A new state of the art digital hydrophone calibration lab, the only one known of its kind, has been commissioned at the Ocean Sonics office in Great Village, NS.
The traditional analog approach to calibrating hydrophones is a tricky and demanding task. Digital hydrophone calibration greatly simplifies the calibration process.
The separate wood framed lab sits above the ground to isolate it acoustically. A Faraday cage shields instruments from electromagnetic radiation that could interfere with low signal measurement. Power is isolated from the main building and the data is wired to the main building to allow remote operation.
The lab facility features a large test tank with room to fit multiple icListen Smart Hydrophones and an icTalk Smart Projector as the sound source. Each icListen hydrophone comes with a calibration certificate indicating when it was tested and the result. Ocean Sonics recommends returning the hydrophone unit for recalibration every two years.
The goal of the calibration lab is to raise calibration standards and continuous product improvement. As digital hydrophones become more common, Ocean Sonics will welcome new calibration standards as they are developed, and indeed the company hopes to be a part of standards development for these instruments.