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The Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology
A Centre of Excellence funded by a grant from the Ontario Technology Fund and other private, industrial, federal and international sources.

S2-RT User's Manual

Version 3.2 (133XT), September 1998

CRESTech-SGL-TR98-043
Centre for Research Earth and Space Technology Space Geodynamics Laboratory
4850 Keele Street North York, Ontario, Canada M3J 3K1 TEL: (416) 665-5470 FAX: (416) 665-1815 Email: s2support@sgl.crestech.ca Web: http://www.sgl.crestech.ca


S2-RT User's Manual

Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 S2-RT User Documentation 1.2 S2 Physical Description

1-1
1-1 1-1

1.2.1 Transport Array Module (TAM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 1.2.2 Data, Signal and Control Module (DSCM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

2

INSTALLATION
2.1 Introduction 2.2 Identifying Cable Ports

2-1
2-1 2-3

2.2.1 DSCM Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 2.2.2 TAM Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

2.3 Cables

2-5

2.3.1 S2 User Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5 2.3.2 S2 System Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

2.4 Power Requirements 2.5 Power cables: 120 Volt Operation 2.6 Power cables: 240 Volt Operation 2.7 External Transformer 2.8 Post-installation Checkout Tests

2-6 2-7 2-7 2-7 2-8

2.8.1 Sy stem Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8 2.8.2 Sy stem Signal and Electrical Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8 2.8.3 Record/Playback Performance Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

3 4

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT OPERATION
4.1 Overview 4.2 Console Operation
4.2.1 Connecting the Console . . . . 4.2.2 Display Organization . . . . . . 4.2.3 Console Command Entry . . . 4.2.3.1 Soft-key s . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.3.2 Command Editing and 4.2.3.3 Batch Files . . . . . . . . . 4.2.4 Basic Procedures . . . . . . . . 4.2.4.1 Recording Tapes . . . . . 4.2.4.2 Playing Back Tapes . . 4.2.5 Sy stem Bootup . . . . . . . . . 4.2.6 ROS Bootup . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.7 ROS Configuration . . . . . . . ..... ..... ..... ........ History . ........ ..... ........ ........ ..... ..... ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3-1 4-1
4-1 4-4
. 4-4 . 4-4 . 4-5 4-5 4-7 4-7 . 4-8 4-8 4-12 4-14 4-14 4-16

4.1.1 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

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4.2.8 Console 4.2.8.1 4.2.8.2 4.2.8.3 4.2.8.4 4.2.8.5 4.2.8.6 4.2.8.7 4.2.9 Console

Screen Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crucial Parms Window (upper right, Figure 4-1) Status Window (middle right, Figure 4-6) . . . . . . User Parms Window (upper middle, Figure 4-1) . State Window (middle, Figure 4-1) . . . . . . . . . . . . Transport Window (middle left, Figure 4-1). . . . . User I/O Window (upper middle, Figure 4-7) . . . Mark III Window (upper middle, Figure 4-8) . . . Command Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4-18 4-18 4-22 4-23 4-24 4-24 4-25 4-27 4-29

4.3 RCL Operation 4.4 Ethernet Usage
4.4.1 Configuring Network Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.2 Console access via rlogin/telnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.3 RCL access via Internet sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4-58 4-58
4-58 4-60 4-61

4.5 Status Codes and Interpretations 4.6 Power-on Self Test

4-62 4-80

5

TAPE
5.1 Choice of Tape and Tape Speed 5.2 Tape Shipping and Storage

5-1
5-1 5-2

6

MAINTENANCE AND SERVICING
6.1 Troubleshooting Hints 6.2 Software Reloads/Upgrades 6.3 DSCM Electronics Replacement and Servicing 6.4 TAM Servicing
6 6 6 6 6 6 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 Transport Replacement And Servicing Sy stem Service Calls . . . . . . . . . . Transport Setup For Off-Line Tests . . Transport Write Current Optimization Transport Temperature Calibration . . Transport Tape Guide Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6-1
6-1 6-1 6-3 6-5
6-5 6-8 6-8 6-9 6-10 6-12

7

SHIPPING
7.1 Packaging 7.2 Shipping Environment

7-1
7-1 7-2

8

S2 SPECIFICATIONS SUMMARY

8-1 A-1
A-1 A-1

A S2 RCL SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOL
A.1 Overview A.2 General Packet Format

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A.3 Command/Response Summary A.4 Command/Response Formats

A-3 A-5

B S2 SIGNAL AND CONTROL INTERFACE SPECIFICATIONS
B.1 Overview

B-1
B-1

B.1.1 S2 Signal Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 B.1.2 S2 Control Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

B.2 S2 Signal Interface
B.2.1 Signal B.2.1.1 B.2.1.2 B.2.1.3 B.2.1.4 Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . Signal Characteristics . . . . . . . . Electrical Characteristics . . . . . . Phy sical Characteristics . . . . . . . Input/Output Cable Connection ... .... .... .... Test .... ...... ...... ...... Modes . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . .

B-1
. BBBBB1 2 2 2 2

B.3 S2 Control Interface

B-3

B.3.1 RCL Serial Link (C6 Cable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3 B.3.2 RCC Console Cable (C7 Cable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3

C SAMPLE ROS DEFAULTS FILE D UNIX TERMCAP FILE FORMAT
D.1 Overview D.2 Types of Capabilities
D.2 D.2 D.2 D.2 D.2 .1 .2 .3 .4 .5 Comments . . . . . . . . Escape Sequence Codes Parameterized Strings . Delays . . . . . . . . . . Similar Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C-1 D-1
D-1 D-2
DDDDD3 3 3 4 5

D.3 Capabilities

D-5

E GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

E-1

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List of Figures
Figure 1-1: Transport Array Module (TAM) Figure 1-2: Data, Signal and Control Module (DSCM) Figure 2-1: S2-RT Configuration, 120VAC Operation Figure 2-2: S2-RT Configuration, 240VAC Operation Figure 2-3: DSCM Ports Figure 2-4: TAM Rack Connector Placement Figure 2-5: DSCM Shipping Box with Cable Assemblies Figure 2-6: 240V to 120V Transformer Figure 2-7: ROS Normal Display on Bootup (RT) Figure 4-1: Sample ROS Screen, User (stopped) Figure 4-2: Sample ROS Screen, User (record) Figure 4-3: Transport Selection based on Mode & Group Figure 4-4: Sample ROS Screen, User (playback) Figure 4-5: S2 Diagnostic Loopback Paths Figure 4-6: Sample ROS Screen, Bad Status Figure 4-7: Sample ROS Screen, User I/O Figure 4-8: Sample ROS Screen, Mark III Figure 6-1: DSCM PC Board Configuration Figure 6-2: Transport/Tape Diagnostics Figure 6-3: Location of Guide Posts Figure 6-4: Proper tape guide adjustment Figure 6-5: End-of-frame distortion example1 Figure 6-6: End-of-frame distortion example2 Figure 6-7: Beginning-of-frame distortion example Figure 6-8: Proper tape guide adjustment, no scope Figure 6-9: End-of-frame distortion example1, no scope Figure 6-10: End-of-frame distortion example2, no scope Figure 6-11: Beginning-of-frame dist. example, no scope Figure 7-1: TAM Shipping Box Figure 7-2: DSCM Shipping Box with Cable Assemblies Figure B-1: C1/C2 Test Vector Generator Logical Circuit Figure B-2: C1 Input Timing Interface (32 MHz clk) Figure B-3: C1 Input Timing Interface (clk = data rate) 1-1 1-2 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-7 2-8 4-4 4-8 4-10 4-13 4-19 4-22 4-26 4-28 6-4 6-8 6-13 6-14 6-14 6-14 6-14 6-16 6-16 6-16 6-16 7-1 7-1 B-10 B-11 B-11

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S2-RT User's Manual

Figure B-4: C2 Output Timing Interface (32 MHz clk) Figure B-5: C2 Output Timing Interface (clk=data rate) Figure B-6: C2 Output Timing Interface (MkIII format) Figure B-7: C1 & C2 Electrical Specifications

B-12 B-12 B-13 B-13

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S2-RT User's Manual

List of Tables
Table 4-1: Console Special Function Keys Table 4-2: Terminal Types Supported by ROS Table 5-1: S2 Approved Tape Types Table 6-1: Maintenance Chart for AG2520 Transports Table B-1: C1 Input Cable Signal Assignments Table B-2: S2 C2a Output Cable Signal Assignments Table B-3: S2 C2b/c Output Cable Signal Assignments Table B-4: MkIII C2a Output Cable Signal Assignments Table B-5: S2 Modes with active C1/C2 signal channels Table B-6: C6 (RCL) Cable Signal Assignments Table B-5: S2 Modes with active C1/C2 signal channels Table B-7: C2a Cable Test Vector Sequence Table B-8: C2b/C2c Cable Test Vector Sequence 4-6 4-15 5-2 6-5 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B-9 B-10 B-10

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S2-RT User's Manual

INTRODUCTION

1. INTRO DUCTION

1.1 S2-RT User Documentation
T he S2-RT User's Manual contains information required by users of the S2 Record Terminal for installation, operation, mai ntena nce a nd servicing of t he sy stem. This ma nual is for S2-RT systems which use a n MVME133XT Recorder Cont rol Computer board. Please note the version number on t he front cover. T his ma nual is accurate only for S2-RT systems running t he matching Recorder Operati ng Sy stem (ROS) softwa re version number. To check which softwa re version you a re using, type version at t he S2 console. For systems runni ng older softwa re (lower version numbers) you should use the appropriate older User's Manual, or upgrade the software. For systems runni ng newer software (higher version numbers) you should check to see if a newer version of t he User's Manual has been issued by CRESTech/SGL. If not, refer to t he release notes for the softwa re version y ou are using; t hey will contai n documentation on additional features. If you have any problems or questions related to t he S2 please call CRESTech/SGL i n Ca nada at (416) 665-5470 or send email to s2support@sgl.crestech.ca . We can be found on t he World Wide Web at http://www.sgl.crestech.ca/ . Up-to-date versions of t his User's Manual a re available at ftp://ftp.sgl.crestech.ca/pub/s2/doc/userman/ for all four S2 sy stem combinations (S2-RT & 162 CPU, S2-PT & 162 CPU, S2-RT & 133XT CPU, S2-PT & 133XT CPU). Note that the t he name CRESTech was formerly ISTS (Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science) until it was cha nged i n late 1997.

1.2 S2 Physical Description

T he S2 consists of up to three Transport Array Modules (TAMs) tape t ransports each, and one Dat Module (DSCM) contai ni ng most of

1.2.1 Transport Array Module (TAM)
T he TAM, shown i n Figure 1-1, consists of one to four S2 tape transports mounted i n a custom rack which is designed either for tabletop operation or which may be mounted i n a 19" rack. T he tra nsports a re supported on sliders which a re mounted to infill brackets within t he rack. T he sliders allow easy removal of each transport, and, with t he use of extension cables, t he operation of t he transport i n an easily-accessible position outside the rack. To lock t he sliders in place for shipping a nd normal operation, a single removable ``slider block'' is used on the left-ha nd side infill bracket.

Part 1: /home/s2/doc/userman/working/txt/intro.txt x modules: one or two contai ning up to four a, Signal a nd Control t he sy stem electronics.
Figure 1-1: Transport Array Module (TAM) 1-1


S2-RT User's Manual

INTRODUCTION

T he TAM racks have two user-removable panels. The front panel is held i n place with four thumbscrews a nd is removed during normal operation. The rear vented cover is also secured by ha nd-removable t humbscrews, but is normally in place when t he unit is operati ng. A fixed rear plate holds all power a nd signal connectors. TAM Dimensions and Weight Each TAM is approximately 40 (H) x 44 (W) x 46 (D) cm a nd weighs about 36 kg wit h four t ra nsports. 10 rack units a re requi red for rack mounti ng.

1.2.2 Data, Signal and Control Module (DSCM)
T he DSCM, shown i n Figure 1-2, contai ns custom S2 electronics required to manage t he sy stem, format and control t he data on record, recover the data on playback and control the transports. T he DSCM is a semicustom VME cage with three standard VME-compatible slots for the sy stem Recorder Cont rol Computer (RCC), Static RAM board (SRAM) and optional Et hernet board, a nd six slots for electronics required to ma nage the data flow, format the data on record, decode the data on playback a nd i nterface to the user's hardware. T hese boards consist of an eight-cha nnel Formatter (FORM) boa rd, single-channel decoder or Data Recovery a nd Deformatter (DRDr) board, a nd a User Interface (UI) board.

Figure 1-2: Data, Signal and Control Module (DSCM)

T he DSCM is designed for tabletop or 19" rack mounting. Rack mounti ng may be made easier by removal of t he two leg mounts screwed to the outside of the enclosure (replace t he screws as they also hold on the fan tray). DSCM Dimensions and Weight T he DSCM is 33 (H) x 44 (W) x 33 (D) cm a nd weighs approximately 15 kg. 7 rack units are requi red for rack mounti ng.

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S2-RT User's Manual

INSTALLATION

2. INS TALLATION

2.1 Introduction
T he S2 recorder normally consists of t hree units requiring intermodule cable hookup as well as connection to external equipment for operation. Figures 2-1 and 2-2 illustrate t he sy stem with all signal a nd power cables connected. To i nstall t he system, please follow t hese steps: 1. Configure the TAMs and DSCM in a 19" rack or on a bench in the desired arra ngement. Please refer to Chapter 3 of this manual to establish envi ronmental constrai nts on system configuration a nd operation. 2. Identify the cables and cable ports (described in t he next two sections).

Part 1: /home/s2/doc/userman/working/txt/install.txt x
Figure 2-1: S2-RT Configuration, 120VAC Operation 2-1


S2-RT User's Manual

INSTALLATION

Figure 2-2: S2-RT Configuration, 240VAC Operation

3. Connect the cables as shown in Figure 2-1 for 120 VAC operation a nd Figure 2-2 for 240 VAC operation. Note that the DSCM power input port accepts either 120 VAC or 240 VAC, but t he TAM power inputs accept 120VAC only. Operation of t he TAMs from a 240 VAC power source t herefore requires 240 VAC to 120 VAC voltage conversion, shown in Figure 2-2 as a sepa rate t ransformer. 4. Connect a console terminal such as DEC VT100 to t he console port (C7). T he termi nal should be configured for 9600 baud, 8 data bits, one stop bit, no parity. An IBM PC or compatible computer can be used as a console by runni ng t he ROSCO terminal emulator program supplied with t he S2 (see Section 6.2 for more i nformation on ROSCO). 5. Power on t he sy stem a nd a nswer t he i nstallation questions which appear on the console (fi rst time sy stem turned on only). See Section 4.2.6 for more i nformation on t he i nstallation questions. 6. Perform t he post-i nstallation checkout tests as described i n Section 2.8.

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S2-RT User's Manual

INSTALLATION

2.2 Identifying Cable Ports
2.2.1 DSCM Ports
Figure 2-3 illustrates the cable ports on the front panels of the DSCM circuit boa rds. T hese a re: RCC Console Port: Ethernet Port: T his port connects the RCC to a console terminal via t he C7 serial cable. It is a female DB-25 connector configured as RS-232C DCE (Data Communications Equipment). (Optional) BNC connector for thin Et hernet, or female DB-15 connector for Ethernet transceiver. These ports a re not both active simulta neously; t he chip i n socket U4 of the Ethernet board must be moved to the adjacent socket U3, or vice versa, to enable the ot her Ethernet connector. The factory default setti ng is for the BNC (coaxial) connector to be enabled. T his DB-9 pi n port is t he DSCM input for the C5 Tra nsport Cont rol Link (TCL) connecti ng t he DSCM and TAM. T his port is the DSCM i nput for the C6 Radioastronomy Cont rol Link (RCL). It is a male DB-25 connector configured as RS-232C DTE (Data Termi nal Equipment).
Formatter: FORM TCL (C5) port RCC: MVM E 133X T SRA M Data Recov ery /Deformatter: DRDr User Interface: UI C2b port

TCL Port: RCL Port:

Ethernet: ENP-10TL

C2a port

Ethernet port Console (C7) port RCL (C6) port

C3 port C4 port

C1 port

Figure 2-3: DSCM Ports

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INSTALLATION

C1 Port: C2a Port:

T his port originates the C1 cable from the data source to t he DSCM, bringing clock, data a nd 1 Hz to the User Interface. T his port origi nates the C2a cable from the DSCM, bringing clock, data a nd 1 Hz from t he User Interface to the user data destination; it also carries optional clock a nd 1Hz from t he user data desti nation to the User Interface. T his port origi nates the C2b cable from t he DSCM, bringing data validity from t he User Interface to the user data destination; this cable carries validity appropriate for 8-cha nnel 1 or 2-bit quantized data from t he S2 to the user. T his port origi nates t he C2c cable from t he DSCM, bri nging data validity from t he User Interface to the user data desti nation; this cable carries validity appropriate to the odd channels of 16 independent 1-bit quantized baseba nd channels. Note t hat the C2c port is not accessible from t he UI front panel, but is available from a straight dual-row header near the front a nd center of t he UI board itself. T his port originates t he C3 cable from t he DSCM, bri ngi ng clock a nd data from t he DSCM Formatter to t he TAMs. T his port originates the C4 cable from the DSCM, returni ng signal from t he TAMs to t he DSCM Data Recovery module a nd bringing ±5 V from the DSCM to the custom transport electronics.

