Towcon Manual PDF

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User Instruction 0000-0245

Towcon RT
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Issue number Reason for Change
A First issue. This document is based on 819-210GB ver C.
PREFACE ............................................................................................................................. 8
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1 SYSTEM ........................................................................................................................ 9
1.1 System layout........................................................................................................................ 9
1.2 Workstation ........................................................................................................................ 10
1.3 Input Devices ...................................................................................................................... 11
1.4 Portable Controller ............................................................................................................ 11
1.5 IO Interface ........................................................................................................................ 12
2 OPERATION................................................................................................................ 13
2.1 Prepare operation .............................................................................................................. 13

2.1.1 Precautions................................................................................................................... 13
2.1.1.2 Ensure proper training for operators of the equipment. ........................................... 13
2.1.2 Length measurement .................................................................................................... 14
2.1.2.1 Wire dimensions ...................................................................................................... 14
2.1.2.2 Cable Lifter/Chain Dimensions ............................................................................... 14
2.1.2.3 Stern Roller length reading ...................................................................................... 15
2.1.3 Servo Units................................................................................................................... 15
2.1.4 Command locations ..................................................................................................... 16
2.1.4.1 Command shift......................................................................................................... 16
2.1.4.2 Select Drum - Input Devices on Winch Chair and Bridge Panel........................ 16
2.1.5 Low Pressure Pumps.................................................................................................... 17
2.1.5.1 Speed Step – Controlling pumps.............................................................................. 17
2.1.5.2 Valves ...................................................................................................................... 17
2.1.6 Monitor pictures for operations ................................................................................... 18
2.2 Manual operation............................................................................................................... 26

2.2.1 Rotate Drum................................................................................................................. 26
2.2.1.1 Connecting a Drum / Cable lifter............................................................................. 26
2.2.1.2 Torque Step.............................................................................................................. 27
2.2.1.3 Tension setpoint ....................................................................................................... 28
2.2.1.4 Speed Step................................................................................................................ 29
2.2.1.5 Control of bandbrakes.............................................................................................. 30
2.2.1.6 Hoist......................................................................................................................... 31
2.2.1.7 Lower ....................................................................................................................... 32
2.2.1.8 Rendering................................................................................................................. 33
2.3 Automatic Towing Functions............................................................................................ 35

2.3.1 Prepare for Automatic Towing Operations .................................................................. 35
2.3.2 Shoot (Automatic Pay-Out) ......................................................................................... 37
Releasing the brake – check Tension Control adjustment. ...................................................... 38
2.3.3 Towing Dynamic.......................................................................................................... 40
Monitor motor pressure --- “Max Pressure Limit- Pmax”...................................................... 41
2.3.4 Hoist............................................................................................................................. 44
2.3.5 Adjusting parameters for automatic functions ............................................................. 46
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Auto / Manual limit: ................................................................................................................ 46
Brake Limit: ............................................................................................................................. 46
Tow / Hoist limit:..................................................................................................................... 46
2.4 Monitoring winch............................................................................................................... 47

2.4.1 Tension / Oil Pressure.................................................................................................. 47
2.4.2 Speed / wirespeed ........................................................................................................ 48
2.4.3 Length .......................................................................................................................... 48
2.4.4 Temperature ................................................................................................................. 52
2.4.5 Trend ............................................................................................................................ 52
2.4.6 Coupling....................................................................................................................... 54
2.4.7 Brake ............................................................................................................................ 54
2.4.8 Alarms.......................................................................................................................... 55
What went wrong? ---- Alarm monitoring.............................................................................. 55
Alarm Reset button .................................................................................................................. 56
Alarm lamp .............................................................................................................................. 56
Maxvalue logging .................................................................................................................... 57
2.4.8.1 Emergency stop........................................................................................................ 57
2.4.8.2 Emergency Release .................................................................................................. 57
2.4.8.3 Overspeed ................................................................................................................ 57
2.4.8.4 High oil temperature ................................................................................................ 57
2.4.8.5 High oil pressure ...................................................................................................... 57
2.4.8.6 High Tension............................................................................................................ 57
2.4.8.7 Low pressure expansion system............................................................................... 57
2.4.8.8 Low level expansion system .................................................................................... 57
2.4.8.9 Clogged Oil filter - Expansion system .................................................................... 57
2.4.8.10 Clogged Oil filter - LP filter system ................................................................... 57
2.4.8.11 Low brake pressure .............................................................................................. 58
2.4.8.12 Drum rotating with brake on................................................................................ 58
2.4.8.13 Bitter end.............................................................................................................. 58
2.4.8.14 Node nn lost ......................................................................................................... 58
2.4.8.15 Bus warning ......................................................................................................... 58
2.4.8.16 Wireguard Limit................................................................................................... 58
2.4.8.17 Grease Lubrication System – (winch system) – Grease supply failing................ 58
2.4.8.18 Grease Lubrication System – (winch system) – FAULT (Power supply)............ 58
2.4.8.19 Servo System xx – Servo pump n - Tripped ........................................................ 58
2.4.8.20 Servo System xx – (Main or sub system) – High Oil Temp ................................ 58
2.4.8.21 Servo System xx – (Main or sub system) – Low Level ....................................... 58
2.4.8.22 Stern Roller Cooling System - FlowAlarm.......................................................... 59
2.4.8.23 Stern Roller Cooling System – Low Level .......................................................... 59
2.4.8.24 Stern Roller Cooling System – High Temp ......................................................... 59
2.5 Misc system utilities ........................................................................................................... 60

2.5.1 Transferring log files to USB stick .............................................................................. 60
2.5.2 Why doesn’t anything work ? --- Security Lock......................................................... 62
2.5.3 Monitor Intensity and Cleaning ................................................................................... 63
2.5.4 Input Device Illumination Control ............................................................................... 63
2.6 Using Cable lifters.................................................................................................................... 64

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2.7 System Settings, Wire-data ............................................................................................... 68
3 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF TOWCON RT ........................................................................ 69
3.1 Safety precautions.............................................................................................................. 70
3.2 Manual Pump Control....................................................................................................... 71

3.2.1 Valve Status. ................................................................................................................ 72
3.3 Operation of Main Servo................................................................................................... 73
3.4 Command control – remote controlled winches.............................................................. 74

3.4.1 TowCon screen – Bridge system: ................................................................................ 75
3.4.2 Winch Chair – Bridge system: ..................................................................................... 76
3.4.3 Input Device – Winch Control Chair and Bridge Panel............................................... 77
3.5 Controlling Brakes............................................................................................................. 78
3.6 Connecting motors to a drum. .......................................................................................... 79
3.7 Double Drive Coupling / Shaft Couplings. ...................................................................... 80
3.8 Speed Step – controlling oil flow to motors ..................................................................... 82
3.9 Torque step – Manual motor cell selection...................................................................... 83
3.10 Tension control device. ...................................................................................................... 84
3.11 Rotate the Winch................................................................................................................ 85
3.12 Operating Spooling Device................................................................................................ 86
3.13 Tooth wheel Lubrication ................................................................................................... 87
3.14 SAFETY FUNCTIONS .................................................................................................... 88

3.14.1 Emergency Stop. ......................................................................................................... 88
3.14.2 Emergency Release. .................................................................................................... 88
3.14.3 Over speed Protection. ................................................................................................ 89
3.14.3.1 Max tension when over speed............................................................................. 89
3.14.3.2 Bandbrakes engage when over speed.................................................................. 89
3.14.4 Active stop .................................................................................................................. 89
3.14.4.1 No oil to motors. Not allowed to operate speed control. ..................................... 89
3.14.4.2 Trying to run drum against brake. (Only a certain pressure is allowed) .............. 89
3.14.4.3 Over speed on motor. ........................................................................................... 89
3.14.4.4 Overload on winch............................................................................................... 89
3.14.5 Password protected features......................................................................................... 90
3.15 System addons .................................................................................................................... 91

3.15.1 ”SlowDrive” - ASD .................................................................................................... 92
3.15.2 ”Hoist Limitation” - AHL .......................................................................................... 93
3.15.3 ”Length Guard” - ALG .............................................................................................. 94
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3.15.4 On screen change of overspeed limit: .......................................................................... 95
3.15.5 Shark Jaw tension reading ........................................................................................... 96
3.15.5.1 Using Tara function. ............................................................................................ 96
3.15.5.2 Selecting which loadcell pair to display............................................................... 96
3.15.5.3 Calibrating Sharkjaw load reading....................................................................... 97
3.15.6 Length Reading Stern Roller........................................................................................ 99
3.15.7 Auto Mode Chain Pull Winches ................................................................................ 101
3.15.8 Max Speed Range (MSR) .......................................................................................... 103
4 USER CONTROLS .................................................................................................... 104
4.1 Input Devices .................................................................................................................... 104
4.2 LCD Monitor.................................................................................................................... 106
4.2.1 Power Switch ................................................................................................................ 106
4.2.2 Power on lamp.............................................................................................................. 106
4.2.3 Contrast Control .......................................................................................................... 106
4.2.4 Brightness Control ....................................................................................................... 106
4.2.5 Touch Screen ................................................................................................................ 106
4.2.6 Screen adjustments ...................................................................................................... 106

4.2.7 Select button............................................................................................................... 107
4.2.8 Functions with LED indicators .................................................................................. 107
4.2.9 +/- Control.................................................................................................................. 107
4.2.10 Reset button ............................................................................................................... 107
4.2.11 Cleaning the screen .................................................................................................... 107
4.3 Using Trackball................................................................................................................ 108
4.4 Using a Touchscreen ........................................................................................................ 109
4.5 Screen Elements ............................................................................................................... 110

4.5.1 Folders, Tabs and Panels............................................................................................ 110
4.5.2 System Panel .............................................................................................................. 111
4.5.3 Buttons and Lamps..................................................................................................... 112
4.5.4 Digital Displays.......................................................................................................... 112
4.5.5 Bargraphs ................................................................................................................... 113
4.5.6 Meters ........................................................................................................................ 113
4.5.7 Sliders ........................................................................................................................ 113
4.5.8 Menus and Keypad..................................................................................................... 114
4.6 The user menu ................................................................................................................. 115

4.6.1 System info ................................................................................................................ 115
4.6.2 Date / Time ................................................................................................................ 119
4.6.3 Calibrate touch ........................................................................................................... 120
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5 OPTIONS................................................................................................................... 122
5.1 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) ............................................................................ 122
5.2 Slave monitor.................................................................................................................... 122
5.3 Additional workstations .................................................................................................. 122
5.4 Redundant power supplies.............................................................................................. 122
5.5 Redundant controllers (Hot redundancy) – Not yet available..................................... 122
5.6 Redundant CanBus – Not yet available ......................................................................... 122
5.7 Additional functions ........................................................................................................ 122
6 INDEX ........................................................................................................................ 123

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PREFACE
The monitoring and control system is developed in co-operation with our customers. We have
through many years had the opportunity to derive advantage from the immeasurable experience of
some of the world’s most influential operators. The system is designed to give the crew precise and
reliable information about the system status, as well as offering automatic functions that will enhance
the usability of the winch system.
Please Note:
Some of the screenshots and described functions may not apply on current installation.
The control system is in constant development.
This manual may cover functions not installed or applicable on current installation.
Software upgrades and additional functionality are available upon request.
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1 SYSTEM
1.1 System layout
The System is configured and operated from a Computer system, which hereafter is referred
to as a workstation .The workstation consists of a rugged display unit for displaying the
operating condition and data for the winch system, and a Marine Grade Computer. The
Display also functions as an input device enabling the operator to change system parameters
and operating modes. The actual presentation and contents of the display may differ from one
application to another, depending on which information is relevant to the specific application.
Mounted in
winch Chair
Canbus Canbus
WW1
Ethernet
Eth-switch
MSI
Monitor Features:
System Redundant • Built in features for error detection.
Interface Fiber optic • The system is easy to install.
ethernet • The system reduces the need for cabling to the Bridge.
• The systems functionality is expandable.
• Built in NMEA 0183 interface.
• Optional workstations may be installed.
• Optional VGA slave colour monitor may be installed.
Eth-switch
4 x Canbus
WA1 WIO1
WA1 WIO1 spare
MC TCC OCC SCC

Portable
Installed Towing Oil Servo Control
Main
spare Control Control Control System
Cabinet
Cabinet Cabinet Cabinet
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1.2 Workstation
The workstation is basically a marine grade monitor, computer and pointing device. The
monitor is of high-resolution type and may be equipped with a user interface realized by a
touch screen or a trackball if preferred. A combination of touch screen and a trackball may
also be used. A Workstation may have several slave monitors connected to the same
computer and they all will display the same picture.
A system may also have several workstations, which is operated totally independent of each
other in respect to screen layout and input devices.
A Workstation consists of the following components:
VGA Touch
Trackball
Ethernet Canbus
• LCD Monitor
Power 230VAC
VGA Video Input
RS232 Touch screen (option)
• Trackball
USB cable attached to trackball
• Controller
Size: 220x160x80 (WxHxD) mm
Power supply: 24VDC / dual
Interface: 2x USB, 2x LAN, 2xRS232, 4xCAN, 2xRS422/485, 3 relay outputs,PWM,
2xVGA, DVI.
Processor: NS Geode GX1 300 MHz, PC/104 based mainboard
Memory: 32-512MB (144 pin SO-DIMM SDRAM)
Storage: Compact Flash Type1 slot
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1.3 Input Devices
Speed Control
Tension Control
1.4 Portable Controller

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1.5 IO Interface
All connections to the winch system is done either via CAN Bus directly or via an Rolls-
Royce IO module. The IO Modules consists of a high-speed processing unit and terminals for
external connections.
Different types of moduls in use.
• RRDIO15 - Digital In / Out Module with 15 channels

• RRAIO16 - Analog In / Out Module with 16 Channels
• PWR2006 - Power distribution module for RRDIO15
• PWR2007 - Power distribution module for AIO16
• RRWRC01 - R8 speed control card
• RRVIO8 - Digital In/Out module for solenoid-valves with 8 channels
Power and Canbus

Terminals
I/O
Terminals
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2 OPERATION
2.1 Prepare operation
This section describes the sub-systems to prepare, prior to actual operation of the winch. It
also contains general guidelines and precautions.
Please read this manual thorough. This gives You the best chance to be successful in winch
operations.
2.1.1 Precautions
Before starting any main pumps, one should always make sure that servo is running, brakes
are engaged, and that there are no open valves, filters etc due to maintenance work or other,
and that all personnel are alarmed against the danger of getting injured in chains, wires etc.
because of winches is now being used.
Before starting any pump or servo unit, make sure that no work is being carried out on winch
motors, pipes, valves or other part of the hydraulic systems!
All hydraulic pumps and servo units may be started and stopped by switches on starter
cabinets, but normal operation is remote controlled from bridge, by use of Touch Screen on
monitor for the TowCon RT control system or Winch operator chair.
Remember that the winch potentially could harm people if used wrongly, or out of
specification. Typically could a overload of the winch be dangerous. Please do not overload
or overspeed the winch motors. Overspeed could damage motors.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Rolls-Royce Service department if You are uncertain
regarding technical issues or need more information.
Contact Information:
Fax : +47 70 20 87 00
E-Mail: aftersales.brattvag@rolls-royce.com
HomePage: www.rolls-royce.com
Do also strive to follow Your company policy regarding safety on deck, safety for personnel,
and safety for ship and equipment.
2.1.1.2 Ensure proper training for operators of the equipment.

