the prompt, enter the configuration (.con) file name. Note that the .con

file must be in the same directory as PROG11V2.exe.

5. PROG11V2 uploads the calibration coefficients from the configuration

file to the Deck Unit.

For the list of commands that are automatically executed when PROG11V2
is run, see Coefficients Commands in CDO Commands Entered with
SEATERM below.

39

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

Configuring CDO

1. Connect the Deck Unit’s Remote Out connector to the computer.

2. Double click on SeaTerm.exe.

3. In the Configure menu, select SBE 11 Remote Out.

Make the selections in the Configuration Options dialog box:

• COMM Port: COM 1 through COM 10, as applicable

• Baud Rate: 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, or 19200 (must be

300 for SBE 14; must be 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 for SBE 46)

• Data Bits: 8

• Parity: None

• Mode: RS-232 (Full Duplex)

Click OK to save the settings and exit the dialog box.

4. Turn on power to the Deck Unit, or if already on send the status (DS)

command. The display in SEATERM looks like this:

SBE 11plus Remote Output V 1.0
number of scans to average = 4
bottom contact alarm enabled
pressure alarm enabled:

pressure to enable alarm = 100.0 db
sound alarm when pressure is less than 50.00 db

altimeter alarm enabled:

pressure to enable alarm = 100.0 db
sound alarm when altimeter height is less than 50.00 meters
altimeter hysteresis = 5.00 meters
altimeter volt no. = 2

altimeter scale factor = 5.00
latitude to use for depth calculation = 30.0
output format = press depth temp cond sal

(followed by lines of data if power was just turned on)

See CDO Commands Entered with SEATERM below for a description of
each output line from the status command.

If the system does not respond as described:

• Verify the correct instrument interface (SBE 11 Remote Out) was

selected in the Configure menu and the settings were entered

correctly in the Configuration Options dialog box. Note that the baud

rate is documented on the Configuration Sheet.

• Check cabling between the computer and Deck Unit.

5. To stop the Deck Unit from sending the remote output, hit the Enter key.

SEATERM responds with the S> prompt, indicating it is ready for
a command.

6. Send commands to modify the CDO setup as desired. See CDO

Commands Entered with SEATERM below.

40

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

Notes:

• S> prompt indicates Deck Unit
is connected to computer and
ready for a command.

• Commands can be entered in
upper or lower case.

• Verify that a command was
interpreted correctly by sending
status (DS) command to check
appropriate parameter(s).

Note:

Status information for each alarm
appears only if corresponding
alarm is enabled.

CDO Commands Entered with SEATERM

The following status and setup commands are transmitted by the user to the
Deck Unit’s Remote Output Interface using SEATERM.

Status Command

DS Display setup parameters.

List below includes, where applicable, command
used to modify parameter.

• Firmware version for Remote Output PCB

• Number of scans to average (NAvg=) -

Deck Unit averages and outputs to remote
output port at this rate. This is not same as
number of scans to average that appears in
status command response for SBE 11 Interface.

• Bottom contact alarm enabled? (Alarms=)

• Pressure alarm enabled? (Alarms=)

• Pressure to enable alarm (PEnable=)

• Pressure alarm setting (PSet=)

• Altimeter alarm enabled? (Alarms=)

• Pressure to enable alarm (PEnable=)

• Altimeter alarm setting (AltSet=)

• Altimeter alarm hysteresis (AltHyst=)

• Altimeter channel (AltVolt=)

• Altimeter scale factor (AltScale=)

• Latitude to use for depth calculation (Lat=);

appears only if output format includes depth

• Output format (Format=) - Lists all CDO data

output parameters. If output formatted for SBE
14, status command indicates SBE 14.

Example: Status (DS) command (command used to modify parameter shown in parentheses)

S>DS
SBE 11plus Remote Output V 1.0
number of scans to average = 4 [NAvg=]
bottom contact alarm enabled [Alarms=]
pressure alarm enabled: [Alarms=]

pressure to enable alarm = 100.0 db [PEnable=]
sound alarm when pressure is less than 50.00 db [PSet=]

altimeter alarm enabled: [Alarms=]

pressure to enable alarm = 100.0 db [PEnable=]
sound alarm when altimeter height is less than 50.00 meters [AltSet=]
altimeter hysteresis = 5.00 meters [AltHyst=]
altimeter volt no. = 2 [AltVolt=]

altimeter scale factor = 5.00 [AltScale=]
latitude to use for depth calculation = 30.0 [Lat=]
output format = press depth alt temp cond sal sv [Format=]

41

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

Coefficients Commands

DC Display calibration coefficients.

Example: Calibration Coefficients (DC) command

S>DC
SBE 11plus Remote Output V 1.0
TEMPERATURE: 24-jun-98s

TF0 = 1.000000e+03
TG = 4.345714e-03
TH = 6.402139e-04
TI = 2.284978e-05
TJ = 2.196164e-06
TOFFSET = 4.500000e+01

CONDUCTIVITY: 25-jun-98s

CG = -1.045817e+01
CH = 1.473827e+00
CI = -4.072657e-03
CJ = 3.846583e-04
CPCOR = -9.570000e-08
CTCOR = 3.250000e-06
CSLOPE = 1.000000e+00

PRESSURE: 5-May-98

PC1 = -5.006884e+04
PC2 = -1.104210e+00
PC3 = 1.561210e-02
PD1 = 4.029500e-02
PT1 = 2.992485e+01
PT2 = -6.269641e-04
PT3 = 4.621850e-06
PT4 = -1.599760e-09
PSLOPE = 1.000000e+00
POFFSET = 3.288600e+04
PM = 1.276324e-02

PB = -9.680951e+00
altimeter voltage number = 2
altimeter scale factor = 5.0

Note:

F = floating point number
S = string with no spaces
N = integer

Coefficients are entered in the configuration (.con) file and then uploaded to
the Deck Unit with PROG11V2 (described above in Calibration Coefficients
and PROG11V2). However, to modify only a few coefficients, it may be easier
to send one or more of the following commands in SEATERM instead:

TCalDate=S S= primary temperature calibration date
CCalDate=S S= primary conductivity calibration date
PCalDate=S S= pressure calibration date
TF0=F F= primary temperature F0
TG=F F= primary temperature G
TH=F F= primary temperature H
TI=F F= primary temperature I
TJ=F F= primary temperature J
CG=F F= primary conductivity G
CH=F F= primary conductivity H
CI=F F= primary conductivity I
CJ=F F= primary conductivity J
CPC=F F= primary conductivity pcor
CTC=F F= primary conductivity tcor
CS=F F= primary conductivity slope
PC1=F F= pressure C1
PC2=F F= pressure C2
PC3=F F= pressure C3
PC1=F F= pressure D1
PT1=F F= pressure T1
PT2=F F= pressure T2
PT3=F F= pressure T3
PT4=F F= pressure T4
PS=F F= pressure slope
PO=F F= pressure offset

F= pressure M

PM=F
PB=F F= pressure B
AltVolt=N N= CTD A/D voltage number for altimeter
AltScale=F F= altimeter scale factor

42

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

General Setup Commands

Format=x x= output format.

For x < 128, any combination of following can be

Note:

For the SBE 46, up to four
parameters can be output.

output by adding parameter value to x (applicable
to SBE 46 or other device):

Parameter Value

Altimeter height 1

Depth 2
Temperature 4
Conductivity 8

Pressure 16

Salinity 32

Sound velocity 64

For x > 128, output is one of following SBE 14
formats:

Parameter x

Altimeter height 128 + 1 = 129

Depth 128 + 2 = 130

Pressure 128 + 16 = 144

Pressure + Altimeter height 128 + 1 + 16 = 145

Depth + Altimeter height 128 + 1 + 2 = 131

Note:
Baud= must be consistent with

the baud selected in SEATERM’s
Configuration Options dialog box.
If you change the baud with
Baud=, SEATERM will no longer
be able to communicate with the
Deck Unit. Select SBE 11
Remote Out in the Configure
menu, select the new baud, and
click OK. Then click Connect on
the Toolbar to reconnect at the
new baud.

Examples:

• Depth only (not SBE 14 format) - Format=2.

• Depth only (SBE 14 format) - Format=130.

• All 7 variables - Format= 127 (= 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32 + 64)

• Depth, temperature, conductivity, and pressure to SBE 46 -

Format=30 (= 2 + 4 + 8 + 16)

Baud=x x= baud for CDO (300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800,

9600, or 19200). For SBE 14, must be 300. For
SBE 46, must be 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600.

NAvg=x x= number of scans to average for CDO.

Minimum is based on output baud (Baud=)
and format:

Minimum NAvg = (24 * NBITS / Baud) + 1
where
NBITS = 40 if output formatted for SBE 14
Otherwise,
NBITS=100 * number of output va ri abl es.
CDO microcontroller verifies that NAvg is greater
than or equal to minimum; if you try to enter a
value that is too low, microcontroller sets NAvg
to minimum.

Note:

The depth calculation is based on
an assumption that the system is
operating in salt water. For fresh
water applications, this introduces a
small error in the depth calculation.

Example: Minimum Number of Scans to Average
Baud is 300 and output format is SBE 14, minimum NAvg = (24*40/300)+1= 4.2,

round up to 5. With NAvg=5, SBE 14 display updates every 0.21 seconds
(= 5 scans/ 24 scans/second)

Lat=x x= latitude (in degrees) to use in calculation of

depth from pressure.

43

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

Alarm Commands

Notes:

An alarm can be set up for the
Deck Unit as well as for a CDO
remote device:

• The Deck Unit alarm automatically
sounds if a bottom contact switch
is used with the CTD.

• The Deck Unit alarm can also be
set up to sound based on
pressure and/or altimeter data in
SEASAVE’s Configure Outputs
menu (Configure Outputs /
SBE 11plus Alarms).

CDO supports three types of alarms:

• Bottom Contact Alarm: Alarm is set when bottom contact bit in modulo

word is set and pressure is greater than PEnable.

• Pressure Alarm: Alarm is set when pressure is less than PSet and greater

than PEnable.

• Altimeter Alarm: Alarm is set when altimeter height is less than AltSet

and pressure is greater than PEnable. Alarm is reset when altimeter
height is greater than AltSet + AltHyst.

The SBE 14 or SBE 46 alarm sounds when the alarm is set. If the alarm is set
and the output format is not for the SBE 14, the character A is transmitted after
the last variable in the data scan.

Sea Surface

Alarms (pressure, altimeter, and bottom contact)

not on, regardless of pressure or height reading

Alarm on when pressure in this range -- provides
warning that CTD is about to reach surface

Sea Bottom

PSet

PEnable

AltSet

AltHyst -- altimeter alarm stays on in

this range after AltSet reached

Altimeter alarm on when
height in this range

Note:

Stop the data output by pressing
the Enter key one or more times.

Alarms=x x= alarm enable parameter.

