Operation Manual
SYSTEM
OCR-504 Multispectral Radiometer
SECTION
C - START UP
See section
F - RECOVERY
for information on recovering and disconnecting
your instrument after use.
N
ETWORK
A
SSEMBLY
The OCR-504 is capable of functioning as a stand-alone instrument or as one
node in a network of other SatNet™ network capable instruments. Networking
the instruments effectively allows one instrument (the
Network Master
5
) to
share its telemetry interface with all instruments in the network. In this way, only
one serial connection is needed for an array of instruments. Alternatively, if
these instruments were all operating independently, each one would require a
dedicated serial port on the data acquisition computer.
OCR-504 instruments use a proprietary Sea-Bird Scientific networking protocol
known as SatNet™. To create a SatNet™ network, all devices must be
compliant with the protocols and at least one must be Network Master capable.
One and only one instrument may behave as the Network Master at a time.
This instrument, during normal operation, will be the only one with a useable
telemetry interface
. OCR-504 instruments are NOT Network Master
capable
.
If you are using your OCR-504 in a networked environment, the assembly
procedure is a little more complex than the steps stated above. There are many
possible physical configurations for networked instruments, so exact assembly
procedures cannot be defined here. However, some basic tenets still hold true.
Use the procedures stated in the previous section for mounting your instrument
and connecting/disconnecting power. In most cases, Sea-Bird Scientific will
provide you with the necessary cables and assembly instructions for connecting
your instruments. The cables must ensure that the NA and NB pins of all
networked devices are connected to each other. See section
D - OPERATION
for more information on operating your instrument in a network.
Conducting a Telemetry Test
Before using any instrument in the field, a simple telemetry test should be
conducted to ensure that the instrument is functioning properly. This is also a
good way to familiarize yourself with the software used with the instrument. The
best way to conduct this test is to use SatView with the .sip (Sea-Bird Scientific
Instrument Package) file provided with your instrument. A sip file is simply a
binary file in zip format that contains a set of calibration and/or telemetry
definition files. Setup SatView as described in the manual or on-line help. Next,
complete the
Assembly Procedure
described above and ensure that SatView
is receiving telemetry.
For a more comprehensive test, you will need to check the instrument status
more thoroughly to ensure the telemetry received by SatView is correct. Below
are a few guidelines to help you with the test:
•
Enable SatView's
Frame Counter
and
Check Sum
error checking to confirm
that the data integrity is stable.
5
A Network Master is a Type A compliant SatNet™ device configured to operate as a master during network operation.
See the operation manual of your Network Master device for more information.
