2016-00098-04

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 Warranty Confirmation

Warranty Confirmation
Return this card within 60 days of purchase to confirm your warranty. You can mail it to
Sensors & Software, fax it to +1-905-624-9365, or register your product online at
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 Warranty Confirmation

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 Warranty Confirmation

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 Warranty Confirmation

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 Warranty Confirmation

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 Warranty Confirmation

Sensors & Software Inc.

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1999-00236-04

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 Warranty Confirmation

Important Safety Information

Use the Display Unit only as specified in these operating instructions or the protection provided
by the unit may be impaired.

The battery charger/AC adapter must only be connected to a power outlet which provides a
protective earth (ground).

Connect the AC power cord only to designated power sources as marked on the battery
charger/AC adapter.

The battery charger/AC adapter is rated for indoors use only.

Do not replace detachable MAINS supply cords for the battery charger/AC adapter by
inadequately RATED cords.

Do not position the Display Unit such that it is difficult to disconnect the 37-pin GPR connector.

The exterior of this product should be cleaned using a damp cloth.

Safety Symbols

Consult this documentation in all cases where this safety symbol appears. This
symbol is used to inform you of any potential HAZARD or actions that require your attention.

ix
x
Noggin User’s Guide Table of Contents

Table of Contents
1. Overview ............................................................................................................... 1
2. Assembly .............................................................................................................. 3
2.1 Noggin Components 3
2.2 Assembling the Base Noggin 4
2.2.1 Noggin 250, 500 and 1000 MHz 4
2.2.2 Noggin 100 and Noggin Ultra 100 MHz 6
2.3 Assembling the SmartCart 9
2.3.1 Attaching the Wheels 9
2.3.2 Attaching the Separation Bars (250, 500 & 1000) 11
2.3.3 Attaching the Separation Bars (100) 13
2.3.4 Attaching Swivel Adaptors 17
2.3.5 Attaching a Noggin to the SmartCart 18
2.3.6 Connecting the Noggin Cable 20
2.3.7 Attaching the Digital Video Logger (DVL) 21
2.3.8 Attaching the Battery 23
2.3.9 Installing the GPS Mount (optional) 24
2.4 Assembling the SmartTow 26
2.4.1 Noggin 100 SmartTow 26
2.4.2 Noggin 250 SmartTow 30
2.4.3 Noggin 500 and 1000 SmartTow 35
2.4.4 Connecting the Battery 37
2.4.5 Using the Harness 38
2.5 Assembling the SmartHandle 39
2.5.1 Shortening the SmartHandle 44
2.5.2 Using the Harness 44
2.6 Assembling the SmartChariot 46
2.6.1 Attaching Swivel Adapters to Noggins 47
2.6.2 Hanger Kits 48
2.6.3 Connecting the Noggin 250 49
2.6.4 Connecting the Noggin 500 50
2.6.5 Connecting the Noggin 1000 51
2.6.6 Attaching the SmartChariot Handle 52
2.6.7 Attaching the Ball Hitch Receiver 53
2.6.8 Adjusting the Noggin Height 54
2.6.9 Adding GPS 55
2.6.10 Routing Cables 56
2.6.11 SmartChariot GPR system parameters 58
2.6.12 Tips for Using the SmartChariot 59
2.6.13 Dual Channel System on a SmartChariot 60
2.7 Multi-Channel Applications 61
2.8 Connecting an External GPS (optional) 62

3. GPR Concepts .................................................................................................... 65

3.1 Theory 65
3.2 Hyperbolas 65
3.3 Calculating Depth 66
3.4 Velocity values 67
3.5 Air Waves 67

4. Getting Started ................................................................................................... 69

4.1 Powering up the Display Unit 69
4.2 Shutting down 71
4.3 Interacting with the Display Unit (DVL) 71
4.4 Swipe Down menu 72

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Noggin User’s Guide Table of Contents

5. Tools and Setup ................................................................................................. 75

5.1 Main Screen 75
5.2 Systems Configuration 76
5.3 Preferences 89
5.4 System Test 99
5.5 File Management 108

6. Line Scan .......................................................................................................... 111

6.1 Selecting a line 112
6.2 Acquiring Data 113
6.3 DynaQ 115
6.4 Back-up Indicator 116
6.5 Stopping the Line 117
6.6 Dialog Box 118
6.7 Flags 119
6.8 Line Scan menu options 119

7. Grid Scan .......................................................................................................... 129

7.1 Grid Setup 129
7.2 Laying out the grid 133
7.3 Data Collection 136
7.4 Processing Data 143

8. Slice View .......................................................................................................... 145

8.1 Depth 146
8.2 Line View 146
8.3 Color 147
8.4 Options 148
8.5 Recollecting lines 150

9. MapView ............................................................................................................ 151

9.1 Accessing MapView 151
9.2 MapView screen 151

10. Demonstration Data ......................................................................................... 159

11. Capturing Screens & E-mailing Mini-Reports ................................................ 163
11.1 Screenshots 163
11.2 Using the Hotspot on your Smartphone 164
11.3 Mini-Reports 165

12. Transferring Data to a PC ................................................................................ 167

12.1 Formatting USB Sticks 168
12.2 Directory Structure 169
12.3 Field Interpretations file 170
12.4 Google EarthTM 170
12.5 System Summary Report 172
12.6 EKKO_Project 173

13. Troubleshooting ............................................................................................... 175

13.1 Power Supply 175
13.2 System Communications 175
13.3 System Overheating 176
13.4 Display Unit Problem 176
13.5 Creating a Test Line for Data Quality 176
13.6 Contacting the Vendor for Service 176

14. Care and Maintenance ..................................................................................... 177

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Noggin User’s Guide Table of Contents

14.1 Battery Care 177

14.2 Cable Care 177
14.3 Skid Pads 178
14.4 Odometer 178
14.5 Storage Cases 178
14.6 Upgrading Embedded Software on Display Unit 178

15. Parts List & Accessories ................................................................................. 181

15.1 Spare Parts 181
15.2 Accessories 181

16. Technical Specifications ................................................................................. 183

16.1 Noggin Specifications 183
16.2 DVL Specifications 183
16.3 Battery Specifications 184

Appendix A: Health & Safety Certification .............................................................. A-1

Appendix B: GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations ................................ B-1
Appendix C: Instrument Interference ...................................................................... C-1
Appendix D: Safety around Explosive Devices ...................................................... D-1
Appendix E: Wi-Fi Module .........................................................................................E-1

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Noggin User’s Guide Table of Contents

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Noggin User’s Guide Overview

1. Overview
Congratulations on your purchase of a Noggin Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system. Built
for the professional, multi-application user in mind, the Noggin gives you maximum flexibility by
allowing you to:
• switch transducer frequencies for different applications
• change deployment configurations
• setup different triggering methods
• configure many settings during data acquisition

Features of the new Noggin system include:

• High visibility, touch screen display (DVL)
• Display depth slices from collected grids, right in the field
• UWB (ultra-wide band) Antenna producing highest data quality
• Built-in Wi-Fi capability
• Mass data export via USB
• Integrated GPS receiver with optional external GPS for increased positional accuracy for
geo-referencing data
• Ability to mark surface flags and subsurface interpretations directly in the data
• Display your travelled path and targets in MapView
• Seamless integration into EKKO_Project software for further data analysis

The following chart summarizes how the data is managed:

How is data saved? Screenshots (.JPG) and .GPZ files

9 Projects each with:

• 10 grids
How much data can be saved?
• 99 lines
• 999 screenshots

File organization Projects containing Lines, Grids & Screenshots

PC-based data display Data can be opened in EKKO_Project

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Noggin User’s Guide Overview

This manual describes assembly of the various Noggin configurations, operating the system and
collecting data. There is also a section that describes the basics of GPR theory and techniques
for proper surveying.

The manual references embedded software version V1 R4. To see which software version is
installed on your system, see the Swipe Down menu in Section 4.4.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

2. Assembly
Noggin GPRs come in various configurations and frequencies. This section will identify the
main parts of the GPR system, as well as describe assembly of each configuration.

2.1 Noggin Components

Noggin GPR sensors are named after the center frequency of the GPR signals, in MHz. There
are four systems available: 100 MHz, 250 MHz, 500 MHz and 1000 MHz.

All systems are shielded, with the exception of the Noggin 100 MHz. Due to the design of the
Noggin 100, the following sections will usually show the setup of the Noggin 100 separately.
The images in Figure 2-1 and Figure 2-2 display the key components of the Noggin 250 sensor
(the 500 and 1000 are identical, just smaller)

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Mounting Posts
Durable, plastic
skid plate

Figure 2-1: Noggin Components

Figure 2-2: Location of Noggin Transducers

2.2 Assembling the Base Noggin

2.2.1 Noggin 250, 500 and 1000 MHz
The Base Noggin is the name given to the simplest configuration. This is often purchased by
people looking to custom design their own mounting platform. The image in Figure 2-3 displays
the parts of the Base configuration, applicable to the 250, 500 and 1000 MHz systems.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Noggin
250
DVL (display
unit) Belt battery

Main black
cable

Figure 2-3: Base Noggin Configuration

To assemble, connect the 37-pin connector on the black cable to the 37-socket connector on
the Noggin. Close the latch to secure this connection, by turning the keeper (key) until it locks
tight (Figure 2-4).

Figure 2-4: Connecting cable to Noggin (left) then tightening the keeper (right)

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Attach the other end of this cable to the 37-pin connector on the back of the DVL and tighten the
latch on top (Figure 2-5).

Latch

Figure 2-5: Connecting main cable to DVL

The main cable from the back of the DVL also has a 4-pin cable for power connected to it.
Connect this cable to a power supply (usually a belt battery or a large battery). The belt battery
is shown in Figure 2-6.

Figure 2-6: Connecting to belt battery

2.2.2 Noggin 100 and Noggin Ultra 100 MHz

Unlike the higher frequency Noggins, the Noggin 100 antennas and electronics are shipped as
separate units that need to be assembled.
Space the 100 MHz antennas about 0.5 meters apart with the mounting blocks facing up (Figure
2-7).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Mounting
Antenna block

System
electronics

Figure 2-7: Attaching system electronics to mounting block

Place one end of the Noggin 100 system electronics over one of the antennas.
Connect the two brass sockets in the bottom of the electronics with the two brass pins in the
antenna mounting block (Figure 2-8). Make sure to hand-tighten the brass pins prior to
connecting to the antennas each time.
Press down on the Noggin 100 electronics until it is firmly connected to the antennas.
System
Electronics

Figure 2-8: Connecting Noggin 100 system electronics to antennas

Secure the electronics to the antenna by closing the two plastic latches (Figure 2-9).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-9: Securing latches to the Noggin 100 antennas

Repeat above steps to connect the electronics to the second antenna.

The following image displays the key components of the assembled Noggin 100 (Figure 2-10):

Figure 2-10: Assembled Noggin 100 antennas and electronics

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

2.3 Assembling the SmartCart

The SmartCart is the most popular configuration, and can accommodate any Noggin sensor:
100, 250, 500 and 1000 MHz.
The Noggin sensors are not connected to the SmartCart when they are initially shipped. Refer
to Figure 2-11, and the steps below, while unfolding your SmartCart.

Handle
support arm

Handle

Figure 2-11: Assembling the SmartCart

1. Remove the pin from the handle support arm.

2. Raise the handle support arm.
3. Raise the handle.
4. Place the open end of the T-shaped tube on the handle onto the end of the support arm
(see Step 1 in figure above).
5. Lock the handle into position:
Align the hole in the support arm to the hole in the T-shaped tube.
Insert the handle pin (see Step 2 in figure above).
Note: When collapsing the SmartCart, fold the handle down before folding the handle
support arm.

2.3.1 Attaching the Wheels

SmartCarts are usually shipped with the wheels attached. If your wheels arrive un-attached,
complete the following procedure to attach them to your SmartCart:
1. Press the button on the end of the wheel axle to unlock the axle catches.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

2. Insert the axle through the wheel and into the SmartCart frame (Figure 2-12)

Figure 2-12: Attaching wheel to SmartCart

3. Make sure the odometer wheel makes good contact with the side of the cart wheel (Figure
2-13). The odometer wheel is the one which has a “scuffed” inside rim, to reduce wheel
slippage in wet conditions.
If odometer contact with the wheel is too loose, the odometer wheel may slip resulting in
incorrect position measurements.
a) If the odometer wheel is loose, use a 3/16 inch Allen (hexagonal) wrench to loosen the
screws on the side of the odometer.
b) Pivot the odometer until the small odometer wheel makes good contact with the side of
the cart wheel.

Figure 2-13: Close-up of wheel connected to odometer

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

c) Tighten the screws to lock the odometer wheel in this position (Figure 2-14).

1/16 inch set screw

Tighten the screws to lock the

odometer wheel in this position

Figure 2-14: Adjusting and tightening odometer wheel bracket

Tighten the 1/16 inch set screw into the fibreglass tubing to prevent the odometer from rotating
from this position.

2.3.2 Attaching the Separation Bars (250, 500 & 1000)

The SmartCart separation bars keep the Noggin systems suspended over the surface.
SmartCarts are shipped with separation bars attached. If your separation bars arrive un-
attached or you purchase a different size to accommodate a different system, complete the
following procedure to attach them to your SmartCart.
Note: The Noggin 100 separation bars must be assembled before attaching them to the
SmartCart. For details, see Attaching Antenna Separation Bars.
If you are disassembling the SmartCart, detach the Display Unit and the battery from the
SmartCart as the back half of the cart may fall to the ground and be damaged during the
removal and installation of the separation bars.
Use the four thumbscrews to attach the SmartCart separation bars to the SmartCart front and
rear ends (Figure 2-15).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Separation Bars

Thumbscrews

Figure 2-15: Attaching separation bars to SmartCart

Note: For the Noggin 500 separation bars the long end of the bars must be placed towards
the back of the cart. This will prevent the Noggin 500 sensor from hitting the back of the cart
during operation. See Figure 2-16.

Long end

Figure 2-16: Noggin 500 separation bars

Be careful when aligning the thumb screws and the separation bars:
• If the hole and insert are not aligned, the thumbscrew will bind after half a turn and damage
the insert by cross-threading it.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

• Forcing the thumbscrew to turn can also cause damage. If you have damaged the insertion
point, run a 10-32 tap through the insert to re-tap the hole.

2.3.3 Attaching the Separation Bars (100)

To assemble the Noggin 100 separation bars, you need two user-supplied 10mm wrenches for
tightening lock nuts onto the bolts.
The image in Figure 2-17 displays the parts of the Noggin 100 SmartCart Separation bars.

Figure 2-17: Parts of the Noggin 100 separation bars

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Refer to Figure 2-18 when assembling the Noggin 100 SmartCart Separation Bars:

Figure 2-18: Assembly of Noggin 100 separation bars

Connect the Swing Frame end with the four thumbscrews (Figure 2-19). Be careful to not
strip the threads.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-19: Connecting the thumbscrew

Make sure the Swing Arm bolt head is caught by the plastic ridge so it cannot rotate (Figure
2-20).

Figure 2-20: Securing the Swing Arm

Do not over-tighten; the Swing Arm needs to move freely. The completed separation bars
assembly is shown in Figure 2-21.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-21: Completed Noggin 100 separation bars

Attach the separation bars to the SmartCart using the thumbscrews provided. The completed
assembly is shown in Figure 2-22.

Figure 2-22: Separation bars attached to the SmartCart

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

2.3.4 Attaching Swivel Adaptors

SmartCarts are shipped with swivel adaptors attached. If your swivel adaptors arrive un-
attached, complete the following procedure to attach them to your SmartCart.
Before attaching the Noggin 250, 500, or 1000 to the SmartCart, attach the four swivel adaptors
(with attached pins) to the Noggin mounting posts (Figure 2-23).

Figure 2-23: Swivel adaptors attaching to mounting posts

Loosen the Allen (hexagonal) screw use the 1/8” Allen (hexagonal) wrench provided with the
assembly package to slide the swivel adaptor down into the proper position
Tighten each screw and then loosen it ¼ turn so the swivel adaptors are firmly attached to the
post but can still rotate.
Important: Do not over-tighten the screws.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

2.3.5 Attaching a Noggin to the SmartCart

Noggin 250
1. Align the Noggin beneath the SmartCart so the long axis is parallel to the SmartCart
wheels.

Hanger

Pin
Swivel
Adapter

Figure 2-24: Attaching the Noggin 250 to the SmartCart

2. Make sure the Noggin 37-socket female electrical receptacle faces the back (handle
end) of the cart so the cable reaches the receptacle.
3. Remove the quick release pin from the swivel adaptors.
4. On the bottom of the cart, locate the four oval, moveable hangers suspended from the
separation bars of the cart. Each hanger has a hole in it (Figure 2-24).
5. To attach the Noggin to the cart, place each hanger into the slot on the top of the swivel
adaptors.
6. Line up the holes and insert the pins.

Noggin 500 & 1000

1. Align the Noggin so the long axis is parallel to the SmartCart wheels.
2. Make sure the Noggin 37 socket female electrical receptacle faces the back (handle
end) of the cart so the cable reaches the receptacle.
3. Remove the pins from the swivel adapters.
4. On the bottom of the cart, locate the two flat, moveable crossbars suspended from the
separation bars. Each crossbar has two holes, one on each side (Figure 2-25).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Crossbar (with hole)

Pins

Swivel
Adapter

Figure 2-25: Attaching the Noggin 500 and Noggin 1000 to the SmartCart

5. To attach the Noggin 500 or 1000 to the cart, place the crossbars into the slots on the
top of the swivel adapters.
6. Line up the holes and insert the pins.

Noggin 100 and Noggin Ultra 100

Unlike the higher frequency Noggins, the Noggin 100 comes with the antennas and electronics
as separate units that need to be assembled. Before attaching the Noggin 100 to the
SmartCart, assemble the Noggin 100 electronics and antennas (to learn more, see Assembling
the Noggin 100 MHz).
Assemble the Noggin 100 separation bars before attaching them to the SmartCart.
To attach your Noggin 100 to the SmartCart, place the SmartCart over the Noggin 100.
Make sure the 37-socket cable connection on the Noggin 100 electronics faces the back
(handle end) of the SmartCart so that the cable can connect properly.
Align and then insert the eight antenna post blocks on the frame into the antenna mounting
posts on the 100 MHz antennas. Make sure they go inside the skid plate cross braces, and not
on top of them.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Secure the SmartCart Separation Bars to the Noggin 100 by inserting the pins into the eight
post blocks (Figure 2-26).

Cross brace on
skid plate

Figure 2-26: Attaching Separation Bars to Noggin 100 antennas

2.3.6 Connecting the Noggin Cable

The SmartCart cabling is factor installed to route along the bottom fibreglass bar with Velcro
strips.
1. Connect the 37-pin end of the Noggin-to-DVL cable to the receptacle on the Noggin.
2. Secure the attachment with the latch (Figure 2-27).
3. Leave enough slack on the cable to reduce stress on the cable during data collection.
4. When using a Noggin 100, ensure the Noggin cable can reach the additional length
required to connect to the Noggin 100. Attach the odometer extension cable (100-52-
0091) to the standard odometer cable that is secured to the SmartCart and connected to
the Noggin cable (Figure 2-28).
5. The first Velcro strap is then used to secure the now extended odometer cable to the
SmartCart. Route the cable along the frame using Velcro straps.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-27: Connecting cable with latch to Noggin

Odometer Cable
(Extended)

Noggin to
DVL Cable

Figure 2-28: Connecting the Noggin-to-DVL cable to Noggin 100 electronics

2.3.7 Attaching the Digital Video Logger (DVL)

1. Align the back plate on the DVL with the Mount on the DVL tray
2. Slide the DVL down onto the mount so that the sides of the mount catch on the DVL
back plate (Figure 2-29).
3. The spring-loaded release pin with snap into place when secure. Do not let go of the
DVL until you are sure that it is secure.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

DVL back
plate

Thumbscrews
Release
pin

Figure 2-29: Attaching the digital video logger (DVL).