If x=0, all alarms are disabled. Enable any
combination of alarms by adding alarm value to x:

Alarm Value

Bottom contact 1

Pressure 2

Altimeter 4

Examples:

To enable Bottom Contact alarm, set Alarms=1.
To enable all 3 alarms, set Alarms= 7 (=1 + 2 + 4)

PEnable=x x= minimum pr essure (decibars) to enable

all alarms.

PSet=x x= pressure (decibars) to turn on pressure alarm.

AltSet=x x= distance above bottom (meters) to turn on

altimeter alarm.

AltHyst=x x= maximum change in distance above bottom

(meters) for altimeter hysteresis.

Diagnostic Commands

Go or Run Output CDO data to computer. CDO data appears

in SEATERM, in selected output format. Valid
only for non-SBE 14 formats (Format < 128).
Useful for diagnostic purposes.

44

Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output

Converted Data Output Data Format

For Non-SBE 14 formats (Format < 128)

Parameters (if selected) are output in the following order:

Parameter Format Units

Pressure pppp.p decibars

Depth dddd.d meters

Altimeter height aaaa.a meters

Temperature tt.ttt deg C ITS-90
Conductivity c.cccc S/m

Salinity ss.sss PSU

Sound Velocity vvvv.v meters/second

Two spaces follow each parameter. Each scan of output data is terminated
with a carriage return, line feed.

If using the SBE 46 LCD Display Box, up to four parameters can be displayed.
See the SBE 46 manual for details on setting up the display with labels for
each parameter.

For SBE 14 formats (Format > 128)

Altimeter height, depth, and pressure are each a maximum of 4 digits,
displayed to the nearest meter or decibar (as applicable). If the output format is
set for altimeter height + depth or pressure: altimeter height displays to a
maximum of 3 digits, alternating with the depth or pressure on the display.

45

Section 9: Setting Up Water Sampler

Section 9: Setting Up Water Sampler

The 300-baud modem interface for a water sampler allows the SBE 911plus to

Notes:

• The 300 baud modem interface,
now standard in both the Deck
Unit and CTD, was optional in
Deck Units with serial number 700
and lower and in 9plus CTDs with
serial number 785 and lower.

• For use with the G.O. 1015 - Deck
Unit must have optional control
module for G.O. 1015 as well as
the 300-baud modem interface.

Setting Deck Unit Modem PCB Dip Switches

Note:
A switch is ON when pushed
in at the position number.

In the photo below, positions
1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 are ON;
positions 5, 6, and 7 are OFF.

be used with an SBE 32 Carousel Water Sampler, G.O. 1015 Rosette, or
G.O. 1016 Rosette. The modem permits water sampler control through the
Deck Unit or via our SEASAVE software. Bottles may be fired sequentially or
(SBE 32 or G.O. 1016 only) in any order. Note that the modem interface must
be installed in both the Deck Unit and the CTD. This section covers:

• Setting up the Deck Unit dip switches to select and interface with a

water sampler

• Setting up SEASAVE to select and interface with a water sampler

• Using the Deck Unit or SEASAVE to fire bottles

Set SW1 positions 1 through 4 as follows:

Water Sampler Type

1 2 3 4

SW1 Position

SBE 32 Carousel ON ON ON ON
G.O. 1015 Rosette OFF ON ON ON
G.O. 1016 Rosette ON OFF ON ON

If using a G.O. 1016, set the Arm offset to adjust the home position with SW1
positions 5 through 8 as follows:

Arm Offset (degrees)

5 6 7 8

SW1 Position

-2.8 ON ON ON ON

-2.4 OFF ON ON ON

-2.0 ON OFF ON ON

-1.6 OFF OFF ON ON

-1.2 ON ON OFF ON

-0.8 OFF ON OFF ON

-0.4 ON OFF OFF ON

0.0 * OFF OFF OFF ON

0.4 ON ON ON OFF

0.8 OFF ON ON OFF

1.2 ON OFF ON OFF

1.6 OFF OFF ON OFF

2.0 ON ON OFF OFF

2.4 OFF ON OFF OFF

2.8 ON OFF OFF OFF

3.2 OFF OFF OFF OFF

* Nominal

46

Section 9: Setting Up Water Sampler

Setting Up Water Sampler in SEASAVE

1. Double click on Seasave.exe.

Note:
The same COM port is used for the
water sampler and to send pump
control commands to a custom 9plus;
pump control does not interfere with
water sampler operation.

SBE Carousel (SBE 32, 32C, or 32SC),
G.O.1015 or 1016, Hydro-Bios, IOW,
SBE ECO (SBE 55), or None. Define
serial port for water sampler operation
on Serial Ports tab.
Note: SBE ECO is not compatible with
SBE 911plus. Hydro-Bios and IOS for
custom applications only.

2. Click Configure Inputs. In the Configure Inputs dialog box,

click the Serial Ports tab. In the Water Sampling and 911 Pump Control

Serial Port section, select the COM port connected to the Deck Unit
Modem Channel connector.

Also set up other serial ports (CTD Serial Port is the port connected to the
Deck Unit SBE 11 Interface connector).

3. In the Configure Inputs dialog box, click the Water Sampler tab. The

dialog box looks like this:

• Sequential - When commanded to
fire, bottles are fired in order of position
(bottle in position #1 fired first, bottle in
position #2 fired second, etc.).

• User Input - When commanded to fire,
SEASAVE prompts you to select which
bottle to fire.

• Table Driven - When commanded to
fire, bottles are fired in order pre­defined by user-input table. Click Bottle
Positions for Table Driven to input
bottle positions.

• Auto Fire – Fire bottles automatically
at user-input, pre-defined pressures or
depths (can also fire some bottles
manually), on upcast. Click Auto-Fire
Pressures & Positions to input
parameters. (Note: Auto Fire on
downcast is available with use of

-autofireondowncast command line
parameter.)

Total number of bottles to be closed - up to
36, depending on water sampler capacity.

Control bottle firing from a remote computer through TCP/IP
ports, instead of as defined by Firing Sequence. Select ports
on TCP/IP Ports tab. See SEASAVE manual or Help for details.

Make the desired selections and click OK.

47

Section 9: Setting Up Water Sampler

4. If desired, set up a plot window in SEASAVE to show the bottle closure

order and or place a horizontal line in the plot to indicate the data
associated with a bottle closure:
A. Right click in a Plot Display window and select Modify. The Plot

Display dialog box appears:

• Show fire sequence: List
closure order to right of plot.

• Show bottle lines: Place
horizontal lines in plot to
indicate data associated with
closures; label, style, and

color define line.

Note:

See Section 11: Operating
System for details on starting

data acquisition. After acquisition
begins, to fire a bottle:

• Press Ctrl F3, or

• In the Real-Time Control menu,

select Fire Bottle Control. The
Bottle Fire dialog box appears

(you can leave this open
throughout the cast). The
dialog box shows what bottle
will be fired next (for sequential
or

table driven bottle firing).

Click Fire Bottle when desired.

B. Select parameters as desired, and click OK.

48

Section 10: Setting Up RS-232 Serial Data Uplink

Section 10: Setting Up RS-232 Serial Data Uplink

As an option, the SBE 911plus system can be equipped to provide an interface
for a serial data output instrument connected to the SBE 9plus CTD’s JT4.
The serial data is multiplexed into the 9plus telemetry stream, and is
de-multiplexed by the 11plus V2 Deck Unit. The de-multiplexed data is output
from the Deck Unit at the back panel’s 9600 Baud Uplink connector.

The 9600 baud uplink operates only in one direction, from the CTD to the
Deck Unit. Communication from the Deck Unit to the serial data output
instrument (through the CTD) is provided via the 300 baud FSK modem used
for water sampler control. Note that the 911plus supports use of the serial data
output instrument and water sa mpler in the same cast. Instrument commands
sent via the 300 baud modem are transmitted from the CTD to the instrument
at the transmission rate of the instrument.

Data from the serial output instrument is transmitted from the Deck Unit to the
computer at 19200 baud.

The diagram below shows a schematic of the serial data
instrument communications.

Serial Data Output Instrument Requirements

Note:

Baud is defined as bits/second.
Each 8 bit byte that is to be
transmitted has a start and stop bit
added, providing 10 bits total. Thus,
the 9600 baud data rate allows the
transmission of 960 bytes/second.

The serial data output instrument must be configured to transmit data with
1 start bit, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit, with baud rate as follows:

• 9600 baud, or

• 19200 baud – However, the continuous rate of transmission may not

exceed 9600 baud (960 bytes/second). Therefore, the serial data output
instrument must transmit at 19200 baud in burst mode. Burst mode data
transmissions must be separated by intervals with no data transmission,
resulting in an average data rate of 960 bytes/second or less.

Note that when purchasing or retrofitting a 9plus to accommodate the
serial data uplink, the user must select either 9600 or 19200 baud
communication interface.

49

Section 10: Setting Up RS-232 Serial Data Uplink

SBE 9plus CTD Requirements

The RS-232 serial data uplink can be included when the 9plus is ordered, or
the 9plus can be retrofitted (at the factory). The retrofit requires:

• Logic PCB that generates the 9plus control at the normal rate, but moves

data onto the seacable at twice the normal rate.

• Modem PCB (for 300 baud FSK modem channel for water sampler

control) that also is able to accommodate the serial data input.

• Change to the backplane wiring.

• 4-pin JT4 connector on the top end cap for connection to the serial data

output instrument.

These changes make the 9plus incompatible with 11plus V2 Deck Units set up
for standard rate data transmission.

SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit Requirements

Note:

The 9600 Baud Uplink connector is
included as standard on all 11plus
V2 with serial number 637 and
higher. For older units, the
connector was included only if the
user ordered the 11plus V2 with the
serial data uplink option.

If already equipped with the 300 baud FSK modem channel for water sampler
control and with the 9600 Baud Uplink connector, the 11plus V2 requires only
a change in jumper positions to process the multiplexed data stream. Remove
the 11plus V2 bottom cover, and set the following jumpers on the Receiver
PCB (PCB with transformers on it; see drawing 40934C for the jumper
locations):

Jumper Position

J1 Pins 2-3
J2 Pins 2-3
J3 Pins 1-2
J4 Pins 1-2
J5 Short
J6 Pins 2 to 3

System Limitations

A 911plus system set up for serial data uplink has the following limitations:

• Seacable length - The maximum seacable length that will reliably

maintain data transmission is 8000 meters.

• Autonomous water sampler operation - The 9plus cannot be used

with an SBE 17plus V2 SEARAM, preventing water sampler operation
on non-conducting cable.

• Water sampler - The 911plus cannot be used with a G.O. 1015

water sampler.

• Compatibility – A 9plus that includes the RS-232 serial data uplink is

incompatible with an 11plus V2 set up for standard transmission.

