Kongsberg EK80 software

The Kongsberg EK80 sounder is a professional scientific wide band echo sounder which is used by many research vessels around the world. In Hydromagic it is possible to import files generated with this sounder in Kongsberg RAW or SEG-Y format. This tutorial is about connecting this sounder directly to Hydromagic in order to record real time digitized depth data (single- or dual frequency).

In this tutorial we discuss how to connect to Hydromagic over UDP, set the output format to DESO25 and how to load and configure the "STN ATLAS DESO 20/22/25" plugin in Hydromagic. You can test the configuration by loading a recorded raw data file in the EK80 software and using the built-in replay function. This tutorial is created using version 21.15.1. It might apply to other software versions as well.

Loading the STN ATLAS DESO 20/22/25 Series Plugin

To load this plugin, open the preferences window by selecting "Preferences..." from the "Options" menu. In the window that appears, select the "Devices" tab. Next click the "Add..." button.

Select the "Devices" tab in the "Preferences" dialog.

A list of available plugins will be displayed. In this list, select the "STN Atlas Deso 20/22/25 Plugin" and click "OK" to load and display the plugin's configuration window.

Select the "STN Atlas Deso 20/22/25" plugin.

Configuring the plugin

When the plugin is selected and loaded, the configuration dialog for the plugin will be shown. In almost all cases you can use the default settings. It could be that UDP port 20000 is already in use. If this is the case, please try a different port number (you have to change port this in the EK80 software as well - see next paragraphs).

After completing this tutorial, please check if the the low and high frequency values are swapped. If this is the case, you must toggle the "swap low and high frequency values" later by configuring the plugin. This setting can be changed at any time.

Accepting the default values should suffice.

Configuring the EK80 software (I/O)

In order to receive data from the sounder, the EK80 software has to be started and configured. Doubleclick the "EK80" icon on your start menu, desktop or taskbar to start the software.

First we have to set the sounder to 'Inactive', since it is not possible to change output settings when the sounder is in 'Demo' or 'Active' mode. To do so, select the leftmost tab in the pane on the right side of the screen, and change the "Operation" setting.

Set to 'Inactive'.

When done, select the tab in the middle (with the tools on it), and click the 'Installation' button. In the dialog that appears, select the 'I/O Setup' item on the left. The I/O Setup tab now appears. Click the "Add..." button directly below the list of ports in the "LAN Ports" section.

A new entry is created called 'LAN Port 2', with IP Address 127.0.0.1 and Port 20000. When Hydromagic is not running on the same computer, select the new entry, click "Setup" and change the IP address to the one used by the computer running Hydromagic. When completed, click "Apply" and "OK" to save the changes.

Configure a new LAN port so Hydromagic can read data from the sounder over UDP.

Configuring the EK80 software (Digitized Depth)

Next, return to the first tab, and change the Operation setting back to 'Normal' or 'Replay' when the sounder isn't connected. After doing so, the 'Output' button will be enabled. Click the 'Output' button to configure the output format.

Click the "Output" button.

We will no configure the digitized depth output. Select the 'Depth Output' option in the screen that appears. The only item in the 'Installed Outputs' list should be 'New' which can be used to add a new output. Select the 'New' item, and proceed to the section on the right. From the drop down box at the top of this section, select the 'Atlas' option.

In the 'Output Destination' section, check the 'Port' radio and select the I/O port we created earlier, which is most likely called 'LAN Port 2'. Select the channels you want to output. Please note that Hydromagic can only process one low frequency and one high frequency channel. When there are only one or two transducers listed, just check all.

Configure the output format to be used (digitized depth).

Testing the plugin

When the EK80 software has been configured you should see depth data displayed in the data view. If not, you can perform the following steps:

Open the preferences window by selecting "Preferences..." from the "Options" menu. In the window that appears, select the "Devices" tab. Next select the "STN Atlas Deso 20/22/25 Plugin" and click the "Monitor..." button. The communication monitor appears, and should display two different packets coming in as shown below:

Use the communications monitor to check whether network data is received.

Unloading the plugin

To unload the plugin, open the preferences window by selecting "Preferences..." from the "Options" menu. In the window that appears, select the "Devices" tab. Next select the "STN Atlas Deso 20/22/25 Plugin" and click the "Remove..." button.

Select the plugin and click "Remove..." to unload.