Although a lot of the changes in this release are related to adding support for the GL4000 fully
distributed version of GunLink there are also a number of changes which will affect all systems. In particular
changes to the way offsets and channel numbers are handled in configurations. There is also new firmware for the TCU
and the node controller cards which increases the reliability of the timing links in the presence of faults.
Note for GL3000 and GL4000. Ethernet redundancy support is currently restricted to 'cold swap'. If both
Ethernet lines are connected the node will boot and run from the first working one. If this fails then you need to
reboot the node to force it to use the other link. If the first link is not totally dead then you may need to
disconnect it on the vessel to force use of the other link. The node processor must have the latest boot loader for this
to work, see the 'New Flash Image for GL3000 / GL4000 Nodes' section below. A future update will provide true dynamic
redundancy. The timing links provide true redundancy as they always have done.
Note for GL3000/4000 systems (only) with rear cable entry to the array (Baro Float type systems). Currently
the system configuration MUST be built with the first cluster in the configuration being the one nearest the ship
electrically which for this type of array will physically be the furthest from the ship. The first gun on this cluster
will thus become 'Gun 1' in the GCS90 header. This also means the left hand gun on the screen is the gun furthest from the ship.
This is because the code currently can only build up the distributed busses in the order in which they are defined. As GL2000
systems do not have distributed busses this is not an issue for those systems but may prevent you using the 'default channel
numbers' option in configure to speed up data entry. A future release may allow building the buses in reverse order but configurations would probably not be compatable. In order to
enter the correct geometry for depth interpolation and Far-Field calculations you should still treat the cluster nearest the ship
as the in-line reference point. So instead of the first cluster in the configuration on each string having an in-line offset of zero with cluster
offsets increasing as you go along the string the first cluster offset will be the largest and decrease as you go down the list.
Enhancements for Gunlink 4000
Added functionality to Configure, Display and Gunlink Web for the introduction of the Gunlink 4000
hardware - GFSMs and their Umbilical Termination processors. All the status displays and reports have been updated to
cover the new hardware, for example 'gunlinkInfo' decodes the internal status of the new Gun Fire Modules in the GFSMs.
Configure
- Offset handling - Improved
Offsets for devices on clusters are now CLUSTER RELATIVE. Before
they were all relative to the front of the string, you need to be aware of this change but do not worry
about updating your existing configurations it will be done automatically.
- INI File Structure - Improved
Changes to the ini file structure mean that all ini files must undergo an automatic update
process whenever they are loaded into Configure. If you are an existing user you will need to re-send your
configuration to the host and be aware in case of possible problems when converting. Do this by opening
configure, 'get current configuration', 'update database and send to host'. Then restart the host programs from the
panel applet and restart all copies of display.
- Gunlink 3000 External Hydrophone handling - Improved
External hydrophones (ones that are connected to a GPM via a lead rather than directly bolted
on) are no longer considered to be attachments of the GPM (or GFSM) but belong on the configuration in
their own right. They must however be 'Connected To' the GPM (or GFSM).
- Inwater Icons - Revamped
New GFSM icon and matching redesigned GPM icon to more closely resemble physical appearance,
connection properties and spacing requirements in Configure. Also a new icon for 'Seamap Integral'
hydrophones to match those for DTs and PTs.
- Integral Model Renaming - Improved
Previously labelled 'Seamap GPM', the devices attached directly to either a GPM or GFSM are
now 'Seamap Integral' model.
- Connection architecture - Improved
'Node Number' has been replaced by 'Connected To' for all devices so that some devices can
be connected to one another rather than specifically to a node. Guns can now be connected to GFSMs for
Gunlink 4000 and external hydrophones are placed externally on the config but with 'Connected To' as the
GPM or GFSM. The Set Node Number function from the Edit menu still works for Gunlink 2000 and makes a
sensible approximation for Gunlink 3000 and 4000. The channel map has been improved for this new way of
referencing connections.
- Node Creation Compulsory - Added
Nodes need to be created from the 'System' subtab of the 'Layout' tab to populate the
'Connected To' lists. If building a configuration from scratch do this first and set the correct node types.
Trying to change node type later may currently break the configure program.
- Icon Placement - Changed
Devices are no longer randomly placed on the cluster, they are positioned by type.
- GL4000 support - Added
See the manual for more details about configuring the new GFSM modules introduced with the
GL4000.
- Bolt AGP gun support - Added
Bolt AGP guns can now be selected as a gun type. There is no special processing required for
this gun type, as with all gun types there are decisions made based on the sensor type you ascribe to the
gun. In particular ensure you choose 'Bolt Sensor' if using a Bolt TB solenoid, this controls the enabling
of the constant current power required.
Gunlink Web
- View / Edit Inventory page - New
This page allows you to mass update your inventory by viewing all devices in a grid format.
Due to it's heavy database demands the page is only available when the system is safe.
- Swapping devices on the array with one another - Implemented
The Swap Devices page now has an extra pulldown menu that lets you alter the 'swap mode' of
the page at any time. 'From Spares' is the default mode that you have experienced up until now. 'On Array'
removes the spare device pool and allows you to click 2 devices of the same type in different positions of
the array for swapping.
- Swapping guns and solenoids - Simplified
Minimum confusion now. If you want to swap a gun and it is compatible, it will be swapped.
Solenoids and guns are swapped completely independantly so you may have to perform 2 changes now, but will
be asked less questions and the actions are more intuitive. As a result of these changes and array
swapping, the Solenoid Management page is no longer needed.
- Abilility to delete short histories - Added
Closed histories that are less than 1 day long can now be deleted when viewing a Device
History. When logged in as admin you can delete any closed history. This should be used with caution at
all times.
- "Zeroing" Shot Counters for Faults and Maintenance - Improved
Previously you had to report a maintenance event in order to get the "shots til last
maintenance" counter, now you can do so with any type of fault or maintenance event by ticking the
'Record zero shot count' tickbox.
- Reporting faults for GPMs AND Integral Devices - Implemented
If a fault is reported for a GPM/GFSM and the failure is one of the integral transducers
or phones then the fault will be logged for both the GPM and the faulty device so it will show up on Device
Histories and Device Info Box counts.
- Shot Counter Accuracy - Improved
Shot counters for Hydrophones, Transducers, GPMs and GFMs are now incremented only if a gun
on that cluster fired on the shotpoint. This is a better marker for reflecting the damage caused to these
devices by gun shots. If a device is not on a cluster and is 'string based' then it's shot counter will be
incremented per shotpoint as before.
- Farfield Option set automatically - Improved
This is now set if there is any data in the farfield table at all or if the source synthesis
setting is ticked in host prefs.
- Line graph axes centred on aim value for guns - Improved
Guns previously had their dataset line drawn through their average value which could be
misleading. They are now drawn through the aim value for the particular graph type based on your spec.
- Line graph multi-gun graphs reordered - Improved
Now order with gun 1 starting at the top to match all other conventions in the system,
including Displays representation.
Config Tools
- Filename entry for exporting archives - Added
You can now enter a filename prefix for archives for easier identification.
- Network configuration for redundant node Ethernet - Added
For GL3000 and GL4000 systems the in-water electronics can have two redundant Ethernet links if
you have sufficient fibres in the umbilical. On the vessel connect both Ethernet links to the private
network switch. In the network configuration tool MAC address section you can now enter the second MAC
address for a node if you have connected the redundant link. GL2000 nodes only have hardware for one link,
leave the second address blank.
- Node MAC Address Discover - Added
A new tool to help you find the MAC address of you nodes by powering them on one by one and present the result of DHCP request logs. It is part of the gunlink-config-network tool. See the manual for more info.
- Unlock Inventory Option - Added
You can Unlock the Inventory in case of a Configure crash both in the database management config tool and Gunlink Web.
- Reports, Logs and Datafiles desktop link on Remote Display machines - Removed
When setting a gunlink PC as a Remote Display this desktop icon link is removed. When setting a gunlink PC FROM a Remote Display this desktop link is re-added.
- Host Control Panel - Improved
This should be less ambiguous now. Have removed the ability to run many of the applications remotely so only basic tools can operate from a display terminal but all can run from the Host. You now only need a password for specific tools rather than when the panel is first started every time.
Firmware
The files containing the latest firmware are now installed into the host firmware updating directory automatically. They are also located in a 'firmware' directory on the update CD.
Note: You must update to the new TRECV and TCU
code from this release together, they are not compatible with previous versions.
The Gun Plate modules and the new Gun Fire modules support a new self update mechanism.
These devices have an on-board flash memory chip capable of storing a new copy of the device firmware.
The self-update process writes the new firmware into this device first then updates itself in one go
using a mechanism that can survive power failures. This mechanism should eliminate problems with
upgrade failures due to communications errors in the previous scheme which involved overwriting
the device memory on-the-fly which could result in an unusable device requiring reprogramming
with a PC and cable. The files for this new method are in a different format and will be called
'Gpm1p1p5.bin' for example rather than the previous 'Gpm1p0p0.hex' format files. The programming utilities
will select the correct file to use depending on the current revision of the device. All other devices
apart from GPMs and GFMs continue to use the original scheme as they do not have the additional
flash memory component - but they are also easier to access if you do ever need to reprogram using a
PC and cable.
