SOP Flume/Pipe Antenna Installation
From PTAGISWiki
| Standard Operating Procedure
|
Subject:
| SOP Flume/Pipe Antenna Installation
|
Author:
| Darren R. Chase
|
Approved by:
| Don Warf
|
Contents |
Objective
This procedure will assist PSMFC personnel in constructing and tuning Juvenile Flume or Pipe type detection antennas.
Scope
This procedure is limited to the construction of rectangular flume or circular pipe type antennas that generally reside at COE operated Juvenile Fish Facilities.
Responsibilities
The facilities are maintained by COE personnel but it is PSMFC personnel's responsibility to construct, tune and maintain these antennas.
Tools Required
The list of tools below is intended to assist in the antenna(s) installation process.
- Pull String
- 12"W UHMW Template material.
- 1 box of Buetyl Tape.
- Roll of double sided carpet tape.
- 150' Roll 16awg Teflon coated silver plated copper wire.
- Electrical Tape.
- Fluke Handheld LCR meter. (or equivalent)
- Fluke 196C Scopemeter. (or equivalent)
- Buetyl Tape.
- 3M SS501 solder splice. (or equivalent)
- Wire strippers.
- Small Wire Tree.
- Assorted Hand Tools
- Fish Tape
Antenna Installation Procedure
This procedure is to used as a guideline for installing and tuning PITtag detection antenna(s) for use with the Digital Angel FS1001 transceiver. This antenna type is mainly installed at Juvenile Fish Facilities that are constructed at Hydroelectric Dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers.
Antenna Prep
- Pipe/Flume preparation
- Remove all existing material that may be stuck to area in which the antenna(s) may reside.
- Template preparation
- This process can be completed on site if necessary but PSMFC suggest that this process be completed in a controlled environment if possible this will help to ensure that all adhesive materials adhere to the appropriate material.
- Determine the number of wraps that will be need for the antenna type to be wrapped. The number of wraps can be determined by using the formula provided below.
- N=sqrt of I(9R+10L)
- R2
- R2
- I=inductance (270 uH)
- R=Radius
- L=Length (PSMFC Standard 8")
- R2= radius squared
- For rectangles use 1/7th the total outside dimension.
- The chart below is dimensions of typical flumes that have been wrapped by PSMFC and can be used to determine wraps and spacing.
| Flume Size | Flume Style | Total wraps | Inside wraps and Spacing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 in. | Round | 85 | 69 wraps w/ .095 in. spacing |
| 6 in. | Round | 61 | 45 wraps w/ .144 in. spacing |
| 8 in. | Round | 48 | 32 wraps w/ .203 in. spacing |
| 10 in. | Round | 41 | 25 wraps w/ .260 in. spacing |
| 12 in. | Round | 36 | 20 wraps w/ .325 in. spacing |
| 16 in. | Round | 31 | 15 wraps w/ .433 in. spacing |
| 6 X 12 | Round | 41 | 25 wraps w/ .260 in. spacing |
| 8 X 10 | Round | 41 | 25 wraps w/ .260 in. spacing |
| 9 X 13 | Round | 36 | 20 wraps w/ .325 in. spacing |
| 8 X 12 | Round | 36 | 20 wraps w/ .325 in. spacing |
| 6 X 18 | Round | 31 | 15 wraps w/ .433 in. spacing |
- Using the correct tool you can mark the template using a black sharpie. PSMFC has created some template marking tools to assist in marking the templates for wire alignment. Generally the marks should be spaced every 8" lengthwise.
- Once the marks have been made on the template you will need to apply Double sided carpet tape to the template just below the marks. Remove the backing once applied to the template. The tape should be long enough to cover the outside lines marked for the tight wraps.
- Cut pieces of Buetyl Tape the same length as the carpet tape. Then cut the Buetyl tape in half lengthwise. The Buetyl tape will help keep the wire in position as the roll or template is being moved to apply additional wires.
- Apply the Buetyl tape adhesive side up to the carpet tape.(Reference Template Layout Drawing for location)
- The template is now ready to place around the Flume or Pipe section to wrap the antenna.
Antenna Construction
- Attaching Template
- Measure the template by placing it around the pipe or flume. You want the template tight around the pipe but with enough play so that the template will spin freely. The rectangular flumes will not allow the template material to be rotated around the section so when you apply the wire you will have to pass the roll of wire around the flume. Cut the template so that there is only about 3" of overlap.
- Apply a piece of carpet tape the across the template where the two pieces come together. Pull the template tight and line up the edges of the template then relax the tension slightly and stick the template together. You will be pulling the template towards you so you want to orientate the template so the underlying piece travels in the direction of the pull.
- Test the template by rotating it with your hands. If it seems to tight repeat the step above. Remember that the template will become tighter as more wire is applied.
- Wrapping Wire
- Once the template is in place you will need to apply the wire.
