Overview

SST 6 is a small rugged transponder designed to acoustically position of ocean bottom seismic cables and nodes, where high performance, small size, low cost and ease of programming are all important operational factors.

SST 6 incorporates our Wideband 2 digital acoustic signal processing architecture to deliver substantial performance gains over the previous generation SST, ensuring robust positioning performance in the most challenging of operational environments.

Innovations such as built-in, near field communications (NFC) technology, allow SST 6 transponders to be checked and programmed without human intervention, supporting operators’ vision for fully automated node handling and efficient back-deck ocean bottom seismic (OBS) operations.

At a glance

• Accurately positions seismic cables and nodes in water depths to 3,000 m
• Designed on 6G hardware and Wideband 2 technology platforms
• Compatible with Mini-Ranger and Ranger 2 USBL positioning systems
• Choice of depth ratings: 1,000 m or 3,000 m
• Over 1,520 unique acoustic transponder addresses supports large surveys
• Automated programming using NFC link without human intervention

SST 6 operates in the Medium Frequency (MF) band and is compatible with our Ranger 2 USBL systems. Ranger 2 USBL systems measure both range and bearing to SST 6 in the same operation, so an accurate position of the node or cable can be determined very quickly and at a high update rate.

Combining the use of Ranger 2 USBL and SST 6 in this way results in considerable savings in vessel time and new standards of efficiency for seismic operations.

NFC allows fast programming of 16 group interrogation addresses and 95 reply channels providing more than 1,520 unique acoustic identities.

This allows the marking of seismic cables and other applications demanding dense transponder coverage. SST 6 is configured using NFC with a suitable NFC-enabled handset (including NFC enabled Android™ handsets with the Sonardyne NFC App) or a dedicated HF radio frequency identification (RFID) reader.

The NFC link provides the ability to enter SST 6 into a storage mode when not in use,  significantly increasing the overall battery endurance.