4. Wiggle the DVL to make sure it is firmly connected before letting go of the unit.
5. Pivot the DVL to adjust the view angle. If it is difficult to pivot the DVL, slightly loosen
the thumbscrews on the bottom of the support shelf. Tighten to fix the viewing angle
6. To remove the DVL from the SmartCart, pull the cylindrical release pin outward and lift
the DVL off the shelf.
7. Once the DVL is in place, attach the 37-socket female D-connector cable to the 37-pin
receptacle on the back of the DVL. Secure the attachment with the latch (Figure 2-30).

Latch

DVL to
Noggin
cable

Figure 2-30: Connecting main cable to DVL

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2.3.8 Attaching the Battery

The image in Figure 2-30 displays the SmartCart 9 Amp-hr. battery. Follow the steps for placing
the battery in the SmartCart:

Battery Cable Receptacle

Figure 2-31: SmartCart battery

1. Set the battery onto the lower inclined shelf on the back of the SmartCart.

Figure 2-32: Attaching battery to SmartCart

2. Make sure the battery unit handle is facing the back of the cart and the cable receptacle
is on the right. The battery should rest in this area without moving.
3. Secure the battery onto the cart by placing the straps provided over the battery.
4. Tighten the straps.
5. Fasten the plastic buckle to lock the straps (Figure 2-32).
Note: The battery mass is part of the overall cart balance enabling you to raise the front
wheels with little force. This allows you to change direction and ensure the rear wheels

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(especially the rear wheel in contact with the odometer wheel) are always in contact with
the ground.
6. Connect the round four-pin battery cable to the receptacle (Figure 2-31) on the side of
the battery.

2.3.9 Installing the GPS Mount (optional)

The optional SmartCart GPS mount is designed to mount a GPS receiver, which can log GPS
information during data collection. It uses a 5/8-11 UNC-1A thread at the top of the pole. These
are standard for Trimble, Topcon and other GPS units.
Identify all parts in the parts list (Figure 2-33):

Number Quantity

1. GPS Mounting Post 1

2. Horizontal Support Bar 1
3. Vertical Support section 1
4. Tube clips 3
Hardware/pins (not shown)

3
4

Figure 2-33: Components of the GPS mount

1. Open two tube clips (4) and push them over the separation bars; position them at the
mid-point of the Noggin
2. Use two screws with lock washer and wing nut to fasten the U-shaped Vertical Support
Section (3) onto the tube clips (4).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

3. Clip the remaining tube clip (4) onto the angular support bar (A).
4. Use the screws with lock washer and wing nut to install the horizontal support bar (2)
to the angular support bar (A).
5. Secure the horizontal support bar (2) to the vertical support section (3) with a quick
release pin.
6. Insert the GPS mounting post (1) and secure it with a quick release pin.
7. Adjust the assembly to make sure the horizontal support post (2) is completely
horizontal and the vertical support section (3) is completely vertical.
Note: There are 2 sizes for the horizontal support bars: one for the Noggin 250, one for
the Noggin 500/1000. There is none for the Noggin 100 on a SmartCart.
If you are using an external GPS with the Noggin 100 on a SmartCart, it is
recommended to purchase the pulseEKKO GPS Mount, which doesn’t require the
horizontal support bar. In addition, you will need a longer GPS cable to run to the DVL.

The completed Noggin 250 & Noggin 100 SmartCarts are shown below (Figure 2-34).

Figure 2-34: Assembled Noggin 250 SmartCart (left) and Noggin 100 SmartCart (right)

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2.4 Assembling the SmartTow

The SmartTow configuration enables you to drag Noggins (100, 250, 500, and 1000) across the
surface to acquire data.

2.4.1 Noggin 100 SmartTow

The Noggin 100 tow frame is shipped disassembled and comes with four corner brackets for
attaching the tow frame to the handle and odometer.
First, assemble the Noggin 100 electronics and antennas (see Assembling Noggin 100).
The image in Figure 2-35 displays the parts of the Noggin 100 SmartTow frame:

Handle

Corner
Bracket

Antenna
Post
Blocks

Tow
Frame
Sides
Thumb
screw

Odometer
wheel

Figure 2-35: Noggin 100 SmartTow frame parts (left) and Assembled Noggin 100 frame (right)

The instructions below describe how to connect the antennas and electronics to the Tow Frame:
1. Make sure the antenna post blocks face outward before assembling.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

2. Connect each piece using the four thumbscrews (Figure 2-36). Be careful not to strip
the threads. The handle and odometer wheel are held in place with the corner brackets
which are connected to the tow frame using the thumb screws.
3. Make sure you position the odometer wheel so the “This Side Up” sticker on the bar
faces up.

Figure 2-36: Connecting thumbscrew

Note: The assembly kit comes with extra end pieces so both the SmartCart and
SmartTow configurations can be assembled; as a result, there may be extra pieces after
assembly.
4. Align and then insert the eight antenna post blocks on the frame into the antenna
mounting posts on the 100 MHz antennas. Make sure they go inside the skid plate cross
braces, and not on top of them
5. Place the SmartTow frame over the Noggin 100 electronics. Ensure the end with the
cable connector faces the odometer (Figure 2-37).
6. Press down on the Noggin 100 electronics until it is firmly connected to the antennas.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

SmartTow frame

37-socket connector

Mounting posts

Figure 2-37: Attaching Noggin 100 electronics to antennas

7. To secure the SmartTow frame to the Noggin 100, insert the pins into the eight post
blocks (Figure 2-38)

Figure 2-38: Securing SmartTow frame to Noggin 100 antennas

8. Latch the 37-pin end of the Noggin-to-DVL cable to the receptacle on the Noggin 100
electronics.

2-Person Operation
For issues of cable management, it is recommended to operate the Noggin 100 SmartTow
configuration with two people: one person pulls the system forward, while the other person
trails behind the system with the DVL and belt battery (Figure 2-39).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-39: Two person operation of the Noggin 100 and Noggin Ultra 100 SmartTow

For cable routing:

a) Route the Noggin-to-DVL cable straight back from the Noggin sensor to the DVL.
b) Secure the cable to the frame with Velcro straps.
c) Make sure that the cable does not sag and contact the antennas as this creates
noise in the GPR data. The cable should have some slack to reduce any stress on
the cable during data collection.
d) Connect the yellow odometer cable to the receptacle on the Noggin end of the
Noggin-to-DVL cable.

1-Person Operation
If you will be using the system as a single operator, you will need to have the DVL and belt
battery on the front end that is pulling the system. Because the Noggin-to-DVL cable will be
coming out the back end of the Noggin sensor, care must be taken when routing the cable to
minimize unwanted RF noise in the data.
For cable routing:
a) Route the Noggin-to-DVL cable on top of the Noggin sensor electronics towards the
front. Make sure that the cable does not hover over or contact the antennas as this
creates noise in the GPR data (Figure 2-40).
b) Route the cable up the handle and connect to the back of the DVL.
c) Secure the cable to the frame (near the handle end) and up the handle with Velcro
straps.
d) Connect the yellow odometer cable to the receptacle on the Noggin end of the
Noggin-to-DVL cable.

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Velcro

Figure 2-40: Connecting main cable and odometer cable. Secure to frame with Velcro straps provided.

Where possible, it is highly recommended to use the 2-person operation.

2.4.2 Noggin 250 SmartTow

The following image (Figure 2-41) displays the components needed to assemble the Noggin
250. Instructions are as follows:

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Mounting Posts

SmartTow
Bracket
Short Pin

Long Pins

U Brackets

Figure 2-41: Components of the Noggin 250 SmartTow

1. Attach a SmartTow Bracket to the two front mounting posts on the Noggin.
2. Secure the attachment with pins.
3. Attach the second SmartTow Bracket to the two back mounting posts on the Noggin
(Figure 2-42).
4. Secure the attachment with pins.

Short Tow
Brackets

Short Pins

Figure 2-42: Connecting the SmartTow bracket

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5. Connect the large black cable to the Noggin 37-pin female connector and close the latch
(Figure 2-43).

Noggin Cable

Figure 2-43: Connecting main cable to Noggin 250

6. Make sure the cable lies on top of the SmartTow Bracket assembly (Figure 2-44).

Figure 2-44: Routing main cable

7. Attach the large odometer wheel to the rear SmartTow Bracket closest to the 37-pin
Noggin connector.
8. Position the odometer so the “This Side Up” sticker on the T-bar faces up.

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9. Secure the odometer T-bar with the U-brackets and pins (Figure 2-45).

Long Pin Large Odometer

U Bracket

Odometer Cable

Figure 2-45: Attaching odometer wheel to one of the SmartTow brackets

10. Make sure the black cable is routed to the front of the Noggin so it does not interfere with
the odometer wheel.
11. Connect the yellow odometer cable to the Noggin connector receptacle (Figure 2-46).

Odometer Cable

Odometer Receptacle

Figure 2-46: Connecting yellow odometer cable to odometer receptacle on main cable

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12. Attach the handle to the front SmartTow Bracket assembly with the U-brackets and pins
(Figure 2-47).

SmartTow
Handle

Long Pin

U Bracket

Figure 2-47: Securing handle to other SmartTow bracket

13. Secure the cable on the SmartTow brackets and along the side of the handle with Velcro
straps (Figure 2-48).

Velcro Straps

Figure 2-48: Routing cable up the handle

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2.4.3 Noggin 500 and 1000 SmartTow

The following image (Figure 2-49) displays the Noggin 500/1000 SmartTow brackets parts:

SmartTow
Brackets

Short pins

U brackets Long pins

Figure 2-49: Components of the Noggin 500 SmartTow

1. Align the two holes on one of the SmartTow Brackets with the two mounting posts on
one side of the Noggin.
2. Press down firmly.
3. Secure the connections with the short metal pins (Figure 2-50).
4. Attach the second SmartTow bracket to the other side of the Noggin and repeat

SmartTow
Brackets

Short pins

Figure 2-50: Securing SmartTow brackets to Noggin with pins

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5. Attach the handle to the front of the SmartTow Brackets using the U-brackets and long
pins (Figure 2-51). Make sure the handle is attached to the end of the Noggin opposite
the 37 socket cable connection.

U brackets

Handle

Long pins

Figure 2-51: Attaching handle to one end of the brackets

6. Connect the large black Noggin-to-DVL cable to the 37-socket connector on the Noggin.
7. Close the latch.
8. Loop the cable to provide some slack.
9. Route the cable along the top of the SmartTow bracket and secure using Velcro straps.
10. Attach the large odometer wheel to the end of the Noggin with the 37-socket connector.
Make sure the “This Side Up” sticker is facing up.
11. Secure the odometer T-bar to the SmartTow Brackets using the U-brackets and long
pins (Figure 2-52).

Figure 2-52: Attaching odometer wheel assembly to other bracket

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

12. Make sure the black Noggin-to-DVL cable faces the front of the Noggin so it does not
interfere with the odometer wheel.
13. Connect the yellow odometer cable to the Noggin connector receptacle.
14. Loop the odometer cable so it does not interfere with the rotation of the odometer wheel.
15. Secure the cable to the T-bar with Velcro straps.
16. Secure the main cable along the side of the handle with Velcro straps.

The following image (Figure 2-53) displays a fully-assembled Noggin 500 in SmartTow
configuration:

Fiberglass
Handle

Odometer

DVL

Skid Plate
Figure 2-53: Assembled Noggin 500 SmartTow system

2.4.4 Connecting the Battery

In the majority of applications, a belt battery will be used to power the SmartTow configuration.
The main cable that connects to the back of the DVL has a shorter 4-pin connector to connect to
a power supply. Connect this to the female connector on the belt battery, as shown in (Figure
2-54).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-54: Connecting battery power

2.4.5 Using the Harness

The SmartTow system comes with a harness that connects to the DVL, so your hands are free
to acquire data and tow the system. The clips on the harness connect to the ring loops in the
four corners of the Display Unit (the ring loops may need to be installed, if they are not already).
The longer straps go over the shoulders and the short straps go under the arms. Adjust the
length of the straps for comfort (Figure 2-55).

Figure 2-55: Attaching harness clips to DVL (left), fully assembled harness with straps connected to DVL (right)

There is also an option of the Deluxe Harness which allows the operator to mount the DVL at a
comfortable, fixed viewing angle for ease of operation. The harness resembles a vest which is
pulled over the body and tightened with straps (Figure 2-56).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-56: Deluxe Harness

2.5 Assembling the SmartHandle

Noggin 500 and 1000 systems can be operated in the SmartHandle configuration. The
assembly images display how to setup the Noggin 500 SmartHandle system; the Noggin 1000
SmartHandle system is similar. The SmartHandle can be connected so that you can either
push or pull the system.
1. Slide the Noggin odometer bracket over the four silver mounting posts (Figure 2-57)

Figure 2-57: Sliding Odometer bracket over Noggin 500

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

2. Connect the 37 pin connector on the Noggin-to-DVL cable to the 37 socket receptacle on
the Noggin unit and tighten the latch (Figure 2-58)

Figure 2-58: Connecting main cable to Noggin

3. Connect the yellow odometer cable to the round Noggin receptacle connector (Figure
2-59).

Figure 2-59: Connecting yellow odometer cable to main cable receptacle

4. Press the handle base down onto the four silver mounting posts.
5. Make sure the handle base is pushed all the way down onto the odometer bracket.
6. Insert the four quick-release pins to secure the handle (Figure 2-60).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-60: Quick release pins (left), inserted to secure handle to Noggin

Connecting to the DVL

1. Plug the other end of the DVL to Sensor cable into the 37-pin connector on the back of
the DVL.
2. To connect the power source, attach the SmartHandle cable 4-pin connector to a power
supply, typically the belt battery (Figure 2-61).

Figure 2-61: Connecting belt battery

3. Run the DVL to Sensor Cable from the Noggin up the side of the SmartHandle.
4. Secure the cable to the SmartHandle with the Velcro straps.
5. Leave slack in the cable near the Noggin connection. It is important that there is no
strain on the connection when the handle is pivoted up and down.
The completed SmartHandle will look like the picture in Figure 2-62:

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-62: Completed SmartHandle

If you want to pull the SmartHandle, rather than push it:

1. Remove the four quick-release pins that secure the handle to the Noggin.
2. Remove the handle bracket by pulling it straight up.
3. Rotate the handle so the handle is on the opposite end of the odometer wheel.
4. Press the handle base down onto the four silver mounting posts.
5. Make sure the handle base is pushed all the way down onto the odometer bracket.
6. Insert the four quick-release pins to secure the handle to the Noggin.
7. Completed SmartHandle for pulling is shown in Figure 2-63

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-63: Pulling the SmartHandle

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2.5.1 Shortening the SmartHandle

To shorten the SmartHandle for collecting data in a confined space or on a wall, release the
thumbscrews and remove the center handle section (Figure 2-64). Secure the cable to the
SmartHandle using Velcro straps.
Make sure that there is excess cable near the Noggin connection to allow the SmartHandle to
pivot up and down without straining the cable.

Figure 2-64: Shortened handle, by removing the middle section

2.5.2 Using the Harness

The SmartHandle system comes with a harness that connects to the DVL, so your hands are
free to acquire data and tow the system. The clips on the harness connect to the ring loops in
the four corners of the Display Unit as shown in Figure 2-65 (the ring loops may need to be
installed, if they are not already). The longer straps go over the shoulders and the short straps
go under the arms. Adjust the length of the straps for comfort.

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-65: Attaching harness clips to DVL (left), fully assembled harness with straps connected to DVL (right)

Below is a picture of the assembled SmartHandle and harness in use (Figure 2-66).

Figure 2-66: SmartHandle with harness on a site

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2.6 Assembling the SmartChariot

The SmartChariot is a self-contained Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system used to deploy
GPR sensors at low speeds (maximum 25 km/hr or 15 mph) from a tow vehicle (Figure 2-67).
The SmartChariot can be used with the Noggin 250, 500 or 1000 sensors.
The SmartChariot can also deploy dual channel Noggin systems in-line: two Noggin 1000s or a
Noggin 500 and a Noggin 1000 at the same time. This is achieved using the SPIDAR multi-
channel platform, described in Section 2.7. The following image shows a fully assembled
SmartChariot system with a Noggin 500 and GPS attached to a tow vehicle`:

Figure 2-67: Fully assembled Noggin 500 on a SmartChariot with GPS, connected to a tow vehicle

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2.6.1 Attaching Swivel Adapters to Noggins

Before attaching the Noggin 250, 500, or 1000 to the SmartChariot, attach the four swivel
adaptors (with attached pins) to the Noggin mounting posts as shown in Figure 2-68.

Swivel Adapters

Mounting Posts

Figure 2-68: Connecting swivel adaptors to mounting posts

1. Place the swivel adapters on the mounting posts. To loosen the Allen (hexagonal)
screw, use the 1/8” Allen (hexagonal) wrench provided with the assembly package so
the swivel adaptor will slide down into the proper position. Tighten each screw, but do
not over-tighten.

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2.6.2 Hanger Kits

The Noggin attaches to the SmartChariot by a hanger kit. The Noggin hanger kit is first attached
to the swivel adapters on the Noggin. Each hanger bar has six parallel mounting locations to
attach the hanger kits to (Figure 2-69).

Figure 2-69: Hanger bars for mounting Noggins

To mount the GPR sensor hanger kit in the correct position on the hanger bars, refer to the
following table:
Hanger Bar Single Channel GPR Sensor Dual Channel GPR Sensors
Mount
1 N/A Front of Noggin 500
2 Front of Noggin 250 N/A
3 Front of Noggin 500 or 1000 Rear of Noggin 500
4 Rear of Noggin 500 or 1000 Front of Noggin 1000
5 Rear of Noggin 250 N/A
6 N/A Rear of Noggin 1000

Attach the hangers to the hanger bar using the nuts and bolts provided. Use two 10 mm
wrenches to assemble the hangers (wrenches not provided).

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2.6.3 Connecting the Noggin 250

Connect the four Noggin 250 short hangers from the swivel adapters to Hanger Bar Mounts 2
and 5. Make sure the Noggin cable connection faces the back of the SmartChariot (Figure
2-70).

Hanger Bars

Swivel Adapter
with pin
Figure 2-70: Noggin 250 attached to SmartChariot

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2.6.4 Connecting the Noggin 500

The Noggin 500 hanger kit includes a crossbar that attaches to the swivel adapters. Connect
the four short crossbar ends hangers to hanger bar Mounts 3 and 4. Make sure the Noggin
cable connection faces the back of the SmartChariot (Figure 2-71).

Noggin 500
Hangers Hanger Bar
attached to
mounts 3 & 4

Swivel Adapter Noggin 500

with pin crossbars

Figure 2-71: Noggin 500 attached to SmartChariot

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2.6.5 Connecting the Noggin 1000

The Noggin 1000 hanger kit includes a crossbar that attaches to the swivel adapters. Connect
the four long crossbar end hangers to hanger bar mounts 3 and 4. Make sure the Noggin cable
connection faces the back of the SmartChariot (Figure 2-72).

Hanger Bar

Noggin 1000
Crossbars

Swivel Adapter Noggin 1000

with pin Hangers
attached to
mounts 3 & 4

Figure 2-72: Noggin 1000 attached to SmartChariot

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2.6.6 Attaching the SmartChariot Handle

Depending on the height of the ball hitch used on the tow vehicle, the SmartChariot Handle
Assembly can be installed in two different positions (Figure 2-73). Attach the handle assembly
to the SmartChariot so the GPR sensor is as level as possible.

Low Handle Position

High Handle Position

Figure 2-73: Attaching handle to SmartChariot showing low position (top) and high position (bottom)

Attach the handle to the back of the SmartChariot using the two locking pins (Figure 2-74):

Figure 2-74: Securing handle to SmartChariot with locking pins

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2.6.7 Attaching the Ball Hitch Receiver

The Ball Hitch Receiver is shipped detached from the handle assembly (Figure 2-75).
1. Determine whether to use the handle in high or low position.
2. Find the appropriate side of the handle arm to attach the Ball Hitch Receiver to.
3. Align the two white blocks with the handle arm bolt holes.