It is Owner responsibility to ensure that operators of the winches have sufficient skills to
operate correct in all situations.
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2.1.2 Length measurement
2.1.2.1 Wire dimensions
The length measurement system needs to know the dimension

on the wire spooled onto/on drum. This is needed for the
system to be able to calculate layer on drum, hence tension
calculation and length calculation can be performed.
The wire dimension, tensile strength and length are all
entered in the SETUP canvas in TowCon main screen on
bridge.
Please make sure the mode selector in Main canvas on

Towcon screen is set to “DRUM” when changing data.
2.1.2.2 Cable Lifter/Chain Dimensions
On Setup canvas there is a section called Cable Lifter Type (see section below)
This sections contains a panel that shows nominal data for a

given number of cable lifters. Cable lifter size equals chain
size. Data in table is correct for installation in Your vessel.
The operator cycles through the different cable lifters and

presses
“Set active”
The winch will stop hauling when the allowed max pull is
reached.
The pitch diamater entered when “Set active” is pressed is

stored in.
If actual cable lifter is not found in the selection it is possible

for operator to enter pitch diameter manually. Please
observe: If data is entered manually in the control load
monitoring and length counting system may display wrong
values.
Please make sure the mode selector in Main canvas on

Towcon screen is set to “Cable Lifter” when changing
data.
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2.1.2.3 Stern Roller length reading
Yet to be detailed.
2.1.3 Servo Units
All servo assisted remote controls need a servo pump/unit in service to operate continuously.
Servo units are found in the PUMPS canvas. (See section below)
It is recommended to set the servo in “Auto” or start the

pumps immediately by pressing start-button.
Red lamps will be lit if one or more of the servo-pumps is

tripped.
Additional servo units may be present, with same

functionality. Only servo unit serving the main winches have
“long time towing” function.
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2.1.4 Command locations
2.1.4.1 Command shift

Some drums can be operated from different
locations : Bridge or deck.
Please be sure that correct command station

is selected according to where you want to
operate the winch from.
Bridge is blue lamp on functions that are

located at bridge. Please note : even though
command is set to “Deck System”, some
functions may still be on bridge.
Active functions on deck is indicated by yellow lamp.
2.1.4.2 Select Drum - Input Devices on Winch Chair and Bridge Panel
Drum selection is performed by cycling through drums, until wanted drum is shown in
display.
Double Clicking “In Command” will make the device

current in command. Torque step, Brake and coupling
could then be operated.
Speed and tension devices, have same base.
Note: All input devices have the same base. Functionality

is not different, but you may not be able to operate all
winches from all devices. Some winches is only possible to operate in chair, other could be
set only for deck operation. See section 3.4.
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2.1.5 Low Pressure Pumps
All pumps that are remote controlled

is displayed in the “Pumps” tab.
The pump numbers shown relates to
the main piping diagram. Same
applies to the valve numbers. Stop /
start/ disable and run status is
displayed.
When activated, pump 9 and

10 are allowed to be used on
the main winches.
2.1.5.1 Speed Step – Controlling pumps.
Winch motors are driven by low pressure pumps. Some pumps are directly connected to a
winch, while others is routed via change over valves or el non return valves, with
bidirectional or unidirectional flow. Flow of oil, is automated by a feature that is new on the
RT platform. (Last generation control system) This feature is called “Speed Step”
In short : Operator select the speed step to operate in. Blue bar indicates
how much of the total capacity that is wanted and Green bar indicates
how much of the total capacity that is actually feeding. “Speed Step” is
controlling the amount of pumps that are routed to a winch in a given
situation. Thus operator select desired speed range to adapt to
operational needs.
It is also possible to start and stop pumps in the “Pumps” tab. See screenshot above.
Starting a pump in “Pumps” tab will only start the pump, and does NOT control any
change over valves (Direction of oil flow from a pump).
The big difference in “wanting” a pump with “Speed Step” is the control of valves.
2.1.5.2 Valves
All remote operated valves are automatic controlled by the control system. Some pumps
could be dedicated to certain winches, thus the valves could be “locked” in a certain state.
See picture in section 2.1.5 above.
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2.1.6 Monitor pictures for operations
During winch operations there are tree monitor pictures available that’ll give the operator
read-out of what is happening on the winch. The first one “WINCH VIEW” gives you an
overview of the main winch, with active graphical elements to indicate the position of brake
and couplings.
Ex. If ‘TOW DRUM’ is coupled to ‘PORT MOTORSET’ the drum will adapt the colour of
the motor, which in this case is green. And if the band brake goes on it will be coloured red.
The couplings and brakes will move/change color according to their feedback sensor.
In addition to the winch layout the picture shows the drums tension end paid out length, both as bars
and digital readout. The bars change colors according to its state, red if its value is outside the set
maximum limit. The wire speed and motor RPM are shown only as digital readouts. Each motor-set
have indicators showing the number of active motor cells.
Screenshot above is for a 3-drum main winch with double drive capabilities.
Screenshot on next page is for a 2 drum main winch, with tension reading on the shark jaws
delivered from RRM.
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The ‘MAIN VIEW’ is the picture giving the user most information and possibilities for adjustment of
both manual and automatic operations on one main winch drum.
It gives the operator clear and concise information either in form of bars, as length and tension, but
also digital readout of secondary information such as wire speed, motor rpm and motor pressure. In
addition there are readout of oil temperature.
The drum selector enables the operator to easily switch the view between different drums, all data on
the screen will then of cause relate to the selected drum.
The full functionality will be described in detail later in the chapter concerning preparation for
operation.
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The ‘DUAL VIEW’ picture gives the operator a simultaneous view of two drums, as in the ‘MAIN
VIEW’ these pictures are selected by the operator. It contains the most important information about
the operation status and is intended for manual operations. If an automatic operation is desired the
‘MAIN VIEW’ gives the operator the ability to change critical parameters such as towing pressure
and operational mode.
This view normally covers all winches that has a feature that is controlled from screen.
E.g: A tugger have pressure indication on screen. Tugger is then selectable as a drum in either left or
right screen section.
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The ‘COMMAND’ screen gives the operator the ability to change command stations between bridge
and deck.
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The ‘PUMPS’ screen gives the operator overview over all remote controlled pumps and valves.
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The ‘SETUP’ screen contains all parameters that are operator adjustable.
This view will differ according to drum numbers and features installed.
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The ‘ALARM’ screen gives the operator overview over alarms.

See section 2.4.8 for more details.
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2.2 Manual operation
This section describes the elements in manual operation.
2.2.1 Rotate Drum
2.2.1.1 Connecting a Drum / Cable lifter
NOTE ! The operation of couplings are interlocked to brake. If brake is not ON, it is not
possible to move the coupling remotely.
Connect drum to motor – drum coupling:

Section of Device showing coupling confirmed engaged. Green light in lower section of
button is lit with a green colour.
Indication glowing continuous indicates actual state. Blinking indication indicates wanted
state. Red light indicates coupling out, or in progress to go out.
Remote controlled couplings can be operated from device for speed or tension.
Operate by double-click on button for operation of coupling. The Input device must be “In
Command”
When the coupling position selector is operated, one of the adjacent control lamps will start
blinking.
It may be necessary to rotate motor to engage/disengage coupling.
There is also be elements on screen that indicates coupling state.
Connect motor to motor – double drive coupling:

Section of TowCon Screen.
Connect or disconnect ”Double Drive”-coupling by button on TowCon panel. If
not allowed to operate coupling operator request will be ignored.
The operator may choose to use more than one motor unit on the same drum, giving the drum
(double) more hoisting power. The coupling is operated from TowCon screen – Main View.
Normally, in double drive, 2 identical motorsets are connected. Therefore the name double
drive.
Operate coupling by pressing button on screen. When button is pressed, one of the adjacent
control lamps will start blinking. When the coupling is in right position, the control lamp will
be lit continuously. It may be necessary to rotate motor to engage/disengage coupling. If of
any reason one of the couplings should move from its decided position, the control lamp will
start blinking to alarm the operator.
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Select Drum or Cable Lifter:
If unit selected in TowCon “Main view” is a cable lifter, operator has to

press the “Cable Lifter” button to make the system calculate length and
tension correct.
REMEMBER!
Always press “RESET LENGTH” in the setup tab when changing

between drum and cab mode.
2.2.1.2 Torque Step
This is a function that comprises manual cell control, display of tension order in %, display of
pressure on motor and automatic cell control as demanded by the control system.
Torque Step controls the number

of active hydraulic chambers in
the motor. (Not all motors are
equipped with this functionality).
The function is only available
when the brake is off and the
coupling engaged. To decrease
torque step, the tension setpoint has to be >95%.
Normally a motor operates with all three chambers activated, this gives maximum torque on
the shaft.
Operating from Screen:
The Increase/Decrease buttons are used to change the number of active chambers. The status
of the chambers are shown to the left of the buttons. (Green indicates active. The pressure are
shown in the bar left to the chamber status. The bar are scaled from 0-100% of nominal
pressure. The actual pressure in bar is displayed between INC/DEC buttons. The example
above indicates 6 bar actual pressure on motor.
The dotted line in the green bar indicates tension order on motor. It is scaled as 0-100% ,
same scale as for the tension devices. 100% equals dotted line in top of bar.
Operating from Input device:
The Increase/Decrease buttons are used to change the number of active chambers.
The green light in the button will indicate that it is possible to decrease/increase.
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2.2.1.3 Tension setpoint
The tension setpoint is controlled by the tension valves on the

servo / motor. The Input device must be “In command” to
change tension setpoint.
To reduce the setpoint, turn the knob counter-clock. To allow
higher torque, turn the knob clockwise.
Maximum pressure depends on pressure set on safety valves

on motor and system pressure.
Please notice that you may not see the pressure increase on
bar graphs etc even if you adjust the knob.
This is so because the pressure will never exceed
what is necessary to cope with the present torque
on hydraulic motors.
Please notice that it is necessary to have the
Main Servo in service to operate tension control
valves on servo unit.
The dotted lines in the Tension bar and in the Torque step bar
indicates actual tension order. Examples shows a drum with
400t max pull, given a system pressure at 60bars.
Torque step and tension setpoint are very closely linked.
See section for torque step for more details about interaction between
Input device for tension and torque step function.
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2.2.1.4 Speed Step
Controls implemented on screen.
Depending on the operation at hand there will be need for more or less speed,
the operator selects the desired speed by pressing either the up or down button
and the graph shows your desired speed (blue bar) and what you actually is
getting (green bar).
This function will automatically start/stop the necessary pumps and set the
changeover valves to their correct position. If you do not get the desired amount
of oil, it could be because the motor/manouver limits the amount of oil in the
current situation.
The dotted line in the green bar indicates position of manouver lever on motor. It is the actual
feedback from the motor. It is scaled as 0-100% of calibrated movement on lever, where 100%
equals dotted line in top of bar.
The “CAUTION” sign is lit when:

Main Servo not running.
Main Servo not in Auto
One or more System Addon functions, which affect the speed step is activated.
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2.2.1.5 Control of bandbrakes
The bandbrakes is controlled from the device base. The parking brake symbol
shows where the button is located. See picture of base below.
Section of Device.
Example of button and lamps for operating brake on a
drum.
Drum selected is shown in display.
Observe:
Flashing Lamp = order not fulfilled!
Red light = Brake confirmed ON.
Green light = Brake confirmed OFF.
The drums equipped with remote controlled band brake can be operated from the Devices.
Please study instructions for emergency use of brakes on the name plate on Emergency Brake
Pump on winch. In case of leakage in servo pipes on Main winches, brakes will be engaged,
driven by an accumulator on the Emergency Brake Unit. Securing a minimum of brake force.
Other winches, not designed for emergency release functionality, will normally have spring
brake on, pressure off.
CAUTION!
DO NOT release brake when drum is not connected to motor unit!
Always evaluate load on winch before releasing brake!
Automatic Brake Interlock: (System Addon)

If brake is equipped with ABI (Automatic Brake Interlock), release of bandbrake on a drum
not engaged with coupling, is delayed 30s. An audible and visual alarm will be set off.
See section for System Addons for further details.
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2.2.1.6 Hoist
Picture of Device for speed control.
See part 1.3 in manual for detailed

description of device.
Operator selects which drum to operate by

pressing (+) or (-) buttons on device. When
correct drum is showing in display operator
my “engage” with drum by double-clicking
on “command” button. When in command a
blue light will be lit. When not in command
the same lamp is yellow.
To haul in, pull lever firmly against you. Avoid too quick movements on control levers to
minimize stress on generators, pipes, pumps and other hydraulic equipment.
Releasing the lever will make the winch stop, as the lever automatically returns to stop
position.
OBSERVE:
Tension control set point is working in stop and hoist position of motor.
Please notice that it is necessary to have the Main Servo in service to operate as described
above.
Control lamp and ”Force Lubrication” –button on TowCon

screen on bridge.
Use this button to inject extra grease while doing heavy

operations.
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2.2.1.7 Lower


To lower on winch, push lever firmly from you. Avoid too quick movements on control
levers to minimize stress on generators, pipes, pumps and other hydraulic equipment.
Releasing the lever will make the winch stop, as the lever automatically returns to stop
position.
OBSERVE:
When in lower MAX tension order is set to motor, regardless of tension set point from
operator.
Please notice that it is necessary to have the Main Servo in service to operate as described
above.

screen on bridge.
Use this button to inject extra grease while doing heavy

operations.
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2.2.1.8 Rendering
When rendering, the speed lever is set to stop or full-hoist.

Adjusting tension control until torque in the motors is lower
than the actual load , will make the winch start rendering.
Please notice that there is a certain threshold before the winch

actually is rendering. So the tension set point must be some
% lower than the actual load.
Also – on a winch the lowest possible force depends on the

set Torque Step and the mechanical
transmission. Gearboxes, pinions etc.
The more increasing rotating speed the more the

overhead will be. An overhead up to 25 – 30%
is quite normal.
Threshold example: Tension set point is

100tonnes and the winch starts to render at 120
– 130tonnes.
The threshold changes as a function of Torque

Step and mechanical friction.
See section for torque step for more details about interaction between Input device for tension and torque step function.
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Rendering (continued) --- “Wire Length Limit”
Before starting to pay out wire or chain, operations as described in section 2.1 must be carried
out. Shooting may be done in two different ways; either lowering by use of the speed control,
or by reducing motors stalling force by the tension control until winch is rendering.
Please study users instructions for the remote control to get more information about this.
Often when paying out wire it is decided on beforehand what the wire-length is to be when
payout is completed. Of course the operator may look after this by constantly watching the
length bar graph and digital display on the monitor, but there is also a more pleasant way to
do this. By giving TOWCON the right information, the operator may get a warning when a
special wire length is reached, and thus do not have to pay too much attention to the monitor
screen during this operation.
EXAMPLE:
Wire length is to be 4800 metres when payout is completed, and towing
operation is to be carried out at that length.
Operator is preparing to pay out wire by use of the tension control. (Or
speed control) Because he’ll not be constantly watching the monitor
during payout of almost 3300 metres of wire, he is now adjusting the wire
length alarm limit to 4800 m.
Then he’ll adjust the tension control until winch starts to render, and when
the length limit is reached he’ll get an audible alarm from TOWCON in
time to concentrate merely on the winch before the determined towing
length is exceeded.
The length bar will now become red, when the alarm limit is
exceeded.
When towing length is reached, he’ll once again adjust the length alarm
limit to get a warning if the winch pays out too much during towing
operation. Normally just a few meters should suffice.
Hint: Length
Want to stop exactly at the metre?
Don’t bother the length bar graph,
but rather concentrate on the
Digital Length Display
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2.3 Automatic Towing Functions
2.3.1 Prepare for Automatic Towing Operations
This section will explain briefly what to be done before winch operations are executed.
Before starting any pumps, one should always make sure that brakes are engaged,
and that there are no open valves, filters etc due to maintenance work or other, and that all
personnel are alarmed against the danger of getting injured in chains, wires etc. because of
winches is now being used. Further information is to be found in Users Instructions for
Remote Control. Take special notice of all procedures concerning safety of crew and craft.
Be aware that there are certain restrictions attended with accessibility to automatic operations.
Detailed explanations about this are to be found in document section
describing the topical operation.
Do also pay attention to the limits for wire lengths possibly needed to be adjusted.
Select monitor picture PARAMETER to get access to these settings.
These parameters should always be checked before starting any automatic function.
All automatic operations may at any time be stopped

by clicking on ”MANUAL”-button.
Hint : “Auto/Manual-limit”
“Brake limit”
“Tow/Hoist limit”
See section 2.3.5 to brush up on

how to adjust these parameters.
Clip from monitor picture ”SETUP”

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Please observe that indicator on ”MANUAL”-button is green when this mode is selected,
while indicator on ”Auto”-buttons is red. This is not because automatic operations are to be
considered as dangerous, but still a reminder is given so that operator shall not forget that
winch may suddenly rotate without him having even touched the speed control lever.
All automatic operations may at any time be stopped by clicking on ”MANUAL”-

button.
In this part of manual adjustments of the pressure limits is essential. Please find more
information about use of the limits in the following examples. Illustration beneath indicates
adjustment of Pmax.
Click the “Down-arrow”-button decrease Pmax One click will decrease the value by one
bar. To increase the limit value just click on the “DOWN-arrow”-button.
In the opposite way clicking on the “UP-arrow” for Pmin will increase the Pmin limit.
Adjusting Ptow (Towing Pressure) is done simply by clicking the UP/Down buttons.
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2.3.2 Shoot (Automatic Pay-Out)
“Shoot” is introduced to take off the winch operator’s hands the unpleasant job of lowering
maybe several hundred metres of wire. This might of course be done in the traditional,
manual way but why not let TowCon take care of it?
Remember that to get access to this function, wire must on beforehand be paid out to a length
at least equal to what’s set as Auto / Manual Limit for the current drum.
Please study both the example below and the “frequently asked questions” on next page.
Example:
Vessel is to pay out 700m of wire.
Auto/Manual limit is set to 140m.
Winch operator manually pays out 150m by lowering with

speed control to get clear off the Manual/Auto Limit. Then he
lets go off the speed control lever and turns his attention to the
TOWCON monitor. First of all he takes a look at the present
motor pressure and estimates how the pressure limits should
be adjusted. He adjust tension controller firmly counter-clock
until winch starts rendering. The pressure is then about 22 Bar,
and he adjusts tension controller to maximum.
Knowing that the winch will get increased rendering force as

wire is paid out, he adjust Pay-Out pressure “P-min” a little
lower than this; at about 18 Bar.
When TOWCON has finished the automatic Shoot it’ll swap

to the automatic function Towing. As wire length is increasing
to the Brake Length Limit; TOWCON will prepare stopping
the Shoot at the exact wanted towing length. During the last
part of the shoot TOWCON will gradual increase pressure to
Towing Pressure. Winch operator has to estimate how much
pressure the motors will need to hold the load without
rendering. He estimates this to be about 24 Bar, and adjusts
this on the tension meter on monitor screen.
Adjust wanted
Towing Length Before activating shoot he’ll have to tell TOWCON the new
700 m wanted Towing Length. This is done by adjustment on the
Observe : length bar graph on monitor screen.
Shoot completed.
Length = 150 Now everything is prepared, and winch operator starts the System has swapped to
automatic shoot by clicking the “SHOOT” –button. automatic ”TOWING”
Towcon adjusts tension to the estimated rendering pressure
Operator may at any time stop the automatic function,
simply by clicking on “MANUAL”.
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Releasing the brake – check Tension Control adjustment.
During towing operation with engaged brake the winch has no other strain restriction than
what is in the brake. When releasing the brake wire load is being transferred from the brake
arrangement to the hydraulic motor unit, and maximum holding power is thus dependent on
the adjustment of the Tension Control. To secure that winch will not render unintentionally
when brake is released, it is therefore of great importance to check tension adjustments on
beforehand. By benefit of TOWCON’s advantages the operator is able to adjust the tension
control to almost exactly the requisite pressure to hold the load before releasing the brake.
Example:
Vessel is towing with fixed wire length at 800m and brake engaged. Tension in wire is not
allowed to exceed 180 tonnes, and must not be less than 120 tonnes. Wire length is to be
increased to 1000m.
Wire speed during this adjustment should not exceed about