• Tape recorder interface – An 11plus V2 with jumpers set for serial data

uplink cannot output data thr ou g h Tape Recorder on the 11plus V2
Back Panel.

50

Section 10: Setting Up RS-232 Serial Data Uplink

Theory of Operation

Note:

The 300 baud modem interface, now
standard in both the Deck Unit and
CTD, was optional in Deck Units with
serial number 700 and lower and in
9plus CTDs with serial number 785
and lower.

The 9plus and 11plus V2 must be equipped with the standard data telemetry
channel as well as the 300 baud FSK modem channel. Additionally, the 9plus
must be equipped with the optional serial data uplink. The 300 baud modem
channel features two-way communications and is used for water sampling
commands and responses. This channel is also used to communicate with the
serial data output instrument.

Water sampling communications are carried out wi t h 1 st art bit, 8 dat a bi t s , no
parity bit, and 1 stop bit. ASCII characters only require 7 data bits to express
the standard character set. The system uses the 8

th

data bit to flag
communications on the modem channel as water sampler or serial data
output communication:

• If a byte is received by the 9plus with the 8

9plus as a command to the water sampler, and is routed to the water
sampler. Similarly, if a byte is received by the 11plus V2 with the 8

th

bit set, it is interpreted by the

th

bit
set, it is interpreted as a water sampler control response to a bottle
closure command.

• If a byte is received by the 9plus without the 8

th

bit set, it is interpreted by
the 9plus as a command to the serial data output instrument, and is routed
to the serial data output instrument at the appropriate baud rate (9600 or
19200 baud). The serial data output instrument response is transmitted to
the 9plus and then multiplexed into the 9plus telemetry stream and de­multiplexed by the 11plus V2 Deck Unit.

The 9600 baud serial uplink communications channel is time dimension
multiplexed into the 9plus data telemetry channel. Each 9plus data scan is
transmitted via the seacable at twice the normal speed, leaving a gap in the
data stream long enough to accommodate continuous transmission at
9600 baud. Presuming the serial data is coming into the 9plus continuously;
the 9plus buffers serial data until its data scan is complete and then moves the
accumulated serial data packet onto the telemetry channel. The first byte of the
serial data packet defines the number of bytes that follow. This allows binary
or ASCII data to be transmitted over the serial uplink.

The 11plus V2 splits the data stream, processing the 9plus scan normally and
sending the serial data at 19200 baud to a port on the back plane for processing
by the user’s computer.

51

Section 11: Operating System

Section 11: Operating System

Note:

It is possible to use the SBE 17plus V2
SEARAM to record 9plus data in
memory at the same time as 9plus
data is transmitted real-time through
the Deck Unit. This provides a data
back-up in case there are data
transmission problems over the sea
cable. See the 9plus manual for wiring
and deployment details.

Acquiring Real-Time Data and Firing Bottles from SEASAVE

Note:

See SEASAVE’s Help files for
detailed information.

This section covers:

• Acquiring real-time data and firing bottles from SEASAVE

• Firing bottles from the Deck Unit front panel

See Section 3: Mounting and Wiring System for wiring details.

1. Double click on Seasave.exe.

2. Set up the desired display windows. Perform any other desired setup in

Configure Inputs and Configure Outputs. See Using SEASAVE in
Section 4: Installing and Using Sea-Bird Software for a brief description
of the available configuration options.

3. Push the Power button on th e Deck Unit.

4. In the Real-Time Data menu, select Start. The dialog box looks like this:

Data Archiving Options:

• Begin archiving data immediately to store raw (frequencies and
voltages) real-time data as soon as Start button is clicked and
communication is established.

• Begin archiving data when ‘Start Archiving’ command is sent
to control when data begins to be written to file. This allows you to
eliminate scans associated with deploying CTD from ship deck and
soaking instrument near surface (alternatively, remove these scans
later in SBE Data Processing). If you make this selection, when
you click Start button and communication is established, a dialog
box with Start Archiving button appears. Click this button when
ready to begin saving scans to file, or select Start Archiving in
Real-Time Data menu.

• Do not archive data for this cast to not save data to a file. Real-
time data will still appear in displays.

Configuration Options: Currently selected instrument configuration
(.con) file is shown, containing information on number and type of
sensors interfacing with 9plus, calibration coefficients, and inclusion
of NMEA and Surface PAR data with output from Deck Unit. To select
different .con file or modify input configuration (.con file, serial ports,
water sampler, TCP/IP ports, miscellaneous, and/or pump control),
click Configure Inputs. To modify outputs (serial data output, serial
ports, shared file output, mark variables, TCP/IP output, TCP/IP
ports, SBE 11plus alarms, SBE 14 remote display, PC alarms,
header form), and/or diagnostics, click Configure Outputs.

• Timeout in seconds at startup: Time allowed before first data
scan is received from instrument. SEASAVE will time out and stop
attempting to acquire data if data is not received from instrument
within this time period.

• Timeout in seconds between scans: Maximum gap allowed
between scans after first data scan is received from instrument.
SEASAVE will time out and stop attempting to acquire data if data
is not received from instrument within this time period (for example,
if a shark bites cable and interrupts data acquisition, SEASAVE
stops attempting to acquire data after this gap).

Click Select Output Data File
Name. Save Archived Data As
dialog box appears; browse to
desired file location, enter desired
file name, and click Save.

Make the desired selections.

52

Section 11: Operating System

5. In the Start Real-Time Data Acquisition dialog box, click Start.
A. If you selected Begin archiving data immediately or Begin archiving

data when ‘Start Archiving’ command is sent above, and selected
Prompt for Header Information in the Header Form setup (Configure

Outputs), the Header Information dialog box appears. Fill in the
desired header and click OK.

B. If you set up a water sampler in Configure Inputs, SEASAVE sends a

Reset command to the water sampler (equivalent to pushing the Reset
button on the Deck Unit), and waits up to 60 seconds for confirmation.
If confirmation is not received, verify that:

• Deck Unit power is on.

• There are connections between the computer ports and

Deck Unit SBE 11 Interface and Modem Channel.

• The communication settings and COM Ports selected on the Serial

Ports tab in Configure Inputs are correct.

C. If you selected NMEA position data added in the .con file, SEASAVE

initializes NMEA communications.

D. If you selected Check Scan Length in the Options menu, SEASAVE

checks the .con file to verify that the scan length defined by the .con
file matches the instrument (i.e., number of sensors, inclusion of
NMEA and/or Surface PAR is as defined in the .con file). If a Scan
length error appears, verify that:

• You are using the correct .con file.

• The .con file has been updated as necessary if you added or deleted

sensors, added or deleted NMEA or Surface PAR inputs, etc.

E. SEASAVE sends a message: Waiting for data . . . SEASAVE will

time out if data is not received from the Deck Unit within Timeout in
seconds at startup.

F. The data starts appearing in the screen displays.

6. To fire a water sampler bottle from SEASAVE, do one of the following:

Note:
If Auto Fire firing sequence was
selected on the Water Sampler tab
in Configure Inputs, the Fire Bottle
Control dialog box is not available.

• Press Ctrl F3, or

• In the Real-Time Control menu, select Fire Bottle Control. The Bottle

Fire dialog box appears (you can leave this open throughout the cast).
The dialog box displays the number of the next bottle to be fired. If
you selected User Input in the water sampler setup (Section 9: Setting

Up Water Sampler), select the bottle you want to fire next. Click Fire
Bottle when desired.

When SEASAVE receives a bottle fired confirmation from a water sampler:

• SBE 32 Carousel Water Sampler or G.O. 1016 Rosette –

Note:
The .bl file has the same path and
file name as the data file. For
example, if the data file is
c:\test1.hex, the .bl file is c:\test1.bl.

SEASAVE writes a line to an output file (same filename as the data
file) with a .bl extension. The .bl file contains the bottle firing sequence
number, bottle position, date, time, and beginning and ending scan
number (to provide 1.5 seconds of scans) for the fired bottle.

• G.O. 1015 Rosette –

The SBE 9plus sets a bit in the modulo word high for 1.5 seconds, and

SEASAVE increments the number of bottles fired.
Later, when the raw data file is converted in SBE Data Processing’s Data
Conversion module, scans identified in the .bl file or marked with a bottle
confirmation bit are written to a water bottle file with a .ros extension.

7. To stop data acquisition: In the Real-Time Data menu, select Stop. Turn

off power to the Deck Unit.

53

Section 11: Operating System

Firing Bottles from Deck Unit Front Panel

Notes:

• Sea-Bird strongly recommends

that you do not mix firing
bottles from both SEASAVE
and the Deck Unit in the same
cast. That is, use only one

method to fire bottles to ensure
that each bottle is fired only once
and in the desired order.

• See the SBE Data Processing
manual and or Help files for
details on processing data.

Note:
The .bl file has the same path and
file name as the data file. For
example, if the data file is
c:\test1.hex, the .bl file is c:\test1.bl.

Instead of firing bottles from within SEASAVE, you can fire bottles directly
from the Deck Unit if desired. Bottles fired directly from the Deck Unit are
always fired in sequential order, regardless of the firing sequence setting you
input in SEASAVE.

Even though you are firing the bottles from the Deck Unit, SEASAVE still
receives a bottle fired confirmation from the water sampler if the Deck Unit back
panel SBE 11 Interface and Modem Channel are connected to the computer.
When SEASAVE receives the confirmation:

• SBE 32 Carousel Water Sampler or G.O. 1016 Rosette –

SEASAVE writes a line to an output file (same filename as the data file)
with a .bl extension. The .bl file contains the bottle firing sequence
number, bottle position, date, time, and beginning and ending scan
number (to provide 1.5 seconds of scans) for the fired bottle.

• G.O. 1015 Rosette - The SBE 9plus sets a bit in the modulo word high for

1.5 seconds, and SEASAVE increments the number of bottles fired.
Later, when the raw data file is converted in SBE Data Processing’s Data
Conversion module, scans identified in the .bl file or marked with a bottle
confirmation bit are written to a water bottle file with a .ros extension.

See Acquiring Real-Time Data and Firing Bottles from SEASAVE above for
setting up SEASAVE and starting and stopping real-time data acquisition.
Proceed as follows for firing bottles from the Deck Unit:

SBE 32 Carousel

1. Press the Home/Arm button to reset the Carousel, so it will close the bottle

at position #1 the next time the Fire button is pushed. The Home/Arm
LED comes on and stays on until the first bottle is fired.

2. Press the Fire button. The Carousel will fire bottle 1.

3. Repeat Step 2 to fire each bottle; the Carousel will fire bottles in

sequential order.

G.O. 1015 Rosette

1. Press the Home/Arm button to power the Rosette. The Home/Arm LED

comes on 15 seconds later to indicate the Rosette is ready to fire.

2. Press the Fire button to fire the first bottle.

3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to fire each bottle; the Rosette will fire bottles in

sequential order.