- Timing links - Updated
The new TCU and timing receiver firmware versions have several enhancements:
- Reduced data rate. The data rate of the links has been reduced by nearly 50% to about 2.56MHz.
This should improve performance on marginal cabling.
- Changed the way the time is sent to the nodes over the timing link to prevent corrupt
data causing large random time jumps in the node.
- Inhibit link data for 2.5mS after any bad data to ensure corrupt data is not treated as good due
to randomly correct parity bits. Previously each command was treated separately and a broken or noisy
connection could produce random data about 25 percent of which would seem to have good parity and stop bits.
- Nodes send voltage and timing link status data back on the reverse timing link. This is collected by
the TCU and can be displayed by the host during times when there is no Ethernet link to the node.
This enables you to see the power status of in-water nodes while they are booting. Note that the reverse
timing link is not otherwise used in normal operation and requires an extra fibre for in-water systems
- TCU version 1.4.1 - Updated
Timing link changes as above. Support for replacement internal GPS receiver due to pending
obsolescence of the current Motorola unit. The new Synergy Systems SS12 receiver will be used in new
systems from mid 2006. It uses the same connections as the Motorola and is a plug-in replacement. You
need to choose the new type in the host preferences of 'display' as the data format is different.
This version of TCU code scans the reverse timing ports looking for data from the nodes. This can be
used by the host code to display node volts, temperture etc. before the node is booted up and status can
be obtained over the Ethernet connections. There is a new menu on the TCU 'T.Ports' which can show you
which reverse timing links are connected to which node and which timing link (A or B) on that node.
This version of the TCU code now supports self-update. BUT you will need to update to this
version from previous releases using a PC and programming cable first. From then on you can update
using 'updateAllFirmware -T'.
- Timing Receiver (TRECV) version 1.4.1 - Updated
Timing link changes as above. Added support for controlling and monitoring the aux.
power outputs present on the GL4000 in-water electronics.
- Comms controller version 1.4.0 - Updated
Changes to bus handling for GL4000.
- Gun Plate Module (GPM) version 1.4.2 - Updated
This is used in both the stand-alone GPM module for the GL3000 and as one of the parts of
the GL4000 GFSM. Changes to depth and pressure transducer detection at power-up to ensure they are always
detected. Autodetects depth and pressure transducers so you can connect them to either
port depending on which is most convenient - for connecting the pressure transducer hose.
The system does not support connecting two of the same type of transducer although the GPM
will report the readings. The version is 1.4.x to match other code versions but there have not been
versions 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3.
- Gun Fire Module (GFM) version 1.4.3 - New
This is the new gun fire and sensor module one or two of which can be fitted in a
GL4000 GFSM assembly (along with one set of GPM electronics). The version is 1.4.x to match other
code versions in this release but there have not been versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3.
- UPSUC version 1.4.0 - New
New version for second release of PCBs, do not try to use on any boards currently loaded with
versions prior to 0.7.x. All address and RS232/422 options now software controlled. Added remote power
enable and disable capability. Self-updatable using 'updateAllFirmware'. The version is 1.4.x to match other code versions but there have not been
versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3
- New Flash Image for GL3000 / GL4000 Nodes - Added
A new version of the node boot loader firmware is required for 3000 and 4000 nodes for redundant network
operation. This has been installed onto the node file system as part of the update and will need to be applied to all existing
4000 systems in the field. There is no harm in re-applying it but it WILL temporarily stop the node programs operating, do
not do it while shooting.
It can be run by telnetting into the nodes (telnet gl_nodeX) and running the following script:
/usr/local/gunlink/flash-etherboot.sh
Display
- Old Layout Files - Obsolete
All display layout files prior to 2.5.0 are no longer usable and new ones need to be created. Layout files
stored in /home/display have been deleted as part of this update. To avoid 'I cannot understand parts of the layout' messages
at display start-up go to 'file / save as' once you have the layout and display options to your liking and save the layout
with the name '.default' (note the leading dot). The saved file will be called '.default.layout'.
- Load Sound files in separate thread - Enhanced
Depending on the sound chip-set, with some motherboards loading of the sound files takes tens of seconds at
display start-up. Loading of the files now takes place in the background after the program starts. If your system previously
suffered from slow start-up you will notice it starts more quickly but then the CPU load stays high for a while as the files
load in the background.
- Inhibit of 'red' pressure bargraphs - Enhanced
The previous software inhibits turning the pressure bargraphs red for 10 seconds after a shot
(or until the next shot if sooner) provided they were in spec at shot time. This did not take any account of flip-flop
and as a result only worked for long cycle times unless the compressor was far too big. This code has been rewritten
and should now behave reasonably with any cycle time and firing interval. Bargraphs will go red if they are out of
spec at shot time and being used to calculate the pressure for a gun that fired. Otherwise they will be inhibited
from going red for a selectable time (default 10 seconds) while the compressor recharges. You can fine tune this
behaviour via a new parameter on the 'host preferences / options' tab - 'Pressure Recovery Time secs'.
Setting this to slightly more than the time it takes the pressure to recover after a shot will give you maximum
warning via red bargraphs of an impending pressure problem. Getting this setting wrong will not affect logging of
errors at shot time but if you make it too short the bargraphs may flash red before the next shot. The main
manifold transducer (if you have one) is always inhibited from turning red after each shot unless it is
the only source of pressure readings for one or more guns and was in error.
- Depth and Pressure Audio alerts and dialogs - Enhanced
These also had problems when firing flip-flop on fast cycles and have been rewritten. The gun status
tab shot depth and pressure values should now only be red if they were bad and the gun fired.
Host Programs
- CGG 'TopShooter' option for GCS90 headers - Added
The standard GCS90 header uses data fields that can only contain maximum values of 99.9mS to record
gun fired times. If you use an aim-point close or equal to 100mS then late gun errors cannot be recorded. If you
increase the aim-point further no errors can be recorded. There is no reason in GunLink to need an aim-point greater
than about 40mS as it needs only to be longer than the longest expected delay for the largest (or slowest to operate)
gun in use. However some clients want to use values of 100mS for historic reasons. The 'CGG TopShooter' variation
of the GCS90 header records the aim-point once in an otherwise unused header area and then records only gun
errors relative to this time. The initial identifer string in the header is also changed. Most navigation and processing
systems should be able to handle the alternate format. You select the new format option with a tick box on the 'host preferences'
'ports' tab since this is also where you select the various header options. Note this option changes all 'GCS90'
headers output by the system, that is you cannot have a normal GCS90 header on navigation and a TopShooter header on a serial port.
The differences between the formats are documented in the navigation interfacing document available via the 'on-line manual'
section of the web pages.
- GunLink Panel applet Node status display - Enhanced
The node status display now shows internal voltage and temperature readings (temperatures are
only available for GL3000 and 4000 nodes). These update every second if the node is booted and fully connected
by Ethernet. Further if the Ethernet link is dead or the node still booting - provided you are running the new versions
of TCU and TRECV firmware described above and the reverse timing link connection is good - then the voltage and
temperature data will be updated via the TCU, although less frequently (typically every 4 or 5 seconds). If neither
connection path is available then the data items will be blanked.
Also on GL3000 and GL4000 systems if the UPSUC power controllers are interfaced to the system you can see
the supply current and any leakage current here. You will also get 'power off' and 'power on' buttons, these enable
remote powering off and on of distributed nodes provided the UPSUC is fully enabled and there are no error conditions.
If distributed (GL3000 and GL4000) nodes overheat dangerously the small node icons on the panel bar
will turn to a hatched red/yellow version and error messages will start to be issued. This happens at 50C for the processor and 55C
for the power supplies in the node. If the temperature continues to rise and the UPSUC is capable of remote control then node will be turned
off. This happens at 60C for the processor and 65C for the power supplies in the node.
- Distributed bus initialisation - Enhanced
As well as additions to support distributed firing modules (GFSMs) on
the GL4000 system the bus initialisation code for GPMs and GFMs has been enhanced. If a device is in the configuration
but no device is found then the system will remove power from the 'missing' device and retry up to 5 times.
This may improve bus initialisation in the presence of communications errors although not a substitute for good cables.
Only error messages will be issued to the message monitor window or to the log and display message
window. The full initialisation sequence with all the messages is written to a file per bus, this makes it
easier to separate activity on the busses. The files are called '/tftpboot/nodeX/tmp/busNinitlog' where 'X' is the
node number and 'N' is the bus number - 1 and 2 for fire modules, 5-8 for GPMs. Files are also written for
non-distributed busses but do not contain much of interest. You can view the files from a terminal with for
example 'cat /tftpboot/node1/bus1initlog', or use 'more' or 'less' instead of 'cat' to get more control.
- Shot Pressure and Depth logging - Enhanced
In all GunLink versions to date the values of depth and pressure latched as the 'shot' values for logging,
error reporting and header outputs were frozen at 'arm' time rather than 'fire', if you were using a long
predict time between arm and fire this could cause the pressure readings to be lower than they should be if your air
capacity was marginal for the cycle time. Now the system latches the data at fire time if no newer data will become
available, or it waits up to a half second after fire for newer data that was measured before the shot to work it's way through
the system. If you are using a standard predict time of two seconds these changes will result in the latched readings
being 2.5 seconds later (newer) than before with a resulting increase in the measured pressure. Note that GunLink operates a
one second depth and pressure measurement cycle, the frequency of the transducers is counted for the first half of the
second and the data transferred in the second half, this is synchronised to GPS seconds, not a shot event. If we consider
the actual measurement instant to be the middle of the half second counting period then the new scheme results in shot
data being between 0.25 (the minimum possible) and 1.25 seconds old.
