With the help of a neat diagram, define gyroscope.

What are the

properties of gyroscope?
Why gyro compass is more accurate than magnetic compass?
What is a Gyro Compass? What is the basic use of gyro repeaters?
Define gyroscopic inertia. Define precision.
Syllabus: Describe the principle of Gyro compass and Gyro, Repeaters

A gyrocompass makes uses of a gyroscope to find true north. A gyrocompass

uses an electrically powered, fast-spinning gyroscope wheel which as three
degrees of freedom. These are freedom to spin about the spin axis, freedom to
tilt about horizontal and freedom to drift and turn in azimuth about a vertical
axis. A gyroscope makes uses of frictional and other forces in order to exploit
basic physical laws and the rotation of the Earth. Gyrocompasses are widely used
on ships.
Marine gyrocompasses have two main advantages over magnetic compasses:

They find true north, i.e., the point of the Earth's rotational axis on the
Earth's surface, as opposed to magnetic north, an extremely important
aspect in navigation,
They are unaffected by external magnetic fields which deflect normal
compasses.

A gyroscope is a spinning wheel or rotor

suspended in lightweight supporting rings called
gimbals to give three degrees of freedom.
1.

freedom to spin about the spin axis,(spin

axis)

2. freedom to turn about the horizontal axis ,

(torque axis)
3. (freedom to drift about the vertical axis.
(precession axis)

When the rotor is spun at a high speed the gyroscope has the ability to stay
stable which is indicated by the axis of the rotors pointing in a fixed direction,
even if the outside ring change the state. The gyroscope points in one fixed
direction which is whenever it is initially set and will continue to point in the
same direction. However when the gyroscope is fitted with additional controlling
elements it becomes north seeking gyroscope and it will point to true north.

Properties of a free gyroscope:

A basic gyroscope can point to any fixed direction. In order to turn a gyroscope
into a gyrocompass, gyroscopic inertia, precision, earths rotation and gravity are
utilized.

1.Gyroscopic inertia or rigidity in space.

Once a free gyrosco pe is set spinning it will maintain fixed direction in space as
long as there are no disturbing forces. However, due to the rotation of the earth
on its axis, the axle of the gyroscope will seem to drift (horizontally) and tilt
(vertically).
2.Precession
This is the tendency of spin axis of a gyroscope to move
degree if a force is applied to the axle .

at an angle of 90

Spinning gyroscope with its spin axis in East West direction will have East end
apparently rising due to rotation of earth. In order to counteract the rise of east
end , a weight called ballistics- reservoirs filled with mercury I s added to this
end and it will presses the gyro in the other direction causing an imbalance. This
end will presses until the opposite end comes to east and also starts to rise. At
this point another weight is added to this end and the above process is repeated.
Eventually the spin axis aligns itself with the meridian or in other words points to
true north once settled.

GYRO REPEATERS
Gyro repeaters mounted on the bridge wings are located in stands somewhat
similar to the binnacle. These instruments display directional information on the
basis of electrical signals received from the ship's master gyrocompass. Gyro
repeaters on the bridge wings are used in taking bearings on objects outside the
ship.
The master gyro is located at a central place and is not suitable for taking
bearings of objects. We therefore have repeaters which give the same direction
as the master gyro. These repeaters could be digital as well.

ECHOSOUNDER

The echo sounding equipment or more commonly called as echo sounder

is an electronic equipment which uses sound propagation technique to
provide reliable information on depth of water under a ship to aid
navigation in particular in shallow water.

A short pulse of sound energy

(acoustic
pulses)
are
transmitted vertically down
from the ship and reflected
back as echo after striking the
seabed. The time taken for the
return of echo depends upon
the depth of water and speed
of sound through water.
The sound speed in water for the purpose of calculation is taken as 1500
m/s.
As per performance standards by IMO, the equipment is able to perform
for ship speed ranging from zero to 30 kts and it should be capable of
measuring any clearance between 2m and 200m.

PARTS OF ECHO SOUNDER

1. Display Unit: This is located on the navigational bridge. The display
unit can be a paper recording type or digital display type. Main
function of this unit is to record and display the depth after
measuring.
2. Pulse Generator: This produces electrical pulses which are send to
Transducer. The pulse generator can be integrated into display unit
or completely separated depending upon manufacturer.
3. Transducer: This is located at the bottom of ship in a tank known as
transducer compartment. The transducer converts electrical pulses
into sound waves (acoustic energy) at a frequency of 12 KHz to 200
KHz. An internal clock starts at this time. These pulses are directed
towards the sea bed with the help of transducer and when pulses
are reflected back from seabed, the transducer converts the
reflected sound waves into electrical pulses.

4. Amplifier:
The
electrical
signals
received
from
transducer
are
passed through an
amplifier to increase
the
strength
of
received signal. The
internal clock notes
the time when pulse
is returned and so
the time taken is
measured.

PHASING
In this arrangement the
speed of stylus motor is kept constant but the transmission point is advanced.
When the minimum range (0 to 100 meters) is selected the sensor 1 is used and
the delay circuit arrangement is such that the transmission occurs exactly when
the stylus passes the zero mark. The bottom scale of the paper will depend on
the speed of stylus motor and it is set to 100 meters. The speed of stylus
remains same as long as each range scale corresponds to similar difference of
depth
It is advisable to start the echo sounder at minimum range scale when phasing
facility is provided so that shallow depths are not missed.

CONTROLS OF ECHO SOUNDER

1.Range Switch to select the range between which the depth is be
checked e.g. 0- 50 m, 1 100 m, 100 200 m etc. Always check the
lowest range first before shifting to a higher range.
2.Unit selector switch to select the unit feet, fathoms or meter as
required.
3.Gain switch to adjust the sensitivity of the equipment. This is adjusted
such that the clearest echo line is recorded. Care should be taken not to
set it too high or too low. A setting with speckled background is considered
satisfactory. Too high a gain will blacken the display and too low gain may
not return enough echoes.

4. Auto: to adjust the range scale and clutter level according to depth. In
auto mode gain is adjusted automatically.
5.Paper speed control to select the speed of the paper usually two
speeds available.
6.Zero Adjustment or Draught setting control the echo sounder will
normally display the depth below the keel. This switch can be used to
feed the ships draught such that the echo sounder will display the total
sea depth. This switch is also used to adjust the start of the transmission
of the sound pulse to be in line with the zero of the scale in use.
7.Fix or event marker - this button is used to draw a line on the paper as
a mark to indicate certain time e.g. passing a navigational mark, when a
position is plotted on the chart etc.
8.Transducer changeover switch in case vessel has more than one switch
e.g. forward and aft transducer.
9.Dimmer to illuminate the display as required.