Fakopp ArborSonic3D User manual

Manual for the
ArborSonic3D
acoustic tomograph
2019.

1
ArborSonic 3D
User's Manual
v6
January 2, 2019

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Manufacturer information .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Principle of operation ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Hardware –System parts ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Hardware –Setup............................................................................................................................................................... 5
Hardware –Handling the Piezo Sensors................................................................................................................... 6
Maintenance..................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Fixing................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Measurement................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Removal ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Hardware –Amplifier boxes .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Hardware –Battery Box................................................................................................................................................... 7
Hardware –Bluetooth and serial connection.......................................................................................................... 8
Establishing Bluetooth connection to the Battery Box................................................................................... 8
Selecting COM port........................................................................................................................................................ 9
Software –Basics ..............................................................................................................................................................11
Software –Application Settings..................................................................................................................................12
Software –Tree Properties...........................................................................................................................................13
Software –Sensor Geometry –Basics ......................................................................................................................15
Software –Sensor Geometry –Circular, Elliptical, Rectangular and Irregular .......................................16
Circular.............................................................................................................................................................................16
Elliptical ...........................................................................................................................................................................17
Rectangular.....................................................................................................................................................................17
Irregular...........................................................................................................................................................................18
Software –Sensor Geometry –Compass.................................................................................................................18
Description .....................................................................................................................................................................18
Usage.................................................................................................................................................................................18
Software –Time Data......................................................................................................................................................19
Software –Tomograms –Single-layer mode.........................................................................................................20
Software –Tomograms –Multi-layer mode ..........................................................................................................21
Software –Biomechanics...............................................................................................................................................22
Software –Image Container .........................................................................................................................................24
Software –Generating reports....................................................................................................................................25
Report generator –earlier version.......................................................................................................................25
Testing and troubleshooting........................................................................................................................................26
Testing before going to the field............................................................................................................................26
Most common troubles and solutions.................................................................................................................27
Advice and safety regulations......................................................................................................................................30
Maintenance........................................................................................................................................................................31
Guarantee.............................................................................................................................................................................31

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Introduction
Welcome as a new ArborSonic 3D owner. ArborSonic 3D is designed to detect hidden holes
and decay in trees by non-destructive acoustic testing.
Manufacturer information
ArborSonic3D is manufactured by:
Company: Fakopp Enterprise Bt.
EU tax number: HU22207573
Address: Fenyo 26.
City: Agfalva
ZIP: 9423
Country: Hungary
Web: http://www.fakopp.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: [phone]
Principle of operation
•Several Sensors are placed around the trunk, which are coupled to the tree by steel
nails.
•Each Sensor is tapped by a hammer.
•The unit measures the travel-time of the sound wave generated by the hammer tap
between each sensor.
•If there is a hole, then the sound waves have to pass around the hole and therefore
it requires longer time to reach the opposite sensors.

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Hardware –System parts
Piezo Sensors
Amplifier Boxes (black)
Battery Box (gray) containing the Bluetooth transmitter
Link Cables
Caliper (optional)
Sensor Remover
Tape measure
Steel and rubber hammers
Case

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Hardware –Setup
•Drive the Sensors into the trunk, perpendicular to the direction of the growth in a
counter-clockwise order as seen above.
•Connect the Sensors to the Amplifier boxes.
•Connect the Amplifiers in a line. The bottom connector goes to the side connector
of the next box.
•Connect the Battery Box to an Amplifier on any end of the line.
•Establish cable or Bluetooth connection to the PC

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Hardware –Handling the Piezo Sensors
Maintenance
•Always keep the nails, sensor head and the hammer clean, because dirt influences
the coupling and time reading.
•The numbers on the sensors are just decoration, you can change them freely,
however the numbers on the amplifier boxes are important.
Fixing
•Use the rubber hammer to fix the sensors
•The sensors need to go through the bark into the wood
•Good coupling between the nail and the wood is essential. The coupling is good if
the sensor head can’t be rotated with 3 stretched fingers. If the sensors can rotate
additional hammering is needed to couple the sensors well.
•The sensors need to be in intact wood material, not in decayed material.
•The software requires the penetration depth (PD parameter on the Sensor
Geometry tab) of the sensors. This parameter is very important in case of small
diameter trees.
•The sensor nails need to point to the center of the trunk; however, this is also not
very critical.
•The sensors need to be placed in the same plane. However, this plane doesn’t
necessarily have to be horizontal. The plane should be perpendicular to the growth
direction. In case of tilting trees, the plane will be tilted as well.
Measurement
•Use the steel hammer for generating the readouts by tapping on the sensor heads.
•Remove the tape measure before tapping because it may cause an acoustic short-
circuit.
•Always tap on the center of the sensor head in the nail direction. If you accidentally
tapped the side of the sensor, remove the data and tap again.
•Tap with uniform strength. Apply more power for large trees. Tapping power is not
very critical, but similar power is recommended. Tap with loose wrist.
•Never tap on the cable connection part of the sensor.
Removal
•First disconnect the sensor cable from the amplifier box. Then disconnect the
cables. For removing the sensors use the sensor remover tool if possible.
•When removing by hand, first rotate the sensors and then pull. Always pull in nail
direction.
•Never pull the cable.
•Never use any support to remove the sensors because it may break or bend the
nails.

