The challenges of monitoring bridge scour, especially during high water events have been made less daunting by small, agile autonomous surface vehicles (ASV). The Michigan Department of Transportation issued a press release describing the selection of the Humminbird® Sonar EMILY® ASV for monitoring bridge scour. The Humminbird data is received by a ground station in real-time for quality…

Stockton hosts SonarWiz training for Side scan sonar, subboitom profiler, magnetometer, MBES & SBES

The US Navy Underwater Construction Teams (UCT) are known and respected for their ability not just to dive but to accomplish a wide variety of submerged construction projects, many of which require accurate hydrographic data (side scan sonar & bathymetry). UCTs must have expertise in many areas and it is not practical for team members to be fully certified Hydrographers. They do,…

One does not usually associate Humminbird® Search & Rescue operations with the roar of counter rotating propellers being driven by a 475 horsepower V8 engine. The Hogansburg Awkwesasne Volunteer Fire Department has not one, but two, highly versatile airboats both equipped with Humminbird® side imaging sonars. Black Laser Learning’s Vince Capone spent the weekend working with fire rescue personnel honing…

Last year, a very complex technical underwater expedition recovered an Apollo F-1 engine from the Apollo 11 mission, the first man’s landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. The 30-day recovery operation took place near the Bermuda Triangle on one of the most advanced deepwater salvage ships equipped with the latest dynamic positioning technology. The technology required to recover…

Over a dozen personnel from six agencies gathered in Bentonville Arkansas for a Black Laser Learning/Dive Rescue International advanced Humminbird training seminar. Agencies from as far away as Iowa and Kentucky made the trip south for a weekend of intensive training. Training started with a review of basic terminology, Humminbird functionality and sonar image analysis, followed by a day on…

Black Laser Learning® conducted joint training with Dive Rescue International, providing Colorado Springs fire rescue as well as visiting underwater search and rescue teams, an extensive workout with the Humminbird MEGA side-imaging sonar system. The primary emphasis was on locating drowning victims, which is an ongoing challenge for first responders. During the June 14 and 15 training sessions, hosted by…

July 20, 2013: Black Laser Learning, Inc.®, known worldwide for its in-depth sonar technology expertise and innovative training programs, today announced the release of the much-anticipated Not in the Manual Guide® to Underwater Search OPS with Humminbird® Side Imaging® Sonar DVD. The launch of the newest DVD in the Black Laser Learning® library is in response to numerous requests for…

In 1969, the famous Apollo 11 mission landed the first two men on the moon. It was an enormous undertaking of men and machines. In 2013, a search expedition mounted by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, set out to find the massive F-1 engines from Apollo 11 near the Bermuda Triangle, in water depths of over 14,000 feet or 4,300 meters.…

The St. John’s River in Palatka, Florida was alive with activity last week as six local Sheriff and Fire Rescue teams took to the water to practice underwater search techniques utilizing Humminbird® Side Imaging® and 360 sonars. Nineteen participants from Putnam and surrounding counties applied recently-learned theory provided during an in-depth, two-day Humminbird® training presented by Black Laser Learning® (BLL).

Klein Marine Systems (KMS), the world leading manufacturer of high-quality side scan sonars, will be hosting a three (3) day side scan sonar training event at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye Beach, New Hampshire. The event runs June 20-22 from 9-6pm daily. For this year’s training, Klein has chosen veteran side scan expert Vince Capone of Black Laser Learning,…

A state-of-the-art portable rescue craft is bringing more assistance to marine rescue teams. The Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard or EMILY, developed by Hydronalix, was first used to help lifeguards get to distressed swimmers faster than able-bodied first responders. Since then, EMILY has been deployed by lifeguards, navies, and coast guards worldwide. The Center for Robot Search and Rescue (CRASAR) and…

An estimated three thousand shipwrecks lie off the coast of New Jersey—but these icy waters hold more mysteries than sunken hulls. Ancient arrowheads found on shoreline of Sandy Hook reveal Native American settlement before the land was flooded by melting glaciers. In 1854 two hundred and forty passengers of the New Era clipper ship met their fate off Deal Beach.…

Black Laser Learning’s (BLL) Vince Capone has been recognized by the U.S. District Court in New Orleans as a sonar expert. BLL recently supported the esteemed New Orleans law firm of Frilot LLC in a case involving a deepwater sonar survey operation. Capone spent eight days listening to testimony and worked with Frilot attorneys to present expert analysis to the…

A team of 12 U.S. navy sailors looked on as BLL’s lead instructor reviewed the fine nuances of analysing complex sea floor image data retrieved from an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). In the summer of 2015, Black Laser Learning travelled to the Stennis Space Centre in Mississippi to provide a two-day sonar analysis training program to members of the U.S.…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The ravages of war that occurred in Cambodia from the 1970s to the early 1990s still leave an indelible mark on the country today. Countless land mines were placed during the Cambodian Civil War during the 1970s by the Khmer Rouge, the Heng Samrin and Hun Sen regimes, and millions of tons of bombs rained down on the country…

Historic Saturn V F-1 rocket engine parts that were recovered more than two years ago by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and an international team of experts, are now fully conserved and on display at the Cosmosphere International SciEd Center and Space Museum (formerly known as the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center) in Hutchinson, Kansas. The massive artifacts found in the Bermuda…

The Suffolk County Marine Bureau returned from a long day of sonar training on the Great South Bay. All the classroom theory learned in day one enabled the group to put the Klein 3900 side scan sonar through its paces. The Marine Bureau uses sonar to locate drowning victims, sunken vessels and submerged evidence. Black Laser Learning provided the…

The sonar screen displayed images of the sea floor as a dozen participants from U.S. and partner nations looked on. Every year, Black Laser Learning Inc. (BLL) conducts a comprehensive side scan sonar course as part of a six-month training program given by the U.S. Navy for U.S. and foreign navy hydrographers. The program, called International Hydrographic Management and Engineering…

October 1, 2014 – US Naval Academy oceanography specialists will get an intensive first-hand look into the scientific and technological advances that allowed Jeff Bezos’s team to recover Apollo F1 rocket motors from over 14,000 fsw. Operations Manager Vince Capone, a 30-plus-year marine scientist who worked on the 2013 Apollo F-1 Engine recovery expedition, will give an in-depth animated presentation…