C2b Port:

C2c Port:

C3 Port: C4 Port:

C5 port

C3 port

C4 port

120VAC OUTPUT

TAM RA CK POWER S WITCH

120VAC INPUT

Figure 2-4: TAM Rack Connector Placement

2.2.2 TAM Ports
Figure 2-4 illustrates the cable ports on the fixed back pa nel of t he TAM. T hese a re: C3 Port: T his port termi nates t he C3 cable from t he DSCM, bri nging clock and data from the DSCM Formatter to t he TAM.

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INSTALLATION

Figure 2-5: DSCM Shipping Box with Cable Assemblies

C4 Port:

T his port termi nates the C4 cable from the DSCM, returni ng signal from t he TAM to t he DSCM Data Recovery module a nd supplyi ng ±5 V from the DSCM to the TAM custom electronics. T his port termi nates the serial Tra nsport Cont rol Link (TCL) cable from the DSCM. T his port supplies power to t he TAM, and i ncludes a connector for feed t hrough power to a second TAM. T his port is rated for 120 volts (50-60 Hz) only.

C5 Port: Power In/Out:

2.3 Cables
Figure 2-5 shows t he S2 cable assemblies as shipped i n the DSCM container. They consist of S2-to-user I/O cables for tra nsfer of signals a nd power to a nd from t he user and S2 sy stem cables linking S2 modules. Connect t he cable assemblies as shown in Figure 2-1 or 2-2. See Appendix B for detailed pin assignments, timi ng a nd electrical specifications.

2.3.1 S2 User Cables
C1: T his cable consists of a 50 conductor twisted pai r ribbon cable (maximum length = 10 m) carrying user data, clock a nd 1 Hz signals from t he user data source to the S2.

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INSTALLATION

C2a: C2b:

T his cable consists of a 50 conductor twisted pai r ribbon cable (maximum length = 10 m) carrying recovered data, clock and 1 Hz from the S2 to t he user. T his cable consists of a 20 conductor twisted pai r ribbon cable (maximum length = 10 m) carrying recovered data validity for 1 or 2-bit qua ntized data (carries only even user channels for 1-bit data). T his cable consists of a 20 conductor twisted pai r ribbon cable (maximum length = 10 m) carrying recovered data validity for t he odd user channels in t he case of 1-bit quantized data. It is needed only for 1-bit qua ntized modes that use odd user data cha nnels. Note that t he C2c cable is not accessible from the UI front panel, but is available from a straight dual-row header near t he front a nd center of the UI board itself (this header is unlabeled). T he C2c header is pola rized to accept only the wider end of the physical C2c cable assembly. T he blank panel on the right-hand side of the UI must be removed to i nstall t his cable. T his cable, also known as the Radioastronomy Cont rol Link (RCL), is a serial cable connecti ng t he S2 to a n external control computer. The S2 RCL port is configured for DTE operation, so the C6 cable needs to be a null cable (excha nge pins 2 and 3) if the external computer is also acti ng as DTE. T his is t he case for IBM PCs a nd compatibles. The external computer should be configured for 19200 baud, 8 data bits, one stop bit, no parity. T he RCL baud rate can be set up to 57,600 by editi ng the sy stem defaults file (see Section 4.2.7). T his cable is a serial cable connecti ng t he S2 is configured for DCE operation. The terminal bits, one stop bit, no parity. T he console baud defaults file, but the maximum allowed rate is to a console termi nal. The S2 console port should be configured for 9600 baud, 8 data rate can be changed by editing t he system 9600 baud.

C2c:

C6:

C7:

2.3.2 S2 System Cables
C3: C3 is a 50 ohm ribbon cable transporti ng clock a nd formatted data from the DSCM to t he TAMs. The cable is terminated via a single connector at t he DSCM FORM board, a nd is split i n t he middle to allow the cable to service two TAMs. C4 is a 50 ohm ribbon cable t ransporting return signal from t he TAMs to the DSCM. T he cable is terminated via a single connector at the DSCM DRD board, and is split i n t he middle to allow the signals to come from two TAMs. C5, the Transport Cont rol Link (TCL), is a serial cable connecting t he TAMs and t he DSCM.

C4:

C5:

N O TE: Insertion key s are present on the C3 and C4 cables to prev ent accidental interchange as this may result in damage. It i s recommended that the C3 and C4 cables be inserted with the power off if poss ible. If power must remain on ex erc ise care and do not force the connectors.

2.4 Power Requirements
Total S2-RT power requirements a re 440 W: 160 W for the DSCM and 140 W for each of t he TAMs. At least 700 VA should be available in order to supply sufficient current when the tra nsports are most active, which normally occurs when tape is loaded onto t he t ransport scanner.

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2.5 Power cables: 120 Volt Operation
T he S2 units may be powered from a ny standard 120VAC wall outlet capable of supplyi ng t he total current requirements of the S2. T he sy stem is supplied with t hree power cords; t he recommended power cord a rra ngement is shown i n Figure 2-1.

2.6 Power cables: 240 Volt Operation
For operation from a 240 VAC power source, an external 2:1 t ra nsformer must be used to supply the TAMs with 120 VAC, as i ndicated i n Figure 2-2. T he DSCM contains a n auto-ra ngi ng power supply and may be powered directly wit h 240V as shown. The DSCM is supplied with a n incomplete power cable to which a suitable plug can be attached. Colour coding of these cables is as follows: Brown (or Black) - AC Line Blue (or White) - AC Neutral Green - Chassis Ground

2.7 External Transformer
A schematic for a 240/120 VAC t ransformer circuit is shown i n Figure 2-6. It consists of a 500 VA 2:1 t ransformer. T he 240 volt supply current is limited by a 3 A slow-blow fuse. The 120 volt output current is limited by a 4 A fuse.

Note: Transformer should be used to power one S2 ( i.e. two TAM racks) only. Both TAM racks together require a supply of about 400 VA peak.

Figure 2-6: 240V to 120V Transformer

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Figure 2-7: ROS Nor mal Display on Bootup (RT)

2.8 Post-installation Checkout Tests
Following transportation of the S2, built-in test facilities may be used to verify t he functionality of the system prior to connection wit h any external ha rdwa re other t han a console termi nal.

2.8.1 System Setup
Before testi ng, the sy stem should be set up according to the installation i nstructions earlier in t his chapter. No cables a re to be connected to t he C1 or C2 signal ports. The console termi nal should be configured for 9600 baud, 8 data bits, one stop bit, no parity.

2.8.2 System Signal and Electrical Test
Power up the sy stem. A self-test executes as part of t he bootup and should take about one minute to complete (y ou may fi rst be asked to enter your console terminal type and baud rate). Verify that the console display followi ng t he self-test is as shown in Figure 2-7 (there may be mi nor differences, such as ``no tape'' in the Transport wi ndow). Verify that the time in t he upper right corner of the screen is i ncrementi ng and t hat t here are no detected faults displayed in the status wi ndow (middle right). Failure of the power-on self-test causes the test to terminate a nd print a descriptive message to t he console interaction wi ndow. T he status wi ndow will indicate ``Diagnostic test failed'' with a positive numeric diagnostic code or negative error code.

2.8.3 Record/Playback Performance Test
T his test allows users to verify t hat t he S2 is functioning as specified, i.e. t hat data is recorded and reproduced at a specified bit-error rate of less than 1 x 10-4 (speed LP) or 1 x 10-3 (speed SLP, average) on i ntercha nge.

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For speed SLP (which must be used on sy stems with AG2550 transports) users should check that the record/play back performance test gives a bit-error rate of less than 1 x 10-3 averaged across eight t ra nsports, or 3 x 10-3 i ndividually. Success of this test verifies t hat t he record a nd playback signal sy stems a re operati ng according to specification a nd t hat the mecha nical alignment of the tra nsports has not been disturbed during shipping. The time required to complete t he test is about 90 mi nutes. Before sta rting t he record/playback test, i nsert writable tapes into all eight kind of tape can be used in t he S2 please refer to Chapter 5. You should correct and matches t he type of tape you a re using for the test by enteri ng tapetype N default where N is one of the tape type codes given in Chapter 5. T hen run t he berslp.tst for speed SLP by ty pi ng one of t he following commands batch berlp.tst batch berslp.tst T he batch file sets up the sy stem as follows: · S2 mo de set to 16x8-1
· ·

t ransports. For i nformation on what ensure that t he tape type setti ng is the comma nd batch file berlp.tst for speed LP or

Sy stem Clock PLL mode set to xtal formatter diagnostic sequence on

T he batch file then records a pseudo-ra ndom test data sequence for 30 minutes. Following the recordi ng the tapes a re rewound and played back, a nd bit-error rate measurements are made on each of the eight tape cha nnels. These measurements along wit h any detected status errors are recorded i n the S2 internal log file. When play back is complete, any status errors recorded in the log file duri ng t he record or playback phases a re display ed. You will be prompted to press return, then the accumulated bit-error rates for three mi nutes per cha nnel of playback data a re displayed. T here will be 8 li nes of output of t he form 0022 E 189-12:15:23 174-10:51:31 1.23e-5 0 0 11520 T he fourt h column from the right shows the bit-error rate, followed by t he data channel nu number. Verify t hat t he error rate is less tha n 1.0e-4 for each transport if LP speed was us file). If SLP speed was used (berslp.tst batch file) verify that t he error rate is less t ha n 3.0e-3 t ra nsport and that the average over all 8 transports is less tha n 1.0e-3. Not all 8 output lines once so you will have to press return. It is a good idea to write down t hese bit-error rate reference. mber a nd transport ed (berlp.tst batch for each individual fit on t he screen at numbers for future

In order to test tape i nterchange, eject the tapes a nd rotate them by one position, i.e. the tape recorded in transport 0 is i nserted i nto t ransport 1, the tape recorded in t ransport 1 is inserted into tra nsport 2, and so on (the tape recorded i n tra nsport 7 is i nserted i nto t ransport 0). T hen run t he batch file inter.tst by typing the comma nd batch inter.tst. T his batch file rewinds the tapes and repeats the playback phase of the berlp.tst/berslp.tst batch file. As above, verify that the error rate displayed for each channel a nd/or average is less tha n the specified value. Failure to achieve specified performance may call for particular t ransports or other system components to be serviced; see Chapter 6 for maintenance information. In particular, poor performa nce in this test may i ndicate a misalignment of t he t ransport tape guide posts (Section 6.4.6).

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3. OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
Temperature and Humidity

Temperature Range: For tra nsport operation in TAM rack: For specified performance: Rate of Temperature Variation: Relative Humidity: +10 degrees to +30 degrees Celsius +15 degrees to +25 degrees Celsius
1 1

Particulate Contamination

1

This refers to the ambient temperature around the TAM rack. If the TAMs are mounted in a 19" rack or other enclosed space, ventilation must be provided to ensure that this condition is met. Temperature around each transport should be within +10 to +40 deg. C. Temperature inside each transport must be within +5 to +60 deg. C or else thermal shutdown software will be triggered.

Part 1: /home/s2/doc/userman/working/txt/environ.txt x Not more than 1 degree Celsius per minute, a nd not more t han 10 degrees Celsius per 30 mi nutes 35% to 80% non-condensing Particle size, µm < 1.0 1.0 to 1.5 1.5 to 5.0 5.0 to 10 > 10 Particle count/m3 4 x 107 4 x 106 4 x 105 4 x 10 4 x 10
4 3

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4. OPERATIO N

4.1 Overview
T his chapter describes how to operate a summary of basic operational proce console comma nds follow i n Sections i nformation is in Section 4.4, a nd all the S2 Record Terminal. After some preliminary i nformation and definitions, dures is given i n Section 4.2.4. Detailed descriptions of screen displays a nd 4.2.8 a nd 4.2.9, using more of a reference-ma nual format. Ethernet network S2 status codes a re listed a nd described i n detail in Section 4.5.

T he S2 Recorder can be operated using either one of two alternative i nterfaces: t he console termi nal, or t he Radioastronomy Cont rol Link (RCL). Bot h of t hese can use RS-232C serial li nks, but t he RCL can operate as an RS-485 multi-drop li nk with the addition of a n external conversion box, allowi ng more than one device to be cont rolled from the same serial port. On S2 sy stems equipped wit h an Et hernet board, console and RCL connections can be made using network rlogin/telnet a nd socket protocols, elimi nating the need for serial cables. T he console a nd t he RCL may be used at t he same time as long as operations don't i nterfere -- for example the console display can be used to monitor what is happening when the S2 is under automatic control via t he RCL. T he console allows high-level ma nual cont rol of t he S2 for regula r operation, plus low-level access for testi ng a nd other unusual operati ng conditions. Any cursor-addressable terminal or terminal emulator, such as DEC VT100, can be used as a console (a VT100 emulator program for IBM PCs a nd compatibles called ROSCO is supplied with t he S2). T he console display is divided i nto multiple windows which are conti nuously updated. Comma nd ent ry is aided by a soft-key sy stem which uses function key s a nd command completion to make comma nds faster to type a nd easier to remember. T here are approximately 50 console comma nds, of which only about 10 a re needed for everyday operation. All of Section 4.2 is written from t he poi nt of view of console operation (the bulk of t his chapter), but most of t he pri nciples described can be applied to RCL operation as well. T he Radioastronomy Cont rol Link (RCL) is intended for automatic control of devices by a n external computer. It can be used for unattended automatic operation following a n observing schedule runni ng on the external computer. For example, the Mark IV Field System (PCFS) version 9.3.7 a nd later incorporates full support for cont rolli ng a n S2 recorder over t he RCL i n conjunction with Mark III, Mark IV, or VLBA data acquisition systems. Future versions of PCFS will also be able to cont rol S2 Data Acquisition Sy stems over the RCL. The RCL uses a reliable bina ry packet protocol to communicate requests from t he external computer to the S2 a nd return responses. Source code for t he packet assembly a nd disassembly routi nes needed to run on the external computer is provided with t he S2 sy stem, so the application programmer deals only wit h a simple function-call interface, a nd does not need to worry about t he details of t he RCL protocol. T he RCL interface libra ry routi nes are written i n ANSI C a nd should be easy to port to many different types of computers. As shipped t hey work on IBM PCs and compatibles, or on t he followi ng flavours of Unix: SunOS, Sola ris, a nd Linux. The commands available over the RCL a re a subset of t he console commands, a nd a re intended mainly for high-level control during automated operation. T he RCL t ries to present a view of t he S2 as a single tape recorder -- not 8 i ndividual transports. Consequently, most comma nds a nd responses make no mention of i ndividual t ra nsports. Section 4.3 gives some additional general i nformation on RCL operation, but most of the detailed information is in Appendix A, t he RCL protocol specification.

4.1.1 Terminology
Because so ma ny different ki nds of cont rol a nd status information a re processed by t he S2 software and ha rdwa re, it is necessary to use very precise termi nology when describing thi ngs. Words t hat a re normally used imprecisely a nd interchangeably have been given concrete definitions i n t he context of t he S2 Recorder.

