This guide will teach you how to check the data integrity of your sensor modules without the cables attached. This can be valuable while troubleshooting to isolate an issue to a cable, module, or connector (jumper) after experiencing a field failure.
<aside> ⚠️ Each Smart Mooring undergoes full functional testing before shipment. It is not advised to disassemble a Smart Mooring to conduct these tests if no errors or failures are experienced.
</aside>
It's a good idea to get in touch with Sofar prior to attempting any work of your own. You can reach Sofar Support at [email protected].
Before you begin, please be aware that the jumpers have special threading and it's possible to damage your sensor module or the jumpers easily.
<aside> ⚠️ The jumpers have threaded gold-plated conductors that are soft and corrosion-resistant. Please take care not to cross-thread the conductors.
</aside>
<aside> ⛔ Please note that the white connectors follow the usual right-hand-tight threading. The black connectors are left-hand-tight.
</aside>
<aside> ⛔ Using too much force with pliers, for instance, can damage the jumpers. Be careful not to over-torque when attempting to unscrew or screw these in.
</aside>
Make sure that your Spotter is charged using the provided charger.
Make sure that your electronics box (ebox) is removed from the Spotter and that the data connector is connected and in good working order.
Your connector may look different. The important thing is that it is clean and connected with no signs of corrosion or damage.
Please note that the red solar panel wires are not necessary to have installed at this time.
Remove the modules (motes) from inside the caskets. Isolating the mote may require substantial cleaning. Depending on the sensor and when you purchased your Smart Mooring, your mote may look different, but they all will be connected by the two jumper wires.
Open the casket at the bottom of the Smart Mooring and disconnect the cable's jumpers as shown.
Clean all the contacts or use new jumpers before reassembly. Make sure that all the receptacles are clean and dry.
Connect the modules and motes (a) one at a time and (b) without the cables or jumpers when troubleshooting a possible issue.
Take the SD card from the Spotter and save the data somewhere as you may want or need this later. If you are working with Sofar to troubleshoot something it is helpful to .zip the files and email them to us during the troubleshooting process. Clearing the contents of the SD card so it is empty will make the next step easier.
<aside> ⚠️ Don’t forget to back up any previous data!
</aside>
Connect the first module to the Smart Mooring jumpers as shown.
Turn on the Spotter for 1 minute.
Turn off the Spotter and remove the SD card. Check the contents of the SD card. Smart Mooring data is contained in the files listed as XXXX_SMD. The files are created incrementally such that 0033_SMD is chronologically before 0034_SMD.
Open the most recent file. Here is an example:
It should look something like this:
epoch,link,log type,data
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,Firmware SHA: 42C1EA98
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,ssds,5
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,ssis,60
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,sds,600
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,sis,600
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,spm,6
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,utc,0
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,sse,1
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,ste,1
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,dme,1
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,kba,0
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,cs,1
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,ssdms,5000
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,sdms,600000
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,mtms,3620000
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,1133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,1633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,2133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,2633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,3133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,3633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,4133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,4633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,5133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,5633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,6133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,6633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,7133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,7633,2142
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,8133,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,8633,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,9133,2142
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,9633,2142
The data line below shows the data from the sensor. This means the sensor is probably working well.
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,633,2143
See the guide below for more information on how to interpret Smart Mooring data:
Next, connect the second sensor in line as shown.
Reinsert the SD card.
Turn on the Spotter for 1 minute.
Turn off the Spotter and read the contents of the SD card as before.
Here's an example of the file with both sensors attached:
It should look something like this:
epoch,link,log type,data
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,Firmware SHA: 42C1EA98
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,ssds,5
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,ssis,60
0,0,BSYS,5,INFO,sds,600
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,sis,600
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,spm,6
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,utc,0
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,sse,1
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,ste,1
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,dme,1
0,0,BSYS,6,INFO,kba,0
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,cs,1
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,ssdms,5000
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,sdms,600000
0,0,BSYS,7,INFO,mtms,3620000
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,566,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,629,2085
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,1066,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,1129,2085
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,1566,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,1629,2085
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,2066,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,2129,2085
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,2566,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,2629,2085
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,3066,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,3129,2085
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,3566,2143
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,3629,2085
The lines here are important:
0.00,1,DATA,SOFT2,1129,2085
0.00,2,DATA,SOFT2,1566,2143
Notice that the second argument in one line is "1" and the next line is "2." This argument designates sensor position and the data shows that the Smart Mooring is reading from both sensors.
This can be repeated with the rest of the sensors as needed.
How to proceed if you've noticed an issue with your Smart Mooring at this stage.
If everything looks good it's time to reconnect the cables.
Please review the guide for this here:
Servicing and Assembling Nodes [SM v2 and earlier - prior to July 2022]
Once reassembled you can check the data following this guide:
Accessing and Interpreting Smart Mooring Data
If you have any questions please reach out to Sofar Support at [email protected].