15 m/min.
Winch operator has to release brake to increase wire

length, and has to make sure that the winch will not render
to rapidly when the brake unloads. To be able to control
the shoot speed he has decided to let the winch render by
use of the tension control, rather than paying out by the
speed control.
To secure a smooth start he adjusts the tension controller

until the dynamic tension limit indicator on the Tension
Bar is just above the present load. He’ll see the indicator
moving as he adjusts the tension controller. As long as the
tension control is being adjusted there’ll even be a digital
value on the indicator. In this way he can securely release
the brake, in assurance that the winch will not render
uncontrolled.
HHe’ll then adjust tension firmly

as he watches the Wire Speed
Display to control the shoot
speed.
On the Wire Length Display he’ll get exact information about the increasing wire length, and
by increasing tension he’s able to stop the shoot at precisely the right value.
The Tension Display will show the present tension, so that this can be easily watched over at
the same time. If preferable, it is also possible to get an alarm if the tension exceeds the
maximum allowed limit. See section 2.4.1 for more info.
Notice that the Tension Controller Indicator will move up and down on the Tension Bar Scale according to
more than one factor : Calculated maximum rendering force is dependent on wire-length, motor-pressure and
maybe even of how many motors being connected to the topic drum at the time
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS : AUTOMATIC “SHOOT”
Why am I not allowed to select “SHOOT” ?

Check actual wire length on length bar graph or digital display, and also what is set as
Manual/Auto Limit on the monitor picture SETUP. If the actual displayed wire length is
shorter than Manual/Auto Limit you’ll be denied selecting automatic “SHOOT”.
Please re-adjust Auto/Manual Limit or manually pay out more wire.
Why does the winch stop so often during automatic “SHOOT”?

You may have adjusted Shoot Pressure too low. If this is so, winch will render too rapid, and
the maximum limit for motor revolution may have been exceeded. In this case TOWCON
will take action by activating the Overspeed Protection.
Check/adjust shoot Pressure.
Why isn’t TOWCON able to stop at the length, and winch continues to pay out?
You may have adjusted Towing Pressure too low, and if also maximum allowed pressure
Pmax is too low, winch doesn’t have enough power to pull in.
Check/adjust Towing Pressure and Pmax.
Refresh some concepts:
Pmin = minimum allowed pressure:

to be adjusted on pressure meter, Hint:
displayed as the right end of yellow area on Want to get a warning before winch starts
scale, braking?
digital value visible when adjusting,
used when paying out during auto Use the Wire Length Alarm to give you a
“SHOOT” caution. Adjust the alarm quite a little
below the wanted Towing Length minus
Towing Pressure : Braking Limit.
to be adjusted on pressure meter,
displayed as a black dot on the scale,
used when holding load during auto
“TOWING” Hint:
Don’t want any unpleasant stops because
Towing Length : of Overspeed Protection being activated?
to be adjusted on Wire Length bar graph,
displayed as a horizontal, dotted black line Use the Motor RPM-Alarm to give you a
on scale, caution. Adjust the alarm a little below the
digital value visible when adjusting, maximum allowed value, and this’ll give
used as reference-length during auto you the chance to adjust Pmin in time to
“SHOOT” prevent overspeed.
Brake Limit:
To be adjusted on monitor picture SETUP, to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad,
used as braking-length in final sequence of automatic “SHOOT”
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2.3.3 Towing Dynamic
In section 2.3.3 is described the advantages of dynamic towing compared to towing with
brake engaged. However, the winch operator doesn’t have to look after the towing length
himself as he has TOWCON. By giving TOWCON the right instructions it’ll do the job for
him.
On a set limit the system itself will start hoisting until wire length once more is at the
requested value. Like as for the automatic function “SHOOT” the automatic “TOWING”-
function is not either accessible unless wire length is at minimum equal to the Manual / Auto
Limit. As already mentioned in previous section, TOWCON may have swapped to automatic
“TOWING” because automatic payout has just been completed. However it is also possible to
select “TOWING” if system is in “MANUAL”-mode, the only condition is that wire length
must not exceed last adjusted Towing Length plus last adjusted Tow/Hoist Limit.
Please study both the example below and the “frequently asked questions” on next page.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: AUTOMATIC “TOWING”
Why am I not allowed to select “TOWING” ?

Check Towing Length indicator on length bar graph, and also what is set as Towing Limit on
the monitor picture PARAMETERS. If the actual displayed wire length exceeds the sum of
Towing Length plus Tow/Hoist Limit you’ll be denied selecting automatic “TOWING”
Please re-adjust Towing Length.
Why isn’t TOWCON able to keep the length, and winch continues to pay out?
You may have adjusted Towing Pressure too low, and if also maximum allowed pressure
Pmax is too low, winch doesn’t have enough power to pull in.
Check/adjust Towing Pressure and Pmax.
Why does the winch so often pull in during automatic “TOWING”?

You may have adjusted Towing Pressure too low. If this is so, winch will render too rapid,
and the allowed limit is soon exceeded. You may also have adjusted the Towing Limit too
short.
If this is the case the allowed length limit will also be too soon exceeded, and the winch will
very often have to pull in to get back on wanted length.
Check/adjust Towing Pressure and Tow/Hoist Limit.
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Refresh some concepts:
Towing Pressure :
to be adjusted on pressure meter, Hint :
displayed as a black dot on the scale, Want to get a warning before winch
digital value visible when adjusting, starts to pull in ?
used when holding load during auto “TOWING”
Use the Wire Length Alarm to give
Pmax = maximum allowed pressure: you a caution. Adjust the alarm
to be adjusted on pressure meter, quite a little below the sum of
displayed as the left end of red area on scale, wanted Towing Length plus
digital value visible when adjusting, Towing Limit.
used when pulling in during auto “TOWING”
(also used in automatic “HOIST” )
Towing Length:
to be adjusted on Wire Length bar graph,
displayed as a horizontal, dotted black line on scale,
used as reference-length during auto “TOWING”
Tow/Hoist Limit: To be adjusted on monitor picture SETUP,

to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad,
used as rendering-length during auto “TOWING”
Monitor motor pressure --- “Max Pressure Limit- Pmax”

During towing operation with disengaged brake one will derive advantage from the low-
pressure hydraulics’ special quality of being a strain restrictive braking device. If pressure in
hydraulic motors exceeds a certain limit the winch will render, and in this way it is possible to
control how powerful the winch should be. However, it may be convenient to know if the
pressure is frequently exceeding the adjusted level. By adjusting the alarm limit for high
pressure this may be achieved. See also the users manual for remote control for more
information about how to operate tension control.
EXAMPLE:
Wire length is to be 2800 metres when shoot is completed, and towing operation is to be
carried out at that length.
Operator don’t want to be constantly watching the monitor

during endless hours of towing operation, but will take
benefits of using the TOWCON system to help him keeping
an eye on the wire length. He has already adjusted the wire
length limit, and will now adjust the tension needed to hold
the load. He wants the winch to pay out smoothly if tension
in wire suddenly increases, and do not want the winch to hold
more than just what is necessary.
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First step should be to adjust the tension control until winch just starts to render to find the
minimum necessary pressure. Then, to secure that the winch is capable of holding the load
without rendering, the tension adjustment should be increased a little.
How much extra power to be calculated must be decided by the winch operator as a result of
his experience and know-how, regarding to the present towing conditions. As a default
setting may be used the measured pressure plus 15%.
In our example let’s say that the winch renders at about 25 Bar, and that pressure variation is
between 20 and 30 Bar. Operator estimates 32 Bar to be passable. The maximum pressure in
our example system is 48 Bar. So, roughly calculated the adjustment on tension knob, which
has a scale 0 – 100, should be somewhere between 60 and 70 is set to a little above 60.
When this is done, an alarm limit for motor pressure may be adjusted to get a warning each
time this limit is exceeded.
Click the “Down-arrow”-button decrease Pmax One click will decrease the value by one
bar. To increase the limit value just click on the “DOWN-arrow”-button.
In the opposite way clicking on the “UP-arrow” for Pmin will increase the Pmin limit.
Adjusting Ptow (Towing Pressure) is done simply by clicking the UP/Down buttons.
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2.3.3 Towing Static
During towing operation with engaged brake, the winch has no other strain restriction than
what is in the brake itself. Adjusting towing force must than be done by operation of the
vessel. The TOWCON system offers however the possibility of setting an alarm limit at a
certain load. An alarm will be given also if load exceeds this limit when brake is disengaged.
Example:
Vessel is supposed to be towing with fixed wire length.
Tension in wire is not allowed to exceed 280 tonnes.
Winch operator has adjusted wire length to agreed value and engaged the
brake. He wants TOWCON to give him a warning if wire tension
approaches the allowed maximum limit of 280 tonnes. To have some safety
margin he decides to set the alarm limit at 265 tonnes.
This is done by placing the cursor on the scale line between green and red
on the Tension Bar; and then drags the limit to the new alarm value.
This narrow part of the tension bar is also referred to as the “tension limit
bar” in this manual.
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2.3.4 Hoist
In other sections of this manual are described the great advantages TOWCON can offer
during towing and anchor-handling operations. Not mentioned in any other section is the
possibility of getting help when wire is to be pulled in. In fact, TOWCON can take care of the
hoisting operation on its own. Just tell the system what the new length should be, click the
“HOIST”-button and consider the job as done. Notice that there’s still a certain limitation:
you are not allowed to let the system hoist automatically unless there’s more than 100 metres
of wire remaining to be pulled in. System will stop hoisting when the Auto/Manual Limit is
reached;
and it’s not possible to adjust this limit to values lower than 100 m. In fact the automatic hoist
operation will always be stopped at the Auto/Manual Limit, so you may stop at any length you
wish, just by adjusting this limit.
Please study section 2.3.1 to learn more about limits- and parameter-settings.
Example :
Vessel has paid out a lot of wire during a towing operation, and all
this wire must now be spooled back on drum.
The present wire length is almost 2400 metres. Brake is not
engaged, and pressure in hydraulic motors is about 28 Bar.
Winch operator considers the spooling of wire to be the main thing

to concentrate on rather than holding the speed controller in hoist-
position, so he decides to let TOWCON take care of the pull-in.
Anyway, he wants to take full control of all winch operations when
there’s less than
250 metres left to be pulled in.
Knowing that the winch will need more pressure to pull in the
same load as the drum is filled with wire, he adjusts the maximum
allowed pressure Pmax high enough to compensate for this. He
estimates that 35 Bars should do.
After having adjusted the hoisting pressure, he select the picture

SETUP on monitor, and adjust the setting of Auto/Manual Limit
to 250 metres.
Maximum pressure Pmax
Now he once more selects the Towing-Drum picture on monitor,
must be adjusted to secure
Length is almost and clicks on the ”HOIST”-button.
enough pull-in force
2400 metres as TOWCON now adjusts pressure regulation valves to let pressure
”HOIST” is selected increase to maximum allowed, which operator decided to be 35
Bar, firmly adjusts manoeuvre-valves on winch motors to hoist-
position and the pull-in operation has started.
When length of wire remaining to be pulled in is only 250 metres,

TOWCON stops the winch, and system swaps to ”MANUAL”-
mode.
Hint: Auto/Manual Limit

Learn about adjusting this limit in section 2.3.5
When there’s 250 m More hints to be found on next page.

remaining to pull in Activate by ”clicking”
system swaps to the ”HOIST”-button …
”MANAUAL” Observe :
Operator may at any time stop the automatic function,
simply by clicking on “MANUAL”.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: AUTOMATIC “HOIST”
Why am I not allowed to select “HOIST”?

Check actual wire length on length bar graph or digital display, and also what is set as
Auto / Manual Limit on the monitor picture PARAMETERS. If the actual displayed wire
length is shorter than Auto / Manual Limit you’ll be denied selecting automatic “HOIST”.
Please re-adjust Auto / Manual Limit .
Why does the winch stop pulling in during automatic “HOIST”?

You may have adjusted maximum allowed pressure too low. If this is so, winch will
eventually not have enough power to continue pulling in as drum is filled by wire.
Check/adjust maximum allowed pressure, Pmax
Why does TOWCON swap to “MANUAL” when there’s still much to pull in?
You may accidentally have adjusted Auto / Manual Limit to a high value.
Check/adjust Auto / Manual Limit.
Refresh some concepts: Hint :

Have to make a short stop ?
Pmax = maximum allowed pressure: No problem ! Just click on “MANUAL”,
do whatever you have to and click on “HOIST”
to be adjusted on pressure meter,
to re-start the automatic hoist operation.
displayed as the left end of red area on scale, You may use the speed-control for both lowering
digital value visible when adjusting, and hoisting as normal when system is in
used when pulling in during auto “HOIST” “manual”-mode without having to re-adjust
(also in automatic “TOWING” ) anything before you start the automatic hoisting
again.
Auto / Manual Limit : Hint : Auto / Manual Limit
to be adjusted on monitor picture SETUP, Find more about how to adjust this parameter
to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad, in section 2.3.5
used as the minimum wire length to be remaining
to be pulled in when TOWCON swap from
“HOIST” to “MANUAL”
Minimum possible value = 100 metres.
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2.3.5 Adjusting parameters for automatic functions

In prior sections in this part of reference guide are described the use of some parameters that
TOWCON will need to do a proper job. This section will explain more in detail what these
parameters are used for, and hints of how they should be adjusted.
Auto / Manual limit:

This is a wire length that TOWCON will use to decide if it’s legal to choose an automatic
function or not. Value is to be entered in metres. If the limit is adjusted to high, it’ll exclude
all auto-functions. The limit is meant to stop hoisting automatically the last few metres of
wire, as well as preventing automatic pay-out to be started by an accident when there’s
possibly wire handling work carried out on deck. But even though the limit is meant to secure
that there must be a human controlling the winch when end of wire is onboard or very near to
the vessel, it may even be used to lock all access to automatic functions completely. It’s not
possibly to adjust this limit to values lower than 100 metres.
Brake Limit:
This parameter decides how firmly the winch will stop when wire is paid out to a certain
length automatically by the “SHOOT” function. Value is to be entered in metres.
A long braking length will give a very firm stop, but it’ll take some more time. Too short
braking length may however give a rather brutal stop, especially if shoot speed is high.
TOWCON will use the braking length to increase pressure from being the shoot pressure
Pmin to being the on beforehand-adjusted Towing Pressure. Adjustment of this value must be
based on experience and skills of the crew.
Tow / Hoist limit:

This parameter is only used during automatic “TOWING”. Parameter is to be entered in
metres and is used to describe how big deviation is tolerated to the wanted towing length
unless it has to be corrected. As soon as deviation to Towing Length exceeds this limit,
TOWCON will try to pull in wire to get length back on wanted value.
Adjusting this limit to very small values will make the winch keep the length very tight up to
the wanted Towing Length, but at the same time this’ll also make the towing operation a lot
noisier as the winch will start and stop very often. Of cause this depends on weather
conditions and wire tension as well as other circumstances. Again, it must be said that
adjustment of this value should be based on experience and skills of the crew.
Notice that on this example illustration

the Auto / Man limit is adjusted to
minimum possible value. If you adjust a
lower value and click on “enter”, the
value will change to 100m as soon as the
keypad disappears.
Illustration shows keypad opened to adjust Auto / Man limit

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2.4 Monitoring winch
2.4.1 Tension / Oil Pressure
Monitor wire tension --- “ Tension Alarm “

