Tech Staff Meeting Notes May 23, 2006
Current Top Priorities are:Station Maintenance, Broadband Upgrade, NC Node
There are four levels of priority.
| Priorities | Wish to try to get these done (or make progress on) before the next meeting (yeah right) |
| Second Tier | Fit this in too if an opportunity arises. May be good to do instead of priorities but check with Mitch. Likely to be a priority in a previous and/or subsequent month |
| As Time Permits | Fit these in when you can but not instead of first or second priorities |
| Other | Stuff we hope to get to and don't want to forget about |
This redistributed task list agreed to at the November meeting. Note that everyone is still needed to work on essentially all tasks. There is however, a single person who is primarily responsible for each one. Mitch of course, is ultimately responsible for everything.
Greg's March ToDo
List
is only partially incorporated into this rest of this page.
Neither Greg nor John were able to be at this meeting.
Priorities
BB network upgrade.
Huddle tests are in progress and several sensors were blessed by Greg.
See Mitch's PDF
webpage for results.
MKTA node is done. LPAR and HBAR appear to be working well.
Need to swap sensors at GNAR.
NMAD node is after that (need telem plan).
FIFO mode in the dm24's will be configured to overwrite oldest (as opposed
to write once). If we lose comm, this will cause loss of the oldest data.
The thinking is these are broadband stations not strongmo so if given
the Solomonic choice, prefer to sacrifice the oldest to save the youngest.
Be sure to contact Mitch, Steve, or Al when a when doing a specific station
so mods to the earthworm and to the instrument response files can be
modified appropriately. We're going from 6 channels to 3 and the digitizer
constant will change.
GPS
Here is a fresh set of notes from James. Need to make sure we
give him assistance when he needs it.
MACC/CJTR - These are our two most distant sites (N Little Rock, AR, Park Hills, MO). We normally only get to each once a year, and they'll both need standard maintenance (batteries, case inspection, etc). I'll need Chris McGoldrick along for CJTR since he knows the layout there. Bill can help with MACC. Both these projects should likely wait until July.
MAIR - Our steel enclosure at the Mississippi County Airport is rusting and needs to be replaced. This will be a two man job, at least. Bob needs to order the replacement enclosure, first, so we'll need to let you know when we're ready to proceed. This should be done before August. We've also got a lead on wireless Internet based in East Prairie, MO, and I've called to inquire about it. I'm still waiting for an email with equipment details before determining if we can get similar equipment for cheaper. Bob will need to give approval before we pursue this as a means of getting MAIR online.
RLAP - Our receiver at the Reelfoot Air Park needs to be placed back inside the terminal building. This project can wait until later this year, but should be completed before November.
CERI - We need to get an antenna setup here at CERI for GPS research and testing. I'm considering an antenna mount at the Grad Building that can take at least two antennas. This is an upcoming project without more solid details. Again, we'll need to let you know when we need help with this.
ETN
The map shows stations
with yellow triangles being new ones.
BRBC node is installed and operating. MGNC is being recorded. Two
channels of RBNC are functioning. The only thing left to do is
take care of the building ground strap if Blue Ridge Broadcasting
doesn't.
We will assume all stations essentially require a new installation.
Reuse parts if and only if they are in very good condition.
Also, a Memphis crew will be assisting with all installations.
Excluding Prep and Travel, Jim estimates 40 additional man-days
to complete. We will abandon PLVA and considering moving GFM to
Grandmother mountain in the distant future, in the meantime it is worth
getting GFM going again. Ideally we'll have 4 people working together unless
Jim and Bill get pulled away for work on the BB upgrade.
| station | man-days | status |
|---|---|---|
| MGNC | 8 | done |
| CCNC | 8 | new |
| WSSR | 8 | new |
| TVNC | 8 | new |
| RBNC | 4 | rebuild |
| TRYN | 4 | rebuild |
| GFM | 4 | rebuild |
| SMNC | 4 | rebuild |
| PLVA | 2 | abandon |
| BHT | 8 | new |
ANSS.
Continued problems with mss100's losing connectivity (SMOC: simple
matter of connectivity). The good news is Jim verified that the
stations are still working when SMOC is lost.
SWET-3H52, ADSC-5657, and CSTN-5637 need to have the leap second
corrected. SHTN-5648 and TRSC-5662 might also but need a site
visit to verify.
Need to upgrade trimble firmware to avoid leap second error next time.
A workable upgrade procedure doesn't yet exist. Jim, Wurth, and DTA
or working on it. Done.
CVTN and ASAR optical isolation. Need to upgrade to year 3 hardware.
Hardware ready. James brought back some
nice pictures from CVTN to help figure out how to do it (e.g. the
conduit is way too small).
Routine Maintenance. Jim knows what to do.
Second Tier Priorities
Enclosure for external HVAC pieces on the east of 3904 was started
and stalled. Need to finish this up and get rid of the two parking
spaces worth of gravel.
Need to follow up on ATV training and helmet(s).
NCCU
Gordana Vlahovic is getting a cmg6td to install at North Carolina
Central University. John worked out a plan with her. Greg worked
up a hardware cost estimate and Mitch faxed it so they can generate
a PO.
SWET Upgrade
This has gone no where since last time.
Bran Potter sent a list of power options. Alena gave some specs for
solar operation. Looks like the best way is to do a low voltage feed
like TZTN. Should we use VSAT? Still need to somehow provide real-time
wiggle display in the Geology building.
Steiner Brain Dump Seminar
Beginning this summer, Greg will be giving a weekly non-credit seminar.
It will primarily be for the tech staff and will cover all the knowledge
we need to pass from Greg to other staff. Others at CERI will be welcome
to participate if they wish. Preferred time is Mondays at 9. This will
start sometime in mid-May. Send ideas on what to want to learn about
to Greg.
FDL. Mitch needs to yank Paul's chain to get an account number for new laptops.
As Time Permits
I-40 Bridge.
This project is in O&M mode--no more development. Al will need to
clean off the recorder disks every other week. We can't afford to
spend anymore time improving at the expense of other projects. Hence
we will attempt to keep it going as best we can. Doesn't work too
bad given all the possible points of failure.
Other
NHIN.
Got the modem and internet works. Need to integrate into CERI
central processing.
MPHB. Withers needs to determine current orientation so we can pull it and orient correctly. Helicorders look strange. Need to verify the data.
VBMS. Greg will visit for vault installation around June 1.
Langston student projects continue. See Greg's list above.