As a side effect you may see up to half a second extra delay before the headers are output but most of
this time will usually be hidden in the sensor and phone windows anyway. Similarly SEG-D file recording and far-field
estimation will not normally see any delay as they need to wait until the end of the phone window before starting
processing.
- Pressure error logging - Bug fix
When flip-flopping the system could log excess pressure errors if a gun that fired
had a pressure error. In this case log messages would be created for all pressure transducers out of
specification at shot time, not just those where guns fired. If no fired guns had pressure errors no
extra reports were logged.
- UPSUC Interfacing - Added
The GL3000 and Gl4000 power supply interface units - UPSUCs - can now be interfaced. You daisy chain
the RS485 ports on the UPSUCS. On the first and last enable RS485 termination via the front panel status menu. Give each
one an address matching the node number (for sanity, this is not essential you can specify any address in Configure),
again via the front panel status menu. On the first in the chain (the left hand one in a box) enable the 'data to host'
option once more from the front panel status menu.
Connect the RS232 port of the first box either directly to a host computer serial port or to a Moxa
DE211 serial to Ethernet adaptor which in turn connects to the private network switch. The UPSUC will power the Moxa if it
(the Moxa) is jumpered for external 24V power. Configure the Moxa as per the guide on the Web manuals section for UDP protocol but
use a different port number and IP address to that used for any Moxa interfacing the TCU. The host program default port is 4002 (TCU 4001).
Make an entry in the hosts file for this device. Set the serial or network port parameters in the host preferences 'ports'
dialog as for the TCU. A baud rate of 38400 is adequate but you can use 115K if connecting via a Moxa, ensure the UPSUCs
have matching baud rate settings (again on their front panel status menu). the UPSUC address for each node is set in the
Configuration on the 'layout/system' tab. Again it makes sense to use the node number as the address.
The data gathered from the UPSUCs can be monitored in the hardware status tab of display, the panel applet
node status dialog or gunlinkInfo.
The UPSUCs should all be scanned every second but if one is turned off it may take up to 15 seconds to be
detected when the power is restored as the system only looks for one 'missing' one per scan.
If you have a GL2000 system or do not connect the UPSUCs then set the 'port' to 'Unused' and leave the
UPSUC addresses in Configure set to 'Unused'.
- Message Monitor - Ability to filter messages
There is now a text field in the monitor program options which allows you to enter a search string. If you put something here
then only messages containing this string will be displayed. This can help you look for specific error messages. The test is done
ignoring case.
Node Programs
- Redistributed real-time processing load - Improved
The real-time processing load has been redistributed to greatly reduce the maximum time the
node's Linux operating system is held off. This should cure the occasional loss of characters from the GL2000
depth and pressure cards. It also increases maximum network throughput.
- Don't apply termination for Sleeve and G sensor types. - Changed
The system no longer applies the termination resistor on sensor inputs when the sensor type is 'sleeve gun'
or 'G gun' (it was never applied for Bolt sensors). This change will result in the apparent amplitude of sensor
returns from these signal types increasing, possibly doubling, so you may need to re-adjust threshold
levels and plot gains or even pre-amp gains.
Instrument Tests
- Testing of sensor and hydrophone channels - Added
An instrument test mode has been added. This is selected from the 'shot control' menu. Once selected the
display will switch the normal status window tabs to a special instrument test tab. On the left hand side you will initially see two
selection buttons for 'live or 'replay'. If you select 'replay' you can display test results saved previously. If you select 'live' then
a set of available tests will be displayed. Exit test mode by selecting 'shot disable' or another fire mode.
For each test you can tick a box to enable running of that test (when you click on the 'run tests' button) and
also to expand or hide the detailed test parameters - frequency, amplitude etc.. Once you have made your selections 'run tests' will start
cycling the system with progress displayed in a pop up list box. There are significant delays before each test is run to allow DC conditions
to stabilise as they may involve turning Bolt Power off or on for example. Once all the selected tests have run the data is processed and
a display tab opened for each node. Each tab contains a graph at the top showing the results for all the tests run on that node and for all the
configured channels. Below this is a table showing each channel on the node and the numerical results.
If you click on an individual channel in the table then click on the test type from the 'single trace details' selector and finally
on 'Show Graph' then you can plot the raw test data for that trace plus the frequency domain representation.
Notes:
- No attempt is made to apply any specifications to the results.
- All available test frequencies are locked to the sample rate in such a way that a whole cycle of the sine wave has a power of two samples.
The frequency domain processing uses a 8192 sample FFT, the combined result is that no windowing of the data is required and the fundamental
and harmonics should be single sample spikes in the frequency domain - although the plotting routines will smooth the data out at low frequencies.
- There are currently no tests aimed at testing the external hardware - sensors or hydrophones. You can apply test signals to
the external devices by selecting 'connect inputs' (and probably de-selecting 'terminate inputs') but this is not presently documented
and in future there will be dedicated tests for this type of thing.
- The pulse test produces a near full scale pulse but at 1 sample width (required to avoid the pulse shape affecting the spectrum) the
amplitude in the frequency domain is between 70 and 80 dB down on full scale. The pulses are produced at about 0.11 seconds after T0 so
unless your sensor window is longer than this you will not see the actual pulses on the 'sensor' windows. You can view the actual data
from the instrument test 'single trace details' option as described above. Normally your hydrophone display windows will be longer and
will show the test data.
- The test mode is supported under simulation BUT the data simulated for tests only reaches the test processing code, it does
not get displayed on the normal sensor and hydrophone displays. This is to do with the way the two types of data are simulated and
does not affect real data when not simulating.
- The Gun Fire modules are forced into 24 bit mode during testing to ensure we can test the hardware correctly, in normal use they apply
the 'pre-amp gain' locally to enable sensor and solenoid data to be mixed in one comms bus slot. This means if you look elsewhere in the system
at sensor or SPSU status while in instrument test mode you will not see valid or fresh status.
- While in test mode the system oscillators and test switch configurations remain as required by the last test run. When exiting test
mode the oscillators are turned off and the system switches returned to operational mode, this may result in a burst of autofire reports.
- Normally the system removes offset continuously (you can see how much is removed using 'gunlinkInfo'). In test mode offset removal is turned off.
- The single trace plots support zooming in and out by click and drag down/right or up/left respectively.
- The tests are partly controlled by an XML file. This is saved as 'tests.xml' in display's home directory the first time you run. This may be
documented for customisation in later releases. If you corrupt the file delete it to force creation of a new copy.
Tests currently defined:
- Sine Wave test. A general test that reports DC offset (volts), signal level in dB down from full scale, fundamental frequency, total harmonic
distortion, SINAD, effective number of bits and some other parameters of interest when testing a digitiser.
- Crossfeed Odd and Crossfeed Even. These simply have different defaults for the 'connect oscillator to odd/even channels' options and produce
result table columns with different names. They plot the level in dB down of driven and undriven channels. Note that since crossfeed is only looked
for in the GunLink hardware (not the external wiring where we have no idea which channels may couple) it is not applicable to GL4000 sensor
channels (in GFSMs) or to GL3000/4000 hydrophone channels (in GPMs or GFSMs) unless these are in dual hydrophone mode. Otherwise all
these channels are always Odd channels. Other channel types - all GL2000 and GL3000 sensors - use boards supporting eight or sixteen
channels which contain multiple dual channel analogue to digital converters. For these crossfeed is possible although as there are separate
converters inside each dual chip any significant crossfeed is likely to be either in the digital data or the input stages. There are no analogue
multiplexers to fail.
- Pulse test. Because the low frequency response of GunLink hydrophone channels is designed with a 3dB point around 1/3rd of a Hz and
the delta-sigma converters used are flat to 4.8KHz (re Nyquist frequency of 5KHz) the frequency domain plot of the pulse test is essentially
flat with a minimal roll off visible at low frequency and a bit more at extreme high frequences. The test shows the frequency domain amplitudes
in dB down from full scale at 'low', 'mid' and 'high' frequencies. The frequencies are shown in the column names and chosen such that all three numbers
should be the same give or take measurement error.
- Noise test. Shows DC offset and noise (RMS volts) level.
General Improvements
- Logout functionality - Improved
The logout option from the panel now allows you to choose whether you want to reboot or shutdown directly rather than having to logout of X first.
- X 'session' automatic saving - Removed
The session is no longer automatically saved by default at the end of every X session. This prevents problems caused by
corrupt session files which can happen if the power fails or the workstation is switched off rather than shut-down properly. You can
choose to save the current screen layout from the logout display.
Simulation
Host Control Panel
A new program that groups together all the other Gunlink tools for them to
be easily run on the Host. An icon has been added for this on the desktop and the
Applications menu. Inside the control panel you have an Icon for every available Gunlink tool,
clicking on an icon will show more details about it and double-clicking will load the program.