During towing operation with engaged brake, the winch has no other strain restriction than
what is in the brake itself. Adjusting towing force must than be done by operation of the
vessel. The TOWCON system offers however the possibility of setting an alarm limit at a
certain load. An alarm will be given also if load exceeds this limit when brake is disengaged.
Example:
Vessel is supposed to be towing with fixed wire length.
Tension in wire is not allowed to exceed 280 tonnes.
Winch operator has adjusted wire length to agreed value and engaged the
brake. He wants TOWCON to give him a warning if wire tension
approaches the allowed maximum limit of 280 tonnes. To have some
safety margin he decides to set the alarm limit at 265 tonnes.
This is done by placing the cursor on the scale line between green and red
on the Tension Bar; and then drags the limit to the new alarm value.
This narrow part of the tension bar is also referred to as the “tension limit
bar” in this manual.
The pressure reading of motor is displayed as

shown to the left.
On “newer” systems the bar is shown in the torque

step function.
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2.4.2 Speed / wirespeed
Avoid motor breakdown -- Over speed Protection

Although the remote control system has a built-in over speed protection facility to prevent
hydraulic motors being damaged by too high revolution speed, it’s absolutely advisable to
keep in mind RPM-values when operating the winches. Especially when lowering or letting
the winch pay out by rendering this should be carefully watched. TOWCON will take action
if too high revolution speed is detected. If the automatic over speed protection comes into
force the winch motors will be stopped, motor pressure will be adjusted to maximum and
finally the brake will be engaged.
Example:
Vessel is to set an anchor,
and will have to lower about 1800m.
Winch operator has adjusted tension and the winch is rendering at acceptable speed. As wire
is paid out the necessary load to make the winch render will increase.
To compensate this tension control will have to be continuous adjusted during the shoot. At
the same time load on wire caused by the vessels propulsion may vary, and will also influence
on the necessary rendering force on winch. As a result of this, the tension control may
accidentally be adjusted to low, and the rendering speed may exceed the maximum limit.
If the over speed protection system is activated it’s not a special pleasant event, because it
may cause a rather severe yank in the towing line. It should therefore be avoided as far as
possible by keeping a watchful eye on the tension settings.
2.4.3 Length
Manual pay-out --- “Wire Length Limit”
Before starting to pay out wire or chain, operations as described in section 2.1.2 must be
carried out. Shooting may be done in two different ways; either lowering by use of the speed
control, or by reducing motors stalling force by the tension control until winch is rendering.
Please study users instructions for the remote control to get more information about this.
Often when paying out wire it is decided on beforehand what the wire-length is to be when
payout is completed. Of course the operator may look after this by constantly watching the
length bar graph and digital display on the monitor, but there is also a more pleasant way to
do this. By giving TOWCON the right information, the operator may get a warning when a
special wire length is reached, and thus do not have to pay too much attention to the monitor
screen during this operation.
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EXAMPLE:
Wire length is to be 4800 metres when payout is completed, and towing
operation is to be carried out at that length.
Operator is preparing to pay out wire by use of the tension control. (Or
speed control) Because he’ll not be constantly watching the monitor
during payout of almost 3300 metres of wire, he is now adjusting the wire
length alarm limit to 4800 m.
Then he’ll adjust the tension control until winch starts to render, and when
the length limit is reached he’ll get an audible alarm from TOWCON in
time to concentrate merely on the winch before the determined towing
length is exceeded.
The length bar will now become red, when the alarm limit is
exceeded.
When towing length is reached, he’ll once again adjust the length alarm
limit to get a warning if the winch pays out too much during towing
operation. Normally just a few meters should suffice.
Hint: Length
Want to stop exactly at the metre?
Don’t bother the length bar graph,
but rather concentrate on the
Digital Length Display
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Measuring wire length (Length continued)
All calculations TOWCON executes are dependent on the few basic parameters concerning
wire data. These parameters may be individual for wire on each drum, and they are available
by selecting monitor picture PARAMETERS.
It’s of coarse no problem to adjust all parameters needed to calculate wire length correct when
they are known. But what is to be done when you don’t know the wire length? Entering a
faulty value as wire length will most likely have influence also on tension calculations.
Following example will give some hints of how to deal with such problems.
Example :
Vessel has to take onboard an unknown length of wire, which later on is to be paid out again
when placing a buoy. All that’s known about wire is that diameter is 76mm, and that length
can’t possibly be more than 2400 metres. Most likely length is something between 2000 and
2300 metres. First part of wire is already spooled up on Stb Common-Handling Drum. About
5 turns on first layer is now on drum.
Winch operator decides to measure length of wire as it’s pulled in.

First thing to be done is to adjust wire data, so he selects monitor picture PARAMETERS.
First-layer diameter: 1390 mm

On drum: 5 turns
5turns= 1,390×3,14×5=21,8m
Wire length out:

3000m-21,8m=2978,2metres
Wire diameter is known to be 76 mm, so that’s no problem.

Remember Assuming that wire is much shorter than this, he adjusts
to click ”Reset Length” Wire length to 3000 metres.
each time Length Out How much wire that’s still to be pulled in must than be the
has been corrected. difference between what’s already on drum and the fictious total
length of 3000 metres.
He’ll have to calculate this and put the value into the ”Wire
length out”-box.
Calculation must be based on the diameter of drum on first layer

and the 5 turns of wire that’s already on drum.
Knowing this winch operator is able to calculate length of wire on
As the Stb CH –picture drum fairly accurate to be 21,8 metres; and hence Wire length
shows up on the monitor out must be 2978,2 metres. Operator enters this wire data and
screen he can see that wire clicks on “RESET LENGTH” before selecting monitor picture for
length display indicates 22 Stb Common Handling Drum.
metres. Pull in of wire can
now be started.
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--- example from previous page continuous ----
All wire is pulled in …….

When all wire is pulled in Length Display still indicates that
there’s 978 metres left. This only shows that the winch operator
was right when assuming that the wire was quite a lot shorter than
3000m.
Now he has to select the PARAMETER-picture once more and re-
adjust the wire parameters. ”Wire length” is 3000m minus the 978
978m should be left, but end
of wire still lays on deck…….
Estimated wire-length: 3000m

Still indicated, end on deck: 978m
Actual length=3000-978=2022m
Don’t forget to click

”Reset Length”
each time Length
Out
When wire now later on is paid out, length will be displayed correctly
as contents on drum shrinks. Digital display and Length Bar will
indicate length of wire paid out.
Please observe:
TOWCON doesn’t know anything about the outer
diameter of the drums. This means that the estimated
wire length may be adjusted much longer than what
As the Stb CH –picture shows up on the drum actually can take.
the monitor screen he can see that So you don’t have to estimate length very carefully,
wire length display indicates 0 just decide on a length that you are sure is too long.
metres. This is correct because all
wire now is spooled up on the drum
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2.4.4 Temperature
Keep an eye on Oil Temperature.

During long lasting winch operation hydraulic oil will sometimes get rather warm, and to
avoid further heating action will have to be taken. Some vessels have automatic cooling
systems, while on other crafts the crew will have to look after this. Anyway, the winch
operator should always keep an eye on the oil temperature, because severe damages may arise
in motors and pumps if oil gets too hot. Alarm limit is pre-set at 65 deg. Celsius.
Too quick variation in oil temperature may also harm motors and pumps; and should be
avoided. A typical problem is that temperature drops too fast when water is being let into a
water/oil cooler, which may cause that cold oil pour into a rather warm hydraulic motor. An
even more serious problem is that hot oil is led into a cold motor by operation of a change
over valve.
If this can’t be avoided oil should be allowed to just flow through the manoeuvre valve for a
short time before rotating the winch. Heat from oil will then spread to the motor.
2.4.5 Trend
Trend Monitoring --- What happened some minutes ago?

During long lasting towing operations, winch operator will of course have other things to do
than just gawping at the TOWCON monitor. Even in these situations when the operator has to
concentrate on other duties for some minutes, the TOWCON system will come to his
assistance. Trend Displays will give a rather good picture of what has happened during the
last minutes.
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Scale used on vertical axis on Tension Trend is always in Tonnes,
while scale used on vertical axis on Pressure Trend is always in Bar.
Scale on horizontal axis is always minutes.
Notice that alarm limits (red area of the narrow Bar Graph to the left of Trend Display) may
be adjusted both on Trend Displays and on other Bar Graphs or Meters. Adjusting limit on
one of these devices will cause the limit to be corrected also on all the others.
Example :
Vessel has been towing for a period with brake engaged to keep the wire length fixed.
Now the winch operator is told to concentrate on avoiding heavy jerks in wire.
It is however not necessary to keep the length fixed any longer.
During towing operation with disengaged brake one will derive advantage from the low-
pressure hydraulics’ special quality of being a strain restrictive braking device.
If pressure in hydraulic motors exceeds a certain limit the winch will render,
and in this way it’s possible to control how powerful the winch should be.
Winch operator may then look at the trend display showing how the tension has varied the
last minutes to get an idea of the holding power the winch motors will have to cope with.
He’ll then be able to adjust tension according to this before releasing the brake.
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2.4.6 Coupling
See screen example below. The “picture” is taken from the Winches tab in TowCon.
It shows the status for couplings and brakes for the main winch. The motors and shaft turns
green when the motor is fed by a pump. WRK PRT is shown engaged, with motor ready for
operation and with brake engaged. The coupling at top of WRK PRT is the double drive
coupling. The double drive coupling is shown in passive state.
Picture below is from the dual-view tab.
It shows the status for drum 0 – A.H. (Anchor Handling Drum). The coupling is engaged and
the brake is on.
The status for couplings and brakes are also shown on the input devices.
2.4.7 Brake
See section above.

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2.4.8 Alarms
What went wrong? ---- Alarm monitoring
No matter how proficient and experienced the winch operator is, accidents may still occur.
It’s than valuable to have the opportunity to subsequently get detailed information from TOWCON
about what actually happened. All alarms will be stored in a log-file, and be available later on, so that
winch operator can concentrate fully on solving the problem instead of spending time on trying to
read alarm-texts before they possibly disappears.
When an alarm is activated, the sound will not go off unless someone “clicks” the Alarm Reset –
button on the monitor. The Alarm-Reset –button is to be found only on the “ALARM”-picture. A
text line on this monitor picture will give detailed information about what’s wrong. Alarm texts will
not be deleted from list even if the reason to the alarm given is clarified. As alarms may be given
from time to time, new lines will be written on top of the list while old ones will finally disappear at
the bottom. All monitor pictures has an alarm-indicator that turns red when an alarm is activated and
not yet acknowledged by pressing “Reset Alarm”-button.
The reason why an alarm is activated is often quite obvious and easy to identify even without looking
for the explaining text-line on the Alarm-picture, because it’s also clearly indicated on other pictures.
As an example the colour in the Digital Display showing wire length will turn to red if the adjusted
wire length limit is exceeded. Otherwise, there may also be given alarms not detectable no other
place than on the ALARM –picture; such as “Emergency Stop” or “Low Level in expansion tank”.
Example :
Vessel is to keep a specified distance to the object it’s towing, and the winch operator has engaged
the brake.
Suddenly a hose on the brake cylinder blows, servo oil is flushed out on deck; and level in oil
reservoir on servo unit decreases in a short time to a minimum.
Because the hose blew, servo pump couldn’t maintain pressure in servo system. TOWCON detected
this and activated the audible alarm. Winch operator changed to the picture
“ALARMS” to see what was wrong, and pressed Alarm Reset –button. He found the message LOW
BRAKE PRESSURE, but didn’t stop servo pump unit. Then he got a new alarm, LOW OIL LEVEL
- MAIN SERVO. He’d had to press the Alarm Reset button once more to get rid off the audible
alarm given because of the oil level. Before so is done, the explaining text will be red. On the
monitor picture in our example we can see that there also was an alarm earlier the same day, because
someone activated Emergency Stop. That situation has obviously been clarified, because the text has
turned to grey.
Example from ALARM-picture
Hint : Alarm Texts - Colours

Red New alarm detected “Alarm Reset” is not yet
pressed.
Yellow “Alarm-Reset” is pressed, Cause of alarm is still
present
Grey Old alarm, Cause of alarm is clarified
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By pressing the ALARM tab at top of the screen the picture changes to the alarm folder where
alarms are shown, both currenent and past. The alarms have 3 different statuses differentiated
by color.
Red alarms are new alarms not yet acknowledged.
Yellow alarms are acknowledged by user but the situation is not resolved.
Gray alarms are acknowledged by the user and is no longer valid.
All alarms recorded and kept on the screen until they disappear at the bottom of the alarm
window.
In addition to the alarms mentioned in the following chapters a Towcon system may have
several customer specific alarms.
Alarm Reset button

By pressing the ALARM RESET button at the bottom right corner of the screen the user
resets the audible alarm (if any) and signals to the system that he is aware of the situation. if
alarm is still active ( Valid ) it will turn Yellow otherwise it will turn Black.
In other words this button resets all current alarms.
Alarm lamp
The alarm lamp turns Red as soon as an alarm situation has occurred. And switches to Green
as soon as the operator have pressed the reset alarm button. This is basically to inform the
operator that there is a new alarm situation that needs his attention.
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Maxvalue logging
The system is also equipped with an internal logging system that keeps track of the maximum
pressures, speeds and temperatures of the systems winches.
2.4.8.1 Emergency stop

If one or more of the emergency stop switches has been pressed the system responds by
setting off both visual and audible alarm.
2.4.8.2 Emergency Release

If one or more of the emergency release switches has been pressed the system responds by
setting off both visual and audible alarm.
2.4.8.3 Overspeed
There is three different overspeed limits. Prewarning which is the adjusted hi limit on the rpm
dial. Hi and HiHi limits is factory preset depending on type of motor is used. The three
different alarms produce individual texts in the alarm picture so they can easily be separated.
The Hi and HiHi alarms may also on some systems activate rpm slowdown or system
shutdown functions.
2.4.8.4 High oil temperature

There is three different temperature limits. Prewarning which is the adjusted hi limit on the
temperature dial. Hi and HiHi limits is factory preset. The three different alarms produce
individual texts in the alarm picture so they can easily be separated. The Hi and HiHi alarms
may also on some systems activate rpm slowdown or system shutdown functions.
2.4.8.5 High oil pressure

If the oil pressure has exceeded the system pressure + 1bar, an alarm will be trigged. When
trigged it gives both visual and audible warning.
2.4.8.6 High Tension

The high-tension alarm is activated if the tension exceeds the limit set in the tension bar.
2.4.8.7 Low pressure expansion system

Indicates that the pressure in the oil expansion tank has dropped below the set limit, and both
a visual and audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.8 Low level expansion system

Indicates that the oil level in the expansion tank has sunken below the set limit, and both an
visual and audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.9 Clogged Oil filter - Expansion system

Indicates that the filter-guard in the expansion system is activated, and both an visual and
audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.10 Clogged Oil filter - LP filter system

Indicates that the filter-guard in the Low Pressure fine filtration system is activated, and both
an visual and audible alarm is set off.
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2.4.8.11 Low brake pressure
This alarm is activated if the pressure in the servo unit goes below a certain value. Check the
servo unit and accumulators.
2.4.8.12 Drum rotating with brake on.

This alarm is activated if the drum starts moving while the brake is activated.
2.4.8.13 Bitter end

Is active at all times and informs the operation that he is within a 100 meters from the end of
the wire, and is likely to loose it if he continues to pay out. The alarm is both visual and
audible.
2.4.8.14 Node nn lost

Informs the operator that the operator station has lost communication with one of the system
nodes (distributed control units).
2.4.8.15 Bus warning

Informs the operator that there has been registered an abnormal amount of communication
errors.
2.4.8.16 Wireguard Limit

Is active during towing mode and is trigged if the wire length exceeds towing length set point
+ towing length limit + wireguard limit. Towing length limit and wireguard limit is set on the
parameter screen; towing length set point is set on the wire length bar.
2.4.8.17 Grease Lubrication System – (winch system) – Grease supply failing

Indicates that there is a problem with the supply of grease to the control cabinet. It could be a
faulty pump – missing air or EMPTY can of grease, and both a visual and audible alarm is set
off.
2.4.8.18 Grease Lubrication System – (winch system) – FAULT (Power supply)

Indicates that there is a problem with the power supply to the grease control cabinet. , and
both a visual and audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.19 Servo System xx – Servo pump n - Tripped

Indicates that motor protection is tripped, and the pump is not available for the control
system. Both a visual and audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.20 Servo System xx – (Main or sub system) – High Oil Temp

Indicates that servo oil temperature is above critical value. Both a visual and audible alarm is
set off.
2.4.8.21 Servo System xx – (Main or sub system) – Low Level

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Indicates that servo oil tank level is running low. Check for leakage and refill as necessary
Both a visual and audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.22 Stern Roller Cooling System - FlowAlarm

Indicates that stern roller cooling system is missing indication from the flow-sensor when
cooling pump is running. Both a visual and audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.23 Stern Roller Cooling System – Low Level

Indicates that stern roller cooling system expansion tank level is running low. Both a visual
and audible alarm is set off.
2.4.8.24 Stern Roller Cooling System – High Temp

Indicates that stern roller cooling system temp is running high. Both a visual and audible
alarm is set off.
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2.5 Misc system utilities

2.5.1 Transferring log files to USB stick
Insert a USB stick into any of the USB ports on the workstation controller on the bridge. After 1-2
seconds the following dialog box is displayed on the main screen. It shows the number of available
log files and how much disk space they require. Press the OK button to transfer the log files to the
USB stick, or the Cancel button to abort the operation.
If the OK button is pressed the log files will be transferred to the USB stick. The progress of each file
is displayed on the screen.
The following message is displayed when the log files have been transferred to the USB stick. Press
the OK button to close it.
The log files are now removed from the workstation controller and stored on the USB stick in a
folder called yyyy.mm.dd_hh.mm_Logs, where yyyy.mm.dd and hh.mm is the current date and time.
For example 2006.08.30_15.30_Logs.
If there is no log files available the following message is displayed. Press the Cancel button to close
it. Then remove the USB stick.
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If there is not enough free space on the USB stick to hold the log files the following message is
displayed. In this case none of the log files are transferred to the USB stick. Remove files from the
USB stick to make room for the log files. Then reinsert the USB stick in the workstation controller to
retry the operation.
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2.5.2 Why doesn’t anything work ? --- Security Lock

When touch screen or trackball has not been used for at least 5 minutes, the Security Lock
will be activated. This is made like this to prevent faulty operations to be executed because
someone accidentally touches surface of monitor screen (if it’s a Touch-Screen)
or the Left Key on trackball. Security Lock will be presented on monitor picture as a red hand
in the upper right corner. As long as this image is visible it’s not possible to execute any other
operation from neither touch-screen nor trackball than just unlocking the system. You can still
move cursor around, but trying to execute some kind of operation by clicking on one of the
images on the picture will not have any effect.
Illustration to the left shows how it looks

like when Security Lock is activated.
Unlock like this:

Place cursor on Red Hand and click on it.
Red Hand will now move to left upper
corner.
Now complete the unlock operation by

placing cursor on the left Red Hand and
click on it.
The left Red Hand disappears, and
system is ready for use.
Click on the first one as soon as it appears.
Then just one click on the left Red Hand is needed to get you online!
However, take care; you’ve already lowered the security precautions.

