Transducer page
Use the Transducer page to do a reception test to check the individual transducer elements. Any errors are then easily detected.
How to open
This page is located in the Diagnostics dialog box.
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Open the Diagnostics dialog box from the Setup menu.
Description
The Transducer page presents all the elements that are used in the transducer. The presentation attempts to organize the elements in the same manner as in the physical transducer.
The transceiver boards are shown as "buttons". Select a transceiver board to highlight the elements that are physically connected to the board.
Details
Boards
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A graphic presentation of the transceiver boards is provided. The visual presentation reflects the physical location of the boards in the Transceiver Unit.
To select a transceiver board, click the "button". The corresponding transducer elements are identified.
Each button provides a small colour coded indicator.
•  No indicatorStatus is OK. No actions are necessary.
•  YellowThis is a warning. A closer investigation is recommended.
•  RedThis is an alarm. A closer investigation is required.
•  BlueA device monitored by the diagnostic system is disabled.
•  GreyNo information is available.
Transducer Elements
Each of the individual elements in the transducer is shown in a grid. The presentation attempts to organize the elements in the same manner as in the physical transducer.
Individual transducer elements may be disabled or enabled. To do this, right-click on the corresponding rectangle, and use the short-cut menu. A disabled element is shown with a blue rectangle.
Disabling a single transducer element can be useful for a number of reasons.
•  An element is weak or simply unserviceable.
•  An element is creating a lot of noise.
Reception Test
Select Reception Test to start an automatic test of the individual transducer elements. For the test to start, the SU90 system must be "pinging".
The reception test validates each single element in the transducer, and returns the status using a simple colour code.
•  GreenThe transducer element is fully operational.
•  RedThe transducer element offers reduced performance.
•  BlackThe transducer element is not working ("dead").
For more information, observe the tooltip provided for each element rectangle.
A small number of unserviceable transducer elements are accepted, even for operational use. This is regarded as "graceful degradation”. The SU90 system offers a large number of transceiver channels. 12 identical transceiver boards are used. If a single channel fails during normal operation, you are not likely to detect it. Even if several channels fail, you may not see it.
The detection of a faulty channel depends on the physical location of the relevant transducer element. If faulty channels are grouped together on the transducer face, this may cause a visible defect in the display presentation. If they are scattered, the visible defect may be a lot harder to see. In all cases, the echoes from the neighbouring channels cause an interpolation that will restore a lot of the degraded presentation.
Which actions to take if single channels fail depend on the operational impact, the overall performance of the SU90 system, and a cost/benefit assessment. The most important factor in the cost/benefit assessment is whether you need to replace the transducer, or just a single transceiver board. If more than 3% of your transducer elements have failed, we recommend that you contact your dealer for advice.
Note
For further investigations of this issue, use the functionality offered by the Element BITE (Element Built In Test Equipment) dialog box.