The improved hydraulic vibrator of the type which includes a fixed double rod piston and a reaction mass reciprocally is disposed around the piston forming a hydraulic cylinder therein so that when hydraulic fluid is introduced to the cylinder relative to the piston the reaction mass is reciprocated. In the hydraulic vibrator a pair of sleeves is slidably disposed on the piston rods, portions of which can be selectively moved into the cylinder to decrease the displacement of the cylinder and thereby increase the frequency range of vibrations producible by the vibrator.Many seismic surveying systems have been developed which utilize continuous wave seismic signals generated in the earth by one or more hydraulic vibrators. While a variety of hydraulic vibrators have been developed and used heretofore, they generally comprise a base plate for engaging the surface of the earth, a reaction mass and a linear actuator, usually hydraulic, for reciprocating the reaction mass relative to the base plate at a desired frequency. A particularly satisfactory hydraulic vibrator which has heretofore been developed and used utilizes a fixed vertical double rod piston member and a reaction mass reciprocally disposed around the piston member forming a hydraulic cylinder. Pressurized hydraulic fluid is introduced to the cylinder to reciprocate the reaction mass by a conventional hydraulic fluid control system which alternately ports hydraulic fluid to the two sides of the piston. While the sizes of the pistons and displacements of the hydraulic cylinders of such hydraulic vibrators have heretofore been designed to achieve maximum vibration frequency range, such frequency range is often inadequate requiring the use of two or more vibrators of differing design. That is, in order to produce low frequency vibrations, a vibrator having a hydraulic cylinder of relatively large displacement and which moves relatively large volumes of hydraulic fluid in and out of the hydraulic cylinder is required. The same vibrator is usually incapable of achieving the high frequency vibrations required in some seismic surveys in that the displacement of the hydraulic cylinder is such that it is physically impossible to move the large volumes of hydraulic fluid in and out of the cylinder at such high frequency.
Sleeves of the hydraulic vibrator are slidably disposed on the rods of the piston member, each of which includes a cylindrical portion of reduced diameter at the inner end thereof adjacent the piston and a cylindrical portion of enlarged diameter at the outer end thereof forming inner and outer oppositely facing annular surfaces thereon. The reaction mass includes a pair of enlarged cylindrical recesses positioned at opposite ends of the cylinder for containing the enlarged cylindrical portions of the sleeves. Each of the recesses terminates in inner and outer annular surfaces for co acting with the inner and outer annular surfaces of the enlarged portions of the sleeves thereby confining the longitudinal movement of the sleeves.