Data Downloading & Backups from Q330's
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Instrumentation Dataloggers 3-Channel Dataloggers Quanterra Q330 Datalogger Downloading & Backups from Q330's
Instrumentation Dataloggers 3-Channel Dataloggers Quanterra Q330 Datalogger Downloading & Backups from Q330'sThis page provides instructions for downloading Balers using the EzBaler program and reviewing the State of Health (SOH) data using PQL. EzBaler is the best option for downloading data from multiple Balers at one time. Known problems are: it will sometimes fail to connect to a Baler (just try again) and it will hang up if it encounters corrupted data. These instructions are written specifically for use with a PASSCAL MacBook field computer, but in general apply to other platforms as well.
The data downloading is in two parts. The first part is downloading the SOH data which contains the low sample rate seismic data and systems data to be used for doing field Quality Assurance (QA) for the station. The second part is downloading all of the seismic data for archiving.
This document contains four sections
Connecting to the Baler
In the Mac network configuration make sure the location is set to EzBaler. The computer IP address should be 192.168.0.5 and the subnet should be 255.0.0.0.
Select the ezb icon from the toolbar or type ezb on the command line of an X11 terminal.
Connect one to four Balers to the download box via QNET cables and connect the download box to the laptop via Ethernet-type cable with an RJ45 connector, and power the download box with 12 Volt DC (range 12-14V).
Select the ezb icon from the toolbar or type ezb on the command line of an X11 terminal.
Select the Enumerate button on the bottom of the EzBaler screen.
Select Start Enum on the bottom of the Enumeration page.
Press the ATTN buttons on each of the Balers one at a time, waiting about five seconds between each one, so that they don’t all come up at once.
Wait patiently (or impatiently) while the Balers boot up. Eventually you should see all of the Balers listed on the Enumeration screen. If one or more of the Balers fails to appear on the enumeration screen then try the following in this order.
- Select Done, then Select Enumerate, then select Start Enum, then reboot the problem Baler(s).
- Close the EzBaler program and start over.
- Close the EzBaler program, reboot the computer and start over.
Once all of the Balers have been enumerated, select done.
Downloading SOH data
Record the Baler information on the service sheet, and then select the Balers to be downloaded from the list on the left..
From the action menu select Retrieve Health to a File. This will download the SOH information such as power and temperature and will also download the 1 sps seismic data (LH*).
Select the directory data, for example, the sohdata directory for the current service run.
Verify, in the message box, that all of the Balers are downloading. The status bar in the lower right corner indicates the progress of the slowest Baler.
When all of the Balers have finished downloading verify, in a finder window, that all the files have been downloaded. The file sizes should be 30 to 60 times smaller than the full data set.
Reviewing SOH data
Open an X11 terminal window.
Start the program pql.
For help in pql refer to the PQL page here.
In pql select the traces button.
In the pql trace selection screen, select the directory containing the SOH data, and select the .SOH data for the station to be viewed
For descriptions of the state of health channels refer to DescriptionSOHCannels_v2.pdf.
Look for anomalies in the SOH data. In particular look at the following:
Packet buffer (VPB) should look like a triangular saw tooth pattern with no gaps.
Mass positions (VM*) should be fairly smooth curves
System voltage (VEP) should be a daily pseudo-saw tooth pattern, if the batteries are solar-charged (and the latitude is not extremely high).
Seismic signals (LH*) should show some signal. If there are any large spikes in the seismic signal the rest of the trace may appear flat. Use pql to look at data in between any large spikes; verify broad spectral signature of microseism peak (.1-.5Hz).
Clock quality (LCQ) If the GPS is set for cycled power this should appear as a fence pattern. If the GPS is set for continuous power this appear as flat line with no dips.
Select all the traces and magnify a small portion at the right side of the screen (most recent data)
In the magnify window.
VPB should be a regular triangular saw tooth.
VEP, on a daily basis, should rise briefly to approximately 100 (bulk charge), then drop to approximately 90 (trickle charge) for a longer period, and then drop down and have a steady decay (night time discharge). The night time discharge should not drop below 80. If the bulk charge portion is not reaching close to 100 on a regular basis, check that the solar panel is clean and properly oriented and then check the battery with it disconnected from the solar. If daytime charging appears normal but the night time discharge is dropping below 80, check the battery with it disconnected from the solar.
LCQ: If the GPS is set to cycled power the clock quality should spike to 100 every x hours, e.g. 3 (depends on how the Q330 is programmed). If the GPS is set for continuous power this should be a flat line with a value of 100. If this is not correct then check the GPS antenna and cable.
Scroll backward through the traces looking for irregularities.
Return to the Trace page, select only the LH* channels and magnify a small section of at the end of the data.
Continue to magnify, avoiding spikes in the data, until you can clearly see signals. On a good signal all three channels should show response. Scroll backward through the data.
You can use filters to focus on bandwidths and remove distracting background noise. First, Filter for moderate-sized teleseisms (0.03 - 0.08 Hz). If you do not see any 'signal' above background noise in couple weeks of data, there could be something wrong. Check to see if there is energy is in the microseism bandwidth (.1-.5Hz in LH data). Best to unfilter the data, look at the spectra, overlain, for the 3 seismometer channels (Z,N,E) and you should see a broad peak of energy in the bandwidth .1-.5Hz. If the sensors are broadband, you are likely to see higher long-period amplitudes on the 2 horizontal channels compared to the 1 vertical. Check the mass position, VM*, channels. Check the DC offset of the Z, N, and E channels.
Downloading the Full Data set
To download the full data set, return to the EZBaler program, ezb, and select the Balers to be downloaded from the list on the left.
In the Action menu select Retrieve All to a File.
Select the fulldata directory for the current service run.
In the message box verify that all the selected Balers are downloading.
After the download is complete verify that the sizes of the downloaded files are about the same as the Datasize shown in EzBaler
Open an X11 terminal window and run sdrsplit on each of the data files using the -n option (no data files created), and the -i option (output an index). Redirect the output of sdrsplit to an index file for that station.
Open the index file in a text editor and verify that all the channels are present and that they have expected time span.
