Welcome
to the Trigger Crate Voltage Monitor Documentation!! (Beta Version*)
Welcome
to the Trigger Crate Voltage Monitor Documentation!! (Beta Version*)
Emergency contact information:
Call the onsite trigger contact person
Less than serious issue?
Email onsite trigger contact person (above) and Joe Sagerer: REP, jsager1@uic.edu
Current versions of software:
The Trigger Crate Monitor Vi: PaddleCrateMonV8.vi
The Trigger Crate Monitor Vi's Alarm Sender Client: PCMAlarmSender.vi this is contained inside the PCMAlarmSender_V6.2.llb library
Hit info on the Central Alarmer's TrgCrateMonitor pad to check what error message is being sent. Currently any error sent by the TrgCrateMonitor will be empty. Errors from the Alarm Sender for the TrgCrateMonitor will contain error information.
If the Alarmer Client has timed out (or any other error with a message at the moment):
Verify that the Trigger Crate Monitor (PaddleCrateMonversion.vi were version is V8 or some such thing) and its Alarm Sender (PCMAlarmSender.vi) are open. If not see Restarting.
If they are open verify that they are running. This is indicated by the presence of solid black arrows on the upper left:
If the arrows are outlined:
you need to start the program (see next few lines!). Other wise you should also note that the time since last reading and the time stamp are updating (unless the reading voltages light is green, then you should wait up to two minutes before declaring the program frozen). If the program appears dead try Restarting it.
If it is only the PCMAlarmSender.vi that is not running start it by pushing the button with two arrows:
This should clear the Alarm after less than 5 min, make a note in the logbook. If not see Restarting.
If the PaddleCrateMon is not running, it must be started before the PCMAlarmSender.vi is started. Stop PCMAlarmSender.vi if necessary by hitting stop:
. Start PaddleCrateMon by pushing the button with two arrows:
If an error is reported (currently the error message is blank):
If all voltages with errors read zero:
This is likely to be an error reading from the voltmeter. Try Running a Test Cycle. If the voltage returns to normal, make a note in the logbook. If this problem reoccurs Restart the Vis. If errors continue call the onsite trigger contact listed at the top of this page.
If there is a non-zero voltage out of range:
Make a note in the logbook indicate which voltages (Pos or Neg, NIM 1 or 2 or CAMAC, and which voltage +6,-6, ect) have problems and their readings. Email the same information to the people under less than serious issue at top of this page. Now try Running a Test Cycle. If the problem does clear but occurs continuously (3 or more times a shift), you will need to call the onsite trigger contact listed at the top of this page. If the problem dose not clear, you will need to call the onsite trigger contact listed at the top of this page.
The Trigger Crate Monitoring System was assembled for run 3 (Dec 2002) after a loss of the ZDC signal towards the end of run 2. This was due to the death of a HEEP NIM crate in the trigger rack that contained ZDC electronics. There were no warning signs. In it's very first week of operation, this system detected a NIM crate that was occasionally drifting to low voltages. There would have been no way to notice this flakiness by the signals from electronics in the crate. The system is maintained by Joe Sagerer (jsager1@uic.edu) comments and suggestions are welcome. The responders to alarms from the system are the trigger group. Contact information is listed at the top of this page.
The Trigger Crate Monitor System consists of two Keithly 2000-20 voltmeters, 4 blank NIM modules, 2 blank CAMAC modules, and 2 "boxes" that link the modules to the voltmeters. The blank modules take voltages from the back planes to a 12 pin connecter on the front of the module. From there standard 12 pin cables carry the voltages from the 3 crates in one rack to 3 12-pin connectors on the "boxes" the boxes have special 40 pin connectors that then allow connecting to the voltmeters. The voltmeters are connected by GPIB (daisy-chained off the trigger CAMAC controllers) to the CH computers. There is no non-expert serviceable equipment. All hardware issues are to be directed to the contact persons listed at the top of this page.
The software consists of 2 LabView Vis The PaddleCrateVoltageMonitorV8.vi (pic above) is the main program. It acquires voltages from the voltmeters in the tunnel. This program requires two sub-Vis: ReadPSV.vi and ReadChannelV2.vi. The other main Vi is the PCMAlarmSender.vi, this is contained in the PCMAlarmSender.llb along with it's required sub-Vi PCMAlarmSenderGlobal.vi. This a standard Central Alarmer Client setup.
The PaddleCrateMon does the following: Every 300 seconds it reads from the voltmeters in the tunnel via GPIB. It then checks the voltages against required NIM and CAMAC voltages. It then reports an error or not. The time stamp should update unless the program is reading from the crate, as should the time since last reading. A voltage history is displayed in the plots to the right of their respective voltages. There are only two controls on the front of the Vi, the Test Switch and the Single DMM Mode Switch (THIS ONE IS FOR EXPERT USE ONLY it is used for testing of a single DMM). Both are down in normal operations. No other setting are available to shift.
Locate PaddleCrateMon.vi shortcut on the desktop. Open by double-clicking.
All settings are internal. Simply push the run continuously button:
. It
will turn to black:
. The
reading from crate indicator will be green, and the six sets of voltages should
begin to be appearing. It takes up to 3 min to take a reading (depending on
network load). Once all voltages are read, the Overall Status indicator will
light. Now locate the PCMAlarmSender_V6.2.llb shortcut on the desktop. Open by
double-clicking. Now choose PCMAlarmSender.vi by selecting it and hitting OK. Simply push the run continuously button:
. It
will turn to black:
. Be sure
to unpause/clear errors from the Central Alarmer's TrgCrateMon Pad. It will take
~3 minutes to connect to the Central Alarmer and turn the indicator green. If this does
not work, you may need to exit LabView completely. Then follow above procedure.
All other vis on the computer will need to be restarted. (currently this is
HVControls and CAMAC controls on PLASMON. See their documentation for more
details. Remember experts are available, contact information is at the
top of this page.
Flip the "Test" switch on the LabView panel up then down. This forces the program to take two readings off the voltmeters in quick succession. This takes 2-3 minutes during which time the time since last reading will not update and the Reading from Crate indicator will be green. Simple, no?
The Trigger Crate UPSes need to be cycled. Procedure coming soon to here. Don't even think about this....
*Documentation not guaranteed to contain useful information, provide solutions, lower frustration levels, be understood by speakers of English or other languages. The documentation may not be entertaining or simple to use. Contact information may not lead to experts, experts may not know anything. The program(s) this documentation describes, if it does describe anything--this is not implied, do not like shift operators, the experts or, in general, people that view them. Offers of help void in continental United States, and on Windows based systems running LabView or not, on computers powered with 60 Hz line voltages, from 12 am Friday to 1 pm the next Saturday. Reading this may cause program(s) to spontaneously create errors in new ways; solving errors will cause the program to generate new faults that we do not know how to solve. Documentation is, in general, useless and not able to be understood until the problem has been solved. --the Lawyers :)
"Adventure is hardship aesthetically considered" --Barry Tragan
"Errors are more numerous than truths, but fortunately too divided among themselves to take power." -- Mayson Cooley (b. 1927)
"From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it." -- Grace Murry Hopper, On the removal of a 2-inch-long moth from an experimental computer at Harvard in 1945, quoted in Time 16 Apr 84
12/06/02 Joe Sagerer, Creation of Documentation, will submit to shift for mauling...err... I mean comments.