Mini-Trace II i

Hardware Manual
MARINE SURVEY SYSTEMS

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 Mini-Trace II ii
Hardware Manual
MARINE SURVEY SYSTEMS

Hardware Manual

Of

MINI-TRACE II

By Ivan de Jong
Revised April 2014
Copyright GEO Marine Survey Systems
GEO Marine Survey Systems b.v.
Sheffieldstraat 8
3047 AP Rotterdam, The Netherlands
tel 00 31 104155755
fax 00 31 104155351
info@geomarinesurveysystems.com
www.geomarinesurveysystems.com

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CONTENTS
PREFACE
GEO Marine Survey Systems and Equipment .................................................................................iv
Confidentiality and Copyright ..........................................................................................................iv
Disclaimer ....................................................................................................................................... v
Read this Manual ............................................................................................................................ v
Continuous Improvement and Suggestions ..................................................................................... v

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1
Mini-Trace II acquisition system 1
Geo-Sense mini-streamers 1
COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS AND SET-UP ............................................................................... 2
Software installation and downloads 2
Computer requirements 2
User dongle 3
Updating the Software 3
Setting-up the Hardware 4
6

FIGURES
Figure 1 : Mini-Trace II front ............................................................................................................ 4
Figure 2: Mini-Trace II rear .............................................................................................................. 5

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PREFACE

GEO Marine Survey Systems

GEO Marine Survey Systems manufactures a wide range of innovative systems for the
acquisition of very high resolution (VHR) seismic data:
 Geo-Spark Solid-state pulsed power supplies (PPS) (1000 to 16 000 Joules)
 Geo-Source Multi-tip sparker sources (200 to 1600 tips)
 Geo-Boomer New generation boomers (300 to 500 Joules)
 Geo-Sense Single and multi-channel streamers (1 to 48 channels)
 Geo-Suite Acquisition VHR seismic integrated recording and processing software

Our systems are:

 inspired by the will to innovate;
 conceived on the basis of extensive field experience;
 built to last using top quality components and no-nonsense engineering;
 continuously updated to provide state-of-the-art performance

Confidentiality and Copyright

This manual is issued by GEO Marine Survey Systems with:
……………………..
and concerns specifically the use of:

……………………..
All information contained in this manual is confidential and is to be used exclusively by the
Client.
Any form of reproduction of this manual, except for internal use by the Client, would be
considered a violation of GEO Marine Survey Systems' copyrights and would therefore affect
our support of the equipment/software and could also lead to legal action.

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Disclaimer
The technical information, procedures and recommendations contained in this manual are
given to the best of our knowledge.
In view of continuous improvement, the content of this manual has been updated for the
relevant unit. Make sure you have the manual that relates to the unit you are using.
This a printed version, the software is continuously being upgraded, so use the online
manual for the exact procedures and make sure you have the latest version.
In no circumstances can GEO Marine Survey Systems be held liable for any omission, or
erroneous interpretation or understanding, of the content of this manual, or for any damage
or accidents that are directly or indirectly related to the use of the equipment.

Read this Manual

This manual contains important information about operating procedures and precautions that
should be observed to ensure safe and proper use of the equipment. Please read and
understand this manual thoroughly.

Continuous Improvement
We welcome all comments that we can use for future improvements.

Please send your remarks, suggestions or questions to:

info@geo-suite.com

Please visit our dedicated software website for the latest news
www.geo-suite.com

MAKE SURE YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE LATEST VERSION

 Connect your PC to the internet
 Make sure you have a good connection
 Insert the dongle
 Start up the program
 Wait until the program tells you if there is a new version available

GeoSuite Acquisition and GeoSuite Allworks Software are distributed by

GEO Marine Survey Systems b.v.

Sheffieldstraat 8
3047 AP Rotterdam,
The Netherlands

Tel: 00 31 104155755
Fax: 00 31 104155351

info@geomarinesurveysystems.com
www.geomarinesurveysystems.com

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INTRODUCTION
A complete Geo Marine Survey Systems sparker spread normally consists of four main sub-
systems
 Geo-Spark pulsed power supply,
 Geo-Source sustainable multi-tip sparker,
 Geo-Sense ultra hi-res mini-streamer,
 Mini-Trace II acquisition/processing system with Geo-Suite Acquisition software.

