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Related Manuals for Ocean Instruments SoundTrap ST300 Series
Summary of Contents for Ocean Instruments SoundTrap ST300 Series
- Page 1 SoundTrap ST300 and ST4300 series user guide September 2021...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
About this guide ..........................4 Quick start guide ..........................5 Install the SoundTrap host on your PC ................5 Connect SoundTrap to your PC ..................5 Check SoundTrap Status ....................6 Configure the deployment ....................7 Begin recording using the IR Remote Control ..............9 Data Offload ........................ - Page 3 3.13 Troubleshooting ......................24 Appendices ............................ 26 SoundTrap HF Click Detector ..................26 4.1.1 Click detector ......................26 4.1.2 Snippet extractor ....................27 4.1.3 User parameters ..................... 27 4.1.4 Output File formats ....................28 4.1.5 Click Detector Caveats and Cautions ..............30...
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Page 4: About This Guide
1 About this guide This guide begins with a ‘Quick start’ section to help you get going with your new SoundTrap, including software installation and basic deployment instructions. This is followed by several sections containing more detailed information around operation, deployment, maintenance and troubleshooting. It is highly recommended you read the entire guide to ensure you have a good understanding of the instrument and how to get the most from its capabilities. -
Page 5: Quick Start Guide
2 Quick start guide To start using your SoundTrap you’ll need to install the SoundTrap Host software. 2.1 Install the SoundTrap host on your PC • Pre-installation Notes: o The SoundTrap host software supports Windows 7 and 8 (32 or 64 bit versions). o Do not connect the SoundTrap to your computer until you have completed the SoundTrap host software installation. -
Page 6: Check Soundtrap Status
Figure 1 - The Device List 2.3 Check SoundTrap Status Note the ‘Status’ panel on the right (Figure 3). Verify that the battery has sufficient charge and the memory is not full. -
Page 7: Configure The Deployment
Figure 2 – Deploy Control 2.4 Configure the deployment • Select the ‘Deploy’ tab as shown in figure 2. • Configure the deployment parameters as follows: o The ‘Recording Starts’ section determines when recording will begin. Recording can begin immediately on disconnection of the USB cable, at a pre-determined date and time, or manually using the IR remote control. - Page 8 ▪ Sample Rate should be set based on the frequency band of interest and data rate considerations. A 96 kHz sampling rate is often a good choice for general environmental noise measurements. Contact OI support if unsure. ▪ Preamp Gain should usually be set to ‘High’. This will result in a maximum SPL before clipping of approximately 172 dB re 1 uPa.
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Page 9: Begin Recording Using The Ir Remote Control
2.5 Begin recording using the IR Remote Control You may use the remote control to start recording. • Press ‘START’ to start recording. • Press ‘STOP’ to stop recording. • If you have set a recording to start recording at a later time, the recorder will blink red to indicate it is ‘armed’... -
Page 10: Data Offload
2.6 Data Offload Once you’re done recording, reconnect your SoundTrap to your PC and select the Retrieve Tab, as shown in figure 4. Figure 3 – Retrieve Tab • You will see a list of files in the SoundTrap’s memory, including the file name (made from the device serial number plus local date and time), date recorded, approximate size and whether it has yet been downloaded to your computer’s hard drive. - Page 11 • For faster download in the field, or to save disk space, un-check the ‘Decompress’ checkbox. This will disable the decompression step of the offload process, meaning you will end up with ‘sud‘ files only. These can be decompressed into wav files at a later time using the ‘File Extraction’...
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Page 12: More Details
3 More details 3.1 Data Files Downloads produce several types of files: o ‘sud’ files which are the raw downloaded file. This is a compressed file and therefore ideal for storing or sending of complete recordings. It can then be decompressed at a later time into the following constituent file formats. - Page 13 • Once the battery reaches full charge (blue indicator extinguished) the charge indicator in the Host software will start to fall. The charging process will restart once the charge indicator drops to around 90%. Do not be concerned that the battery is not fully charged. Provided the blue LED is not lit, the battery should be considered fully charged.
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Page 14: Using The Optional External Battery Pack
3.3 Using the optional external battery pack The ST300 series products support the connection of an external battery pack. Connection of the battery pack is straightforward. First fit the battery pack with 3 x fresh D cell alkaline batteries, carefully ensuring correct polarity. We strongly recommend using Energizer brand batteries. -
Page 15: Calculation Of Deployment Endurance
When deploying with the battery pack it is important to avoid any strain on the cable. Tight bends close to the connector are particularly problematic as they can cause the connector rubber to deform and allow water to reach the contacts. This will destroy the connector. It is therefore very important to avoid tight bends in the cable. - Page 16 accuracy. The oscillator will drift with temperature with this range. For more information on the clock accuracy please see documentation for the oscillator – part OV-7604-C7-STD-020. Sampling rate accuracy is also subject to occasional sampling gaps. The nature of SD flash memory cards is such that occasional the memory card will fail to keep up with sampling, thereby resulting in dropped samples.