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``Cha nnel''

Channels a re signal pat hs carryi ng sampled data. An important distinction is made between user channels and internal S2 channels. User cha nnels carry data as supplied by t he user at one of several different data rates, wit h up to 16 user channels available depending on t he current S2 mode. 2-bit qua ntized data occupies 2 user channels (bit streams), a nd is generally treated like two channels of 1-bit quantized data except that during playback only one Data Validity signal is used for both sign and magnitude. Internal S2 channels carry data at a fixed rate of 16 Mbits/s (or slightly higher when t he data includes format overhead). There a re 8 i nternal channels (one per t ra nsport) for a total of 128 Mbits/s. T he mode describes t he current user data rate and cha nnel allocation of t he S2. It is sometimes called ``observi ng mode'' or ``recorder mode''. Each mode has a specific number a nd a rra ngement of active user data channels at a data rate of 4, 8, 16, or 32 Mbits/s per cha nnel. The product of t he number of channels a nd t he cha nnel data rate gives t he total system data rate, which can be anywhere from 16 to 128 Mbits/s i n multiples of 16 Mbits/s. Dividing t he total data rate by 16 gives t he number of transports needed for operation i n a particular mode. In addition to regular observing modes, there are a number of test modes for checki ng C1/C2 cable connectivity and general sy stem operation. In modes that require less t han 8 t ransports, the active t ra nsports a re normally selected i n order sta rting at 0. For example, i n a mode requiring 4 t ra nsports, transports 0­3 would be selected. T his group of t ra nsports is called ``group 0''. Other group numbers can be specified, t hus selecti ng a different set of t ra nsports. For example, group 1 would be t ransports 4­7. In this case t here a re just two groups (0 and 1), but in modes wit h lower total data rates t here may be 4 or even 8 groups (see Figure 4-3, Page 4-10). Together t he mode and group number determine which t ra nsports a re selected for use. T his refers to the tape motion state of the S2. T here are 11 states, the first 7 of which will be commonly encountered i n everyday use: Record, Play, Position, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Stop, No-Tape (tapes ejected), Play -Pause, Record-Pause, Cue, Review. T he S2's overall tape motion state is derived from the individual states of the currently selected tra nsports. Under unusual circumsta nces it is possible t hat the i ndividual transport states cannot be clearly summarized, i n which case t he overall state is considered inconsistent. T his describes the current internal diagnostic signal pat h configuration of t he S2 Recorder. The setup is normally selected automatically by t he S2 softwa re, but can be ma nually specified using t he console setup command when the S2 is i n ma nual playback or record. T he setup determines which of several i nternal diagnostic loopback pat hs is currently active (play, record, bypass, ahook, or dhook -- see Figure 4-5 on Page 4-19), and which of the 8 transports is selected for diagnostic monitoring. In a n S2-RT only one decoder (Data-Recovery Deformatter) is available so t his must be switched among the active transports for complete diagnostic coverage. Even in a n S2-PT wit h 8 decoders there is only one diagnostic signal path because of ot her ha rdwa re a nd softwa re design factors. The setup also cont rols whether the sy stem timing is set for playback or record. Playback timi ng is used when playback data from t he transports is being decoded (play), a nd record timing is used at all other times (bypass, record, ahook, dhook). The setup used when t he S2 is stopped (or rewi ndi ng, etc.) is known as the stop setup and is t reated specially in that it is va riable. The stop setup is normally bypass on an S2-RT and play on an S2-PT. T his ensures t hat the sy stem timi ng does not get disturbed unnecessarily when going between play/ record a nd stop, which may be desirable if external sy stems a re locked to the output 1 Hz tick. T his term refers to all other hardware switch settings (and most softwa re switch setti ngs) besides setup.

``Mode''

``Group''

``State''

``Setup''

``Configuration''

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``Error''

All commands and actions have a n associated error return code which describes t he success or failure of t he pa rticula r operation. E rror codes a re negative numbers i n t he range -1 to -128, each associated wit h a mnemonic a nd a one-li ne text description. Normally only t he text description is shown, but in certai n cases where t here is not enough room to display the message the numeric code is used. Error codes can be manually tra nslated to t he appropriate message wit h the console error decode command, or t he RCL ERROR_DECODE command. For a complete list of error codes see Page A-32. T he S2 softwa re continuously gathers and reports status i nformation which describes the overall health and operational condition of the sy stem. On the console, t his information is displayed i n the 3-line status wi ndow to t he right of the center of the screen. Over the RCL, it is obtained via t he STATUS comma nd and is t he pri ncipal method of monitori ng sy stem activity. Status is distinct from errors i n that it represents conditions that arise after a comma nd has executed or result from interactions between multiple comma nds, so that error returns cannot be used to convey t he necessary i nformation. It is sometimes called ``onli ne status'' to emphasize t hat it is gat hered continuously and not t he result of a specific diagnostic test or procedure. Status codes are positive numbers in t he range 1 to 127, each associated wit h a m nemonic a nd a text description. T he console status decode command or RCL STATUS_DECODE command can be used to translate a status code to its correspondi ng text message. Three status severity levels a re defi ned: informational, error, a nd fatal error. In addition, status codes representing t ra nsient or instanta neous conditions a re classified as clear-on-read, meani ng t hat t hey a re no longer relevant after they have been read. Each status code has a ``short'' a nd a ``long'' version of t he message. The short message is limited to 34 characters a nd is typically used on t he console. The long message is limited to 399 characters (but is usually shorter) and is typically used on the RCL. For a complete listi ng a nd expla nation of all status codes see Section 4.5. T he S2 software has certai n diagnostic sequences, such as t he power-on self-test, which evaluate sy stem functionality and whose primary result is a single numeric code. T his code either i ndicates that the diagnostic test passed (DIAG_OK) or that it failed, wit h t he code number indicating t he type of failure. Diagnostic codes a re positive numbers in the range 1 to 255 and each is associated wit h a m nemonic a nd a text description. The console diag decode command can be used to translate a code to its corresponding text message. When a diagnostic code appears as pa rt of a status message, the diagnostic message is i ncluded in the long-form status message from status decode.

``Status''

``Diagnostic''

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Figure 4-1: Sample ROS Screen, User (stopped)

4.2 Console Operation
T he followi ng sections describe operation of the S2 Recorder using the console. General information and procedures a re given first, and should be read carefully when first learni ng about the S2. Detailed descriptions of screen displays and console comma nds follow in Sections 4.2.8 and 4.2.9.

4.2.1 Connecting the Console
T he S2 console port is wired as a DCE (Data Communication Equipment) device a nd should be connected to a DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) device. Any cursor-addressable terminal or termi nal emulator, such as DEC VT100, can be used. For i nformation on setting the terminal type a nd baud rate when fi rst getti ng sta rted, see Section 4.2.6. On S2 sy stems that have a n Et hernet board it is possible to connect to the console over t he network using rlogin or telnet, alt hough a regula r terminal is still required for i nitial configuration t he first time you turn on the S2 (see Section 4.4.2).

4.2.2 Display Organization
T he console display is normally divided into 8 different regions or windows (see Figure 4-1). The large a rea at t he bottom of t he display is t he interaction window, which shows user commands as t hey are being typed. T he wi ndow contents scroll up a nd off t he top in t he usual manner. T he line at the very bottom of the screen contains eight soft-keys. T hese correspond to function key s f1 t hrough f8 on terminals which have function keys, and show t he current comma nd a nd pa rameter alternatives at any time when typing a command. The remaini ng console wi ndows contain information in various categories and are continuously updated at a rate of once per second. T hese wi ndows are described in general here -- for detailed i nformation refer to Section 4.2.8. At the upper right-hand corner of t he display is the Crucial Parms wi ndow. It contai ns important parameters such as t he sy stem time a nd channelization mode, a nd va rious results from the decoder (DRD). Below the Crucial Parms wi ndow, to the right of t he middle of the screen, is the Status window. It contai ns one-line messages describi ng overall sy stem healt h. T he word FAIL appears highlighted on t he bottom window boundary if any fatal error conditions exist, providing a single OK/FAIL indication for the enti re sy stem (the green front-pa nel LED also

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acts as a n overall OK/FAIL indicator when set to OK mode, i.e. when not bli nki ng). Alt hough t here is room for only 3 messages i n t he wi ndow, status conditions a re ra nked by importa nce so t hat t he most relevant i nformation is usually at t he top. If necessary, you can page t hrough t he status i nformation wit h the status pagedn and status pageup commands, or use t he entire screen for the status display with status display fullscreen. T he wi ndow at t he upper middle of the screen is the User Parms wi ndow. It shows user-specified operational parameters such as the tape speed, t he tape ID, the current tape position, a nd other tape information. All of these parameters except tape position cha nge dependi ng on whether t he S2 is in record or playback. During record (or when t he S2 is stopped), t he information shown describes what is being (or would be) recorded on tape. Duri ng play back, t he User Parms window shows information as ext racted from tape. The a rea of the screen normally occupied by t he User Parms window can be switched to show several other display s, mostly contai ning diagnostic i nformation. T he alternate display of most interest to regula r users is the User I/O window, selected by typing userio. It gives details about the current input/output interface configuration, includi ng exactly which user data cha nnels a re active a nd what sy stem clocking options a re currently in effect. Below the User Parms window, i n t he middle of the screen, is a small wi ndow which i ndicates the current overall tape motion state of the S2. Highlighted sy mbols a re used to indicate whether t he S2 is stopped, recordi ng, rewinding, etc. This state i ndication is a summa ry of the states of the i ndividual transports shown in t he tra nsport wi ndow to t he left of the middle of the screen. Duri ng tape positioning t he word ``POSITIONING'' will appear on t he bottom boundary of the state wi ndow. If the state is play back a nd the tapes are aligned, t he word ``ALIGNED'' will appear. The Transport wi ndow shows the state of each t ransport i n t he system. An asterisk (`*') ma rks t hose t ransports selected for use under t he current mode a nd group setti ngs. Duri ng record and playback, a n `L' i ndicates t hat t he t ra nsport head drum servo is properly locked to t he sy stem timing reference. If a transport is playi ng a nd locked, a nd the decoder has been able to extract play back tape time, t hen t he tape time is shown. If the decoder is switched away to some other t ransport, t he tape time will fly wheel indefi nitely as long as servo lock a nd certain other conditions a re maintai ned. To ensure that t he time shown is correct a nd up-to-date, all active tra nsports are continuously scanned during regular (automatic) playback. In addition to t ra nsport state and tape time, the Transport wi ndow can be switched to show ma ny other parameters related to t he transports or extracted from tape duri ng play back (see Page 4-24). If t he system status i ndicates one or more t ra nsport failure conditions, affected t ransports a re marked wit h a highlighted `F' on t he right-ha nd boundary of t he Tra nsport window. T he last window is a small one cha nges each time the screen is t he console terminal is properly below t he activity i ndicator (set in t he top-left corner of the screen . Its main feature is a n activity indicator that updated. This can be used to check that t he S2 softwa re is still running a nd that connected. The station number, when non-zero, is shown i n t his wi ndow just it with the station command).

4.2.3 Console Command Entry
S2 console commands follow the conventional format of a comma nd word followed by parameters. However, several productivity enhancement features are provided to make commands quicker a nd easier to enter. These features i nclude soft-key s, comma nd completion, i nput-line editi ng, comma nd history, a nd batch files.

4.2.3.1 Soft-keys
At a ny poi nt while typing a command, the current key word a nd pa rameter alternatives are shown in the 8 soft-key labels at the bottom of t he display. Key words a re shown i n lower-case, a nd can be entered i n one step simply by pressing t he function key (f1­f8) corresponding to t he soft-key position. If you choose to type t he keyword, after each letter only t hose key words which match what has been typed so far will remain on t he display. When only one remains, pressing t he space bar or tab key will complete it. In addition to keywords, numeric and stri ng

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parameters appear i n the soft-key display as ``NUM'' a nd ``STR'' (or sometimes ``NNN'' and ``SSS''). Most such parameters i nclude a word i n a ngle brackets that describes the qua ntity to be entered, e.g. ``NUM'' i ndicates a year number. Whenever there are more t ha n 8 possibilities, soft-key 8 will show ``--ETC--'', indicating that furt her alternatives can be obtai ned by pressing function key f8. If there is a sy ntax error a nywhere i n t he command t he soft-key display will show ``**ERR**''. When a comma nd is potentially fi nished, ``-DONE-'' will be shown in one of t he soft-keys. Unless ``-DONE-'' appears, it is not possible to press return to execute the comma nd. Because of the command completion feature provided by t he soft-key sy stem, it has not been necessary to shorten or abbreviate commands to make t hem easier to type. In fact, commands a re often longer t ha n necessary to make t hem more descriptive. The soft-key labels are limited to 7 cha racters so occasionally a keyword will be truncated to fit on t he display. To see t he hidden part, press function key f10 (or Cntl-G) repeatedly a nd all over-length soft-key s will scroll to t he left. On some terminals there may be too few function key s, or t he function keys may not work. In this case a simple work-around is provided: press escape followed by a number from 0 to 9 to simulate pressing t he corresponding function key (esc-0 is function key f10). If desired, almost all commands can be entered using function key s a nd numbers alone. When expert mode is off (expert off), non-essential a nd diagnostic comma nds not needed for regular S2 operation do not appear i n t he softkey display and cannot be entered. This is useful to reduce confusion when first learni ng about the S2 or to prevent i nappropriate commands from being used duri ng regular operation.

Key
Backspace Cntl-H or Del f1 ­ f8 f9 or Cntl-X f10 or Cntl-G Esc 1­9, 0 Tab or Space Cntl-P Cntl-N Cntl-B Cntl-F Esc Esc Cntl-A Cntl-E Cntl- W Cntl-T Cntl-L Cntl-C Cntl-_

Operation
Delete character to the left of cursor Enter softkey Delete previous word Scroll long softkeys to the left Simulate pressing f1­f9, f10 Complete command Cursor up (Previous history) Cursor down (Next history) Cursor left (Backward) Cursor right (Forward) Clear entire line Move to beginning of line Move to end of line Delete to beginning of line Toggle insert mode Re-draw entire screen Interrupt current operation Re-boot the system

termcap code
kb k1 ­ k8 k9 k0

ku kd kl kr kD

Delete or Cntl-D Delete character under cursor

Table 4-1: Console Special Function Keys

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4.2.3.2 Command Editing and History
T he S2 comma nd-line editi ng a nd history features a re similar to the Unix tcsh a nd MSDOS 4DOS programs. Commands can be edited as you type t hem, or you can recall any of the last 100 commands a nd edit or re-enter t hem. Use the left/right cursor keys to move a round wit hin a command, a nd the up/down cursor key s to move a round wit hi n the comma nd history. Characters ty ped are inserted at the current cursor position, and t he backspace key removes t he character to t he left of t he cursor. The f9 key (or Cntl-X) deletes the previous word, and pressing escape twice i n a row clears t he entire li ne. You can search for specific comma nds by typing t he first few letters of the command and then moving up or down in the history. The Cntl-B/Cntl-F and Cntl-P/Cntl-N key s are alternate cursor cont rols for terminals wit hout proper cursor key s. Refer to Table 4-1 for a complete list of special function key s. Re-drawing the Screen Sometimes the display may become garbled because of lost characters or other problems wit h the terminal. Since only screen a reas t hat change are normally updated, this condition will not fix itself, so press Cntl-L to re-draw t he enti re screen.

4.2.3.3 Batch Files
Batch files a re lists of console commands prepared i n advance and then executed using t he batch command. T hey can be created by capturing a sequence of console comma nds (batch log) or from scratch using a built-in full-screen editor similar to t he Unix vi editor (batch edit). T he S2 stores batch files i n non-volatile SRAM memory, so they will not be lost when the power is turned off. Some console commands a re meant exclusively for use wit hin batch files, such as sleep which performs absolute or relative time delays and echo which writes messages to t he screen or waits for the user to press return (echo prompt). Batch files can be chai ned (but not nested) simply by executing one from wit hi n another. A variation on t his is to make a batch file loop conti nuously by calling itself. Batch files can be interrupted at any time by pressing Cntl-C once. For more information, see t he description of t he batch comma nd on page 4-31.