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2.5.3 Monitor Intensity and Cleaning
In the SETUP picture contains also the monitors day / night adjustments, these are presented
as % where 0% is almost black and 100% is full intensity. 100% gives the best contrast and
readability during daytime and approximately 25% gives a suitable intensity for nighttime.
In addition the disabling of the touch screen is located here, this mode gives the operator the
ability to clean the LCD screen without unintentionally activating system functions. This is a
time limited operation and times out in 30 sec. The count is clearly visible on the screen.
2.5.4 Input Device Illumination Control
The light intensity on all input devices ( Joystick and Tension controllers) connected to the
workstation are controlled from this picture. The alphanumeric display and the indication
led’s have separate adjustments, as for the mains LCD, are the intensity levels given in % , 0
being the lowest and 100 the highest intensity.
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2.6 Using Cable lifters
When handling rig-chain TOWCON will give almost the same

advantages as described for dealing with wire operations, although not
all topics mentioned are equally relevant.
However the monitoring functions like length, tension, motor pressure
and so on are available just like they are when dealing with wire. All
alarm limits may also be adjusted like described earlier in this
reference guide. Just remember to click the “CABLE LIFTER”-button,
and don’t forget to choose the right pitch diameter and to reset the length. Do also remember
that when using cable lifters there are certain load limitations that must not be exceeded !
Automatic Hoist Limitation – AHL.

On the latest versions of RT platform the control logics is equipped with AHL. This helps
operator not to overload the cable lifters. When allowed max pull is reached, according to limit
in table set in Setup-tab, the control system forces the speed order to zero.
Example 1 :
Vessel is to pull in a 100 mm rig chain. It’s essential to know how much chain that’s being
pulled in. Cable Lifter is already mounted on Stb Common-handling drum and the first few Select
links has been pulled in. Cable lifter
Before starting to pull in and meassure the rig chain operator’ll have to choose the rigth pitch
diameter and enter this in the parameter settings for the topical winch.
First of all the winch operator selects the monitor picture for Stb CH –Drum and clicks on
the ”CAB”-button. Then he selects the monitor picture PARAMETERS to adjust the pitch
diameter. He finds the pitch diameter in the table on the ”Rig Chain Data”-panel, and enters
this into the ”Cable lifter diam”-box belonging to the Stb CH Winch. Next step is to enter 0
(zero) in the”Wire Length Out” –box. Then ”RESET LENGTH” must be clicked to tell TOWCON to start using
the new values. ( ”Wire diameter” and “Wire length” will now not be used, so what’s ever displayed in this box
doesn’t matter )
more about this example on next page …..
NOTE ! Always remember to enter correct length and press RESET LENGTH, when changing
between drum and cable lifter. The button is found in the Setup-tab. There is one button for
each drum/cable lifter.
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Remember to click
”Reset Length”
each time Length Out
has been corrected.
When this is done he’ll have to estimate

How much chain has already been pulled
Chain :
in. The first few chain links has just
reached the bottom of the chain locker,
Pulled in before Reset
and he reckons the length to be about 15m about 15 m.
from there and through the chain pipes to
the cable lifter. He makes a note of this to
have it available later on
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example from previous page continues ……
Winch operator now selects the monitor picture for Stb CH Drum, and starts the pull-in operation When pull-in
of chain stops, the digital display shows 345m.
Operator swaps to PARAMETER picture and re-adjusts the ”Wire length out” value. To enter the correct length
operator now has to add the first part of chain ( 15m ) that were pulled in before measuring started. Measuring is
now completed, and length indicated on monitor screen will show how much chain is pulled in.
Chain :
Pulled in before Reset :
about 15 m.
Meassured : 345 m
Total length in locker:

345+15 = 360m
Hint : Length Alarm

Want a reminder before chain length left in locker
becomes indefensible short ?
Study section 4.1.4 / 4.1.5 about how to use Length
Remember to click
Alarm
”Reset Length”
each time Length Out
has been corrected.
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Example 2:
Vessel is to pull in an anchor attached to a 100 mm rig chain.

Cable Lifter is mounted, correct pitch diameter is selected and length is reset
before starting to pull in. Some chain is pulled in when operation has to be
stopped.
Anchor is obviously stuck in something on seabed. Brake is now engaged.
Winch operator is aware of the limitation on this special winch to be just 370
Tonnes when operating with this chain dimension.
To be on the safe side he wants an alarm if tension of any reason should approach
to even levels far beneath this. In fact he don’t expect tension to exceed 250
tonnes, so he decides to adjust the tension alarm to just 230 tonnes.
If this limit is exceeded he’ll get an audible alarm as well as the Tension Bar
being red on his monitor picture.
Hint : “Tension Alarm”

See section 4.1.7 to brush up on how to adjust tension alarm.
See section 3.3.7 to refresh how you should operate sliders.
General when using Cable Lifter:

All limits related to length, RPM, tension, and pressure is applicable,
and may be used as explained in other sections of this reference guide.
Pay special attention to what’s discussed in the section MANUAL OPERATION,
but don’t forget that even Automatic Functions are available.
Special caution has to be performed if automatic functions are executed.
Tension alarm limit should be used consistently to give an alarm at a value safely below
what is described as maximum allowed for the topical cable lifter. Do remember that
when using cable lifters there are certain load limitations that must not be exceeded!
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2.7 System Settings, Wire-data
All calculations TOWCON executes are dependent on the few basic parameters concerning
wire data. These parameters may be individual for wire on each drum, and they are available
by selecting monitor picture SETUP.
Wire Data : Auto Limits :

Wire length : Pay-out brake length :
to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad, to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad,
total length of wire on topical drum used as braking-length in final sequence
Wire length out: of automatic “PAYOUT”
to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad, Read more about this limit in section 1.5.3
length of wire paid out, measured from drum. Tow/Hoist Limit :
Wire diameter: to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad,
to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad, used as rendering-length during auto “TOWING”
check that value is correct according actual wire. Read more about this limit in section 1.5.4
Cable lifter diameter: Auto / Manual Limit :
to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad, to be adjusted by use of pop-up keypad,
check that value is correct according to actual chain. used as the minimum wire length remaining
check “Rig chain data” if you don’t know to be pulled in when TOWCON swap
the value. from “HOIST” to “MANUAL”
Minimum possible value = 100 metres.
Read more about this limit in section 1.6 Read more about this limit in section 1.5.5
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3 Main functions of TowCon RT
Before starting any pumps, one should always make sure that brakes are engaged, and that there are
no open valves, filters etc due to maintenance work or other, and that all personnel are alarmed
against the danger of getting injured in chains, wires etc. because of winches is now being used.
“Chapter 3” of the manual gives a step-by-step briefing on how to operate the main parts of the
winch installation. It does not cover maintenance or service work.
Please read carefully the complete manual to gain as much confidence with the equipment as
possible. Please do practice winch operation before actually applying load on the winch.
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3.1 Safety precautions
Before starting any pump or servo unit, make sure that no work is being carried out on winch motors,
pipes, valves or other part of the hydraulic systems!
All hydraulic pumps and servo units may be started and stopped by switches on starter cabinets, but
normal operation is remote controlled from bridge, by use of Touch Screen on monitor for the
TowCon RT control system or Winch operator chair.
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3.2 Manual Pump Control
On most vessels were TOWCON is the winch monitoring system, remote start of Servo Units
and Hydraulic Pump Units is only executed by this system. Of course operating switches on
the starter cabinets still may start all pumps, and the Emergency Stop system will always be in
function.
Example: Picture for monitoring and manual operation of the hydraulic pumps.
Each pump does have a set of functions:
Pump number.
Start button with RUN indication.
Stop button.
Disable button.
Pump Number:
The number refers to the pump number on the hydraulic Piping Diagram.
Start button with RUN indication:
To start the pump, just click on the button. (See User control section 3.1/3.2)
This will start the pump. When the pump are running, the background on the button will be
green. Note that this is a manual operation, so the valves will not be operated automatically.
So the pump will be directed according to current position of the valves.
We recommend to use the Speed Step function to start the pumps.
Stop button:
To stop the pump, just click on the button. (See User control section 3.1/3.2)
The background of the “Start button” will be grey when the pump are not running.
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Disable button:
To disable the pump, just click on the button. (See User control section 3.1/3.2)
The background of the button will turn to red. The stop signal to the starter will be activated
continuously, and the automatic functions such as Speed Step will ignore the actual pump as
long as it is disabled.
Table of “Pump Supplies”:
This table shows what winches each pump can be directed to.
Eksample:
Pump 23 can be directed to Main winch and Secondary Port.
Note: This table is only an example, and may be different on this

particular vessel.
3.2.1 Valve Status.

The status of the valves are shown here:
The Valve numbers refers to hydraulic piping diagram.

The lamp are grey if the coil on the valve are not energized, and
green if the coil are energized.
In the example to the left Valve 87 and 89 are energized.
Symbol description of Valves:

On the hydraulic piping diagrams there are 3 types of electrically operated valves used to
direct the oil flow to the different winches. We will describe some of these symbols to make
it easier to understand the how the pumps are directed to the different winches.
Change over valves:
Deenergized coil: Oil flows from A to B

Energized coil: Oil flows from A to C
Electrical Non Return valves:

This is a Normally Open valve:
Deenergized coil: Oil flow in direction of arrow
Energized coil: No oil flow.
This is a Normally Closed Valve:

Deenergized coil: No oil flow
Energized coil: Oil flow in direction of arrow
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3.3 Operation of Main Servo.
LONG TIME TOWING:

This vessel may from time to time use one of the main winches only for
holding the load/tow tensioned without rotating, and with brakes engaged.
In this occasions it would be convenient to stop the servo pump to
prevent the servo oil getting overheated, save fuel and reduce noise.
However, the brakes are depending on continuously servo oil pressure,
and because of a small leakage in valves etc the servo pump would even
in this occasions had to been started from time to time to maintain high
enough pressure. To make this start/stop sequence of servo automatic, the
servo unit is equipped with facilities to take care of this job of its own, if
so is wanted.
The automatic start/stop function is called ‘Long Time Towing’, and is remote controlled from the
TowCon screen on bridge. Pressing the button will make the lamp inside go yellow, indicating that
long time towing is active. When “Long Time Towing” is activated ,“Auto” is reset.
CAUTION!
When Long time Towing is active the servo unit will start automatically when pressure is
below limit for start. Keep this in mind if maintaining the servo system.
AUTO:
When this button is pressed/lit, the servo will start automatically when one or more devices in the
control system requires servo oil to operate. Typical if operator wants to operate the spooling devices,
the servo will start automatically when a LP pump for a spooling device is started. When pressing
AUTO, the “Long Time Towing” will be reset. A given time after last request for servo oil is
removed, the servo unit will stop.
START:
When pushing the “Start”-button servo unit will start necessary pumps to maintain a minimum servo
pressure. Pressing “Start” will force “Auto” and “Long Time Towing” to be reset.
STOP:
When pushing the “Stop”-button all servo pumps on unit will stop. “Auto” and “Long Time Towing”
will be reset.
P1/P2 RUN:
Running feedback from each pump on a servo unit. A typical main servo for an anchor handling
winch is always equipped with two pumps, 1 normally operating in standby.
P1/P2 TRIP:
If the motor protection on a servo pump motor is activated, a red lamp will indicate the “fault”.
SELECTING P1 or P2 as first pump to start:

The servo starter is equipped with a selector for changing between which pump to be running
continous, and which pump to operate as standby. During normal operations it is advised to monitor
the running hours on the servo pumps, and change switch so each pump accumulates the same
amount of running hours.
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3.4 Command control – remote controlled winches
Depending on safety scheme on vessel, operational demands etc, it may be necessary to have the
possibility to control a winch from other locations than the control devices on bridge.
Command Allocation is monitored and controlled by a special picture on the TOWCON Monitor.
An example of this is shown below. On the screen it is possible to select operation of a winch either
from bridge or from deck. In addition to this it may also be more than one control device for a
particular winch both on the bridge and on deck. As an example it may be possible to control a winch
both by a joystick on the Bridge Control Panel and by a joystick on the Winch Control Chair; and in
addition to this it may also be possible to control this by use of a Portable Controller. By use of
touch screen on monitor it is possible to allocate command to Deck, but personnel on Bridge can at
any time take over.
Premises for allocating control to Deck:

Joystick for speed controllers has to be in stop position. Tension Controller may be set to any torque
before command shift, but no adjustment can be done for 3 seconds in advance.
Activate Portable Controller:

Before a Portable Control Unit is activated, the “Take Command”-button on the controller must be
pushed. Until this is done the controller will be “Stand By”. Press the “Take Command”-button for
about 3 sec. to make an activated controller change to “Stand By”.
Changing between devices for Speed Control:

Joystick for speed control has to be in stop position to make it possible to transfer command to
another control stand or swapping command between two joysticks.
Changing between devices for Tension Control

Tension Controller may be set to any torque before command shift, but no adjustment can be done
for 3 seconds in advance.
Be aware of :
A winch may be operated from several locations, but it may be that all functions can’t be controlled
from all control stands. What functions that may be operated by each control stand is shown on the
monitor picture COMMAND. A yellow indicator shows that a function can be operated by use of a
Deck Controller ( normally a portable control unit ) Blue indicators show that a function can be
controlled by equipment on bridge. Be aware that even if command has been allocated to deck, there
may be functions on a winch that still must be controlled from bridge.
Please study example below :
Example shows :
Command is allocated to Deck System, but
control devices for use on deck can only
operate hoist/lower functions. Tension and
Speed Steps on Tugger Winches must still be
controlled by use of devices placed on bridge.
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3.4.1 TowCon screen – Bridge system:
Select the desired drum using the selector switch in MAIN or

DUAL view. The status of the drums couplings and brake will be
updated according to the selected drum. Setting of brakes and
couplings is done at the base of either the speed or tension input
device. Be sure the device is set to the correct drum.
All screen elements in screen section will address selected drum.

