Meeting-10242022

Re: meeting about the NPS DAQ on Oct 24, 2022 at 11 am.

Attending: Brad Sawatzky, Robert Michaels, Chris Cuevas, Alexandre Camsonne,
William Gu, Ben Raydo, Bryan Moffit

Note taker:  Robert Michaels (Bob)

See also:

NPS main page https://wiki.jlab.org/cuawiki/index.php/Main_Page

NPS meetings: https://wiki.jlab.org/cuawiki/index.php/Main_Page#Meetings

Topics

I. How's it going with VTP/DAQ work in EEL-108 ?

The VTP is basically ready.  There is a production setup in the EEL building
room 108.  It uses CODA 3.10.  The PXE book mechanism for the ROCs is ready.
The plan is to get the instrumented crates reading with a simple trigger
and to test the system using synthesized loads.

Needs a dedicated person.  See manpower below.

II. Design

There is already a design, see the wealth of ERR talks, collaboration
talks, and meeting notes.  One possible launching point:
http://userweb.jlab.org/~rom/hallc

III. Parts to be ordered.

We have all the equipment we need.  We'll use a TI-master (William Gu to
support it).  First versions of firmware are written, simulated, and tested.

IV. Manpower

Bob Michaels is taking responsibility for organizing the hall C
DAQ for now.  Brad will consult.  In the next few months, hopefully
we'll have a new hire (we're supposed to hire 4 staff, at least
one of whom would work on hall A and C DAQ).  We will enjoy a
significant amount of time from Bryan Moffit and Ben Raydo.
Chris Cuevas expects NPS to be a priority.

IV. Timeline

The 3 NPS experiments start in July 2023 and run until March 2024.
We need to be ready well in advance.  The test setup in EEL-108
must demonstrate all the needed features.  We also need to upgrade
the HMS DAQ to CODA 3.10, and may as well upgrade the SHMS, too.

V. Some details

There are two vxWorks-based crates with CAEN 1190 for drift chambers
that need to be ported to CODA 3.10 and Intel SBC.

Bob is to give Bryan pointers to where the HMS/SHMS readout lists
and libraries are.  Bryan may work on those in the EEL-108 environment.

Issues with the PMT bases are resolved, says Brad.

FADC 250 firmware : The Hall C crates to use the Hall D firmware,
while the NPS crates needs Hall B firmware as they are currently called.
Boot infrastructure must support both firmwares.

Concerns about the interconnects between crates and trigger, whether
all cables are installed, working, tested.  Chris's group may help.

SBS DAQ also needs support.  GeN-RP needs a lot of work.  Hodoscope
readout needs restored FADC.  It's a long list.  This is significant
because of the limited manpower.

Could use a student on NPS with good skill to learn DAQ work.

Blocking mode:  Needs to be implemented.  Has implications for
the analyzer.  Mentioned in Brad's talks.

Scaler readouts and helicity flag in lighyt of blocking mode.

Keep Brad in the loop on all developments.