Photo by S. Compoint / Sygma
SBE 32 Carousel Water Sampler - An innovative
design, free of the reliability problems associated with motor-driven types. The Carousel
has no moving-shaft seals that can bind up at low temperatures or under pressure because
each bottle position has its own magnetically-activated lanyard release latch. Only the
magnetic field -- not a moving part -- links the Carousel's lanyard release mechanism with
the pylon control electronics.
Sea-Bird's Carousel has been extensively deployed throughout the world's oceans, where it has built a reputation for reliability and ease of use. The Carousel has rapidly become the standard for oceanographic water sampling.
Reliable - no motors or oil-filled seals
No interruption of CTD data or power
Drop-in replacement for existing pylons
Easy one-handed lanyard attachment
Variety of sizes and configurations
Fire bottles in any order
Compatible with most CTDs
Programmable autonomous operation
SYSTEM ENGINEERED - PERFORMANCE PROVEN - TIME TESTED
The heart of every Carousel
is the magnetically-actuated lanyard release (shown at right). A pressure-proof electromagnet at each bottle
position is energized on command to release the latch holding the bottle lanyard.
Titanium, acetal plastic, and other corrosion-resistant materials are used in the latch and
magnet assembly. The latch array's modular construction makes servicing easy.
SBE 32 (FULL SIZE) CAROUSEL
The Carousel’s electronics/release assembly and mounting hub are standard components of all 12- and 24-position systems, and are available separately. When the electronics/release assembly is bolted into the mounting hub, a drop-in replacement is created for the pylon assembly commonly found in many existing water samplers, allowing reuse of existing bottle mount stands and adapter plates when upgrading to the more reliable and convenient Carousel design.
36-position
Carousels typically require a custom design suited to the intended bottle size,
and are built to meet specific application requirements for size, weight, and
materials. One example of a 36-position electronics/release assembly is shown at
left, installed in a custom 36-position stainless steel frame for 12-liter
bottles.
SBE 32C COMPACT CAROUSEL
For use with limited vertical clearance, the SBE 32C is a 12-position sampler without CTD extension stand. It supports bottles up to 8 liters, and accommodates a 9plus CTD mounted horizontally inside the bottle circle. Bottle positions are closely spaced into 2 arcs, leaving spaces between the arc ends to provide unobstructed flow to the 9plus or to allow mounting an SBE 19, 19plus, or 25 CTD (or SBE 49 CTD for real-time operation only) and/or other instruments vertically, using an accessory mounting fixture.
SBE 32SC SUB-COMPACT CAROUSEL
The 12-position SBE 32SC is sized for 1.7 or 2.5 liter bottles. When used with an SBE 19, 19plus, or 25 CTD (or SBE 49 for real-time operation only), it offers a small yet full-featured system, well suited to operation from small boats.
CAROUSEL CONTROL
The Carousel can be controlled in several ways:
Real-time data acquisition and control --
- SBE 11plus Deck Unit for SBE 9plus CTD
- SBE 33 Carousel Deck Unit for SBE 19, 19plus, 25, or 49 CTD; no CTD; or
Neil Brown Mk III CTD
Autonomous data acquisition and control (no conducting wire required)
- SBE 17plus V2 SEARAM for SBE 9plus CTD
- Auto Fire Module (AFM) for SBE 19, 19plus, or 25 CTD or no
CTD
Each of these is described briefly below; see the applicable (hyperlinked) specification sheet for more details.
SBE 11plus Deck Unit
The Carousel is designed to be connected to the SBE 9plus CTD and SBE 11plus Deck Unit, and controlled via the SBE 911plus modem channel.
SBE 33 Carousel Deck Unit
For stand-alone Carousel use (without a CTD), the SBE 33 provides power and real-time control to the water sampler. When used with an SBE 19, 19plus, 25, or 49 CTD, it also provides a real-time data telemetry link and power for the CTD and auxiliary instruments. Options for the SBE 33 include a NMEA 0183 interface to allow GPS position data to be appended to Sea-Bird CTD data, and an auxiliary A/D channel to interface a surface PAR sensor.
The AFM allows Carousel operation without a conducting seacable by firing bottles:
at user-programmed time intervals, or
when used with SBE 19, 19plus, or 25 CTD or SBE 50 Pressure Sensor, the AFM monitors the instrument pressure data and fires bottles at user-programmed depths.
The AFM also records bottle number, firing confirmation, and 5 scans of CTD data for each bottle fired. At the end of a cast, data from the CTD and from the AFM are both uploaded using the provided software. Setup and checkout are also performed (without opening the housing) through the software. The AFM, supplied with 9 alkaline D-size cells, provides Carousel power and AFM operation of at least 40 hours endurance.
SBE 17plus V2 SEARAM Recorder & Auto Fire Module
The SEARAM allows Carousel operation with an SBE 9plus CTD without a conducting seacable. Power is supplied to both CTD and Carousel by the SEARAM's internal battery. Using pressure data received from the SBE 9plus CTD and a programmable table of bottle closure pressures, the SEARAM commands the Carousel to close bottles on the upcast. Setup, checkout, and data uploading are performed (without opening the housing) through the provided software.
SEA-BIRD SOFTWARE
SEASOFT©-Win32, our complete Windows 2000/XP software package, is included at no extra charge. SEASOFT's modular programs include:
SEATERM and SeatermAF -- terminal programs for setup and data uploading.
SEASAVE -- real-time data acquisition and simultaneous keyboard control of bottle firing. A typical real-time CTD data plot shows how the software automatically marks the display with bottle numbers, keeps track of which bottles have been fired, and creates a bottle data file during real-time data collection.
SBE Data Processing -- filtering, aligning, averaging, and display of CTD and auxiliary sensor data and derived variables.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / LINKS:
Documentation -- manual, photos, technical papers, application notes, etc.
Sales Information -- options, accessories, spares, cables, mount kits, etc.
Links to Other Instruments of Interest
Sea-Bird Home Phone: 425-643-9866 Fax: 425-643-9954 E-mail: seabird@seabird.com