See example of elements below. Actual screen elements will differ according to functions
implemented.
After a longer standstill there might be need for lubrication of gears. The Force
Lubrication button activates an automatic lubrication cycle.
(See section for Forced Lubrication for more details.)
(See section for speed step for more details.)
This function controls the number of active hydraulic chambers in the motor.
To decrease torque step, the tension setpoint has to be >95%.
Normally a motor operates with all three chambers activated, this gives
maximum torque on the shaft. The Increase/Decrease buttons are used to change
the number of active chambers.
(See section for torque step for more details.)
On some installations there are System Addon functions implemented:

(See section for Sys Addon for more details.)
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3.4.2 Winch Chair – Bridge system:
On the winch chair the speed levers controls what drum to monitor and control on screen. The
difference is easily spotted. The screen selectors are removed, compared to TowCon screen.
When tension control device on left side is

controlling a different drum than the speed control
device, a sign “Caution” is lit. This is done to
remind winch operator that different drums are
selected on same side in chair.
There is no auto-follow function or interlock
between speed and tension device.
This is a choice that have been developed through
close cooperation with our customers.
Flexibility was a stronger argument than the
others.
A compromise was to incorporate a sign telling the
operator about the difference.
The sign is only installed on newer versions of

winch chair systems.
Typically the sign is lit when both speed and
tension device is in command, and are serving
different drums.
The sign is located between Speed Step and
Torque Step.
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3.4.3 Input Device – Winch Control Chair and Bridge Panel
Drum selection is performed by “cycling drums”, until wanted drum is shown in display.
“Cycling” is done simply by pressing the + or ÷ buttons. Selectable drums will then be shown on the
display, but this is not possible unless controlled device is “Stand By”. When control device is
“Stand By” there is a yellow light on the “Activate”-button, and functions normally controlled by the
device will not be affected by buttons being pressed or joystick movement. Do not try to “cycle
drums” when there is a blue light on the “Activate”-button! When device is activated the + and ÷
buttons is used to control torque step on winch motors.
When display on device shows the winch you want to use,

activate for operation by pressing the “Command”-button rapidly
two times. ( like double-click on a computer mouse )
If you want to use a device for controlling another winch then the
one shown on the display, press “Command”-button rapidly two
times and verify that it is “Stand By” before you select.
“Command”-button
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3.5 Controlling Brakes.
The drums equipped with band brake can be remote operated from the Devices. These brakes may
also be manually operated at the winch, but that opportunity is normally not used under ordinary
circumstances. Please study instructions for emergency use of brakes on the name plate on
Emergency Brake Pump on winch. In case of leakage in servo pipes on Main winches, brakes will be
engaged by a accumulator on the Emergency Brake Unit, securing a minimum of brake force. Other
winches, not designed for emergency release functionality, will normally have spring brake on,
pressure off.
Please spend some time to study how the emergency systems works before releasing brakes by use of
remote control. Before releasing any brake, be sure about the precautions mentioned in chapter 1.1
concerning security of crew is carried out.
Section of Device.
Example of button and lamps for

operating brake on a drum.
Drum selected is shown in display.
Observe:
Flashing Lamp = order not fulfilled!
Red light = Brake confirmed ON.
Green light = Brake confirmed OFF.
Brake is operated by a button with integrated control lamps on the left side of the Input device.
Operate brake from ON to OFF: (Red light is lit, green in dark.)
Operate brake by double-clicking the button.
The green lamp will now start blinking, and after a few seconds it will light continuously, indicating
that brake now is completely released. The red light will be dark.
Operate brake from OFF to ON:
Operate brake by double-clicking the button.
The red lamp will now start blinking, and after a few seconds it will light continuously,
indicating fully engaged brake. Green light will be dark.
See section for coupling showing visual fb on screen.
CAUTION!
It is inadvisable to release brake when drum is not connected to motor unit!
Always evaluate load on winch before releasing brake!
Automatic Brake Interlock: (Sys Addon)

If brake is equipped with ABI (Automatic Brake Interlock), release of bandbrake on a drum not
engaged with coupling, is delayed 30s. An audible and visual alarm will be set off.
See section for System Addons for further details.
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3.6 Connecting motors to a drum.
Remote controlled couplings can be operated from device for speed or tension.
Operate by double-click on button for operation of coupling. The Input device must be “In
Command”
When the coupling position selector is operated, one of the adjacent control lamps will start blinking.
When the coupling is in right position, the control lamp will light continuously.
Section of Device showing coupling confirmed engaged. Green light in lower section of
button is lit with a green colour.
Indication glowing continuous indicates actual state. Blinking indication indicates wanted
state. Red light indicates coupling out, or in progress to go out.
NOTE ! The operation of couplings are interlocked to brake. If brake is not ON, it is not
possible to move the coupling remotely.
Visual feedback on screen:
Under the drum selector, in main and dual view, the

status for brake and coupling is shown.
It is used same colours as on the input device.
Coupling, engaged.
On winch view the brakes and coupling are also shown.

Red brake = brake engaged.
Green drum = Motor is connected to drum, and motor has pumps
running.
Green coupling = coupling engaged and motor supplied with oil.
When not active or engaged, the colours change to gray.
Brake, turned on.

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3.7 Double Drive Coupling / Shaft Couplings.

The operator may choose to use more than one motor unit on the same drum, giving the drum
(double) more hoisting power. The coupling is operated from TowCon screen – Main View or Winch
View. (On newer systems the Winch View is used.)
Normally, in double drive, 2 identical motorsets are connected. Therefore the name double drive.
On some winches even more motors can be connected to a drum, on a separate transmission, but this
is more rare. Coupling for these motors will be handled in the same matter as a double drive
coupling, and will be operated from screen.
Operate coupling by pressing button on screen. When button is pressed, one of the adjacent control
lamps will start blinking. When the coupling is in right position, the control lamp will be lit
continuously. It may be necessary to rotate motor to engage/disengage coupling. If of any reason one
of the couplings should move from its decided position, the control lamp will start blinking to alarm
the operator.
Section of Control Panel. (OLDER SYSTEMS)
Illustration only!
Connect or disconnect ”Double Drive”-coupling by button on

TowCon panel
Please observe
It is not possible to disengage the drum coupling for any of the drums if the brake is released.
If interlock is active the request of operation will be ignored.
If for any reason one of the couplings should move from its decided position, the topical control lamp
will start blinking to alarm the operator.
Operating more than one drum in double drive will generate an alarm in the system
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On newer systems the double drive couplings is named Shaft Couplings. It results in the same , but is
named by function on shaft, rather than function on system.
The environment where the couplings are operated is intuitive and easily operated. When operator
has the “whole” picture, it is more likely to operate the shaft couplings correctly.
CAUTION!
Disengage drum coupling when towing with brake on!
Take precautions not to exceed specified max-load on cable lifters!
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3.8 Speed Step – controlling oil flow to motors
Controls implemented on screen.
This function will automatically start/stop the necessary pumps and set the
changeover valves to their correct position. If you do not get the desired amount
of oil, it could be because the motor/manouver limits the amount of oil in the
current situation.
The dotted line in the green bar indicates position of manouver lever on motor. It is the actual
feedback from the motor. It is scaled as 0-100% of calibrated movement on lever, where 100%
equals dotted line in top of bar.
The “CAUTION” sign is lit when:

Main Servo not running.
Main Servo not in Auto
One or more Sys Addon functions, which affect the speed step is activated.
Example of situation where the motor/manouver valve is limiting the amount of oil:
The operator wants full speed on the winch, and clicks on the up button until the blue bar are
completely blue. At this point the manouver valve are in stop position, and the manouver valve can
only handle half of the desired oil rate in this situation. Then the green bar will be green half way up,
and the rest of the oil are directed away from the motor.
The operator start hoisting and the manouver valve comes into fully hoist position, in this situation
the manouver valve can handle all the desired oil. The rest of the oil will then be automatically
directed to the motor, and the green bar will be completely green.
Block of INC when speed lever not in stop: (INC/up-arrow is removed)

If main LP pumps are not equipped with bypass-valves it is not possible to start any pumps unless
speed lever on winch motor is in stop position.
Block of INC when SlowDrive is activated : (Sys Addon)

If Slowdrive is activated on drum, it is only possible to start one pump for each motor.
See section for System addons for further details.
Block of INC when PowerSave is activated: (Sys Addon)

If PowerSave is activated on drum, it is only possible to start one pump for each motor.
See section for System addons for further details.
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3.9 Torque step – Manual motor cell selection
This function controls the number of

active hydraulic chambers in the motor.
(Not all motors are equipped with this
functionality).
The function is only available when
the brake is off and the coupling
engaged. Also, to decrease torque step,
the tension setpoint has to be >95%.
Normally a motor operates with all
three chambers activated, this gives maximum torque on the shaft.
Operating from Screen:
The Increase/Decrease buttons are used to change the number of active chambers. The status of the
chambers are shown to the left of the buttons. (Green indicates active. The pressure are shown in the
bar left to the chamber status. The bar are scaled from 0-100% of nominal pressure. The actual
pressure in bar is displayed between INC/DEC buttons. The example above indicates 6 bar actual
pressure on motor.
The dotted line in the green bar indicates tension order on motor. It is scaled as 0-100% , same scale
as for the tension devices. 100% equals dotted line in top of bar.
Operating from Input device:
The function is only available when the Input Device is “In Command”, the brake is off and the
coupling engaged.
The Increase/Decrease buttons are used to change the number of active chambers.
The green light in the button will indicate that it is possible to decrease/increase.
The pressure in the motor have to be less than 66% to be able to decrease number of active chambers,
this is to prevent the drum to pay out caused by reduced torque on the shaft. The black arrows the
buttons/green light in base, indicates that it is possible to decrease/increase.
Here are some figures on how the number of active chambers affects the motor:
3 active chambers gives: nominal speed nominal torque
2 active chamber gives approx.: 1,5 x nominal speed 0,67 x nominal torque
1 active chamber gives approx.: 3 x nominal speed 0,33 x nominal torque
The system is constantly monitoring the cells and denies any requests that might strain the motors
above its specification.
Note: Torque Step:

It is only possible to select 1 cell with winch rotating in hoist direction and with tension order >95%.
Not all motors have that torque step equipped. See motor-valve arrangement for more information.
When the brake is engaged the torque step always goes to 3 chambers. When releasing the brake,
operator has to press buttons, on Device or screen, to change torque step.
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3.10 Tension control device.
It is possible to control the tension on drums equipped with

tension valve by limiting the oil pressure in their hydraulic
motors. Pressure is controlled by Device for tension.
The Input device must be “In command” to change tension.
To limit the pressure, turn the knob counter-clock. To allow
higher pressure, turn the knob clockwise.
Maximum pressure depends on pressure set on safety valves

on motor and system pressure.
Please notice that you may not see the pressure
increase on bar graphs etc even if you adjust the
knob.
This is so because the pressure will never exceed
what is necessary to cope with the present torque
on hydraulic motors.
Please notice that it is necessary to have the
Main Servo in service to operate tension control
valves on servo unit.
See section for torque step for more details about interaction between Input device for tension and torque step function.
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3.11 Rotate the Winch.
Motors equipped with remote controlled capabilities can be can be remote operated from an Device
for speed or by radio/cable control.
It is always possible to operate a motor by opening the bypass-throttle on the motor, and moving the
lever manually. On big winches this can be very heavy.
To pay out, push lever firmly ahead. To haul in, pull lever firmly against you. Avoid too quick
movements on control levers to minimize stress on generators, pipes, pumps and other hydraulic
equipment, and to make winch operations as little “noisy” as possible.
Releasing the lever will make the winch stop, as the lever automatically returns to stop position.
Please notice that it is necessary to have the Main Servo in service to operate as described above.


Before rotating any winch, be sure about the precautions mentioned in chapter concerning security of
crew is carried out.
See section 3.8 for Speed Step for details.

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3.12 Operating Spooling Device
The spooling devices are operated by moving joystick left/right, and by use of two push buttons on aft
top section of joystick. This makes it possible to operate both Hoist/Lower and spooling at the same
time by using only one hand. Necessary pumps are automatically started when operating a device.
A given time after last spool operation the pumps will be stopped automatically. This time is set to 15
min as of today.
Select which drum to operate by cycling through the drum by pressing (+) or (-) on Input device base.
When correct drum name is shown in display, double-click on “Command”. When blue light “in
command” is lit, joystick is ready for spooling operation.
Make spooling device move to Stb by moving joystick to Stb.

Make spooling device move to Port by moving joystick to Port.
Spool rollers may be operated separately:
Make spool roller Stb move separate: Press Stb button on device, joystick in wanted direction.
Make spool roller Port move separate: Press Port button on device, joystick in wanted direction.
Picture of Device. Illustration only!
Joystick
Select
spooling roll
(+) INC-button
(-) DEC-button
Command button
Selected drum
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3.13 Tooth wheel Lubrication
Even though this system is automatic it is necessary to check the amount of grease on the wheels
before every winch operation. This must be done by manual inspection because the system has no
sensors that can verify that grease is in fact applied to the wheels and is not squeezed out through a
damaged pipe, or that something else has made the system failing. There are inspection lids on all
gear covers.
If inspection unveils lack of grease, extra lubrication must be supplied by manual override of the
automatic function. Push the “Force Lubrication” –button on the TowCon or Winch chair monitor.
Grease will now be supplied continuously until drum has rotated one turn. The “Force Lub.”- button
will glow when grease lubrication system actually injects grease.. The “Force Lubrication” period
cannot be interrupted from the remote control, but the function will be aborted if drum is stopped.
The control lamp on panel will be shut off immediately if the period is ended or the function of any
reason is aborted.
The lamp on the “Force Lubrication”-button will be lit when grease is applied to one of the wheels.
Please observe this control lamp during winch operation to be sure that system is in order. If one of
the drums is rotating for longer periods without this lamp being lit there is reason to suspect that
there is a malfunction in the lubrication system, and tooth wheels must immediately be inspected.
Alarm ”Grease lubrication System xxx – winch xxx – Grease supply failing” will be set off on
TowCon screen if grease level in reservoir gets low. Action must immediately be taken to refill the
tank or unveil any fault in the system.
On the Lubrication Cabinet on winch is to be found the same control lamps that are described above,
and there is also a “Force Lubrication”-switch inside the cabinet. Be aware that pushing this button
will not give continuously greasing for more than one turn of the rotating wheel.

screen on bridge.
Section of TowCon screen: Illustration only!

Equipment on various vessels may look slightly different.
Section of button turns green when lubricating
CAUTION!
The automatic lubrication system can fail. For this reason always check the gear transmission
visually to verify that the teeth are covered with grease.
The winch must never run without grease on gearwheels. If this is done, you will get
breakdown and excessive wear on the gearwheels.
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3.14 SAFETY FUNCTIONS
3.14.1 Emergency Stop.
If something unexpected or dangerous should occur, demanding the winches to be stopped

immediately, there is an Emergency Stop Switch on the Control Panel on bridge. There is also one or
more of these switches placed on a small junction box on a convenient place on deck. Please make
sure that the crew is informed about where they are placed before any winch operations are started.
Section of Control Panel.

Illustration only !
Pushing down one of these switches will stop

the Servo Unit and all Main Pumps, make the
manoeuvre valves on winches go to Stop
Position, and engage all remote controlled
brakes.
3.14.2 Emergency Release.
If something unexpected or dangerous should occur, demanding the winches to release the load,
there is an Emergency Release Switch on the Control Panel on bridge. There is also one switch
placed on deck. Please make sure that the crew is informed about where they are placed before any
winch operations are started. One should however be ware of the rather serious consequences using
these switches may cause to ship, crew and equipment; and because of this the switches are also
protected against being pushed down by accidents. Pushing down one of these switches will cause
brakes being only smoothly engaged, with a rather weak force, just enough to prevent uncontrolled
rotation on drum resulting wire injury.
Section of Control Panel.
Illustration only!
NOTICE!
Observe that pulling up again the activated switch
will make the brake be engaged (if it was engaged
before the Emergency Release was activated). If so
is done while there is load in wire this may cause
serious damages to winch equipment, towing wire,
ship, and even expose crew members to great
danger.
NOTE ! Em.release overrule Em.stop !

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3.14.3 Over speed Protection.
If the Remote Control system detects rotation speed on a motor above allowed limit, the hydraulic
pressure in the winch motors will automatically be increased to maximum to reduce motor RPM. At
the same time the Speed Control will adjust manoeuvre valves on the topical motor units to Stop-
Position. A Brake On order will be given simultaneously to reduce the RPM under the preset limit.
If this happens one should increase the motor pressure a little next time when similar operations is to
be carried out, to prevent damages on winch motors caused by too high revolution speed.
On screen change of overspeed limit: (System Addon)
Segment of Alarm picture

in Towcon.
By reducing the RPM limit on the Towcon Monitoring System, over speed protection can easily be
tested. Lowest possible limit is 15RPM.
The maximum value allowed in the display equals max. allowed rpm on motor.
3.14.3.1 Max tension when over speed
If the Remote Control system detects rotation speed on a motor above allowed limit, the power to the
proportional valve, controlling the motor tension, is cut. This causes the motor to give max tension
according to shock valves on motor.
3.14.3.2 Bandbrakes engage when over speed
If the Remote Control system detects rotation speed on a motor above allowed limit, the bandbrake
on drum connected to motor is engaged.
3.14.4 Active stop
Active stop is the common name for forcing speed control order to zero (stop position), the speed
order from the operator is then superseded
It is used to protect the winch installation in various situations, such as:
3.14.4.1 No oil to motors. Not allowed to operate speed control.