This means that all important tools and accessories can be found in once place
rather than having to look-up or remember command-line programs.
Remember that every application here is run on the Host,
if you run Network Config tool from this control panel on a remote display machine you will
be affecting the Host.
Contracts & Archiving
You should no longer delete old lines!
Contracts allow you to archive all the line data - including plot and print files - for a
contract/job/survey in one operation. This data can then be transported back to the office
for example or restored at a later date if needs be.
Also you can load a copy of a contract's data into a second database on the GunLink host, each
workstation / browser accessing GunLink Web can then choose to display data from the alternate
database without affecting the live database. for more detail follow the documentation link
on the GunLink Web home page.
Archiving is done by a set of dedicated tools available on the Host Control Panel
described above:
- Archive Creator - New
Divide your lines into contracts and archive
them away onto your hard disk.
- Archive Restorer - New
Use this program to restore an old archive
into you system, either completely or into the secondary database for stats analysis with
Gunlink Web.
- Archive Exporter - New
This program creates an archive without
ending the current contract, which basically just creates a system backup file that can be
restored onto any system. This is a vital tool not only for backing up, but for cloning your
system where analysis is to be done remotely and network logistics are too challenging.
- Archive Importer - New
Basically a wrapper around the restorer
that will search attached CDs and USB disks for archives and copy them into your archive
directory before restoring.
Gunlink Web
Revamped with new looks and packed full of new features. For more info go to
the What's New link on the Home page.
- Gun Performance page - New
A new page under Inventory that displays long term shooting graphs for all of the guns in your inventory.
- System Timing page - New
Under the 'Live Displays' menu, this page shows the timing relative to time-break (or 'fire')
of various events in the shot sequence. Initially this just shows the current data which may be
incomplete depending on where in the shot cycle you call it up. If you click on the 'auto-refresh'
link at the bottom of the page then it will start updating after every shot. At the bottom of the
page it shows you estimates of how much shorter you could make the navigation 'predict' time and
the overall cycle time. In auto-refresh mode these estimates will show you the worst case since
the page started displaying. This can give you useful information to help debug problems if
you get errors when firing from navigation. In this case you should also use the message monitor
tool (start / applications / gunlink) and select navigation messages under the 'special messages'
pull down.
- Contracts page - New
The database and web system now include the concept of contracts. As part of this the
'Crew Name' entry has been moved from the display program host preferences dialog to an
entry in the GunLink Web 'Settings / Contracts' page. The update process should migrate your
previous setting but you should check it for yourself.
- Options page - New
Under the 'Settings' menu, allows you to customise the interface and choose what
features you want to use and are relevant to you.
- Intelligent System Protection - Improved
You no longer need to be logged in as Admin user to perform advanced functions, they are now
only available when the system is in a safe state (i.e. when it's not firing!).
- New Custom Queries - Added
New Custom Queries allowing you to fine search the database using a specialised shot data search
or for advanced users a manual SQL search mechanism.
- Less Virtual Devices! Fixed
Gunlink Web no longer creates virtual devices to replace old ones when swapping, you can swap them yourself if you re-use a previous configuration.
- Swapping Solenoids on the Swap Devices page - Added
- Position Histories page - New
Improved histories means that you can now view a list of position occupations, allowing you
to see which devices have been used at a certain position throughout the systems history.
This is a new menu option under 'Inventory', but can also be reached by double clicking on a
position in the 'Config Viewer'.
- Single Line Export facility - Added
This creates an email size database backup in case of support or quick remote analysis.
- Mini-Guides - Added
New built-in mini guides on the Home page aid you operate Gunlink Web with F.A.Q style help.
General New Features
- Provision to issue hardware events that indicate flip-flop status -
New Feature
There is a new tick box on the host preferences / tcu tab 'Flip-Flop Event 1 and 2'. Normally both the
event outputs on the rear panel of the TCU 'Event 1' and 'Event 2' are generated on every shot. With
this option selected Event 1 will be generated whenever array 1 fires, Event 2 will be generated
whenever array 2 fires. Note this option requires TCU firmware release 1.3.1 (or later), version 1.3.5
is distributed with this system release. If you do not require this feature you do not absolutely need
to update the TCU although it has other advantages. See the firmware update notes below. If you try to
use this feature and the TCU is not updated you will get an error message the first time you try
to fire a shot, subsequently the system will default to generating both events each shot.
- SEG-D format 8036 (24 bit integer) -
Added
It is now possible to select either 8058 (IEEE 32 bit floating point demux) or 8036 (24 bit integer
demux) formats for the SEG-D files produced by the system. The default is 8058 which was the only format
available previously. Format selection is in the SEG-D tab of host parameters. The dumpSegd (and
xdumpSegd) utilities have been updated to cover the new format. A revised version of the SEG-D file
documentation is installed in the manuals.
- Better display of atmospheric correction and manual correction option -
Added
- If you have an atmospheric pressure compensation transducer configured you can now see what it is doing
more easily. The line for this transducer on the depth and pressure tab of display will now
show the reading in mBar rather than some strange number of metres. Similarly on the GunLink Web live
data displays.
- You can zero the atmospheric transducer so it agrees with a barometer. This uses an operator
entry for the current barometer reading which is made via the 'controls / host controls / Enter Atmospheric Pressure'
menu item. It is a separate entry as it is also used for manual corrections, see below. You will be
prompted to ensure you have updated the barometer atmospheric reading before the zeroing takes place.
Note: The system cannot distinguish between drift in the actual atmospheric transducer and changes
in real atmospheric pressure, if your transducer drifts your depth readings will be incorrectly adjusted.
This is not a new situation but you can now see if the transducer is drifting. If it does drift then
there will be a (probably small) jump in the depth readings when you zero the transducer so if possible avoid
doing it with the guns deployed. If you enter a wrong manual reading then zero the atmospheric you can
upset all your depth readings, so best to do it while on deck.
- The operator entered atmospheric reading is also used in the event that a configured atmospheric
transducer fails or is killed. Keeping it reasonably accurate will minimise any jump in depths at
the point of failure.
- You can also enter manual atmospheric pressure readings if you do not have a transducer
configured and need to leave the guns deployed for a long time. If you decide to do this then
you need to update the reading regularly if atmospheric pressure changes significantly or there
will again be small jumps in the depth reading.
The updated system will default to an atmospheric reading of 1000mBar plus the offset of the existing
transducer if used. If you are using an atmospheric transducer then to make the displayed values
reasonable you should enter a reading and zero the atmospheric transducer once even if you do not
wish to keep it updated regularly.
- Support for Sodera G-I guns -
New Feature
Support for G-I guns has been added. This includes:
- Ability to configure G-I guns and assign two solenoids.
- Maintenance and shot tracking for two solenoids.
- Manual entry of delay between Initiator and Injector solenoids. On the gun parameters tab
each G-I gun will have two rows, the second row being for it's injector. The 'offset' column
is used as normal for firing offsets in the first 'main' row, and for the injector delay in the second
row.
- The 'click solenoid' button will only fire one of the parts of the gun - which is what you want if
you need to check they are both working, but does not fire the gun 'normally'.
- An extra column for peak to bubble ratio will appear on the gun status tab. This is calculated
by finding the peak of the hydrophone sensor signal, moving forward 10mS and then finding the next
highest peak.
- In the host preferences 'specs' tab you can enter a minimum value for peak to bubble ratio. Guns
with a ratio lower than this (usually an injector problem) will be flagged as a misfire and the
injector volume will not be added when calculating the array volume fired for that shot.
- G-I guns must use a hydrophone as sensor type. Connecting a hydrophone directly to a sensor interface
channel will at best have limited low frequency response and most likely overdrive horribly. You can
use an external resistive or capacitive divider to reduce the signal but you will not get the advantages
of a charge amplifier. It is also possible to plug a hydrophone interface board into the sensor slot
which would be the sensible option if all your guns are G-I guns. You should be able to specify this
at the time of ordering. Future releases may enable you to mix and match board channels rather more flexibly.
- There is no simulation support for G-I guns in terms of a sensible signature, the displayed signature
will be as if the gun were a Bolt gun.
- The Pk-Bubble ratio and injector solenoid firing data are stored in the database but there are
currently no tools to view them.
- Arm time and External event times saved to database - Added
The time the TCU sees the arm event and the time (if any) that it sees an External event input
are now saved to the database as well as the fire time. The arm time will only correspond
exactly to the arm time as recorded by navigation if the arm mode is 'closure'. The external
event time is recorded at the end of shot processing (shortly after the end of the phone window)
if a new event has been seen since the previous database update. If the event happens after
the database update (that is it is very late relative to fire) then it may appear in the
database under the next shot but it will still be logged. Currently there are no formal tools
to analyse this data which will be lost when you summarise the lines. If you wish to make use
of it contact support with your display requirements. Note a minor problem with recording of the
correct external event time has been resolved in TCU code version 1.3.1. With earlier releases if
the external signal had bouncing on the leading edge the time recorded could be the time of one of
the bounces rather than the first edge, the window in which this could happen was about 1mS. Updated
firmware is distributed with this release if you need it.
