BCC BOG Enhancements Project
From PTAGISWiki
2007 Destron Fearings On-Site Visit For Reader Repairs
The following document describes the details of Destron Fearings on-site visit performing urgent reader repairs and tuning of the BCC system.
BCCReaderRepairs23April07.pdf
2007 Documents submitted to the BPA-BOG
The following documents describe the condition of the B2CC reader, recommended repairs and cost associations of these repairs.
200100300n-bog-request.pdf
B2CC cost estimates _7-20-07_ (2).pdf
B2CC Transceiver Upgrade Rationale.pdf
FY07 4th quarter Council letter 2.pdf
2008 Reader Enhancements Performed at Destron Fearing(Supporting Documentation)
The following document details the BPA-BOG supported enhancements performed on the readers by Destron Fearing in January of 2008. These enhancements are outline in the document
B2CC Transceiver Upgrade Rationale.pdf
The below document details the results of the BPA-BOG supported hardware enhancements performed by Destron Fearing in late January of 2008.
BCC_DF_Evaluation14Feb08.pdf
2008_August Reader Firmware Evaluations
PTAGIS Event Log Entries relating to the B2CC Reader(2007 Only)
The below snippets reflect only the main issues that pertain directly to the health of the tranceiver
03/27/2007 16:39 scottl
For unknown reasons, the reader auto tune circuit started to fail at:
~01-3 03/25/07 22:41:44 ALARM InTune
~01-3 03/25/07 22:41:45 ALARM Out of tune
Although the reader was not optimized, it appears that tags would still be detected at a lower efficiency.When arrived onsite,the current/voltage calibration and threshold settings were reset to base values.Manually tuned the reader to max current, but the reader will not fine tune itself,therefore the reader tune is not optimized and will not adjust itself if and when necessary.Variable capacitors are all the way in , current is at 19.7 amps. Will replace the reader on 3/28 0700 hrs and reconfigure. Looking at the raw data and status information from the reader,the file BCC07085.b1 indicates the reader rebooted 12 times in 3 hrs.This was the only file I reviewed, but highly suggests that AC power in the PIT room is unstable causing brown outs. Will install a UPS in order to circumvent this problem and hopefully eleviate problems in the future associated with power, if in fact that power is the culprit. This rebooting phenom, could also be inherent to the reader itself and not power. File BCC07085.D1 through BCC07086.D1 have been archive locally and are waiting upload to PTAGIS
03/28/2007 12:18 scottl
The BCC reader (serial # 02)was replaced on March 28th 07, due to a failure of the auto tuning circuit. After installing xcvr (serial # 03), all tuning functions were restored and system was optimized without incident. One exception to this was that Testtag #1 would not fire. After deductive reasoning, it was found that the diagnostic pcb had failed in some way causing the TT1 not to be initialized when the command to do so was issued. Replaced the diag pcb from serial # 02 and installed into serial # 03 and and problem was solved. Reconfigured reader internal parameters and settings. As noted in previous event log entry, a UPs was installed in the transceiver cabinet in order to circumvent future problems associated with AC power and hopefully eliminate or reduce the persistent rebooting of the reader. The BCC reader was out of operation on March 28th from 07:06:37 until 08:19:24 PST. Note that Serial # 02 will be sent back to MFG for repairs and that reader serial # 01 will remain at the BCC site as a spare.
04/16/2007 10:49 Scott_Li
This posting is regarding the work that was done at the facility on Friday, April 13th. Transceiver serial # 03 was retuned per the DA maintenance procedure in order to reduce the number of spurious tags randomly produced by the transceiver. Although the problem has always existed with the system, it was severely amplified when the transceiver serial # 02 was replaced with serial # 03 due to failure of the tuning circuit and comms failures. After retuning transceiver 03, it was determined that this did not help reduce the spurious tag counts. At this point, serial # 03 was swapped out with serial # 01 but hardware problems and stick test results indicated that the transceiver was not as efficient or reliable as the # 03 so 03 was returned to service.
04/20/2007 13:55 scottl
The system is back up and running and will be monitored closely for detection efficencies and other anomolies. Unit serial number 2 is currently the reader that is in operation and appears to be detecting pit tags at a high hit rate per tag. The spurious tag rate will not be known until an amount of time has passed and the information is reviewed. Last stick tag results are located in file BCC07110.F1 and will be reviewed by the PTAGIS O&M crew on monday. Note that unit serial # 1 will be returned to Digital Angel for evaluation and upgrades while serial # 3 is in the BCC PIT room and will be the backup for the time being.
PTAGIS Wiki will be updated with all the information gathered during the last few day's with regards to the health and welfare of each transceiver and will recap what was accomplished and what was not and what needs to be done in the future.
