Integrating the Sea-Bird SBE 37 CTD

Introduction

The Sea-Bird SBE 37 MicroCAT CTD is a conductivity and temperature recorder, with optional pressure measurement, internal memory, serial communication, and an optional pump. Please refer to the Sea-Bird SBE 37 documentation for detailed information on the instrument.

Aquadopp instruments can integrate the SBE 37 as an external sensor through the instrument's 8-pin connector. During a deployment, measurements from the SBE 37 are transmitted to the Aquadopp over the serial connection and stored alongside the instrument's current measurement data.

Configuring the SBE 37 in Nortek Deployment

Before configuring the Aquadopp deployment, configure and start the SBE 37 using Nortek Deployment.

1. Open Nortek Deployment and navigate to the External CTD tab.

    

   

2. Connect the SBE 37 to your computer using the cable provided by Sea-Bird.

3. Under Select COM port for CTD sensor configuration, select the COM port associated with the SBE 37.

   If you need help identifying the correct COM port, refer to Connection problems.

4. Under Select CTD sensor type, select 37-SM.

5. Click Connect.

    

   

    

6. Once connected, the upper part of the External CTD screen displays the live data output from the SBE 37. This can be used to verify communication and troubleshoot the CTD.

    

   

    

7. Click Set Nortek parameters to configure the SBE 37 with the parameters required for integration with the Nortek instrument.
8. If required, click Clear CTD memory to clear data stored in the internal memory of the SBE 37.

9. When you are ready to deploy the CTD, click Start. The SBE 37 will start recording and automatically disconnect from Nortek Deployment. A confirmation message is displayed when the CTD has started successfully.

    

   

    

Configuring the Nortek Instrument

Once the SBE 37 has been configured and started, configure the Aquadopp deployment.

1. Connect to your instrument in Nortek Deployment. For instructions, refer to Establishing a connection. For troubleshooting, refer to Connection problems.
2. Navigate to the Hardware tab.

3. Enable External sensor and select SBE 37 as the external sensor.

    

   

    

4. Configure the remaining deployment settings as required.
5. Start the deployment.
6. Connect the SBE 37 to the instrument's 8-pin connector. The SBE 37 will transmit its measurements to the instrument over the serial connection.

The CTD measurements are stored in the deployment data files alongside the current measurement data.

Requirements and Communication Settings

Instrument Firmware

Instrument firmware version 3.0 or later is required to use the SBE 37 integration.

Baud Rate

The SBE 37 communication baud rate must be set to 9600 baud.