- GunLink system serial numbers -
Added
All GunLink systems sold are assigned a serial number in the form GLxx. This can help keep track
of support requests etc.. The serial numbers are now included in the license file (updated with
each software update) based on the dongle numbers. The serial number can be viewed in the Display
program file / about display and on system configuration reports. It is also written to the
designated field in SEG-D file headers. It helps if you include this number in support requests.
Configure
Display
- All bugs in 2.3 fixed previously by patches - Fixed
Force zero button problem, restoration of display layout with only one hydrophone
etc..
- Host Preferences 'cancel' - Fixed
Previously selecting 'cancel' in the host preferences dialog did not remove any changes you had
made although they were not used to update the system, so the next time you called up the menu the displayed values did not necessarily show the
correct current state of the system.
- Support for GI guns - Added
See the general discussion about Sodera GI guns earlier.
- Line Details Entry for dumb navigation systems - New
A new menu under 'Shot Control', the 'line details' dialog allows you to enter the line name, start of line shot
number and end of line shot number in one go. These entries will have the same effect as the equivalent separate
entries under 'controls / host program controls'. These settings are not required with navigation systems which impliment
a correct 'GCS90' serial interface and supply this information to GunLink.
- Replacement for Hardware in use - Changed
The new Hardware tab display uses a tree structure to show the data rather than trying to cram it
into a fixed format table. It also includes a lot more data, firmware versions, installed hardware versus
configured hardware etc.. Fault conditions are shown in red and propagate up to the first visible
element. So for example if you have a fault condition anywhere in a node but you have the display for
that node collapsed then the 'node x' item will be red. If you start expanding the tree for the node
then you can immediately see the fault location by following the red items downwards.
The tree is regenerated from scratch 10 seconds or so after a node finishes rebooting or a node bus is
reset, or when you switch from another tab to the hardware tab. When this happens the tree will be collapsed
even if you had expanded parts of it. It is necessary to redraw it from scratch in order to add or remove
any devices which were found / not found compared to the last time the node initialised.
The hardware information is generated and distributed by a new process called hwStatus which you will see
running in the panel status applet and host program start up. Dynamic data in the display - voltages for example -
update once per second.
Host Progs
- TCU T0 pulse width always 1mS - Fixed
The pulse width on the T0 output from the TCU was always 1mS regardless of what you selected in the
host preferences. The menu selection is now correctly used.
- Internal cycle didn't work if you select 'fire is GPS time from navigation - Fixed
Bug fixed.
- Changes to Navigation port baud rate only take effect at next host restart - Fixed
Bug fixed.
- Simulation problem if sensor window length 200mS, 300mS etc. - Fixed
If the sensor window was greater than 100mS and an exact multiple of 100mS then there was
a gap in simulated data and lots of error messages. Real data was always correct as was simulation on simulated
nodes.
- Revised GPM bus switching - Changed
The latest Gun Plate Modules now switch the power and communications to the next device rather than
all being powered up at once. This should greatly aid fault finding particularly when used with the
new 'busMonitor' utility which allows you to power up a bus one unit at a time. This change has required
modifications to the way the node is initialised (bringing up a GPM bus now takes 10-15 seconds longer
than before). It also means a bus will function even if you have not got the correct serial numbers in the
configuration - provided the correct number of devices are found with the required depth and pressure
transducers attached.
Updated kernel version 2.4.29-lck1
The kernel has been updated to provide support for newer hardware. This should not
generally be noticeable in any other ways. If you do a new installation including the 2.4.0 (or later) update
disk during installation then you will only see the new kernel listed at boot time. If you update from an earlier
version then in the boot menu you will see the new kernel at the top as default and the previous kernel
below it.
Support for alternative serial ports is included mainly for demo systems, full
systems will currently continue to use the Moxa 4 port intelligent serial card to provide extra ports:
- PCI Serial / Parallel adaptor cards. A driver is included
which supports a range of these cards, the only one tested currently is a 'StarTech.com PCI2S550' dual serial
board which is widely available. Other boards may work but are not guaranteed.
The ports on these cards will appear as '/dev/ttyS4' and /dev/ttyS5', the host preferences selections
now include these ports. Note ttyS5 is the top connector on the StarTech.com card.
- Support for some USB serial adaptors. The one tested is based on the FTDI FT2232C
single port chip, sold in the UK under the 'EasySYNC' name and is actually a dual port device (but includes two of the
single port chips). The ports on these cards will appear as '/dev/usb/tts/0' and '/dev/usb/tts/1'. Again
these are now in the selections available on the host preferences page.
Note in regard to serial ports that newer motherboards may ship with only one or no
serial ports. However they may still exist internally and be configured by the system which would result
in no obvious errors if you selected one of these ports - except that things would not respond. If
you have a motherboard with less than two serial ports you will need to use ports on the Moxa 4-port
card which are /dev/ttyA11 through ttyA14.
USB Device Auto-mounting
All Gunlink machines will now automatically
mount USB memory devices when plugged in. You will see an icon on the desktop (it takes a few seconds)
and a new directory with the same name as the icon will be created under /media/. Although devices
are mounted automatically, you must unmount them manually. If you do NOT do this,
you WILL LOSE any new files you have put onto it. You can unmount either from the command line
with 'umount /media/DEVICE_NAME/' or right-click on the desktop icon and select 'Unmount' from the
resulting pop-up list.
If you previously had a diskmounter icon created for
this task you can remove it if you like, it will not clash with this new auto-mounter. The major
advantage of the new scheme is that it automatically copes with multiple devices and with devices
being removed and reinserted.
Gentoo Installer - Updated & New Software Packages
- Mozilla Firefox 1.0+ - Updated
A newer version is installed and is now the default browser for viewing GunLink Web.
- Acrobat Reader 7.0 - Updated
Latest version of reader for pdf files.
- Genkernel - Added
Required if you need to recompile the kernel on a system.
- Cups printer drivers - Updated
Updated drivers to cover more recent printers.
- Alsa sound drivers - Updated
Updated drivers to cover more sound chips and configurations.
Bus Monitor
This is a new utility aimed mainly at diagnosing problems on GL3000/4000
distributed buses (GPMs), but it may also be useful for looking at communications errors on
internal data buses.
The program can be run from the Host Control Panel or in a terminal with the command
busMonitor, you do not need to be root. The program has a graphical status and control
interface window, error messages and messages from the node under examination appear in the
underlying terminal window.
At the top of the window are status displays for the bus current and overload
conditions. These only apply to distributed buses, not GL2000 nodes or the SPSU and sensors
of GL3000 nodes. In the middle is a table showing the status, versions, types and communications
error counters of the eight possible devices on the bus. At the bottom are controls enabling you
to select the node of interest and the bus on that node. A button allows you to reset the bus -
this will lose you data from the devices on the bus, so is not something to use on-line. For
non-distributed buses the reset action applies a reset to all the devices on the bus and they
will be re-initialised. For distributed busses reset removes power to the bus then reapplies
it to the first device. As each device is initialised it is told to apply power and extend the
communications to the next device in the chain. A control on the window allows you to specify
how many devices to initialise. By incrementing this you can cause the bus to power up slowly
or pause at a certain device to help localise possible wiring faults. Messages should appear
in the terminal window as each device is located and initialised.
Note you can change the bus selection leaving a bus in a partially powered up
state to look at a different bus. The first bus will not be fully powered up - if that is possible
- until either you return to it and change the 'stop at' selection, or you terminate the program
and do a 'reload node' action via the GunLink panel control.
Monitor
- Time conditioning messages - Moved
The GunLink system keeps the host computer clock synchronised to GPS time, hopefully to within a
few tens of milli seconds. This is not too critical but it ensures that times recorded in Linux log
files for example can be lined up with times in the GunLink logs. There are quite a lot of status
and information messages issued by this process which can obscure other things in the message monitor
window if you are trying to look for a problem. All these messages have been turned into a 'special message'
type and to view them you now need to select 'GPS Time Conditioning' under 'special messages' when using
the message monitor tool. This is also where to look if you want to view navigation system messages or
actual GPS data.
Firmware
- Include latest firmware files on update CD - Added
The update CD now contains a copy of the latest firmware files as on the full GunLink firmware CD
but without the programming utilities (which do not change and are large). The latest hex format
files should be installed into the correct location for the automatic firmware update mechanism
as part of the update procedure. Firmware is in a directory called firmware n the CD.
- Automatic firmware updates - Available
Although the ability to do in-system firmware updates has been present for a year (with the 1.2
firmware series) it could not be used to install the 1.3 series of firmware as this required a
change to device fuse settings that can only be done through a programming cable. Be aware that
in-system firmware updates can fail and leave devices requiring reprogramming with a PC and
programming cable in the event of communications errors or power failure or someone resetting
or otherwise affecting nodes during programming.
- Currently in-system programming only works for Comms Controller and Timing receiver (both on the chassis
controller card), sensor and hydrophone boards, SPSUs and GPMs (GL3000). It is not available for the
TCU or oscillator cards. This does however cover the bulk of the devices in a system.
- You need the latest firmware files installed on the host. This should happen automatically as part of the update
process, if not you need to place them in /usr/src/gunlink/node/master/usr/local/gunlink/firmware/.
You need the xxx.hex versions of the files, not the xxx.elf versions. On the other hand you need
the xxx.elf versions of the files if you are programming with a PC and programming cable.
