nrbdaq

DAQ for Nairobi GAW station. Intended for deployment on a Raspberry Pi (>=4).

RPI setup

OS

source: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/raspberry-pi-headless-setup-how-to,6028.html

1. Download RPI imager from https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ and install OS.
2. Click Edit Settings from the pop-up.
3. Fill in all the fields on the General tab: hostname, username / password, wireless LAN (if you plan to use wifi, and locale settings.
4. On the Services tab, toggle enable SSH to on and select "Use password authentication." Then click Save.
5. Click Yes to apply OS customization settings.
6. Pop SD card into the Pi and power it up. It should connect to the LAN using wifi. To verify, we need to open an SSH connection. For ease of use, we will also use Raspberry Connect.

Raspberry Connect

1. Open a terminal
2. $ ssh
3. $ sudo apt update
4. $ sudo apt install --upgrade ...

setup crontab for automatic execution like so ...

$ crontab -e

1. add the code shown in file 'cron'
2. make executable $ sudo chmod +x /home/gaw/git/nrbdaq/nrbdaq.sh

Alternatively, set up a systemd service

1. copy file 'nrbdaq.service' to /etc/systemd/system/nrbdaq.service
2. make executable $ sudo chmod 744 /home/gaw/git/nrbdaq/nrbdaq.sh $ sudo chmod 664 /etc/systemd/system/nrbdaq.service
3. enable service $ sudo systemctl daemon-reload $ sudo systemctl enable nrbdaq.service

linux goodies

read journal

$ sudo journalctl -p err --since "2024-08-27" --until "2024-08-29" show all journal entries of level ERROR in specified period

$ systemctl status cron.service show status of cron

$ ps [aux] show active processes [a: displays information about other users' processes as well as your own. u: displays the processes belonging to the specified usernames. x: includes processes that do not have a controlling terminal.]

list active instances of nrbdaq.py or bucdaq.py

$ pgrep -f -a "nrbdaq.py" $ pgrep -f -a "bucdaq.py"

kill a process by id

$ kill

list USB / serial ports

$ dmesg | grep tty $ lsusb

How-to operate Get red-y MFCs

1. Install cable PPDM-U driver from /resources
2. Install get red-y MFC software
3. Plug in USB cable, check COM port used in device manager
4. Start get red-y software, select port, search for device, stop search once found

Setup

2024-10-22/jkl

• Aurora3000

  • flow controlled by get red-y MFC set to 4 lnpm
  • dark count found to be 450-500
  • Wavelength 1 Shtr Count ca 1.1M
  • Wavelength 2 Shtr Count ca 1.6M
  • Wavelength 3 Shtr Count ca 1.7M

• AE31 flow controlled by get red-y set to 3 lnpm

• Fidas

  • The Fidas is connected to the DAQ via LAN cable and uses UPD for data transfer. This needs to be configured in the Fidas "Expert User". Presumably due to a bug in the Fidas s/w, it is cumbersome to set the IP address persistently. Follow these exact steps, and then you should succeed:
  1. Open the current promo.ini file, and set the IP to the IP of the DAQ machine (!). Save the file.
  2. Enter the "Expert User" > Interfaces. Switch to UDP mode, then set the IP to the IP to the IP of the DAQ machine (!). Leave the entry field with and by navigating to some other field.
  3. Power off the Fidas using the power switch in the back (!), not using the "shutdown" button in the software.
  4. Switch it back on to verify in the "Expert User" > Interfaces that the IP setting haa persisted.