Edgetech 4125I User manual

EdgeTech
4 Little Brook Road
West Wareham, MA 02576
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.EdgeTech.com
4125I/4125 SIDE SCAN SONAR SYSTEM
QUICKSTART GUIDE
0008854_REV_E 7/31/2020

ii
4125i/4125 Side Scan Sonar System 0008854_REV_E
The information, figures, and specifications in this manual are proprietary. They are issued in strict
confidence on condition that they not be copied, reprinted, or disclosed to a third party, either wholly or
in part, without the prior written consent of EdgeTech. Any reproduction of EdgeTech supplied software
or file sharing is strictly prohibited.
Copyright © 2011 – 2020 EdgeTech. All rights reserved.

iii
HARDWARE VARIATIONS AND COMPATIBILITY
4125 Series Side Scan Sonar Systems contain both standard and proprietary hardware. The 4125i and the
4125 SAR Side Scan Sonar Systems are the current standard hardware configurations. The 4125 (no i) is a
legacy system that was replaced by the 4125i. Each variant in the series has its own set of options.
The 4125i is an improved version of the legacy 4125 system that replaces the obsolete xDSL towfish and
topside modems in the system. 4125i and 4125 towfish and topside equipment are not compatible with
one another as the chipset used in the obsolete 4125 xDSL modems are not compatible with the new
modems used in the 4125i. Both topside and towfish must be purchased or upgraded to the 4125i
standard to work correctly. Contact EdgeTech CUSTOMER SERVICE for details and assistance on any
upgrade. Full system documentation on this system can be found in the 4125I/4125 SERIES HARDWARE
MANUAL (0004823) and the 4125 SOFTWARE MANUAL (0016652).
The 4125 SAR Side Scan Sonar System is a variant with configurations and options that are optimized for
search and recovery surveys. These configurations and options may make the 4125 SAR towfish and
portable topside not compatible with non-SAR 4125 system components. Contact EdgeTech CUSTOMER
SERVICE for details and assistance if this is the case. Full system documentation can be found in the 4125-
SAR HARDWARE MANUAL (0019251) and 4125 SOFTWARE MANUAL (0016652).
EdgeTech may change the standard components due to their availability or performance improvements.
Although the component manufacturers—along with their models and styles—may change from unit to
unit, replacement parts will generally be interchangeable.
EdgeTech will make every effort to see that replacement components are interchangeable and use the
same software drivers (if applicable). At times, however, direct replacements may not exist. When this
happens, EdgeTech will provide the necessary drivers with the replacement part, if applicable.
EdgeTech may also change specific hardware per customer requirements. Therefore, portions of this
manual, such as parts lists and test features, are subject to change. These sections should be used for
reference only. When changes are made that affect system operation, they will be explicitly noted. Also,
some options and features may not be active in the customer's unit at the time of delivery. Upgrades will
be made available when these features are implemented.
Contact CUSTOMER SERVICE with any questions relating to compatibility.

iv
4125i/4125 Side Scan Sonar System 0008854_REV_E
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service personnel at EdgeTech are always eager to hear from users of our products. Your
feedback is welcome and is a valuable source of information that we use to improve these products
continually. Therefore, we encourage you to contact EdgeTech Customer Service to offer any suggestions
or to request technical support:
NOTE: Please have your system Model and Serial Number available when
contacting Customer Service.
E-mail: [e-mail]
Mail: 4 Little Brook Road
West Wareham, MA 02576
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
24-Hour Emergency
Technical Support Line: [phone]
For more information, please go to www.EdgeTech.com.

v
ATTENTION – READ THIS FIRST!
All personnel involved with the installation, operation, or maintenance of the equipment described in this
manual should read and understand the warnings and cautions provided below.
CAUTION!This equipment contains devices that are extremely sensitive
to static electricity. Therefore, extreme care should be taken when
handling them. Normal handling precautions involve the use of anti-static
protection materials and grounding straps for personnel.
WARNING!High Voltage may be present in all parts of the system.
Therefore, use caution when the electronics are removed from their
containers for servicing.
CAUTION!Operation with improper line voltage may cause serious
damage to the equipment. Always ensure that the proper line voltage is
used.
CAUTION!Do not operate the system while the Towfish in the air for
extended periods. The system may be enabled to transmit while in the
air for test purposes, but testing should be limited to 5 minutes or less.
This system transmits high power into the transducers, which can
become quite hot if operated in the air for extended periods. Damage to
the transducers and internal electronics is possible.
Revision History
REVISION
DESCRIPTION
DATE
APPROVAL
A
Release to Production
02/01/2011
TS
B
Clarified Instructions
02/26/2011
TS
C
Specs and Images Updated
04/23/2018
TS
D
Instructions Updated
10/30/2019
TS
E
Updated to 4125i
07/31/2020
PO