Mini-Trace II acquisition system

The Mini-Trace II (laptop and desktop version) is a fully integrated acquisition/processing system.
The laptop version is lightweight and easily hand carried in plane.
The associated Geo-Suite Acquisition software works in the Windows 7 environment and can
record single or dual channel data.
With Geo-Suite Acquisition you can perform both online processing for display with online
printouts, and post-processing using sequenced processing algorithms.
Processed results can be saved in the true SEG-Y format and re-processed if required.
Mini-Trace II also supports the XTF format, which allows to export to others systems such as Triton
or Coda
The Mini-Trace II has two types of connectors for signal input:
 BNC that can be used for third party sensors or for the Geo-Sense filter-gain box, or also to the
Geo-Sense mini-streamer when you would use the battery box provided
 4-pin connector dedicated for direct connection of the Geo-Sense mini-streamer. This connector
provides the 10 V dc to the mini-streamer pre-amp

Geo-Sense mini-streamers
The Geo-Sense mini-streamers are very sensitive acoustic receivers with active lengths of 2.4 m
for the 8-element hydrophone array, and up to 7.5 m for the 24-element array. (Please note that we
can configure the active lengths according to your specifications.)
Selection of the streamer type depends on many factors, but one of the most important is the
actual water depth: deeper water justifies the use of a longer streamer. However, an 8-element
mini-streamer has been used successfully in water depths down to 2000 m.
In sea conditions with significant swell, one may get be much better data with a short streamer
than a long streamer, since it is less affected by the wave action.
At the end the most important factor remains the noise from the vessel. A noisy vessel will
significantly reduce the effective penetration since the seismic signal will be simply lost in the
noise.
If the streamer is towed in the wake of the vessel, noise will simply kill the seismic signal.
Therefore, the need to use of an outrigger to tow the streamer out of the wake cannot be over
emphasized
Further details on how to deploy the streamer and how to reduce noise are given in the Mini-
Streamer manual.

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MINI-TRACE II FUNCTIONALITY AND SET-UP

The Mini-Trace II is a 24 bit dual channel system with two independent triggers within one unit.
It integrates all features required for a VHR seismic survey: analogue LC filter; signal amplification;
internal trigger generation; and synchronization with an external trigger, input and logging of
navigation data and other sensors
 Input of the navigation data is implemented via the LAN / internet input on your PC – laptop.
Note for the older installations we still maintain the option of navigation input via a RS 232 cable
and the 9 pin D-connector on the back of the Mini-Trace II.
 The quality of the raw data is monitored online through a set of dedicated windows:
 You can process your single channel data online or offline.
 You can output data to hard disk, via LAN, or to any USB or Firewire peripheral.
 You can plot online printouts via the Printrex, thermal plotter. You can use any Windows OS
printers for offline printouts.
 You can output the standard SEG Y output format but also the XTF format meeting all demand
for easy data exportation to any other system
 The same SEG Y or XTF can be seamlessly imported in GeoSuite Allworks for fast and efficient
post-processing / interpretation

Software installation and downloads

You can download Geo-Suite Acquisition and Geo-Suite AllWorks (processing, interpretation
and 3D visualisation) via:
http://www.geo-suite.com/index.php?id=1002

Computer requirements
Geo-Suite Acquisition requires an up-to-date (laptop) computer in order to acquire and/or process
data.
The choice of the computer is very important, since it will determine equally the stability and
performance of the overall system.
We recommend the use of a rugged machine, conceived for humid, hot and vibrating environment.
As everybody knows the development in PC’s and Laptop’s is a never ending race for better faster
and more.
Usually the ideal specs of yesterday will be outdated tomorrow.
Fortunately, this is not the case for your Mini-Trace II, AD interface, which has the advantage to be
relatively timeless since it is using the well-known sigma-delta AD technology.
This technology has been the state-of-the-art standard for the last decade.

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Generic minimum PC requirements for the Mini-Trace II are given as follows

 Dual Core CPU, with a speed of 2 GHz
 OS Windows 7, 64 bit
 use complete installation of the OS including the latest updates
 2 Gb of RAM (more is better);
 256 MB of dedicated video memory
 4 USB slots
 200 MB of free disk space for GeoSuite installation

THINKPAD from Lenovo

For rugged construction and good average performance we recommend the following Thinkpad
models with a standard guarantee of 3 year, spill-resistant keyboard, etc.)
 Thinkpad T-series (mainstream, 14" / 15")

More specifically,
T530, built for performance (quadcore and hi-res screen) https://www.bluelink.nl/search?q=t530
T530, built for performance (quadcore and hi-res screen) 4https://www.bluelink.nl/search?q=t540

User dongle
For the real-time data acquisition and processing you must insert a user registered dongle in a
USB port of the laptop /PC

Three types of dongle are available:

 GeoSuite Acquisition (orange color)
 GeoSuite AllWorks (blue color)
 Combo dongle for both packages (orange-blue color)
Without the dongle, the software will function only in demonstration mode and you will see
the GEO logo across the screen
This demo mode will not allow you to acquire data, or to output data to hardcopy printout or in
SEG-Y format.

WARNING the dongle itself is worth the purchase price of the software package. A replacement
dongle will only be given at cost if the faulty dongle is returned.

