The Instrument Locator System (ILS) is a low-cost, easy-to-implement, stand-alone unit for recovering equipment or instrumentation at sea. The system attaches to any equipment that surfaces upon recovery. Once at the surface, the ILS sends GPS coordinates to a laptop and base station aboard the vessel within one minute. The laptop displays a graphic of the ship, a dot shows the current position of the instrument with latitude/longitude displayed, breadcrumbs to show the effects of local currents, the distance the instrument is from the ship and the relative bearing from the ship. The ship can begin maneuvering towards the instrument before it is in sight. The system requires no subscription or satellite connection but instead uses an unlimited encrypted non-licensed radio band. The battery is rechargeable via USB. The expected battery life on the ocean bottom is one year. Effective distance is at least 6 kilometers. The software comes with the system.
Background: Efficient recoveries begin with locating the deployed equipment quickly, even in unfavorable weather conditions. Unfortunately, weather and sea state can make recovering equipment at sea a challenge. Typical recovery operations utilize radio beacons, flashers, and flags. While all these aids may be helpful, weather conditions can still make them hard to find
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