3.14.4.2 Trying to run drum against brake. (Only a certain pressure is allowed)
3.14.4.3 Over speed on motor.
3.14.4.4 Overload on winch.
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3.14.5 Password protected features
Some features on screen are password protected. This is to protect them from unintended
change.
Password for these features is : 9173 – Looking at the keypad it is the corner numbers entered
in a “diagonally” order.
Under is a screenshot from the SETUP-canvas
Wire Strength Lim is a Class Society
demand. The value entered is the actual
breaking force of the wire. An alarm will
be generated at 0.5x this value.
When changing this value the operator

changes the winch strength.
Example: Entering 200tonnes will make
the winch a 200 tonnes winch, not able to
pay in with a higher tension than 200
tonnes.
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3.15 System addons
3.15.1 SlowDrive
3.15.2 LengthGuard
3.15.3 ReReel Hoist Limitation - To be selected for use
3.15.4 CableLifter Hoist Protection – Uses data from cable-lifter table. Not user selectable.
3.15.5 Shark Jaw tension reading – Calibration / Reset
3.15.6 Length Reading Stern Roller
3.15.7 Auto Mode Chain Pull winches
3.15.8 Max Speed Range – Adjustable max order from speed lever / Rescaling.
PLEASE NOTE:
The following describes what functions that are currently available in addition to “standard” winch
control package.
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3.15.1 ”SlowDrive” - ASD

All pumps to selected drum,but one is stopped, motor is forced to run on three cells
Will force only one pump, and three chambers on motor. Used in
conjunction with ALG, a very controlled movement is ensured.
It is not possible to start more than one pump for a given motor. In double
drive each motor will have one pump each.
Screenshot below shows ALG (Length Guard) turned on at the same time as ASD.
Yellow lamp is lit indicating that

SlowDrive is activated.
Three cells active. Not allowed to

change Torque Step.
Speed step INC is disabled. Only

allowed to start one pump.
Caution sign turned on to indicate that

Speed step function is affected by one
or more system addon functions.
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3.15.2 ”Hoist Limitation” - AHL
Drum is stopping to hoist when limit given in ReReel SWL limit is reached.
Bar graph in top shows how many % of SWL winch actually is paying in
with. (SWL = Safe Work Load.) The hoisting force in Cable lifter mode is
also limited to max allowed hoisting force, for the selected cable lifter.
See screenshot below showing max allowed hoisting force for cable lifter.
Picture below shows AHL function activated. Approx 66% of the SWL set in Setup tab is utilized.
PLEASE NOTE !
The continuous allowed load on the Re reel sheave is 30t. The sheave has to be sprayed constantly
with water, to ensure sufficient cooling.
It is not possible to activate AHL when in CABLAR mode.

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3.15.3 ”Length Guard” - ALG
Used to allow only very small movement on a drum.

Typically used when drum is working with parts on deck.
Parameter in TowCon setup canvas limits movement.
Press button to activate. Red lamp in button indicates that
function is activated. See screenshot below.
ALG function used in conjunction with ASD will give the best
condition to operate the winch in a very slow and controlled manner.
Accurate display of movement since
function activated. Relative value.
Bar display of movement.

Max scale is 100cm
Red lamp indicating

that function is active
Red bar is used for wire being hauled in.

Yellow bar is used for wire being payed out.
When the limit set in Setup tab is reached, active stop is activated and the bandbrake is
turned on. See screenshot below. Limit is in current picture set to 65cm.
NOTE !
It is not possible to turn off the brake when ALG limit is reached. The button has to be
pressed, thus function disabled/reset, to allow brake to be turned off, once turned on by
ALG.
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3.15.4 On screen change of overspeed limit:
Segment of Alarm picture

in Towcon.
By reducing the RPM limit on the Towcon Monitoring System, over speed protection can
easily be tested. Lowest possible limit is 15RPM.
The maximum value allowed in the display equals max. allowed rpm on motor.
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3.15.5 Shark Jaw tension reading
The tension in the shark jaws is displayed in 3 different locations:
- In the Winch view tab
- In the Main view and the Dual view tab
3.15.5.1 Using Tara function.

If the load reading at no load is not showing zero tonnes, the TARA button can be pressed.
This is the same function as in normal weight reading systems. It does not alter the
calibration, it only shifts the entire curve so when TARA is pressed it does display zero
tonnes.
Pressing TARA button will make the
reading in actual load situation display
zero tonnes.
NOTE!
There is one TARA button for each
Sharkjaw.
3.15.5.2 Selecting which loadcell pair to display.

Operator has to select either A or B set to be displayed in the normal tabs. The selected pair
will also be used for transmission to DP system or similar. See chapter 3.15.5.3 for more
details.
Pressing button will select Pair B for

display. A lamp will be lit when B-pair is
selected. On winch view tab the actual
selection A or B is indicated by lamps
adjacent to the load reading.
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3.15.5.3 Calibrating Sharkjaw load reading

The control system is able of displaying and calibrating load reading from loadcells in the
RRM Sjarkjaws. Each Sharkjaw is equipped with 1 redundant/two separate load cell sets.
The sets are named A and B. The display below is found in the Setup tab. Description that
follow will describe how MMI is realized for two – 2 – Sharkjaws. One STB and one on
PORT side.
CALIBRATION PROCEDURE:
Activate button to calibrate/display
PORT Sharkjaw. A red lamp in
button will be lit when PORT is
selected. Otherwise STB is selected.
The RAW values from the loadcells

should be from ~100 at zero to 10000
when the Sharkjaw is max tensioned.
Press Cal mode to enter CAL. Mode.

A red lamp will be lit in button when
cal mode is active.
At zero load set 0 in the MIN VAL

window and press “SET MIN”
When tensioned up to f.ex. 200t on
reference reading, enter 200 in “MAX
VAL” window and press “SET
MAX”
The easiest way to calibrate Sharkjaw is to use the bandbrake on the main winch as reference.
• Run the Sharkjaw to calibrate 90% to the top. Use a crowbar or similar to rotate the
Sharkjaw 180° clockwise.
• Run the Sharkjaw completely to the top. Insert the socket of wire/chain to the
Sharkjaw. Remember to secure the connection so it does not damage anything if it
slips.
• Adjust loadcell so the RAW VALUE is displaying ~100. Press “SET MIN” on
Sharkjaw – in calibrating mode.
• Tension up the Sharkjaw with the winch. Hold the speed lever in hoist while engaging
the brake. Wait for some seconds after the brake FB on is received.
• Read value on reference loadreading system (TowCon screen). Enter the value in
MAX VAL window. Press “SET MAX”. The ACTUAL SCALED” display should
now be reading the same number as entered in the “MAX VAL” window.
• The calibration is now completed. Press “CAL MODE” button to leave cal mode.
• Run Sharkjaw down to 90%, and use a crowbar or similar to rotate the Sharkjaw 180°
anti-clockwise.
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• The load cell should be tensioned as much as possible. If “MAX VAL” is a very low
value, the calibration may be of poor quality.
• The “SET INIT” value and button is for initial setup only. If no calibration is done the
“INIT” values will be entered into the calculation. Only to be used for “getting
started”.
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3.15.6 Length Reading Stern Roller
On stern rollers equipped with rpm detectors the control system can keep track of movement
of the stern roller.
This application is typically used when winch operator wants to spool chain directly to a
drum. Length counting on drum will be suspended when length counting on stern roller is
activated.
Selecting dimension on chain :

For the length counting to be optimal operator has to give input to TowCon regarding chain diameter.
Please see section 2.1.2.2
Select the correct cable lifter size compared to what chain is going to
be spooled on to drum.
If actual chain dimension is not to be found in the table, select the
closest match.
USING SCREEN CONTROLS
Operator “Select” which part, the drum is to be ”connected”

to, by pressing left or right arrow.
When “Select” is pressed, the drum is locked on to selected
stern roller.
“Activate” is pressed to start counting on stern roller.

TowCon no longer counts on drum.
“Reset” is the same as reset length. Initial length is put into

length register for stern roller length.
This screen element is located in main view and dual view.

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Start counting length on SternRoller: -Suspend drum counting
When pressing “activate”, the lamp will be blinking until 1m is reached.
If the drum is paying out before 1 meter is reached, the length counting will still be locked on the
SternRoller.
When 1m is reached, the lamp “activate” will be lit constant.
Suspend counting on sternroller:

When pressing “activate” while length is >1m, the counting will be suspended. The “Activate” lamp
will be blinking. Pressing “activate” once more will resume counting on sternroller and suspend
counting on drum.
Resume counting on drum:

When paying out chain, and length reading reaches zero, TowCon automatically resumes counting on
drum. Also when pressing “activate” the counting on the drum will be resumed, and length counting
on sternroller will be suspended.
Reset:
When pressing reset, the number in “start length” will be entered into the sternroller counter.
Thus length on sternroller will be set to “start length”.
Please note:
The length is ”stored” on the sternroller. If same sternroller is used for different chain spooled on
different drum, operator manually has to keep track of actual length spooled on to a drum.
When resuming operation on a drum, after the sternroller has been used for other purposes or a
different drum, please be sure to set the correct start length on sternroller.
Screen dump below shows the location of this information.
Initially the start length on a sternroller is set to zero.
RRM specific information:

In Setup (Password) the sternroller diameter and pulses per revolution is entered.
Remember to verify parameters in this section prior to commissioning and testing.
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3.15.7 Auto Mode Chain Pull Winches
On winch plants equipped with remote controlled Chain Pull Winches (CPW), it is possible
to use an automatic function in Main Winch view. See screenshot below. AUTO mode
makes the CPW to act as a back-tension device for the main winch cable lifters.
Chain Pull Winches (CPW) are often mounted on top of chain locker. This makes it possible
to have the chain lockers in some distance from the winch.
Activating AUTO mode:

The CPW will go into full hoist with given tension 3 seconds after the Auto button is pressed
for longer than 3 seconds. The “pulling” lamp, on screen, will be blinking 15 seconds after
the function is activated.
De-activating AUTO mode:
The auto mode is cancelled when one or more of the points for making READY lamp grey
are present, or Auto button is pressed again (toggle function). See page below.
Screenshot above shows a configuration where both chain pull winches are using same main
pump, thus there is only one SpeedStep function element. Current picture shows STB CPW is
in auto mode and pulling with 68% tension, and Port CPW is ready and waiting for operator.
No screen elements in the CPW function will be blinking for more than 15 seconds.
Elements will be blinking when operator attention is wanted, but is lit or turned off, if no
operator action within 15 seconds.
The chain pull winches give the ability to:

1. Keep constant back-tension on chain while using cable lifter.
2. Pulling chain from cable lifter to chain locker. Thus location of chain locker is not
dependent of winch location.
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READY: (Lamp)
Gray: Winch not ready. Caused by one or more missing:
Low Pressure Pump
Servo Unit
Cabelar Mode on winch
Brake Not Off on main drum
Blinking: Cable Lifter Mode Selected, Brake OFF AND:
One or more main LP pumps for CPW or Servo is running.
Steady: Winch is ready to be operated
Colour: Green / Gray
AUTO: (Btn & Lamp)

Gray: Not active.
Blinking: Auto selected, Alarm Horn Active – pulling is soon to be activated
Steady: Auto selected and active.
Colour: Yellow / Gray
Not possible to select AUTO mode when ready lamp not lit.
When AUTO is selected the CPW start to hoist, with given tension order.
Pulling: (Lamp)
Gray: Not active.
Blinking: CPW is pulling in hoist direction with given tension setpoint. Under 15 sec
since function was activated.
Steady: CPW pulling – active for more than 15 sec.
Colour: Yellow / Gray
TENSION SET: (Digital)

Show tension order on CPW : 0 to 100%
Speed Step
Used for requesting oil to given winches. On some plants it will be dedicated pumps, on other
the pumps are shared with other winches.
Outputs on winch control system

Each CPW has 2 outputs each from +OCC cabinet. Check +OCC documentation for exact
wiring details. There is one output for sound and one for alarm/warning lamp. The outputs
are both potential free and rated for (24VDC/2A). – Capable of powering 2A continuous per
output.
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3.15.8 Max Speed Range (MSR)
PLEASE NOTE: Function is currently available only on systems with winch chair
Winches operated/selected from speed device on winch chair can utilize MSR function.
Below is screenshot from a typical winch chair.
Function is developed to give steady manoeuvre valve orders also with other values than
100%. Each hydraulic motor is equipped with manoeuvre valves giving operator the ability to
control the RPM on the motor. The number in the MSR window indicates max manoeuvre
valve position when operator moves speed lever fully to hoist or lower. It rescales the entire
range of the speed lever. Giving 70% percent speed order will make the manoeuvre valve to
operate to maximum 70% in either hoist or lower direction. The actual RPM on the motor
depends on how many hydraulic pumps that are running, the set tension order and the actual
tension in the wire/chain.
The yellow bargraph

indicates speed order set to
on manoeuvre valve. The
dotted line inside the MSR
is actual position FB on the
manoeuvre valve. The
number between UP and
Down arrow indicates actual
max speed order value.
Pressing UP will increase
value with 10.
Pressing DOWN will
decrease value with 10.
Lowest possible value is 10.
On some winches MSR of
10 will cause the winch not
to rotate at all.
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4 USER CONTROLS
4.1 Input Devices

The system is mainly operated from ‘Input Devices’ which replaces much of the functionality
that earlier where sets of switches and indicators on the control panel itself. Each input device
has a built in set of standard functions in the base. The functions are the same in both speed
and tension device.
Speed Control Tension Control
Spooling Device
Move Stb / Port by tilting
the joystick sideways.
Select spooling roll Display
Decrement Increment
Brake on/off Coupling in/out

Command
• Input Devices for Tension
Rotate the knob clockwise to increase the tension limit on the winch, and counter clockwise to
decrease. This function is only available when the Input Device is in command.
Inside the Input Device there is a electrically controlled “brake”. This “brake” will be activated
when trying to go lower than 0% or higher than 100%.
• Input Devices for Speed

The joystick can be tilted in four directions:
Rotate the drum in Lower direction
Move the Spooling device to Stb Move the Spooling device to Port
Rotate the drum in Hoist direction

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To operate one single spooling roll at the time, just press one of the buttons on top of the joystick
to select which spooling roll to be operated and tilt the joystick in the direction you want the roll
to move. These functions are only available when the Input Device is in command.
• Functions in the base (Common for both types)

Display:
The display will in general show the selected drum. But some status changes will be
displayed for some seconds. E.g when the coupling are fully engaged, the text “Coupling In”
will pop up.
Command button:
To activate the command on the selected drum double click at the button, and the light in the
button will change from yellow to blue. If the light still are yellow, the drum may be operated
from an another Input Device.
To deactivate the command just double click again, and the light in the button will change
from blue to yellow.
When the input device is not in command the “select drum” is the only function active.
Select Drum:
This function is only available when the Input Device is not in command. To select a drum,
just press the Increment or Decrement buttons to cycle through the drums until wanted drum
is displayed.
Torque Step:
The function is only available when the Input Device is in command, the brake is off and the
coupling engaged.
Brake ON/OFF:
The function is only available when the Input Device is in command.
To alter the Brake between On/Off, just double click on the button.
The red light indicates that the brake is ON. If the red light flashes, the brake is not fully
engaged yet.
The green light indicates that the brake is OFF. If the green light flashes, the brake is not
released yet.
Coupling IN/OUT:
The function is only available when the Input Device is in command and the brake is ON.
To alter the coupling between IN/OUT, just double click on the button.
The red light indicates that the coupling is OUT. If the red light flashes, the coupling is not
fully released yet.
The green light indicates that the coupling is IN. If the green light flashes, the coupling is not fully
engaged yet.
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4.2 LCD Monitor
TOUCH SCREEN
POWER SWITCH
CONTRAST
POWER INDICATION LAMP
BRIGHTNESS
COVER FOR GEOMETRY CONTROLS
4.2.1 Power Switch

The power switch turns the monitor and touchscreen (if fitted) on and off.
The switch does not turn off the PC or the interface board.
4.2.2 Power on lamp
Is lit when monitor is switched on and power cord is connected.
4.2.3 Contrast Control
Adjusts the image brightness in relation to the background.
4.2.4 Brightness Control
Adjusts the overall image and background screen brightness.
4.2.5 Touch Screen
The whole screen is covered in a touch sensitive film , which presents the operator with an
intuitive and straightforward interface to the systems different settings and operating modes.
4.2.6 Screen adjustments

Remove the cover on the left side of the monitor and the controls will be visible.
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NB! If screen geometry is adjusted the touch screen needs to be recalibrated, this because the
touchscreen is relative to the front of the LCD panel. And will therefore stay in the same
position even if the picture itself is moved .
RESET BUTTON
CONTROL +
SELECT BUTTON CONTROL -

LED INDICATORS
4.2.7 Select button

Select control proceeds to the next control selection. Move the led indicators across the
adjustment controls from left to right.
4.2.8 Functions with LED indicators

Starting from left the controls are as follows:
• Horizontal position control adjusts the horizontal position of the image.
• Vertical position control adjusts the vertical position of the image.
• Horizontal size control adjusts the horizontal size of the image.
• Vertical size control adjusts the vertical size of the image.
• Side pin cushion control, adjusts the appearance of curved edges of the display image
either inwards or outwards
4.2.9 +/- Control

Increases or decreases the adjustment of the selected control function.
4.2.10 Reset button

