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Remote Station Engineering - Permanent Station Design Change Log


March 2015

GPS Receiver New Firmware for the Trimble NetR9 receiver, version 4.93!
Structural Frame Uniquely label all joints on frame prior to disassembly at UNAVCO. Aids reconstruction of frame in staging area or field location.
Wind Turbine Use new 3-phase Forgen 500 turbines. Produce more power than older single-phase models. New models also have strengthened blade attachment points, using bolts with locknuts (or lockwashers where applicable). Also have two upper struts per blade. Locknut now used on lower shaft attachment point instead of double-nut assembly.
Solar Panel Use pliable rubber gaskets in between panel and saddle clamp. Attempt to alleviate dynamic stresses which are thought to cause occasional breakage of solar panel glass.

October 2012

Power Board Separate each solar panel and wind turbine circuit and add 8A Shottky blocking diode for each panel and turbine. Provides redundancy / failsafe feature such that failure of any one panel or turbine, or their external cables, will allow system to continue to receive power from any operational components. Also removes small parasitic current backflow through solar panels during dark periods.

Add individual breakers for each external battery bank. Provides redundancy / failsafe feature such that failure of any external battery cable will allow system to continue to charge remaining battery banks.
Dial-Up Iridium Purchase 9522B modems and custom power/serial cable assemblies from Xeos.
Structural Frame Uniquely label all joints on frame prior to disassembly at UNAVCO. Aids reconstruction of frame in staging area or field location.
Wind Turbine Use new 3-phase Forgen 500 turbines. Produce more power than older single-phase models. New models also have strengthened blade attachment points, using bolts with locknuts (or lockwashers where applicable). Also have two upper struts per blade. Locknut now used on lower shaft attachment point instead of double-nut assembly.
Solar Panel Use pliable rubber gaskets in between panel and saddle clamp. Attempt to alleviate dynamic stresses which are thought to cause occasional breakage of solar panel glass.
May 2013

GPS Receiver Power NetR9 receiver now wired directly to battery bank. During NetR9 troubleshooting in summer 2012, decision was made to power NetR9 through the Flexcharge LVD, as a more reliable way of controlling its power. Subsequent testing at UNAVCO office and Niwot Ridge test site, with several field deployments, has shown that a NetR9 with current firmware and configuration is no longer subject to previous failure scenario, where receiver would fail to power up in spring if it lost power over winter. Therefore NetR9 is now wired straight to battery bank, to eliminate possible failure points of LVD circuit and load circuit breaker. Note: during winter 2013 a further test is ongoing at the UNAVCO McMurdo test site, with numerous successful power cycles already demonstrated.

New procedure for imaging and testing NetRS compact flashcards developed, tested, and implemented. Dedicated Linux computer with semi-automated imaging scripts installed at UNAVCO repair lab. Internal procedure document created. Creating of new flashcard installs Firmware 1.3-2 on the NetRS (see note below).

Now use Firmware 1.3-2. Also still acceptable to use Firmware 1.3-1. Version 1.3-2 is installable on all NetRS regardless of Firmware Warranty Date. Version 1.3-2 contains several "security" enhancements from Trimble, and has been thoroughly tested at UNAVCO with no adverse effects noted. However two minor changes with Programmatic Interface have been found. First, the "show?loggingstatus" command reports the datalogging session as "Pending" even when data is being logged. Second, hypens ( - ) are not permissible in the filename for the NetRS configuration files. Use underscore ( _ ) intead.
Dial-Up Iridium Latching assembly improved on Xeos 9522B power/serial cable assemblies. Allows positive locking on 9522B IDC connector.

Increase capacity of Iridium download hub (hosted by NEON). Add 4 additional modems and antennas, and one new IP-serial switch. Increases throughput capacity by 50%.
RUDICS Iridium Use FW 3.88.1664 for Xeos XI-100 RUDICS modems. Better handling of the initialization sequence for the internal ethernet chip. Ethernet chip initialization time varies with temperature, and with individual chips. Wait longer during initialization before declaring failure. Resolves occasional intermittent comms failures in cold temperatures.

Migrate all Xeos RUDICS stations to new version of Tunnel Application software. Testing has shown that new software resolves several bugs and seamlessly handles all firmware versions installed on remote XI-100 modems.

Use ethernet surge suppressor device with Xeos XI-100 modem, inline between XI-100 and GPS receiver.
Point-to-Point Radio Use ethernet surge suppressor devices with 900 MHz radio, inline between radio and GPS receiver.
Cabling / Connectors Add adhesive-lined heat shrink to all RF cable connectors. Also use self-vulcanizing rubber tape around all RF connectors at field sites. Will lessen occurrence of connectors unscrewing or detching, and provide better weatherproofing.

Redefine "standard" layouts for GPS and comms surge protectors, vent plug, and all power bulkhead connectors for MM24 and MM36 enclosures. Drawings created.
Power Board Use blanket between power board and batteries for all stations. For sites with wind power, move heat pads to different location inside enclosure rather than directly underneath board. Newer 3-phase Forgen 500 turbines are more powerful, and high temperature excursions noted at certain sites with new turbines.

Redesign of foam cap to accommodate increased volume required by NetR9 and XI-100 devices.
Structural Frame Adopt 2-pole mount as default UNAVCO polar design for snow sites. Easier to fabricate, and field experience has shown this design is easier to install and raise compared to tripod design. Tripod still available on request.
 

Last modified: 2019-12-24  02:12:28  America/Denver