Figure 2-75: Ball hitch receiver

4. Place the Ball Hitch Receiver on top, lining up the holes.

5. Insert the bolts, with washers (Figure 2-76).

Figure 2-76: Connecting and securing ball hitch receiver to handle

6. Tighten the bolts with a 7/16 inch wrench.

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2.6.8 Adjusting the Noggin Height

Once the SmartChariot is attached to the tow vehicle, check that the Noggin is above the
surface and doesn’t touch the ground. Typically, the Noggin should be 0.5cm (1/4 inch) above
the ground.
If necessary, adjust the four SmartChariot Height Adjusters to attain the optimal Noggin height
above the ground (Figure 2-77):
1. To change the Noggin height, remove the bolts and lock nuts from the bottom of the
front or rear height adjusters

Height Height
Adjuster Adjuster

Bolt
Bolt

Hanger Bar Hanger Bar

Figure 2-77: Adjusting height of Noggin

2. Turn the bottom of the height adjusters clockwise to raise the Noggin and counter-
clockwise to lower the sensor height.
3. When rotating the height adjusters, remember the number of turns so you can apply the
same number of turns to the other side of the SmartChariot (Figure 2-78).

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Rotating Height
Adjusters

Detached
Hanger Bars

Figure 2-78: Tightening height adjusters

4. Reattach all the locknuts. Do not over-tighten the locknuts; the Noggin should be free to
swing forward and backward.
During data collection with the SmartChariot on a flat road, the Noggin should not come in
contact with the ground. It is normal to periodically hear the Noggin briefly scraping on the
ground; typically, when going over curb edges or rough patches of road. However, if excessive
scraping is heard or suspected, inspect the skid plate on the bottom of the Noggin and, if
excessive wear is seen, adjust the height if necessary; SmartChariot height generally only
needs to be adjusted once.

2.6.9 Adding GPS

If an optional Global Positioning System (GPS) unit was shipped with your SmartChariot, attach
it to the threads at the front of the SmartCart, near the point where the handle attaches (Figure
2-79).

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Noggin User’s Guide Assembly

Figure 2-79: GPS connected to SmartChariot

2.6.10 Routing Cables

It is important to route your cables properly to eliminate interference with the GPR signals, as
well as keeping the setup neat and secure (Figure 2-80).
Noggin Cable
1. Use the black cable with a 37-pin connector to connect SmartChariot systems to the
Noggin.
2. Secure the latch.
3. Route the cable(s) up the hanger brackets and along the SmartChariot frame on the
same side as the odometer cable.
4. Route the cables to the top of the SmartChariot frame.
5. Run the cable along the SmartChariot handle and into the towing vehicle.
6. Secure the cable(s) to the SmartChariot frame with the Velcro straps provided.

Odometer Cable
7. Route the yellow odometer cable along the horizontal frame to the back and up to the
top of the SmartChariot frame.
8. Route the cable down the Hanger.
9. Attach the cable to the Noggin.

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GPR Sensor
Cable

Odometer
Cable

Figure 2-80: Back of SmartChariot showing cable routing

DVL Cable
Connect the other end of the black Noggin cable with the 37-pin connector to the back of the
DVL in the tow vehicle:

GPS Cable
1. Route the GPS cable up to the top of the SmartChariot Handle Assembly (Figure 2-81).
2. Route the cable along the top of the SmartChariot handle and into the tow vehicle.

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GPS Cable

Figure 2-81: Routing GPS cable

3. Secure the odometer cable to the SmartChariot using the Velcro straps provided.

2.6.11 SmartChariot GPR system parameters

There are default settings for the SmartChariot configuration on the DVL, but you may still need
to manually change these values. The following table lists suggested GPR parameters based
on the maximum SmartChariot speed of 25 kph (15 mph). These can be set in System
Configuration, Section 5.2.

GPR Sensor (MHz)

Parameter
250 500 1000

Depth (m) 3.0 1.5 0.75

Noggin 250 500 1000

Stacks 1 1 1

Trigger Method Odometer

Step Size (cm) 5 cm 5 cm 5 cm

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2.6.12 Tips for Using the SmartChariot

Step Size
Many pavement structures contain asphalt over concrete which can be difficult to distinguish in
the GPR cross-section. Most concrete is reinforced with metal rebar which can be seen in the
GPR cross section when the step size is set to a resolution that is small enough to identify
individual pieces of rebar. Set step size to a maximum of 5cm to identify this type of pavement
structure.
Noggin Mounting Pins
When installing the quick release pins to the Noggin Hanger and mounting posts, position the
pins so they are facing opposite directions (Sections 2.6.3, 2.6.4 & 2.6.5, depending on Noggin
unit). During normal operation the assembly vibrates and occasionally a pin can vibrate out. The
odds of two pins vibrating out are reduced if the pins are installed in opposite directions.
Check the Noggin mounting pins after each survey session to ensure they are still properly
installed, and the Noggin is secure.
Noggin Mounting Posts
Once the Noggin is installed on the SmartChariot, use the hex (Allen) key provided to tighten
the four set screws in the Noggin Mounting Posts that attach the Noggin to the Hanger Kit. In
SmartChariot applications, tighten the screws to prevent the mounting post from rotating which
may cause the set screw to vibrate out. If a thread lock compound is applied, a semi-permanent
type is recommended.
Check that the set screws are secure after every survey.
SmartChariot Odometer Calibration
Although typical SmartCart/SmartTow odometer calibrations are completed on short lines,
SmartChariot odometer calibrations should be completed on 20m long lines
Zoom (Position)
The SmartChariot can collect GPR data very fast and the data on the DVL screen may scroll too
quickly to view the image in real time. You can change the zoom to increase the total distance
shown on one screen, Section 6.8.1. This causes the screen to scroll more slowly, making the
data image more visible.
Skipped Traces
The system will occasionally skip traces, especially when you are using a GPS. The point is that
typically only a few traces will be skipped but thousands will be collected so it’s not usually a
major issue. For an explanation of skipped traces, see Show Skips under Line Options.

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2.6.13 Dual Channel System on a SmartChariot

When running a SmartChariot with two Noggin systems (Noggin 500 and Noggin 1000), mount
the Noggin 500 in front of the Noggin 1000 on the SmartChariot. Since Noggin 500 hangers are
shorter than Noggin 1000 hangers, the Noggin 500 will not swing back and hit the Noggin 1000
during system operation (Figure 2-82).
Mounting a Noggin 1000 in front of a Noggin 500 can result in the Noggin 1000 hitting the
Noggin 500 while moving forwards, potentially damaging the unit.

Noggin 500

Noggin 1000

Figure 2-82: Dual channel setup, showing Noggin 500 and Noggin 1000

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Odometer
Since the SmartChariot has only one odometer output, running dual Noggin systems means you
must split the odometer to trigger both Noggins. Use a custom odometer splitting cable to split
the odometer to trigger both systems.

2.7 Multi-Channel Applications

Multiple Noggin sensors can be connected together using the SPIDAR architecture. SPIDAR
allows any number of Noggin sensors to be linked, enabling simultaneous data collection
(Figure 2-83). A user might want to connect the same sensors side-by-side, in order to collect a
wide swath of data. Or they may want to connect Noggin with different center frequencies in
order to collect shallow and deep data in a single pass. For more information on SPIDAR,
please contact Sensors & Software (www.sensoft.ca).

Figure 2-83: Multi-Channel SPIDAR system, with 3 x Noggin 250

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2.8 Connecting an External GPS (optional)

If you have purchased the TopCon GPS from Sensors & Software, this can be screwed onto the
threads (5/8-11 UNC-1A thread) at the top of the GPS mount. Connect one end of the GPS
cable to the GPS receiver, and the other end to the serial port on the back of the display unit.
This single cable powers the GPS (if this option is turned on in the GPS menu) and receives
data from it. Ensure that the Display Unit is powered down when connecting or disconnecting
the GPS cable.
If you have purchased the TopCon GPS from Sensors & Software, it is pre-configured to
communicate with the DVL, and no further changes are required. Should some of the settings
change, the default settings are as follows:
• Baud Rate = 19200
• Saved Strings = CGA only
To connect and utilize a 3rd party GPS with the Noggin DVL, it must meet the following criteria:
• Be able to communicate over RS232 with a standard 9-pin serial output cable
• Output a NMEA GGA string in ASCII format, at a rate no faster than 20 Hz
• Support a baud rate of between 4800 and 115200
• If it cannot safely accept power via the serial port (as shown below), it must have its own
battery or way of receiving power.
• GPS must not expect any handshaking from the DVL
NOTE: Since the serial port of the Display Unit outputs power (current=1A, voltage=12V), it is
the responsibility of the user to confirm with the GPS manufacturer that the serial cable does not
provide power to the GPS or that the GPS will accept 12V power from our serial cable on the
pins shown above. Sensors & Software is not responsible for damage caused to a GPS from
using the serial port.
You can enable or disable power to the serial port, see Serial Port Power in 5.2.4.

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3. GPR Concepts
3.1 Theory
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology uses radio waves to image objects in the
subsurface. The subsurface may consist of soil, rock, asphalt and other materials. GPR
systems emit high frequency radio wave pulses and detect the echoes that return from objects
within the subsurface. Echoes are produced when the target material is different from the host
material (e.g. PVC pipe in gravel)

3.2 Hyperbolas
The GPR display shows signal amplitude versus depth (time) and sensor position along a line.
This is called a “Line Scan”. Since radar energy radiates in a 3D cone shape rather than a thin
beam, a hyperbola (or inverted U) is the GPR response from a small point target or linear
target (crossed perpendicularly) like a pipe, rock, or a tree root. The radar wave hits the object
before and after going over it and forms a hyperbolic reflection that can appear on the record
even though the object is not directly below the radar:

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Hyperbolas are best viewed when subsurface targets are crossed perpendicularly (at a 90
degree angle). The actual position of the object is located at the apex of the hyperbola.

Apex of hyperbola is where objects is

located

3.3 Calculating Depth

Ground penetrating radar records the time it takes a radio wave to travel to a target and back; it
does not measure the depth to that target directly. Depth to target is calculated based on the
velocity with which the wave travels to the target and back.
To calculate depth:
𝐷 = 𝑉 𝑥 𝑇/2
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐷 𝑖𝑠 𝐷𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
𝑉 𝑖𝑠 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝑇 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑤𝑜 − 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

There are a few ways to determine an accurate velocity of the ground:

1. Hyperbola fitting – most often used to determine an accurate velocity of the ground.
This requires the user to obtain a hyperbolic response, crossed at a 90 degree angle.
Hyperbolas are explained above in Section 3.2.
2. Target at known depth – if you know, or can measure, the depth to a subsurface target,
you can set the velocity such that the depth on the screen matches the measured depth.
This is also known as “ground-truthing”.
3. Soil media – if you don’t have any hyperbolic responses, or targets at a known depth,
you can estimate the water content of the soil and set soil Media. While not as accurate
as the above two, it does get you an approximation. This is explained in Section 5.2.3.

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3.4 Velocity values

Below is a table of common subsurface materials and their corresponding velocity. This is only
a guideline and there is some variation based on the fact that there can be a mixture of different
materials in the subsurface. By far, the soil water content has the biggest influence on velocity
values.

Material Velocity
Air 300
Ice 160
Dry Soil 140
Dry Rock 120
Soil 100
Wet Rock 100
Concrete 100
Pavement 100
Wet Soil 65
Water 33

3.5 Air Waves

Some hyperbolas are caused by air wave reflections from objects above ground, such as posts,
fences, overhead wires, and trees.
The following image displays how air wave reflections affect data:

An important part of understanding the data image is learning to recognize these unwanted "air"
targets and distinguish them from the targets in the ground. Good field notes are indispensable
for helping identify unwanted events on the data.

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The best way to identify air reflections is the target hyperbola method. Hyperbolas from above
ground objects are wider than objects in the ground and will have a velocity at, or close to,
0.300m/ns (0.984 ft/ns).

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4. Getting Started
4.1 Powering up the Display Unit
Once all connections are made between the Noggin, the DVL, and any accessories (odometer,
GPS), connect the system to a 12-volt power source; typically this is either the large battery or
the belt battery, pictured in Figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1: Large battery (left) and Belt battery (right)

Connect the Noggin-to-DVL cable round four-pin battery cable to the receptacle on the side of
the battery (Figure 4-2). When the battery is first plugged in, the LED goes green for 5 seconds
then disappears.

Figure 4-2: Connecting to battery

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To start the system, press the red power button on the display unit. The LED on the front
panel will light up green during boot up (Figure 4-3).

LED light

Power
button

Figure 4-3: Powering up the Display Unit

Once boot up is complete, the colour of the LED will indicate the amount of battery power
remaining:
• 100% to 20% = green
• 20% to 10% = orange
• 10% to 0% = flashing red

The first time you turn on the Display Unit, you will need to configure the system (Figure 4-3). A
series of screen prompts will allow you to setup the language, units, date & time, and some
other options. You will have to do this again anytime you update the embedded software
(Section 14.6). Every subsequent time the system boots up, you will see the main screen
(Figure 4-4).

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Figure 4-4: Main Screen on bootup

Menu operation is described in Section 5.

4.2 Shutting down

To power down, press the red power button on the display unit once. A confirmation message
will appear, after which you can press Yes to proceed. If necessary, a hard shutdown can be
done by pressing and holding the red power button until the unit shuts down.

4.3 Interacting with the Display Unit (DVL)

Data collection is controlled by the Display Unit. The Display Unit has embedded software to set
survey parameters and collect, display and store data.
The Display Unit offers touch screen operation, as well as a water-resistant membrane keypad
with a number of buttons that can be pressed to perform various tasks. Most operations can be
done using either the touch screen or the keypad.
Use the following table as a guide to working with the keypad on the Display Unit:

Item Description
Menu Buttons The yellow buttons labelled 1 to 8 correspond to menu choices
that appear on the screen.

4-way directional keypad Controls Up/Down/Left/Right operations in certain menus.

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Item Description

Camera Saves a screenshot of whatever is displayed on the screen

Asterisk / Special Function Used for adding Flags during data acquisition.

4.4 Swipe Down menu

Figure 4-5: Swipe down menu

When the Display Unit is powered on, you can “swipe” your finger from the top of the screen
towards the bottom, to display a Swipe-Down menu (Figure 4-5) with the following items:

Date and Time: The current date and time (12 hour clock). The time needs to be changed in
areas that observe daylight-savings-time. (See Section 5.3.3 for more details)

Battery: The battery icon displays the amount of power remaining in the battery.

GPS: Shows which GPS is being used (Internal or External) and the signal strength. (refer to
Section 5.2.4 for more details)

Wi-Fi Network: Indicates if the system is connected to a wireless network and, if so, the name
of the network. See Section 5.3.6 for details on connecting the system to a wireless network.

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Volume: The Volume + and - buttons are used to increase and decrease speaker volume.
Brightness: The Brightness + and - buttons are used to increase and decrease the screen
brightness. For example, increasing the Brightness setting may improve the visibility of the
screen in bright sunlight. However, increasing the screen brightness also increases power
consumption, thus reducing battery life.

To close the Swipe-Down menu, touch anywhere on the screen below the swipe-down menu.

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5. Tools and Setup

5.1 Main Screen
Once the system boots up, you will see the main screen below in Figure 5-1

Figure 5-1: Noggin main screen

The main screen indicates the type of Noggin sensor (automatically detected) and the type of
configuration (which is set in the Tools menu).
On the bottom menu, the left button indicates the current project number. A project will contain
all data (lines, grids, interps, screenshots etc.), typically collected at the same site. Projects that
contain data are in red color, whereas those with no data are in green.
Press the – and + buttons to change projects; there are 9 projects in total along with a special
Demo project containing demo data (Lines & Grids). As you change projects, it will display the
number of lines and grids collected in each project, under the Line Scan and Grid Scan buttons
respectively. Line Scan, Grid Scan and MapView are described in later sections.
Press Tools to enter this sub-menu. You will see the screen shown in Figure 5-2. Here you
can set preferences, adjust system settings, perform system tests and manage files.

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Figure 5-2: Tools menu

5.2 Systems Configuration

Press System Configuration to enter the menu shown in Figure 5-3.

Figure 5-3: System Configuration menu

From here, the following settings can be changed:

5.2.1 System Configuration

The software will auto-detect which Noggin system is connected. This will be either the Noggin
1000, Noggin 500, Noggin 250, Noggin 100 or the Noggin Ultra 100. The Noggin Ultra 100

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allows the user to acquire data thousands of times faster than the Noggin 100. This increased
speed allows the user to stack up to 65,536 times, resulting in a reduction of the noise floor
which can improve the depth of penetration in certain conditions. Stacks are explained in
Section 5.2.7.
There are several configurations of a Noggin system, but this is not auto-detected. On the
bottom of the screen, pressing the + and – buttons will cycle between the configurations
described in Section 2 (SmartCart, SmartTow, SmartHandle, SmartChariot and Custom
Configuration). This will set the appropriate odometer calibration value, since the odometers
are different for each configuration.
Note that some systems/configuration combinations are not possible, and will not show up as
options:
a) The SmartHandle configuration will only appear if a Noggin 500 or 1000 is detected
b) The SmartChariot will not appear if a Noggin 100 is detected

5.2.2 Scan Depth

Pressing the + and – buttons under Scan Depth will change the depth during data collection.
This will apply to both Line Scan and Grid Scan modes. Note that setting a deeper depth value
does not mean that you will necessarily see deeper; this just opens the recorded time window
for that depth (which is displayed in brackets beside the depth setting). In general, you should
set your scan depth for 1.5 – 2 times the expected depth of the deepest target.
The maximum depths that can be set are:
o Noggin Ultra 100 = 50m (150 feet)
o Noggin 100 = 50m (150 feet)
o Noggin 250 = 30m (100 feet)
o Noggin 500 = 20m (75 feet)
o Noggin 1000 = 10m (30 feet)

Higher depths can be set under Custom Configuration (Section 5.2.8).

Section 6.8.1 explains how you can zoom in on your depth during data collection in Line Scan
mode. Note that when you export data, the Zoomed depth is used, rather than the depth set
here. For example, the user sets a scan depth of 4m, but then zooms in to display 2m in Line
Scan mode. The exported data will only have a depth of 2m.

5.2.3 Velocity
Pressing Velocity displays a screen (Figure 5-4) where you can set the GPR wave velocity.
• If you know the type of soil, you can press the pre-set velocity values on the main
screen.
• If you know what the velocity should be, you can use the four left buttons on the bottom
menu to change the velocity value manually.

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• If you have an idea of the water content of the soil, you can press the Media button,
which cycles between: water, wet soil, moist soil, dry soil, very dry soil and air.

Figure 5-4: Table of approximate velocity values (units of metres shown)

5.2.4 GPS
The DVL contains an internal GPS, but you also have the option to purchase an external GPS
receiver from Sensors & Software. Alternatively, you may have your own GPS that you want to
connect to the Noggin system. Pressing GPS from the System Settings menu takes you to the
GPS menu (Figure 5-5) where you can configure some options. The GPS mode option will
determine what the main screen looks like:
o GPS Mode –you can select whether to use the internal GPS, external GPS, or no GPS
at all (Off). If you press External, you will see the screen in Figure 5-5 and have the
following extra options:

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Figure 5-5: GPS Setup menu

o Baud Rate – set the baud rate for your GPS to communicate with the DVL.
o Saved Strings – the GPS outputs data (called “strings”) which is received by the DVL
and saved along with the GPR data. The default setting for this is the GGA Only string
which contains all the relevant positional data. For advanced users who want access to
additional GPS information for post-processing with third-party software, they can set
this to All.
o Serial Port Power – the serial port on the back of the DVL can output power, thereby
enabling a single cable to be used for the GPS (power and data). When you purchase
the GPS from Sensors & Software, this is already configured. However, if you use a 3rd
party GPS, you need to determine if it can accept power via the serial port.
Important: Since the serial port of the Display Unit outputs power (current=1A,
voltage=12V), be very careful if connecting other GPS units to the serial port. Verify the
pins on the drawing below.

