Simrad Mesotech SM2000 (Serial) - 20
Description
Driver for Simrad - Mesotech SM 2000 Sonar System. Driver to be used to decode the binary raw range and angle serial datagram (R-Theta Format), the so-called MPB format. The Simrad SM2000 has up to 128 beams but only valid beams will be broadcasted. Driver ignores the time in the datagram; the time of arrival combined with latency value within the datagram is used for time stamping of the data.
Two versions of the driver are available: a Serial version and a Network version (UDP). The internal workings of the drivers are the same except for the data reception.
Driver Information
| Driver | Simrad Mesotech SM2000 | Interface Type | Serial/UDP | Driver Class Type | Counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UTC Driver  | No | Input / Output | Input | Executable | DrvSimradSM2000(UDP).exe |
| Related Systems |
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| Related Pages | |||||
Decoding Notes
Driver will always output the decoded maximum number of beams (with a maximum of 128). Invalid beams are restored to the MBE data buffer, with all values set to 0. Intensity values cannot be decoded from an MPB telegram.
The decoded Quality Indicator (QI) can be considered a figure with a range between 0 and 4, where 4 stands for best quality. Note that the original values as delivered by the SM2000 are inverted inside the driver.
QI Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
3 | Best. This point is in line with its neighbors. |
2 | Good. This point varies by more than 10% from its neighbors. |
1 | Fair. This point varies by more than 20% from its neighbors. |
0 | Poor. This point varies by more than 50% from its neighbors. |
System Configuration
The sonar transducer can be mounted in various orientations depending on the application.
For bathymetric operations the aperture of transducer points towards the sea floor, see drawing below.
In this case either the transducer side of the transducer unit can point to the bow (left drawing, "Upright" orientation) or the electronics pod of the unit can point to the bow (right drawing, "Inverted" orientation.
This orientation must be correctly set in the "Options|Setup|Head Configuration" menu of the SM2000 control software otherwise the beams port/starboard will be mirrored.
Database Setup
For higher ping rates, we advise to set the baud rate between the SM2000 (usually port 2) and Qinsy computer as high as possible.
Online
Beams can be excluded from the result DTM file based on their quality flags. Refer to Echo sounder Settings "Exclude when... options" to enable blocking on quality.
If you want to keep only the best beams then set Quality range from 3 to 3.