- The system needs to be up and running normally. Open a terminal window and for a start run
updateAllFirmware -t this will show you the latest firmware files available on the system
then scan all the installed devices and show those which can be updated. It will detect old
- pre 1.3 - versions which need updating by hand.
- Once you are certain you want to go ahead you can use updateAllFirmware -n 1 for example to
do node 1. It is generally best to do one node at a time, you can do all attached nodes using the -a
option but if it goes wrong you may have trouble working out where you are.
- The update process is not particularly fast, each device will take a couple of minutes for the initial
program pass and the same for a verify pass. If any errors are reported DO NOT reset the node
until you have retried the programing. When you start programaming the device runs only a small section
of code loaded into RAM. If this code is destroyed by resetting the device or a power failure etc. and
the code EEPROM has not been sucessfully updated then the device cannot be recovered without manual
programming using a PC and cable following the instructions in the various README files in the
firmware directory of either the update or firmware CDs.
- Firmware updates in this release - Available
- All IP2022 processors. Updated to version 1.3.5 dated 27/07/2005 (except the GPM - version 0.9.0).
This update includes enhanced protection against program corruption during power iregularities. As such
it is highly recommended that all systems be updated. It also includes measures to increase the reliability
of self-updating for any future updates for the devices which currently support self-update.
- TCU Release 1.3.5. Added support for alternating Event 1 and Event 2 during flip-flop shooting.
Corrected issue with accurately time-stamping bouncing signals on external event input. This is
an optional update, only required if you are using either of these features.
- Comms Controller Release 1.3.5. Changes to bus power monitoring for GL3000 in-water module.
not required (but fully usable) on GL2000 on-board nodes.
- GPM Release 0.9.0. Various changes for next set of in-water system trials. GPMs now have
power and communications line switching so the bus is initialised one device at a time. The attached
depth and pressure transducers are now self contained pre-calibrated units rather than using circuits
in the GPM.
Extra Documentation
The following have been added to the PDF manuals, now available through Gunlink Web.
- 'Navigation Interface protocol' - Updated
- 'SEG-D file structure and notes' - Updated for 8036 format
Gunlink Utilities - dumpSegd and xdumpSegd
These two programs are stand-alone utilities which can be used to
examine and plot (respectively) saved SEG-D format files.
dumpSegd is a command line
program with multiple options which enable examination of the headers
and data for a given file. This can be used to verify the recorded
format, and to help diagnose problems which some processing systems can
have when trying to read such files. It can also be used to obtain
trace dumps which can be used to import to plotting programs such as
gnuplot, or to a spreadsheet.
The command format is:
dumpSegd -[tesxvC][-d [count]][-n trace][-w trace][-c channel set][-S scan type][-f file][-o file][ SEG-D file]
Options:
| t | Include trace headers |
| e | Include extended header |
| x | Include external header |
| s | Suppress header dumps (use with '-w') |
| d[count] | Dump first 'count' samples of each trace data (default 10 samples) |
| n trace | Specify the trace number n within the channel set |
| w trace | Whole trace dump - trace n (counting from start of file if no 'c' option) in format suitable for gnuplot |
| c ch.set | Channel set for 'w' option (defaults to 1) |
| S scan.type | Scan type for 'w' option (defaults to 1) |
| C | separate data values with comma instead of space |
| f file | Input file name ('-' == stdin) |
| o file | Output file name (default is stdout) |
| v | Show program version and exit |
| default is just headers. |
SEG-D files produced by Gunlink are kept in a directory tree below /opt/gunlink/segdfiles/. Below
this level are directories which correspond to seismic lines, the exact
directory name format being whatever is selected via the Display menu 'Host Preferences' on the 'SEGD Recording' tab.
xdumpSegd is a GUI wrapper for
dumpSegd, and hence easier to use. It can also produce time-series and
frequency plots of individual traces within a file.
It should be launched from a terminal window, as text output will be
written to the terminal. On load the program presents an option panel
and a file selector:
Having selected a file, the option panel can be used to select the
desired program output. Sharp eyed readers will observe that the
options mimic the command line options of dumpSegd. Further options are
revealed or hidden dependant on which boxes are ticked. Below are
examples of selections for a) a text dump of all channels showing
headers and a small amount of data, and b) a dual plot of one selected
trace:
Having made the selections, the Run button is clicked. Further files
may be then opened from the File
menu.
Here is an example of a Plot output. The Plot may be printed or saved
as a PDF using the Plot Panel's File
menu, and the paper size should be selected using the option panel.
Configure
- Program freeze caused by altering cluster offset then clicking button in validity check window -
Fixed
Display
- List of sail lines not always correct - Fixed
Previously the required sail lines were not always shown in the various pull down menu's in display. The database query used to extract the line information has been rewritten correctly and more efficiently.
- Improved DB related terminal message - Implemented
A rare message that previously stated 'FATAL: Config not found' is no longer FATAL, but a WARNING, explaining the likely cause of the config not being found and the repercussions.
- When using OFFSET, delay is wrong - Fixed
Previously the gun delay value was reported and saved including any offset value which may have been input. This has been corrected so that the value is the time from solenoid start to fire detect.
- 'Early' trace colour added to layout file - Fixed
Layout files have been updated to store the colour of traces in the 'Early Fire Window'.
- Audio alerts for out of spec shot depths and pressures - Implemented
Voice alerts have been introduced for depth and pressure being out-of-spec, and array volume being incorrect. These alerts only happen when on-line. Whenever an alert is made, the operator has the opportunity to mute it for the remainder of the line. It is possible to restart any muted alert by turning the specific check-box on and off in the Controls/Voice Alerts menu.
- Late Window Start confusion on entry of invalid values - Fixed
When an invalid Late Window Start time has been entered, although there is a dialog saying that the choice is invalid, there has been some confusion as to what actually happens to the value. The entered value is NOT used - no update is made. But, a user could believe that the dialog is just a comment, rather than an error.
Any fail message on Host Prefs now has an extra RED "Changes Ignored".
Host Progs
- Trimble TSIP decode on host is wrong if external GPS connected to TCU - Fixed
If you feed trimble TSIP data (from Spectra GPS receiver for example) directly into a host port the data decode on
both the host and TCU is correct. However if you connect the data string to the TCU external GPS connector then
while the TCU decode is still correct the host decode is wrong and never produces a complete message.
This is only visible if you select 'gps messages' under 'special messages' on monitor, you get lots of reports
about 'unexpected DLE' characters and never see a decoded position. Currently the decode is for diagnostic purposes
only and there is no problem or effect on the TCU's time keeping ability. Any 'raw gps' data files recorded on the
host under these circumstances will also be corrupt and unreadable, again these are for diagnostic purposes only.
Explanation:
The TSIP format uses DLE characters to frame messages, any DLE characters that would normally arise in the binary
body of the message are replaced by the sequence 'DLE DLE'. When the TCU sends the raw TSIP data to the host for the
host to decode it does not reinsert the extra DLE characters in the data stream.
A work-around has been coded in 'tcucom' to avoid the complication of issuing a TCU firmware update. If TSIP format
data is being input via the TCU the missing DLE characters are reinserted before the host code processes it.
- Correct support for arming by closure only and other navigation interface changes- Implemented
The shot fire modes - Internal/External single array / flip-flop have been modified. Instead of having
separate menu selections for 'Internal', 'Internal flip-flop' and 'External' the shot control menu now has
'Internal' and 'External' selections plus a 'Fire Mode' selection. The latter currently allows you to set the
default fire mode as 'Array 1' or 'flip-flop'. Thus when you select 'Internal' fire the mode will depend on the fire
mode selection. This change has been made partly to simplify the number of menu entries and partly to support firing
with a navigation system which supplies only closures. If the navigation system does not tell GunLink which array to
fire explicitly then the fire mode and flip-flop convention settings will be used. If the navigation system does
specify the array (as it should) then these settings have no effect.
IMPORTANT - the name of the flip-flop convention entry on the host preferences menu options tab has changed
from 'Internal Flip-Flop convention' to Flip-Flop convention'. After installing the 2.3 update you
MUST go to the host preferences menu and check the flip-flop convention setting matches your desired convention.
If it does not correct it and select 'apply'.
Support for 'dumb' navigation systems. If the navigation system does not have an industry standard
'GCS90' serial interface available a number of changes have been made to assist operation when only a shot point
message can be obtained from navigation. Getting the shot point number is the most vital part of the interface as
with it logs, headers and flip-flop shooting can all be correctly controlled. Without it flip-flop shooting in
particular is liable to severe confusion particularly in the event of a lost shot.
If the navigation system never produces select sequence ('SS') messages to indicate the array to be fired then
GunLink will determine the array using the fire mode setting and shot number - hopefully the shot number comes from
navigation but see the next section about arming by closure. This seems to be a limitation of some (all ?) versions
of Winfrog. Once a 'SS' message has been seen then it will always be expected and an error message issued if one is
missing. If 'SS' messages are normally being seen but one is missed then GunLink will select the array to fire based
on the fire mode and shot number while logging an error message, note this is a change from the previous code which
would fire the same array as the previous shot. The flag which records whether 'SS' messages have been seen is reset
at start of line to assist if you are playing about with the navigation end of things.