Updating the Software

The software updates are automatically downloaded when you start the program while you are
connected to the internet.
You can also check the website www.geo-suite.com if you have the latest update

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Setting-up the Hardware

Figure 1 : Mini-Trace II plus laptop

The front contains the mains ON / OFF switch and the following control LEDS
 LED for presence of 220-230 V- 50-60 Hz mains
 LED trigger out
 LED trigger in
 LED indicating saturation ADC

Self-test
When you switch on the 220 V mains the green LED will come up and the other LEDs will make the “night
rider” self test (all LEDs will turn on and off in sequence). The self test will stop after the USB connection
between Mini-Trace 11 interface and laptop has been made and recognized.

Clean and Stable Mains

As for any computerized system we strongly recommend the use of a UPS to guarantee a clean and stable
mains for continuous operation. If requested a suitable UPS can be provided with the system as an extra
item.

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Layout of input and output at the rear

8 9 10 11

4 5 6 7
1 2 3

Figure 2: Mini-Trace II rear

1) Mains 220-230 V, 50-60 Hz socket (IMPORTANT: Use an UPS to power both the Mini-Trace II
and the laptop power supply)
2) Serial input for navigation, floating and opto-isolated
3) USB socket for connection to PC

CHANNEL 1
4) Key In (trigger for slave mode) BNC socket for trigger input from the navigation system, e.g. if you
require to shoot in fixed distance. The trigger output to the Power Supply will come from Key Out
5) Key Out (trigger to Power Supply) BNC socket to provide the trigger signal to the seismic source.
Both in master and slave mode, fully opto-isolated
6) BNC socket signal in, single ended input for signal in from a third party streamer. NB the BNC cable
will carry only the streamer signal. The power supply to the streamer pre-amplifier must be generated
by an external battery box.
7) 4-pin socket to connect to a Geo-Sense mini-streamer. The connecting cable carries both the data
signal from the streamer and the power supply to the streamer pre-amplifier.

CHANNEL 2
8) Key In (trigger for slave mode) BNC socket for trigger input from the navigation system, e.g. if you
require to shoot in fixed distance. The trigger output to the Power Supply will come from Key Out
9) Key Out (trigger to Power Supply) BNC socket to provide the trigger signal to the seismic source.
Both in master and slave mode, fully opto-isolated
10) BNC socket signal in, single ended input for signal in from a third party streamer. NB the BNC cable
will carry only the streamer signal. The power supply to the streamer pre-amplifier must be generated
by an external battery box.
11) 4-pin socket to connect to a Geo-Sense mini-streamer. The connecting cable carries both the data
signal from the streamer and the power supply to the streamer pre-amplifier.
Pin assignment of the 4-pin sockets
 Pin 1 +12 VDC power to pre-amplifier
 Pin 2 Ground shield (earth)
 Pin 3 Positive (+) signal from pre-amplifier
 Pin 4 Ground signal from pre-amplifier

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Overview of all components

The full system comprises the following items
1 Rugged Peli case for transport and storage
2 Laptop, Power supply laptop plus mains cable, mouse
3 USB cable from Laptop to Mini-Trace II
4 220 V power cable for Mini-Trace II
5 Ground cable for Mini-Trace II
6 Trigger cable (10 m BNC cable)
7 Small BNC cable for connecting a streamer with a battery box
8 Navigation RS 232 Cable for connecting to Navigation to PC (female-female)
9 Serial extension cable (female-male) only as option
10 Optional extra screen (not shown)

Figure 3: Overview of all components

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Grounding and Clean Mains 220 V power are ESSENTIAL

From experience we know that most of the electric noise problems are directly caused by bad
grounding

Very often new operators do not realize that their grounding is not good…………..

Very often the status of the mains 220 V generator is a problem !!!

In order to operate the system free of electrical noise, it is VITAL to ground the equipment properly.

Please follow the guidelines listed below:

 Make sure the generator is grounded to the hull and to the sea
 Make sure your generator works flawless and has regular RPM
 Always use a UPS for PC based systems
 Ground the Mini-Trace II unit, using the banana socket at the back, to a metal part of the PC
 If possible also ground the PC ( laptop) on a metal part (for instance the VGA port), connect
the grounding to the same point
 Ground the Geo-Spark power supply to a separate sea ground (provided with PS)
 Connect the ground of the Geo-Spark power supply also to a metal part of the vessel
 Ground the HV tow cable winch to the vessel (welding) and connect also a separate sea-
ground
 All electrical contacts should be as clean and as tight as possible

Without proper grounding, the recorded data can be saturated by electric noise and the navigation
data can be corrupted due to the electrical interferences on the vessel.

Also, never disconnect the streamer when the Mini-Trace is switched on. You can blow up the
preamp

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Typical Connection diagram

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