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Figure 4-2: Sample ROS Screen, User (record)

4.2.4 Basic Procedures
Although t here a re many possible commands, only a few of t hem a re actually needed for everyday S2 operation. T his section outlines the comma nds a nd procedures that will ty pically be used during regular operation of a n S2 Record Termi nal to record a nd/or play back tapes. It is written from t he poi nt of view of the console, but can easily be applied to the RCL as well. When fi rst learni ng to use the S2 we recommended that you turn off ``expert'' mode by typing expert off. T his hides low-level diagnostic commands that may cause confusion. To see an actual demonstration of a record a nd playback procedure, run the S2-RT demo batch file as follows: First place 8 scratch tapes in t he t ransports, then ty pe batch demo.rt. T he demo will not work on S2 systems wit h fewer than 8 transports.

4.2.4.1 Recording Tapes
Maki ng a recording i nvolves the followi ng basic steps: 1. Set t he time 2. Set t he recorder mode and group 3. E nter t he Tape ID and other user-defined i nformation fields 4. Set t he tape speed (if different from t he default, AG2530 a nd earlier only) 5. Set t he tape type (if different from the default) 6. Start recording Each of the above steps is described in detail below. Figure 4-2 shows what the console display might look like duri ng record. For information on what kind of tape can be used i n the S2 please refer to Chapter 5.

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Time Setting Before making a recording, the S2 sy stem time must be set, typically to UTC time. Only the seconds and higher-order digits need to be set since the fractional seconds portion of the time is precisely determi ned by the S-1 Hz ha rdwa re sy nc signal (S1HZ_REC i nput on t he C1 cable). At power-up, the initial system time is taken from a battery backed-up clock on the RCC, and will usually be correct to withi n a few seconds. However, the time is not considered ``validated'' until it has been set or approved by the user. As long as the time is not validated, two highlighted question marks appear beside t he time on the console display a nd a warning is issued when the S2 is commanded to record. When setti ng the time the station delay measurement displayed in t he upper right of t he console screen should be 0, otherwise the time setting may be inaccurate. If some value other tha n 0 is shown, type delay 0 to zero t he station delay. T he console time command can be used to enter a n absolute time as in t he following example: time 093-23:18:00 Here 093 is the day number (from 001 to 365, 366 for leap years) a nd t he followi ng fields a re hours, minutes, a nd seconds. T he day number can be omitted, i n which case t he current day is assumed. Absolute time commands such as t his one should alway s be issued immediately after t he 1 Hz tick t hey represent, i.e. above you would press return just after the reference clock's seconds digits flipped to 00. Setting t he year requi res a separate comma nd as follows: time y 1996 T his will almost never be necessary since t he year should al ready be correct. It is possible to individually set a ny time field, not just t he year, in bot h absolute a nd relative terms. For example, to i ncrement t he seconds by 2: time s+2 T his form of time setting will probably be common since, as already mentioned, the default time at boot-up should be correct to within a few seconds. If t he default time happens to be perfectly correct, or you are not particularly i nterested in setti ng t he exact time, t he time can be approved wit hout changing it by typing time validate. If the S2 sy stem is connected to a network, t he time can be obtai ned from one of the ot her hosts on t he network using time setremote. T his can also be set to occur automatically every time the sy stem is turned on (see t he description of t he time comma nd on Page 4-50 for more details). The time command also has a useful facility for converting between day numbers as used by t he S2 and t he more usual month/day representation. Enter time convert to display t he current time and date i n mont h/day format, or specify a date in one format a nd it will be converted to t he ot her format. Mode and Group Setting T he S2 recorder mode is set using t he mode command. T he correct mode to use depends on the number of user data cha nnels and data rate required for your particular application. The S2 is capable of i ndividual cha nnel data rates of 4, 8, 16, or 32 Mbits/s at 1 or 2 bit quantization, wit h eit her 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 active data channels, subject to the restriction t hat the total data rate must be from 16 to 128 Mbits/s i n multiples of 16. Under the S2 mode naming scheme, t he most straightforward modes have names of t he form bxu-q where b is t he user cha nnel bit-rate i n Mbits/s and u is t he number of user data cha nnels. T he q indicates either 1 or 2-bit qua ntization1. By convention two S2 user data channels are occupied by each 2-bit-quantized sampler channel, i.e. sign a nd magnitude a re counted separately. For example, mode 16x8-1 is 8 cha nnels of 16 Mbits/s data at one-bit quantization. Mode 4x16-2 is 16 cha nnels of 4 Mbits/s data at two-bit quantization (a nd t herefore represents 8 2-bit sampler channels). Wit h regular S2 modes (`x' letter code), active user data channels a re allocated sequentially sta rting at cha nnel 0. Other modes exist in which t he active cha nnels follow different patterns -- for example the `i' a nd `p' modes, i nitially added to support RadioAstron. To see exactly which user data cha nnels are active, switch to t he user I/O

1

The quantization setting currently only affects the data validity signals during playback on a PT, and has no effect in any other situation.

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Figure 4-3: Transport Selection based on Mode & Group

screen by ty pi ng userio (repeat t he comma nd to switch back). Table B-5 also shows t he active user channels for each mode. Note t hat some modes have the same active user data channels a nd data rate as other modes but differ i n the way cha nnels are mapped i nternally (e.g. 16x8-2 and 16v8-2). Setting t he mode implicitly selects how many transports will be used for subsequent operations. Tra nsports a re normally selected i n order starti ng at address 0, i ncluding as ma ny as is necessary to accommodate t he total data rate. For modes which do not require all available t ra nsports, it is further possible to specify which group of t ra nsports will be used. For example, in mode 16x2-1 (which requires 2 transports), tra nsports 0­1 are ``group 0'', t ra nsports 2­3 are ``group 1'', a nd so on (Figure 4-3). T he console group command or RCL GROUP_SET comma nd is used to set the group number. Together the mode and group settings determine exactly which transports will be used. Group switching can be used to extend unattended recording time i n low-bandwidth modes, a nd will typically be performed using the RCL GROUP_SET command as part of an automated schedule running on an external control computer. Note t hat group switching is not allowed duri ng regula r (automatic) play or record -- t he S2 must be stopped and t hen resta rted.

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See t he description of the mode comma nd on page 4-40 for additional i nformation, includi ng a complete list of valid mode designators, and t he group command on page 4-37. Tape ID and User Info The tape ID and user info a re user-assignable text fields that get recorded on tape as part of the S2 auxilia ry data. All 8 transports receive the same auxilia ry data, so t his information is common to all tapes in a set. T he tape ID is a text string up to 20 cha racters long assigned using the tapeid console command. It should be chosen so that it uniquely identifies the set of tapes being recorded, a nd should remai n t he same for the enti re duration of the tapes. Information contai ned i n the tape ID is enti rely up to the user, however CRESTech a nd t he Canadia n correlator group have defined an S2 tape labeling convention wit h tape IDs of t he form XX-TYYYYYZZ, where XX is the count ry code, T is t he tape type code, YYYYY is the tape set i ndex number, a nd ZZ is a checksum. Example: CA-3-0012307 T he physical tape label i ncludes a n extra suffix which i ndicates t he tape number wit hin t he set from 0 to 7. More i nformation on t he Ca nadia n tape labeli ng and user i nfo conventions can be found i n the document DRAO-RPCS3001, available at http://www.drao.nrc.ca/web/vlbi/docs/doc3001.ps.gz . User info consists of 4 arbit ra ry text fields of va ryi ng lengths, each wit h a 16-character user-assignable label. T he field label should describe t he contents of the user info field. For example, the label might be ``Source Name'' a nd t he contents of the field might be ``3C273''. T he console commands to set i nfo field 2 as just described would be as follows: user info 2 label Source Name user info 2 3C273 After setting t he field label for t he fi rst time, it does not need to be set agai n for the rest of t he session. User i nfo can be cha nged at a ny time (but should not be changed more often tha n every few seconds). The Canadian convention is to put the name of the recording station in info field 1, and t he source name i n field 2 (fields 3 a nd 4 a re not specified). The maximum lengths of t he four fields are 16, 16, 32, and 48 cha racters respectively.

T he tape ID and the first t hree user i nfo fields are displayed i n t he User Parms window located in t he upper middle of the console screen, which switches automatically to display i nformation extracted from tape duri ng play back. To display t he value of t he fourt h (and longest) user i nfo field, ty pe user info 4. Tape Speed On S2 sy stems with AG2530 and earlier model t ransports, either of two available tape speeds may be selected using t he console speed command. For LP (long play ), enter speed lp, a nd for SLP (super long play ) enter speed slp. LP should be used when optimum bit-error rate performance is desired. SLP gives 50% longer recording times at somewhat higher bit-error rates (for more i nformation see Chapter 5). SLP is sometimes also called EP. Wit h AG2550 and later model t ransports only the SLP speed is supported for record (tapes recorded i n LP can still be played back). In ma ny applications the tape speed will always be t he same, so a default value can be set i n the sy stem defaults file using the recordspeed parameter. As shipped t he default tape speed is SLP. T he defaults file is described in Section 4.2.7. Tape Type Several different types of tapes being used due to differences i A to Z. For a complete list see will always be t he same due to using the tapetype parameter. are approved for use in the S2, and the S2 needs to be informed which type is n magnetic properties. Tape type codes a re numbers from 1 to 9 or letters from Chapter 5 or type tapetype typecodes. In many applications the tape type an established tape pool, so a default value can be set in t he sy stem defaults file

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Enabling Test Vector Data (If you a re not recordi ng test tapes, skip a head to ``Starting the Recording''.) Two types of pseudo-ra ndom test vectors can be produced by t he S2 to record test tapes: the Formatter test vector and t he UI test vector. Facilities for using t he Formatter vector are slightly more versatile so it is usually preferred. T he Formatter test vector is enabled by ty pi ng form diag on before making a recording. T hen use form berc during playback to take bit-error rate measurements. See Page 4-37 for more i nformation on these comma nds. T he UI test vector is different from the one produced by the Formatter. It is used for t he C1 and C2 cable test modes, as well as t he UI diag modes. To make a recording wit h the UI test vector attach an appropriate external test data generator to t he C1 cable or switch to one of the UI diag modes (e.g. mode diag8). T hen use uic berc duri ng playback to take bit-error rate measurements. See Page 4-54 for more i nformation. Starting the Recording Once all of the above parameters have been set, starti ng t he recording is easy: just ty pe record. During record, t he S2 automatically scans t he t ransports and monitors t he data being recorded, including tests for proper signal level, recovery of sy nc, a nd correct ext raction of auxiliary data. Alt hough t he transports a re not capable of readafter-write, t he loopback signals being monitored a re tapped off as close to t he record heads as possible. Any unusual conditions will be reported immediately i n t he console status wi ndow. When the recording is complete, type stop to stop the tapes. If any of the tapes should reach the end (EOT), t he S2 will stop all tapes automatically. Type rewind to wi nd the tapes to the beginni ng if desired, and then type eject to ext ract them.

4.2.4.2 Playing Back Tapes
An S2 Record Termi nal is capable of playi ng back tapes for verification purposes. Most playback functions a re supported, except that the total output data rate is limited to 16 Mbits/s because there is only one decoder module i n an RT. T hat means only 1 channel of user data is available i n mode 16x8-1, or 4 cha nnels in mode 4x16-1, etc. No user data is available when playi ng back 32 Mbit modes such as mode 32x4-2 on an RT, but playback can still be useful to check estimated error rates a nd auxilia ry data. In order to actually make use of the play back data being output on t he C2 cable, the recording must have been made wit h barrel-roll off and t he S2-RT must be put into manual playback to defeat the automatic cha nnel scanni ng that normally takes place. Then you can select which user data cha nnel(s) you wa nt wit h the setup comma nd (see ``Using the C2 cable output on an RT'', below). Assuming we simply wa nt to verify the recorded tapes, only a few steps are required for playback: 1. Select a mode with t he correct number of tra nsports. 2. Select the desired group number. 3. Position t he tapes to the appropriate place wit h the position comma nd. 4. Start playback by typing play. Figure 4-4 shows what t he console display might is automatically set to the same mode as was mode cannot be determi ned until the t ransports t ra nsports to use. Any mode can be chosen in s for recording. The same group number as used look like duri ng playback. Although the recorder mode used during record, step 1 is still necessary because a re put into motion, a nd for that the S2 must be told tep 1 as long as it has t he same total data rate as t he at record time should be selected. at play back the correct how ma ny mode used

The position comma nd is used to move the tapes to t he correct location before starting playback. Tape position is expressed as t he number of hours/mi nutes/seconds of recorded data since the beginning of tape (BOT), e.g.

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Figure 4-4: Sample ROS Screen, User (playback)

position 2:58:00 for 2 hours a nd 58 minutes into t he tape. You may also give the position as a n i nteger number of seconds, in t his case 10680. T he requi red position is normally obtained from a log written at record time. Usually all tapes i n a group will remai n close enough to the same position so that a single value can be used, but it is also possible to enter individual positions for each tape (and to display t hem wit h transport display position). T he tape counters on t he t ransport front-panel display s should not be used since t hey do not show the correct tape position (t hey have a 64/60 multiplicative error, as well as other uncertai nties). Treat them simply as unitless quantities. For more i nformation on positioning see the description of t he position comma nd on Page 4-41. To see the estimated error rate for each t ransport during play back ty pe transport display esterr. You should allow t hese values to settle for at least 5 minutes when playi ng back on at RT. Using the C2 cable output on an S2-RT To make use of the output data on t he C2 cable duri ng playback on a n S2-RT, ma nual playback must be selected to defeat the automatic channel scanni ng -- type play manual T his should be done after automatic play has had a cha nce to align t he tapes. Different i nternal data channels can t hen be selected using setup N where N is t he desired cha nnel number. Internal cha nnels do not necessarily correspond to user data channels -- to see which user data cha nnels are actually active on the C2 cable, switch to t he user I/O screen by ty pi ng userio. Note t hat barrel roll must be turned off duri ng both record a nd play back or t he user data will be scrambled (type barrelroll off before making t he recording). Tape Alignment Some play back tape alignment features can be demonstrated with the align command. T his would normally be used at a correlator to sy nchronize two or more S2 Playback Termi nals. For example, align -00:01:27.089301 will move the tapes backward in time by 1 mi nute, 27 seconds, a nd 89.301 milliseconds. When finished with play back, type stop to stop the tapes. If any of the tapes should reach t he end (EOT), the S2 will stop all tapes automatically. Type rewind to wind the tapes to t he beginning if desired, and t hen ty pe eject to extract them.

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``Eject-All'' Feature A special convenience feature allows all of t he tapes to be manually ejected without using the console: press a nd hold any tra nsport's eject button for two seconds (or more) a nd all t he tapes will eject. This feature should preferably be used only when all transports a re stopped. No ot her t ransport front-panel switches or buttons should be touched. The ejectalldisable defaults file option can be used to disable t he eject-all feature.

4.2.5 System Bootup
T he S2 sy stem goes through a boot procedure approximately 90 seconds long every time t he power is applied or t he sy stem is reset. The boot procedure loads a nd initializes the softwa re, configures the hardware, a nd performs a number of integrity checks to ensure correct sy stem functionality. This section may be a bit technical for some users, so you may wish to skip a head to ``ROS Bootup''. T he fi rst code to run is part of what's called t he boot monitor, which resides in EPROMs located on the RCC (MVME133XT CPU board, VME slot 1). T his performs phase 1 of t he boot sequence. T he boot monitor fi rst displays the followi ng message: Press space bar to enter boot monitor, 'n' for network boot... It then enters a short (4-second) count-down sequence. Normally, t he count-down is allowed to expire a nd t he boot procedure conti nues to phase 2, VxWorks2 i nitialization. If however you hit t he space ba r, t he boot sequence is i nterrupted a nd t he CPU enters the boot monitor, whose comma nd prompt is ``[S2 Boot]:''. The monitor supports a small number of low-level commands used only for CPU/SRAM diagnostics and maintenance functions. T he boot sequence will also drop into the boot monitor if it detects data corruption i n certain critical portions of t he SRAM (`VxWorks' a nd `root' partitions). See Section 6.2 for information on how to re-load a corrupted SRAM. Type go to continue t he boot sequence from i nside the boot monitor. Back at t he count-down sequence, you can type `n' to cause a network boot. This is only for mai ntena nce operations at CRESTech/SGL. Phase 2 in a normal boot sequence is VxWorks sy stem i nitialization and Static RAM checkout. The boot monitor first copies t he VxWorks sy stem code from SRAM into the DRAM on t he CPU board a nd t hen begi ns executi ng it. A series of messages like t he following accompanies the creation a nd checkout of SRAM pa rtitions: Creating SRAM disk /sram/bin/ at 0x4012c00, length 819200 bytes Next, ROS a nd related softwa re is loaded from SRAM i nto DRAM. If any problems a re encountered, t he console will beep and display a n error message, and t he CPU will drop i nto the VxWorks shell at t he end of phase 2. T he VxWorks shell (prompt ``->'') is used for softwa re checkout a nd debugging by technical personnel. You can also force the shell to sta rt up by pressing the space ba r duri ng t he software load portion of the bootup, but t his is not normally done. If no problems a re encountered i n phase 2, the boot procedure conti nues on to phase 3, ROS bootup.

