Page 58: of Marine Technology Magazine (June 2011)

58 MTR June 2011 products tool and alignment cage for sensor removal or installation.

The tool for handling the sensor mates with this cage, which is bolted to the riser or subsea structure and pro- vides the precise alignment needed to attach the sensor repeatedly and accurately. The design is purely mechanical and is compatible with an ROV equipped with one 5- function and one 7-function manipulator. As long as the failed sensor is replaced in the presence of at least three functioning sensors, the absolute tension or bending moment measurement is preserved during and after the change-out operation. www.scimar.com

X-Buoy 450

The X-Buoy 450 is an innovative open-platform profiling surface buoy.

Designed to fit profilers, probes & sensors of your choice for measuring parameters in a water col- umn in depths up to 300 meters. Floats in any type of coastal waters at wave heights up to 6 meters. The

X-Buoy is equipped with a watertight 100 litre Cargo

Bay carrying up to 40kg equipment. Gain low maintenance costs by on- water accessibility to batter- ies and instrumentation. It’s unsinkable compact design makes it robust and easy to deploy. www.flydogmarine.com

DCL Engineered Solutions

DCL Engineered Solutions has unveiled its new

Workhorse Synthetic Rope Connector (SRC). Designed to improve upon the roulette thimble/wide-body shackle configuration and H-Link, in connecting segments of polyester mooring ropes for MODUs and permanent moorings www.dcl-usa.com

New Monitor & Recorder for

Underwater Cameras

Not long ago boat- deployed underwater video systems were expensive pieces of equipment used prima- rily by the military, oil and gas industry, and oceanographic institu- tions. Today these underwater cameras are being employed by a wide range of users that includes commercial diving companies, law enforcement agencies, public safety dive teams, professional fishermen, and even recreational scuba divers. They are affordable, easy to operate, and available in a variety of configurations such as helmet-mount, diver-held, drop, and towed. One prob- lem encountered in using these systems around a marine environment is viewing the picture from the underwater camera. Standard TV sets and video monitors have a metal or plastic shell lined with openings for air circula- tion to cool the electronics; not a good setup for use in an open boat on the ocean. It’s also hard to see the picture on the screen on a sunny day. To overcome these difficul- ties, JW Fishers designed the VRM-1 video recorder and monitor. The VRM-1 is a rugged console in a waterproof case with built-in 10.4 inch flat screen monitor and digi- tal video recorder (DVR). The monitor’s ultra bright dis- play is easy to see, even in sun light. The DVR records up to 12 hours of high resolution video on a 16GB SD card.

The console’s control panel has all the switches necessary to operate the lights, camera and the complete system, along with input jacks for a microphone and external monitor. Attach the microphone, which is included, and record audio with the video. Connect a cable to the con- sole’s video output jack, and the picture can be viewed on an external monitor. A GPS interface option allows a GPS receiver to be connected to the VRM-1 to capture posi- tion coordinates. Time and date can also be displayed on the screen and recorded with other inputs. Remove the

SD card from the DVR, insert it into the USB port of a computer, and play the video on the PC, or burn it onto a DVD. www.jwfishers.com