iWand is a rugged handheld acoustic testing and configuration unit, which you can use to do all of your Fetch pre-deployment tests. Make sure it’s charged up and then you’re ready to go.

Once your Fetch instrument and iWand are powered up, you first want to identify the Fetch and inspect its acoustic parameters.

Gently push the end of the ‘antenna’ onto the Fetch transducer and then select “Ping Check” from the iWand menu. You’ll see that the display has turned round so it’s not upside down.

Press ENT a couple of times to answer the questions, then iWand will try all the available communications bands until it gets a response. When you hear a chirping noise, that’s the Fetch answering a request from the iWand.

At this stage the iWand has auto-discovered the Fetch and it indicates the Fetch acoustic address on its display. A tip about the acoustic address – new instruments have their acoustic address printed on the label, but it can easily be changed by the user so it’s always best to check.

Take a note of the address as it is the key to talking to the instrument. Other basic information collected from a Fetch as part of a “Ping Check” are UID and battery capacity remaining. UID is the Unique Identifier that is different for every single Sonardyne instrument and cannot be changed. This is required for some operations (such as releasing from the seabed) to ensure that the operation can only affect the correct instrument.

The next thing to test are the sensors. Select “Quick Check” from the menu and the iWand will interrogate Fetch for its full status. On completion, select “View Sensors” to see the results.

If the readings can be seen in green, this means that the measurement is valid and less than 10 seconds old; if the readings are in orange, the measurement is more than 10 seconds old; and if the readings are in red, the measurement has been reported in error. You can hit refresh if the readings are not green the first time.

If the Fetch is fitted with a release you can also test that with the iWand by selecting “Test SCR Release”.

Basic testing of your Fetch using iWand is now complete, and you can use the iWand 6G Configurator app to generate a test report.

Note that AZA testing via the iWand can only be done using SAM software and PIES testing can only be done in water.

You find out how to perform basic testing for Fetch using an iWand by watching the video below.

Also, check out our other Fetch FAQs and videos for tips on testing and preparing Fetch for deployment.