1. Quick start guide
1.1 What is in your box?
Here is a list of the main components you will find in your box, besides other accessories like tools, cables and chargers.
Spotter Accessory Box, with charger and hex-keys
1.2 How to prepare the HT-S for deployment?
After unboxing your HT-S, your unit is almost set to be deployed! It should already be mostly assembled. Just a few steps are necessary, to ensure everything will go smoothly:
Fully charge the Spotter
Connect the HT-S to the Spotter (if not done already)
Turn ON the Spotter (make sure to be outside, with a clear sky-view)
Check your data is coming to the dashboard
All these steps are detailed below, please make sure you review them before proceeding.
1.2.1 Preparing the Spotter
The Spotter is shipped with all the necessary configurations pre-set. However, before proceeding with the full assembly before the deployment, it is recommended to leave Spotter to fully charge. Please use the official USB-C Spotter charger, which was shipped with the HT.
To open and close the Spotter top plastic lid, use the provided 5 mm hex key. Please, follow the recommendations of Spotter, reproduced below.
Note that the charging process might take a few hours. While charging, two green lights in Spotter will blink (SYSTEM & GO), becoming fixed after completing the process.
Avoid setting Spotter to IDLE, which can be done with the magnet provided in the accessory box. Hydrotwin will not work in that mode. Always ensure that IDLE mode is not active before any deployment. Please consult Spotter's manual for more information.
1.2.2 Connect the HT to the Spotter
To proceed with this operation first you need to connect the different Smart Mooring sections, depending on the desired mooring layout.
The mid-node/surface-node connects the different sections of Smart Moorings. Please consult the mooring guidelines for more information on how to attach the surface floater in the surface-node.
Disassemble the mid-nodes using the provided 5mm hex key. Use the Bristlemouth connectors as presented in the figure. Please ensure the correct polarity based on the connector colors: black-black and white-white. It is recommended to perform a couple of rotations on the opposite direction before screwing in the Bristlemouth connectors, as to prevent cable twisting. Not doing so can lead to connectors to disconnect after deployment.
The final Smart Mooring will connect to the HT in the other end, which in the pictures already has the Bristlemouth connectors coming out of the cage. The end part of the Smart Mooring should be placed on the cage and connected to the hydrophone using the connectors provided, just like in the picture.
Avoid opening the hydrophone, please refer to Data Recovery in Section 2.
The hydrophone transducer should always be oriented to point upwards when installed (towards the Spotter). The transducer is located in between the small cage on one of the sides of the hydrophone.
When passing the Bristlemouth cables from the bottom of the hydrophone to the Smart Mooring on top, ensure that they are not under tension. If necessary, rotate the hydrophone to alleviate the cables. Always use the provided clips to fix them to the cage's structure.
Now, you may also add the inline floaters to keep the Smart Mooring of HT vertical. The number of vertical floater varies depending on the length of Smart Mooring. Please refer to Section 5, Mooring Guidelines.
With this final step, the system is mostly ready! You may only still be missing the:
- Mooring + ballast weight, to be connected to the HT cage structure
- Surface floater
With all the system already assembled, take the Spotter outside, with a clear sky-view – note that indoors the buoy will not be able to fix a GPS signal and will not operate. This situation can be identified by the GO light in Spotter being red. All 3 lights should be green (some may blink).
After 1 hour of operation, Spotter will shutdown its 3 lights to save energy - it will continue operating, nevertheless.
1.2.3 Turn on the Spotter with the HT
Remove the top lid of Spotter if and turn the switch ON. Once again, ensure the Spotter has an unobstructed sky view. Wait a few minutes until the 3 lights turn green (some might blink, meaning Spotter is communicating). In case the GO light remains red, it means the GPS signal was not fixed. Do not proceed with deployment like this, as messages won’t be sent by Spotter. Change its position and move it further outdoor, if necessary, waiting a few minutes until the GO light turns green.
Do not deploy the system if any red light shows up in Spotter. Please refer to the Spotter's manual, for a better understanding of the color codes and their meaning.
1.2.4 Check the data in your dashboard
To visualize the data use the link and the credentials sent to you by the Hydrotwin team. In case you need to recover them, please contact the Hydrotwin team.
After turning Spotter ON (and consequently HT), wait for the first data points to show up in the dashboard. The first message from HT should arrive between 30 to 60 minutes after.
Your HT-S is functional and ready to be deployed!