4.2.6 ROS Bootup
T he Recorder Operati ng Sy stem (ROS) boot procedure comes after t he VxWorks sy stem portions of the bootup, a nd i ncludes software initialization, ha rdwa re configuration and i nitialization, a nd the power-up self-test (known as self-test 1).

2

VxWorksTM software was developed by Wind River Systems, Inc. Curses software was developed by the University of California, Berkeley.

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Code
adm31a adm3a ampex210 ansi d80 0 dm1520 dm3025 go140 hp150a hp2640a hp264 8a ibmpc IS C8001 macin to sh re ge nt100 re ge nt25 re ge nt40 st sun1 te k4105 te k4404 tv i925 vc404 vis20 0 vt1 00 vt125 vt200 vt5 2 wyse 75 wyse 925 yte rm10 z50

Terminal Description
LSI adm31a LSI adm3a Ampex a210 A nsi Direct 80 0/A Da ta me dia 15 20 Da ta me dia 30 25a Gra phon go-1 40 HP 150a HP 2640a HP 264 8a graphics terminal IBM PC PC/IX ISC 8001 Macinto sh with Mac Term inal Adds Re gent 100 Adds Re gent 25 Adds Re gent 40 Atari ST S un1 (old S un Worksta tio n co nso le) Tektronix 4105 Tektronix 4404 TeleVideo Mode l 925 Volke r-Cra ig 40 4 Visu al 20 0 DE C vt1 00 (o r ROSCO) DEC vt125 DEC vt200 DE C vt5 2 Wyse -75 Wyse -50 emula ting tv i925 yte rm 1.0 UCB ascii.kbd Zephy r 50

Code
adm3 amiga ansi25 apollo dm2500 dm3045 h19a hp2621a hp2645 ibm3101 ibmpcx kaypro2 regent20 regent40+ regent60 sun-cmd sun tek4115 tvi924 v3220 vc6220 vt102 vt132 vt220 wyse50 wyse85 xterm yterm11

Ter minal Description
LSI adm3 Amiga ANSI IBM PC/NANSI.SYS Apo llo Data media 2500 Data media 3045a Heathk it h19 ansi mo de HP 2621a HP 2645 IBM 3101-10 IBM PC xenix co nsole display Kaypro II Adds Re ge nt 20 Adds Re ge nt 40+ Adds Re ge nt 60 Sun Workstation cmdto ol Sun Workstation Tektronix 4115 Tele vide o Mo de l 924 LANPAR Visio n II mo de l 3220/3221/3222 Volk er-Cra ig 6220, DEC vt102 DEC vt132 DEC vt220 Wyse-50 in Wyse mode Wyse-85 X windows term inal emulator yterm 1.1 UCB ascii.kbd

dialogue80 Am pe x dialo gue 80

masscomp Ma s sco mp

vision1000 Vision 1000 (dim reg sta ndout)

Table 4-2: Terminal Types Supported by ROS If this is t he first time you are running t his S2 system, ROS will first ask some i nstallation questions, i ncluding t he termi nal type and baud rate you wish to use. T he default terminal type is VT100 a nd t he default baud rate is 9600, but these can be cha nged at t his time. Enter your console terminal ty pe a nd baud rate (max. 9600). If your terminal type is not one of t hose recognized by t he S2, you will be given the opportunity to add a terminal defi nition to t he terminal capability database, but to do this you must understand t he Berkeley Unix termcap file format (see Appendix D). Table 4-2 shows some popular termi nal types recognized by t he S2 softwa re as shipped. After you have a nswered t he installation questions, they will not appear agai n. If you ever wish to re-run t he i nstallation procedure, press space duri ng phase 2 of t he boot sequence to enter t he VxWorks shell, a nd then type install at t he shell prompt (``->''). All i nstallation options can also be set by editing the system defaults file, or by using the default command (see Section 4.2.7).

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Most ROS hardware and softwa re i nitialization happens before the main display screen appears. Each major step outputs a message to t he console. These messages can usually be ignored, but a re useful for debugging if problems a rise. Any serious problems will result i n status messages following the boot phase, so t here is no particular need to pay attention to the bootup messages. T he ROS power-on self-test sta rts just after t he main console display appears. T he self-test requi res all necessary t ra nsports and other sy stem hardware modules to be present and connected. Normally all 8 t ra nsports are tested, but the diagnumtran option i n t he sy stem defaults file can be cha nged to reduce t he number of tra nsports to test (1, 2, 4 or 8). T his is useful for scaled-down S2-RTs with fewer t han 8 transports (the defaults file is described i n Section 4.2.7). No console comma nds can be ty ped while the self-test executes (about 45 seconds), but you may choose to interrupt t he test by ty pi ng Cntl-C once. Most RCL comma nds which affect tape motion or system switch setti ngs are also not allowed during the self-test. Any faults detected a re reported in the i nteraction window, as well as an overall diagnostic failure i ndication in t he status wi ndow. For more i nformation on t he self-test see Section 4.6. After the self-test completes (successfully or not), t he sy stem automatically begins executing the batch file called `autoexec', if such a file exists. This can be used to perform any actions t hat a re requi red every time t he S2 is turned on. For example, you might put some comma nds in t he autoexec file to set the user i nfo field labels to standard values used by your site, or to set other conditions or switches as desired. However, please don't set switches i n the autoexec file for which t here is a provision i n t he sy stem defaults file, otherwise t he ROS boot procedure may not work properly. When t he autoexec batch file is finished, t he ROS console prompt appears (``>'') and t he sy stem is ready for you to sta rt typing comma nds or to start issuing cont rol requests over the RCL. If the system is functioni ng properly a nd no serious problems were discovered by t he self-test or online status, the green ``OK'' LED on the front of t he VME card cage will be lit (ledmode defaults-file pa rameter must be set to `ok'). T he LED on t he Formatter board has t he same function. Any failure conditions indicated by LEDs will also be shown i n the console Status wi ndow.

4.2.7 ROS Configuration
Two configuration files used by the Recorder Operati ng Sy stem can be edited by t he user: t he defaults file a nd the termcap file. T he defaults file contains default boot-up parameters such as the console termi nal type, tape type, serial port baud rates, and input/output clock rates a nd modes. It also contai ns the S2 station number and ``nickname'', and ma ny other operational pa rameters you may wish to set. Appendix C contains a n example defaults file. Each default parameter is documented right in t he file and should be self-explanatory. The defaults file can be edited using the edit comma nd (see below), or i ndividual parameters may be displayed a nd updated directly using t he default comma nd (described on Page 4-32). Note t hat changes to t he defaults file take effect only after the next system boot. A few pa rameters such as t he termi nal type, station number and nickname are cha nged as side-effects of other console commands, and will automatically be updated in t he file. T he termcap file is the terminal capabilities database in standard Berkeley Unix termcap format. It may be necessary to edit t his file to add new termi nal types or fix t he behaviour of existing termi nals, particula rly wit h respect to function key s. This requires knowledge of t he Berkeley termcap format, so an ext ract of t he Unix reference ma nual on t he subject of termcaps has been i ncluded in Appendix D. To help define termcap ent ries for special key s such as function and cursor key s, a useful utility is provided to decode ASCII cha racter sequences. Type shell to enter the VxWorks shell and then ty pe showkey. All subsequent cha racters typed will be display ed in hex format. Hit return twice to get back to the normal shell prompt. To modify eit her of the above files, use the console edit command a nd give the file's name. This starts a full-screen editor which is very simila r to the Unix vi editor. For those unfamilia r wit h vi, onli ne help can be obtained from

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within t he editor by typing ``:help'' a nd pressing return. Briefly, vi has two modes: a command mode where letter a nd number key s have special functions, a nd a n insert mode where text is i nserted i nto the file. You are normally i n comma nd mode, a nd can use t he cursor keys to position t he cursor to the point where you would like to make a cha nge (the `h',`j',`k', a nd `l' keys also function as cursor keys). To start inserting text, press `i'. T hen press t he escape key when you are done to return to comma nd mode. Use `x' to delete characters while i n comma nd mode. When you are finished editing, hit the upper-case `Z' twice to save the file and exit the editor. Type ``:q!'' a nd press return to quit wit hout making a ny cha nges. If t he termi nal type is not set correctly, it may be difficult or impossible to edit. In term comma nd to set the correct termi nal ty pe. If the terminal you a re using is not will need to add a definition for it to the termcap file without using the editor. This can procedure, which is invoked from the VxWorks shell by typing install. You can use t he or press t he space ba r at t he appropriate part of t he bootup to enter t he shell. t his case use the console supported by the S2 you be done via t he S2 install console shell comma nd

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4.2.8 Console Screen Descriptions
T his section describes each console display parameter, orga nized by window. Some low-level and diagnostic display parameters a re not fully documented. More important display parameters are ma rked wit h ``*''. Those that a re important only for record applications are marked ``*R'', and for playback applications ``*P''.

4.2.8.1 Crucial Parms Window (upper right, Figure 4-1)
(Top li ne, left): T he sy stem nickname. T his is the conventional name assigned to this S2 sy stem, up to 8 cha racters long. The nickname is stored i n the system defaults file, a nd can be set using the station command, or by editing t he defaults file (edit defaults). This space will be bla nk if no nickname is defi ned. The sy stem time. This is t he current reference time, written on tape during record. The time is sy nchronized to the S-1/C-1 Hz sy nc input (S1HZ_REC on C1 cable or C1HZ on C2a cable), possibly with a delay offset (see ``Station delay'' below). Time is usually set to UTC using t he time command. T he display format is ``YYYY DDD-HH:MM:SS'' where YYYY is t he year, DDD is the day number (1­365, 366 for leap years), and HH:MM:SS is t he 24-hour time. The display will be highlighted i n t he event of a severe failure of S2 internal sy stem timi ng (and t he clock will stop). T here is a very short delay between t he actual 1 Hz tick and t he screen time display update, but it should be short enough so as not to cause problems. Most other display parameters have a somewhat longer delay (1/4 of a second or less), since it's not possible to update everything on the screen at t he same time.

(Top li ne, right)*:

Recorder mode:* T his shows the current S2 cha nnelization mode, also called recorder mode or observing mode. The mode determi nes t he user data rate and the number of active user data channels, and is set using the mode comma nd. If the barrel roller is on, ``(br)'' is shown beside t he mode. Station delay:
*

Shows the amount of clock offset between t he externally supplied 1 Hz reference (S1HZ_REC on C1 cable or C1HZ on C2 cable) and the S2's i nternal 1 Hz tick. T his is a true measurement of t he difference, with positive numbers i ndicati ng t hat t he i nternal 1 Hz tick is later tha n the external reference, and negative numbers i ndicati ng that the internal tick is earlier. During record, the station delay determi nes t he offset between the user's 1 Hz reference and the time used to label the bits on tape. Duri ng playback, t he station delay determines the offset between the user's 1 Hz timing reference a nd when t he corresponding data bit is output on the C2 cable. The displayed station delay can range from -0.5 seconds to +0.5 seconds less 31.25 nanoseconds. Display may be i n units of seconds (s), milliseconds (ms), microseconds (us), nanoseconds (ns), or user data bits (bits), dependi ng on t he units used when t he delay was set (the display units can also be changed without changing t he delay). When the System Clock PLL is in refclk mode (used for recording or fixed-rate playback), the delay measurement should exactly match t he delay setti ng from t he last delay comma nd. Glitches on t he high-rate reference clock, or a shift i n t he external or internal 1 Hz timi ng can cause a mismatch, in which case the delay measurement display will be highlighted a nd the status message ``Stn delay measurement != setting'' (STAT_BADSTNDELAY) will appear. Corrections should be made ma nually by resetting the appropriate delay value. The S2 can also be i nstructed to automatically ``fix'' station delay mismatches by setti ng the defaults-file parameter scpllrefclkfix to 1. In t his case a ny station delay mismatch t hat a rises while i n SC PLL refclk mode and remai ns stable for 2 seconds will be auto-

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Figure 4-5: S2 Diagnostic Loopback Paths

matically corrected by re-asserti ng the last entered station delay setting. T he i nformational status message STAT_DELAYFIX will appear, givi ng a count of t he total number of such station delay auto resets since the last status reset. Bewa re t hat this momentarily disturbs the enti re sy stem timi ng, a nd may cause a significant glitch duri ng both recording and playback, resulting in loss of several seconds of data. Users should decide whether station delay mismatches should be corrected at record time, wit h t he possibility of glitchi ng, or simply logged a nd t hen corrected at correlation (playback) time. To make it easier to establish later what the actual station delay was at record time, the delay measurement is continuously recorded in the tape auxiliary data channel and is one of t he quantities available at playback time via the tapeinfo command. In System Clock PLL 1hz mode (used for playback), t he delay measurement will only be approximately the same as t he delay setting (withi n a few hundred bits). The display will be highlighted whenever the delay error is greater t ha n about 60 microseconds (1000 bits at a data rate of 16 Mbits/s) a nd status message STAT_SCPLLUNLOCK will appear, indicating t hat the System Clock Phase-Lock Loop is not locked. If no user 1 Hz reference tick is present, ``[no 1 Hz in]'' will be displayed. In Sy stem Clock PLL errmes mode (used for playback), t he user 1 Hz reference is not used so there will normally be no delay measurement. However should a 1 Hz tick be supplied t he delay measurement will still appear even t hough it is used for nothing except display. Decoder input: Describes the current source of decoded data. The decoder (DRD) has 5 possible i nput sources correspondi ng to 5 of the 6 diagnostic data paths (Figure 4-5): play (tra nsport play back), rec (tra nsport record), byp (transport by pass), ahook (a nalog direct-hookup), and dhook (digital direct-hookup). For each path it is possible to select a channel number (0 to 7) and a transport number (0 to 7). T he cha nnel
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number identifies which S2 internal data channel is being decoded a nd sent on to the UI for output. The channel number is normally t he same as t he transport number except when a t ransport other t ha n the one corresponding directly to that channel is being used, e.g. during play back when t he tapes a re i nserted in t he t ransports out of sequence, or a ny time a group number higher t ha n 0 is selected. Note that t he transport number is only shown when it is different from the cha nnel number. T he decoder input source is sy nonymous with t he current recorder setup, as cont rolled by t he console setup comma nd (see page 4-45). Most of t he time t he setup is automatically cha nged as required, e.g. record selects t he record path and play selects the play pat h. The stop, rewind, and ff commands select the stop setup, which is normally bypass on a n RT and play on a PT. T he stop setup can be changed by using the setup comma nd while t he S2 is stopped. The stopsetup defaults-file parameter determi nes t he default stop setup to use at bootup. Decoded time: T his shows t he time extracted from t he decoded auxilia ry data. T his will be t he same as t he current sy stem time duri ng record or when the S2 is stopped, since t he decoder i n this case is fed with diagnostic loopback data. During playback, t his will be the tape time from t he t ransport currently selected for decoding. If time could not be decoded for the particular frame at t he moment of display, ``XXX-XX:XX:XX.XX'' is shown. T he time display update is sy nchronized to t he system i nternal 1 Hz tick, wit h a very short delay between the actual 1 Hz tick a nd t he display update. Most ot her display parameters, in particula r the play back tape times i n the tra nsport window, have a somewhat longer delay (about 1/4 of a second or less). T his shows t he percentage of L2 sy nc achieved by the decoder over t he previous one-second period. It is computed by counting the number of data blocks with valid L2 sync (there are 250 data blocks per frame). L2 (level 2) sy nc is acquired at the beginni ng of each frame upon the detection of two consecutive sy nc words followed by 3 consecutive block IDs. The amount of sy nc is displayed as an integer percentage with fractions rounded down, so that only perfect sync over a 1 second period will show up as 100%. Remember t hat t his value comes from a single decoder, so it represents only one internal data cha nnel of 16 Mbits/s. T he word ``(uncalib)'' appears beside the percentage if data-recovery calibration has not yet reached a sufficiently stable state where it is considered calibrated. ``(t rack cal)'' during playback i ndicates t hat phase-2 tracking calibration is in progress3. In some cases when the system is having difficulty playi ng back a particular tape, a special phase-1b algorithm may be triggered by ROS t hat performs la rge tracking jumps of 20 units or more. T his gives an estimate of the raw bit-error rate (BER) of the data being decoded, averaged over the last 6 seconds. The estimate is based on a single i nternal data channel of 16 Mbits/s, so the error rate shown does not apply directly to user data unless t he user channel data rate is also 16 Mbits/s. The error rate estimate is valid not only duri ng playback but also duri ng record a nd while the recorder is stopped. When not in play back, t he decoder is fed wit h diagnostic loopback data so t he estimated error rate will typically be negligible. If automatic transport scanni ng is being performed (as is normal during playback or record), t he error rate value represents a n average across several internal data cha nnels (to see i n-

