Ocean Sonics Gordon User manual

Gordon
Smart Recorder User Guide
January 2019
Ocean Sonics Ltd.
Hill House, 11 Lornevale Road,
Great Village, NS, B0M 1L0 Canada
Phone: [phone]
www.OceanSonics.com

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
Table of Contents
Terminology .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Gordon Quick Start ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Duty Cycling .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Pre-Deployment Testing ............................................................................................................................... 8
Test on Bench – Without Using Batteries ............................................................................................. 8
Dry Run – Deployment Test Using Batteries ......................................................................................... 9
Appendix A .................................................................................................................................................. 10
Connecting micro USB to Gordon Board ................................................................................................ 10
Appendix B .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Installing the Gordon Application ....................................................................................................... 11
Appendix C .................................................................................................................................................. 12
Actions Menu .......................................................................................................................................... 12
Set the Smart Recorder time from this PC .......................................................................................... 12
Change the Smart Recorder’s network settings ................................................................................. 12
Reset the connected Smart Recorder ................................................................................................. 12
Disconnect from the Smart Recorder ................................................................................................. 12

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
Terminology
Battery Pack – Ocean Sonics Instrument used to provide additional power to hydrophone(s) over long-
term deployments.
Gordon– Sometimes referred to as Smart Recorder.
A long-term acoustic recorder composed of an Ocean Sonics Battery Pack
with a Gordon Board inside.
Gordon is used to manage the recording of data. With the ability of
additional memory from a hard drive and a low power duty cycling it allows
longer amounts of time to be recorded. The board and additional memory
are added below the top cap and above the batteries.
Gordon Application – The software application that is used to control the Gordon Smart Recorder
settings; including the hydrophone sampling rates, duty cycle and network settings.
Gordon Board

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
Gordon Quick Start
1. Provide power to the Battery Pack
a. Insert batteries into Battery Pack (see Battery Pack User Manual)
b. Move toggle switch on the Gordon Board to the ON position (as seen below)
2. Attach hydrophone(s) to battery pack using a cable or directly in connector
3. Connect to the Gordon Board using a micro USB connector provided to set up for deployment
(see Appendix A)
a. Connect the micro USB cable to Gordon Board
b. Connect the opposite end of the cable to a USB port on your PC
4. Install the Gordon application provided on the USB drive (see Appendix B)
5. Open the Gordon application on your PC
6. Choose Connect to a Smart Recorder
7. Choose your device from the list:
a. Click on Battery Pack
b. Click Connect
ON
OFF

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
8. A page will be displayed with the Battery Pack Status
This page will show the Device Status, the remaining memory on the hard drive attached, the
date presumed by the Smart Recorder (must be set below), If there is synchronization from the
GPS, the time source that the Smart Recorder is using to set the time, the model and the
firmware version of the Gordon Board.
a. Click Set Time, this will set the time on your Battery Pack to be the same as your
computer. This is important to avoid unwanted recording.
b. Click Data Settings

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
9. Add your hydrophone:
a. Click on the [
+
] button to add a channel
for the hydrophone(s) connected to the Battery Pack
b. Type in the serial number of the unit connected to the Battery Pack
c. If more than one hydrophone, repeat the process for each hydrophone
d. Go into the Action Menu (see Appendix C) and ensure the proper number of channels
have been added for the number of hydrophones on the battery pack
e. Choose the settings for the Waveform Data, Spectrum Data, Delay and Smart Recorder
Settings.
f. A Start Delay is useful to start the duty cycle at a designated time (if no delay is chosen
the recording will begin at the start of the next minute after clicking apply)
g. Click Apply Settings: ‘Click Here to Apply these settings to Battery Pack #_____’
The Apply Button will disappear to show that settings have been applied successfully.

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
Duty Cycling
Duty cycling allows for a longer deployment time, saving battery during inactive periods (when
hydrophones are not recording). To make the most out of your smart recorder duty cycling choose a
period and active time that works best for your project. This is a trade between the length of the
deployment, the battery power and memory capability of your system. Use the excel sheet provided on
the USB with the Gordon Smart Recorder to help choose the settings that will provide the most useful
data from your deployment.
The Gordon Smart Recorder will turn the power to the hydrophones on and off. This allows for longer
deployments. The duty cycle is a period of sleeping (inactivity) and a wake period (activity) where the
hydrophone is recording.
Period: The total time of the cycle (active and inactive time).
Active: The time where the hydrophones are recording.

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
When using duty cycling the smart recorder will power on the hydrophone(s) approximately 3 minutes
before the duty cycle is set to start recording and will power down the hydrophone(s) 1 minute after the
recording has finished.
 The start up of the hydrophones is indicated by one buzz followed by a double buzz.
 The shut down of hydrophones will be indicated by three consecutive buzzes.
The minimum period suggested is 10 minutes. Any shorter periods will not give the smart recorder
enough time to enter low power mode and it will continuously stay on and not conserve battery during
inactivity.
All periods should be at least 5 minutes greater than the active periods for any conservation of battery.

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
Pre-Deployment Testing
To test the functioning of Gordon pre-deployment it is recommended that a dry practice run is
performed.
NOTE: Gordon will not duty cycle power on board if Gordon application is still open on computer and
USB is connected to the computer.
Test on Bench – Without Using Batteries
ENSURE NO BATTERIES ARE IN BATTERY PACK when using bench power
To test without using batteries in Battery Pack: Gordon Board can be powered by plugging the power
adapter supplied with each icListen provided. Plug into the top board as shown in Step 5.
1. Remove any batteries from the Battery Pack
2. Set up the Battery Pack in clean/dry environment so top board (Gordon Board) is accessible
3. Lay the battery pack on its side, so Gordon Board is still accessible, but adapters, cables and
connectors are not being damaged
4. Plug Power cord into wall and plug into power adapter
5. Plug power adapter into Gordon Board (as seen below)
6. Move Toggle Switch to ON position
7. Plug hydrophone and cable into the Battery Pack
8. Run Gordon application and connect using Quick Start procedures above
9. Unplug USB from PC and exit Gordon application
10. Record data with deployment settings and verify the data recorded is collected properly

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Gordon Smart Recorder User Guide
Dry Run – Deployment Test Using Batteries
1. Configure Recorder settings as you would for field deployment (Quick Start instructions above).
2. Allow the hydrophone to record at least two (or more) duty cycles
3. Verify data was recorded properly on chosen memory option
4. After testing ensure all instruments are turned off to conserve battery
a. Reverse bias the hydrophone(s) (using the 9V battery) so it remains at full charge
b. Turn off the Gordon Board