As further support for navigation systems without proper GCS90 protocol interfaces the code will also read
shot point number strings which do not have the leading 'SP' code required by the proper protocol and may not have
either or both the trailing carriage return and line feed characters expected. Thus if you can find some way to
output just the shot number (in ASCII) on a serial port you can use it. This special case detection is disabled
once a properly formed 'SP' message is received (again the flag is reset at start of line for convenience).
If you have a proper GCS90 serial interface from navigation or have managed to extract a usable shot number as
above then the navigation interface protocol should still be set to 'GCS90' (actually this is the only choice) and
the 'arm method' on the TCU tab should be set to 'Navigation message' as normal. Note if you have a restricted
interface it is most likely you will not get line name, begin or end of line messages from navigation, see the
'arm by closure' discussion below. Use of any of the work-arounds outlined above will be reported in messages
viewable with the message monitor under the navigation 'special messages' selection.
Arming by closure only - no serial messages from navigation system.
Arming by closure is now fully supported (it did not work with previous releases). You should avoid this
method of triggering if at all possible as it requires GunLink to use internal shot numbers which will require
manual synchronisation to navigation and will go out of step in the event of a lost shot, a particular problem
if shooting flip-flop.
To use this method, connect an arm signal and configure the TCU jumpers appropriately. On the TCU preferences
tab select the arm method as closure rather than navigation message. The arm signal must arrive at a similar time
to when a serial message is expected - the current recommendation is at least 0.75 seconds before fire. The fire
method can be selected as either 'closure' or a fixed delay after the arm signal. In the later case the delay is
set with the 'predict time' parameter and the TCU arm polarity jumper setting must be correct.
Do NOT set the navigation system selection to 'none', if your system is not listed select 'other'. Any serial
messages received on the navigation port will be ignored, headers will be output as normal. Note you must ensure
the shot number increment/decrement is set correctly before every line, when the navigation system supplies the shot
number the sign of this value is ignored so you can shoot up and down lines without needing to change the setting,
this does not apply in closure mode.
Currently the system will only log a maximum of one missed shot due to the next closure(s) arriving while
still processing the previous shot. Also these shots will be totally missing from the database apart from the log
entry. Also further arm pulses arriving in the interval between the first arm pulse and the fire pulse or timeout
will be totally ignored.
If you have no (i.e. arm by closure) or restricted (i.e. shot number only) messages from navigation you must
perform a number of manual tasks that are not normally required, these are all accessed via the controls / host
program controls menu.
- Set the line name manually before start of line.
- Optionally set the 'initial shot point' i.e. the first shot of the line. If you set this GunLink will start
the line log and statistics when it reaches this shot, alternatively you should do a 'force on-line' just before
the first shot of the line. Getting either of these wrong will only upset the logs.
- Set the internal shotpoint number to sync with the navigation shot number. Once you have done this you
cannot use internal cycle, or pass shots from navigation while not in external - basically you need to do it while
in external after taking noise records etc. and then stay in external onto the line.
- Set the EOL shot number if you want GunLink to close the line automatically, again the alternative is to
use the 'force off-line' option. If you are using closures and have got out of sync due to missed shots the latter
may be preferable.
- Disk Usage Applet - Implemented
A disk usage icon has been added to the panel app. This has two parts:
- An icon that appears between the TCU icon and the node icons. This turns green, amber or red depending on
available disk space. The colour will reflect a problem with any of the monitored partitions. Note the icon is not
a 'gas gauge' the three colours show different fixed levels of 'fullness'.
- When you click on the icon it brings up a window showing the detailed numeric values. The values update every
30 seconds.
Currently the root ('/'), home (/home) and var (/var) partitions are monitored. Of these the /var partition is
the only one which should change usage significantly due to the accumulation of line data and especially SEG-D
files. The amber warning level is currently set to 75% full and the red alarm level to 85% full.
There is no automatic action taken to reduce disk usage in the event of a warning or alarm.
Test Progs
- Gnits update - options for simulating broken interfaces, generate arm pulse - Implemented
Added options to simulate broken navigation interfaces.
On the options tab you can now:
- Inhibit SS messages. The serial gun interface on Winfrog does not issue source select messages for example.
- Inhibit the 'SP' part of SP message or entire message. The first is for testing decoding of a message
comprising just an ASCII shot number, the latter for testing error detection or arm by closure.
- Inhibit CR and LF (separately). Again for testing the 'number only' shot message decoding.
Add Arm pulse generation using RTS signal (fire pulse is on DTR as before) - serial interface only obviously.
There is an option to select the arm mode as message or closure but note the closure is always issued even if you
select message (as is the fire closure even if you select fire at gps time). Selecting the 'closure' option
disables the sending of any SS or SP commands and changes the status message.
Gentoo Installer
- Add license file to make dist - Implemented
Now automatically added to the Gunlink-Host package so an update will always have it.
- Additional software packages - Added
- lsof - Tells you what process(s) has/have files open which may be useful for fault finding.
- iptraf - Neat terminal based network tool which should be very useful.
- mknbi - Required to convert a newly compiled node kernel into the format required for tftp
download, ie. converts bzImage to pc104.b
- mii-diag - Tool to see what your Ethernet link is really configured as in terms of duplex,
10/100M etc..
- mozplugger - To replace netscape-plugger, fixes buggy handling of pdfs in mozilla.
- Linux source for Node package problem - Fixed
The source code package for the node kernel had some problems meaning it was not immediately usable should you
ever need to recompile it - not that this is expected.
The package has been rebuilt and a new kernel installed. Some other changes are incorporated in the node
kernel. Specifically the Ethernet
driver has been modified to compensate for incorrect data in the EEPROMs of both the GL2000 and GL3000 controller
boards. These changes enable tools like mii-tool and mii-diag to give you the correct information about interface
speed and full/half duplex settings. The driver for the octal UART chip which is only available on the GL2000 board
has been modified so it does not create the serial devices if the chip does not exist, this should produce immediate
errors rather than timeouts if you mistakenly attempt to use the ports. The kernel has USB drivers compiled in, this
is to ensure correct set-up of system management interupts (SMI) and an extra safeguard against obscure problems.
IDE support is now compiled in, this means a special kernel is not required for programming the boot loader but this
is not a field operation. None of these changes should have any obvious effect unless you are looking at the node
kernel boot messages.
The 'iptraf', 'mii-tool' and 'mii-diag' programs mentioned above have also been added to the node file system.
The only thing to note if you use 'iptraf' is that as you run it over a network connection it ends up monitoring
it's own display traffic as well. The default configuration file on the node has been constructed with a one second
update rate to reduce the effect of this issue.
Gunlink Web
- Fix inventory page dependency on config_ids - Fixed
A secondary fix to Inventory page to make sure systems can access the page even if their config_ids are wrong.
- Added the ability to create printfiles to the Log File Viewer page - Implemented
Same form as in Display.
- Display Gunlink Web version number - Implemented
Gunlink Web needs to display it's own version number as well as the system and database numbers on the generic page footer. This has been incorporated into a new file in the Gunlink-Web www/version, in a similar way to the Gunlink-Host module.
- Add "shots" in brackets to when maintenance is due - Implemented
Some extra clarity in the Device Info Box.
Support Scripts
- Depth & Pressure Printfiles exceed page size with contract info - Fixed
The introduction of the contract fields into the printfiles causes the output to exceed the A4 page size.
Overall spacing has been improved, in landscape mode the page has been adjusted to be more central.
Changed order of info fields so that line time is on the left side rather than the right (so that it won't go off the page). Brought the right hand column for the info fields slightly to the left for extra space.
- DB Management Tools - error dropping current db message is too vague - Fixed
Added a paragraph about why you are seeing this error and what you should do.
- DB Update 2.11 Bug - Fixed
Bug in update scripts that will not update 2.11 to 2.2.0 because it's version number is technically greater than it. It has been adjusted to 2.1.1.
- Improved error reporting in output_stats.pl - Implemented
Error reporting by the Log file creation script has been improved for interfacing with Gunlink Web. It now also enforces the removal of temporary files even if it exits on error.
Documentation
- 'Navigation Interface protocol' & 'SEG-D file structure and notes' PDFs - Added to Manuals
Host Progs
- Hydrophone Monitor only - Implemented
The Host now supports Hydrophone only monitoring. This offers up to 48 channels per Node, by combining the existing 32 phone and 16 sensor channels for hydrophones on a GL2000 GCU. hydrophones 33-48 use a third hydrophone board plugged into the sensor board slot.
For the Display (and Configure) this option can be forced through 'Options' on the File menu of Display by setting the 'host system' option to 'hydrophones only'. If you do this no guns will be displayed even if they exist.
Display and host will automatically switch to hydrophones only mode if you do not Configure any guns and you clear the 'Solenoids', and 'Sensors' flags in the Parameters section of the configuration, but currently to Configure a hydrophone channel greater than 32 you need to set the host system option.
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The hydrophones only display occupies a single screen even if the system is configured for dual monitors.
FarField
- Option to avoid Source Estimation taking 100% CPU - Implemented
srcEstimate runs at root priority (but not 'real-time'). It requires between 1/2 and over 1 second of CPU time to compute and during this time it starves the X server and display.