G.O. 1016 Rosette

1. Press the Home/Arm button to reset the Rosette, so it will fire the bottle at

position #1 the next time the Fire button is pushed. The Home/Arm LED
comes on and stays on until the first bottle is fired.

2. Press the Fire button. The Rosette will fire bottle 1.

3. Repeat Step 2 to fire each bottle; the Rosette will fire bottles in

sequential order.

54

Section 11: Operating System

Processing Data

Sea-Bird provides software, SBE Data Processing, for converting the raw .hex
data file into engineering units, editing (aligning, filtering, removing bad data,
etc.) the data, calculating derived variables, and plotting the processed data.
See the SBE Data Processing manual and/or Help files for details.

However, sometimes users want to edit the raw .hex data file before beginning
processing, to remove data at the beginning of the file corresponding to
instrument soak time, to remove blocks of bad data, to edit the header, or to
add explanatory notes about the cast. Editing the raw .hex file can corrupt the
data, making it impossible to perform further processing using Sea-Bird
software. Sea-Bird strongly recommends that you first convert the data to

a .cnv file (using the Data Conversion module in SBE Data Processing),
and then use other SBE Data Processing modules to edit the .cnv file as
desired.

Notes:

• Although we provide this
technique for editing a raw .hex
file, Sea-Bird’s strong

recommendation, as
described above, is to always
convert the raw data file and
then edit the converted file.

• This technique for editing a file
cannot be used with a .dat file
created by older versions of
SEASAVE (< 6.0). Sea-Bird is

not aware of a technique for
editing a .dat file that will not
corrupt it.

The procedure for editing a .hex data file described below has been found to
work correctly on computers running Windows 98, 2000, and NT. If the

editing is not performed using this technique, SBE Data Processing may
reject the edited data file and give you an error message.

1. Make a back-up copy of your .hex data file before you begin.

2. Run WordPad.

3. In the File menu, select Open. The Open dialog box appears. For Files of

type, select All Documents (*.*). Browse to the desired .hex data file and
click Open.

4. Edit the file as desired, inserting any new header lines after the System

Upload Time line. Note that all header lines must begin with an asterisk
(*), and *END* indicates the end of the header. An example is shown
below (for an SBE 21), with the added lines in bold:

* Sea-Bird SBE 21 Data File:
* FileName = C:\Odis\SAT2-ODIS\oct14-19\oc15_99.hex
* Software Version Seasave Win32 v1.10
* Temperature SN = 2366
* Conductivity SN = 2366
* System UpLoad Time = Oct 15 1999 10:57:19

* Testing adding header lines
* Must start with an asterisk
* Place anywhere between System Upload Time & END of header

* NMEA Latitude = 30 59.70 N
* NMEA Longitude = 081 37.93 W
* NMEA UTC (Time) = Oct 15 1999 10:57:19
* Store Lat/Lon Data = Append to Every Scan and Append to .NAV
File When <Ctrl F7> is Pressed
** Ship: Sea-Bird
** Cruise: Sea-Bird Header Test
** Station:
** Latitude:
** Longitude:
*END*

5. In the File menu, select Save (not Save As). If you are running

Windows 2000, the following message displays:

You are about to save the document in a Text-Only format, which
will remove all formatting. Are you sure you want to do this?

Ignore the message and click Yes.

6. In the File menu, select Exit.

55

Section 12: Data Formats

Section 12: Dat a Formats

This section discusses the data output format:

Note:
The CTD’s output format differs from
the Deck Unit’s in several respects:

• The Deck Unit changes the order
of the output.

• The Deck Unit automatically strips
CTD bytes 31-36 (unused and
marker bytes) from the data.

• The Deck Unit inserts Surface PAR
and NMEA data if applicable.

See the SBE 9plus manual for details
on the CTD output format.

Note:
The notation on the switches may
be either of the following:

• 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15

• 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B,
C, D, E, F (A through F are
equivalent to 10 through 15
respectively)

Thumbwheel settings described
in this manual will use the 0-15
notation, with the other notation in
brackets (for example, set the
switch to 11 [B]).

• On the Deck Unit’s LED display, and

• From the Deck Unit’s SBE 11 Interface RS-232 and IEE-488 output ports

For output formats from the Deck Unit’s Remote Out and 9600 Baud Uplink
connectors, see Section 8: Setting Up Remote Output and Section 10: Setting
Up RS-232 Serial Data Uplink respectively.

For applications that do not require all five frequency channels, all eight A/D
channels, Surface PAR, and NMEA, unused channels can be suppressed by
making the appropriate selection in the configuration (.con) file (see Section 5:
Setting Up System for details). This can result in a substantial saving in disk
space required to store CTD data. Unless noted otherwise, this section
describes data output for a Deck Unit set to use all channels.

The data words (each containing three bytes) are summarized below:

Word

from

Deck Unit

Description

Deck Unit

Thumbwheel Switch

Position

0 Primary Temperature 0
1 Primary Conductivity 1
2 Pressure 2
3 Secondary Temperature 3
4 Secondary Conductivity 4
5 A/D channels 0-1 5
6 A/D channels 2-3 6
7 A/D channels 4-5 7
8 A/D channels 6-7 8
9 Surface PAR 9

10

Pressure temperature compensation

and modulo count

10 [A]

CTD status 11 [B]

- Bytes available in IEEE-488 buffer 12 [C]

- Bytes available in RS-232 buffer 13 [D]

Appended

to end of

NMEA data ** -

scan *

* NMEA data appended to end of scan for IEEE-488 only. For RS-232, NMEA data is
output on a line by itself, once per second.
** See Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface for NMEA output data format.

The word numbers indicate the order of the data scan sent to a computer via
the IEEE-488 or RS-232 port. Detailed below is the output format on the
Deck Unit’s LED display, followed by the IEEE-488 and RS-232 data
output format.

56

Section 12: Data Formats

Deck Unit LED Display Format

Data words can be selected for display with the thumbwheel switch on the
Deck Unit front panel. The display is updated several times per second.

When the thumbwheel switch is set to a suppressed channel, the LED display
is blank.

Switch

Position

0 Primary Temperature
1 Primary Conductivity
2 Pressure
3 Secondary Temperature

4
5 A/D channels 0-1

6 A/D channels 2-3
7 A/D channels 4-5

8 A/D channels 6-7

9 Surface PAR

10 [A]

11 [B] CTD status

12 [C]

13 [D]

14 [E] &

15 [F]

Description Discussion

Data displays as a frequency in Hz.

Secondary

Conductivity

Each switch position shows information from 2 channels. From left to right, first
4 digits displays lower channel (e.g., V0), and second 4 digits displays next
channel (e.g., V1). Each voltage displays as decimal value (N) of 12-bit number,
which is binary representation of anal og voltage. Display shows 4095 for 0 volts,
and 0 for 5 volts: V = 5 (1 - [N / 4095])

Voltage displays as decimal value (N) of 12-bit number, which is binary
representation of analog voltage. Display shows 0 for 0 volts, and 4095 for
5 volts: V = N / 819

• Four digits left of decimal point - pressure sensor temperature counts,

range of 0 - 4095 (2500 corresponds to approximately 22 ºC, typical

Pressure sensor

temperature and

modulo count

room temperature).

• Four digits right of decimal point - incrementing modulo count. Modulo count

is 8-bit number generated by CTD that increments 1 count for each scan.
If Deck Unit averages data, modulo count increments by number of scans
averaged. Provides a check on system data integrity. Maximum value that can
be displayed is 255; display starts over at 1 each time count gets to 255.

Four digits, from right to left:

• Pump status - 1 = pump is on, 0 = pump is off.

• Bottom contact switch status -

1 = switch is open or not installed (no contact), 0 = switch is closed.

• G.O. 1015 water sampler interface confirm signal -

1 (for approximately 1.5 seconds) = Deck Unit detects confirm signal from
G.O. 1015 indicating a bottle has been fired, 0 = no confirm signal detected.

• CTD modem carrier detect -

Number of bytes

available in IEEE-488

buffer

0 = CTD modem detects Deck Unit modem’s carrier signal, 1 = not detected.

When transferring data to a computer, Deck Unit places data in a buffer at rate it
is acquired, allowing Deck Unit and computer to operate with some
independence. Data is removed from buffer as computer requests it. If computer
spends too much time calculating and displaying data, it may start to fall beh ind

Number of bytes

available in

RS-232 buffer

and number of available bytes will decrease. If number of available bytes is less
than an entire scan, Deck Unit’s Overflow LED comes on and stays on until a
Reset command is received. If buffer overflows, some data will have been lost.
Buffer overflow sometimes occurred in old computers with slow processors -
it should not occur in computer with 80386 or faster processors.

Unused -

57

Section 12: Data Formats

Raw Output Data Format

Data output from the SBE 11 Interface (RS-232 or IEEE-488) is raw data ­frequencies and A/D voltages. This raw dat a can be saved in a .hex file.

Note:
MSB = most significant bit
LSB = least significant bit

Word Byte Description Discussion

0 0-2 Primary temperature Frequency f = (Byte 0 * 256) + Byte 1 + (Byte 2 / 256)
1 3-5 Primary conductivity Frequency f = (Byte 3 * 256) + Byte 4 + (Byte 5 / 256)
2 6-8 Pressure Frequency f = (Byte 6 * 256) + Byte 7 + (Byte 8 / 256)
3 9-11 Secondary temperature Frequency f = (Byte 9 * 256) + Byte 10 + (Byte 11 / 256)
4 12-14 Second ary conductivity Frequency f = (Byte 12 * 256) + Byte 13 + (Byte 14 / 256)

15 A/D channel 0 (8 MSBs)

5

16 A/D channel 0 (4 LSBs 4-7) & 1 (4 MSBs 0-3)
17 A/D channel 1
18 A/D channel 2 (8 MSBs)

6

19 A/D channel 2 (4 LSBs 4-7) & 3 (4 MSBs 0-3)
20 A/D channel 3
21 A/D channel 4 (8 MSBs)

7

22 A/D channel 4 (4 LSBs 4-7) & 5 (4 MSBs 0-3)
23 A/D channel 5
24 A/D channel 6 (8 MSBs)

8

25 A/D channel 6 (4 LSBs 4-7) & 7 (4 MSBs 0-3)
26 A/D channel 7
27 Unused

28

9

Surface PAR channel

First 4 bits unused

29 Surface PAR channel
30 Pressure sensor temperature (8 MSBs)

Pressure sensor temperature

31

CTD status (0-3)

10

Modulo count

(EOI line asserted).

End of

scan

32

- NMEA data See Section 6: Setting Up NMEA Interface.

