How-to

NOTE: If you can't solve the problem in 1 hour you MUST then contact the Run Coordinator! (See also Experts on call)

General How-to's

• The Hall C Operations Manual is a thorough and up-to-date set of instructions.

• Make HCLog entries using the logbook page, or by running 'hclog' in a terminal.
  • Please be concise, but clear. Assume you will need to search for, and understand, an entry 12 months from now (or longer).

• Electronic Shift Checklist should be completed once per shift.
  • Shift Checklist Help

• [NPS_Online_analysis_(Fall_2023)]

• Beam Checkout Procedures Includes -
  • Raster checks
  • Harp scans
  • Carbon hole check

• Hall C Raster
  • If problems call Raster experts in order of listed on Expert on call page.
  • Raster procedure is located at Hall C Fast Raster Setup Procedure
  • The raster X and Y signals that go into the DAQ are also shown on an oscilliscope in rack CH03B14.

• DAQ Related Help
  • Hall C DAQ Setup / Restart Instructions
  • DAQ Live Time
  • "HMS DC may be ringing (check replay now)" alarm

• Collimator, Sieve Controls
  • EPICS screens can be found at jmenu -> <search for> "HMS coll" and you'll see both entries
    • The usual collimator settings are HMS : "Large Collimator" and SHMS : "Collimator".
    • The usual sieve settings are "HMS: Sieve" and SHMS: "Centered Sieve"
  • Instructions for power cycling the drive controllers for the HMS/SHMS collimators. DocDB Page
    • Note: Make sure to consult with the Engineer on call before executing power cycling the drive controllers.
  • More detailed info on collimator controls. Also includes description of the collimators.

• Hall C Scalers & xscalers instructions for HMS and SHMS.

• Gas Shed
  • Drift Chamber Gas System
    • If the 'Low PSI' interlock has tripped it may mean that the Argon has run out. Talk to an expert first. You can reset the interlock through the 'Hall C Gas Shed Interlocks/Controls' GUI EPICS/Accelerator_Screens
    • See Standard Equipment Manual
    • Flow and Temperature Charts (generated by iochcgs.acc.jlab.org)

• Big Screen / Wall TVs
• High Voltage Controls
  • Run 'go_hv' and follow instructions
• EPICS/Accelerator Screens
  • Also includes Stripcharts, Gas System info, Collimator controls, Chamber Thresholds, Harps, Energy/Position Locks, etc...
• Hall C Drift Chamber Threshold Controls
• Hall C BPMs: Run go_bpms from the cdaq account
• How to see results of Hall C harp scans
• How to bring up the Hall C YAG Viewer camera
• How to bring up the Alarm Handler
• Counting House Cameras (Four Halls) • Run go_cameras_CH from cdaq or cvideo account
• Hall C cameras
• Hall C BCM Temperatures
• Hall C IHWP Change Procedure
• How to restore the Hall C EDTM Pulser
• How to check the HMS/SHMS shutters
• How to perform pedestal runs and determine FADC thresholds
• How to perform raster runs (this is the equivalent of spot++)
• Bull's Eye Scan -- BPM calibration instructions
• HMS discriminator threshold read back is now in the Alarm Handler (no manual check required)
  • How to check the HMS discriminator threshold read back -- Obsolete
  • HMS discriminator threshold added to alarm handler -- Updated entry (June, 2020)
• How to perform a BCM calibration
• How to operate the Hall-C Radiator (J/Psi Experiment)

Expert Information

This page tries to capture/consolidate some low-level details in the Hall C Counting House configuration. In general every directory/system will contain one or more README files describing the relevant software/philosophy etc. The majority of the configuration files/code are also stored in git repos with remotes on the hallcgit.jlab.org host. Brad Sawatzky and Steve Wood set up a lot of this. Now, Bob Michaels and Chandan Ghosh are running the DAQ. I think this section may need updating.

