The Buoy 601 Profiler can be moored in place quickly without special tools; the buoy can be easily moved by towing with a small vessel. The Buoy 601 Profiler is equipped with the Ocean Seven 301 Multi-parameter Probe. The probe has been designed for oceanographic application and uses very reliable, accurate, and drift-free high quality sensors, associated with advanced and innovative integrated antifouling systems.

The computer-driven winch is located on the top of the buoy hull that contains the Controller, Modem, and Cellular Phone Link Modules (or UHF Radiomodem). The winch performs automatic vertical profiles with the Ocean Seven 301 Probe which measures depth, temperature, conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH and oxidation-reduction potential. The winch standard cable length is 20 meters of 7mm polyurethane coaxial armored cable. The buoy is manufactured from glass reinforced plastic (GRP) with stainless steel AISI316 inserts and internally filled with polyurethane foam. The size and weight of the buoy (1 meter diameter, 160 Kg) allows easy handling and transport. The hull holds 8 rechargeable batteries (12v, 36 A/h each) giving 3.5 KW hours of reserve power, thereby eliminating the need for solar panels which are particularly failure-prone in a marine environment.

The Buoy 601 Profiler is equipped with a Controller Module which contains all the hardware and software to supervise the buoy operations, from the winch movements to the internal diagnostics functions. The acquired data is buffered by the Controller, awaiting 'calls' from the Land-Based Station. The buffered data flows in CRC controlled messages from the Buoy to the Land-Based Station.

From the Land-Based Station, it is also possible to modify the buoy operating parameters. The system can operate for more than three months, depending on the number of profiles programmed.

The core of the Land-Based Station is the Redas-Remote Data Acquisition Software- which supports the data transfer protocol. The Land-Based Station includes an MS-DOS Personal Computer and a Modem or UHF Radiomodem.