- Place wire roll on wire tree for ease of operation.
- Cut some small pieces of Buetyl tape. These will be necessary to start the antenna as well as keeping wire in place while making adjustments.
- IF possible you will want to start the antenna on the downstream side. You will need to leave a tail of wire prior to placing the wire onto the Buetyl tape (generally about 5") bend the wire at a 90 degree angle and place the wire onto the template so that the wire is turning in a clockwise rotation.
- Rotate the template with your opposite hand while placing the wire onto the template with the other hand. The antenna will consist of 8 tight turns of wire on each end and the remaining number of turns spaced evenly in the middle which you should have marked prior to getting the template on the pipe or flume.
- Once the antenna is completely wrapped cut the wire leaving about the same amount as you had left on the starting tail. Use a small piece of Buetyl tape to keep wire in place. The picture below shows what a typical 10" antenna would look like after it had been wrapped.
- If there is more than one antenna to be located inside the monitor (shield) then repeat the steps above for attaching the the second template and antenna wire.
- Pull Cables
- If the cables have not been pulled into the shield you will need to pull them at this time.
- The detection system requires two cable for the antenna. The Exciter cable and the Timer Tag cable. These cable have one (1) overmolded end and one (1) unterminated end.
- Push the Fish tape from the monitor (shield) end to the transceiver enclosure.
- Tape the unterminated end of the Exciter cable and a pull string and pull them into the monitor.
- Use the Pull string to pull the Timer Tag cable from the monitor to the transceiver enclosure.
- Cut the Exciter cable to length. This is measured by leaving enough cable in the transceiver enclosure so that the cable can be swapped between transceivers (if there are two transceivers in the Hoffman enclosure) and enough in the monitor so that the cable could be attached to the adjacent antenna (if applicable) and be re-terminated if necessary.
- Cut the Timer Tag cable to a length inside the transceiver enclosure so that it could be re-terminated if necessary and so that it will reach both transceivers.
- The procedure for attaching the connector can be found in the FS 1001 Tuning procedure.
Antenna Tuning
Since the FS 1001 transceiver has a fixed amount of capacitance you will actually use the windings of the antenna to change the inductance to tune the detection circuit. The following procedure will get you to the point of connecting the transceiver.
- Adjust Inductance
- Use the Handheld LCR meter to measure the inductance of the antenna.
- Remove wire until the inductance is around 280uH +/- 10uH.
- When removing wire try to remove it equally from both sides of the antenna.
- Space Antennas
- Slide the templates so that the antenna wire is no closer than 6" to edge of the monitor.
- Measure the distance between the antennas. Measure from wire to wire. This distance should be at least 18" if it is not you may have to move the antennas closer to the monitor edge but keep in mind that when you do this it will Load the antenna and cause the inductance to go down. The reason for the distance between the antennas is to minimize the interaction between the antennas.
- Once the spacing has been set mark the pipe or use the small pieces of Buetyl tape to secure the template in place. The antenna will need to be returned to this position for the tuning process. If the templates are in the same position the loading on the antenna could change causing the tuning to change.
- Strip back the Exciter Cable to expose the blue and white wires. The shield can be cut off since it is used as a drain and is not connected on the antenna end.
- Attach the white wire to the upstream antenna wire and the blue wire to the downstream antenna wire. The white wire is always attached to the upstream antenna wire.
- Attach the Exciter cable to the transceiver that will used to drive this detection system. Follow the procedures for tuning which can be found in the following procedure.
Antenna Completion
- Dress Wires
- Clean up antenna wire ends and cut them to a length of about 1/4".
- Clean up exciter cable ends and cut them to a length of about 1/4".
- Bring one of the wires across the antenna, usually PSMFC tries to oppose the wires coming across if there is more than one antenna inside a monitor (shield). Use a small piece of Buetyl tape to keep the wire in place until the antenna is sealed.
- Make wire connections using the SS501 solder splice connectors. Do not forget to place the weather proof heatshrink onto the wire before you make the connection with the solder splice.
Place heatshrink over the connector and use a heat gun or mini torch to shrink. Make sure that the heatshrink gel is apparent out of both ends.
- Sealing Antenna
- Measure Buetyl tape so that it will wrap around the antenna. Cut three (3) pieces of equal length.
- Start at one end of the antenna remove backing on tape and apply it around the antenna ensuring that the wires are sealed within the tape.
- Apply additional pieces until antenna is sealed.
- Timer Tag
- Place the timer tag over one of the tightly wrapped ends of the antenna. Generally PSMFC places the time tags on opposing ends of each antenna.
- Use one or two large (36") zip-ties to secure the timer tag in place
- Place a small amount of Buetyl tape over the connector to secure end to the antenna.
- Recheck transceiver tuning.
- If possible run test sticks through the monitor to check detections efficiencies.
References
Write references here.
