Olex seabed mapping system installation and service in Busan
NAVION installs, upgrades and services Olex seabed mapping and plotter systems on vessels calling at Busan, as an Olex dealer. That covers new machines, licence and module handling, PC and disk replacement with migration of the accumulated seabed data, sounder and GPS interfacing, software upgrades and backup. The work is planned around the port call, with the seabed database protected before anything on the machine is touched.
An Olex machine is only partly a plotter. What matters on board is the seabed map the vessel has built from its own soundings, tow after tow, sometimes over a decade: contours, hardness and the fastenings that were found the hard way. NAVION is an Olex dealer, and most of our Olex work in Busan is about protecting that data set while the hardware and software around it are renewed - new installations, licence and module changes, disk and PC replacement, software upgrades, and repair of the interfaces that feed the map.
For owners running sister vessels we set up map export and import so ground worked up on one boat can be carried to another. Before we leave, the skipper or mate gets a walk-through of what we changed, how to run the backup without us, and where the data lives - a backup nobody on board knows how to repeat is not a backup. We work alongside at Gamcheon fishing port, in the Yeongdo repair yards and at Busan New Port, and travel to other yards on request.
What the job includes
- New Olex installation and commissioning — Fanless PC or panel unit mounted at the console, DC or inverter supply, monitor and trackball sited for the watchkeeper, then full input commissioning.
- Licence, ITI, 3D and Water Column modules — Activation of new licences, adding modules to an existing machine, and re-issue when the PC or key is replaced. Handled as an Olex dealer.
- Sounder, GPS and heading interfacing — NMEA 0183 depth, position and heading landed on serial or USB-to-serial ports, baud and telegram selection checked, wiring and grounding corrected.
- Depth offset, draft and tide settings — Transducer and draft offsets and tidal correction set so passes taken at different tides and loadings overlay instead of stepping.
- Seabed database backup — Full copy of the accumulated map to an external drive, checked by restoring and opening known ground, with the drive left on board.
- PC or disk replacement with data migration — Old machine or failing HDD replaced, seabed data migrated to the new PC or SSD, coverage compared against the original before anything is erased.
- Olex software upgrade — Version step-up with the previous disk or image retained, module behaviour checked afterwards, rollback possible within the same port call.
- Map exchange between sister vessels — Export and import of worked-up ground so a fleet shares one map instead of each skipper starting from blank water.
- Fault-finding on a corrupted or gapped map — Spikes, gaps, offset tracks and stalled logging traced to sounder noise, missing heading, antenna offset, full disks or dying hardware.
- Onboard training and handover — Walk-through with the skipper or mate on settings, layers, hardness display and running the backup unaided.
Timing
Olex work is planned to finish inside the port call. Backup always runs first, so if the call is cut short the vessel sails with its seabed data secured even when the rest of the job has to wait for the next visit. Ranges below are typical, not guaranteed - a corrupted database, a dead disk or wiring that has to be replaced will move them.
- Backup of an existing seabed database
- typically 30-90 minutes
- Software upgrade and module activation
- typically 2-4 hours
- PC or disk swap with data migration
- typically 3-6 hours alongside
- Fault-finding on inputs or map data
- typically 2-5 hours
- New installation and full interfacing
- typically 1-2 days
What we need from the vessel
- Access to the wheelhouse console and to the cable routes behind it, with the chart table clear enough to open the machine.
- Vessel supply at the console - 24 V DC or 230 V through the inverter - live during the work.
- Echosounder, GPS and gyro or satellite compass powered, so each input can be proved rather than assumed.
- Skipper or mate available to identify known ground for the restore check and to take the handover.
- Existing licence details, keys and any original media on board, or sent to us in advance.
- A wheelhouse period without hot work, welding smoke or deck crane movements over the antennas.
Documents issued
- Interface record listing every port, telegram, baud rate and the depth, draft and antenna offsets entered.
- Backup drive with a dated copy of the seabed database, handed to the master.
- Licence and module record showing software version and which modules are active on the machine.
- Before and after screenshots of the settings pages we changed.
- Service report describing the work done, parts fitted and anything left outstanding for the next call.
Photographs of this work are being prepared.
Frequently asked
Will the vessel lose its seabed map if the Olex PC is replaced?
Not if the existing disk is still readable. We back the seabed database up to an external drive first, restore it onto the new machine, then open known ground and compare coverage and depths against the old machine before the original disk is released. If the disk has already failed, recovery can be attempted but nothing can be promised - which is why we would rather take a backup on a routine call than a recovery job on a broken one.
Are you an Olex dealer, or do you only service the equipment?
NAVION is an Olex dealer. That covers supply of new systems, licences and feature modules such as ITI, 3D and Water Column, as well as installation, upgrades and service on machines already fitted.
Can a module be added to a machine that is already on board?
Yes. Modules are unlocked against the machine's licence, so send us the software version and licence identity in advance and the activation is usually a short job. ITI additionally needs the trawl instrumentation feed to be present and correctly wired, which we check at the same visit.
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