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RBR Standard Procedure Protocol

Hakai RBR CTD processing pipeline is compatible with the instruments: XR-620, concerto, maestro, concerto3 and maestro3.

Software

All RBR sensors need RBR proprietary software Ruskin which is freely available on their website (https://rbr-global.com/).

Communication

Via external cable connection

Use the RBR External Cable to connect the CTD sensor from the External Data Port (6 pins) to your computer through a serial port. If no serial port is available on your computer use a serial to USB adaptor.

Via internal cable connection

To access the internal communication port of the RBR CTDs, unscrew the battery end cap and remove desiccant if necessary. Two types of cable are used depending on the CTD version.

  • XR-620 CTDs are using a phone like connector to Serial port cable. Use a Serial to USB adapter if needed.
  • Concento and Maestro are using an iPhone 4 type cable. Be very careful when connecting the iPhone type connector to the CTD, the internal conductors of the connector are known to be easily damaged.1
  • New generation of CTD uses an internal USB-C connector. Connect the unit internal USB-C to your computer.

Via WiFi

To communicate with the instrument via WiFi, you should see a WiFi connection on your computer with the name of the instrument (ex: “RBR 066061”). Alternatively, if you were unable to see the instrument name on your computer, try first to wake up the instrument by turning the instrument battery end cap to the ON and then OFF position. Once connected to the WiFi connection, you can proceed to the next step and open Ruskin and to connect to the instrument via the software.

Troubleshoot connection

  • Make sure the WiFi module which is connected to the iPhone connector inside the unit is appropriately connected.
  • Set the WiFi connection to Private
  • If you can still connect to the WiFi but don’t see the connection in Ruskin. Deactivate the Firewall of your computer temporary

Initialization Setup

Here’s the different steps to complete to initialize a RBR CTD:

  1. Connect to the sensor by using one of the different communication methods
  2. Open Ruskin software
  3. Confirm instrument connection. You should see the instrument listed under the Instruments list on the left sidebar.
  4. Instrument setup In the Navigator window of Ruskin (Top left) , select under instrument the instrument you want to initialize. A window should open to the right with all the properties and parameters related to that specific instrument. Click on the Setup Tab.

Warning

If the instrument you want to connect isn’t available go back to (Connect to RBR Sensor) and try to connect the sensor through another method.

Minimum Battery Voltage

Under the information tab, have a look at the Batteries voltage. Depending of the instrument, we recommend changing batteries below their respective voltage:

CTD Sensor Type Initial Voltage (V) Minimum Voltage (V)
RBR Concerto ~25.8 (CTD 65679) ~23
RBR Maestro ~25.8 (CTD 80217) ~23
RBR XR-620 ~12 (CTD 18032) ~11

Clock Synchronization

Sync the instrument with the computer clock in local time. Make sure the computer clock is properly synced. Click on Sync to PC clock for XR-620 sensors or Local Sync for Concerto sensors.

XR-620

Concerto

Advanced Configurations

Auxiliary sensors auto-ranging

If the CTD platform is equipped with a turbidity and/or chlorophyll-a sensor, make sure that the range selected for that sensor is on auto for both sensors.

XR-620

Concerto / Maestro

Instrument Activation (Gating condition)

RBR sensors can be set up to start recording at high frequency under some specific circumstances. This saves batteries and limits the size of the files. Here’s the configurations recommended for a standard Hakai survey

Twist Activation

  1. In Ruskin, under Setup, go to the tab “Gating condition” and click on “Twist Activation”.
  2. Before heading out, do a test run to be sure that everything is working properly by following the next two steps.
  3. In the field, to activate the sensor, rotate the battery end cap clockwise to the “On” position to activate the logger. The logger should vibrate to confirm its activation. If the logger is equipped with a fluorescence sensor, you should see a blue LED blinking.
  4. To stop the sensor from logging, rotate the battery end cap counter clockwise by 90° to the “Off” position. The logger should vibrate again to confirm its deactivation. Once deactivated, you shouldn’t see any lights blinking on any sensors.

Troubleshooting: instrument isn’t turning on with the twist activation

  • Make sure that the sensor end cap of the CTD is screwed in all the way.
  • If nothing is working, open the battery end cap and try moving a little magnet around the internal connector to see if the sensor detects it and turns on.

Thresholding Deployment

  1. If present enable 6Hz (XR-620)
  2. Select Pressure has a thresholding parameter.
  3. Check every 45s (00:00:45)
  4. Pressure should be Above (>)than: 12 dBar. \ Pressure can drift significantly over time. A different pressure value may be better. Select a pressure 1.5 dBar higher than what the sensor is recording in the air.
  5. Check every 45s
  6. XR-620 -Enable hysteresis ( 1 minute)

Data Download

  1. Connect RBR sensor to you computer (see connect to a RBR Sensor)
  2. Open Ruskin
  3. Click on the instrument in the navigation window
  4. Click on the Download tab and click on the download button.
  5. Ruskin will ask where to save the file. DO NOT CHANGE THE FILENAME. According to the RBR instrument you are working with, Ruskin should save a .hex or .rsk file. Once downloaded to your computer, the data should appear in Ruskin in the Navigator window under “Dataset”. If you click on that dataset, a window in the bottom half of the screen should appear

Important

Do not change the original file name generate by Ruskin

Conversion from HEX or RSK file to text (XR-620 only)

For legacy instrument XR-620 only which are producing hex files.

In the navigator window, right click on the dataset you want to convert and select the following sequence: Export as -> Legacy -> Rtext -> Engineering

  1. Those connectors should have been replaced by USB-C connectors. ↩