Harris DLS Sonars Used at
Moosehead Lake in Maine

Maine and Connecticut State Police Dive teams conducted joint training under 28 inch thick ice in March near Greenville, Maine.  Harris was invited to join the exercise and was asked to provide training to the Maine troopers on our hand-held sonars.  Connecticut has one of our DLS-1’s and they have made it a key safety component of their under-ice equipment. 

The Maine divers used both the DLS-1 and DLS-3 sonars to search for a mannequin and a sunken snowmobile in 40 to 50 foot deep water of Moosehead Lake.  The Connecticut team showed Maine how they mount acoustic beacons on their under ice divers and have a rescue diver deploy with the DLS-1 in a passive mode.  The rescue diver can then locate the other divers and lead them to safety.

The Connecticut State Police Dive Team is an experienced user of our sonars, having owned a DLS-1 since early 1999.  They use the DLS-1 throughout the year, as conditions allow, assisting in search and recoveries of vehicles, bodies, and evidence.  The Maine divers are convinced that our sonars will be a useful tool for their missions and will be looking to use them this summer on an open ocean training exercise. [May 2006]

Harris Supports Fire Department
Dive Team Training

In April, Harris was invited to conduct hand held sonar training hosted by the Duxbury, MA Fire Department Dive Team.  In addition to the Duxbury team, divers from a number of South Shore communities participated. 

Most of these divers had responded to the December search of Great South Pond, Plymouth, MA, and saw how useful the Harris sonar was in aiding in the recovery of the two young drowning victims. 

After a short classroom session on theory of operation of the DLS-1 and DLS-3 sonars, the groups conducted in-water training from the Duxbury town dock.  The Duxbury Harbormaster placed a steel tank on the bottom for a target.  Also, there were a number of moorings that were convenient targets for the sonars. 

As a group, none of the divers had ever used hand held sonar.  Also, for most of the divers, it was the first dive since early winter.  Even with these challenges, the divers did very well.  Most all were able to find the scuba tank and the many moorings some 30 to 40 yards off the dock.  Also recovered were a stainless steel barbeque spatula and a valuable fish gaff, both probably lost during the prior boating season.  Of lesser value and interest was the snow shovel that was found near the town pier. 

The training exercise gave the divers confidence in the ability of the sonars to locate large and small targets.  [May 2006]
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