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Pressing the Serial Port Power button will turn power to the serial port on, but it will
display a warning message first (Figure 5-6).

Figure 5-6: Warning message about enabling power to the serial port

o Format – GPS units can be either UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) or

Latitude/Longitude coordinates
o GPS Test – This test confirms proper operation of the GPS (see GPS in Section 5.2.4
for details)

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5.2.5 Custom Configuration

There may be times when you need to override some of the common settings. You can
customize some additional settings, which get saved under the newly created Custom
configuration.
When the system is first used, and you are cycling through the different configurations there will
not be a Custom option. However, if you press the Custom Config button, you will see the
messages in Figure 5-7. These messages are only displayed the first time you create a Custom
configuration. Press OK and you will now see the screen in Figure 5-8.
As you are cycling through the different configurations using the + and - buttons, you will now
see Custom as an option. When Custom is selected, you can Edit these settings by pressing
the Edit button.

Figure 5-7: Messages displayed when initially creating a Custom configuration.

Figure 5-8: Custom Config menu

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5.2.6 Trigger
Pressing this button takes you into the Trigger Method menu, Figure 5-9. This menu allows you
to set various options that control the way the Noggin is pulsed. The system can be triggered to
pulse the GPR in different ways. The most common is via the odometer, but there are other
ways. Pressing the + and – buttons under Trigger changes the method, as well as the bottom
menu options. Each is explained in detail below:
o Free Run – in some cases, collecting data with an odometer is not practical or even
possible. Free run mode will allow the Noggin to pulse based on a specified trace
interval or pulse continuously (zero delay, shown in Figure 5-9). The trace interval
(time between trace collections) can be varied from a little as 0.01s up to 60s.
The user has the option to control the trace interval or the travel speed, such that the
programmed step size (distance) is maintained. For example, if step size is 0.01m,
and the user sets a trace interval of 0.1s, they must collect data at 0.36 km/h, as
illustrated in Figure 5-10. This time-speed pairing will also vary as stacks and scan
depth are changed.
Note: If the trace interval and speed value are coloured in red, it means that it’s too
fast for the system to collect (Figure 5-11). When entering Line Scan mode, it will
display a warning message that will only allow you to collect in continuous mode
(Figure 5-12).
Data is collected even when the system is not moving, so proper data collection relies
on the operator moving the system at a consistent speed. Positioning this way is
reasonably accurate, but not very precise because the system towing speed usually
varies. It is a best practice to have a secondary means of positioning the data, for
example, a GPS or adding Flags at known positions along the survey line. Note that
the user cannot collect a grid when free run mode is set.

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Figure 5-9: Triggering Method menu, currently set to Free Run continuous mode

Figure 5-10: Free Run mode, with a trace interval of 0.1s

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Figure 5-11: Trace interval and speed combination is not compatible, hence it’s in red

Figure 5-12: If previous interval/speed combination is not changed, warning message

appears when entering Line Scan

o Manual – in this mode, you would press the up or down keypad button to pulse the
Noggin during data collection (Figure 5-13). There are no settings in this screen

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Figure 5-13: Trigger method set to Manual

o Odometer – this will pulse the Noggin based on distance travelled. The bottom menu
will change as shown in Figure 5-14, displaying the following options:

Figure 5-14: Trigger Method menu, showing odometer settings at bottom

o Odometer Settings – Pressing this will display the same options as

Odometer under the System Test option, see Section 5.4.6.
o Direction – allows you to use the odometer in the forward (push) or reverse
(pull) direction. The majority of users will be pushing it forward. It is

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recommended to do an odometer calibration when switching between forward

and reverse.
o Back – Press this to return to the Custom Config menu (Figure 5-10)

5.2.7 Stacks
Stacking (sometimes called averaging) is used to improve data quality by maximizing the signal
to noise ratio. Stacking involves pulsing the GPR multiples times at a given position. The return
from these pulses are “stacked” or averaged to minimize the background noise, allowing you to
potentially see deeper.

Pressing the Stacks button cycles between the number of stacks. The downside of increasing
stacks is that you must move slower when acquiring data, or you will get skipped traces. The
maximum stacks possible for the Noggin 1000, 500, 250 and 100 is 2048.
Things are a little different with the Noggin Ultra 100, which is designed to acquire data
thousands of time faster than the Noggin 100. This means that higher numbers of stacking can
occur for a given speed. As a result, if the Noggin Ultra 100 is connected, the stacks can be set
from 256 up to 65,536.
Instead of selecting a fixed number of stacks, the user can select DynaQ. DynaQ’s patented
technology stacks automatically when using an odometer, resulting in the highest possible
data quality for a given speed. In most situations, moving the system at a comfortable walking
speed generates data of good quality. In situations where target resolution or maximum
penetration depth is critical, moving slower increases data quality. As the Line Scan data scrolls
on the screen, the DynaQ Index Bar is displayed along the bottom of the screen. The color of
the bar indicates the quality of the data at that point along the line:

Number of stacks Colour Code

0 White
1-3 Yellow
4-7 Blue
8-511 Dark Blue

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512-2047 Purple
2048-8191 Light Green
8192-65536 Dark Green

The higher the number of stacks, the better the quality of data. You should avoid getting a
DynaQ colour of white or yellow, which means the speed of movement is too fast for the data
being collected.

DynaQ can be selected for all Noggin frequencies, however you will never get light or dark
green colours on the DynaQ Index Bar unless a Noggin Ultra 100 is used.

5.2.8 Scan Depth

Being in Custom Config also allows you to extend the maximum depth range beyond what is
normally available in the standard settings. This is typically used for extreme applications where
conditions may allow a large depth setting (time window).
Press the + and – buttons under the Scan Depth button to change this.
If the Noggin Ultra 100 is connected, there are some special conditions that must be adhered
to:
a) If Stacks are set to DynaQ, the maximum time window is 1800 ns.
b) If Stacks are manually set to a fixed number (instead of DynaQ), the maximum time
window is 7200 ns.
The Noggin software allows the user to specify depth and velocity, and it then calculates the
required time window (Section 3.3). Any combination of depth & velocity that exceeds the
above values will result in an error message when you press Back and then Exit (Figure 5-15).
If you Exit, the same warning message will appear again when you try and collect data.

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Figure 5-15: Error message if time window is exceeded with the Noggin Ultra 100

5.2.9 Step Size

Controls how often the GPR takes a reading based on distance travelled, provided the trigger
method is set to odometer. The default value is based on what type of Noggin sensor is
selected. You may want to set this higher is when you are travelling at faster speeds and don’t
want to skip traces, or possibly if you are collecting long lines and want to limit the file sizes of
data collected. The default step sizes are:
• Noggin 100 = 0.10 meters (0.33 feet).
• Noggin 250 = 0.05 meters (0.17 feet).
• Noggin 500 = 0.02 meters (0.07 feet).
• Noggin 1000 = 0.01 meters (0.04 feet).

5.2.10 Back
Exits the Custom Config menu and return to the screen shown in Figure 5-9.

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5.3 Preferences
Selecting the preferences option will take you to the sub-menu shown in Figure 5-16.

Figure 5-16: Preferences Menu

There are several parameters that can be modified. Touch the screen and swipe up or down to
scroll and view additional parameters. To change a value, press the value on the right side of
the screen. Alternatively, use the up and down arrows on the 4-way keypad to highlight the
desired parameter, then press Edit. Each parameter is described in detail below.

5.3.1 Language/Locale
Pressing this button will take you to a screen shown in Figure 5-17. The current language is
displayed; pressing the + and – buttons on either side of the language will change the
languages currently available. Below that, the Country/Region is displayed. Press the + and –
buttons on either side of the displayed Country/Region to alphabetically move to the next or
previous country or region.
Alternatively, both Language and Country/Region can be changed by pressing the + and –
buttons on the bottom of the screen. Press Back when you are done.

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Figure 5-17: Setting the Language & Locale

5.3.2 Units
Select either US Standard or Metric Units.

5.3.3 Date / Time

Pressing this button takes you to a sub-menu where you can set the Date and Time (Figure
5-18). The time is manually set and will not automatically correct for daylight savings time.

Figure 5-18: Setting the date and time

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5.3.4 Volume
Adjusts the volume of the speaker. This can also be changed by using the Swipe Down menu
(Section 4.4) anytime the system is not collecting data.

5.3.5 Brightness
Adjusts the brightness of the screen. Note that increasing the brightness consumes more
battery power. This can also be changed by using the Swipe Down menu (Section 4.4) anytime
the system is not collecting data.

5.3.6 Wi-Fi Settings

Connecting to a wireless network allows you to send a mini-report from the DVL to someone by
email. This connection is made through a standard Wi-Fi network or through a hotspot on your
mobile device while in the field.

Note that the DVL cannot connect to Public Hotspots (typically restaurants, hotels and
airports) that require a web-based login and acceptance of their Terms & Conditions.
It also cannot connect to unsecured networks (networks that do not require a
password).

First, the user must establish a Gmail account online. This account is used as the account that
sends the message to the desired recipient. All mini-reports received by the recipient will look
like they are coming from this account. This account will contain all the sent messages in its
sent box.

The second step is to connect to a wireless network. This connection gives you access to the
internet to connect to your Gmail account. This connection can be through a standard wireless
network or through a hotspot on your cell phone for connecting while in the field. Once you’ve
done this, you can input your Gmail account & password on the Display Unit

If you are already connected to a Wi-Fi network, the name of the network is listed beside the Wi-
Fi Network field. Pressing the Wi-Fi Network button at the bottom of the screen takes you to a
sub-menu (Figure 5-19) to connect and configure Wi-Fi settings.

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Figure 5-19: Options in the Wi-Fi Settings menu

The DVL automatically scans for available networks when you enter this menu. Use the 4-way
directional arrows or touch screen to select the network. The color of the Network Name
indicates the status:

• Green = Connected
• Yellow = not currently connected, but remembered from before when you previously
connected and entered a password.
• White = Not connected

You have the following options available:

o Connect – Select the desired network and press Connect. If the connection is successful
(this can take a minute or so) a screen appears asking for the password for that network. If
the network name is yellow (from a previous connection to this network), it will not ask for a
password because it is a remembered network. Once it connects the Network Name will turn
green.

o Forget – Use the Forget button to remove the password for connected or remembered
networks (text in green or yellow). Once the ‘forget’ button is pressed on a selected network
it will remove the password and the Network Name will turn white. You will also be
disconnected if you are currently connected to that network.

o Scan – Scans for any available networks in the area and displays them in order of signal
strength. You may need to press this button a second time if you don’t see the network you
are looking for.
o Details –Pressing this button displays the security settings related to the selected network.

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o Back - Press this button to return to the System Settings screen

5.3.7 Email
Press Email Setup to enter the sub-menu where you can setup and configure a sending email
address. Ensure that this email address already exists. This is the sending account where
messages will originate from. All mini-reports received by the recipient will appear to come from
this account. You can only save email settings if you are connected to a Wi-Fi network or
hotspot on a mobile device.
Using GMAIL
The system is already pre-configured to use GMAIL as the email provider for the sending
account (Figure 5-20)

Figure 5-20: Using Gmail as provider

• Press Username to display a keyboard where you can enter your GMAIL user name
only; you do not need to enter @gmail.com. Then press OK when done (Figure 5-21a).
• Press Password to display a keyboard where you can enter your GMAIL password.
Then press OK when done (Figure 5-21b).
• Press Save when both the GMAIL Username and Password have been entered

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Figure 5-21: Entering e-mail address (a) and password (b) for GMAIL

If everything worked, you will see a confirmation message that the email address is setup
properly, and you are now ready to email mini-reports from the field. If this does not work, see
the Failed Setup section below.

Using Another Email Provider

Note: It is highly recommended to use a GMAIL account as the system is pre-configured
for this. If you choose to use another provider, you will have to contact that provider if
you have any issues with the settings.
To use another email provider, press the + and – buttons under Provider to access Custom.
This will display the screen shown in Figure 5-22 allowing you to setup and configure a different
e-mail provider.

Figure 5-22: Setting up a custom email provider

• Press Username to display a keyboard where you can enter the complete email
address, then press OK when done.
• Press Password to display a keyboard where you can enter the password, then press
OK when done.

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• Press Host Name to display a keyboard where you can enter the name of the server
address handling the outgoing mail. See chart below for some common email providers.
If your provider is not listed, it can usually be found by searching online for “SMTP host
name <provider>”, where provider is the host name e.g. Yahoo or AOL. Press OK when
done.
• Press Server Port to display a keyboard where you can enter the port number used by
the email server. Searching online for host name will usually provide the port number for
that email provider. In most cases, it’s usually 465 (if SSL is enabled, see next bullet
point), or 587. See chart below for some examples. Press OK when done.
• Enable SSL – you can select On or Off on the display. SSL provides encryption
security. Some email providers require this set to ON. This will usually be indicated on
the same online search page that was used above. See the chart below for examples.
• Press Save when all the information is entered and correct.
Below is the chart for some common email providers:
Server Enable
Provider Host name
Port SSL
Yahoo smtp.mail.yahoo.com 465 On
Hotmail/Outlook smtp.live.com 587 Off
163.com smtp.163.com 465 On
Yandex smtp.yandex.com 465 On

If there are no warning messages, the email address is setup properly and you are ready to
email mini-reports from the field.
Failed Setup
If setup failed, possible reasons include:
1. No Wi-Fi connectivity
2. Email address or password was entered incorrectly – try re-entering these fields.
3. Hostname, port or SSL setting are incorrect
4. Your email security settings may need to be adjusted, which may require you to
login to your e-mail account from a PC or mobile device. An example of the GMAIL
security settings is shown below (current as of writing this manual). For other e-mail
providers, you may need to modify the settings accordingly.
To edit the GMAIL security settings, visit https://myaccount.google.com/ and sign into
your account. You will then see the screen in Figure 5-23. Click on Connected apps
& sites.

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Figure 5-23: GMAIL Settings

On the page that follows, ensure the setting “Allow less secure apps” is set to ON (Figure 5-24)

Figure 5-24: GMAIL Security options

5.3.8 Screen Saver

A screen saver can be setup to turn off the DVL screen after a period of inactivity to save power.
The Screen Saver can be set to turn the screen off after 1 minute, 5 minutes or never (OFF
setting). Pressing this button cycles between those three options. When the screensaver is
activated and the screen shuts off, touch anywhere on the screen to turn it back on again.

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5.3.9 GPR Plot Options

Pressing this takes you to a new screen that allows you to set a few options that deal with how
lines are collected and displayed (Figure 5-25).

Figure 5-25: Line Options menu

o Auto-Hide Buttons - If this is set to ON, then in Line Scan mode, the buttons at the
bottom of the screen disappear shortly after data collection begins, effectively enlarging
the area for data display. The buttons will re-appear 2 seconds after the sensor stops
moving forward. The buttons will also re-appear when the system is backing up or when
any button is pressed on the keypad. If this is set to OFF, buttons do not disappear from
the bottom of the screen.

o GPS Status – During Line Scan, the status bars indicating the GPS signal can be
displayed on the screen. Setting this to OFF will no longer display the status bars.

o Grid Line Stop – When collecting lines as part of a Grid, the lines can automatically end
when the grid dimension distance is reached (e.g. 5m in a 5mx5m grid). Pressing Auto
will set the grid lines to stop automatically. Pressing Manual will allow the user to decide
when they want to end their line, up to a maximum of 50% beyond the normal line
length. For example, if the grid is 20m x 20m, and Grid Line Stop is set to Manual, the
user can collect any line up to 30m long. Sometimes you might want to collect a little
more data if there is an interesting feature at the end of your line.

o Show Skips – This refers to skipped traces. A trace refers to the data that is collected
each time the GPR pulses, which is based on the step size distance. Each trace takes a
certain amount of time to collect (which increases as you increase the time window or

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stacks). If you try to collect another trace (that is, by moving fast) before the first is
completed, the first trace will be skipped. During Line Scan mode, you can choose to
display whether the skipped traces are shown on the screen or not, by setting this to ON
or OFF.

o Scale Lines - Lines can be drawn over the data corresponding to the position scale
and/or depth scale intervals. Selecting OFF will not draw any lines. Selecting Position
will draw vertical lines at regular position intervals. Selecting Depth will draw horizontal
lines at the depth intervals shown on the left axis. Selecting Both will draw both Position
and Depth lines.

5.3.10 Reset to Defaults

This will reset all settings & preferences back to the default settings. Pressing Reset Defaults
asks you to confirm the Reset to Defaults. After this screen, you will get another prompt asking
if you want to clear all email and Wi-Fi settings (Figure 5-26).

Figure 5-26: a) Image on left is the first confirmation screen for system settings & preferences. b) Image on the right
is the second confirmation screen on the right asking about deleting e-mails and Wi-Fi settings.

5.3.11 Exit
Pressing Exit will return to the main Tools menu shown in Figure 5-2.

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5.4 System Test

The system test sub-menu (Figure 5-27) allows the user to perform certain tests to ensure
proper operation of the system. Select the component to test then press Start. After
completing a test there is an indication of whether the system passed or failed the test. Each
test is described below in more detail.

Figure 5-27: System Test menu

5.4.1 System Information

Figure 5-28: System Information screen

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System Information is the only option in System Test which is not actually a test. Here
information such as the version, serial numbers, temperature and battery power are displayed.
(Figure 5-28). If a USB key is currently inserted, pressing Export will just export a System
Summary Report with this information.
There is an option called Anonymous Usage Statistics. When this is set to ON and the user is
connected to a wireless network, any system malfunctions will trigger an automatic notification
to Sensors & Software. This is to help with gathering information about any system
irregularities. As the name suggests, the notification is completely anonymous and no personal
information is sent.
Pressing Clear User Data will delete all saved GPR data, e-mail addresses, system
configurations and preference settings. A message window will pop up asking you to confirm
deletion. Press Yes to proceed with deletions or No to cancel (Figure 5-29).
Note: Clear User Data essentially wipes the system clean. Upon reboot, it will run the Setup
Wizard, similar to when it’s used the first time or after re-installing the firmware.

Figure 5-29: Warning message after pressing Clear User Data

5.4.2 Touch Screen

The test checks proper operation of the touch screen (Figure 5-30). It allows you to test the
screen (by pressing Test) or perform a quick calibration followed by a test (by pressing
Calibrate). Both involve touching targets on the screen as they appear.

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Figure 5-30: Touch Screen test

5.4.3 Display Keypad

The keypad test ensures that all buttons on the membrane keypad are working. Press Start to
begin the test which requires the user to press each button once, within a 20 second timeframe
(Figure 5-31).

Figure 5-31: Keypad Test

Once that is complete, a short LED test will ensue, which checks the proper operation of the
LED.

5.4.4 Audio
This test ensures that the speaking is operating properly. After starting the test, you should
hear a sound with an increasing pitch (Figure 5-32).

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Figure 5-32: Audio Test

5.4.5 GPS
The GPS test will ensure that the system is communicating properly with the GPS and receiving
data. Whichever GPS mode is selected in the GPS Configuration (5.2.4) will be the one used
for the test. Pressing GPS will show the screen in Figure 5-33.

Figure 5-33: GPS Test

The basic position and time information is displayed on the screen. On the screen, the Fix Type
notes if there are any corrections being applied, such as DGPS.

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Pressing Strings will display the raw data strings that are outputted by the GPS (Figure 5-34)
as they scroll down the screen. The user may select this option to verify the GPS is outputting
the proper NMEA string format.
Pressing GPS Setup will take you the screen shown in Figure 5-34.

Figure 5-34: GPS Strings

Pressing Clear will clear/refresh the screen. Press Info will return to the main GPS test menu.