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Page 17: Ancillary Sensors
3.6 Ancillary Sensors All SoundTraps include temperature and accelerometer sensors. Logging of these is enabled by selecting the corresponding checkbox in the deployment screen of the SoundTrap Host software. Note that logging can only take place while the recorder is awake, meaning that sensor logging is subject to the same duty cycle as that configured for audio recording. -
Page 18: St4300 Multi Channel Recording
3.7 ST4300 multi channel recording The ST4300 supports connection of up to four external hydrophones. These are connected via four wetplugs at the base of the recorder. Each wetplug has a number adjacent to it relating it to the channel selection in the deployment settings. ST4300 output files are multichannel wav files where the channel numbering is from lowest to highest physical channel number. -
Page 19: Deployment Scheme
3.8 Deployment scheme The anchoring scheme used is very dependent on the goals of the data collection in combination with the deployment environment. Thankfully SoundTraps are more easily deployed than traditional acoustic recorders due to their small size. A SoundTrap’s weight in water is approximately 0.5 kg. -
Page 20: Housing Maintenance
Deploying with the external battery housing The external battery housing has two cable tie slots, bottom and top. Cable ties should be threaded through the associated holes so they cannot slip off. When using an external battery housing the weight of the complete system in water is approximately 1.5 kg. It is important to ensure that the battery and recorder are secured to the line such that there is minimal stress on the power cable. -
Page 21: Software Updates
3.10 Software updates New software releases will be made available via the Ocean Instruments website. You may which to subscribe to our email list in order to receive notification of these updates. The update procedure is generally straightforward – simply install the new software over top of the existing by running the msi file and following the usual Windows software install prompts. - Page 22 Note that in contrast to traditional hydrophone systems, with SoundTraps there is no need to be concerned with sensitivity in voltage terms. Because SoundTraps integrate the recorder and hydrophone in a single package, there is a fixed relationship between sound pressure and the resultant wav file data, thereby simplifying calibration and eliminating the need for voltage calculations.
- Page 23 Calibration Tones By default, a series of calibration tones will be audible at the beginning of each recording. These can be used to check the calibration of the recording. After applying the calibration to a recording, the SPL of the 1 kHz tone should be equal to the calibration tone level stated on the calibration sheet. If the calibration tones are an annoyance, they can be disabled on the deploy tab.
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Page 24: Troubleshooting
3.13 Troubleshooting First port of call when experiencing problems is to check that you are using the most up to date software. Oftentimes small issues are most easily resolved by updating the software – please try this first. The latest software can be downloaded from here: www.OceanInstruments.co.nz/downloads/ Problem: SoundTrap doesn’t appear in device list when plugged into computer Solution: This is usually due to the batteries being dead flat. - Page 25 2. Leave on charge for a minimum of 48 hours. 3. Reconnect to a PC and check that battery reports full charge (i.e. > 85 %). 4. If the problem persists contact Ocean Instruments to arrange for the battery to be replaced. Problem: IR Remote is not working.
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Page 26: Appendices
4 Appendices SoundTrap HF Click Detector The SoundTrap ‘HF Click’ Detector is a general purpose high frequency click detector followed by a snippet extractor. The detector is designed to detect most odontocetes and is intended to be used as a first pass, guiding you to times in your recordings with lots of transients. You would typically use the detector with a low detection threshold so that it makes a lot of false detects but also detects most genuine clicks (i.e., high sensitivity, low specificity). -
Page 27: Snippet Extractor
detection can be made. This blanking-time is useful to avoid detecting echoes from a click or to prevent detecting a large number of clicks if an animal is buzzing near the recorder. 4.1.2 Snippet extractor For each detection, an entry is added to the detection log and a snippet of wideband sound surrounding the detection time is saved. -
Page 28: Output File Formats
short transients and so give poorer detection of delphinids) or an intermediate value which will tend to reduce sensitivity to both short and long transients but not by much. Blanking time: Time that must then elapse after a detection before another detection can be made. Useful to avoid detecting echoes from a click or to prevent detecting a large number of clicks if an animal is buzzing near the recorder. - Page 29 snippet sound data is compressed using the lossless X3 compressor but this is transparent to the user: the .dwv file contains the reconstituted uncompressed data. Up to 100000 snippets will be saved per recording (i.e., per output file). If more detections are made over this interval, they will be reported in the BCL file (see below) but no snippet will be saved.
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Page 30: Click Detector Caveats And Cautions
displayed by Excel, Libre Office, Open Office etc. See also the Matlab tools for a function to read this file format. 4.1.5 Click Detector Caveats and Cautions While every care has been taken in producing the SoundTrap Click Detector, this is free software offered as is in the hope that it will be useful: there is no warranty, implied or otherwise, nor implication of fitness for any particular purpose.
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