Attempts to use nice() work usually but massive database searches run from GunLink Web can cause processing time to exceed 3 or 4 seconds which is not acceptable and leads to timeouts from writeSegd and the MSX interface if being used.
There is now an option in the 'Source Estimation' tab of Host Prefs where you can select the number of ticks srcEstimate will give up while it is running. The pop-up text has quite a bit of detailed help. Selecting 0 gives the previous situation - basically the display freezes while calculations are underway. Selecting 1 in 5 means that every 5 ticks the program sleeps for one tick. Actually it counts by 20mS ticks so this means it sleeps for 20mS every 100mS it is running. This is enough to keep the pointer following mouse movements but display is still jerky if you are accessing menus for example. The lowest setting available (or the biggest slow down) is 1 in 2. This frees up the display considerable but extends processing time significantly. At this setting source estimation runs for 20mS then sleeps for 20mS.
If you are recording notional signatures or far-field signatures to SEG-D files or to a recording system be aware that these operations have to wait until the source processing has finished.
The info message at the end of source processing now gives both the cpu time used (as before) and the elapsed time. Note there is considerable variation in elapsed time, but not cpu time, whether you use the slow down option or not.
Configure
- bug on 'Get Current INI File' - Fixed
If there is no Configuration on the host and you choose the get current ini file option from the menu then Configure will hang.
- Hydrophone Only version - Implemented
Configure now has a Hydrophone Only version. If you have selected 'hydrophone monitor' from Options on the File menu in Display, Configure will load in this limited mode. All unnecessary components are removed from the interface and requirements are relaxed. You will only see hydrophones and GPMs available in the inventory. Remember to untick the unused parameters (Sensors, Solenoids, Transducers...)
- Bug converting Transducers to real - Fixed
A recently added db constraint prevents empty string serial numbers for transducer devices. This causes Configure to fail when adding new ones to the pool, since it initially attempts to add the device with a blank serial number. Method has been altered for all device types to avoid blank serial numbers.
Display
- New 'Options' under the 'File' menu - Implemented
'Options' is an interface to the 'gunlink.conf' file. It contains all of the parameters that you find in this file in a simple, easy to use front end. However, in order to make any changes you will need to enter a password. By default, this password will be the same as the system root password. To alter this password, please contact Seamap support (gunlink_support@seamap.com).
For more info about the options available under this menu, read the 'gunlink.conf' chapter in the Gunlink Operators Manual.
- New 'Give Up One Tick In' option in Host Prefs - Implemented
This option lets you set the number of ticks that sourceEstimate (Farfield processing) will give up during execution. It has been added to the Source Synthesis tab in Host System Preferences. For more information see the entry for Farfield above.
- 'Line Stats' tab revamped - Implemented
The Line Stats tab which originally contained error statistics for guns firing the current line has been changed.
It now uses the database to create a variety of statistics. Once you have selected a line from the available list, you can choose to view a graph or table listed in the pull down menu. These include the Gun Error graph (which has been moved here and no longer has it's own tab), a table of Gun Error table (as existed on this tab before), along with the NEW Farfield graph and table options. Select the type and click the 'Display' button.
Config Tools
- Long delays on 'Applying Changes' in Network Config tool - Fixed
Applying changes through the this tool can take up to a minute. Some command execution has been delayed.
Configure
- Delete Configuration menu option - Implemented
Added a menu option 'Delete Config' to the 'File' menu. Choosing this option prompts you with a list of configurations, after you select a configuration and confirm the choice, the selected config will be deleted. Deleting the configuration will remove all associations and histories. You can only delete configurations that have not been used (ie. you must delete test lines if you want to delete a test configuration).
If you wish to delete virtual devices created by a test configuration you must use the 'Tidy Database' page in GunLink Web.
Display
- Problem with large volumes not fitting in the volume box - Fixed
If the volume is over 9999 cu inches, previously it would not fit. One less character has been used to avoid this problem.
- Occasional issue of single trace frame not showing smart template - Fixed
When multi-trace sensor frame was showing the smart templates, the single trace equivalent would sometimes not show the template.
- Pulse Width column heading issue - Fixed
Heading width slightly increased to solve any ambiguity.
- Minor Internal shooting mode bug - Fixed
System would occasionally not start firing when you switch to internal, if you have not been firing for a long time.
- FFT plots do not start until first sample above 1 Hz - Fixed
No data would be shown on FFT plots until the first spectral sample was above 1 Hz.
- Allow entry of Contract and Client information. - Implemented
Added to Display Host Preferences, 'Options' tab. Log files have been modified to display the new strings.
Also changed the 'Crew' description to 'Crew/Vessel'.
- Display allows invalid characters in parameter strings - Fixed
If you insert a double quote in a string in host params (Crew or client for example) it causes master to not read most of the options block.
Parameter checking code has been added to remove all 'unlikely' characters.
- Pressure bars and flashing - Implemented
Pressure bars now do not show red if there is a short term drop of pressure immediately following a shot.
- Expected shotpoint increment/decrement when interval > 1 bug Fixed
The Host Prefs option to set the expected shotpoint interval of increment / decrement x does not work. The system always expects an increment of 1 regardless of this setting and fills the log with "Missed Shot ..." error messages.
Host Progs
- Event 1 delay can report wrong change status - Fixed
- You can force zero a dead transducer - Fixed
- Stats rare "config_id = -1" bug - Improved
A very rare problem that should never arise. An extra check has been added to adhere to new database integrity rules in 2.1 update. If this situation should arise, other steps are taken to extract the correct config_id.
The associated config error about not being able to find the configuration in the database is still printed.
- GCS90 header, 'Spread' always zero - Fixed
- Save an extra generation of GPS data dump file - Implemented
The system now records the first 750KB of raw GPS data to a file /opt/gunlink/var/DATA/gpsDumpdata.raw - as a way of capturing test data. Copies any existing file to ....raw1 and starts a new file.
- Use of Linename from Nav - Implemented
Save the linename sent by nav or entered by operator separately to the LINENAME field and use this saved value at start of line. This way if nav plays about and does SOL/EOL on the run in then does not issue a new line name you still have it instead of starting on 'off-line'. If you do SOL/EOL after setting line name then name will revert to 'Off-Line' on display, but if you do SOL again without sending a new line name then you will recover the previous one.
Web Code
- Date sorting error in Printed Log File Viewer - Fixed
Dates were not correctly sorted due to a difference in the file date format and the database date format, problem fixed by converting dates when compared at sort time.
- Small update bug in Edit Device code - Fixed
Fixed a small bug where a device will fail to update if maintenance period or shot counter fields are empty strings.
- Javascript error in Internet Explorer on Edit Device - Fixed
A non-fatal javascript error was reported when using IE on the Edit Device page, because an object is referenced that doesn't exist. Error avoided with an extra existence check.
- Solenoid bug in Inventory page - Fixed
Bug where unassigned solenoids break the rest of the Select Equipment page.
- Selecting devices in Swap Devices does not change colour in IE - Fixed
- Capability of removing unused configurations. - Implemented
The ability to remove unused configurations and unused devices have been restored to the Tidy Database page in Gunlink Web.
An 'unused' Configuration is one that has no lines shot using it and also is not currently on the host.
An 'unused' Device is one that has never been in a configuration or attached to a device that has been in a configuration.
To remove everything about a configuration you may need to delete lines associated with it first, Then the config will be available to delete. Then you can delete the devices that were previously attached to it, because their record of being on the config will have been wiped along with the config itself.
- Destroy device bug - Fixed
Edit device checks to see if a device has been used as to whether it can be deleted or not. This check was comparing the device_id with the wrong column in the database - although the numbers will often be the same, hence the error has previously gone undetected.
- Date and Time distorted on failed attempt to create device - Fixed
Fixed a bug where if an attempt to create a device fails due to invalid information, the date is chopped up wrongly. This is due to a date reformatting function that has had a check added so that it will not reformat if the date is in the correct format already
- Repeated positions in View fault page - Fixed
The list of positions occupied by the device at the time of the fault included repetitions due to ambiguous sql table joins - these have been corrected.
- Ability to change the device a fault is reported on - Rewritten
Recent code improvements had broken this functionality, so rewritten in javascript and works now with improved validation.
Support Scripts
- Enforcing database consistency - Implemented
New database consistency and integrity constraints have been added in the form of a 2.1 db update. Once run, there is greater protection against anomalies and a some performance increase.
- Database 'repair' tool - Implemented
A new tool to check the integrity of the database in places where standard db rules cannot cope.
A new script has been added to the database management tools - '/opt/gunlink/scripts/setup/repair_db.pl'. This script can be run independently or from '/opt/gunlink/scripts/setup/manage_gunlink_db.pl'. It checks for any gunlink db problems and fixes them.
- Database fix for logs affected by increment/decrement bug in master - Implemented
As a consequence of the now fixed bug where lines shot with an increment or decrement of greater than 1 were reporting errors, the log in the database may be filled up with these messages.
The database update 2.1.1 includes a patch script that will intelligently delete these messages. The script is automatically run as part of the update, but it can be run as a stand-alone script if necessary. It resides in:
/opt/gunlink/scripts/setup/db_updates/missedShots-patch.pl
Gentoo Installer