IEEE-488 Output

Data is output in the following order:

Each 12-bit number (N) is a binary representation of analog

(8 LSBs)

(8 LSBs)

(8 LSBs)

(8 LSBs)

(4 MSBs 0-3)

(8 LSBs)

(4 LSBs 4-7)

voltage. N’s value is 4095 for 0 volts, 0 for 5 volts:

V = 5 (1 - [N / 4095])

Example:
Byte 15 = 00110111 Byte 16 = 01001111
For A/D channel 0, N = 001101110100 = 884 decimal
V = 5 (1 - [884 / 4095]) = 3.921 volts

Surface PAR: 12-bit number (N) is binary representation of
analog voltage. N’s value is 0 for 0 volts, 4095 for 5 volts:

V = N / 819

Example: Byte 34 = 11110011 Byte 35 = 01110100
N = 001101110100 = 884 decimal V = 884 / 819 = 1.079 volts

Pressure sensor temperature: 12-bit number is binary
representation of temperature, ranging from 0 to 4095
(2500 corresponds to approximately 22 ºC,
typical room temperature).

CTD status:

• Bit 0 Pump status - 1 = pump on, 0 = pump off.

• Bit 1 Bottom contact switch status -

1 = switch open (no contact), 0 = switch closed.

• Bit 2 G.O. 1015 water sampler interface confirm signal -

1 = Deck Unit detects confirm signal from G.O. 1015,
0 = not detected.

• Bit 3 CTD modem carrier detect -

0 = CTD modem detects Deck Unit modem carrier signal,

1 = not detected.
8-bit number from CTD increments 1 count for each scan
(cycles from 0 to 255, then restarts at 0). If Deck Unit
averages data, modulo increments by number of scans
averaged. Modulo provides a check on data integrity. Missed
scans caused by sea cable errors cause jumps in the count.

58

Section 12: Data Formats

To reduce data storage space requirements, the Deck Unit can suppress unused
words, based on the system configuration, from the data stream. For example:

• If secondary temperature and conductivity sensors are not used, words 3

and 4 can be stripped from the data stream.

• If not all A/D channels are used, the unused words can be stripped from

the data stream (words 5 through 8 as applicable). Words are suppressed
from last to first. For example, for a system with only two A/D voltage
words, the channels are V0, V1, V2, and V3.

• If Surface PAR is not used, word 9 can be stripped from the data stream.

This suppression is done automatically if using SEASAVE. The
information in the instrument configuration (.con) file is used by SEASAVE to
automatically program the Deck Unit to delete unused words.

If words are suppressed, the listing above is shortened. For example,
for a system with CTD only (secondary temperature and conductivity,
all A/D channels, and Surface PAR all suppressed; and no NMEA data),
the IEE-488 output is:

Word Byte Description

0 0-2 Primary temperature
1 3-5 Primary conductivity
2 6-8 Pressure

9 Pressure sensor temperature (8 MSBs)

3

10 CTD status (4 LSBs)

Pressure sensor temperature (4 MSBs)

11 Modulo count (EOI line asserted)

RS-232 Output

Data output format is the same as described above for IEE-488 outp ut , except:

• Each byte is sent as two ASCII-encoded characters. The first character is

the hexadecimal representation of the most significant 4 bits; the second
character is the hexadecimal representation of the least significant 4 bits.

For example, a byte with a value of 42 (base 10) or 2A (hexadecimal)
is sent as:
First character 32 (ASCII for 2)
Second character 41 (ASCII for A)

• The two characters representing the modulo count is preceded by two

pressure sensor temperature characters and two zero characters. The
modulo characters are followed by a carriage return character (0D, base

16) and then a line feed character (0A, base 16). Thus, the number of
characters per scan is:

(words/scan * 3 bytes/word * 2 characters/byte) + 2 (carriage return & line feed)

For example, for a 4-word data stream:
(4 words/scan * 3 bytes/word * 2 characters/byte) + 2 = 26 characters

• NMEA data is output on a line by itself, once per second, instead of being

appended to the end of each scan.

59

Section 12: Data Formats

Calculation of Engineering Units in SEASAVE

SEASAVE allows you to select raw (frequencies and voltages) and/or
converted data (decibars, ºC, etc.) for display during data acquisition.
SEASAVE calculates converted data in engineering units by applying the
calibration coefficients in the configuration (.con) file to the raw data from
each sensor.

Each sensor’s Calibration Sheet lists its calibration coefficients as well as the
equation used by SEASAVE to derive engin eeri n g uni t s fr o m the raw data. An
exception is the calculation of pressure temperature compensation for the
Paroscientific Digiquartz pressure sensor, which is described below:

Pressure Temperature Compensation

T

= M * (12-bit pressure temperature compensation word) + B (°C)

D

Where M = AD590M and B = AD590B from the calibration sheet

Raw pressure temperature compensation has a decimal value between 0
and 4095.

Example:

Byte 30 = 10101000 Byte 31 = 00010101
M = 0.01258 and B = -9.844 (from calibration sheet)

N = 101010000001 binary = 2689 decimal
T

= (0.01258 * 2689) – 9.844 = 23.98 °C

D

Pressure temperature is computed using a backward-looking 30-second
running average to prevent bit transitions in pressure temperature from causing
small jumps in computed pressure. Because the heavily insulated pressure
sensor has a thermal time constant on the order of one hour, the 30-second
average does not significantly alter the computed pressure temperature.

Calculation of Engineering Units in SBE Data Processing

Our data processing program, SBE Data Processing, starts with the raw (.hex)
data, converts it to engineering units using the information in the configuration
(.con) file, and then processes it. Thus, even if calibration coefficients in
your .con file were incorrect during data acquisition (SEASAVE), the
saved raw data is correct, and can be processed with the corrected
calibration coefficients.

60

Section 13: Troubleshooting

Section 13: Troubleshooting

This section reviews common problems in operating the Deck Unit, and

WARNING!
Life-threatening high voltages are
present in the Deck Unit and the
underwater units when power is
on. These hazardous voltages
persist for up to 1 minute after
removal of power. To protect
against electrical shock, turn off
the Deck Unit, disconnect the AC
power cord from the Deck Unit,
and then wait a full minute before
attempting service. Always
disconnect the AC power cord
before checking fuses.

Problem 1: SEASAVE Does Not Collect Any Data

provides the most likely causes and solutions.

Servicing should be performed by experienced technicians who have been
trained to work with complex mechanical/electrical equipment.

For protection of the circuitry, we recommend removing AC power and then
waiting for 1 minute for supply capacitor discharge before opening housings,
changing connections, removing or inserting circuit cards, or otherwise
working on the equipment.

Cause/Solution 1:
This may be caused by incorrect instrument configuration in the .con file.
Verify the settings in the instrument configuration (.con) file, in SEASAVE’s
Configure Inputs. These settings must match the current CTD configuration ­CTD type (911plus), number and type of auxiliary sensors, sensors assigned to
correct channels, NMEA and Surface PAR selected if applicable.

Problem 2: Deck Unit Completely Inoperable

WARNING!
Use extreme caution when
performing these tests.

Cause/Solution 1:

If the power switch is on but the power switch pilot light is out, no other panel
lights are on, and the fan is no t running, either AC power has been
disconnected or the main fuse has blown. Check the AC power source. Turn
off the Deck Unit, remove the power cable, wait 1 minute, and check the main
fuse. Replace if necessary.
If the main fuse blows again, there is probably a short in the main chassis
AC wiring. (Note that the separate fuses and short circuit protection circuitry
associated with the internal power supplies will prevent the main fuse blowing,
even if internal circuitry is malfunctioning.) See chassis wiring diagram -
it may be necessary to disconnect one section after another to locate
the problem.

Cause/Solution 2:
If the power switch pilot light comes on and the fan runs, the front panel LEDs
should flash on briefly when power is first applied. If they do not, the circuitry
that supplies 5 volts to the Deck Unit from the main AC supply may be
defective. See Power Supplies in Appendix III: Functional Description

and Circuitry.

61

Section 13: Troubleshooting

Problem 3: Deck Unit Overflow Light on

Data from the CTD is made available to the computer by placing it in the Deck
Unit’s RAM buffer. The computer then requests the data, emptying the buffer.
If the computer is too slow in making these requests, the buffer overflows and
the Overflow LED lights. The rate at which the computer requests data from
the Deck Unit depends on the other activities it must perform.

Cause/Solution 1:
An older, slow computer may be set to update the SEASAVE display windows
too often. To verify that this is the problem and to determine appropriate
settings for your computer:

1. Set the Deck Unit thumbwheel switch to 12 [C] (for IEEE-488 interface)

or 13 [D] (for RS-232 interface) to display the number of bytes available
in the Deck Unit buffer.

2. Start acquisition. The number displayed on the Deck Unit LED should

periodically reset to 7000 (IEEE-488) or 14 00 0 (R S- 2 3 2). If it does not, it
will eventually overflow. Stop acquisition.

3. Change the SEASAVE display upda te rate by right clicking in a display

window and selecting Modify. The Display dialog box appears. Enter a
larger value for Seconds between updates and click OK. Repeat for all
display windows. Repeat Step 2 to check for overflow. You may need to
repeat Steps 2 and 3 several times, increasing the display update rates
each time, to get the system to work.

4. Check if Serial Data Out, Shared File Out, and/or SBE 14 Remote Display

are enabled in SEASAVE’s Configure Outputs. If enabled, verify that
Seconds between updates is at least 1 second.

5. If changing the update rate(s) does not eliminate the problem, reduce the

rate/amount of data to be saved by the computer by a vera ging more data
scans or suppressing data channels. See Cause/Solution 2 below.

Cause/Solution 2:
An older, slow computer may not be able to save the data to disk fast
enough. Reduce the amount of data it needs to save to disk by doing one of
the following:

• Set SEASAVE to average more scans (average of 1 corresponds to 24 Hz

data, average of 2 to 12 Hz data, etc.) – In Configure Inputs, modify the
.con file on the Instrument Configuration tab to increase Scans to average.

• Suppress data channels to reduce the amount of data per scan – In

Configure Inputs, modify the .con file on the Instrument Configuration tab
to suppress data channels.

62

Section 13: Troubleshooting

Problem 4: CTD Does Not Respond

WARNING!
Use extreme caution when
performing these tests.

Cause/Solution 1:
There may be no voltage on the sea cable. Turn off the Deck Unit, remove the
power cable, and wait 1 minute. Connect a voltmeter (range set to at least
300 volts DC) to the back-panel Sea Cable connector. Reconnect the power
cable and turn on the Deck Unit. The voltmeter should read 250V.

If no sea cable voltage is observed, th e sea cable supply is inoperative. Turn
off the Deck Unit, remove the power cable, and wait 1 minute. Check the
back-panel Sea Cable Fuse. If this fuse is blown, the sea cable may have been
inadvertently shorted, or the CTD may be malfunctioning. Check the
resistance across the sea cable and correct if shorted. If the AC input is
present, the sea cable supply fuse is OK; if the DC output is missing, the
power supply is faulty.

