Black Laser Learning, Inc.

MIssion Based Side Scan Sonar (Short Course)

The Mission Based Side Scan Sonar training short course, is a completely revised version of Black Laser Learning's very successful 2nd ed. Not in the Manual Guide to Side Scan Sonar Image Interpretation in a new mission-based format. This revised Black Laser side scan training reflects hundreds of hours of training for the US Navy and foreign allies, as well as dozens of fire rescue teams. The new training incorporates basic side scan concepts, expanding into more advanced topics driven by technological advancements.

The course is designed for operators, analysts, or project managers who need to understand the operational and technical components of a sonar that affect survey and mapping, without delving into sonar engineering for its own sake. The course covers some basic physics essential for a fundamental understanding, without requiring equations or detailed mathematics. The training focuses on operations and mapping, selecting the correct sonar parameters, understanding how modern sonars process imagery, and how to analyze imagery. The mission based training goes beyond a typical side scan course, describing how to analyze imagery, rather than just showing dozens of marketing images.

It is the most comprehensive short (1 hour 20 minutes) side scan course available. No matter what your mission or knowledge level, this course will improve your side scan capabilities.

The program begins with the typical side scan sonar waterfall display, moving on to a detailed discussion of the water column and nadir. The program also discusses shadows and data quality. There is a detailed discussion on bottom sediment reflectivity and how bottom conditions influence target reflectivity. The program also explains how computers and software adjust the imagery. After covering these basic principles, the program proceeds to Mapping and Search Operations, discussing how to produce high-quality mosaics and the details of search operations.

Instructor: Vince Capone 

Vincent J Capone, M.Sc., FN-89 - Lecturer, Instructor, an expert in sonar search technology, hydrographer, ROV pilot, sailor, Fellow in the Explorer's Club, and scuba diver.

Vince founded Black Laser Learning, which specialized in training marine technology to clients, including the US Navy (EOD, NOMWC, MDSU, UCT, NSCT-1, SOCOM, NAVSEA, IHMEP). Vince trained numerous foreign allies, including the Israeli Navy, Irish Navy, South Korean Navy, Montenegrin Navy, Estonian Navy, KH EOD Divers, and the Royal Solomon Islands Police. He has worked with or trained the FBI, USACE, DOJ, RCMP, USEPA, USEPACIS, State Police, and dozens of law enforcement agencies, as well as numerous fire and rescue groups and park service personnel.
Vince developed the basic and advanced side scan sonar training programs for the US Navy MK 18 UUV program. Working with NIWC Point Loma Lab, he assisted with integrating sensors and software into the MK 18 UUVs.
He has written & produced over 35 training videos for both commercial and military customers. His most popular Side Scan Sonar training video, 2nd Ed, Not in the Manual Guide to Side Scan Sonar Image Interpretation, has over 850 copies in circulation worldwide.

His career started with an environmental consulting firm and then on to Oceaneering. He founded Marine Search & Survey, conducting hundreds of SSS and hydrographic surveys. He was an early adopter of commercial multibeam technology in the mid-1990s. He was a noted small-medium class ROV pilot, starting with Chris Nicholson's Mini-rover MK II.

He has found numerous ships, aircraft, and other things lost at sea, including America's oldest intact warship and the German submarine U-215. Vince has served as an expert witness in maritime-related cases and is recognized by the US Federal Court System and the US Navy as a sonar subject matter expert.

Vince started his underwater career in the mid-1970s as a diver exploring the shipwrecks of New Jersey. He earned degrees in Marine Biology and Marine Science, with minors in Geology and Experimental Statistics. As an Underwater Archaeological Assistant, he assisted with the documentation of the Land Tortoise radeau, America's oldest intact warship. The archaeological work earned him induction into the Explorers Club in 1989. In 2014, he received the Citation of Merit as operations manager for locating and recovering the Apollo rocket motors from the deep ocean off the Florida coast.

Vince frequently presents programs on adventure, history, and the search for lost shipwrecks. Vince has guest lectured at universities and presented at the US Naval Academy. He has appeared on live TV with Erin Bernet Live and on the Sea Hunters TV Series in association with author Clive Cussler.