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Hardware –Amplifier boxes
•When building up, first fix the sensors,
then the amplifier boxes and finally the
link cables
•Make sure to apply correct connector
orientation when connecting the link
cables. Don't force them.
•Amplifier numbering is essential. Don’t cross the cables
because it will mess up the whole measurement.
•Connect the bottom connector of an amplifier box to the
side connector of the next amplifier box.
•Never move the sensors with attached amplifiers because
it may damage the cable connectors.
•When taking apart, first remove the cables, then the
amplifiers and finally the sensors
Hardware –Battery Box
•Contains the 9V battery and the Bluetooth transmitter.
•Keep the Battery Box turned off while connecting the
Amplifier Boxes.
•The Battery Box can be connected to any amplifier box.
•Make sure to apply correct polarity when changing
battery.
•Any regular or rechargeable 9V battery can be used.
•The LED blinks for 5 seconds after turning on. This is the time required for the Bluetooth
module to warm up.
•If the battery is low, the LED blinks continuously.
•The battery should be well charged.
•It is recommended to turn on the battery box only for the measurement (and keep it turned
off during the rest of the time).
•The battery should be in the proper position.
- +

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Hardware –Bluetooth and serial connection
•The Battery Box of the device is also responsible for collecting and transmitting data to the
PC (or to an Android smartphone). There are two basic ways to establish connection with
PC: over a Serial-USB cable or over the built-in Bluetooth module (for the smartphone only
Bluetooth connection is possible).
•There are two steps in setting up the connection. The first is to install the USB cable or the
Bluetooth device in Windows. In either way a COM port is assigned to the connection with
a specific number. The second step is to set this number in the software. The software
provides support for both steps.
•The part below deals with setting up the connection over Bluetooth and does not apply if
you choose to use a Serial-USB cable. Please keep in mind that the maximum Bluetooth
range is 30 feet / 10 meters. If you need extended range, longer cable can be used between
the Amplifier Box and the Battery Box.
•For cable connection you may need to install a driver for the serial port itself (the installer
is attached on CD and on pen drive). Then check the ports in the device manager to find out
the proper number of the COM port. This will be used by the device and should be told to
the software. (Note that the number of the COM port depends on the used USB port. If you
connect the cable to another USB port, the COM port’s number will change.)
Establishing Bluetooth connection to the Battery Box
•If the automatic method does not work for any reason, the device needs to be installed
manually in the Control Panel or on the Tray. The final goal of the installation is to set up
and find the COM port number of the device and later set it in the software. (If you are using
an external USB Bluetooth Module, it is recommended to always connect it to the same USB
port.)
•Turn on the Battery Box, start adding a New Bluetooth device in the Control Panel or on
the Tray's Bluetooth Devices function. The device name is ArborSonic 3D.
•The PIN code of the device is 1234.
•The device should be installed by Windows and one or two COM ports should be detected.
Remember the number of the installed COM port. (You can check the Device Manager for
the used COM ports before and after installing the ArborSonic3D device as well, to see
which the new COM ports are belonging to the ArborSonic3D.)
•Start the software.

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Selecting COM port
•The second step is to select the correct COM port in the software. This applies regardless
of using the device over Bluetooth or Serial-USB cable. Connect the battery box and turn it
on.
•Start the software, click to go to the Application Options and choose the Reader Device
tab. Click the icon to open the Reader configuration window.
•Wait until all the available COM ports are listed, this can take up to a minute.
•If you remember the COM port when your
Bluetooth or Serial-USB cable device was
installed, just select it and close the panel by
clicking OK.
•Otherwise, if you don’t know the number of
the COM port, there is a useful support to find
it out. Turn on the Battery Box and connect at
least one amplifier box with at least two
sensors. You can do this in the office with any
piece of wood, no real tree is needed.
•Click the Find Port button. This will open all
the available COM ports and start listening to
any data that can be received. Tap on any
(connected) sensor to generate some data.
•If any data is received, the software selects
the COM port where it was received, and you get a notification. At this point everything is
set up for the connection. Now you can click OK to close this panel.