Valeport VA500 Operating Manual
VA500 Altimeter
Operating Manual
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This document was prepared by the staff of Valeport Limited, the Company, and is the property of the
Company, which also owns the copyright therein. All rights conferred by the law of the copyright and by
virtue of international copyright conventions are reserved to the Company. This document must not be
copied, reprinted or reproduced in any material form, either wholly or in part, and the contents of this
document, and any method or technique available therefrom, must not be disclosed to any other person
whatsoever without the prior written consent of the Company.
Valeport Limited
St Peters Quay
Totnes
Devon, TQ9 5EW
United Kingdom
As part of our policy of continuous development, we reserve the right to alter, without prior notice, all
specifications, designs, prices and conditions of supply for all our equipment.
0430844c
May 2019
Tel:
e mail:
Web:
+44 1803 869292
sales@valeport.co.uk | support@valport.co.uk
www.valeport.co.uk
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
..................................................................................................................................... 41. EU Declaration of Conformity - CE Marking
..................................................................................................................................... 62. Introduction
..................................................................................................................................... 73. Specifications
.................................................................................................................................... 73.1. Acoustic
.................................................................................................................................... 73.2. Pressure
.................................................................................................................................... 73.3. Data Acquisition
.................................................................................................................................... 73.4. Communications
.................................................................................................................................... 83.5. Power Requirements
..................................................................................................................................... 94. Physical Characteristics
.................................................................................................................................... 94.1. Dimensions
4.1.1 Standard VA500 Altimeter
4.1.2 VA500 Altimeter with 90° Transducer
.................................................................................................................................... 9
.................................................................................................................................... 10
..................................................................................................................................... 115. Configuration and Operation
.................................................................................................................................... 115.1. Using The Configuration Wizard
.................................................................................................................................... 145.2. Manually Configuring The Unit
.................................................................................................................................... 145.3. Instrument Settings
.................................................................................................................................... 155.4. Communications Settings
.................................................................................................................................... 165.5. Sampling Regime
.................................................................................................................................... 165.6. Output Format
.................................................................................................................................... 175.7. Range Settings
.................................................................................................................................... 185.8. Pressure Settings
.................................................................................................................................... 185.9. Appended DigiQuartz Data Telegram (VA500P)
..................................................................................................................................... 196. Output Telegram Formats
.................................................................................................................................... 196.1. Valeport NMEA Telegram ($PRVAT)
.................................................................................................................................... 196.2. $SDDBT Telegram
.................................................................................................................................... 206.3. Tritech Telegram
.................................................................................................................................... 206.4. Benthos Telelgram
.................................................................................................................................... 216.5. Appended DigiQuartz Telegram (VP500P)
..................................................................................................................................... 227. Care and Maintenance
.................................................................................................................................... 227.1. Connector Care
..................................................................................................................................... 238. Wiring Information
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
Page 2
.................................................................................................................................... 238.1. Instrument Connector
Table of Contents
8.1.1 Extended Y Lead - Power/232 Comms / Analogue
.................................................................................................................................... 24
.................................................................................................................................... 258.2. Non Standard Instrument Connectors
8.2.1 Test Lead with 6 Way Female Impulse Connector
8.2.2 6 Way XSG-6-BCL
8.2.3 Test Lead with 6 Way Female RMG-6-FS Connector
.................................................................................................................................... 26
.................................................................................................................................... 26
.................................................................................................................................... 27
Page 3
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
0430844c - VA500 Altimeter
1. EU Declaration of Conformity - CE Marking
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
Page 4
EU Declaration of Conformity - CE Marking
Please note: Any changes or modifications to the product or accessories supplied, that are not authorised by
Valeport Ltd, could void the CE compliance of the product and negate your authority to operate it. This product
has demonstrated CE compliance under conditions that include the use of shielded cables. It is important that you
use shielded cables compliant with the product’s conformance, to protect from potential damage and reduce the
possibility of interference to other electronic devices.
Page 5
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
0430844c - VA500 Altimeter
2. Introduction
The VA500 altimeter has been designed with the objective of providing an accurate, reliable and robust
measurement of range from surface and underwater platforms. State of the art signal processing offers unrivalled
range and performance from a 500kHz transducer.
· millimetre precision
· 0.1m – 100m range
· RS232 and RS485 serial outputs
· 0-5V & 0-10V analogue outputs
· wide range power supply - 9 to 28 volts DC
· Low power - <125 mA @ 12V
all address the needs of the ROV, AUV and Hydrographic community in a compact and robust package.
The option of integrating a high accuracy pressure sensor (0.01%) as used in the miniIPS offers an unbeatable
package for your underwater positioning requirements.
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
Page 6
Specifications
Type:
500 kHz broadband transducer
Range:
0.1m – 100m
Resolution:
1mm
Beam Angle:
±3°
Type:
Temperature compensated piezo-resistive
Range:
10, 30, 100, 300 or 600 Bar
Accuracy:
±0.01% FS
Resolution:
0.001% FS
Sampling:
Continuous or data on demand (by serial command/TTL trigger).
Data Rate:
1, 2, 4 Hz
Digital Output:
RS232 & RS485 fitted as standard
Protocol:
4800 to 115200 baud, (8,1,N)
Formats:
Valeport NMEA / Tritech / Kongsberg / $SDDBT / NMEA
Analogue output:
0-5/0-10 V fitted as standard
RS485 is enabled by grounding pin 9 to pin 5 in the communications lead
see Wiring Information
3. Specifications
3.1. Acoustic
State of the art signal processing technology provides stable, repeatable readings while allowing the range to be
extended to unrivalled distances for a 500kHz altimeter.
3.2. Pressure
The optional pressure sensor fitted to the Altimeter is a temperature compensated piezo-resistive sensor, which
delivers the performance previously only available from a resonant quartz sensor at a more cost-effective price.
3.3. Data Acquisition
3.4. Communications
Page 7
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
0430844c - VA500 Altimeter
Input:
9 - 28 volts DC (isolated power supply)
Power:
<125 mA @ 12V
3.5. Power Requirements
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
Page 8
4. Physical Characteristics
Housing:
Titanium (6000m rated)
Size:
48mm max Ø
43mm main body Ø
215mm length (including connector)
248mm length with pressure module fitted
Weight:
0.95 kg (air)/ ~0.7 kg (in water)
Connector:
SubConn MCBH10F (titanium)
4.1. Dimensions
4.1.1. Standard VA500 Altimeter
Physical Characteristics
Page 9
© 2019 Valeport Ltd
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