Decoder sy nc:

Est error rate:*

3

There are two tracking algorithms: phase-1 is performed by the transport (green DIGITAL TRACKING light flashes, if present), and phase-2 is performed by ROS (track cal message appears)

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dividual cha nnel error estimates type transport display esterr). T he estimated error rate is obtained by counting the number of incorrect 16-bit sync words found when decoding t he data, a nd extrapolati ng to encompass all data bits using an empirically derived formula. We assume that t he error rate is low, so if a sy nc word is incorrect it is likely that i n fact only a single bit is i n error. We also assume a uniform distribution of ra ndom errors. T hese assumptions break down for very low and very high error rates, and for extended burst errors. In practice, however, t he estimate has been found to be quite close to t he t rue bit-error rate i n most cases. Because sy nc words represent only a small proportion of the data, a relatively long integration period is needed to obtai n a useful estimate. The integration period used (6 seconds) gives a minimum measurement resolution of a round 1.0 x 10-6. T here is also a n artificial upper limit of 1.0 x 10-2, imposed to avoid the inaccurate upper estimation ra nge. Sy stem performance may be acceptable even with relatively high error rates (e.g. up to 3.0 x 10-3) since much of the bad data would likely be flagged as i nvalid. T his could, for example, be caused by a longitudinal tape scratch t hat destroy s a particula r sy nc word in each frame. Nonetheless, investigative action should probably be taken -- see Section 6.4, ``TAM Tra nsport Replacement and Servicing''. % data valid:
*

T his shows t he percentage of valid decoded data over t he previous one-second period, obtai ned by i ntegrating the data validity (DV) signal of t he i nternal data channel currently being decoded. Since it is based on a single i nternal S2 data channel, the % DV applies only to t hose user data cha nnels which a re currently active, as shown in t he user-I/O window ``C2 data out'' display. % DV is computed not only during play back but also during record and while the recorder is stopped. When not i n playback, t he decoder is fed with diagnostic loopback data so t he percentage of valid data will usually be 100%. To see i ndividual cha nnel % DV measurements ty pe transport display dv. T he % DV measurement normally recognizes the user DV flag, so it will drop to zero whenever user DV is set to false (user dv no). Type user dv playback disable to ignore t he user DV flag. T his shows t he current mapping of decoder outputs onto S2 internal data channels. In general, there a re up to 8 decoders i n a n S2 system. Although a Record Terminal has only one, logically the crossba r switch is still treated as if all 8 decoders were present, since the one decoder can be switched among all 8 t ransports a nd effectively assumes t he roles of the others, one at a time. T he crossbar switch at t he decoder outputs allows tapes to be i nserted i n any order and allows switchi ng between different groups of transports duri ng playback. Setting of t he crossbar is normally totally automatic, so the display is for reference only. The crossbar setti ng is represented by an 8-digit stri ng where each digit position represents an i nternal data cha nnel from 0 to 7. The value of t he digit in a pa rticula r position i ndicates which decoder/transport is outputting on that channel (`x' indicates no output). For example, in t he crossbar stri ng ``51234760'' decoder/transport 5 is outputti ng data on internal channel 0, a nd decoder/transport 7 is outputti ng on cha nnel 5. T he string ``01234567'' represents the identity mapping, which means the tapes a re in the right order. T he crossbar can be set manually using t he def xbar command, but t his should not normally be necessary. T he display shows ``(ft hru)'' beside t he crossbar setti ng if UI feed-through mode is on to emphasize the fact t hat the outputs of t he decoder(s) are not being used. If the Mark III formatter is enabled, ``(Mk3)'' is shown to indicated that decoded output is being reformatted. If both feed-through and the Mark III formatter are on, ``(Mk3ft hru)'' is shown.

Decoder Xbar:

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Figure 4-6: Sample ROS Screen, Bad Status

4.2.8.2 Status Window (middle right, Figure 4-6)
(Body of window)*: Contains one-li ne status messages summarizing t he health of the sy stem. ``Error'' and ``fatal error'' messages a re highlighted, but ``informational'' messages a re not. Transient status ent ries (known as clear-on-read conditions) stay on t he display until you ty pe status reset. Refer to t he list of status codes in Section 4.5 for the meani ng and possible causes of each status message. If t here are more tha n 3 status conditions, the status window can be paged down a nd back up using status pagedn and status pageup. To show all current status conditions at once with slightly more verbose descriptions use status display fullscreen. T his in pa rticula r includes the status code numbers, not shown i n the status wi ndow, which a re useful to quickly fi nd t he right ent ry in the list of status codes i n Section 4.5. You can also dump the current status information to the S2 i nternal log file by typing status display tolog. This provides an easy way to save a status snapshot for later exami nation. (Bottom boundary li ne)*: T he current status page number is shown on the left side of t he bottom wi ndow boundary, a nd t he word ``MORE'' is displayed on the right side if there is another page below t his one. If a ny fatal status errors exist, t he word ``FAIL'' appears highlighted i n t he middle. Fatal errors indicate t hat t he current operation is probably not proceeding successfully, and corrective action should be taken. The green ``OK'' LED on the front of t he VME card cage will go out when FAIL appears i n t he status wi ndow, provided the ledmode defaults-file parameter is set to `ok'. Note that fatal clear-on-read status errors cause the FAIL condition to persist until status is ma nually reset using status reset, even if t he fatal condition is no longer t rue. The ``OK'' LED reacts to clear-on-read errors slightly differently. It will go back on eit her when status reset is typed or when t he RCL status is read (implicitly clearing clear-on-read conditions), while t he console FAIL indicator is unaffected by t he RCL.

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4.2.8.3 User Parms Window (upper middle, Figure 4-1)
(Top li ne): Gives the name of the window, since t his a rea of the display can also show other wi ndows (ty pe user to switch to t he User Parms window if it is not currently displayed). If the word ``record'' appears on the top line i n brackets, the rest of t he wi ndow shows information that is being (or would be) recorded on tape. If t he word ``playback'' appears in brackets, the rest of the wi ndow shows information being ext racted from tape, specifically t he tape in t he t ra nsport currently selected for decoding. When the S2 is stopped (or rewinding/fast-forwa rd winding/positioning) the stop setup determi nes whether record or playback pa rameters a re shown. If the stop setup is play play back parameters are shown, otherwise record parameters are shown. T he stop setup is normally bypass on a n RT a nd play on a PT, but can be cha nged in t he defaults file or by using t he setup command while t he S2 is stopped. Shows the tape identifier string, up to 20 cha racters long, as set by t he tapeid command. Shows user i nfo field 1. T he label (text to the left of the colon) can be changed by the user. Dependi ng on the length of t he label, t he enti re 16-character i nfo field may not fit on t he display. If so, it will be t runcated on t he right. User i nfo is set with the user info comma nd. Shows user i nfo field 2, similar to user i nfo 1. Shows user i nfo is 32 characters not shown. Type N is from 1 to
*

Tape ID:

*

(User i nfo 1)*:

(User i nfo 2)*: (User i nfo 3)*:

field 3, similar to user i nfo 1 except that t he maximum length so t his field is more likely to be truncated. User info field 4 is user info N to display a ny user info field i n its entirety, where 4.

User data valid:

Shows t he setting of t he user data valid flag. T he user DV flag is recorded on tape as part of t he auxiliary data and recovered at playback time, where it is used to i nvalidate data (if false) by lowering t he data validity signals on the C2b/c cable. T his facility provides a way to i ndicate at record time that invalid data is being recorded, e.g. the telescope is slewing or off-source (see t he user dv comma nd on page 4-55). Duri ng play back, t he display shows what the user DV flag was set to during record. T he user DV flag can be ignored at playback by enteri ng user dv playback disable, indicated by the word ``(ignored)'' on the display. T hen data marked i nvalid by t he user at record time will be t reated as valid. Indicates t he record or playback tape speed. Legal speeds for recording a re lp a nd slp on AG2530 or earlier model t ra nsports, and slp only on AG2550 a nd later transports4. All tra nsport types can play back at eit her speed, but playi ng slp tapes on AG2510 t ra nsports is not recommended due to poor performance. During playback, the unused speed sp may sometimes appear for blank spots on t he tape -- this is normal. All active tra nsports must report the same speed duri ng playback or this display will be blank.

Tape speed:

*

Tape position:

*

Indicates the current overall tape position. Position is measured as the number of seconds of recorded data since t he beginni ng of tape, a nd is normally displayed as hours:minutes:seconds, e.g. 3:18:57. T his format is similar to a tape time except that t he hours portion is shown with only a single digit. Alternately, t he

4

The SLP speed is sometimes also called EP

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position may be shown as a n i nteger number of seconds by cha nging the posdisformat defaults file pa rameter. Although there may be up to 8 tapes a nd t herefore 8 different positions, it is usually sufficient to deal wit h a single position value since the group of currently active t ra nsports will ty pically be in almost t he same position. T he overall position is defined as t he mid-point of the individual transport positions, a nd i ncludes a li near varia nce value t hat i ndicates the maximum absolute deviation of a ny individual position from the mid-point, e.g. +-12 s means that t he latest t ransport is 12 seconds ahead and the earliest transport is 12 seconds behi nd t he overall position. If the varia nce exceeds 60 seconds it is shown in hours a nd minutes, e.g. +-1h29 means one hour and twenty-nine mi nutes. To show each t ra nsport's individual position use transport display position. Positions are normally positive but can take on small negative values due to anomalies a round BOT. If a ny i ndividual position is unknown, the overall position is also considered unknown. See t he position comma nd on Page 4-41 for more i nformation.

4.2.8.4 State Window (middle, Figure 4-1)
(Body of window)*: Contains highlighted symbols to represent the overall S2 tape motion state based on t he states of the individual tra nsports. Only the states of currently selected transports (t hose marked with `*') are used in determi ning the overall state. The sy mbol meani ngs are as follows: << -- rewind > -- play >> -- fast-forwa rd [] -- stop || -- pause REC -- record Sometimes the symbols will light in combination to indicate states such as cue and review. An `M' after the record or play sy mbol indicates ma nual record/play. In some unusual situations no consistent overall tape motion state can be derived, e.g. after certai n tra nsport errors or low-level console commands. In t his case no state is indicated. (Bottom boundary li ne)*: T he T he T he not word ``POSITIONING'' i ndicates that tape positioni ng is in progress. word ``ALIGNED'' indicates that all tapes are aligned during playback. words ``NO TAPE'' i ndicate that one or more required tapes have yet been inserted.

4.2.8.5 Transport Window (middle left, Figure 4-1)
(Top li ne): Indicates what tra nsport-re shows the t ra nsport state be extracted. In t his case display parameters, more lated parameter is being display ed. Normally, the wi ndow and switches to tape time duri ng playback if time can the window is simply labeled ``Transports''. For other specific labels a re used.

(Body of window:) For each t ransport (0­7) shows one of several parameters as selected wit h t he transport display comma nd. Transports which do not respond to communication attempts are shown as ``--''. Currently selected transports are marked `*', a nd tra nsports for which system status contains failure conditions a re marked wit h a highlighted `F'. A list of possible display parameters is given below. T he word in square brackets is the tra nsport display command code t hat selects t he

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parameter. Note t hat when playback tape times are shown t he displayed values a re typically delayed by about 1/4 of a second due to display update latencies (use t he ``Decoded time'' display for a more instanta neous tape time value). State/Tape time: Shows t he transport state, or playback tape time if available (hours/mi ns/secs/frames). Includes servo lock indicator (`L'). T his is t he parameter normally displayed. [time] State/Tape day: Like the first display above, but the tape time includes day#/hours/mins. [day] State/Tape year: Like the first display above, but the tape time includes year/day#. [year] Tape position: Gives t he individual t ransport tape positions i n hours:mi nutes:seconds of recorded data since BOT, or as an integer number of seconds depending on the posdisformat defaults file parameter. [position] Est error rate: Shows t he estimated bit-error rate for each t ransport signal path (includes all t ra nsports i n auto record/play only). [esterr] % data valid: Shows the % data valid for each transport signal path (includes all t ransports in auto record/play only ). [dv] AGC level: Indicates t he play back/record/bypass signal strength. [agclevel] Tape channel ID: Shows t he channel ID extracted from tape duri ng playback. T his corresponds to the address of t he transport used to record t he tape. [chanid] Transport temp: Shows t he temperature inside the transports i n degrees Celsius. [temp] In-service time: Shows the total number of hours t he t ra nsport has spent in play, record, pause, cue, or review states since t he last service event (as recorded using transport N service lastserv). Also shows t he total i n-service time since manufacture. [servtime] Head-use time: Shows t he total number of hours t he tra nsport has spent in play, record, pause, cue, or review states since the last head replacement (as recorded using transport N service lasthead). Also shows the total head-use time since ma nufacture. [headtime] On time: Shows the total amount of time t he t ra nsport has had power applied since manufacture in hours a nd mi nutes. [ontime] Transport tracking: Displays the current tra nsport t racking control value, relative to the internal (phase-1) optimized position. Includes manual and pending flags. [tracking] TCP serial #: Shows the t ra nsport (TCP) serial number. [serial] Playback TCP serial #: Shows t he transport serial number extracted from tape. This corresponds to the serial number of the t ransport (TCP) used to record the tape. [serialpb] Transport state: Shows t he transport state, but does not switch to tape time. [state]

4.2.8.6 User I/O Window (upper middle, Figure 4-7)
T his window summarizes t he current input/output configuration. It replaces the User Parms window when you type userio. Most of t he parameters shown in t he User I/O window a re cont rolled using t he userio a nd scpll console commands. (Top li ne): Data rate: Gives the name of this wi ndow, ``User I/O''. Shows the user cha nnel data rate in Mbits/s, and the number of active user channels. T hese a re determi ned by the current recorder mode setting (see t he mode command). T he product gives t he total sy stem data rate.