The sea cable supply is built on two parallel aluminum rails placed immediately
behind the Deck Unit's main logic board. Check that the 115/230 VAC input i s
present at the transformer primaries (T1, the large open frame unit at the left rear
of the chassis). There should be about 330 VDC across the large blue electrolytic
capacitor, C2. If this voltage is present, check the voltage across the
4 K ohm/11 watt bleeder resistor, R1; this should be 250 volt s (R 1 is m ounted to
the aluminum rail that runs from side to side on the bottom of the chassis). If the
proper voltage exists at R1 and there is still no sea cable voltage at the back
panel MS connector, one of the leads to T1 may be broken. If the unregulated
voltage at C2 is absent, the bridge rectifier D1 is probably defective.

Problem 5: Data LED Does Not Turn On

Cause/Solution 1:
If the Data LED does not turn on, but the Deck Unit successfully passes data
to the computer, the wiring to the light or the light driver, U25, may be broken.

Cause/Solution 2:
If the Data LED does not turn on and the Deck Unit does not pass data to
the computer:

1. Check the main internal supply voltages that are present at the turrets

located on the Digital PCB. Relative to the GND turret with the black
wire, voltages should be +12 at orange, +5 at red, an d -12 at blue (all
± 0.5 volts). Voltages outside these ranges can be caused by a fault in the
Power-One open-frame supply, or an excessive load on one or mor e of the
supply busses. Disconnect the red, orange, or blue lead to determine
whether the problem is in the power supply or on the power bus.

2. If the problem is with the power bus, reconnect the power supply leads.

Disconnect the ribbon cable connector at JP1 on the Digital PCB. If the
measured voltages are not correct, the problem is with the Receiver PCB.
If there is no change, the problem is probably in the Digital PCB logic
board. Check for shorted bypass connectors, ICs (a shorted unit may be
hot), etc.

3. If the power supply levels are correct, check for correct operation of the

Receiver PCB. With the CTD connected, check for presence of the
telemetry waveform at the Receiver PCB input terminals, J1. The
Receiver PCB is under the main logic PCB, and may be accessed by
removing the Deck Unit bottom cover.

63

Section 13: Troubleshooting

Problem 6: RS-232 Interface Not Working

Cause/Solution 1:
You may be attempting to communicate at an incorrect baud rate, etc. A
standard Deck Unit is configured to 19200 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no
parity. These settings may not be changed. Verify the settings in SEATERM
by selecting SBE 11 Interface in the Configure menu.

Cause/Solution 2:
If non-Sea-Bird software is being used, verify that the RS-232 device is
sending the correct commands to the Deck Unit. For example, GR must be
used to begin transferring data to the RS-232 interface.

Cause/Solution 3:
Verify that the connection to main logic board JP6 (RS-232 I/O connector) is
properly secured. This connector may be installed 180 degrees to normal
position to reverse the Receive/Transmit connections.

Cause/Solution 4:

Check the circuitry associated with U15 and U17.

Problem 7: IEEE-488 Interface Not Working

Cause/Solution 1:
The Deck Unit’s IEEE-488 address may not be properly set to match the
external interface. As shipped, the Deck Unit address is set to 1, which is the
required address for SEASAVE. This is also the default address used by the
National Instruments GPIB-PC2A interface as supplied for use in PC/XT/AT
computers. If your interface requires a different address, use GPIB=N to
change the address.

Cause/Solution 2:
If non-Sea-Bird software is being used, verify that the IEEE-488 device is
sending the correct commands to the Deck Unit. For example, GI must be
used to begin transferring data to the IEEE-488 interface.

Cause/Solution 3:
Verify that the ribbon connector JP3 (Digital PCB) is properly mated.

Cause/Solution 4:
Check the circuitry associated with U18.

64

Section 13: Troubleshooting

Problem 8: Tape Recorder Interface Not Working

Cause/Solution 1:
The Deck Unit front panel Signal Source switch may be in the incorrect
position. When recording, place the switch in the Fish position. When playing
previously recorded data back, place the switch in the Tape position.

Cause/Solution 2:
Verify that the recording level is set properly (approximately 0 db).

Cause/Solution 3:
An incompatible tape type or settings may be used. Use Type II magnetic tape
is possible. Verify that the tape recorder bias level and compensation
adjustments are as required for the type of tape used.

Cause/Solution 4:
Output to the tape recorder is an 8640 baud DPSK enc oded NRZ wave form.
Verify that this signal appears at the Deck Unit Record connector, with
amplitude 0.5 v p-p. If the signal appears at the Record connector correctly,
then verify that the playback signal appears at the Play connector.

Cause/Solution 5:
The 11plus V2 may be set up for serial data uplink. An 11plus V2 with
jumpers set for serial data uplink cannot output data through the tape recorder
interface (see Section 10: Setting Up RS-232 Serial Data Uplink).

Problem 9: Modem Channel Not Working

The modem channel provides communication between the Deck Unit and a
water sampler and/or serial data output instrument connected to the CTD.

Cause/Solution 1:
If the modem Carrier LED does not come on, the Deck Unit modem is not
receiving the signal from the CTD modem. Check test point TP2 on the CTD
Modem PCB with an oscilloscope; there should be a 1070 Hz sine wave
present, with an amplitude of at least 50 mV p-p. The sine wave should change
frequency when the CTD modem transmits characters.

Cause/Solution 2:
The CTD modem may not be receiving the signal from the Deck Unit modem.
Verify this by putting the Deck Unit thumbwheel switch in position 11 [B].
With the CTD connected (to the Deck Unit), the left-most bit should be 0; if it
is 1, the CTD modem is not receiving a signal from the Deck Unit modem.
Check test point TP1 on the Deck Unit Modem PCB; there should be a
2225 Hz 4V p-p sine wave present.

Cause/Solution 3:
If both modems are operational (Cause/Solution 1 and 2 ruled out), but the
remote instrument (water sampler or serial data instrument) is not operating
properly, either the remote instrument or the computer may be cabled
improperly. Verify that the Transmit and Receive pins are properly wired
(pins 2 and 3 on a standard serial cable).

65

Section 13: Troubleshooting

Cause/Solution 4: (G.O. 1015 Rosette Water Sampler only)
If both modems are o p e r ational (Cause/Solution 1 and 2 ruled out), v erify that
the Rosette Interface PCB is operational. Place a voltmeter across the Rosette
cable’s positive and negative wires and enable the Rosette; 60 volts should
appear on the cable. If it does not, the cable or Rosette Interface PCB may be
faulty. Press the Fire button on the Deck Unit; the 60 volt level should rapidly
drop to 0. If the voltage on the cable comes up to 60V and drops as expected, the
Rosette pylon may be switched to the wrong polarity. Fix this by openi ng the
Rosette pylon and switching the polarity switch to negative. If the Rosette
Interface PCB is operational and the pylon is not switched to the wrong polarity,
the pylon electronics are faulty.

When the G.O. 1015 Rosette pylon fires a bottle, the supply voltage is forced
negative for a moment (a voltmeter placed across the Rosette wires shows the
negative pulse.). This negative pulse is sensed by the Rosette interface and a
signal is sent to the Deck Unit in the telemetry stream and on the modem
channel. Switch the thumbwheel switch to position 11 [B], and fire the Rosette.
The bit second from the left should change to 1 for several scans after the
Rosette fires. If this does not occur and the Rosette did fire, either the Interface
PCB is faulty or the pylon is not sending the confirm signal.

66

Glossary

Glossary

DATA HANDLING TERMS

To facilitate data handling, the SBE 9plus CTD and SBE 11plus V2 Deck Unit
cluster individual data bits into groups of various sizes. Th e following
definitions apply in this manual:

• Byte – Always 8 bits. May be serial (as generated in the CTD) or parallel

(Deck Unit’s IEEE-488 output).

• Character – Data byte encoded to ASCII standard.

• Channel – Path taken by data deriving from a single sensor (for

example, a temperature sensor) or other source (such as the modulo
counter).

• LSB – Least significant bit. Right-most bit in a byte. For example, if the

byte is 11111110, the LSB is 0 (in bold).

• MSB – Most significant bit. Left-most bit in a byte. For example, if the

byte is 10000000, the MSB is 1 (in bold).

• Scan – One data sample containing temperature, conductivity, pressure,

and optional auxiliary inputs (at full rate, obtained 24 times per second
with the SBE 911plus).

• Word – Used to describe a group of data bits subject to certain arithmetic

and display operations by th e Deck Unit. A word consists of 3 bytes. A
word may comprise a single frequency channel, two A/D channels, or
other parameters. For example, the Modulo word conveys the modulo
count; pump, bottom contact, modem, and water sampler interface status
bits; and a 12-bit number representing pressure sensor compensation
temperature.

• Word Number – The sequential position of a data word in the scan. The

word number depends on the order in which the word is presented to the
computer or displayed, not on the order in which a particular sensor’s data
was acquired. The first word in the scan is word number 0.

MISCELLANEOUS

• PCB – Printed Circuit Board.
SOFTWARE

• NMEATest – Sea-Bird’s Win 95/98/NT/2000/ XP NM EA message

simulation program, which simulates NMEA messages for testing
purposes (program is installed with SBE Data Processing).

• PROG11V2 – Sea-Bird’s program to copy calibration coefficients from

the instrument configuration (.con) file to the Deck Unit (program is
installed with SBE Data Processing).

• SBE Data Processing – Sea-Bird’s Win 2000/XP data processing

software, which calculates and plots temperature, conductivity, pressure,
data from auxiliary sensors, and derived variables such as salinity and
sound velocity.

• SEASAVE V7 – Sea-Bird’s Windows 2000/XP software used to acquire,

convert, and display real-time or archived raw data.
SEASOFT-Win32– Sea-Bird’s complete Windows 2000/XP software

•

package, which includes software for communication, real-time data
acquisition, and data analysis and display. SEASOFT-Win32 includes
SEATERM, SEASAVE V7, SBE Data Processing.

• SEATERM – Sea-Bird’s Win 95/98/NT/2000/XP terminal program used

to communicate with the SBE 11plus V2.

67

Appendix I: Command Summary

Appendix I: Command Summary

CATEGORY COMMAND DESCRIPTION

Note:

Except where noted,
commands are sent to the
Deck Unit through the SBE
11 Interface connector,
using SEATERM.