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5.4.6 Odometer
This option allows you to not just test the odometer, but also ensure that the odometer is
calibrated properly for distance. Even though the odometer is calibrated in the factory, you must
calibrate it periodically to ensure accuracy of position. This is particularly important as the
calibration can change with different surface materials. The odometer calibration value is stored
in the Display Unit. If the Display Unit is changed, or swapped out, you will need to run the
Odometer Calibration test again. The image in Figure 5-35 is displayed when you enter this
menu, the options are explained below:

Figure 5-35: Odometer Calibration screen

• Odometer Test – This test verifies the odometer is calibrated properly (Figure 5-36). It
involves moving the system a set distance (5m or 10’, depending on units used), and
comparing the value obtained to a known value. Press Start to begin and then press
Finish when you’ve moved that distance. It will display a pass or fail, along with a
percentage difference from the known value (Figure 5-37).

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Figure 5-36: Ready to calibrate odometer a distance of 10 feet

Figure 5-37: Odometer Test passed on left, failed on the right

• Odometer Calibration – This option actually calibrates the odometer. Choose a set
distance from the screen, press Start and then move the system that exact distance,
using a measuring tape or other known distance indicator. Press Finish when you have
travelled that distance (Figure 5-38).

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Figure 5-38: Odometer Test. Image on the left shows the screen where the user must select a distance. The image
on the right instructs you to move that distance then press Finish.

Upon completion, it will display one of the screens shown in Figure 5-39. The new
calibration value is shown, along with a message asking if you would like to accept this
new value. Press Accept to save it or Reject to revert to the old value.
If the value is very different from the accepted value, the calibration will fail, and it will
display an error message in red. You then have the option to Retry or exit by pressing
Back. If you exit this menu, the old calibration value is maintained.

Figure 5-39: Results of Odometer Calibration. Image on right shows a failure, as calibration is way out of range

• Manual – If you want to manually insert a value, it can be done using the buttons on the
bottom of the screen to increment of decrement the calibration value (Figure 5-40).

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Figure 5-40: Manually setting odometer calibration value

• Direction – press this button to toggle between Forward and Reverse. Forward is used
if pushing the system forward (most common) or Reverse is used when pulling it
backwards. Make sure to calibrate in the direction that you will be surveying in.

5.4.7 GPR Sensor

This test checks proper operation of the GPR sensor, including the amplitude of the pulse.
Once the cart is tipped backwards and start is pressed, it will conduct the test (Figure 5-41). If
there are any irregularities, the test will indicate failure.

Figure 5-41: Sensor Test

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5.5 File Management

From the main Tools menu shown in Figure 5-2, press File Management to enter this sub-
menu. From here, the user can view screenshots, access MapView, export data and delete
projects (Figure 5-42).

Figure 5-42: Main screen in File Management

A summary of each project is given in the middle column, showing Grids, Lines and
Screenshots for that project. The column on the right shows the combined total saved on the
whole system.
The current disk space is shown, expressed as a percentage of used disk space. When the
user is about to collect a line (either in line scan or grid scan) which will push the disk usage
over 90% a warning message is displayed. This will happen again at the 95% threshold. The
warning message is only given once for each threshold crossing.
A description of each of the buttons is given below:

5.5.1 Project
Pressing the + and – buttons cycles between Projects 1 – 9, along with the Demo project (which
contains demo data). The values in the middle column change as the project number is
changed. Projects that contain some data are in red, whereas Projects that are in green have
completely no data.

5.5.2 Screenshot Gallery

This allows the user to view all screenshots that were saved by pressing the Camera button
(this is explained in Section 11.1). The display will show a Tile View of four screenshots per
page (Figure 5-43). If there are more than four screenshots, swipe the screen from right to left to

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view the rest. Alternatively, you can also use the Left and Right arrow keys on the 4-way
directional keypad

Figure 5-43: Tile View in Screenshot Gallery

From the Tile View, the user has the following options:

• E-mail – pressing this button will e-mail the selected screenshot (provided you are
connected to a wireless network and have setup a Gmail account to send from, refer to
Setup an e-mail address). You will be prompted to enter an e-mail address, or you may
use the most recent one which will be listed by default. Pressing the “…” button to the
left of the e-mail address displays the last 5 e-mail addresses used, allowing the user to
easily select a recently used email address, rather than re-entering it.

• Expand – press this button to show the selected screenshot as a full screen image. On
the subsequent screen, press Tile View to return to the screen displaying four
screenshots per page.

• Delete – pressing this button will delete the displayed screenshot. There will be a
confirmation message asking if you are sure. Press Yes to proceed.

• Delete All – pressing this button will delete all screenshots. There will be a confirmation
message asking if you are sure. Press Yes to proceed.

5.5.3 MapView
Pressing this will display a MapView for all the data (lines & grids) in a given Project (Figure
5-44). For collected grids, MapView is enabled if a GPS (internal or external) was on during data

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collection. However, for lines, MapView will only be enabled if an external GPS was used.
MapView shows the survey path travelled, as well as any flags or interpretations added to the
data. MapView is fully explained in Section 9.

Figure 5-44: MapView showing two grids and a long line with interpretations.

5.5.4 Delete Project

Pressing this will delete the currently selected project. There is a confirmation window asking if
you are sure; press Yes to continue deleting, press No to cancel.

5.5.5 Export Data

Screenshots and data are always saved to the internal memory of the Display Unit. When a
USB drive (memory stick) is inserted into the USB port on the Display Unit, a message will
appear asking if you would like to export all data (regardless what screen you are in). If Yes is
selected, all data is copied to the USB stick.
If No is selected, the user can enter File Management and export only data from a selected
project. Pressing the Export Data button will copy only the data from the currently selected
project to the USB-drive. If no USB-drive is inserted, this option will not be accessible.

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6. Line Scan
Line Scan mode allows the operator to acquire data along a straight line and examine it as a
cross-section image. The operator can locate a feature and easily back-up and mark the
location of that object on the ground. Line Scan mode can be used to identify the alignment of
subsurface features, check for linearity and acquire accurate depth measurements.
From the main screen, ensure you are in the desired project number then press the Line Scan
button to enter this mode. You will then see the screen in Figure 6-1.

Figure 6-1: Preparing to Line Scan

The line number is displayed, along with some information pertaining to the line that is about to
be collected.
The GPS Status indicates which GPS is currently selected, as well as the quality of the GPS
signal, which is based on the number of satellites that it sees. The chart below explains what
the colours and bars mean:
Indicator Color # of bars # of Satellites
Red 1 4
Orange 2 5
Green 3 6,7
Green 4 8,9
Green 5 10+

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6.1 Selecting a line

To select the desired line, press the + and - buttons under Line Number on the bottom of the
screen. If the line number is white, then that line is empty; if the line number is red, that line
already contains data.
In situations where there are many lines in a project, the user may want to go directly to a line,
without continually pressing the + and – buttons. To do this, press the button containing the line
number. You will see the screen in Figure 6-2, where you can enter a line number directly and
the press OK. This can also be done when reviewing lines.

Figure 6-2: Directly entering a line number

To collect data without saving it, press No Save Mode. Any data collected will NOT be saved,
but screen shots can still be taken with the Camera button. These screen shots get placed in
the currently selected project. Two features that are only available in No Save Mode (the
Pause button and the ability to draw arrows) are described in Sections 6.8.7 and 6.8.8
respectively.
If the line number is white (Figure 6-1), Press Start to enter data acquisition. All data collected
will be saved under this line number.
If the line number is shown in red (Figure 6-3), you will see the data preview on the right side of
the screen. If it’s a long line, only the last part of the data will be shown. From this screen, you
will have the following options available:
• View – press this button to review the previously collected line. See Section 6.8 on Line
Scan menu options
• Delete – pressing this will delete the line. It will prompt you to confirm before deleting.

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Figure 6-3: Viewing a line that was already collected

6.2 Acquiring Data

In the data acquisition screen, the parameters for the data collection are displayed in the left of
the window (Figure 6-4). Press Start to begin collecting data.

Figure 6-4: Beginning of data acquisition

As the system is pushed or pulled along a straight line, the collected GPR data scrolls onto the
screen from the right and moves to the left (Figure 6-5).The depth scale along the side of the

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GPR Line image and the position scale along the top of the image are set to Metric or US
Standard units based on the setting in the Section 5.3.2.

Position
Depth Axis
Axis

Figure 6-5: Line Scan acquisition mode, showing collected data and axis labels. DynaQ indicator is shown at the
bottom above the menu options.

If Auto-Hide Buttons is set to ON, the menu at the bottom of the screen disappears as soon as
you start collecting new data, thereby maximizing the data display area. When the user stops,
backs up, touches the screen or presses a button on the keypad the menu reappears.

If the user is collecting data too fast for the given settings, the system may skip data traces.
This usually happens if one or more of the following conditions exist:

1. The Scan Depth is set to a deep value

2. Step size is less than the recommended value
3. Stacking is set to a high value

Where the traces skipped, there will be small red indications at the bottom of the data (Figure
6-6). If the total number of skipped traces is greater than 10% of the total number of traces, a
warning message will appear (Figure 6-7).

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Figure 6-6: Skipped traces shown in red at bottom of screen

Figure 6-7: Warning message when more than 10% of traces are skipped

6.3 DynaQ
DynaQ is an advanced patented technology that adjusts data quality as the system movement
speed varies. In most situations, moving the system at a comfortable walking speed generates
data of good quality. In situations where target resolution or maximum penetration depth is
critical, moving slower increases data quality. This is essentially automatic stacking of the data.

DynaQ is only available if the Trigger is set to Odometer. By default this is enabled, but the
user can override this (Section 5.2.7) by specifying a specific number of stacks.

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As the Line Scan data scrolls on the screen, the DynaQ Index Bar is displayed along the bottom
of the screen (Figure 6-3). The color of the bar indicates the quality of the data at that point
along the line:

Number of stacks Colour Code

0 White
1-3 Yellow
4-7 Blue
8-511 Dark Blue
512-2049 Purple
2050-8191 Light Green
8192-65536 Dark Green

The higher the number of stacks, the better the quality of data. You should avoid getting a
DynaQ colour of white or yellow, which means the speed of movement is too fast for the data
being collected.

DynaQ can be selected for all Noggin frequencies, however you will never get light or dark
green colours on the DynaQ Index Bar unless a Noggin Ultra 100 is used.

6.4 Back-up Indicator

Only available if trigger is set to odometer, Line Scan mode incorporates a back-up feature to
enable you to accurately locate targets and mark them on the ground. After acquiring some data
on the screen, move the system backwards (Figure 6-8). During back-up mode, there will be
two indicators:

• Position Indicator: The red vertical line corresponds to the location at the center of
the GPR sensor. As you pull the cart backwards, the Position Indicator moves to
mark the current location of the cart in the image. A box appears with the current
position, relative to the start of the line, listed as the top number.

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Figure 6-8: Back-up Indicator and Depth Indicator shown

• Depth Indicator: A short red horizontal line corresponds to the current depth value,
as shown in the bottom number in the box. To determine the depth of an object,
move the indicator up or down by dragging the horizontal line to the desired location.
Alternatively, you can also use the Up and Down arrows on the 4-way directional
keypad. Note: make sure you have calibrated for velocity to ensure depth accuracy
(6.8.5).

To locate a feature, simply roll the system back along the same path until the red vertical line is
exactly over the response (usually a hyperbola). You can mark the location of the object on the
surface and continue data collection. Once you reach the point where you initially started
backing-up, the system will continue acquiring new data.

6.5 Stopping the Line

Pressing Stop ends the line. This line is saved internally on the system and cannot be added
to. Use the Left and Right directional arrow buttons to scroll and view data not currently
displayed on the screen. The maximum line length that can be collected is 10km or 1 million
traces, whichever comes first. Traces are explained under Show Skips.

If you are in free run mode, and press stop, you have the option to resume collecting data or
exit Line Scan mode (which will save the line), as shown in Figure 6-9.

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Figure 6-9: Resume button in Free Run mode.

6.6 Dialog Box

You can obtain depth and position information anywhere on the Line Scan by touching the
screen and holding for a second. A cross-hair appears where you touched the screen, with a
box displaying the position and depth (Figure 6-10). To get the position and depth information
about a different point on the screen, simply touch and drag the box or cross-hair to the desired
position. This is available regardless of what trigger is selected.

Figure 6-10: Touch the screen to get depth and horizontal position at any point

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6.7 Flags
Flags are often inserted to mark noteworthy surface features, such as poles, sidewalks,
changes in terrain etc. These markers may help you correlate subsurface targets with above
ground features. It is good practice to record the position and name of the object encountered
at each marker in your field notebook or voice recording
Pressing the asterisk button on the keypad will insert a flag at your current position, either
during forward data acquisition or when backed-up. Flags are sequentially numbered (Figure
6-11).

Figure 6-11: Inserting Flags

6.8 Line Scan menu options

All the settings described below change the way the data is viewed on the screen. They do not
alter the saved data in any way. These settings can be changed while you are still collecting
data, after pressing Stop, or when viewing a previously saved line.

6.8.1 Zoom
This button controls the horizontal and vertical scaling of the displayed GPR data. Pressing the
Zoom button changes the buttons on the bottom menu, which are explained below:

• Depth – Pressing + and - under the Depth button allows you to change the displayed
depth, up to the value set under Scan Depth in the System Configuration menu (Section
5.2.2). This is commonly referred to as the depth window. Note that when the data is
exported, the depth set in this zoom menu will be used. For example, the Scan Depth is
set to 4m in System Configuration, but the user zooms into 2m here. When exporting,
the data will have a maximum depth of 2m.

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The following are the maximum depths available for each system:
o Noggin 100 Ultra = 50m (150 feet)
o Noggin 100 = 50m (150 feet)
o Noggin 250 = 30m (100 feet)
o Noggin 500 = 20m (75 feet)
o Noggin 1000 = 10m (30 feet)

Higher depths can be set under Custom Configuration (Section 5.2.8).

Figure 6-12: Changing the displayed depth

• Position – Pressing + and - under the Position button allows you to change the length
of data display on a single screen. This is also known as horizontal scaling (Figure 6-13)
One reason for setting this higher would be to fit more data on the screen and look for
consistency among hyperbolas that were crossed.
The maximum amount of data that can be displayed on a screen for each system is:
o Noggin 100 = 100m (300 feet)
o Noggin 250 = 75m (150 feet)
o Noggin 500 = 50m (100 feet)
o Noggin 1000 = 20m (50 feet)

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Figure 6-13: Varying position, or horizontal scaling

6.8.2 Color
Pressing Color changes the color palette for the GPR Lines. There are 9 different color palette
options. The image is automatically re-displayed as the color palette changes. A few sample
color palettes are shown in Figure 6-14.

Figure 6-14: Changing colour palettes

6.8.3 Filter
The Filter is a background subtraction filter used for removing flat-lying responses in the data.
Filtering helps identify shallow targets that might be masked by the strong signals at the top of
the image, as well as possibly enhancing the visibility of hyperbolas further down in the data.

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However, it will also filter out other flat-lying responses, such as soil boundaries, so be careful
when using this option if your target is flat.
It works by applying a running-average background subtraction to the data set, defined by the
filter width or a window. This window “moves” across the data and the result is subtracted for
every trace in the data set. The Filter is variable and pressing this button cycles between OFF
and values 1 to 5 (Figure 6-15).
The lower the number, the longer the filter width, and the more “relaxed” the filter. Only the
longer flat-lying features get removed.
The higher the number, the shorter the filter width, and the more “aggressive” the filter. This
results in the removal of long and short flat-lying features.
Pressing OFF turns the filter off completely.

Figure 6-15: Showing variable filter lengths and Filter Off.

6.8.4 Gain
Since the material being scanned absorbs the GPR signal, deeper targets return weaker
signals. Gain acts like an audio volume control, amplifying signals and making deeper targets
appear stronger in the image. Gain values vary from 1 to 9 where 1 means a minimal
amplification has been applied and 9 means that maximum amplification has been applied.
Pressing this button increments the gain; once you reach 9 it cycles back to 1. Avoid over-
gaining the data as it can make interpretation difficult (Figure 6-16). In general, soils that are

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more electrically conductive (e.g. clays) will require a higher gain compared to soils that are less
electrically conductive (e.g. sand).

Figure 6-16: Varying the Gain

6.8.5 Velocity
The Velocity is a parameter used to ensure that measured depths are accurate. The best way
to ensure this is by using the hyperbola-fitting method, since it is based on data collected in the
area. The current value is displayed on that button beneath the word Velocity.
Crossing linear targets like pipes or cables at a 90 degree angle produces a hyperbola suitable
for velocity calibration. The value obtained will be used to compute a depth estimate of a target.
These depths will be incorrect if the calibration is performed on a target hyperbola produced at
an oblique angle, rather than 90 degrees.
Once you have a hyperbola on the screen from a subsurface target, press Velocity. The menu
at the bottom of the screen will change (Figure 6-17), giving you the option of specifying a soil
media or adjusting the velocity using the hyperbola-fitting method. These options are explained
below:
• Media – If there are no targets to calibrate to, and you know the type of soil, press this +
and – buttons to vary between the following mediums: water, wet soil, moist soil, dry soil,
very dry soil and air.

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• Velocity – allows you to use hyperbola-fitting to determine a more accurate velocity.

The options are slightly different, depending whether or not you are in backup mode.
If the backup indicator is on the screen when you press velocity, then you can only
adjust the vertical position of the horizontal scroll bar, since it is presumed you have
backed-up so that the system is right over the hyperbola in question. The scroll bar can
be moved up and down by touching the screen and dragging it, or using the up & down
keypad arrows such that it lines up with the top of the hyperbola in question (Figure
6-17).

Figure 6-17: Adjusting Velocity while in backup mode. Image on left shows initial hyperbola that appears, while the
one on the right has the correct hyperbola fit

On the other hand, if you press Velocity while you are collecting data or have pressed
Stop, you will see a red hyperbola in the middle of the screen. Drag the hyperbola such
that it lies over a real hyperbola from the ground (Figure 6-18). You can use the 4-way
keypad arrows to fine tune the movements.

Figure 6-18: Adjusting Velocity, without backing up. Image on left shows initial hyperbola that appears, while the one
on the right has the correct hyperbola fit

For either scenario above, once the red hyperbola is properly positioned, you can now
use the + and – buttons on the Velocity button to widen or tighten the shape. Once the
shape is matched (right sides of Figure 6-17 and Figure 6-18), you now have the correct
velocity and the measured depths will be most accurate. Press Apply to use this value.
If you get a Velocity near 0.300 m/ns, this could be an Air Wave (Section 3.5), and you
should calibrate to a different hyperbolic response.

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6.8.6 Interp
Short for field interpretation, Interps are used to mark subsurface features. Seven colours are
available, which allow you to designate different types of subsurface objects.
Either during collection, back-up or when reviewing a collected line, you can simply touch
anywhere on the screen to add an Interpretation (Figure 6-19). This appears as a dot of
whatever colour is selected. To change the color, press the Interp button to see a selection of
colours and to select a new one (Figure 6-20). Note, Interps cannot be added in No Save
Mode.
To remove an Interp, ensure the same color is currently active and simply touch the Interp to
delete it.
These field interpretations get exported with the data as a .CSV file, which show the positional
information of all interps. They can be used to check if a feature is linear (in MapView or in
Google EarthTM), but only if the more accurate external GPS is used.

Figure 6-19: Touching the screen to put Interps

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Figure 6-20: Available colors for Interps

6.8.7 Pause button (only available in No Save Mode)

The Pause button allows you to temporarily stop data collection and resume, without clearing
the data from the screen. This might be useful if you want to collect a series of parallel lines
over a target and show all the passes on the screen for comparison.
Once you collect some data, press Pause. You can now move the system without data
scrolling on the screen. When you are ready to resume collecting data, press Resume. You
will see a thick, red vertical line, corresponding to when you hit the Pause button and then
restarted (Figure 6-21).

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Figure 6-21: Pressing Pause and resuming data collection

6.8.8 Drawing arrows (only available in No Save Mode)

There is no option for Interps in this mode, as the data is not being saved. However, you do
have the ability to draw arrows on the screen (Figure 6-22).