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4125i/4125 Side Scan Sonar System 0008854_REV_E
TABLE OF CONTENTS
HARDWARE VARIATIONS AND COMPATIBILITY..................................................................................... iii
CUSTOMER SERVICE............................................................................................................................... iv
ATTENTION – READ THIS FIRST! .............................................................................................................. v
Revision History................................................................................................................................... v
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................................. vi
1.0 TOPSIDE SETUP...........................................................................................................................1-1
2.0 TOWFISH ASSEMBLY ..................................................................................................................2-2
3.0 SETUP AND ACTIVATION ............................................................................................................3-1
3.1 Powering Up the Topside and Discover .................................................................................3-1
3.2 Verifying Record and Playback Functions ..............................................................................3-2
3.3 Pre-deployment Test ............................................................................................................3-3
4.0 DEPLOYMENT .............................................................................................................................4-1
5.0 QUICKSTART GUIDE CHECKLIST ..................................................................................................5-1

1-1
1.0 TOPSIDE SETUP
To set up the topside:
1. Set up your side scan sonar system operation computer and 4125i topside unit at a secure place.
2. Connect the AC or DC power cable to a power source.
3. Connect ETHERNET cable to the laptop and 4125i topside.
4. Connect GPS to an appropriate serial port.
5. If a wireless connection is going to be used, enable wireless connection in the network settings,
and disable the LAN connection.
6. Connect the tow cable to the topside.

2-2
2.0 TOWFISH ASSEMBLY
To assemble the Towfish:
1. Assemble and attach the tail cone, as shown in FIGURE 2-1.
Figure 2-1
2. Apply a small amount of silicone grease to the Tow cable connector before connecting to Towfish.
3. Attach the tow cable to the Towfish main I/O connector and secure locking sleeve.
4. Connect tow cable safety grip and shackle to tow arm and securely tightened and seized with a
tie wrap or stainless-steel wire.
Tail Cone
Washer
Bolt

2-3
4125i/4125 Side Scan Sonar System 0008854_REV_E
Figure 2-2
5. Attach potted splice to the tow arm with tie wraps to prevent damage to the connector and splice.
Kellems grip
Tow cable
Safety cable
Tow cable
connector
Tie wraps
Waterproof
splice
Shackle
Shear pin

3-1
3.0 SETUP AND ACTIVATION
After making all connections, the system is ready to be turned on, and the Discover Software started. See
the DISCOVER 4125 SOFTWARE MANUAL for operation details.
3.1 Powering Up the Topside and Discover
1. Turn on the 4125i topside.
Figure 3-1: 4125i Portable Topside
2. Observe that the topside and fish power lights are illuminated, and the Link and LAN lights are
active.
NOTE: some older topsides have only the power and fish power
indicators.
3. Start the Discover software program if not already running and wait for the NET OFF dialog box
to change to NET ON. (This indicates that the topside and Towfish are connected).
4. The CM (Current Monitor) light should be off, indicating a good connection. If there is an issue,
the CM light will flash at 1 Hz rate for an open tow cable and 2 Hz for a shorted tow cable.
5. In the Towfish control dialog, check the Transmit boxes for High and Low frequencies and verify
the waterfall is scrolling down the screen for both frequencies.

3-2
4125i/4125 Side Scan Sonar System 0008854_REV_E
Figure 3-2: Towfish Control Tab
6. Set the range for 100 meters for each frequency.
7. Click the N and T buttons on the top of the Discover GUI to set the gains.
8. Check that the GPS signal is displayed in the Status tab. (Refer to the HARDWARE MANUAL for details
on the serial port setup for navigation input.
9. Zero the pressure sensor in the control pull-down menu external control dialog box.
Figure 3-3: Zeroing the Pressure Sensor
3.2 Verifying Record and Playback Functions
Perform the following test simultaneously with those found in subsection 3.3.
1. In the DISK dialog box, name the file in the file record file box and choose the desired path for the
file.
2. Start recording by clicking the Red button.

3-3
3.3 Pre-deployment Test
The following tests should be performed simultaneously with those of 3.2:
1. Rub the port and starboard transducers briskly one at a time and observe the resulting streaks on
the Discover Waterfall Displays. It should look like the screenshot below but will vary depending
on how hard the transducers are rubbed.
Figure 3-4: Rub Test Screenshot
2. Check compass heading, pitch, and roll data is present. Pitch and roll the towfish and check that
the pitch and roll data is correct and changing in the status bar in Discover. The pitch value is
displayed as ±90 with respect to the vertical plane. The Roll value is displayed as ±180 with respect
to the horizontal plane with negative (-)port values and positive (+) starboard values. Rotate the
towfish 360 degrees horizontally and check that the heading value is correct and changing
correctly in Discover.
Figure 3-5: Status Tab
3. After performing the rub test and HPR sensor test, click the Black square to stop recording.
4. Go to the sonar control and uncheck sonar on for Hi and Low frequencies.
5. In the DISK tab playback section, click on the browse button and locate the pre-deployment test
that was just recorded. Click the play button and playback the file. You should see your pre-
deployment test played back.