General Setup

NMEA

Surface PAR

Pressure

Frequency &

Pressure

Temperature

Autorun

DS

GPIB=x

AdvanceCn=x

AdvanceVn=x

NMEABaud=x

NSR

NSI

Nx

(sent automatically by

SEASAVE based on

.con file setting)

AddSPAR=x

Offset=x

PBaud=x

AutoRun=x

AddNMEA=x

(only affects

operation if

AutoRun=Y)

Display status and setup parameters.
x= IEEE-488 address. Factory default 1. Must
be set to 1 to work with SEASAVE.

n= conductivity channel number (0 or 1);
x= time (seconds) to advance channel.
n= A/D channel number (0 -7);
x= time (seconds) to advance channel

(maximum 10).
x= baud rate for communication between Deck
Unit and NMEA navigation device (4800 or

9600).
Output Lat/Lon/Time ASCII data over
RS-232 SBE 11 Interface to terminal program.
For diagnostic use in SEATERM.
Output Lat/Lon/Time ASCII data over
IEEE-488 SBE 11 Interface to terminal
program. For diagnostic use in SEATERM.

x=Y: Add 7 bytes of Lat/Lon data to CTD data.
x=N: Do not.

x=Y: Add Surface PAR voltage data to

CTD data.

x=N: Do not.
x= offset voltage used to adjust Surface PAR

data for drift in Deck Unit electronics.
x= baud for pressure frequency and pressure

temperature output from Deck Unit (1200,
2400, 4800, 9600, or 19200).

x=N: Do not automatically start sampling on
power up. Default.
x=Y: On power up, automatically start
sampling, and do not send and display response
of DS.

x=Y: Add Lat/Lon data to CTD data.
x=N: Do not.

68

Appendix I: Command Summary

CATEGORY COMMAND DESCRIPTION

Display CDO setup parameters.
Display calibration coefficients.

S=primary temperature calibration date
S=primary conductivity calibration date
S=pressure calibration date
F=primary temperature F0
F=primary temperature G
F=primary temperature H
F=primary temperature I
F=primary temperature J
F=primary conductivity G
F=primary conductivity H
F=primary conductivity I
F=primary conductivity J
F=primary conductivity pcor
F=primary conductivity tcor
F=primary conductivity slope
F=pressure C1
F=pressure C2
F=pressure C3
F=pressure D1
F=pressure T1
F=pressure T2
F=pressure T3
F=pressure T4
F=pressure slope
F=pressure offset
F=pressure M
F=pressure B
N=CTD A/D voltage number for altimeter
F=altimeter scale factor
x= output format.
x= baud rate for CDO (300, 600, 1200, 2400,

4800, 9600, or 19200). For SBE 14, must be

300. For SBE 46, must be 1200, 2400, 4800,

Note:

F = floating point number
S = string with no spaces
N = integer

Converted Data
Output (CDO) -

commands sent

to Deck Unit

through Remote

Out connector,

using

SEATERM.

Note that

TCalDate=

through

AltScale= are

sent

automatically

when

PROG11v2 is

run.

DS

DC

TCalDate=S
CCalDate=S
PCalDate=S

TF0=F

TG=F
TH=F

TI=F

TJ=F
CG=F
CH=F

CI=F

CJ=F

CPC=F
CTC=F

CS=F

PC1=F
PC2=F
PC3=F
PC1=F
PT1=F
PT2=F
PT3=F
PT4=F

PS=F
PO=F

PM=F

PB=F

AltVolt=N

AltScale=F

Format=x

Baud=x

or 9600.

NAvg=x

Lat=x

x= number of scans to average for CDO.
x= latitude (degrees) to use in calculation of

depth from pressure.

x= alarm enable parameter (bottom contact=1,

Alarms=x

pressure=2, altimeter=4, combination by adding
numbers for each alarm to be included).

PEnable=x

PSet=x

AltSet=x

AltHyst=x

Gg or Run

x= pressure (decibars) to enable all alarms.
x= pressure (decibars) to turn on pressure alarm.
x= distance above bottom (meters) to turn on

altimeter alarm.
x= maximum change in distance above bottom
(meters) for altimeter hysteresis.
Output CDO data to terminal program. For
diagnostic use in SEATERM.

69

Appendix II: Commands Sent Automatically by SEASAVE

Appendix II: Commands Sent Automatically by SEASAVE

The following commands are sent automatically by SEASAVE to configure
the Deck Unit at the start of real-time data acquisition. If you will be

developing your own software instead of using SEASAVE, you must send
these commands with your software, in the order listed below.

All commands and data sent to the Deck Unit must be sent as ASCII
characters. Upon receipt of the commands, the Deck Unit executes the
function. All commands remain in effect until the Reset button on the Deck
Unit is pushed or new commands are sent.

With the exception of Axx (number of scans to av erage), these settings are not
stored in the Deck Unit’s EEPROM.

The general format is:

CRL

Where

• C = command

• R = carriage return (not required)

• L = ASCII character for Line Feed (10 decimal or 0A hexadecimal)

Reset Data Buffers Command

R Reset and flush buffers (does not put data

into buffers, leaves all other parameters
the same).
Any command except Start Collecting
Data and Stop Placing Data into Buffers
causes an automatic execution of Reset
Data Buffers, so that first output data after
command will reflect new format.

Unsuppress All Data Words Command

U Restore all words to data stream. Send

once before sending any Xn commands.

Number of Scans to Average Command

Note:
In SEASAVE, number of scans to
average is entered in the
configuration (.con) file (Scans to
average). The Deck Unit sends the
appropriate Axx command based on
the setting in the .con file.

Axx xx= scans averaged by Deck Unit (1 - 50).

70

Appendix II: Commands Sent Automatically by SEASAVE

Suppress Data Word Command

Xn n= suppressed word number

(hexadecimal).
Channels can be deleted from data stream
transferred to computer with Xn.
For frequency channels, a word contains
1 channel; for A/D channels, a word
contains 2 channels. Command is useful in
reducing scan size, reducing space

Note:
If using SEASAVE, suppression of
data words and inclusion of NMEA
data is entered in the configuration
(.con) file. The Deck Unit sends
the appropriate Xn and Nx
commands based on the settings
in the .con file.

NMEA Command

Nx x=Y: Add Lat/Lon data to CTD data.

required to store data.

x=N: Do not.

Start Collecting Data Command

Gx x=I, R, or B

Signals Deck Unit to begin putting data
into its output buffers at a rate determined
by how many scans are averaged.

x=I: Put data into IEEE-488 buffer.
x=R: Put data into RS-232C buffer.
x=B: Put data into both buffers.

User’s computer obtains this data by
exercising appropriate bus protocol.

Stop Placing Data into Buffers Command

S Deck Unit stops putting data into buffers.

Send S when ready to stop sampling.

71

Appendix III: Functional Description and Circuitry

Appendix III: Functional Description and Circuitry

Deck Unit Data Interfaces

The Deck Unit has both IEEE-488 (parallel) and RS-232C (serial) interfaces.
Data output and control commands can be sent via either interface. To
successfully transmit full rate (24 Hz) data with all channels active, set the RS­232C interface to 19200 baud or use the parallel interface. With minimum data
channels active (4 words) and a reasonably fast computer (i.e., 80386
processor), 24 Hz data acquisition may be accomplished at lower baud rates.
Memory buffers at the output ports prevent data loss when the computer is
temporarily occupied by other tasks (buffer size = 20500 bytes for IEEE-488,
8000 bytes for RS-232C). The RS-232C interface outputs ASCII characters.

The modem interface provides a bi-directional serial communication link with
the CTD that is independent of the telemetry channel. This link may be used to
control a water sampler interface or to communicate with a serial device that is
cabled to the CTD.

The NMEA 0183 interface permits the Deck Unit to integrate Latitude,
Longitude, and Time data into the CTD data stream.

Data Telemetry Receiver

Deck Unit Modem

The telemetry waveform originates in the CTD and is transformer-coupled
onto the sea cable. In the Deck Unit, another transformer removes the
telemetry signal from the sea cable. The signal is amplified, filtered, and
converted to logic level prior to being sent to a UART and then to a micro­controller, which checks the decoded bits and activates a valid character line to
indicate successful reception of each 8-bit character. The absence of the valid
character signal, at times when it is expected, lights the Deck Unit Error LED.

The Deck Unit modem provides a 300-baud, full-duplex, serial communication
link with the CTD. This channel is used by the Deck Unit for water sampler
control and control of a remote serial device.

The CTD uses the setting of the most significant bit to determine what to do
with a command received from the Deck Unit:

• Characters received by the CTD with the most significant bit set (ASCII

values 128 - 255) are interpreted as commands to a water sampler. The
CTD interprets the command, encodes it in the format required by the
water sampler, and sends it to the water sampler.

• Characters received by the CTD with the most significant bit not set are

passed along unchanged to a remote serial output device.

All characters received by the CTD from the water sampler and remote serial
output device are sent to the Deck Unit. Water sampler operation does not
interfere with operation of a remote serial output device, and vice versa.

72

Appendix III: Functional Description and Circuitry

The Deck Unit automatically sends the following commands (as applicable)
when the user pushes the Home/Arm and Fire buttons (or fires bottles
through SEASAVE).

SBE 32 Carousel Commands and Replies

Commands to Carousel

#SR Go to home position (position #1).
#SF Fire next position (sequential firing).
#SNx Fire position x (first position is 1).

Examples:

#SN2 fire position # 2
#SN< fire position # 12

Replies

6, !, 6 At home position.
6, #, 6 Received invalid bottle number.
6, -, 6 Did not confirm fire.
6, 49, 6 Fired bottle # 2.
6, 72, 6 Fired bottle # 24.

G.O. 1015 Rosette Commands and Replies

Commands to CTD

#ENBL Supply power to Rosette.
#FIRE Remove power from Rosette, fire bottle.

Replies

#ENABLED Ready to fire bottle.
#CONFIRM Bottle fire confirm pulse detected.

G.O. 1016 Rosette Commands and Replies

Commands to CTD

#GH Go to home position
#GOx Set arm offset to x, go to home position.
#GF Fire position, move to next position.
#GNx Go to position x.

Examples:

#GN2 go to position # 2
#GN: go to position # 10

Replies

7, Oxf2, 7 Positioning error, returning to home.
7, Oxf4, 7 Positioning error, could not find home.
7, Oxc9, 7 Ready to fire position #1 (home).
7, Oxca, 7 Ready to fire position #2 (home).

Miscellaneous Commands

The following commands apply to a CTD with an optional control line on the
Modem PCB. They can be used to control a device, such as the pump, wired to
the control line.

Commands to CTD

#P0 Control function off (line logic set low).
#P1 Control function on (line logic set high).

73

Appendix III: Functional Description and Circuitry

Deck Unit Power

The Deck Unit operates on 105 - 125 VAC or 210 - 250 VA C (50 t o 60 Hz),
depending on the setting of the back panel power switch. A power supply
(Power One model HTAA-16W-A) creates +5, +12, and -12 volts DC for use
by the Deck Unit electronics and telemetry receiver. The input power line is
fused with at 2 Amp Slow-Blow fuse when operatin g at 12 0 VAC. The fuse
should be replaced with a 1 Amp Slow-Blow type for use at 240 VAC. The
Power One supply has fold-back current limiting, and is not separately fused.