Before becoming an expert, reminder on the basics: https://hallcweb.jlab.org/wiki/index.php/Hall_C_DAQ

• Hall C CODA/DAQ Layout
  • General hardware and software layout of DAQ and CODA systems
  • Some notes on how to change-over between experiments
• Hall C Trigger Layout
• Video capture systems
  • Spectrometer Angle cameras
  • Hall Cameras, etc.
• Hall C EPICS
  • HV systems
  • Gas systems
  • Auxiliary softIOCs
• Hall C Compute Cluster
  • Systems and layout
  • Puppet configuration
  • System backups
  • Notes on spectrometer and cryo controls
• Monitoring and Alert Systems
  • Munin: Temperatures, gas flows, computer systems, etc. Run go_munin on a Hall C machine to see what is monitored.
  • Hall C Alarm Handler, target alarm handler, etc

Detector/DAQ 'pre-beam' Checklist

This is a copy of the Detector/DAQ 'pre-beam' Checklist that is generally completed prior to beam delivery into the Hall (after a SAD or an extended down). It is intended to ensure that basic operational things like crate fans, crates, HVs, gas configuration, etc are confirmed and logged. This is typically requested by the Hall Work Coordinator (ie. Walter Kellner) and gets logged to the HCLOG. An example can be found here HCLog 3968308.

Print out two copies. One for HMS, one for SHMS: File:Detector readiness checklist.pdf, (File:Detector readiness checklist.ods)

Spare Hardware Locations

• CAMAC, NIM: Hall C Counting House cabinets (in electronics room by door to the outside)
• VME: Counting House, 2nd floor, blue module cabinet in Jack Segal's area
• HV: Counting House, 2nd floor, cabinet in "G0 cage"
• PMTs, HV bases: EEL/126 cabinet at rear of room (labelled, standard 'A12' keyed lock)
• Wiener Crate control units (front panel, ethernet, etc): EEL/126 cabinet

ESB / Building 23 (NE corner)

This has been my staging and test area for a number of years and contains several DAQ test beds supporting several groups. The hardware, cabling, modules in that space should generally be considered as either 'in-use' or as being staged for a near-term future experiment (ie. NPS/LAD/GEn-RP). The experiment on the floor takes priority, of course, but don't steal from future experiments without actively following up on replacing that hardware.

• CAEN Sy45xx crates and modules (NPS)
• Wiener VXS crates (NPS)
• FADCs, SD, TI, boards etc (NPS)
• Cabling (NPS, GEn-RP)

Spectrometer Magnets

• Magnet screen is brought up on any hcdesk machine by the command go_magnets
  • Note: only ONE copy of the magnet control GUI screen can be running. Creating a new one will cause the old one to disappear.
• How to operate and monitor the Spectrometer Magnets
• Spectrometer Magnets Cryogenics
• Resetting Magnet Interlocks
• How-to power cycle SHMS PLC I/O chassis: https://logbooks.jlab.org/entry/3625900
• Resetting the "ioc heartbeat epics communications" (start by clicking on the heart at upper left of the magnet controls screen

How to Rotate the HMS and SHMS

• Spectrometer Rotation

How to change HMS or SHMS momentum

• Changing momentum

SHMS Detectors

• Hodoscopes
• Drift Chambers
• Calorimetry
• Aerogel
• Heavy Gas Cherenkov
• Noble Gas Cherenkov
• GEM

HMS Detectors

• Pre-12 GeV Drift Chambers
• Post-12 GeV Drift Chambers
• Hodoscopes
• Calorimetry
• Aerogel
• Cherenkov

Polarized 3He target in Hall C

• Target Lab Page
• Design
• Documents
• Experiments
• Meetings

Hall C Cryo-target

• Hall C 12-GeV Era Cryotarget Instructions
• Hall C target configuration for Spring 17 running
• How to operate the Hall-C Bremsstrahlung Radiator for the J/Ψ -007 Experiment (Spring 2019)

NPS detectors

• NPS Calo Slow Controls
• NPS anode and rate monitor
• NPS radiation monitors

Hall C Coffee Machine

• Do not use the milk frother; this will just get nasty. Warm up some milk in the microwave before running the machine.
• Regularly empty the drip tray and coffee grounds container.
• You can find a user manual and other information here
• The machine needs regular descaling; a warning light will tell us when. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Legacy Documentation

• Hall C Archiver Info
• List of (legacy) Hall-C HowTo Documents
• How to cycle the HMS quad magnets
• Howard's page of Archiver magnet trend charts