04/20/2007 10:08 scottl
Due to ongoing maintainance and repairs on the BCC readers, file gaps in the data set during 4/19/07 will be present and for the most part are unrecoverable. This is due to multiple readers being tested and to prevent invalid reader configurations (mostly invalid reader ID's) from being submitted to PTAGIS. The file gaps were kept to a minimum as much as possible. A more indepth event entry for the work done in the last two day's will be submitted later today when tuning and repair activities are finished.
05/02/2007 10:03 Scott_Li
This entry defines what was done to circumvent the SPURIOUS Tags generated by the reader
Minimon version 1.4.21 was loaded on the data computers at 0845 am on May 1, 2007. This version incorporates the spurious tag filters for select tag code manufactures, specifically Digital Angel, AllFlex and Avid tags. This filter should eliminate most or all STAGS from being report as fish in the CEA report.
A manual spot check of the raw data files since this version was
installed showed that the filters are very effective in parsing out the
STAGS.
It should be noted that the tag filter will not exclude any MFG from
being detected.
In order to ensure that the reader currently in production was
optimized, a stick test was performed using SST tags taped to drift
wood. Prior to the stick test, the read range of the system was checked.
This was done by placing a stick tag at a predetermine mark on the
walkway grating just downstream from the antennas trailing edge. The
reader read the tag as expected so the stick test was performed. 20
stick tags were thrown through the system in which 14 were detected, ~70
% efficiency. All tags that were detected were read an average of 6 to 7
hits each.
At this point, reader 03 was installed to see if the reading efficiency
was better than reader 02. Historically, reader 03 was thought to have
high reading efficiency but generated a high rate STAGS. 20 sticks were
then thrown through the system of which 13 were detected. Hits per tag
detected seemed lower than that of 02. This situation generated concern
so the read range of the transceiver was then checked against the
baseline mark on the grate. This test indicated the read range had
diminished by a significant amount. No adjustments to the reader were
made prior to any of the testing, so the question was what changed with
the reader. Several adjustments were made after that in attempt to
extend the read range but were unsuccessful.
05/11/2007 11:02 scottl
This entry relects a reader outage on 09May07. The reader was off at 17:18:39 until 18:02:07. No PIT detections were logged during this time. Reader serial # 02 was installed prior to the live fish test. This reader was deamed to have the best detection efficiency as indicated by Digital Angel.
05/23/2007 12:53 scottl
Performed GMC on reader, when arrived, placed test tag on the baseline mark and reader was barely detecting the tag, approx. 1 hit every 30 to 40 seconds when in the past the reading frequency was approx. 1 hit every 5 seconds. Slightly adjusted the tag detector capacitor and 2-4 Khz filter. Hit rate frequency now is approx. 1 hit per 10 to 15 seconds. Hits per actual fish code appear to more than adaquate, ~ 3 to 8 hit per tag code. Mean RMS signal value is at 12.85 and peek RMS is 47.13. It appears that there be a pattern developing in the noise graphs that may help us better understand this issue and track down the source of the interference.
05/30/2007 13:05 scottl
Performed GMC, stick tag was placed at the baseline mark, reader would not
read tag. Discovered that the new ladder was resting on the railing
underneath the antenna shield. Relocated the ladder and still could not
read stick. Performed slight adjustments to the filter/detector cap and
adjusted 2-4 Khz. Slightly increased the 3rd stage amplifier and got the
read range to within 5 inches of the mark. No further adjustments were
made. Hits per tag appeared to be sufficient, will monitor for any furhter
degradation. Noise levels were quite at the time of observation.
06/27/2007 14:57 scott Prior to NMFS running the live fish test, tuned and optimized antenna and transceiver (per DA written instructions). When arrived on site, the reader would not read the test tag when placed even with the railing at the edge of the grating. After tuning and calibration, the stick could be read minus 2 " from the baseline mark at the grating at a hit rate of ~ 3 tags per minute. One thing to note, the water level in the channel is at ~ 12.5 feet, ~ 1.5 higher than the average operating level. Looking at the BCC graphs, it appears that the elevated noise levels are directly related to water fluctuations in the channel.
07/02/2007 08:42 Scott_Li
The water level in the channel has dropped by ~ 1.5 ft since last Saturday. This condition has caused the auto tuning circuit to roll the variable capacitor to it's upper limits. This condition triggered a persistent alarm message "CapPosNearHigh" which caused the excessive file sizes. PCA'd into site and manually turned off the alarm message until PTAGIS personnel can re-adjust the course capacitor bank and retune the system. A site GMC is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday July 3rd. In the mean time, the system is still fully functional and detecting tags.