Figure 6-22: Drawing arrows on the screen to highlight targets and features

Touch the screen where you want the head of the arrow to appear, and then swipe away in the
direction of the shaft. In the example in Figure 6-18, the user touched near the hyperbola, then
swept their finger towards the top left to create the arrow. Just like Interps, any number of
arrows can be drawn on this screen. Touch any arrow to remove it.
Remember that pressing the Camera button will take a screenshot and save it in the currently
selected project.

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7. Grid Scan
Acquiring GPR data in an organized grid over a defined area allows the data to be presented as
plan maps or in 3D. This is useful for locating all known and unknown objects, as well as their
orientation, in a graphical manner that is easy to interpret.
From the main menu, ensure you are in the desired project then press the Grid Scan button to
enter the Grid setup menu.

7.1 Grid Setup

The setup screen in Figure 7-1 will allow you to set parameters of the grid, before data
acquisition begins. Information about the grid (grid number, spacing, depth, size etc.) is
displayed on the left side of the screen, including whether the depth slices are processed. The
right side of the screen shows an image of the grid setup and lines to be collected, including
direction. It also shows the diagonal or hypotenuse measurement of a right-angle triangle; this
is valuable when you are measuring out your grid to ensure complete accuracy.

Figure 7-1: Grid Scan setup

Grid Number - To select a grid number, press the + and - buttons under Grid Number
at the bottom of the screen. Grids that contain no data will have some text and grid lines
shown in green, whereas grids containing data will have the text and grid lines shown in
red. Grids that are partially complete will show the uncollected lines in green on the right
side. To jump directly to a grid number, press the button containing the grid number on
the screen. This will display a keypad where you can enter the grid number directly,
rather than continually pressing the + and – buttons (similar to the Line Scan menu).

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Scan Depth – Press the + and – buttons to set how deep the scan should be. Note that
the deeper you go, the more depth slices will be generated in SliceView mode.
If a grid is completely or partially collected, you will have a different menu at the bottom of the
screen (Figure 7-2).

Figure 7-2: Partially collected grid (left) and fully collected grid (right)

Slice View – If a minimum of 3 lines are collected, the SliceView option will be enabled.
Press this to create depth slices for the gridded area.
Delete Grid – press this to delete all data in this grid. It will ask you to confirm before
deleting.

7.1.1 Grid Settings

Before starting Grid Scan, pressing this button will change the bottom menu, allowing you to set
specific parameters for your grid (Figure 7-3). When doing this, keep in mind the size and
orientation of objects that you are looking for, as well as the frequency of the sensor you are
using.

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Figure 7-3: Grid settings. This example shows a large area grid where the depth slices will only be processed in
EKKO_Project PC software

Grid Size – Press the + and - buttons to cycle between pre-set sizes. These are all
square grids. If the grid size becomes too large, it cannot be processed on the DVL, and
a message in red will say “EKKO_Project Only”. This means that the grid must be
exported from the DVL and opened in the EKKO_Project software to generate depth
slices (Figure 7-3).
Line Spacing - Press the + and - buttons to vary the line spacing. The following are the
minimum recommended spacing for different frequencies; you may choose to achieve a
finer spacing, but you should not go any further apart:
• Noggin 100: 1m or 3’ apart
• Noggin 250: 0.5m or 2’ apart
• Noggin 500: 0.25m or 1’ apart
• Noggin 1000: 0.10m or 0.5’ apart
Note: Target size determines line spacing. In most cases the system must pass over
a target to detect it; line spacing needs to be on the order of the size of the target or
smaller when practical. Line spacing can be further apart for larger targets or targets
with a linear extent. As well, these rules may have to be bent for practical purposes
such as survey production rates. Tighter line spacing takes longer to collect and may
not be economically possible in all circumstances.

Line Pattern - Grid lines can be collected in one direction (Forward) or in a back and
forth pattern (Alternating) (Figure 7-4). Collect lines in forward mode when possible.
Press this button to toggle between modes.

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Figure 7-4: Forward/Reverse grid line collection

Custom – press this button to customize some further settings (explained in next
section)

7.1.2 Grid Settings - Custom

Pressing Custom from the previous screen changes the bottom menu, allowing you to define a
custom grid size and line spacing (Figure 7-5)

Figure 7-5: Custom grid setup, can vary dimensions of X & Y axes, as well as line spacing

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X-Axis – Press the + and – buttons to adjust the dimension of the X-axis. This will add
or subtract lines along the Y-axis, in multiples of the set Line Spacing.
Y-Axis – Press the + and – buttons to adjust the dimension of the Y-axis. This will add
or subtract lines along the Y-axis, in multiples of the set Line Spacing.
Line Spacing - Press the + and – buttons to adjust the line spacing. This will update the
X-Axis and Y-Axis dimensions to the nearest multiple of Line Spacing.

7.1.3 Starting (or resuming) data collection

Press Start when all the parameters are setup and data collection is ready to begin.
Note: You cannot collect a grid in Free Run mode. If you attempt to start a grid with Trigger
set to Free Run, you will get the error shown in Figure 7-6.

Figure 7-6: Error message when trying to start Grid collection with Trigger set to Free Run

The start button will be disabled if the line spacing is equal to the grid dimension, resulting in
just 2 lines in either direction. An example of this would be creating a 1m x 1m grid, with line
spacing of 1m.
If you are on a partially collected grid, pressing Start will take you into that grid and data
collection resumes where you left off.

7.2 Laying out the grid

Positional accuracy of each line is vital to locating targets of interest once data has been
processed. Follow the steps below to layout the grid.

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Step 1 – Define the axis- Lines parallel to the Y-Axis are called Y-Lines. Similarly, lines parallel
to the X-Axis are called X-Lines (Figure 7-7). Pick the origin of the grid such that it is the
furthest corner away from any obstacles. This way, all the lines start properly, but they can be
ended early if there is an obstruction.

Figure 7-7: X-Lines and Y-Lines relative to the Origin.

Step 2 – Layout the Grid – for maximum accuracy, it’s very important to establish a right-angle
triangle (Figure 7-8). The easiest way is to use a single tape measure and refer to the diagram
below. Start at the origin, walk out the desired distance for x-axis (A) and mark that point. Then
then turn 90 degrees and walk out the desired distance for the y-axis (B) and mark that point.
Determine the hypotenuse side (C) from the screen (Figure 7-8), then close in the triangle (C -
hypotenuse side) back to the origin, making sure you meet the origin at the distance for C. If
not, move that last point in tandem with the origin, such that both sides of the tape measure are
taut.

Figure 7-8: Forming a right-angle triangle

Step 3 – Mark the Line Start Positions – with the tape measure still on the ground, mark the
line start positions based on the line spacings (Figure 7-9). Usually flags or paint work for

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grass, and chalk or paint on concrete. It is also recommended to paint a distance measurement
every so often, in case you forget which line you’re on.

Figure 7-9: Marking the line spacing and starting positions for every line

Step 4 – Mark the End Positions – if you are doing a forward only grid, it is recommended to
mark the end positions (Figure 7-10). You will need to aim for something to make sure your line
is straight.

Figure 7-10: Marking ending positions

An example grid layout is shown in Figure 7-11.

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Figure 7-11: Example of a grid survey. The red lines are superimposed just to illustrate the concept.

7.3 Data Collection

7.3.1 Physical Data collection
It is critical that the starting position is consistent on every line. Line up the middle of the unit
with the starting line, and then push the system straight towards the end of the line (Figure
7-12). It is helpful to have a marker at the end so you have something to aim for.

Figure 7-12: Lining up SmartCart properly on the lines

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Not all lines have to be finished. If there is an obstruction preventing you from finishing the line,
you can simply press Stop and end the line early. Do not try to steer the system around the
obstruction, as this will throw off the positioning of the data. You can also collect a line from the
other direction into the obstruction; this is explained in Section 7.3.5.
In addition, not all lines have to be collected. Just use the 4-way directional keypad to advance
to the next line you are able to collect.

7.3.2 Data collection on the DVL

The data collection screen is shown in Figure 7-13. The right half of the screen is a graphic
representation of the grid, illustrating the size of the grid and the lines that need to be collected.
The left half of the screen will initially display some parameters related to the grid.

Figure 7-13: Grid collection screen prior to any data collection

Press Start when you are positioned at the start of the line. Push the system in a straight line
towards the end of the line. Your current position (or distance travelled) is displayed in real time
immediately below the DynaQ status bar (Figure 7-14). If Grid Line Stop is set to Auto, the
system will automatically stop acquisition once that distance has been covered. If it is set to
Manual, you will have to manually press End Line when you are done. You can collect up to a
maximum of 50% beyond the normal line length. For example, if the grid is 20m x 20m, and
Grid Line Stop is set to Manual, the user can collect any line up to 30m long. Sometimes you
might want to collect a little more data if there is an interesting feature at the end of your line.

As you are collecting a line, you must move in a forward direction. If you back up more than two
step sizes during collection, it will stop and make you re-collect that line.

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Figure 7-14: Collecting a line in the grid

Once data is collected, the Grid Line will turn red and the system will beep twice. The current
line will now advance to the next one and is shown in white. The remaining lines to be collected
are shown in green (Figure 7-15).

Figure 7-15: After a few lines have been collected

Move to the start of the next line and repeat the process. The grid image will always display the
line number (e.g. Y3) and the position of your line, relative to your origin. Once all the lines are
done in one direction, it will automatically prompt you to collect lines in the other direction.

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Note: Periodically ensure that the line you are collecting matches what is displayed on the
screen. This is especially important as the grid sizes get larger and you may misplace your
position.

If you collect less than 95% of the expected line distance, the system assumes there is an
obstruction and will give you the option to collect a reverse line once all the lines in that direction
are complete. For example, in Figure 7-16, Line Y0 was incomplete. Once all the remaining Y
lines were collected, the system brings you back to Y0 in the reverse direction, labelled as Y0R.
If you do not wish to collect this line, use the arrows on the directional keypad to move to the
desired line.
Collecting around obstructions is described in Section 7.3.5.

Figure 7-16: Option to add a reverse line when a collected line is incomplete

7.3.3 Viewing & recollecting lines

Use the 4-way directional keypad to highlight different X and Y lines. The selected line will
always be in white. Collected lines will be in red and lines remaining to be collected will be in
green. You may want to recollect a line if you make a mistake, or maybe just view a line.
To recollect a line, press Start. You will be prompted with a message asking if you want to
overwrite that line (Figure 7-17). Press Yes to proceed.

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Figure 7-17: Overwriting a line

To change the way a line is viewed/displayed, press Line View. This will basically display the
selected line in the Line Scan screen (Figure 7-18). From here you have the option of modifying
the image by changing the Zoom, Color, Filter and Gain values, adding Interps, as well as
calibrating for velocity.
Use the left and right arrows on the directional keypad to scroll through line data not visible on
the screen.
It is also possible to display other collected grid lines using the up and down arrows on the
directional keypad.
To exit from the Line View screen and return to Grid View, press the Back button. The Grid
View screen respects any display settings changed while in Line View. If the velocity changed,
the depth slices will be reprocessed.

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Figure 7-18: Viewing a grid line in full screen, with the Line Scan menu options at bottom

7.3.4 Adding a line

During data collection, you may realize that you want to expand the search area of your grid.
Press Add Line to do this. This will take you to a screen shown in Figure 7-19.

Figure 7-19: Addling lines to a pre-defined grid

Pressing Add X Line or Add Y Line will add a respective line in X or Y directions at the end of
the grid. Press the same button repeatedly to add multiple lines. The number of the next line to
be added is displayed on the button.

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There is also the option of specifying if you want the newly added line to be in the forward or
reverse direction by pressing the Line Direction button, which will toggle between forward and
reverse.
Note that any added lines will not be included when the depth slices are created. Depth slices
are restricted to the originally defined grid size.

7.3.5 Collecting around an obstruction

From time to time, there may be an obstruction (such as a tree or rock) in your survey area.
There is a temptation to pick up the system, move it around the obstruction and continue
collecting. This is wrong!
The correct way is to approach the obstruction from both directions. Granted there will not be
data where the obstruction is, but there will be data before and after it.
When you approach the obstruction, terminate the line by pressing End Line. The system will
advance you to the next line, but if you cycle back to the line using the 4 way directional
keypad, it will return to the same line, but in the reverse direction. The name of the line will now
contain an R at the end (Figure 7-20).

Figure 7-20: Collecting a reverse line around an obstruction

In the example above, Line Y1 was partially collected due to an obstruction. To collect from the
other direction, the left arrow button on the 4-way directional keypad. This new line will now be
labelled Y1R.

7.3.6 Reversing a Line

During data collection, you can reverse a line (or multiple lines) to collect from the other
direction. Press Reverse Line when that line is selected to collect from the other direction

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7.4 Processing Data

Once you have finished collecting all the data, press Slice View at the bottom of the screen.
Before the data is processed and depth slices created, you must ensure the velocity is accurate;
this will result in the most accurate and sharpest images.
A message will display advising the velocity value that will be used (Figure 7-21). If you have
adjusted this already for the ground you are on, you can press OK to proceed and create the
depth slices.
If not, then it is recommended to press Cancel and adjust the velocity by using a good
hyperbola on one of the collected lines (Section 7.3.3). Then return and press SliceView and
press OK to proceed and create the depth slices.
If the collected grid is too large to process the depth slices (which it would have indicated on the
Grid setup screen), then the SliceView button will remain greyed out here as well. The data
must be downloaded to a computer and opened in the EKKO_Project software to create the
depth slices.
See the next section on using Slice View.

Figure 7-21: Processing depth slices with the correct velocity value

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8. Slice View
Slice View displays data collected in a grid as a series of depth slices moving deeper into the
subsurface. Objects and features appear in plan view, which can be an easier way of
visualizing the data.
Upon entering Slice View, the screen will be displayed as shown in Figure 8-1.

Depth slice
Velocity range

Depth slice
indicator

Line Scan
Depth
Line Slice
number

Figure 8-1: SliceView screen

The right half of the screen shows one of the depth slices. The top and right sides of this image
show the line numbers, while the dimensions of the grid are shown on the bottom and left sides.
The left half of the screen displays one of the grid lines, and any flags or interpretations that
were made. The line number is overlaid on the bottom of the image and corresponds to the
white line on the grid (Line Y0 in Figure 8-1). To move to another grid line, use the 4-way
directional keypad on the Display Unit; the highlighted line will be in white.

The shaded area in between the horizontal red lines corresponds to the depth slice range
shown on the right and is referred to as the Depth Slice Indicator.
At the top of the screen, the grid number is listed, along with the velocity value and slice
thickness range. The slice thicknesses are automatically set, depending on the sensor used:
• Noggin 1000 = 2.5cm (1”)
• Noggin 500 = 5cm (2”)
• Noggin 250 = 10cm (4”)
• Noggin 100 = 25 cm (10”)

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The functionality of the buttons at the bottom of the screen are explained below:

8.1 Depth
Pressing the + and - buttons on the Depth button will increase or decrease the depth of the
depth slice currently displayed. You can also drag the depth slice indicator on the line scan
image. This allows the user to “slice through” the ground and locate features that appear at
different depths.

8.2 Line View

Pressing this button displays the currently selected GPR line as a full screen image. All the
functionality of Line Scan (such as Zoom, Color, Filter, Gain, Velocity and Interps) are available
here (Figure 8-2). The line number is overlaid on the lower left side of this image. Use the 4-
way directional keypad to change to a different line.

Figure 8-2: Changing Line View settings from within Slice View

Press Back to return to Slice View. Any changes made will be reflected on the GPR line in
Slice View mode. If you change the velocity or depth, this will cause the depth slices to be re-
processed.

Users may want to change these display settings to make it easier to correlate line scan data
with depth slices.

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8.3 Color
This heading has two button functions beneath it:
a) Color Palette - The number corresponds to the color palette used for the depth slice
image. Pressing this button cycles between the 9 available color palettes available on
the system.
b) Color Sensitivity - cycles between LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH. This is a function of how
much signal data is displayed. A setting of HIGH is useful for revealing weaker targets
which can sometimes be difficult to see. Setting to LOW will help “clean up” the data and
only show the strong targets but will hide some of the weak signals so be careful when
setting to LOW. Figure 8-3 shows the variations in color sensitivity.

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Figure 8-3: Varying the sensitivity, from top to bottom: Low, Medium and High settings. High shows more subtle
targets but may sometimes appear cluttered while the Low setting only displays the strongest targets so be cautious
when using it.

8.4 Options
Pressing Options changes the menu at the bottom of the screen, allowing the user to control
the overlay of Grid Lines, Flags and Interps on the depth slice image. These are explained
below:

8.4.1 Grid Lines

Pressing this button overlays grid lines on the depth slice image, and cycles between ON,
PARTIAL or OFF. When set to ON, all the collected lines are displayed. When set to PARTIAL,
only some of the grid lines are displayed. This may be necessary for some larger grids as
having all the grid lines ON tends to obscure the image beneath (Figure 8-4). When set to OFF,
only the currently selected line is displayed. The currently selected line is always shown in
white.

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Figure 8-4: Varying the Grid Lines, from top to bottom: ON, PARTIAL and OFF settings

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8.4.2 Flags
Pressing this button toggles on and off between displaying flags on the line scan data and the
depth slice.

8.4.3 Interps
Pressing this button toggles on and off between displaying Interps on the line scan data and the
depth slice

Figure 8-5: With Interps turned on, field interpretations are shown on the Line Scan data and the Depth Slice.

8.5 Recollecting lines

After looking at the grid data in Slice View you may discover that one or more grid lines need to
be recollected (for example, maybe the starting position was offset). If so, you will need to enter
the Grid Scan menu again and select the appropriate grid number and press Start (the grid
number will be in red, since data exists).
Select the grid line that needs to be recollected. When you press Start, it will display a prompt
confirming if you want to overwrite the line. After recollecting the grid line(s), press the Slice
View button to re-process the grid data.

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9. MapView
MapView is a unique feature that allows the user to graphically view the path travelled by the
system, and any flags or interpretations made. This is helpful in determining the linearity and
consistency of buried objects. It will also display a view showing the lines collected as part of a
grid.
A common use of this feature is to snake back and forth over a given area. Each time you cross
a target producing a hyperbola, click on the top of the hyperbola to add an interpretation. If the
object is a linear feature, all the interpretations will line up when viewed in MapView.
MapView only works if GPS data is collected with the GPR data. This is what allows the lines
and/or grids to be positioned correctly (with the right orientation).
If you use the internal GPS, only grid data will be shown in MapView. If an external GPS is
connected, both line and grid data will be shown.

9.1 Accessing MapView

MapView is project based and will display all grids and lines collected in a project. Remember
that Projects typically contain data from a given site.
MapView can be accessed either from the main screen or from the File Management menu
(Figure 9-1). The MapView button will only be available if data exists in the project AND it was
collected with the GPS enabled; otherwise it will be greyed out.

Figure 9-1: Accessing MapView either from the Main screen (left) or File Management menu (right)

9.2 MapView screen

Irrespective of how you get there, entering MapView will show an image like the one in Figure
9-2. Moving your finger around the screen will move the entire image around and can be used
for centering the image. The scale is shown in the bottom right corner. The available options
on this screen are described below:

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Figure 9-2: MapView showing the position of a line and grid

• If a grid is collected and depth slices have been processed, the Depth Slice button is
available (otherwise it is greyed out). Pressing the +/- buttons under Depth Slice will
increase or decrease the depth of the depth slice currently displayed
• Pressing the +/- buttons under Zoom will resize the image accordingly. Alternatively,
you can also press the +/- buttons in the top right of the screen. To reposition the image
in the middle of the screen, simply swipe the screen until the image is positioned
properly.
• Pressing Options will display the screen shown in Figure 9-3 allowing you to customize
the layer view. This is explained in the section below.

9.2.1 Options (Layer views)

Pressing the Options button will allow you to customize what is shown in the MapView display.
The screen will be split between the Layer options on the left and the MapView display on the
right (Figure 9-3).

