Unknown behavior of the Ping360 sonar, spirals on the image

Blue Robotics Products Ping Sonar Devices
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1

Hi, while testing the Ping360 sonar, I noticed some strange behavior. On top of the sonar image, there are spirals that rotate counterclockwise while the radar rotates clockwise.
They come in different sizes and sharpness. What could be the reason for this?

Screenshot (38)
Screenshot (38)1920×977 303 KB

2

Hi @IllyaVerb -

Welcome to the forums!

Can you try connecting to that sonar using PingViewer, rather than Cerulean’s Sonar View? Or share the log file you’re displaying there? It’s could be a software issue, as SonarView’s support of the Ping360 is not managed or worked on by anyone at Blue Robotics…

3

Hi @IllyaVerb, welcome to the forum :slight_smile:

Do you have other sonar equipment on your vehicle, or in its operating environment, that transmits regular pulses in the 750kHz frequency range, or maybe sweeps through it (e.g. with a chirp)? I expect that kind of interference could cause a pattern like that.

4

So I didn’t have the opportunity to convert the logs saved in SonarView into files for reading by PingViewer. So I just tested directly in PingViewer, and saved new logs (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z9UneFf-HIDd8UJWiAIhkRdpXwGl6n3W/view?usp=sharing). I also provide a screenshot of the test, it shows that the image still contains spirals. During the test, I changed all possible parameters and their combinations, also tested different power options within 11-18 V. Power did not affect the operation of the sonar, and changing the parameters could only slightly affect the position and appearance of the spirals, but did not remove them. I also changed the sonar environment, different types of mounts and objects around, none of them could affect the spirals either.

Screenshot (45)
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5

During the first test, yes, there was another Omniscan 450 Side Scan Sonar, but now, during the current test, I used only the Ping360 sonar

Screenshot (44)
Screenshot (44)1920×1080 1.13 MB

6

Does this mean the spirals are still showing up when you check the sonar readings while the vehicle is disarmed and in the air? If so I can’t think of what it could be outside of electrical noise entering the power supply, or some kind of issue with the Ping360.

If you’ve ruled out the other options I’d recommend submitting a product problem report, so our support team can help resolve the issue :slight_smile:

7

Thanks for the help, we solved the problem by shorting the water and negative terminal of the source