Description

TRX32 (303088) — Multi-Frequency Transceiver Board

Product Overview

The TRX32, ordered from Kongsberg Maritime under the spare part number 303088, is the 32-channel multi-frequency transmitter and receiver circuit board at the heart of the HiPAP® underwater acoustic positioning system. Kongsberg’s own HiPAP® 501/451/351/101 instruction manual identifies the board as a transmitter/receiver (transceiver) circuit board, and lists 303088 as “PCB TRX32, 501” in the recommended spare parts tables for the 501, 451, 351, and 101 system variants — the designation confirming that this is the field-replaceable transceiver board, not a filter or power unit.

The board’s role in the system is the acoustic pulse chain itself: it generates the multi-frequency transmit signals that drive the transducer, and it receives and digitizes the returning echoes from transponders, beacons, and targets on the seabed. Up to eight TRX32 boards can be fitted in a transceiver unit of the Model x81 class, depending on system configuration, giving the HiPAP system the channel capacity and frequency agility it uses for high-precision, sub-degree positioning of ROVs, towed bodies, and offshore structures.

Built for the marine environment, the board is normally covered by a protection, screening, and strengthening plate over most of its component side, and is locked in position by two board ejectors — a design that treats the TRX32 as a Line Replaceable Unit (LRU), replaceable in the field without soldering or special tools. For a vessel running HiPAP positioning, 303088 is therefore one of the most important boards in the transceiver cabinet, and a documented spare in the Kongsberg parts system.

Technical Specifications

参数名称	参数值
Product Model	TRX32 (303088)
Manufacturer	Kongsberg Maritime, Norway
Product Type	32-channel multi-frequency transmitter/receiver circuit board
System	HiPAP® 501 / 451 / 351 / 101 acoustic positioning
Spare Part ID	303088 — PCB TRX32, 501 (per Kongsberg spares list)
Channels	32 channels, multi-frequency transmit and receive
Communication	Ethernet to host computer (broadcast or individually addressed commands)
Fuses	F1: 12 V / 4 A / 250 V; F2: 6 V / 4 A / 250 V
Energy Reserve	Capacitor battery: 11 × 3,900 µF = 42,900 µF
Front Panel	Ethernet LEDs (LINK / SPEED / ACTIVITY), power and IO indicators, switches SW1/SW2
Sync Inputs	External trigger, CLK20MHZ, TXENABLE, decimation clock
Configuration	Up to 8 boards per transceiver unit (Model x81)
Mounting	LRU with board ejectors; protection/screening plate

TRX32 303088

Key Features and Advantages

The acoustic heart of HiPAP positioning: The TRX32 does the system’s fundamental work — generating multi-frequency transmit pulses and receiving the faint return echoes from subsea transponders and targets. Everything downstream of the board, from beamforming to positioning accuracy, depends on the fidelity of this transceiver stage, which is why it is specified as a 32-channel, multi-frequency design rather than a simple signal conditioner.

Deterministic transmit timing: The board accepts external synchronization through the CLK20MHZ, TXENABLE, and decimation clock inputs, so the transmit cycle can be triggered by an external hardware signal and synchronized precisely with other equipment. In a positioning system where timing errors translate directly into range and position errors, this deterministic behavior is a measurable accuracy advantage.

Field-replaceable by design: As a Line Replaceable Unit with two board ejectors and a protective screening plate, the TRX32 is built to be swapped in the transceiver cabinet without soldering — remove the front cables, operate the ejectors, and seat the replacement. For a vessel working offshore, this is the difference between an hour of downtime and a dry-dock event.

Power integrity you can verify: The board carries its own fuses (12 V / 4 A and 6 V / 4 A) and a capacitor battery of 42,900 µF, and the manual’s troubleshooting guidance is concrete: a single board with its power LED off points to a blown fuse on that board, while all boards dark points to the rack’s power supply. Fault isolation is designed into the hardware.

Self-evident health indication: Front-panel Ethernet LEDs report LINK, SPEED (100 Mbit/s), and ACTIVITY, and the IO LED group includes the TXENABLE indicator — so a quick visual round confirms both the board’s communication state and whether the transmit enable signal is active, without opening the cabinet instrumentation.

Scalable to the system: Because up to eight TRX32 boards can populate a Model x81 transceiver unit, the platform grows with the requirement — more boards, more channels, more frequency capability — while every board remains the same stocked spare 303088.

Application Areas

The TRX32 operates inside the Kongsberg HiPAP® 501/451/351/101 acoustic positioning systems used wherever a vessel or rig must know the exact position of a subsea object: tracking ROVs during inspection and intervention work, positioning towed bodies and towfish in survey operations, and providing the reference for drilling and construction activities offshore.

The board serves the full pulse chain of these applications — transmit, receive, and echo processing — with the multi-frequency capability that lets the system maintain lock in varying water depths and acoustic conditions. In long-baseline and cabled positioning configurations the same transceiver hardware supports the transponder and beacon interrogation that the position reference depends on.

For the maintenance side of offshore operations, the TRX32 appears in the recommended spares list of the HiPAP 501, 451, 351, and 101 manuals — a recognition that the board is a wear-and-service item of the positioning system. Vessels that run cabled or wire-guided positioning carry 303088 as a documented LRU spare, keeping the acoustic positioning reference operational between service intervals and reducing the risk of prolonged downtime during critical subsea work.

Installation and Maintenance

Installation preparation: Before handling the TRX32, switch off the transceiver unit at the main breaker and switch off power to the connected display, transceiver, and motion-sensor units. Note the locations of all front-mounted cables — including the Ethernet cable — and remove them before loosening the board. Press the red knob on the board ejectors, push the top ejector up and the bottom ejector down to free the board, then lift it out of the rack. Seat the replacement 303088 by aligning it with the guide rails, lock it with the ejectors (top handle down, bottom handle up), and re-insert the front-mounted cables before reapplying power. Confirm the board’s switches (SW1, SW2) match the configuration record, since they select the firmware PROM revision.

Maintenance advice: Use the front-panel LEDs as the first health check — the Ethernet LINK LED should flash green to confirm communication with the switch, and the power indicator must be on. If one TRX32 board shows no power LED, check its fuses (F1: 12 V / 4 A, F2: 6 V / 4 A) first; if all boards in the rack are dark, the problem is the power supply unit, not the boards. Perform the visual inspection routine at the manual’s recommended intervals, and clean or replace the screening plate as required. Keep 303088 as a stocked LRU spare with the matching filter board and power supplies, and record each board’s configuration and firmware settings so a field replacement restores the transceiver to its documented state.

Product Warranty

The TRX32 (303088) is supplied as a new or tested-surplus board with warranty covering materials, workmanship, and functional verification against Kongsberg’s transceiver specifications. Because 303088 is the documented LRU spare for the HiPAP 501, 451, 351, and 101 systems, replacement boards, matching filter boards, and power supply units remain available through the marine electronics supply chain, and technical guidance covers configuration, LED-based fault isolation, and installation procedures from the official instruction manual. For vessels and offshore operations running HiPAP positioning, this makes the TRX32 a dependable, documented spare that keeps the acoustic positioning system operational through the equipment’s full service life.