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Figure 9-3: Setting layer options in MapView

Press the ON or OFF button beside each option to show or hide that particular feature on the
display on the right. Alternatively use the Up and Down arrows on the 4-way directional keypad
to select the desired feature, then press the Toggle button on the bottom of the screen to turn
that feature on or off. The image in Figure 9-3 shows them all turned ON.
Each layer feature is described below:
• Scale Lines – controls the display of the background grid lines (Figure 9-4). These are
used as scale reference.

Figure 9-4: Scale Lines turned off

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• Flags – controls the display of flags (Figure 9-5)

Figure 9-5: Flags turned off

• Interpretations – controls the display of all interpretations (Figure 9-6)

Figure 9-6: Interpretations turned off

• Lines – turning this off will remove all collected lines from the display (white lines turned
off in Figure 9-7). It will also remove the line name.

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Figure 9-7: Lines turned off

• Grids – turning this off will remove all grids displayed (red grid turned off in Figure 9-8).
It will also remove the grid name.

Figure 9-8: Grid lines turned off

• Grid/Line Names - the name of each line and grid is shown beside it. Turning this off
will remove the displayed name. Note that the lines and grids must be shown for the
name display only to be turned off (Figure 9-9).

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Figure 9-9: Names of grids and lines turned off

• Depth Slices – when set to ON, the depth slice will be displayed in the MapView
window (Figure 9-8). The depth slice can be set by exiting the Options menu. Press
OFF to hide the current position.
• Current Position – when set to ON, and provided the external GPS is enabled, the
current position is indicated on the screen by a blue dot with a green circle (Figure 9-10).
Press OFF to hide the current position.

Figure 9-10: Blue dot showing the current position

When the Measure button is pressed, it is highlighted in blue. During this time, you can touch
the screen and drag your finger a certain distance to get a measurement value for the distance
drawn (yellow line in Figure 9-11). The distance value is displayed in the lower right corner of

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the MapView display. Pressing the Measure button again exits from Measure mode and
removes the yellow measured line and the measured value.

Figure 9-11: Using the Measure tool to draw a line on the screen

Where there are multiple lines and grids, the MapView could look like the example in Figure
9-12.

Figure 9-12: MapView showing multiple grids and lines

However, if lines/grids in a project are collected far apart, MapView will only display them if they
are collected within a 2.5 km radius of the currently selected line. In this case, the data shown
in the MapView display will follow the rules in the order below:
• Centre around the currently selected line or

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• Centre around the highest line number collected with GPS or

• Centre around the highest grid number collected with GPS
If data exists outside the 2.5km radius, it will display the error message shown in Figure 9-13

Figure 9-13: Warning message that some data is outside the MapView display range

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10. Demonstration Data

Demo Data is pre-loaded on all Noggin systems, and is found in the Demo project folder (from
the main screen, press the minus button when you are in Project 1). The Demo project is used
to illustrate various application examples and data collected with different Noggin systems.
The Demo project folder contains 3 lines and 4 grids.

From a learning point of view, it is recommended go through each line and see the affect of
changing display parameters (zoom, depth, calibrating velocity). For the grids, it is useful to
move down through all the depth slices to see how features come into focus, then disappear.
As well, correlating hyperbolas on the line scans and seeing how they appear on the depth slice
images helps to build confidence in what you are seeing.

The following is a brief description of each of the lines and grids:

Line 1 – collected with a Noggin 250 SmartCart.

The data shows two utilities that were crossed three times by collecting data in a zig-zag
pattern. Interpretations were used to mark the utilities; yellow for the shallower one and blue for
the deeper one. Flags (visible at the bottom of the screen) are used to indicate where the user
turned the SmartCart around. Crossing utilities this way and using Interpretations is a great way
to check the linearity of targets in MapView on the DVL or in Google Earth (once the data has
been downloaded to a PC).

Line 2 – collected with a Noggin 1000 SmartCart.

The data was collected on a suspended concrete bridge deck that supported vehicular traffic.
There is a thin asphalt layer over the concrete, seen as a flat line around 15cm deep. The
concrete contains rebar at the top (mostly) and some at the bottom. This data is collected in
one direction only, showing rebar running perpendicular to the direction of movement; there
would very likely be rebar running in the other direction as well. The sloping feature below the

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rebar is a post-tension (PT) cable, as data was collected parallel along it. PT cables tend to
drape (or change depth) in between columns. In this example, the PT cable gets shallower near
the column and starts to get deeper when moving away from the column. The column
underneath the bridge deck is more heavily reinforced, which is evidenced by the closely-
spaced and number of rebar.

Line 3 - collected with a Noggin 100 SmartCart.

Data was collected at a limestone quarry. Around the 15-30m positions, there are caves visible
at 5-6m deep. There is a strong, shallow metal reflector at 50m position (likely some debris)
and just to the right of that is a bedding plane visible starting at 8m deep, sloping down to about
14m deep.

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Grid 01 – collected with a Noggin 250 SmartCart.

Below is a collected grid with dimensions of 20’ x 20’, and lines spaced 1’ apart. Two buried
utilities are observed, one at 1’ deep (shown in the image below), and the other at 2’ deep (not
seen here). The utilities cross each other, though they are at different depths. Having a tight
line spacing provides good resolution and allows the user to clearly see the direction the pipe
curves in the ground.

Grid 02 –collected with a Noggin 500 SmartCart.

Below is a collected grid with dimensions of 8m x 12.5m, and lines spaced 0.25m apart. Data
was collected at a cemetery showing burials. Since the orientation of the burials was known,
based on the grave markers, this data was collected in one direction only to cross the burials
perpendicularly. Targets start at various depths from 30cm to 50cm deep.

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Grid 03 – collected with a Noggin 1000 on a SmartCart.

Below is a collected grid with dimensions of 15’ x 15’, and lines spaced 1’ apart. This was
collected on a concrete floor in an industrial warehouse. Data show rebar running in both
directions, approximately 0.3’ – 0.4’ deep. However, the bars are not continuous everywhere as
there are gaps in a few places.

Grid 04 – collected with a Noggin 1000 SmartCart

Below is a collected grid with dimensions 5m x 10m, and lines spaced 0.2m apart. Data was
collected on a highway bridge approach slab. There are many structural elements in this image
(such as rebar, dowel bars and tie bars) associated with bridge construction.

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11. Capturing Screens & E-mailing Mini-Reports

11.1 Screenshots
If you would like to save an image of the current screen, press the Camera button on the
Display Unit. This saves the screen as a Screenshot image (.JPG), which can be viewed in any
third-party viewing software. If any GPS is enabled, the screenshot image for depth slices will
contain also a geo-tagged reference.

If you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, a message appears confirming the filename of the
saved image (Figure 11-1).

Figure 11-1: Message displayed after pressing the camera button on the DVL to capture the screen (no Wi-Fi
present).

If you are connected to a wireless network and have a sending e-mail address configured, the
user will see the message in Figure 11-2, asking if you would like to email the screenshot and
prompts you to enter the email address. The email address defaults to the last one entered.
Tapping on the address box brings up an on-screen keyboard and allows you to enter a new
email address. Pressing the “…” button to the left of the e-mail address displays the last 5 e-
mail addresses used, allowing the user to easily select a recent email address, rather than re-
entering it.
Screenshots can always be e-mailed at a later time from the Screenshot Gallery.

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Figure 11-2: Message after pressing the Camera button on the Display Unit to capture the screen with Wi-Fi enabled
and a connection to a wireless network. The user can enter an email address to send the mini-report to.

11.2 Using the Hotspot on your Smartphone

If a Wi-Fi signal is unavailable, you may be able to use your Smartphone as a Wi-Fi access
point, by creating a Personal Hotspot. If you are experiencing difficulty connecting to a cell
phone Personal Hotspot, ensure that the phone is in discovery mode while connecting. On
iPhone (iOS 13), for example, this involves going to Settings - Personal Hotspot (Figure 11-3).
Ensure that the Personal Hotspot setting is turned on and wait on this screen until the
connection has been established. Once you have received confirmation on the Display Unit, the
cell phone can resume normal use.

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Figure 11-3: Setting up a Hotspot on an iPhone

Note that when setting up a Personal Hotspot, you may be disconnected from any Wi-Fi
networks. Vice-versa, if you have a Personal Hotspot setup, attempting to connect to a Wi-Fi
network may disconnect your personal hotspot.

11.3 Mini-Reports
When a screenshot is e-mailed, it is sent as part of a mini-report. This mini-report also contains
a table with information about the collected data including the settings used, date & time (Figure
11-4).

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Figure 11-4: Example of a Mini-Report

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Noggin User’s Guide Transferring Data to a PC

12. Transferring Data to a PC

Data can be exported to a PC by inserting a USB drive into the USB port (Figure 12-1).

USB-memory
stick

Figure 12-1: Insert a USB memory stick into the USB port on the Display Unit to export data.

Once the USB drive is recognized, a message will appear telling you that a drive has been
inserted and if you wish to export your data to it (Figure 12-2). Click Yes if you wish to proceed.

Figure 12-2: When a USB drive is connected to the Display Unit, a message opens asking if you would like to export
all your data to it. Select Yes to transfer immediately. If you select No, you can export the data later by going to the
Setup > File Management menu option.

If there are grids that were collected, but not processed, it will alert you after you select Yes to
exporting the data (Figure 12-3). This is important, as unprocessed grids will not automatically

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show up in EKKO_Project as depth slices (you will need an additional module to view them) –
see Section 12.6.

Figure 12-3: Insert a USB memory stick into the USB port on the Display Unit to export data.

Alternatively, if you want to export the data later, you can select No for the time being. Later on,
when you are ready to export your data, go into Tools > File Management and press Export
Data (Section 5.5.5). From there, you can export selected projects, rather than all the projects
currently on the system.

12.1 Formatting USB Sticks

There may be times when a USB stick is not recognized by the DVL. In this case, you may
need to format the USB stick. Ensure that it’s formatted as FAT/FAT32 (NTFS will not work).
Also ensure that there are no hidden or write-protected partitions on the USB drive.
If the problem persists after formatting, try another USB stick.

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12.2 Directory Structure

The directory structure on the USB drive can be viewed on your PC, and will look as follows:

• GPR Data
• Noggin
o Export01
▪ Project1
• Screen Shots
o All Screenshots as .JPG files
• Project1.GPZ file
• Project1.KMZ file
• Field Interp Report.CSV
o Exportxx
▪ Projectx
• Screen Shots
o All Screenshots as .JPG files
• .GPZ file
• .KMZ file
• Field Interp Report.CSV
▪ System Info

Each successive export of data will create a new directory called ExportXX, where XX is
incremented by 1 from the previous directory. The actual GPR data files are all contained in a
.GPZ file. This can be opened by the EKKO_Project software.

If data was collected with a GPS, a .KMZ file is generated, which can be opened in Google
EarthTM. This file will contain the following information:
o If Internal GPS is selected, any saved screenshots are geo-tagged and their
approximate location is displayed in Google EarthTM. In addition, if a grid is collected, a
layout of the grid lines is displayed in Google EarthTM.
o If External GPS is selected, the above will still apply. As well, the path of any line data
collected will be displayed in Google EarthTM, along with any flags and interpretations.

If any Field Interpretations were added during data collection, these are saved in a .CSV file.
This is a spreadsheet file, which shows the positional information of any Interps made.

The System Info folder contains an APP.LOG file and a System Summary diagnostic report.
The APP.LOG file contains important information about system operation and may be requested
by Sensors & Software to help troubleshoot any issues.
Some of the output files are described and shown below.

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12.3 Field Interpretations file

If any interpretations are made a Field Interp Report file is created. This file is a CSV (Comma
separated values) format, most commonly opened with Microsoft Excel.
The file will list any Interps and Flags added to data in the field. The position, depth and colour
of each Interp is listed, along with GPS positions (if a GPS was connected). A sample output for
this file is shown in Figure 12-4.

Figure 12-4: Contents of a sample Field Interp Report file

12.4 Google EarthTM

Anytime a GPS is used, a .KMZ file is included as part of the exported data. If the internal GPS
was used, you will only see screenshots and a layout of the grid (if a grid was collected).
Clicking on the yellow camera icon in Google EarthTM will display the screenshot image (Figure
12-5)

Figure 12-5: Google EarthTM image, showing a layout of the grid and some screenshots taken

Data collected with an external GPS will also show the path walked for any line scan data as
well as any Interpretations and Flags (Figure 12-6).

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Figure 12-6: Path travelled with Interpretations, collected using an External GPS

Opening the data in EKKO_Project (Section 12.6) and creating depth slices, will allow you to
export those slices to Google EarthTM (Figure 12-7).

Figure 12-7: Depth slice displayed in Google EarthTM

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12.5 System Summary Report

The System Summary report is a PDF file, which lists system usage information, serial numbers
and when system tests were done and their pass/fail status. An example file is shown below:

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12.6 EKKO_Project
Any line and grid data collected in a project are saved as a single .GPZ file (e.g. Project1.GPZ),
which can be opened with the EKKO_Project PC software.

EKKO_Project is powerful software that allows you to view, edit, process and ultimately create
reports from your GPR data. Grid data that is processed in the field will immediately show up as
depth slices in EKKO_Project, as well as the path travelled in MapView.
From the main screen (Figure 12-8), you can access various views and launch modules that
give you access to further functionality. For more information, consult your EKKO_Project
manual or contact Sensors & Software (www.sensoft.ca).

Figure 12-8: Main screen of EKKO_Project

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13. Troubleshooting
The Noggin system is designed to minimize user problems; however, all electronic devices are
subject to possible failure. In some cases, doing the System Tests will help isolate the problem
to a certain component. The following are also troubleshooting hints which can be referred to if
your system fails to operate.

13.1 Power Supply

The most common problem that can occur while trying to run the system is insufficient power.
The battery may be dead, have a low voltage or the fuse may be blown.

Once boot up is complete, the colour of the LED will indicate the amount of battery power
remaining:
• 100% to 20% = green
• 20% to 10% = orange
• 10% to 0% = red

You can check the battery voltage with a voltmeter. Try to do this while the system is still
attached to the Cart to get a true measure of the voltage while under load (it will be necessary to
open the Cart battery case and connect the voltmeter to the positive and negative battery
terminals). A fully charged battery will show a voltage of 13.8V, whereas a voltage of 10.5V or
lower will not power the system. If the battery has a low voltage or seems dead, try using
another battery (if available), or give the battery a good 12-14 hour charge and try running the
system again.

If the battery does not charge up to 12 Volts or more, it should be replaced.

Batteries are fused to protect the system. Open the battery case and check that the 10 Amp
fuse is OK. If necessary, replace it with one of the spare fuses available inside the battery case.

If the battery seems OK but the system still does not power up, check the battery cable
connections and inspect the battery cable for damage.

13.2 System Communications

If the battery is OK and the Display Unit turns on but the GPR sensor does not scan, there may
be a communication failure between the DVL and the GPR sensor. If an error occurs, an error
message will appear. Power Off the system and disconnect the battery.
Make sure the display cable is not damaged, all pins are straight, and there is no dirt or debris in
the connector. Ensure that the cable connections are tightly secured. Sometimes vibrations
cause the cable connections to slightly loosen and break contact leading to errors.

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Disconnecting the cable and reconnecting it may provide a better contact and solve the
problem. Plug in the battery, turn on the system and try scanning again.
If the Battery, Battery Cable and Display Cable are OK, the problem is either a failure of the
Display Unit or the GPR sensor. These units have no user-serviceable parts so they will have
to be returned to the vendor for inspection and repair.

13.3 System Overheating

The GPR system is designed to operate to a maximum internal temperature of 70 C or 158 F.
In situations of high ambient temperatures or long exposure to direct sun, this maximum internal
temperature may be exceeded and cause the system to fail.

The temperature can be checked from the System Information screen, located under System
Tests. If you suspect that the GPR sensor is overheating, shut it off and give it a chance to cool
down in a shady location before trying to run it again.

If the situation is such that the high temperatures or direct sun cannot be avoided, it may be a
good idea to put some sort of shade over the GPR sensor.

13.4 Display Unit Problem

If the Display Unit does not power up, check the battery power and all cable connection. If that
doesn't work, contact your vendor.

13.5 Creating a Test Line for Data Quality

After receiving the system and getting comfortable with its operation, one of the best ways of
detecting any problems in the future is to collect a line of data at a convenient, easily accessible
location. The line does not have to be too long, but one screen is a good guide. This data line
should be saved electronically and perhaps plotted out on paper and dated. If there is a
suspected problem with the system at a later date, this test line could be collected and
compared with earlier tests. When comparing data, take into account weather and
environmental conditions, which could skew the comparisons slightly.

13.6 Contacting the Vendor for Service

When returning the system to the Vendor, have the following information available:
1) GPR sensor Serial Number displayed at the top of the System Settings Screen.
2) A brief description of when the error is happening and the operating conditions
(temperature, humidity, sunshine, system settings, etc.).
3) Include photos and/or videos to document the occurrence of error messages.
4) APP.LOG file – these are downloaded to your computer during data export.

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14. Care and Maintenance

14.1 Battery Care
The Noggin system may either come with a large battery or a belt battery, depending on the
configuration. Either way, both are 9 Amp-hour, 12-Volt sealed lead acid batteries. It is fused
with a 10 Amp fuse to protect it from short circuit damage.

The battery unit should run the Noggin continuously for 4-6 hours before recharging is
necessary. If long days of data surveying are typical, a second battery unit may be useful.

If batteries are maintained in a charged condition, they will give long life and reliable service.
Improper use and lack of maintenance will greatly reduce their life.

Sealed lead acid batteries should NEVER be left in a discharged condition for any period of
time. Charge the batteries as soon as possible after use.

Charge the battery at room temperature whenever possible.

The Noggin has a voltage monitoring circuit that will turn off the unit when the input voltage
drops below 10.5 volts.

If a battery has been deeply discharged or left in a discharged condition for some period of time
it may not accept charge immediately when it is connected to the charger (the fast charge light
will not illuminate). If the fast charge light does not come on within 6 hours the battery should be
considered damaged and should be discarded.

Do not assume that a battery that is still charging after 8 hours is nearing the end of its charge
cycle. Typical charging time for an empty battery is 12-14 hours.

Ensure that the batteries are fully charged before storing. If practical, store the batteries in a
cool place, 10oC (a refrigerator is ideal), but make sure the temperature is not likely to drop
below -30oC or the electrolyte may freeze and possibly split the case.

14.2 Cable Care

With the use of this product in rough, dusty and outdoor environments, users can minimize
potential downtime if they care for cables and treat connectors with respect.
1) The cable connectors as well as the connectors on the GPR Sensor and DVL need to
stay clean and free of dust and moisture. Use a brush or air spray to clean dust, lint
and other foreign particles from these connectors. Routine use of a contact cleaner
(e.g. MG Chemicals MF 404B or equivalent) is highly recommended.

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2) After working in rainy conditions, disconnect the cables and check for water in the
receptacles. Remove the water or allow to air dry, if necessary. Never allow the
system to sit in rainy conditions for long periods of time.
3) Cables and connectors are not designed to suspend or tow or otherwise carry the
weight of systems. They are part of the electronic circuit and should be treated
accordingly. When not in use they should be placed in their storage box.

Cables are not covered by the warranty. Improper use and/or neglect will result in customer
downtime until they are repaired or replaced.

14.3 Skid Pads

The bottom of the Noggin Sensors (250, 500 and 1000) are covered with one large wear-
resistant skid pad. The skid pad is designed to take the majority of the abrasive wear. If the pad
wears down enough, the less-resistant plastic housing may start to wear. If this occurs, it is best
to replace the skid pad. It is easily removed with a #2 Philips screwdriver and a new one can be
purchased from the vendor. See Section 15.1 for list of replacement skid pads.

The Noggin 100 antennas can be fitted with skid plates, one for each antenna.

14.4 Odometer
The odometer should be periodically calibrated to ensure accuracy.

14.5 Storage Cases

Equipment that is transported and stored loosely is more susceptible to damage. All equipment
should be stored in its shipping case or a storage box. Sensors & Software has optional
shipping cases available for some components and systems.