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Figure 4-7: Sample ROS Screen, User I/O
*R

C1 data i n:

Indicates which of the 16 user data i nput channels on t he C1 cable are active i n t he current mode. User data channels a re numbered from 0 to 15, corresponding to t he i nput signal names IN 0 to IN 15 listed in Table B-1. Certain sequences of cha nnels are abbreviated to fit on the screen, e.g. 0,2...14 means 0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14. Refer to Table B-5 for a list of which user cha nnels are active i n each recorder mode. If the S2 is i n C1-cable test mode, ``(C1test)'' is shown. A switch can be set to disable the C1 data i nputs for diagnostics, in which case t he display shows ``(disabled)''. Indicates which of t he 16 user data output channels on the C2a cable are active i n the current mode a nd setup. The numbers shown correspond to t he output signal names OUT 0 to OUT 15 listed in Table B-2. Since t here is only one decoder i n a n RT, only a subset of the potential C2 outputs are active at any one time, dependi ng on the setup. An exception is when the UI is set to feed-through mode, i n which case all potential C2 data outputs are active a nd contai n feed-through data from the C1 input cable. When t he Mark III formatter is enabled (mk3 form enable), t he C2a cable switches to Mark III-compatible mode and ``(Mk3)'' is displayed. The cable pin-outs are as shown in Table B-4, but in this case the cha nnel numbers shown in t he display do not correspond directly to the TRACK numbers shown in the table but rather should be multiplied by 2 a nd then incremented by either 1 or 2 dependi ng on whether the odd or even Mark III t rack number convention is being used. When t he S2 is i n a C2-cable test mode ``(C2test)'' is shown (or ``(C2tMk3)'' if t he Mark III formatter is also on). A switch can be set to disable t he C2 data a nd validity outputs for diagnostic purposes, i n which case t he display shows ``(disabled)''. See the userio command on Page 4-55 for more i nformation. Indicates which of the 16 user data validity outputs on t he C2b a nd C2c cables a re active i n t he current mode a nd setup. The numbers shown correspond to t he output signal names DV OUT 0 to DV OUT 15 listed in Table B-3. Note that even channel numbers (0, 2, 4 etc.) appear on C2b and odd channel numbers (1, 3, 5 etc.) appear on C2c. The C2c cable is needed only for 1-bit quantized modes with names of the form bxu-1, since all other modes use only even validity cha nnels. To avoid t he need for t he C2c cable substitute equivalent ``interleaved'' 1-bit modes for regula r S2 modes, e.g. use 16i8-1 instead of 16x8-1. Since there is only one decoder i n an RT, only a subset of the potential C2 DV outputs is active

C2 data out:

*P

C2 DV out:*P

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at a ny one time, depending on the setup. When t he UI is set to feed-through mode all C2 DV outputs are forced high. SC PLL lock mode:* T his shows t he current System Clock PLL lock mode, one of refclk, 1hz, errmes, xtal, or manual i ndicati ng t he SC PLL lock reference source. T his is normally refclk for a Record Terminal and 1hz or errmes for a Play back Terminal. The scpllmode defaults-file parameter determi nes the default SC PLL mode to use at bootup. See the description of t he scpll mode comma nd on Page 4-44 for further details. Ref clk/1 Hz i n: Shows t he source of the high-rate a nd 1 Hz input reference clocks, which can come eit her from t he C1 or C2 cable. T he C1 cable is normally s elected on a Record Terminal, a nd t he C2 cable on a Playback Termi nal. In Sy stem Clock PLL modes ot her tha n refclk and 1hz t he clock inputs are not used, so this display shows ``(unused)''. In Sy stem Clock PLL xtal mode, this display shows ``(int Xtal)'' i ndicati ng t hat the high-rate reference is an internal crystal oscillator located on t he UI board. The clkinsrc defaults file parameter determi nes t he default input clock source to use at bootup. Ref clk i n rate:
*R

Shows the expected frequency of the high-rate i nput reference clock i n MHz. T his can be set to 4, 8, 16, or 32 MHz using t he userio clkin command. It can also be set to follow the user channel data rate (``followdata''), in which case the display shows ``(fd)'' and the expected input frequency t racks t he user data rate on mode cha nges. T he i nput ref clock is used only i n Sy stem Clock PLL refclk mode, otherwise ``(unused)'' is displayed. In SC PLL xtal mode, 32 MHz is shown because t his is t he frequency of the i nternal crystal oscillator. The clkinrate defaults file parameter determines the default i nput clock frequency to use at bootup.

Ref clk out rate:*P Shows the frequency of the high-rate reference clock output on the C2 cable. This can be set to 4, 8, 16, or 32 MHz (i ndependent of the i nput clock rate) using t he userio clkout comma nd. It can also be set to follow t he user cha nnel data rate (``followdata''), i n which case t he display shows ``(fd)'' and the output clock rate t racks t he user data rate on mode cha nges. If t he Mark III formatter is active t he output clock rate i ncreases by a factor of 9/8 due to parity insertion, and always follows the user data rate rega rdless of t he output rate setti ng. T he clkoutrate defaults-file parameter determines t he default output clock frequency to use at bootup.

4.2.8.7 Mark III Window (upper middle, Figure 4-8)
T his wi ndow summarizes Mark III/IV related activity and switch setti ngs. It replaces t he User Parms wi ndow when you ty pe mk3. Note that entries i n t his window a re only active when t he Mark III formatter is enabled (mk3 form enable). (Top li ne): Form time: Gives the name of this wi ndow, ``Diagnostic Parms (Mk3)''. Shows the Mark display. T he Ma i n playback (or will be used if data. III time being encoded, simila r to a Mark III decoder's front-panel rk III time is based on t he time decoded by the S2 decoder when set up for play), or the current sy stem time otherwise. All 0's t he S2 decoder cannot extract time from the play back auxilia ry

Form aux:

Shows the Mark III auxiliary data being encoded, simila r to a Mark III decoder's front-pa nel display. T he auxilia ry data consists of 12 user-specified BCD digits, followed by two BCD zeroes, followed by a two-digit hex ha rdwa re ID code. T he

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Figure 4-8: Sample ROS Screen, Mark III

12 user digits a re taken from the first 12 characters of user i nfo field 1. Only digits from 0 to 9 are allowed, any other character is mapped to hex b. It is advisable to avoid too ma ny zeroes in a row i n t he auxilia ry data. T he hardware ID code at the end of the auxilia ry data stri ng is set at record time using the mk3 hwid command. The default value can be set i n t he defaults file using the mk3hwid parameter (initially set to 52 for ``S2''). The Mark III auxiliary data will be all 0's if t he S2 decoder cannot properly extract playback auxilia ry data. Form CRC: Form output: Shows t he Mark III 12-bit cyclical redundancy check being encoded, similar to a Mark III decoder's front-panel display. Shows which S2 user data cha nnels are active at t he Mark III formatter output. T his is similar to the ``C2 data out'' display in the User I/O window. Because t here is only one decoder i n a n RT, this may be a subset of the potentially active channels. Also i ndicates whether playback or record (feed-t hrough) data is being used. Shows t he Mark III/IV formatter frame rate, which depends on the S2 user cha nnel data rate: 200 Hz for 4 Mbit/s data (Mark III), 400 Hz for 8 Mbit/s data, a nd 800 Hz for 16 Mbit/s data (Mark IV). Shows t he number of deliberately incorrect CRCs generated since the last status reset comma nd. The S2 softwa re deliberately generates an invalid CRC whenever t he S2 decoder is not able to properly extract playback time or auxilia ry data. (The S2 hardware also automatically invalidates t he Mark III parity bits whenever t he data valid signal is low.) T his is the user data cha nnel currently being tested by t he Mark III sy nc detector (next line) and data extractor. Only one cha nnel is tested at a time. Shows t he percentage of valid sy nc detected over the previous one-second by a special Mark III sy nc detect circuit. T his circuit counts valid sy ncs i n one output cha nnel of the Mark III formatter. T he number display ed i n brackets gives a cumulative count of the number of Mark III frames with i ng/excess sy nc since the last status reset command. period found squa re miss-

Frame rate:

Bad CRCs:

Test cha n: Sy nc detect:

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4.2.9 Console Command Descriptions
T his section explai ns each console command and its parameters. Comma nds a re listed alphabetically, or to fi nd a specific comma nd use the i ndex. Vi rtually all commands that set some kind of switch, register, or mode follow a general convention that the command wit h pa rameters sets the value of the switch, a nd t he same comma nd without pa rameters displays its value wit hout cha ngi ng it. For example, t he time comma nd wit h parameters sets or adjusts t he time, while without parameters it displays t he current time. Of course, the time is also shown on t he console display. Command sy ntax is indicated by listing key words in lower-case, a nd numeric/stri ng parameters in upper-case (NUM/STR) wit h a descriptive word in a ngle brackets. T his is the same as t he conventions used by the soft-key display. Optional parameters a re enclosed in square brackets `[]' a nd lists of alternatives a re separated by vertical bars `|'. Alternatives where exactly one must be chosen a re enclosed in brace-brackets `{}'. An ellipsis `...' means t hat a portion of t he sy ntax description has been omitted. Note that a number of low-level and diagnostic commands a re not fully documented. Many console commands are not needed for regular S2 operation. Most of the ``extra'' commands are for system configuration, testing, and unusual operation modes. Importa nt commands are marked wit h ``*'' below. T hose that a re importa nt only for record applications a re marked ``*R'', and for play back applications ``*P''.

Command: align Sy ntax: align {[+|-|NNN-]NN:NN:NN[.NUM]|realign|selfalign} Description: T his is used during playback to align tapes to a n absolute time or shift by some relative amount. Tape alignment works by slewi ng t he tra nsports and (if necessary) adjusting the station delay setting. Unlike positioni ng, tape alignment is a precise operation, accurate down to t he data bit. Alignment is performed relative to a movi ng reference frame (play back), whereas positioni ng is performed relative to a stationary reference frame (stop). A fractional-seconds portion can be specified as part of the alignment time, and will be rounded to the nearest bit (sample). When playback first begins, a form of alignment called self-alignment is performed automatically. In self-alignment all transports are aligned to each ot her by choosing eit her the earliest, latest, or middle tape time as a reference -- which method to use is determined by t he selfaligntarg defaults file parameter. All t ransports must be wit hi n a limited distance of the ta rget time chosen, where t he maximum allowed time difference is given by t he selfaligntime defaults-file parameter (normally 30 mi nutes), ot herwise the alignment operation is aborted and status code STAT_ALIGNFAIL with error ERR_ALBADTIME appears. Self-alignment can also be initiated manually using the selfalign command option (in which case t he time restriction does not apply ). To skip the automatic self-alignment step, manually issue an absolute alignment or self-alignment request immediately after sta rting playback. In absolute tape alignment, t he user specifies a time to which t he S2 should align its tapes, e.g. align 14:59:02.173 T his tape time is referenced to the second it is received by the S2, i.e. it is t he tape time that would appear if the procedure was instantaneous, but in fact alignment may take several seconds or minutes, depending on t he distance to slew. Because of t he asy nchronous nature of the console, t he user should issue the absolute align command immediately followi ng a 1 Hz (output) clock tick, a nd t hat tick is taken as the reference for the absolute time contai ned in t he command. While alignment is in progress the current tape time is undefined and play back data should be considered invalid. If it takes 20 seconds to align, t hen the fi rst valid data will be

*P

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tagged wit h t he requested alignment time plus 20 seconds. If a fractional-seconds portion is included i n the time, t he 1 Hz output tick (S1HZ_PB on C2a cable) will shift backwa rds by the i ndicated amount, e.g. in t he above example t he S1HZ_PB tick would sta rt comi ng out 173 ms earlier. Relative tape alignment applies a signed relative offset to t he current tape time. Unlike absolute alignment, there are no special sy nchronization requirements for the command itself. However t he tapes must al ready be aligned to the same tape time or relative alignment is not allowed (if necessary type align selfalign first). For example, to shift t he tapes ahead by 29.1795453 seconds, use: align +00:00:29.1795453 The realign option can be used to re-align the tapes to t he reference time chosen during the previous alignment operation should one or more tra nsports become un-aligned, but t his form of alignment normally happens automatically. T he most common reason for a tape alignment operation to fail is t hat t he data for t he time being aligned to does not actually exist on one or more tapes. In this case the affected tra nsports might encounter bla nk tape, or an old or different recordi ng, or t hey might run i nto t he beginning or end of tape. In each case status code STAT_ALIGNFAIL will appear wit h an appropriate error code (see Page 473). Bla nk tape encountered while aligning will result i n an E nd of Data (EOD) i ndication, a nd play back will stop. EOD is defi ned as approximately 30 seconds or more of bla nk tape encountered during positioni ng or alignment (slewi ng) in t he forwa rd direction. T he affected tra nsports will be left positioned a few seconds before the actual end of data. The align command should not be used to implement delay a nd delay-rate corrections at a VLBI correlator, as this may i nterfere with the ROS automatic playback monitoring -- use t he delay comma nd i nstead. delay should be used for a ny regula r delay adjustments that fall wit hi n t he delay-rate and acceleration limits given on Page 4-33.

Command: barrelroll Sy ntax: barrelroll [on|off] Description: T his comma nd is used to turn barrel-roll on a nd off. When on, barrel-roll rotates user data over all available t ransports, and un-rotates on playback, so that the possible effect of a ma rginal t ra nsport is averaged over all cha nnels. Barrel roll has no effect a nd is considered i nactive in any modes which requi re only one t ransport, e.g. 16x1-1, 8x2-2. Barrel roll must be turned off for both record and play back to obtain correct output data when playing back tapes on a n RT, since a n RT has only one decoder a nd therefore cannot reconstruct barrel-rolled data. Duri ng auto playback, barrel roll is automatically set to t he same condition as at record, but during manual playback it must be set ma nually (use tapeinfo to show t he required barrel roll setti ng). The barrelroll defaults-file parameter gives t he default ba rrel roll setti ng to use at bootup.

Command: tapetype Sy ntax: tapetype [STR [default]|typecodes] Description: T his command is used to set which ty pe of tape is being used. Several different ty pes of tapes a re approved for use i n t he S2, and t he S2 needs to be informed which tape is being used due to differences i n magnetic properties. Tape type codes a re numbers from 1 to 9, and if additional codes are necessary t he letters from A to Z will be used. See Chapter 5 for a complete list of tape ty pes a nd t heir codes. You can get t he most up-to-date list of ty pe codes di rectly from t he S2 by typing tapetype typecodes (assuming you have the latest software version). The tapetype pa rameter in the sy stem defaults file gives the default tape type

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setti ng to use at bootup. Note t hat t he tape ty pe will revert to its default value as in the defaults file next time the sy stem is rebooted unless y ou specify default, which causes the defaults file to be automatically updated.

Command: batch Sy ntax: batch [[verify] STR|edit {STR|autoexec}|delete STR|log {STR|end}|ls [long]] Description: Begi ns execution of a batch file, or i nitiates other functions such as batch file editing or verification. e.g. batch myfile executes t he batch file ``myfile''. Use batch ls to obtai n a list of available batch files. If long is specified t he listing includes file sizes and modify dates. The edit option calls up a full-screen editor similar to Unix `vi' for creating new files or editi ng existi ng batch files. See Section 4.2.7 for more information on the editor. Use t he verify option after editing to quickly check t he sy ntax of the entire batch file. An alternative to editing is t he log option, e.g. batch log common T his copies all subsequent console comma nds to the file ``common'', until you ty pe batch log end. Then t he same sequence of commands can be re-executed a ny time later using batch common. T he delete option is used to erase batch files. Batch files can be chained (but not nested) simply by executing one from withi n another. To make an endless loop, have a batch file call itself. To i nterrupt a batch file, press Cntl-C once.

Command: beep Sy ntax: beep [NUM|on|off] Description: Causes the console terminal to beep, or turns beeping on a nd off. May be useful i n batch files.

Command: boxmode Sy ntax: boxmode [s2|c16|bita NUM|STR] Description: For diagnostic use only. Downloads a Xili nx device connected to t he UI boa rd external download port.

Command: clear Sy ntax: clear Description: Clears t he console interaction window.

Command: config Sy ntax: config {{save|restore|verify|delete} STR|ls [long]} Description: Saves or restores the current S2 configuration, which i ncludes most sy stem switch setti ngs except the tra nsport tape motion state. This is useful to take a ``snapshot'' of the sy stem so that it can be restored later. Configurations can be named, or if no name is given the name `default' is used. The verify option can be used to test t he integrity of a saved configuration. Softwa re updates, in particular, may render existi ng configurations i nvalid. Use t he ls option to list existi ng configu-

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rations, with long to include file sizes figurations. The configuration save a rea i ncludes mation that were dumped using the tofile command, or automatically by

a nd dates. Use delete to erase confiles contai ning transport service infortransport service dumpmem t he system (see Section 4.).

Command: cue Sy ntax: cue Description: Puts t he currently selected tra nsports into a forward movement state that is about 9 times faster tha n play back, but slower t ha n fast-forwa rd. This command serves no significant purpose in normal operation a nd should be avoided. Use t he position command i nstead to perform tape positioning. The S2 must currently be i n playback otherwise cue is not allowed. Also must not currently be aligni ng or positioni ng. Use uncue to stop cueing a nd return to normal play.

