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UEC-2B
UEC-2B is the first of the second generation UEC devises to be deployed. The UEC-2X series have oil-compensated electronics bays and a microprocessor for data-collection and experiment control. We are currently experimenting with different microprocessors, power supply options, and hardware layouts to find the best design. UEC-2B went to sea aboard NR-1 during the last week of April 1999.   During the initial deployment of UEC-2B only the lower bay had electronics, so only it was compensated with oil.  The upper bay was allowed to free-flood with seawater.

UEC-2A was used for testing it revealed a number of design flaws that lead to the improvements for UEC-2B.

Photos and specifics of UEC-2A

UEC-2B currently setup to log temperature and pressure, and store the data in a four (4) channel data logger by Onset Computer.

UEC-2B before deployment on Submarine NR-1 at the end of April 1999.

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The equipment first deployed on the UEC-2B.  The D cell batteries power the data logger and temperature transducer.  The12 volt lead-acid battery pair power the pressure transducer drive circuit.  The power supply to this can be much smaller. Due to time constraints we took the brute force solution to the problem.

We could not  find a pressure transducer designed for a  fully immersed environment which was not custom built costing multiple hundreds of dollars. So we bought a standard (and cheap) transducer, and ran it in the opposite direction for which it was designed.  This necessitated building our own driving/amplifying circuit (built by Jeff Brown).

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The backside of the 2B unit showing the improved bleeder valve (used to bleed the air out of the bay during filling), and the compensation bladder (tygon tubing).  The tubing is also used to fill the bay.  The tubing is slightly compressed by the rubber band, keeping the internal pressure slightly higher then ambient pressure.

The Pro/Engineer model of UEC-2B with the lower access panel removed.

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Midshipman Harness testing components with a pressure chambers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Midshipman Chouinard prepares a large test sample of components in the MIT Hobby Shop prior to their  pressure testing at Electric Boat.

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A few hours before delivery to NR-1, UEC-2B receives its instructions about the data sample rate and start date/time from Midshipman Cortesi's computer. After the data logger is programmed, Midshipman Cortesi fills the lower bay of the 2B unit with mineral oil.

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Originally the upper bay in UEC-2B was not going to be used during its first deployment.  But there was a last second addition to manifest... Twinkies after their deployment to a maximum depth of 2890 feet.  This shows that twinkies should not be used for marine structural elements.