Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 1 Operator’s Guide
0/11/06 1:46 pm Disk contains: • Control Console Software • Software License • Operator’s Guide Radascan Operators Manual Page 2
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 1 Copyright © 2006 Guidance Navigation Limited. All Rights Reserved. Copyright in the whole and every part of this document belongs to Guidance Navigation Limited (the “Owner”) and may not be used, sold, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form or in or on any media to any person other than in accordance with the terms of the Owner’s agreement or otherwise without the prior written consent of the Owner.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 2 Contents Introduction Entering service access mode Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Principles of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Serial numbers and software versions To obtain and use a temporary service access mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 The configuration page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 3 Introduction Welcome to the RadaScan position reference sensor for dynamic positioning and other vessel control applications. RadaScan is a high accuracy radar based sensor that provides positional information to allow automated approach and/or station keeping relative to a structure or vessel. The structure or vessel must be equipped with one or more retro-reflective RadaScan transponders/targets.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 4 Serial numbers and software versions Component Part Numbers and individual Serial Number are assigned to each sensor, transponder and PC. Software version information The Configuration page tab within the property sheet provides version information about every software component with the Console application and the RadaScan Sensor.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 5 Using the System Radascan User Console provides an intuitive environment that allows you to quickly assess and control the functions of the system. This section provides information about the options and procedures within the program. Start up To enter RadaScan User Console 1 Ensure that the RadaScan sensor is powered on and running correctly. 2 Locate the RadaScan User Console icon and double click it.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 6 Screen layout Positional data display The RadaScan User Console screen has five key areas: • The Sensor display • The Navigation section • The Status bar • The Property sheet • The Button bar Navigation section This section provides navigation information in a simple clear manner whenever the system is navigating.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 7 Sensor display Reflections and targets Reflections from targets are shown as yellow squares on the seascape. The signal processing in RadaScan ensures that only reflections from genuine targets can be recognised and displayed. When navigating a coloured box is drawn around the reflection square to show the quality of the association with a known target.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 8 Button bar A collection of nine buttons that provide, or control, a range of functions. When a function is not available, the button image will fade and become unselectable: Stop navigation Click to cease sending live positional data to the DP system.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 9 Navigation section The upper right of the screen provides positional information whenever navigation mode is being used. Positional display Information Quality Indicator DP Feed mode Positional Display: A number of different DP message types are available for configuration during installation and commissioning. The DP message type defines the positional display format.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 10 Navigation: single target Navigation: multi-target To start single target navigation To start multi-target navigation 1 Click the The Multi-target navigation option only becomes available when Radascan button to reveal a pop-up list of navigation options. 2 Select [Single Target] identifies 2 or more authentic Radascan targets 3 In the subsequent dialog, click 'OK' to 1 Click the confirm your selection.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 11 Status bar Provides important feedback information on various topics and displays the date and time that the situation was first reported. A green icon indicates that communication between the User Console and the RadaScan sensor is satisfactory. Double click on the Time and Date portion of the status bar to adjust the current system time and date settings.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 12 Property pages This area of the User Console screen provides detailed operational and set-up information. The section is divided into 4 tabbed pages as follows: Alarms: This page alerts the operator to any situation which may impact the performance of the system or the position output. Reflections: This page gives details of the reflection(s) which are being received by the sensor.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 13 Alarms property page During operation, the RadaScan system produces an event audit trail in the form of alarms from its various constituent components. These range in increasing order of severity from: Information, Warning, and Error to Fatal. As these alarms are received from the sensor, the console application lists them within the Alarms page tab of the property sheet.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 14 Using the historic alarm list The Alarms page has two alarms lists. The 'Current' list is where new alarm reports (since the last start of the console software) are automatically stored as they occur. In addition, a 'Historic' list allows you to clear the Current list and transfer its alarms so that you do not lose potentially important diagnostic feedback. On shutdown, current alarms are automatically transferred to the Historic list.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 15 Reflection Property page This area of the RadaScan User Console screen provides detailed information on a number of different topics. The property sheet uses tabbed pages to group information and has four tabs: Reflections page - Provides a numeric list of the reflections received during the last complete revolution of the sensor rotor. This page can be used to verify the graphical representation of reflections shown within the Sensor display.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 16 Configuration property page The Configuration page provides a mixture of RadaScan sensor data for troubleshooting purposes and also offers three selectable options: • Day View/Night View - This option is essential in maintaining optimum usability between day and night operations. • DP Feed Format & Message String - This is key to correct operation but which does not usually require alteration during day-to-day operations.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 17 DP feed format & message string This option controls the format in which the positional information is packaged and sent to the vessel's DP system. The DP Feed Format may only be changed when RadaScan is not navigating. Any changes to this setting MUST be carried out in conjunction with a similar change on the DP system - both systems must use exactly the same format and variant thereof.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 18 About Property page Indicates the software version and copyright details. It also allows you to invoke the temporary service access mode in order to adjust certain settings - please refer to the section Entering service access mode for further details.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 19 Using the on-screen keyboard In order to accommodate keyboardless computers, RadaScan Console provides an on-screen keyboard option which permits you to enter text using only a mouse pointer. You can activate the on-screen keyboard wherever you see this icon: This icon is found within the property sheet area on the following pages: Alarms, Multi-target groups and certain Configuration pages (when in service access mode).
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 20 Using log files Whenever RadaScan is navigating it generates a comprehensive set of operation logs which are stored at C:\Program Files\RadaScan. These are segmented into folders containing log information for 1 hour periods. These can be accessed for engineer analysis or sent by email to Guidance Navigation or to your DP supplier.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 21 Entering service access mode There are many settings within RadaScan Console that can seriously affect system operation if they are incorrectly adjusted. For this reason they are concealed until you enter service access mode. ! IMPORTANT: Indiscriminate adjustment of parameter settings can adversely affect the operation of RadaScan.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 22 The Configuration page In service access mode, the Configuration page of the property sheet provides a number of extra items. Firstly, the full range of DP Feed types become selectable within the General category. Additionally, use the Select Configuration Category control to select the Communications and File Transfer/Admin pages. See Using the on-screen keyboard for details.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 23 Specifications Sensor Environmental Emitter type FMCW operating in the 9.2-9.3GHz maritime radiolocation band Operating range 10 to 1000m Range accuracy better than 0.05% of operating range Angular repeatability 0.
Radascan Operators Manual 20/11/06 1:46 pm Page 24 RadaScan Operator 1