Command: def Sy ntax: def {auxsnap|statsnap|accumulate|syncerrlocate [histogram [NUM NUM [NUM {s|m}]] [cumulative [NUM]] [log10]|enable|disable|errtrigger [NUM|off]]|xbar [SSSSSSSS]|{drand|dhook|dprec|usrdv} [on|off]|reset} Description: Sets/displays low-level deformatter cont rol options a nd switches. Strictly for diagnostic use only. T he auxsnap, statsnap, and accumulate options display raw auxiliary data and deformatter status in various formats. T he syncerrlocate option is a data gat hering and graphi ng facility which shows how errors a re dist ributed across tape frames. It must first be enabled, then error location histograms can be displayed. Note: You should use ma nual playback a nd be setup to t he transport i n question when using the sy ncerrlocate facility. T he histogram has various options such as display ra nge limits, running time limit, cumulative display, exponential averaging, and loga rit hmic display. Cumulative values are reset each time t he histogram is displayed except when cumulative is used alone without exponential averagi ng or a time limit, allowi ng data accumulation i n t he ``background''. See Section 6.4.6 for an example use of the sy ncerrlocate histogram. drand and dprec cont rol the de-randomizer and de-precoder. xbar sets t he DRD crossba r, which determines t he mapping of transports onto i nternal S2 data channels 0­7. The dhook option can be used to select digital direct-hookup, but use setup dhook i nstead. usrdv cont rols the low-level switch used to implement user data-valid (see user dv).

Command: default Sy ntax: default {STR [STRA|blank] | fromfile STR|tofile STR} Description: T his comma nd can be used in place of the edit defaults comma nd to directly view or modify parameters i n the sy stem defaults file. T his may be desirable if you don't feel comfortable using t he editor (which is similar to Unix vi). T he defaults file contains ma ny sy stem startup options a nd parameters which allow users to customize S2 behaviour for t heir environment. Appendix C contai ns an example defaults file. Each default pa rameter is documented right i n t he file a nd should be self-explanatory. Entering the name of a default parameter wit hout a nyt hing after it displays its current value, e.g. default tapetype Specify i ng a new value for a parameter updates t he defaults file accordingly, e.g. default tapetype 3 To clear a parameter's value, use t he word blank. Note that you cannot add new

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parameters or delete existi ng pa rameters in t his way (use edit defaults for that). The fromfile and tofile options allow you to transfer t he entire defaults file from, or to, a remote host over the network by specify i ng an appropriate remote file name. The remote host must be configured to accept RSH requests (or FTP logi ns) from t he S2 sy stem, a nd the host name/address a nd RSH userid (or FTP userid & passwd) must be entered in the S2 boot parameters (see Section 4.4.1). Changes to the defaults file take effect only after the next sy stem boot.
*

Command: delay Sy ntax: delay [NUM] [s|ms|us|ns|bits] [relative] Description: Sets t he station delay i n absolute or relative terms. In absolute terms, t his provides a positive or negative offset of up to 1/2 second between the external 1 Hz reference a nd t he S2 i nternal 1 Hz timing. Relative delay setting is i ndicated by adding t he word ``relative'', a nd does not require the presence of an external 1 Hz reference, whereas absolute setti ng does. Duri ng recording, t he station delay determines the offset between the user's 1 Hz reference (S1HZ_REC on C1 cable or C1HZ on C2 cable) and t he time used to label the bits on tape. During playback, t he station delay determi nes t he offset between t he user's 1 Hz reference a nd when t he corresponding data bit is output on the C2 cable. BNC jacks labeled 1Hz-REC a nd 1Hz-PB are provided on the S2 DSCM front panel for user measurement of t he S2 internal 1 Hz tick (the appropriate jack should be used whether i n record or playback). The S2 performs its own measurement of the station delay, which is display ed i n t he Crucial Parms window. T he delay amount can be expressed i n units of seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, nanoseconds, or bits (samples) at t he current user data rate, a nd can be entered as a floati ng-point number. T he exact delay range limits are from -0.5 seconds to one bit short of +0.5 seconds for absolute delays, a nd one bit short of -1.0 second to one bit short of +1.0 second for relative delays. All delay settings a re rounded off to t he nearest bit. T he value displayed by the delay comma nd i ndicates the actual absolute delay implemented, after rounding. Since t he station delay value shown i n t he Crucial Parms window is a measurement, it may not match the latest delay setti ng in the event of a timi ng glitch or other similar event (see ``Station delay'', Page 4-18). The two values also will not match in System Clock PLL 1hz lock mode, but should be within a few hundred sample times. To show the latest delay setting, use the delay command wit hout a ny parameters. Non-zero station delays can be used duri ng record operation to implement clock offsets a nd corrections. T he Sy stem Clock PLL mode must be refclk (lock to external high-rate clock). Delay offsets should be entered prior to sta rti ng recording, since changing t he station delay while recording has a de-stabilizing effect on t he enti re sy stem timi ng, a nd may result in several seconds of lost data. Duri ng playback the delay comma nd (or its RCL equivalent DELAY_SET) can be used to implement delay a nd delay-rate tracking if t he Sy stem Clock PLL is set to 1hz mode (lock to external 1 Hz). Small delay changes will result in a smooth, gradual movement to t he new value with all sy stem timing and data remaining conti nuously valid. A typical application would be to have several S2-PTs at a correlation center fed by a common fixed 1 Hz reference, with DELAY_SET commands sent over t he RCL to each PT for delay t racking. System timing a nd data remai ns valid provided that the followi ng limits are met: Max. delay rate: ± 1 x 10-3 s/s Max. delay acceleration: ± 1 x 10-6 s/s2 Max. delay step at 0 delay rate: ± 1 x 10-5 s You should use the align comma nd i nstead of delay for large delay cha nges t hat would exceed t hese limits. Exceeding t he limits may cause STAT_SCPLLSLIP a nd/or STAT_SCPLLUNLOCK status messages indicating that t he SC PLL is con-

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sidered unlocked (difference between delay setting a nd delay measurement greater t han about 6 x 10-5 s). Smooth delay tracking is still attempted, alt hough i nternal timing problems resulti ng in loss of playback data become more likely i n this situation. Smoot h delay t racki ng is suspended for delay errors or steps greater than about 3 x 10-3 s, at which time phase-offsetti ng is used to adjust the delay (hence t here will definitely be a glitch in t he play back data). Phase-offsetting can be disabled by setting t he SC PLL type to purephase. For detailed information on S2 timi ng a nd playback rate control facilities please refer to the followi ng document: ISTS-SGL-TR94-030, ``Timi ng and Sy nchronization in S2 Record and Play back Terminals'' (available at ftp://ftp.sgl.crestech.ca/pub/s2/doc/timing/timing.ps.Z). See also the ERRMES RCL command for a n alternate delay tracking method (Page A22), a nd the description of t he STAT_SCPLLSLIP status message on Page 4-68.

Command: diag Sy ntax: diag {{self1|syncaux|formberc|uicberc|dcbias|drdxbar|mk3sync} [verbose]|pgstress|decode NUM} Description: Initiates S2 diagnostic sequences or decodes diagnostic result codes. The decode option can be used to translate numeric diagnostic codes, sometimes found in t he status wi ndow followi ng t he power-on self-test. The remaining options initiate specific diagnostic sequences. T he self1 option can be used to ma nually re-execute t he power-on self-test (ty pe diag self1 verbose). Wit hout the verbose option, diagnostic sequences display a formal diagnostic result message (single-fault only). Wit h verbose, different output is produced that is more suitable for i nteractive use. Most diagnostic sequences a re not allowed during automatic record or playback. All of t he sequences except dcbias and mk3sync run as part of t he power-on self test. T he syncaux test checks for the presence of sync and auxilia ry data i n all channels of the current diagnostic loopback pat h. It tests i nternal 16 Mbit/s data channels, not user data channels, and works in a ny of the following setups: dhook, ahook, bypass, record. In paths that go through t he t ra nsports, channels for which t he transport is not currently selected a re not tested. This test is roughly equivalent to ma nually entering setup N and group M for each available channel and group, a nd checking t he ``Decoded time'' a nd ``Decoder sy nc'' displays. T he formberc test uses the Formatter diagnostic test vector (form diag mode) a nd bit-error counter to check t hat all channels of t he current diagnostic loopback path contai n (near-) perfect data. It tests internal 16 Mbit/s data channels, not user channels, a nd works in any of the followi ng setups: dhook, ahook, bypass, record. In paths t hat go t hrough t he transports, channels for which the t ransport is not currently selected are not tested. This test assumes that diag syncaux has al ready been run successfully. diag formberc is roughly equivalent to ma nually enteri ng setup N and group M for each available cha nnel a nd group, a nd checki ng t he bit-error rate with form berc. However, it is not able to spend enough time on each cha nnel to detect a nyt hing except gross failures. The uicberc test uses the UI bit-error counter to check t hat all active or potentially active user data channels contai n (near-) perfect data. It requires that t he S2 is currently being fed and/or is outputting t he UI diagnostic test vector. To inject the UI test vector, attach a n appropriate external test data generator or switch to one of the UI diagnostic modes (e.g. mode diag8) or one of t he C2 cable test modes. diag uicberc tests user data channels on the UI board, not just internal data cha nnels, and works in any of the followi ng setups: dhook, ahook, bypass. The UI feedt hru switch may be on or off -- if on, t he current setup doesn't matter. The Mk3 formatter must not be active. Note t hat no 32 Mbit/s modes will work unless feedthru is on because each 32 Mbit/s cha nnel requires two i nternal 16 Mbit/s cha nnels, and t here is always only a single internal diagnostic path (even i n PTs), hence it is not possible to reconstruct 32 Mbit/s data. For similar reasons,

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t his test also won't work with ba rrel roll on. diag uicberc is roughly equivalent to manually checki ng the bit-error rate with uic berc N for each potentially active user data channel, switching the setup using setup N if necessary to adjust t he coverage of user output cha nnels. Like diag formberc, diag uicberc is not able to spend enough time on each channel to detect a nyt hi ng except gross failures. T he dcbias test uses the UI DC bias counter to check t hat all active or potentially active user data channels contain approximately random data (between 40% and 60% DC bias). In other ways, t his test is simila r to diag uicberc except t hat it also works wit h the Mk3 formatter enabled. It is roughly equivalent to manually checki ng the DC bias wit h uic dcbias N for each potentially active user data channel, switching the setup using setup N if necessary to adjust t he coverage of user output cha nnels. T he drdxbar test checks all combinations of t he (distributed) DRD crossbar switch to ensure that each DRD is capable of driving all 8 i nternal data channels (DDP). T his test detects problems t hat would otherwise be discovered only when tapes are i nserted i n a certai n unusual order. The drdxbar diagnostic is valid only on a PT (on an RT diag formberc covers t his test, so it is unnecessary). The mk3sync test checks all 14 Mark III output channels for valid sy nc using t he Mark III sy nc detector. The Mark III formatter must be enabled (mk3 form enable). T he pgstress test is a special diagnostic which plays back reference tapes a nd determines the allowable range of playback PGSHIFT offsets. Before runni ng t his test you should select the desired transports a nd i nsert official PGSHIFT reference tape(s).

Command: dnld Sy ntax: dnld {{form|drd|uictxdc|uicdddv|uicdqa|box} STR|ls [long]} Description: Explicitly downloads t he indicated Xili nx chip chai n. Strictly for diagnostic use only.

Command: dr Sy ntax: dr [cal...|reset [all] [flat]|setdefault... |pbsel [NUM]|emulin [NUM|off] | fdbkout [NUM|off]|decsel [mlsd|bitbybit]|vco|tdacsel [eye|error]|...] Description: Sets/displays low-level analog data-recovery cont rol options a nd switches. For diagnostic use only. Most of these switches a re set automatically as a result of other commands duri ng regula r operation. dr reset flat is sometimes useful to help stabilize t he data-recovery if it is having trouble calibrati ng. This can happen after updating software or re-loading t he Static RAM. The tdacsel switch selects one of two alternative output signals for t he ERRDAC test point (SMA jack) on t he DRD board front panel: eye selects the ey e pattern (decoded filtered data) while error selects a n error signal showi ng deviation from the ideal ey e pattern. T he default is eye.

Command: echo Sy ntax: echo {off|on|prompt|[STR]} Description: Writes a text message to t he console i nteraction window, useful from batch files. Also cont rols the echoing of commands from a batch file wit h the on/off options. For example, to make a batch file execute wit hout echoing, add echo off as t he fi rst command. T his will suppress bot h the pri nting of commands a nd t heir output, so if you wa nt to see a particular comma nd's output you will have to turn echoing back on. Exceptions a re the echo comma nd itself, log display, a nd

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status display, whose output always appears. The prompt option of echo writes out ``[Hit return to continue]'' and waits for the user to press return. For examples of how to use t he echo command, examine t he supplied demo.rt batch file. See also t he wait comma nd.

Command: edit Sy ntax: edit {defaults|termcap|startup.cmd} Description: Use this to edit one of three sy stem configuration files: defaults, termcap, a nd startup.cmd. The defaults file contai ns ma ny sy stem startup options which allow users to customize S2 behaviour for t heir envi ronment. T he termcap file contains terminal capability defi nitions in Berkeley termcap format, allowi ng users to add support for their console termi nal type if it does not al ready exist. See Section 4.2.7 for more information on these two files. T he startup.cmd file contai ns VxWorks shell comma nds to execute at boot time a nd might be used occasionally for adva nced network operation or to implement bina ry software patches. You must use only VxWorks shell comma nds (not ROS console commands), one per line. Do not use the exit shell command a nywhere i n t he startup.cmd file. T he editor invoked by the edit command is a full-screen editor similar to Unix vi (for online help type :help while in t he editor). In t he event that your terminal type is not set correctly, it may be difficult or impossible to edit. In t his case use the console term command to set the correct terminal type before editing.
*

Command: eject Sy ntax: eject Description: Ejects t he tapes from all currently selected t ransports. Stops t he S2 first if it is not al ready stopped. The S2 must not be recording or record-paused. Another way to eject all the tapes is to press and hold any tra nsport's eject button for two seconds (or more). This feature may be convenient if the console terminal is not located near the TAM racks, or the S2 is under computer (RCL) cont rol. Eject-all should preferably be used only when all t ra nsports are stopped. No other tra nsport frontpanel buttons or switches should be touched. The ejectalldisable defaults file option can be used t he disable the eject-all feature.

Command: encrypt Sy ntax: encrypt STR Description: T his command encodes a password to be used when connecting to the console using rlogi n or telnet. Type t he desired password and t he encrypted version of t he password will be displayed. T hen enter t he encrypted stri ng as the value of the loginpasswd pa rameter in t he defaults file. Along with loginuserid, this defines t he user-ID and password that must be entered when connecting via rlogin or telnet.

Command: error Sy ntax: error decode NUM Description: Used to tra nslate numeric error codes which may occasionally appear in t he status wi ndow to their correspondi ng text message. For a complete list of error codes see Page A-32. All ROS error codes a re negative numbers. Positive numbers a re not error codes, but may be status codes or diagnostic codes -- see also status decode a nd diag decode.

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Command: expert Sy ntax: expert [on|off] Description: Sets expert mode which cont rols whether or not non-essential and diagnostic console comma nds are suppressed. When expert mode is off (expert off), commands a nd options not needed for regular S2 operation do not appear in the console softkey display a nd may not be entered. This is useful when fi rst learning to operate t he S2 or to prevent inappropriate commands from being entered duri ng regular use. When expert mode is on, all S2 console commands and options a re available. Expert mode does not affect batch files or the RCL. The expert defaults-file parameter determi nes the default expert mode setting to use at bootup.

Command: ff Sy ntax: ff Description: Fast-forward winds the tapes. Stops playback first if necessary and automatically switches to t he stop setup (normally bypass). T he S2 must be in stop, play, playpause, or rewind state ot herwise fast-forward is not allowed. Also must not currently be aligni ng or positioni ng.

Command: form Sy ntax: form [diag [on|off]|berc [NUM|rotate] [NUM