3-4
4125i/4125 Side Scan Sonar System 0008854_REV_E
Figure 3-6: Disk Tab

4-1
4.0 DEPLOYMENT
Points to be considered for the deployment of Towfish:
•Location of the propeller of the ship. (In shallow water deployments in may be better to deploy
from the side of the boat).
•Expected turning direction during deployment. When deploying the tow fish from the side of the
boat turns should be made so the tow fish swings away from the propeller.
NOTE: Take care not to step on the tow cable, and keep it away from
sharp objects and heat sources.
•Bending the cable with its radius less than 5 inches may cause damage to cable; do not bend the
tow cable sharply.
To deploy the Towfish:
1. The vessel should be underway at slow speed or stopped in neutral depending on the situation
and conditions (0-2 KNOTS)
2. Set the side-scan range to 2 to 3 X the water depth.
3. Slowly and carefully lower the fish to a safe depth just below the propeller wash (2-3 meters,
depending on water depth) is careful not to strike the tow fish against the side of the vessel.
4. Observe and detect the first bottom return.
5. Normalize the gains and TVG by clicking the N and T buttons for both frequencies and observe the
data. Adjust gains manually as needed.
6. Once you are sure that you have detected the seafloor, carefully lower the fish so that the fish
altitude is between 10-15% of the selected range. For example, if the range is set to 75 meters
per side, the tow fish altitude should be between 7.5 and 15 meters off the bottom.
NOTE: It is not always possible to achieve a 10-15% altitude requirement
due to conditions. While this altitude is recommended, adequate data
can still be obtained by towing the tow fish farther or closer to the
seafloor.

4-2
4125i/4125 Side Scan Sonar System 0008854_REV_E
7. Set the layback variables in the configuration pull down layback dialog box.
Figure 4-1: Layback Window
Figure 4-2: Threshold & Tracking
8. Check that the track bottom and track indicator boxes in the bottom tracking control menu.
9. Choose which channel, port, or starboard and frequency you wish to track. (It’s a good idea to
track the side and frequency that has the best return)
Figure 4-3: Discover Window Waterfalling

4-3
10. SET DETECTION THRESHOLD: this setting will vary depending on bottom types, but a good place
to start is about half of the peak signal displayed in the sonar signal amplitude display window.
11. SET TRACKING RANGE [M] [Display, Entry]: Adjust the width of the tracking window in meters.
(Typically, you want to track +- 2m either side of the first bottom return.
Figure 4-4: Tracking Range
12. Increase the boat speed to the desired survey speed (normally between 3-5 knots) and re-adjust
the amount of cable out so that the altitude of the tow fish is correct. (Don’t forget to reset the
cable out value in the layback settings).
13. Go to the DISK menu in the lower control tabs and choose a valid path for your files and give your
file a name (FIGURE 3-6).
14. Click the RED record button.
15. Verify the file size is getting larger.
NOTE: After recovery, always wash your Towfish and cable with fresh
water. Coat connector terminals with silicon grease and install dummy
plugin wet end connectors.

5-1
5.0 QUICKSTART GUIDE CHECKLIST
Power
1. Connect the power cable to topside and power source for AC or DC......................................... ☐
Internet
1. Connect ETHERNET cable to topside and laptop........................................................................ ☐
2. If using a wireless connection, enable wireless connection........................................................ ☐
3. Connect GPS to com port 1 of the laptop .................................................................................. ☐
Topside to Tow Fish
1. Connect Tow Cable to Topside .................................................................................................. ☐
2. Install Tail Fin assembly............................................................................................................. ☐
3. Connect Tow Cable to Towfish .................................................................................................. ☐
4. Secure shackle to cable grip and seize shackle with wire or zip tie............................................. ☐
Laptop
1. Turn on the laptop and start the Discover software .................................................................. ☐
Power
1. Turn on Topside power ............................................................................................................. ☐
2. Watch for NET off indicator to change to NET on in Discover .................................................... ☐
Pre-deployment Test
1. Perform pre-deployment rub test ............................................................................................. ☐
2. Zero the Pressure Sensor ......................................................................................................... ☐
Finalize
1. Deploy Towfish and start recording........................................................................................... ☐