Handling MicroDAQ Data

25-May-1999 updates on daqman and rcf:

• Several bugs in ttm related to byte ordering were fixed.

• ttm now supports both MicroDAQ data format 1.* and DAQ data format 2.0.

• New ped_load, ped_sub and zp .kumacs support loading pedestals into memory, then subtracting the pedestals or zero-suppressing the output. Output is still in MiniDAQ format only, and supports data for only one sector in the .xdf file output.

Introduction

Assuming certain basic requirements are met, the usual procedure is:

• DAQ Raw Tape Format data is written to /data/microdaq/ on daqman.
• Start staf on daqman, do a make trn, then translate to MiniDAQ format with ttm.
• Use the tpm_old pad monitor to display the data on an X-windows screen.

MicroDAQ

• MDAQ> mdaqReset (to reset the mezzanines)
• MDAQ> rstFE (to reset the fiber optic interface)
• MDAQ> setRB i (where i=1,2,3...6)
• MDAQ> maxevents=5 (to stop data taking after five or six events)
• MDAQ> startRun "filename" (to start a run, writing data to /data/microdaq/filename)

Note 1: Repeat mdaqReset and rstFE until rstFE returns 0x1.

Note 2: Another reset command is sbMzClearAll (a subset of mdaqReset, I believe).

The trigger word for either an MDAQ1 or MDAQ2 event is that loaded into MDAQ1's CSR (Control Status Register). When taking data with MDAQ1, the CSR is automatically loaded appropriately; when taking data with MDAQ2, it must be loaded by hand. The values commonly used now are:

• 0: No trigger; following trigger token is 0
• 4: Trigger 0; physics readout (normal trigger)
• 8: Charge-injection pulser
• C: Config; housekeeping or geometry event

To load the CSR with 4 for pedestal or cosmic data:

m 0x23000002 [cr]
0x23000002 - 0000: 4 [cr]
0x23000004 - 0000: . [cr]

where [cr] is a carriage return and the period "." exits the memory poking tool.

Start-up

To connect to daqman.star.bnl.gov from another Unix box: enable the display of X Windows from daqman, then log in to complete the setup:

% xhost +daqman.star.bnl.gov
daqman.star.bnl.gov being added to access control list

% rlogin -l bossingh daqman.star.bnl.gov
Password: [Ask Roy Bossingham or Fred Bieser]
(daqman) ~ %

(daqman) ~ % setenv DISPLAY Your_Workstation_Name:0.0
(daqman) ~ % cd rdo_test

Running the ttm Translator

There are five example .kumac's on daqman and rcf in ~bossingh/rdo_test/ :

• geo.kumac translates five 8-bit, black-data geometry events; the bytedata table gives the number of errors for each channel.

• ped.kumac translates five 8-bit, black-data pedestal events. The final requested event will contain calculated pedestal means and widths, and an evaluation table.

• ped_load.kumac translates one 8-bit, black-data pedestal event and loads the value for each pixel into memory for use in subtraction pedestal subtraction and zero suppression. (When possible, the number of pedestal events should be increased to 10, at least.)

• ped_sub.kumac translates five 8-bit, black-data data events (e.g., cosmics, laser, charge-injection pulser, ground-plane pulser), subtracts the pre-loaded pedestal, and outputs the difference. It assumes that the input data is 8-bit linear data limited to 255 (i.e., no non-linear translation is applied).

• zp.kumac translates five 8-bit, black-data data events (e.g., cosmics, laser, charge-injection pulser, ground-plane pulser), subtracts the pre-loaded pedestal, then zero-suppresses and outputs the difference. It assumes that the input data is 8-bit linear data limited to 255 (i.e., no non-linear translation is applied).

The ttm_par parameters are used to specify options in .kumac's; in general, the user will have to modify these to achieve his/her goals --- e.g., specifying a sector ID (instead of taking the first one found) or adjusting thresholds and other zero-suppression criteria.

NOTE: Entries in the pedestal means and widths tables are scaled by a factor of eight, allowing +/- 1/16 ADC count precision with integers; recent tpm's rescale them to plot correctly.

To make ttm and run the ped.kumac example:

(daqman) ~/rdo_test % staf
Workstation type (?=HELP) =1: 0

staf > make trn
staf > exec ped

Enter the input file, such as:
/data/microdaq/fred
Macro : infile ? (=) DAQ_FILE_NAME

Enter the output file, such as
fred.xdf
Macro : outfile ? (=) OUTPUT_FILE_NAME

staf > exit

Running the tpm_old Pad Monitor after ttm translation.

(daqman) ~/rdo_test % tpm_old &

In the control window:

1. Select Data Tables for a pedestal run:
   

   • Under Select Table Type, unselect ShortData and
     select Truncpeds, PedMeans and PedWidths.

   • Under Display Table Type, select:
     • Truncpeds --- 8-bit event data
     • PedMeans --- ped. means on last event
     • PedWidths --- ped. widths on last event
     • ByteData --- total ped. errors for pad on last event

1. OR Select Data Tables for a geometry run:
   

   • Under Select Table Type, unselect ShortData and
     select Truncpeds and ByteData.

   • Under Display Table Type, select
     • Truncpeds --- location ID's
     • ByteData --- total errors in event by pad

2. Select Input Sources; under Files, supply the DataFile name and hit CR (carriage return).

3. Unselect Input Sources.
   

4. Click Get Event

5. Have fun!!!

More Information

For more information on:

• MicroDAQ: Contact Mike Levine or Tonko L.

• ttm: ttm_par parameter documentation; SN0282.

• tpm: see the release notes and start-up instructions; or contact Eric Hjort (current responsible).

Written: Roy Bossingham (LBNL)

Maintenance