Simrad/Kongsberg is a principal manufacturer of scientific echo sounder systems for underwater science and fishery research organizations all over the world.

Recently, the EK system has been used for a wider range of oceanographic applications, with the addition of ADCP functionality completing the picture.

The earlier EK systems included EK15 and EK60. These have been replaced by the EK80 family of scientific echo sounders. These days the EK80 products are used in a wide range of research vessels.

EK80 Portable Entry

The EK80 Portable Entry is all you need for ecosystem monitoring and analysis in one package – at a reasonable price.

EK80 Portable Entry bundle comprises:

• A rugged transceiver, WBT Mini
• Echoview post-processing module
• A transducer ES38-18/200-18

EK80 Family

The EK80 scientific echo sounder systems provide high‐quality target strength, target position, and volume backscattering strength measurements over a large dynamic range for a wide range of frequencies.

The EK80 Family comprises transceivers, transducers, EK80 software, and planning tools for all types of marine excavations using echo sounders.

At the heart of this family is the EK80 software which processes and displays the data from the acoustic signals transmitted by the echo sounder. The transceiver functionality is placed in various available products such as WBT, WBT Mini, WBT Tube, EK80 Portable, and Portable Entry. Each of these transceivers is used with one or more suitable transducers, except the EK80 Portable Entry which is delivered with an ES38/200-18 transducer.

For operating the EK echo sounders in autonomous mode the application EK Mission planner is available. This allows the user to plan and configure operations before deploying the system.

With the EC150-3C transducer, the EK80 repeats its performance as an innovative acoustic system. It combines the absolute backscatter measurements from the split-beam echo sounder with physical oceanographic measurements from the acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) beams. And it all happens in one single instrument.

(A) Display + Processor Unit
(B) Transceiver of the following types:
.: WBT Mini
.: WBT Tube
.: WBT
.: EC150-3C
(C) Transducers

EK80 Software

EK80 is a high-precision scientific echo sounder and ADCP system designed to quantify and monitor underwater ecosystems. The EK80 is a modular system capable of operating several different transceiver and transducer combinations, all through the same operator station.

A wide selection of high-quality accurate surface- and depth transceivers and transducers are available for a flexible system, capable of integration on sensor platforms from small to large.

Real-time echo integration and target strength analysis in an unlimited number of layers are provided as well as storage of raw data for replay or analysis in one of several post-processing software packages.

The Ocean Science product EK80 has a defined and publicly available output format which is specified in the product’s interface description. For post-processing of the output data we refer you to this documentation, or use commercially available software applications like for example Echoview.

(A) Top bar gives you fast access to key functionality and navigational information.
(B) Replay bar allows you to retrieve saved files and control the playback.
(C) Echogram views
(D) Information panes provide additional and detailed data from the EK80 presentation.
(E) Main menu system
(F) Secondary menus
(G) Bottom bar