07/05/2007 10:54 Scott_Li
This entry is for work done on July 3rd. Originally, the focus of the visit was to determine why the reader was reporting "Near High Cap Position" and creating extremely large file sizes. When checked the capacitor plate on the primary tuning caps where centered. The status report indicated that the Cap position was 823 at that time. If the caps are in the center position, the reading should have been around 673. After talking with Alex, the cap position circuit may not have been calibrated at the factory hence the false readings. Prior to any adjustments, the stick tag was placed at the baseline mark and could not be read by the reader. The stick was then positioned at a point to where it was just starting to be read which was ~ 12 inches from the baseline.
At this point, the reader was retuned and calibrated per the DA calibration instructions and no positive effects were observed. The tuning procedure was subsequently performed 3 times in which and some noticeable positive improvements were observed. Bottom line, the active and quiet time noise levels could not be adjusted to an acceptable level without affecting the readability of the stick tag. At this point, the reader was detecting tags and the hits per tag appear to be at an average of 2 or 3. The systems noise levels at this time are at 60 to 70 percent. PTAGIS O@M will be back onsite Friday July 6th to make further adjustments and or replace the reader if necessary. This PIT event does not cover the entire sequence of events but just highlights the main observations.
07/09/2007 12:19 Scott_Li
Entry for work done on July 6th, 07.Looking at the noise graphs and other information, the noise levels on the transceiver were at completely unacceptable levels. Talked with Alex from DA and se suggested that DA send over the audible beeper that is used to help tune and calibrate the reader. This device is very useful and provides better feedback as to performance when tuning the transceiver. After 3 hrs of extensive tuning and calibration, the noise levels were reduced to 10 to 15 percent and the HIT rate per tag at the time appeared to be more than adequate, around an average of 4. The read range as relating to the baseline mark after recalibration was not at the mark but rather ½ way on the minus side, (meaning towards the antenna.) It appears that the water level has a noticeable effect on the performance of the system. Recommended maintenance visits for recalibration of the system is 1 per week.
09/02/2007 08:58 Darren_C
After speaking with Jon Reresich I was able to confirm that the channel was de-watered on Friday afternoon at around 13:00. I will place the BCC reader in standby so it will not try to adjust the self tuning capacitors.
PTAGIS Event Log Entries relating to the B2CC Reader(2008 Only)
The below snippets reflect only the main issues that pertain directly to the health of the tranceiver
03/06/2008 12:30 scottl
Installed transceivers 02 and 03 in order to guage the performance of both. Unit 02 had a read range of 6" outside the base line mark from last year, unit 03 had a phenominal 19" outside the base line mark. Neither transceiver required any tuning other than the course capacitance adjustment. Bottom line, both transceivers are performing well and are ready for the season. Serial number 03 is currently in operation for the season and 02 will remain as backup. Verified date and time zone, transceiver ID and all other pertinent information. Unfortunatly, the wall wort for the o-scope was not working so I could not verify the current calibration or look at the noise floor. the current according to the xcvr is 22.5 amps with 22 Vdc drive. Current cal and noise floor will be done next week when we return for a checkup and other activities. The system came online at 12:00 3/6/08 and is collecting data.
03/30/2008 15:31 scottl
The transceiver stopped communicating with the data collection platform at ~01-3 03/29/08 06:02:09 ALARM Out of tune ~03/29/08 06:15:07 ~01-3 03/30/08 11:38:35 ALARM Reset This was not noticed until ~ 9:30 am 3/30. While in route to the site in correct situation, John from the JFF helped correct the situation prior to arriving. After stepping John through various troubleshooting methods and a lack of a better solution, he was asked to power cycle the reader which corrected the comms problem. Previous to this, the reader would not detect tags or communicate and with further investigation, it was more than likely due to alarm messages "CapPosNearHigh". We will suggest that all of these alarms should be turned off in an attempt curtail future occurrences. The reader was back online at ~03/30/08 11:30:03 ~01-3 03/30/08 11:38:35 ALARM Reset. This situation will be further documented and addressed in the AM.
2008 Current Status and Summary
After the readers were reworked at Digital Angel in January, the system was redeployed at the BCC facility for the 2008 outmigration. As reflected in the 2008 event logs, we have experienced very little problems with the reader that is currently in operation. The read range of the reader currently in operation has been exceptional and maintenance visits to correct chronic problems have been drastically reduced. It appears that the efforts made in early 2008 to stabilize the readers reliability has been a success. Other issues outlined in the BPA-BOG request document are currently being addressed and will soon be tested in the PSMFC Kennewick office. At that time, if all appears to be working as expected, PSMFC will work in conjunction with the vendors that performed the firmware modifications and deploy the the firmware in the reader at the BCC site.
