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eye4software.com » HydroMagic » Documentation » Manual » Multi beam sonar » Multi beam plugin


Multi beam echo sounder (MBES) capabilities are only supported in Hydromagic version 2025 and newer.
An additional license is required to record and process MBES data.


General information on using multi beam echo sounder (MBES) plugins in Hydromagic

In Hydromagic, a plugin is a small piece of software which is loaded when requested. The plugin reads data from a device over a serial, Bluetooth or Ethernet connection and translates the received information into information which the Hydromagic Survey or Dredging software can use.

Since version 2025 of Hydromagic Survey, we started to support the Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16 MBES. This is an affordable and easy to use entry level multi beam echo sounder. The Hydromagic Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16 plugin allows you to control this MBES, as well as receive beam data which can then be further processed in Hydromagic.

Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16 MBES
The Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16 MBES.


Loading the Cerulean Surveyor 240-16 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.

the devices tab in the preferences dialog
Click the "Add..." button in the "Devices" tab.

A list of available plugins will be displayed. In this list, select "Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16" plugin and click "OK" to load and display the plugins configuration dialog.

select the Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16 plugin
Select the "Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16" plugin from the list.


Configuring the Cerulean Surveyor 240-16 plugin

When the plugin loads, a dialog with some required settings will appear first. You have to select the network settings like IP address and port name, since this sounder is connected using Ethernet. If you are not sure which settings are required, you can use the "Device Discovery" in the "Sonar View" software to detect the correct settings. The TCP port number is usually 62312.

select the Cerulean Sonar Surveyor 240-16 plugin
Configure IP address and port number first.


Motion sensor selection

To compensate for pitch, roll and optional heave, it is recommended to use a motion sensor. The Surveyor 240-16 plugin has a built in motion sensor. However when you own a higher grade motion sensor, INS or the motion sensor built in your USV's auto pilot, you have to disable the use of the built-in motion sensor by deselecting the "Use motion sensor from multi beam transducer".

The internal motion sensor can be enabled or disabled
The internal motion sensor can be enabled or disabled.


Advanced Settings

In the "Advanced Settings" window you will find some less often used features of the plugin:

Latency

Latency is all time which goes by between the actual ping results into a return signal being detected and the time this is received by the computer as binary data. The Multi Beam processing tools allow you to detect this time. Once determined you can correct for this value when processing the data, or you can enter it in the plugin so it is already compensated when the data is recorded. You have to enter this value in milliseconds.

Advanced TCP settings

This setting is optional and can be used to reconnect automatically once the TCP connection with the sounder is lost to a poor WiFi connection. You can enter the maximum allowed time that there is no communication as well as the time to wait before a new connection attempt is made.

NTP Time Server

Date outputted by this sounder can be timestamped by a high accuracy UTC timestamp. To use this option enter a NTP time server here, or use the default.

Advanced settings for the Surveyor plugin
Advanced settings for the Surveyor plugin.


Starting the sounder

After configuring the plugin, the control panel for the Cerulean Surveyor will be shown. When it is not visible it is most probably docked in the taskbar. To start or stop the sounder use the mouse to click either the "Start" or "Stop" button. Starting the sounder will not automatically record any data, but beam and depth information should be displayed in the "Data View" and "Swath Display" in the Survey software.

The control panel to control the sounder
The control panel to control the sounder.


Adjust sounder settings

The control panel also allows you to alter some sounder settings like range, ping rate and sound velocity. These settings can be adjusted no matter if the sounder is running or not. When changing a setting, the new setting value will be send to the sounder instantly.

Range

The depth range of the Surveyor can be detected automatically or begin set manually. We recommend to set it manually to the maximum expected depth. When using auto detect, the range can be falsely detected when there are multiple echo's which can result in incorrect beam round trip times being reported.

Ping Rate

This alters the ping rate of the sounder (i.e. how many measurements are done each second). You can set this from one to twenty pings per second.

Sound velocity

Use this setting to switch the sounder to a different sound velocity. The default value is 1500.0 meters per second. Please note that this setting is optional. Sound velocity corrections can also be applied when post processing the data.