Q330

Leap Second's effect on EPIC RT-130 and Q330

Summary:

Q330:

Data time starting at 2017:001:00:00:00 is +1 second from truth for 1-2 minutes (seen in controlled tests) until a clock correction, followed by a gap of 2-40 seconds per channel depending on sample rate.

RT-130:

Data time starting at 2017:001:00:00:00 is +1 second from truth for 15min - 9:42hrs (seen in controlled tests) until a clock correction. Some data (~6secs in tests) around the time correction is mistimed, sometimes 11 years in the future, or missing.

In order to accept your passive-source data for archiving please comply with the procedures and standards below. EPIC staff are available to assist you with meeting the requirements of archiving your SEED data as stated in the EPIC Data Delivery Policy. 

Regarding the archiving of SEED data, the policy may be summarized in three points:

To record seismic data during the extremely cold Polar nights, the EarthScope EPIC Polar Group relies on the Quanterra Q330 digitizer due to its exceedingly low temperature tolerance.   The Q330 is a 24 bit, 3 or 6 channel digitizer. In addition to its very low temperature tolerance, its very low power consumption makes it ideal for year round experiments in the Antarctic deep field.

The Reftek RT-130 is a 24bit, low power, robust and very portable seismic data recorder.  It is well suited for deployment in harsh climate environment and is easy to program and retrieve data in the field.  It can have 3 or 6 channels and records data on Compact Flash (CF) cards.

Q330 parameters are created using the Willard program.  Because the Q330 has a complicated and highly flexible parameter set, it should only be created by experienced users.  Contact EPIC staff for assistance in developing a Q330 parameter set for your application.

First Part of Q330 SET-UP.

***Disable Internet LAN connection 1 and Enable LAN connection 2.

Connect Ethernet cables to Qnet connection on Q330.

Run Hocus.

Enumerate. Refer to Figure 1. Note: if any Q330s will not enum., check IP/FW using Willard.

Willard is Quanterra's program to program and control Q330's. It is a standalone Windows program which allows you to set parameters, monitor data acquisition, storage, gps power cycling, sensor control, and much more. It is a very powerful and complex program which does not lend itself to a brief 'walkthrough' via a webpage.

Due to its complexity and ability to control every aspect of a Q330, it is very easy to make a severe mistake which would make the Q330 not function as intended. We highly recommend that only experienced users of Willard program Q330 parameters. You should contact a EPIC staff member if you have any questions regarding using Willard to program a Q330.

During training at EPIC, users receive a walkthrough of Willard.

To program a Q330 with a Clié you need to use either the "Q330 B147" or "Q330 1.491t" program. These programs can be found on the main menu of any Clié received from EPIC. These programs are used to send or retrieve parameters/configurations, change station names, change IP addresses, and to send commands to a Q330.

Important note: To program a Q330S (which is different from a normal Q330) you MUST use the program "Q330 1.491t"