Resets the image settings back to factory setting.
4.2.11 Cleaning the screen

Monitors need to be cleaned for dust and fingerprints at regular.
If the monitor is fitted with a touch screen one can obviously not touch the screen without the
risk of changing parameter and statuses unintentionally, therefore it has to be turned off first.
The screen should be cleaned with special cleaning towels or a cloth moistened with weak
soap water.
Never use any strong solvents for cleaning the screen!
Like so many other systems that surround us today, the monitoring and control system is
based on computer technology. The operator will usually identify the control system with the
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Monitor and the Trackball, which he’ll use in his daily work. All communication between the
operator and the control system will almost without exception be confined to these two units.
This is what often is called the MMI; the Man Machine Interface. There are several possible
options to choose from when selecting the MMI units, hence the configuration described in
this manual may not be equal to the one of your system. The two units used for MMI are a
Trackball and/or a monitor with built-in Touch-screen facility. Your system may include
either options, or only a trackball and an ordinary monitor. If your system includes both
options, they will both be usable at the same time.
Left key Right key
Ball
4.3 Using Trackball
If you are familiar to using a PC you may most likely have used a trackball before,
or you’ll pretty soon find out by yourself how it works.
However, if you are new to using this type of equipment, here are some hints :
• Look at the picture on the monitor, and try to find the Cursor.
Move
Keep an eye on the cursor and at the same time rotate the ball on the Trackball.
Cursor
You should now see the cursor moving on your screen.
Try to move the cursor to and from definite places on the picture to get used to its
movements.
• Now move the cursor to the top of the screen and place it on one of the tabs.
Press the left key on the Trackball. The picture on your screen will now change according to
”Click” your selection. Try to change between the different pictures to get the ‘feel’ of how this
works. This is what is called a “click”
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• Move the cursor to the lower right corner and place it on the Clock-panel.
Press the left key on the trackball rapidly two times.
”Double- This is what is called “double-click”
Click” Your screen should now contain a panel with the heading “Adjust Time”.
Move the cursor to the “OK”-button and press the left key once more. The panel disappears.
Try this a number of times to get used to “click” and “double-click”
4.4 Using a Touchscreen
You have probably been using a touch-screen quite a lot of times without even thinking about
what is behind the surface. What is common for all types of touchscreens is that they all
display some kind of “buttons” on a monitor screen. The most familiar is maybe the type you
find on some ATM’s and Infosystems at various airports. In the way of use, they are all the
same: simply press your finger on the “button” on the screen.
However, if you are new to using this type of equipment, here are some hints :
• Look at the picture on the monitor, and try to find the Cursor.
Move Keep an eye on the cursor and tap your finger somewhere else on the screen. Not on a
Cursor “button” this time. Notice that when you withdraw your hand the cursor has now moved to
where you tapped your finger. Try to move the cursor to and from definite places on the
picture to get used to its movements. Be careful not to hit one of the “buttons”.
• Now press your finger on the cursor and move it upwards while keeping a light pressure on
the screen, then move down an around the screen. Be careful not to cross one of the
“buttons”. Notice that the cursor now follows your fingertip and when you withdraw your
hand it remains where you last touched the screen.
• Tap your finger on one of the tabs or labels at the top of the screen, the picture on your
screen will now immediately change according to your selection.
”Click” .Try to change between the different pictures to get the ‘feel’ of how this works. This is what
is called “click” when operating the touchscreen.
• Move the cursor to the lower right corner and place it on the Clock-panel by touching the
screen at that point. Tap on the panel rapidly two times. You may also tap two times on the
”Double- panel at once. This is what is called “double-click” when operating the touchscreen.
Click” Your screen should now contain a panel with the heading “Adjust Time”.
Tap with your finger on the “OK”-button. The panel disappears.
Try this a number of times to get used to “click” and “double-click”
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4.5 Screen Elements
This section will explain briefly about the different elements you’ll find on the monitor
pictures. The monitor is not only used to display information; it is in fact more like a control
console. As described in earlier the monitor is the systems most important
MMI-element. Getting familiar with the MMI and the several picture elements is essential to
the comprehension of how to use the system. It is advisable to study this part of the manual
before proceeding to the more advanced functions.
4.5.1 Folders, Tabs and Panels
Unlike many other systems this system has no pulldown menus. This means that you never
need to change from one picture to another just to get access to the one you really wanted.
Your monitor screen may be compared to a file cabinet with an open drawer. Just “click” on
one of the tabs at the top of the picture, and the folder you have selected will display its
contents on the screen. You may open any folder at any time just by one “click” on its tab.
Every monitor picture is made up of numerous elements. You’ll see that the picture is divided
into separate parts, called Panels. Each panel have its own special function; and some panels
are even “pop-ups” that presents itself to you only when it is needed..
”Panel” ”Folder” ”Tab”

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4.5.2 System Panel
The System Panel occupies a narrow section across the lower part of all pictures, and is
mainly intended to display the System’s condition..
At the left side of this panel, there is an text field showing the operational status of the
system, if the system is fully operational the window will be empty , otherwise the system is
showing either CONFIG or PARAM mode. This means they are in a maintainance mode,
which is only used by service engineers.
Next to the operation mode-indicators there is a small box with a text like “ 125/50 “. The
digit will vary according to the traffic on the bus, first digit shows the number of received
messages per second and the last sendt messages. A low value will indicate that the traffic at
the moment is moderate. That’ll be typical when winches are not used. The value may be very
low (50 /8) if no operations has been executed for a long time. When hoisting heavy loads in
rough weather, with wire tension constantly changing, the bus traffic pick up and he value in
the traffic indicator window will then be considerably higher. This indicator is only useful for
service engineers.
Next to the right is a box displaying a percentage of free memory left in the system.. The
value displayed will normally be changing, but variation should be insignificant. This
indicator is only useful for service engineers.
On the right part of the System Panel there is a box displaying time and date.
The clock may be adjusted at any time to synchronise with other systems.
Operational Input/Output Last Alarms Memory Indicator Date &

Status Messages in Percent Time
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4.5.3 Buttons and Lamps
As described earlier in this manual the monitor screen is the main part of the systems MMI . The
pictures on the screen are more like control panels rather than just illustrations.
Graphic techniques are used to make it look like the screen contains real push-buttons and indicator
lamps. To activate a Button you should “click” on it as described in section 3.1 and 3.2. Buttons may
have several different shapes, but they all have in common that you’ll see some kind of alternation
when you activate them. Some buttons will change appearance permanently as you activate or
deactivate them, while others will go back to their original look as soon as you release the left key on
the trackball. ( or moves your finger away from the touchscreen ). It may seem difficult to discern
between Lamps and Buttons. This doesn’t really matter, because nothing will happen if you “click”
on a lamp. Lamps are only used to display changes in some kind of operation, and have no influence
on the winch control.
4.5.4 Digital Displays
Some pictures introduce important information in Digital Displays. This is boxes of different extent
displaying a digital value of some measured and calculated indicator signal. Typical use is
presentation of oil temperature, motor pressure/RPM and wire length. If there is defined an alarm
limit related to the topical measuring result, the display’s background colour will change if calculated
value is too high (or too low).
”Lamps”
”Buttons”
”Digital Display”
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4.5.5 Bargraphs
On other pictures, measuring results may be displayed as Bar Graphs. This is boxes of different
extent, containing a coloured bar with adjacent scale lines and dimension text. Typical use is
presentation of oil temperature, motor pressure/RPM and wire length. If there is defined an alarm
limit related to the topical measuring result, the bar’s colour will change if calculated value is too
high ( or too low ).
4.5.6 Meters
Some measuring results will even be displayed as Panel Meters. This is images having an appearance
more or less like those good, old-fashioned circular dial instruments that were used on control panels
some years ago. Typical use is presentation of oil temperature, motor pressure/RPM and wire length.
The dial plate may be divided in sectors with different colours,
indicating for instance “low”-values, normal operation and “high”-values.
4.5.7 Sliders
Both Bar Graphs, Trend Displays and Meters may have attached “Sliders”. A Slider is an image
that may be moved in certain directions along a specified path, typical along the outer circle of a
meter. How to “drag” sliders is explained in chapter 3.1 and 3.2 . As a slider is moved, the
appurtenant meter/bar’s appearance will change. As an example the size of the sectors on a meter
may be adjusted in this way. As long as the slider is moving, there’ll also be a digital value displayed
to show its position at the moment.
On these examples is shown how it

looks like when a slider is being
moved on a Meter and on a Bar
Graph. Notice the black cursors
and the digital values.
It is also indicated by cursors in
other colours where cursor must be
placed to ”get a grip” on the other
sliders.
Hint :
If you think it’s difficult to ”get a
grip” of the slider you want to
move, try to place the cursor on the
”bar-area” and move it towards the
limit you want to change.
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4.5.8 Menus and Keypad
To be able to adjust wire lengths, wire diameters, or maybe just correct the system clock,
a keypad is needed. The keypad is a “pop-up” that’ll be accessible by double-clicking on the right
elements on certain monitor pictures. What may be adjusted by use of the numeric keypad is
described in other sections of this manual. Notice that the pop-up menu for correcting the system
clock is made special for this purpose, and don’t look exactly like the numeric keypad.
Nevertheless, they are quite similar in the way they are used.
Keypad is only accessible on monitor pictures showing system parameters such as mentioned above.
These parameters are normally displayed on special pictures, and are most easily recognised as a text
followed by a small, black on white digital display, and behind that some unit of measure. These
picture images’s will in this manual be referred to as executing elements. When opening the keypad,
place the cursor on the executing element on screen and double-click on it. The keypad will then
open and be accessible until you click on the “enter”-button.
Illustration shows keypad

opened to correct value
for Wire Length.
Notice that keypad
becomes accessible both
when double-clicking on
the text-line and on the
digital display box,
because they are both
executing elements for
this winch parameter.
To get access to the keypad, double-click on one of the lines or its topical digital display.
On this clip you can see the text-cursor in the display box for Wire Length. This is the only
mark that for sure is indicating what digital value you are about to adjust.
Click on the ”Cancel”-button if you have opened the wrong digital display,
or if you after all decide not to change the value.
Keypad will then close, and the digital value’ll remain unchanged.
To adjust a value, click on the CLR-button until you have deleted what was wrong and then
write in the correct value by using the number-buttons. As you clear faulty digits or write in
the correct ones you’ll see the contents of the digital display change.
When you have changed the value and can see in the digital display box that it’s correct, just
click ”ENTER” and the keypad’ll close. The correct value is now stored in the system.
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4.6 The user menu
A double-click on the canvas tab will display the user menu. This menu
gives the user the possibility to view some system information, adjust the
date and time, and calibrate the touchscreens.
This menu also gives the operator viewing access to the database, copying
log files and wash screen function.
4.6.1 System info

The System Info window displays some information about the state of the system. This
information is intended to service personnel, but you might be asked to read or write down
this information in case of troubleshooting via phone/fax.
The view cathegory may be selected by pressing the appropriate button at the top of the page.
General Info
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Peripheral Info :
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Disk Drives Info:
CANopen Info:
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Can Open continued
Can Open continued.

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Help Info:
4.6.2 Date / Time
Use this dialog box to adjust the date and time on the system.
Double clicking on the date/time field on the status line will also
open this dialog.
Click on the number you want to change. The keypad will pop
up. Then type the new value and click the ENTER-button to
apply it to the system.
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4.6.3 Calibrate touch
The Calibrate Touch button in the User menu will let you calibrate all connected touch
screens.
Press and release point 1. It will turn yellow as long as you press it, and disappear when you
release it. Now the second calibration point (number 2 in the picture above) is displayed.
Repeat the procedure for this one. Finally, when you have pressed the third calibration point
(number 3 in the picture above), the result of the calibration is displayed. This is shown in the
next picture
A successful calibration will be reported like the following picture. It also gives some system
information about which Com-port it is connected to.
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5 OPTIONS
The system can be delivered in several configurations and options.

5.1 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
In more critical systems one may wish to ensure that the system is functional even during a
blackout situation, and then the solution is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). These
supplies will during normal operation constantly charge its batteries, which is contained
within the unit itself, and when the ships mains power fails use these to generate power for
the control unit. Depending on load the UPS will be able to deliver for 15 - 30 minutes, and
that should in most cases be sufficient to secure the equipment and halt the system in a
controlled manner. The UPS will also protect the system from noise pulses in the line.
5.2 Slave monitor
The slave monitor produces a duplicate of the main monitor picture and has the same
functionality. I is intended used where there is need for a second operator station with the
possibilities for changing parameters and selecting pictures. The slave unit may be placed as
far as 30 meters (cord length) from the main control. In a system with slave monitor both
master and slave have the same priority, so if someone presses a button at a slave the system
it will react as if it came from the main unit.
5.3 Additional workstations
In one system there may be workstations, and each is totally independent from the others,
which is the difference between a workstation and a slave monitor even if they looks the same
from the outside. The difference is that a workstation has its own separate control computer, a
slave monitor has not it simply uses the same computer as the main monitor. In addition a
workstation may be connected at any point on the communication network (max 500m total
network length).
If there is a need for displaying different pictures at different monitors at the same time, an
additional workstation is needed, not a slave monitor.
5.4 Redundant power supplies.

The control system is capable of handling 2 separate external power supplies into each main
control cabinet. This applies for +TCC,+SCC,+OCC,+MC and +BSI. See cable diagram for
details. When one of the redundant power supplies is from battery power emergency or
equivalent, the availability of the control system is greatly increased in case of blackout of the
generators onboard vessel.
5.5 Redundant controllers (Hot redundancy) – Not yet available

The control system is capable of utilizing two controllers in parallel for increased availability
if one of the controllers should fail. This applies for the main application controller (WA1)
and for the IO-server (WIO1).
5.6 Redundant CanBus – Not yet available

The control system is capable of utilizing two can-buses in parallel for increased availability.
5.7 Additional functions

Available upon request.
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6 INDEX
A
Alarm 47, 52, 55, 56, 67
alarms 55, 56
Auto / Manual Limit 37
B
Bar 38, 53, 67
Brake 67
C
Cable 64, 67
Chain 64
Click 36, 42, 113
Control 35, 38
D
Data 64
G
Graph 53
H
hoist 44
Hoist 40, 41, 46
L
Length 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48, 66
Limit 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48
Lock 62
M
Measuring 50, 66
O
Overspeed 39, 48, 57
P
Pmax 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45
Pmin 36, 39, 42, 46
Pressure 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 53
R
Reset 55, 56
RPM 57, 67
S
Security 62
Speed 38
T
Temperature 52
Tension 38, 47, 53, 57, 67
Touchscreen 10
Tow 40, 41, 46
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Towing 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46
Trackball 10
Trend 52, 53
W
wire 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 53, 55, 58, 64, 68

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0000-0245

User Instruction 0000-0245

Issue number Reason for Change

A First issue. This document is based on 819-210GB ver C.

1.1 System layout........................................................................................................................ 9

1.2 Workstation ........................................................................................................................ 10

1.3 Input Devices ...................................................................................................................... 11

1.4 Portable Controller ............................................................................................................ 11

1.5 IO Interface ........................................................................................................................ 12

2.1 Prepare operation .............................................................................................................. 13

2.2 Manual operation............................................................................................................... 26

2.3 Automatic Towing Functions............................................................................................ 35

2.4 Monitoring winch............................................................................................................... 47

2.5 Misc system utilities ........................................................................................................... 60

2.6 Using Cable lifters.................................................................................................................... 64

3 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF TOWCON RT ........................................................................ 69

3.1 Safety precautions.............................................................................................................. 70

3.2 Manual Pump Control....................................................................................................... 71

3.3 Operation of Main Servo................................................................................................... 73

3.4 Command control – remote controlled winches.............................................................. 74

3.5 Controlling Brakes............................................................................................................. 78

3.6 Connecting motors to a drum. .......................................................................................... 79

3.7 Double Drive Coupling / Shaft Couplings. ...................................................................... 80

3.8 Speed Step – controlling oil flow to motors ..................................................................... 82

3.9 Torque step – Manual motor cell selection...................................................................... 83

3.10 Tension control device. ...................................................................................................... 84

3.11 Rotate the Winch................................................................................................................ 85

3.12 Operating Spooling Device................................................................................................ 86

3.13 Tooth wheel Lubrication ................................................................................................... 87

3.14 SAFETY FUNCTIONS .................................................................................................... 88

3.15 System addons .................................................................................................................... 91

4 USER CONTROLS .................................................................................................... 104

4.1 Input Devices .................................................................................................................... 104

4.2 LCD Monitor.................................................................................................................... 106

4.2.1 Power Switch ................................................................................................................ 106

4.2.2 Power on lamp.............................................................................................................. 106

4.2.3 Contrast Control .......................................................................................................... 106

4.2.4 Brightness Control ....................................................................................................... 106

4.2.5 Touch Screen ................................................................................................................ 106

4.2.6 Screen adjustments ...................................................................................................... 106

4.3 Using Trackball................................................................................................................ 108

4.4 Using a Touchscreen ........................................................................................................ 109

4.5 Screen Elements ............................................................................................................... 110

4.6 The user menu ................................................................................................................. 115

5.1 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) ............................................................................ 122

5.2 Slave monitor.................................................................................................................... 122

5.3 Additional workstations .................................................................................................. 122

5.4 Redundant power supplies.............................................................................................. 122

5.5 Redundant controllers (Hot redundancy) – Not yet available..................................... 122

5.6 Redundant CanBus – Not yet available ......................................................................... 122

5.7 Additional functions ........................................................................................................ 122

6 INDEX ........................................................................................................................ 123

WA1 WIO1 spare

MC TCC OCC SCC

A Workstation consists of the following components:

1.3 Input Devices

1.4 Portable Controller

Different types of moduls in use.

• RRDIO15 - Digital In / Out Module with 15 channels

Power and Canbus

2.1 Prepare operation

2.1.1.2 Ensure proper training for operators of the equipment.

2.1.2.1 Wire dimensions