Sea Cable Supply

A choke-input supply provides 250 VDC at up to 0.25 amperes to the sea
cable; a 0.5 amp fuse (located on the Deck Unit back panel) protects against
accidental shorting or overload of the sea cable.

Deck Unit Cooling

The Deck Unit has a fan in the back panel. Slots at the back panel top and
bottom allow air interchange.

Tape Recorder/VCR Interface

Note:

An 11plus V2 with jumpers set
for serial data uplink cannot
output data through the tape
recorder interface. See

Section 10: Setting Up RS-232
Serial Data Uplink.

Circuitry

WARNING!
Potentially lethal voltage levels
are maintained for 15 seconds
after removal of AC power. Turn
off the Deck Unit and remove the
AC power cord from the back
panel before attempting to
service the system. Wait at least
1 minute after power down
before working on the Deck Unit,
sea cable, CTD, etc.

The tape recorder interface permits use of an audio recorder or VCR for data
backup in case of computer failure, or for data recording when no computer is
available. Connect the recorder line input and line output to the Record and
Play connectors (respectively) on the Deck Unit. Set the record level to 0 db.
When playing back data, the front panel Signal Source switch must be in the
Tape position. Most high-quality cassette decks will perform well with this
system, although recording time is usually limited to 90-120 minutes due to
cassette tape capacity. Best results will be obtained with metal oxide tapes.
VCRs with super-long play capability can offer up to 6 hours of recording.
Simply use only the audio input and output on the VCR, ignoring the video.

Deck Unit electronics are in a rack-mount cabinet, housing two main PCBs,
two modular power supplies, a cooling fan, and front panel displays and back
panel connectors. The electronics are powered from 120 or 240 VAC. Set the
AC voltage switch (on the Deck Unit back panel) to 12 0 or 24 0 before
powering the Deck Unit.

74

Appendix III: Functional Description and Circuitry

Chassis Wiring

The chassis wiring diagram shows the Deck Unit modules and wiring.

Drawing 32233 shows the wiring of the standa rd Deck Unit. The required AC
power input fuse is 2 Amp Slow-Blow when set to 120 VAC units and 1 Amp
Slow-Blow when set to 240 VAC. There is also a 0.5 A Fast-Blow fuse in
series with the sea cable output for protection against shorts or overloads.

Power Supplies

Power for Deck Unit circuitry is supplied by a conventional open-frame linear
supply (Power One Model HTAA-16W-A; Power-One, Inc., Camarillo,
California) generating ±12 and +5 volts from the main AC supply, located at
the top left front of the chassis. Screwdriver adjustment of the output voltage
levels is possible, but not ordinarily required. The Power-One supply uses
fold-back current limiting for complete short-circuit protection. Detailed
specifications and a schematic diagram are included in this manual.

Sea Cable Supply

The Deck Unit uses a linear supply to produce the sea cable voltage 250 volts
at 0.25 amperes (reference drawing 32233). AC power is input to power
transformer T1 (primary connections are switched to work on 120 or
240 VAC) to generate approximately 275 V RMS for input to a bridge rectifier
(Motorola 100JB12L). The resulting DC voltage is regulated by series
inductor L1 and capacitor (Mallory CGS801T450V4L, 800 uF/450 volts) to
produce 250-volt output. R1 is a bleeder resistor used to stabilize the supply
output voltage and ensure supply discharge within a reasonable (15 second)
interval. Output voltage decay time constant is R1*C2 (3.2 seconds).

Receiver PCB

The receiver circuitry (drawing 31326) is installed components-downward on
the smaller PCB mounted immediately below the main (microprocessor) PCB.
The decoder circuitry is on the same PCB, as is tape recorder interface section.

Transformer T1 provides decoupled 34560 Hz sea cable telemetry signal to a
bandpass filter C9/L1 and C11/L2. Transistor pair Q2 and Q3 applies gain,
while C13 and T3 produce additional filtering. U1A is a gain stage and Q7/Q8
convert the signal to 5-volt logic level.

Shift-register U3 and X-OR U2C provide the DPS K dec o di n g fu nct i o n
(U11and its associated counter circuits provide the bit-clock), with Bessel
filter (U4 and associated components) extracting the NRZ data stream.
Comparitor U5 converts the NRZ signal to full logic level. The receiver
microcontroller, U7, converts the CTD data into frequencies and voltages and
transmits the converted data 24 scans per second to the main digital PCB for
further processing. The NRZ data stream is fed to U13, where it is encoded to
DPSK format for use by analog tape recorders.

75

Appendix III: Functional Description and Circuitry

Modem PCB

The Modem PCB (drawing 31485) utilizes a Motorola MC145443 300 Baud
FSK single chip modem. Transmit frequencies are 2025 and 2225 Hz; receive
frequencies are 1070 and 1270 Hz. Transformer T2 on the Receiver PCB
couples the modem to the sea cable. U9, U10, and U11 provide filtering for
the received signal. U7 and U8 act as a buffer and line driver for the
transmitted signal.

U1 is an RS-232 to TTL level converter. U5 is a micro-controller that accepts
input from the pushbuttons on the front panel and listens to the traffic on the
modem channel. U5 sends commands to the water sampler interface and lights
the Home/Arm and Fire LEDs as appropriate.

Digital PCB

The main Digital PCB (drawing 32127):

1. Acquires full rate data from the Receiver PCB.

2. Acquires NMEA navigational data.

3. Digitizes Surface PAR voltage and merges this voltage into the CTD

data stream.

4. Time aligns conductivity freque ncies and voltages if requested.

5. Averages data if requested.

6. Stores processed data in RAM FIFO buffers for transmission to computer

via RS-232 or IEEE-488.

7. Outputs raw pressure data for towed body control.

8. Uses a second microprocessor with EEPROM memory to output

converted CTD data in engineering units.

76

Appendix IV: Replacement Parts

Appendix IV: Replacement Parts

Part

Number

MS3106A-12S-3P

17556

171886

17082 IEEE-488 cable

17015

17824

80915

801422

801429

801367

171890

801237

171888

30017 Rack mounting kit For mounting deck unit 1

2-pin to pigtail,
10 m (33 ft)

DB-25P 25-pin to
DB-9S 9-pin serial
cable, 3 m (10 ft)

AC power cable
(U.S. standard)
AC power cord
(European plug)
MS3106A-12S-3P
2-pin to RMG-2FS
2-pin cable,
10 m (33 ft)

MS3106A-12S-3S
2-pin to DB-9S
9-pin NMEA Interface
test cable, 1.8 m (6 ft)

MS3106A-14S-5P
5-pin to DB-9S
9-pin cable,

1.8 m (6 ft)

MS3106A-14S-2P
4-pin to Switchcraft
EN3C5F 5-pin cable,
15 m (50 ft)

DB-9P 9-pin to
DB-9S 9-pin,
3 m (10 ft)

MS3106A-14S-5P
5-pin to
MS3106F-14S-7S
3-pin, 100 m (328 ft)

DB-25S 25-pin to
DB-9P 9-pin
cable adapter

Part

Application
Description

Connects Sea Cable on
Deck Unit to slip ring

Connects SBE 11

Interface (RS-232) and
Modem Channel on

Deck Unit to computer
COM ports
Connects SBE 11
Interface (IEEE-488) on
Deck Unit to parallel
port on computer
Connect Deck Unit to
AC power source
Connect Deck Unit to
AC power source

Test cable to connect
Deck Unit to CTD

Test cable to connect
NMEA on Deck Unit to
computer running
NMEA simulation
program for test
purposes
Test cable to connect
Remote Out on Deck
Unit to computer for
Remote Output setup
Cable to connect Surface
Par on Deck Unit to
Surface PAR sensor with
Switchcraft connector
(current connector used
by Biospherical
Instruments)
Cable to connect
9600 Baud Uplink on
Deck Unit to computer

Cable to connect
Remote Out on Deck
Unit to SBE 14 Remote
Depth Readout

For use with computer
with DB-25 connector

Quantity

1

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

-

-

77

Index

Index

.

.con file · 26, 37

9

9600 baud uplink · 14

A

About Sea-Bird · 5
Auxiliary sensors · 15

B

Back panel · 12
Baud rate · 9
Bottle firing · 47, 52, 54

C

Calibration coefficients

CDO · 39
Carousel · 46, 54
CDO · 39

calibration coefficients · 39

commands · 41

data format · 45
Circuitry · 72
Command summary · 68
Commands · 24

automatic · 70

CDO · 41

NMEA · 29

pressure frequency and temperature · 38

SEASAVE · 70

summary · 68

Surface PAR · 36
Communications · 9
Configuration file · 26, 37
Converted data output · 39
CTD

configuration file · 26, 37
CTD data · 13, 24, 31

D

Data acquisition · 52
Data format · 56

CDO · 45
Deck Unit LED · 57
engineering units · 60
IEEE-488 raw output · 58
pressure frequency and temperature · 38
raw output · 58
RS-232 raw output · 59

Surface PAR · 37
Data processing · 55
Deck unit

back panel · 12

front panel · 10
Deck Unit

dip switches · 46
Description · 7, 72
Dip switches · 46

E

Editing data files · 55

F

Firing bottles · 47, 52, 54
Front panel · 10
Functional description · 72

G

G.O. 1015 · 46, 54
G.O. 1016 · 46, 54
Glossary · 67

I

Installation · 13

M

Mounting · 13

78

Index

N

NMEA · 13, 28

data formats · 34
message formats · 34
setup · 30
simulation program · 32
testing · 31
troubleshooting · 32

NMEATest · 8, 16, 32

O

Operating system · 52

P

Parts

replacement · 77
Power · 15
Pressure frequency and temperature · 38
Processing data · 55
PROG11V2 · 39

R

Real-time data acquisition · 52
Remote output · 14, 38
Replacement parts · 77
Rosette · 46, 54
RS-232 uplink · 14

T

Testing

NMEA · 31

Troubleshooting · 61

NMEA · 32

U

Unpacking SBE 11plus V2 · 6

W

Water sampler · 13, 15, 46

dip switches · 46

Wiring · 13

S

SBE 14 · 39
SBE 32 · 46, 54
SBE 46 · 39
SBE Data Processing · 8, 16, 21, 60
Sea cable · 13
Sea-Bird · 5
SEASAVE · 8, 16, 19, 26, 29, 31, 37, 47, 52, 60, 70
SEASOFT · 8
SEASOFT-Win32 · 16
SEATERM · 8, 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30, 36, 38, 40, 41, 68
Serial data output instrument · 49
Setup · 23

CDO · 40

general · 23

general commands · 24

NMEA · 30

serial data output instrument · 49

Surface PAR · 36
Simulation program · 32
Software · 8, 16

installation · 16
Specifications · 8
Surface PAR · 14, 36

data format · 37
Surface PAR setup · 36
System communications · 9
System description · 7
System operation · 52
System setup · 23
System wiring · 13

79