14.6 Upgrading Embedded Software on Display Unit

From time to time, Sensors & Software may release new software for the Display Unit. The
instructions below describe how to update this software. Please note that this procedure will
erase all GPR data from the system, so export any valuable data before continuing.

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Noggin User’s Guide Parts List & Accessories

15. Parts List & Accessories

15.1 Spare Parts
The following is a list of spare parts available for purchase:
Part Number Description
100-10-1200/1201 Cart Thumb Screw
100-53-0020 Mounting Post Kit (x4)
126-71-0160 Odometer Cable Assembly
122-10-0032 Quick Release Hitch Pin
126-89-0900 DVL-500 Thumbscrew
103-01-0014 Battery (only)
122-10-0078 Velcro Strap (32” long)
100-54-0084 Noggin 250 Molded Skid Plate Kit
100-54-0085 Noggin 500 Molded Skid Plate Kit
100-54-0086 Noggin 1000 Molded Skid Plate Kit
100-54-0127 Noggin 100 MHz Skid Plate Assembly (Single)

15.2 Accessories
The following accessories are available for purchase:
Part Number Description
100-55-0012 Belt Power Supply with Case
100-55-0027 Power Source Charger
100-55-0021 Battery Assembly
103-01-0014 Battery (only)
100-53-0096 DVL-500 Harness
100-53-0113 Deluxe DVL-500 Harness
100-60-0066 DVL-500 Carrying Case
100-60-0063 SmartCart ATA Shipping Case (with DVL Bag)
125-30-0006 TopCon GPS Antenna
100-52-0120 TopCon GPS Cable (1.1m)
100-52-0124 TopCon GPS Cable (2.75m)
100-52-0125 TopCon GPS Cable (13m)

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Part Number Description

100-53-0102 GPS Mount (for Noggin SmartCart only)
100-52-0051 Noggin SmartHandle Cable (2.5m)
100-52-0049 Noggin SmartHandle Cable (5m)
100-52-0053 Noggin SmartHandle Cable (7m)
100-52-0050 DVL to Noggin Vehicle Cable (10m)
100-52-0062 Noggin SmartHandle Cable (30m)
100-52-0048 DVL to Noggin SmartCart Cable

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16. Technical Specifications

16.1 Noggin Specifications
Noggin Ultra 100 Noggin 250 Noggin 500 Noggin 1000
Specifications
and Noggin 100
Size 91 x 76 x 17 cm (36 x 63 x 41 x 23 cm 38 x 23 x 15 cm 30 x 15 x 11 cm
30 x 6.5 in) (25 x 16 x 9 in) (15 x 9 x 6 in) (12 x 6 x 4.5 in)
Weight 9.5 kg (21 lbs) 7.3 kg (12.5 lbs) 3 kg (6.5 lbs) 2.3 kg (5 lbs)
Center Frequency 100 MHz 250 MHz 500 MHz 1000 MHz
-3dB Bandwidth 50 – 150 MHz 125 – 375 MHz 250 – 750 MHz 500 – 1500 MHz
Shielding Front to Ground coupled >20dB >20dB >20dB
Back focusing
Maximum Time 4,000 ns @ 0.8 ns/pt 2,000 ns @ 0.4 1,000 ns @ 0.2 500 ns @ 0.1 ns/pt
Window* 8,000 ns @ 0.5 ns/pt ns/pt ns/pt
(Noggin Ultra)
Data Bits 16-bit 16-bit 16-bit 16-bit
32-bit (Noggin Ultra)
Maximum Depth 200m (656 ft) 100m (328 ft) 50m (164 ft) 25m (82 ft)
Setting*
Operating -40 to 50°C -40 to 50°C -40 to 50°C -40 to 50°C
Temperature

* based on velocity of 0.1 m/ns, include some time before time-zero

16.2 DVL Specifications

Specifications Values
Length 24 cm (9.5 in)
Width 24 cm (9.5 in)
Depth 6.8 cm (2.7 in)
Weight 2.83 kg (6.24 lbs)
8.0" high-visibility, sunlight-readable diagonal LCD display
Resistive touch screen (can be used with or without gloves)
DVL screen Adjustable backlighting
800 x 480 VGA
1500 NIT and 800:1 contrast ratio
Input Power 11-18V, 4A maximum
Operating Power 12-16W (1 – 1.3A @ 12V) - varies with DVL settings
Integrated modules:
Wireless Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b,g,n)
GPS/GLONASS
Audio Built-in speaker - 85dBA speaker w/volume control
Integrated GNSS (Global
Receives GPS/GLONASS signal (+/- 10m)
Navigation Satellite System)
Storage 8 GB Internal

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CPU Speed Quad Core, 800 MHz

Temperature &
Environmental Ruggedized, environmentally sealed unit and connections.
Ingress protection (IP) rating: IP65 under IEC 60529
Relative Humidity operation (non-condensing): 10 – 90%
Operating temperature range: -30 to 50°C

EMC-FCC, CE, IC, ACA, RSM

Regulatory Specifications
Safety-TUV, CE

16.3 Battery Specifications

Specifications Values
Type: 12 V Lead acid gel cell
Battery Life: 4-6 hours
Battery
Battery Capacity:9.0 Ah
Weight: 3.6 kg (7.9 lbs)
Built-in charger with status indicator
Universal AC mains charger input: 100-240V , 1.5A,
Charger
50/60Hz
Output: 12 Volts @ 3 Amps
Temperature Use battery charger between 0 and 30°C.

184
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix A:Health & Safety Certification

Appendix A: Health & Safety Certification

Radio frequency electromagnetic fields may pose a health hazard when the fields are intense.
Normal fields have been studied extensively over the past 30 years with no conclusive
epidemiology relating electromagnetic fields to health problems. Detailed discussions on the
subject are contained in the references at the end of this Appendix.

The USA Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) both specify acceptable levels for electromagnetic fields. Similar power
levels are mandated by corresponding agencies in other countries. Maximum permissible
exposures and time duration specified by the FCC and OSHA vary with excitation frequency.
The lowest threshold plane wave equivalent power cited is 0.2 mW/cm2 for the general
population over the 30 to 300 MHz frequency band. All other applications and frequencies have
higher tolerances as shown in graphically in Figure B-1.

Figure B-1: FCC limits for maximum permissible exposure (MPE) plane-wave equivalent power density mW/cm2.

All Sensors & Software Inc. GPR products are normally operated at least 1 m from the user and
as such are classified as “mobile” devices according to the FCC. Typical power density levels
at a distance of 1 m or greater from any Sensors & Software Inc. products are less than 10-3
mW/cm2 which is 200 to 10,000 times lower than mandated limits. As such, Sensors &
Software Inc. products pose no health and safety risk when operated in the normal manner of
intended use.

A-1
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix A:Health & Safety Certification

References
1. Questions and answers about biological effects and potential hazards of radio-
frequency electromagnetic field.
USA Federal Communications Commission, Office of Engineering &

Technology OET Bulletin 56

(Contains many references and web sites)

2. Evaluation Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radio Frequency
Electromagnetic Fields.
USA Federal Communications Commission, Office of Engineering &

Technology OET Bulletin 56

(Contains many references and web sites)

3. USA Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations paragraph 1910.67 and
1910.263

A-2
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

Appendix B: GPR Emissions, Interference and

Regulations
All governments have regulations on the level of electromagnetic emissions that an electronic
apparatus can emit. The objective is to assure that one apparatus or device does not interfere
with any other apparatus or device in such a way as to make the other apparatus non-
functional.
The manufacturer tests their GPR products using independent professional testing houses and
comply with latest regulations of the USA, Canada, European Community, and other major
jurisdictions on the matter of emissions.
Electronic devices have not always been designed for proper immunity. If a GPR instrument is
placed in close proximity to an electronic device, interference may occur. While there have
been no substantiated reports of interference to date, if any unusual behavior is observed on
nearby devices, test if the disturbance starts and stops when the GPR instrument is turned on
and off. If interference is confirmed, stop using the GPR.
Where specific jurisdictions have specific GPR guidelines, these are described below.

B-1 FCC Regulations

This device complies with Part 15 of the USA Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Rules. Operation in the USA is subject to the following two conditions:
this device may not cause harmful interference and

this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Part 15 – User Information

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
where applicable, and for an ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) device where applicable, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his/her own
expense.
WARNING
Changes or Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user’s
authority to operate the equipment.
Certification of this equipment has been carried out using approved cables and peripheral
devices. The use of non-approved or modified cables and peripheral devices constitutes a
Change or Modification outlined in the warning above.
Operating Restrictions
Operation of this device is limited to purposes associated with law enforcement, firefighting,
emergency rescue, scientific research, commercial mining, or construction. Parties operating
this equipment must be eligible for licensing under the provisions of Part 90 of this chapter.
FCC Interpretation of Operation Restrictions issued July 12, 2002
(FCC Order DA02-1658, paragraph 9)

B-1
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

The regulations contain restrictions on the parties that are eligible to operate imaging systems
(See 47 C.F.R. 5.509(b), 15.511(b), and 15.513(b)). Under the new regulations, GPRs and wall
imaging systems may be used only by law enforcement, fire and emergency rescue
organizations, by scientific research institutes, by commercial mining companies, and by
construction companies. Since the adoption of the Order, we have received several inquiries
from the operators of GPRs and wall imaging systems noting that these devices often are not
operated by the users listed in the regulations but are operated under contract by personnel
specifically trained in the operation of these devices. We do not believe that the recent adoption
of the UWB rules should disrupt the critical safety services that can be performed effectively
only through the use of GPRs and wall imaging systems. We viewed these operating
restrictions in the broadest of terms. For example, we believe that the limitation on the use of
GPRs and wall imaging systems by construction companies encompasses the inspection of
buildings, roadways, bridges and runways even if the inspection finds no damage to the
structure and construction does not actually result from the inspection; the intended purpose of
the operation of the UWB device is to determine if construction is required. We also believe that
the GPRs and wall imaging systems may be operated for one of the purposes described in the
regulations but need not be operated directly by one of the described parties. For example, a
GPR may be operated by a private company investigating forensic evidence for a local police
department.
FCC Permitted Mode of Usage

The GPR antenna must be kept on the surface to be in compliance with FCC regulations. Use
of the antenna is not permitted if it is lifted off the surface. Use as a through-the-wall imaging
device is prohibited.
GPR Use Coordination
FCC regulation 15.525(c) (updated in February 2007) requires users of GPR equipment to
coordinate the use of their GPR equipment as described below:
TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION
CHAPTER I--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
PART 15_RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES
Subpart F_Ultra-Wideband Operation Sec.
15.525 Coordination requirements.
(a) UWB imaging systems require coordination through the FCC before the equipment may
be used. The operator shall comply with any constraints on equipment usage resulting from this
coordination.
(b) The users of UWB imaging devices shall supply operational areas to the FCC Office of
Engineering and Technology, which shall coordinate this information with the Federal
Government through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The
information provided by the UWB operator shall include the name, address and other pertinent
contact information of the user, the desired geographical area(s) of operation, and the FCC ID
number and other nomenclature of the UWB device. If the imaging device is intended to be
used for mobile applications, the geographical area(s) of operation may be the state(s) or
county(ies) in which the equipment will be operated. The operator of an imaging system used
for fixed operation shall supply a specific geographical location or the address at which the
equipment will be operated. This material shall be submitted to:
Frequency Coordination Branch, OET
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C.
20554
Attn: UWB Coordination

B-2
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

(Sensors & Software Inc. Note: The form given on the following page is a suggested format for
performing the coordination.)
(c) The manufacturers, or their authorized sales agents, must inform purchasers and users of
their systems of the requirement to undertake detailed coordination of operational areas with the
FCC prior to the equipment being operated.
(d) Users of authorized, coordinated UWB systems may transfer them to other qualified users
and to different locations upon coordination of change of ownership or location to the FCC and
coordination with existing authorized operations.
(e) The FCC/NTIA coordination report shall identify those geographical areas within which the
operation of an imaging system requires additional coordination or within which the operation of
an imaging system is prohibited. If additional coordination is required for operation within
specific geographical areas, a local coordination contact will be provided. Except for operation
within these designated areas, once the information requested on the UWB imaging system is
submitted to the FCC no additional coordination with the FCC is required provided the reported
areas of operation do not change. If the area of operation changes, updated information shall be
submitted to the FCC following the procedure in paragraph (b) of this section.
(f) The coordination of routine UWB operations shall not take longer than 15 business days
from the receipt of the coordination request by NTIA. Special temporary operations may be
handled with an expedited turn-around time when circumstances warrant. The operation of
UWB systems in emergency situations involving the safety of life or property may occur without
coordination provided a notification procedure, similar to that contained in Sec. 2.405(a) through
(e) of this chapter, is followed by the UWB equipment user.[67 FR 34856, May 16, 2002, as
amended at 68 FR 19751, Apr. 22, 2003]
Effective Date Note: At 68 FR 19751, Apr. 22, 2003, Sec. 15.525 was amended by revising
[[Page 925]] paragraphs (b) and (e). This amendment contains information collection and
recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the
Office of Management and Budget.

B-3
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

FCC GROUND PENETRATING RADAR COORDINATION NOTICE

NAME:
ADDRESS:
CONTACT INFORMATION [CONTACT NAME AND PHONE NUMBER]:
AREA OF OPERATION [COUNTIES, STATES OR LARGER AREAS]:
FCC ID: QJQ-NG250
EQUIPMENT NOMENCLATURE: NG250

Send the information to:

Frequency Coordination Branch., OET
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
ATTN: UWB Coordination
Fax: 202-418-1944

INFORMATION PROVIDED IS DEEMED CONFIDENTIAL

B-4
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

B-2 ETSI Regulations for the EC (European Community)

In the European Community (EC), GPR instruments must conform to ETSI (European Technical
Standards Institute) standard EN 302 066-1 v1.2.1. Details on individual country requirements
for licensing are coordinated with this standard. For more information, contact Sensors &
Software’s technical staff.
All Sensors & Software ground penetrating radar (GPR) products offered for sale in European
Community countries or countries adhering to ETSI standards are tested to comply with EN 302
066 v1.2.1.
For those who wish to get more detailed information, they should acquire copies of the following
documents available from ETSI.
ETSI EN 302 066-1 V1.2.1 (February 2008) Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum
Matters (ERM); Ground and Wall- Probing Radar applications (GPR/WPR) imaging systems;
Part 1: Technical characteristics and test methods
ETSI EN 302 066-2 V1.2.1 (February 2008) Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum
Matters (ERM); Ground and Wall- Probing Radar applications (GPR/WPR) imaging systems;
Part 2: Harmonized EN covering essential requirements of article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI TR 101 994-2 V1.1.2 (March 2008) Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum
Matters (ERM); Short Range Devices (SRD); Technical characteristics for SRD equipment using
Ultra Wide Band technology (UWB); Part 2: Ground- and Wall- Probing Radar applications;
System Reference Document

B-5
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

B-3a Industry Canada Regulations - English

Industry Canada published it regulations for ground penetrating radar (GPR) on Mar 29, 2009
as part of the RSS-220 titled 'Devices Using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology'.
Industry Canada has made a unique exception for GPR by not requiring user licensing. The
user does have to comply with the following directives:
This Ground Penetrating Radar Device shall be operated only when in contact with or within 1 m
of the ground.
This Ground Penetrating Radar Device shall be operated only by law enforcement agencies,
scientific research institutes, commercial mining companies, construction companies, and
emergency rescue or firefighting organizations.
Should the ground penetrating radar be used in a wall-penetrating mode then the following
restriction should be noted by the user:
This In-wall Radar Imaging Device shall be operated where the device is directed at the wall
and in contact with or within 20 cm of the wall surface.
This In-wall Radar Imaging Device shall be operated only by law enforcement agencies,
scientific research institutes, commercial mining companies, construction companies, and
emergency rescue or firefighting organizations.
Since operation of GPR is on a license-exempt basis, the user must accept the following:
Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause interference,
and (2) this device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause
undesired operation of the device.

B-6
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

B-3b Règlement d'Industrie Canada - Français

Industrie Canada a publié des règlements pour les appareils géoradar (GPR) le 29 mars 2009,
dans le cadre du RSS-220 intitulé "Dispositifs utilisant la bande ultra-large (UWB)".
Industrie Canada a faite une exception unique pour GPR en n'exigeant pas de licence par
utilisateur. L'utilisateur doit se conformer aux directives suivantes:
Ce géoradar périphérique doit être utilisé que lorsqu'il est en contact avec ou moins de 1 m du
sol.
Ce géoradar périphérique doit être utilisé que par les organisations d'application de la loi, les
instituts de recherche scientifique, des sociétés minières commerciales, entreprises de
construction et de secours d'urgence ou des organisations de lutte contre les incendies.
Si le géoradar est utilisé dans un mode de pénétration au mur, la restriction suivante est à noter
par l'utilisateur:
Ce dispositif d'imagerie radar doit être utilisé lorsque l'appareil est orienté vers le mur et en
contact avec ou dans les 20 cm de la surface du mur.
Ce dispositif d'imagerie radar doit être utilisé que par les organisations d'application de la loi, les
instituts de recherche scientifique, des sociétés minières commerciales, entreprises de
construction et de secours d'urgence ou des organisations de lutte contre les incendies.
Parce que l'exploitation de GPR est sur une base exempte de licence, l'utilisateur doit accepter
le texte suivant:
La fonctionnement est soumis aux deux conditions suivantes: (1) cet appareil ne peut pas
provoquer d'interférences et (2) cet appareil doit accepter toute interférence, y compris les
interférences qui peuvent causer un mauvais fonctionnement du dispositive

B-7
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix B:GPR Emissions, Interference and Regulations

B-8
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix C:Instrument Interference

Appendix C: Instrument Interference

Immunity regulations place the onus on instrument/apparatus/device manufacturers to assure
that extraneous interference will not unduly cause an instrument/apparatus/device to stop
functioning or to function in a faulty manner.
Based on independent testing house measurements, Sensors & Software Inc. systems comply
with such regulations in Canada, USA, European Community and most other jurisdictions. GPR
devices can sense electromagnetic fields. External sources of electromagnetic fields such as
TV stations, radio stations and cell phones, can cause signals detectable by a GPR which may
degrade the quality of the data that a GPR device records and displays.
Such interference is unavoidable but sensible survey practice and operation by an experienced
GPR practitioner can minimize such problems. In some geographic areas emissions from
external sources may be so large as to preclude useful measurements. Such conditions are
readily recognized and accepted by the professional geophysical community as a fundamental
limitation of geophysical survey practice. Such interference being present in the GPR
recordings is not considered as an equipment fault or as a failure to comply with immunity
regulations.

C-1
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix C:Instrument Interference

C-2
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix D:Safety around Explosive Devices

Appendix D: Safety around Explosive Devices

Concerns are expressed from time to time on the hazard of GPR products being used near
blasting caps and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Experience with blasting caps indicates that the
power of Sensors & Software Inc.’s GPR products is not sufficient to trigger blasting caps.
Based on a conservative independent testing house analysis, we recommend keeping the GPR
transmitters at least 5 feet (2m) from blasting cap leads as a precaution. Some customers do
experimental trials with their particular blasting devices to confirm with safety. We strongly
recommend that GPR users routinely working with explosive devices develop a systematic
safety methodology in their work areas.
The UXO issue is more complex and standards on fuses do not exist for obvious reasons. To
date, no problems have been reported with any geophysical instrument used for UXO. Since
proximity and vibration are also critical for UXO, the best advice is to be cautious and
understand the risks.

D-1
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix D:Safety around Explosive Devices

D-2
Noggin User’s Guide Appendix E:Wi-Fi Module

Appendix E: Wi-Fi Module

FCC Notice:
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the
user will be required to correct the interference at his/her own expense.

Industry Canada Notice:

This device complies with Industry Canada’s license-exempt RSSs. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interference; and
(2) This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired
operation of the device.

E-1