EX-6 Distributed Exploration Seismograph

APPLICATIONS

The EX-6 Explorer is a versatile, cost-effective seismic data acquisition system intended for high resolution 2D and 3D reflection surveys. The system combines 24-bit A/D performance in a rugged six-channel box that supports 600 channels of real-time seismic data acquisition in single line operation, and up to 2400 channels on 32 lines in Multiline (3D) operation.

The main elements of the EX-6 system are the Windows laptop running the EX-6 System Software, the EX-6 Acquisition Units (AU), Line Tap Units (LTU), AUX unit, and Line Interface Unit (LIU). AUs are connected together with eight-pair spread cables with six geophone takeouts between boxes and may be distributed arbitrarily around the LTU. New boxes are automatically recognized and addressed by the EX-6 System Software, making the system easy to expand.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE

126 Channel Single Line Shot

The EX-6 System Software runs under Windows Vista or XP and controls all aspects of data collection, display, storage and printing. The program offers many features, such as dockable toolbars, Explorer style fileviewer and context-sensitive right mouse support, while using the built-in networking facilities of Windows to control operation of the system.

The EX-6 allows you to view the data the way you prefer. Convenient on-screen controls make it easy to expand or contract the seismic data display, scroll to a region of interest, and adjust the trace size. Acquired data may be viewed in wiggle trace, shaded area, and solid variable area, and can be clipped or inverted, low or high pass filtered, and AGC'd with adjustable mute. The frequency and period of signals can be easily measured by clicking on the events of interest and velocity lines with multiple segments can be dragged into position to measure the velocity of reflectors and can also serve as guides during firstbreak picking.

For reflection shooting, the EX-6 has line management features such as auto roll, auto save, auto file increment, and a graphical line geometry display showing the shot point, roll direction, total number of channels on line, and active channel positions. And to keep the records straight, the system maintains a running history of all shooting activity in a shot log that can be easily viewed and edited by the operator. The spread may be rolled manually or automatically, and the Look Ahead function can be used to determine how many boxes are available for roll at the front and back of the spread. The system can sum up to 99 stacks, with the ability to unstack and restack after each shot and invert the polarity of stack for shearwave work.

For Vibroseis operation, the EX-6 provides AUX channels with independent preamp gain settings for recording the pilot sweep and fast, time-domain correlation for in field quality control.

FIELD TESTING 

CONTINUOUS RECORDING 

EXAMPLE FIELD ARRANGEMENTS

The pictures below illustrate four  different ways to configure the EX-6 in order of increasing complexity. The simplest is a single EX-6 Acquisition unit connected directly to a laptop with the most complicated system comprised of multiple lines with the recording unit controlling the spread through a Line Bridge Unit (LBU).

Single EX-6

Six Line, 972 Channel Multiline Spread with a Line Bridge Unit (LBU)

EX-6 ACQUISITION UNIT

The Acquisition Unit (AU) is the backbone of the EX-6 system. They accurately amplify and digitize the low-level seismic signals and store and transmit the seismic data back to the laptop for display and permanent storage. The AU electronics are shock mounted in a rugged, cast aluminum enclosure and feature 24-bit A/D conversion on six channels, low-noise preamps with four remotely selectable gains, sample rates of 1/8, ¼, ½, 1, 2 and 4 ms, and record lengths up to 64 seconds per channel. Each AU has 512K of RAM for data buffering and supports real-time operation at 2ms sample rate with 600 active channels on a single line.

The AU has several power-saving modes that are easily controlled by the operator. When boxes are initially connected to the spread, they are in standby drawing a minimal amount of power waiting for commands from the operator. After recording data, boxes can return to low-power idle mode or be kept powered up for continuous shooting. During move-up, or other crew activity, a single click by the operator places the spread in standby which reduces power consumption to about 45ma per box.
Two LED status indicators on each AU provide a visual indication of the line connection status and operation of the box. When a box is connected to the spread, the LED status indicator flashes to verify the integrity of the cable connection to the adjacent box, which greatly aids in the proper connection of boxes and cables and in troubleshooting any faults without operator intervention.

LINE TAP UNIT (LTU)

In single line systems, the LTU allows the recording unit to be connected anywhere in the spread. In Multiline systems, the LTU provides line-to-line communication.
		Multiline System
		Single Line System

LINE INTERFACE UNIT (LIU)

The LIU provides system-wide triggering and increased distance between the recording vehicle and the spread. The LIU is usually permanently mounted inside the recording vehicle and interfaces to the radio shooting equipment.

Alternatively, an AUX unit (EX-6 AU programmed as an AUX) may be used in place of the LIU to supply triggering and analog auxiliary channels to the system. The auxiliary channels can be used to record signals from the shooting equipment such as the pilot sweep in Vibroseis surveys.

BP-2 BATTERY PACK

The BP-2 battery pack has a capacity of 10AH and can run the EX-6 for up to three days of recording.

BC-10 BATTERY CHARGER

The BC-10 is a three-stage smart charger with ten independent charging stations for charging the BP-2 battery packs or other 12v Gel-Cel batteries. It is housed in a waterproof case and runs from 110/220 volts 50/60Hz. There are two LEDs for each battery station that indicate the state of charge.

EX-12 Seismograph
Seistronix introduces the EX-12 exploration seismograph. The EX-12 is a distributed system based on the technology used in the EX-6. With 12 channels per box, the EX-12 reduces the the number of boxes, cables and batteries by half. Read more here

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