F3200E
Thirty-Two Channel
Fast Current Digitizer
User Manual
Pyramid Technical Consultants, Inc.
1050 Waltham Street Suite 200, Lexington, MA 02421 USA
US: TEL: (781) 402-1700 FAX: (781) 402-1750 EMAIL:
Europe: TEL: +44 1273 493590
SUPPORT@PTCUSA.COM
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
1 Contents
1 CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
2 FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
3 SAFETY INFORMATION ............................................................................................................................... 8
4 MODELS .......................................................................................................................................................... 10
5 SCOPE OF SUPPLY ....................................................................................................................................... 11
6 OPTIONAL ITEMS ......................................................................................................................................... 12
6.1 P
OWER SUPPLIES
IGNAL CABLES AND CABLE ACCESSORIES
6.2 S
6.3 D
6.4 F
7 INTENDED USE AND KEY FEATURES ..................................................................................................... 14
7.1 I
7.2 K
8 SPECIFICATION ............................................................................................................................................ 16
9 INSTALLATION ............................................................................................................................................. 21
9.1 M
9.2 G
9.3 C
ATA CABLES
IBER-OPTIC LOOP
NTENDED USE
EY FEATURES
OUNTING
ROUNDING AND POWER SUPPLY
ONNECTION TO SIGNAL SOURCE
9.3.1 Typical setup ........................................................................................................................................ 22
9.3.2 Signal cables ........................................................................................................................................ 23
9.3.3 Signal current path .............................................................................................................................. 23
............................................................................................................................................ 12
..................................................................................................... 12
................................................................................................................................................. 12
.......................................................................................................................................... 12
............................................................................................................................................... 14
.............................................................................................................................................. 14
..................................................................................................................................................... 21
................................................................................................................... 21
................................................................................................................... 22
10 HOW THE F3200E WORKS - AN OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 25
10.1 C
10.2 T
10.3 A
10.4 S
10.5 M
10.6 C
10.7 E
11 USING THE PTC DIAGNOSTIC G2 HOST PROGRAM .......................................................................... 31
11.1 I
11.2 C
11.3 S
11.4 G
11.4.1
11.4.2
11.4.3
11.4.4
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 2 of 107
URRENT RANGES
RIGGERING
CQUISITION MODES AND AVERAGING
ELF-TESTING AND CALIBRATION
ONITOR OUTPUT
OMMUNICATION TO THE HOST COMPUTER
MBEDDED SOFTWARE
NSTALLATION
ONNECTING TO THE
CREEN LAYOUT
RAPHIC DISPLAY
Strip chart display ........................................................................................................................... 38
Scope display .................................................................................................................................. 39
Histogram display ........................................................................................................................... 41
Vertical scale control ...................................................................................................................... 42
..................................................................................................................................... 25
.............................................................................................................................................. 25
..................................................................................................................................... 29
........................................................................................................................................... 31
F3200E .................................................................................................................... 33
........................................................................................................................................ 37
...................................................................................................................................... 38
...................................................................................................... 25
.............................................................................................................. 29
............................................................................................... 30
.............................................................................................................................. 30
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
11.4.5
11.4.6
11.5 D
11.6 D
11.7 D
11.7.1
11.7.2
11.8 S
11.8.1
11.8.2
11.8.3
11.9 C
11.9.1
11.9.2
11.9.3
11.9.4
11.10 R
11.11 P
11.11.1 Updating firmware .......................................................................................................................... 55
11.11.2 Configuring the network settings .................................................................................................... 56
12 FIBER OPTIC LOOP COMMUNICATIONS .............................................................................................. 57
12.1 U
12.2 U
13 IG2 AND EPICS CONNECTIONS ................................................................................................................ 61
Filtering .......................................................................................................................................... 43
Zero offset suppression ................................................................................................................... 43
ATA LOGGING
ATA PANEL
ATA ANALYSIS PANEL
Center of Gravity ............................................................................................................................ 44
Gaussian Fit (regression) ............................................................................................................... 45
ETUP PANEL
Trigger pane.................................................................................................................................... 47
Channels ......................................................................................................................................... 50
Other ............................................................................................................................................... 51
ALIBRATION PANEL
Current measurement calibration ................................................................................................... 51
Using the calibration sources to test individual channels .............................................................. 52
Analog I/O and high voltage calibrations ....................................................................................... 53
Clearing calibrations ...................................................................................................................... 53
EAL TIME PROCESSING PANEL
ROPERTIES PANEL
SING THE
SING THE
.......................................................................................................................................... 43
.............................................................................................................................................. 43
............................................................................................................................. 44
............................................................................................................................................. 46
................................................................................................................................. 51
................................................................................................................. 54
.................................................................................................................................... 54
F3200E
F3200E
AS A LOOP CONTROLLER
AS A LOOPED SUBDEVICE
............................................................................................. 57
............................................................................................ 59
13.1 W
13.2 I
14 SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 65
14.1 RS-485
15 PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION ...................................................................................................................... 67
15.1 T
15.2 F3200E C
15.2.1
15.2.2
15.2.3
16 TRIGGERS AND BUFFERING ..................................................................................................................... 71
16.1 I
16.2 D
16.2.1
16.2.2
16.3 E
16.3.1
16.3.2
16.4 S
16.4.1
16.4.2
17 MONITOR OUTPUT ...................................................................................................................................... 77
HAT IS
EPICS? ....................................................................................................................................... 61
NSTALLING AND CONFIGURING
CONNECTION EXAMPLE
RANSCONDUCTANCE AMPLIFIERS
IRCUIT OVERVIEW
Signal input stages .......................................................................................................................... 68
FPGAs ............................................................................................................................................. 69
Power supplies ................................................................................................................................ 70
NTERNAL TRIGGER MODE
ATA BUFFERS
F3200E internal buffer ................................................................................................................... 71
PTC DiagnosticG2 buffer ............................................................................................................... 72
XTERNAL TRIGGERING
Custom triggering ........................................................................................................................... 72
Pre-defined trigger modes .............................................................................................................. 73
WEEP MODE
Repetitive signals ............................................................................................................................ 74
Single shot acquisition at 1 MHz .................................................................................................... 75
.......................................................................................................................................... 71
............................................................................................................................. 72
............................................................................................................................................. 74
IG2 .......................................................................................................... 63
................................................................................................................. 65
............................................................................................................ 67
..................................................................................................................... 68
......................................................................................................................... 71
18 REAL TIME PROCESSING .......................................................................................................................... 80
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
19 HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY ............................................................................................................................ 81
19.1 S
19.2 C
20 USING THE GENERAL I/O CONNECTOR ................................................................................................ 83
20.1 A
20.2 D
20.3 A
20.4 D
21 USING THE ACTUATOR CONTROL CONNECTOR .............................................................................. 85
22 CONNECTORS................................................................................................................................................ 87
22.1 F
22.2 R
ETTING THE HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY
HANGING THE HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY RANGE AND POLARITY
NALOG INPUTS
IGITAL INPUTS
NALOG OUTPUTS
IGITAL OUTPUTS
RONT PANEL CONNECTORS
22.1.1
22.1.2
22.1.3
22.1.4
22.1.5
22.1.6
22.2.1
22.2.2
22.2.3
22.2.4
22.2.5
22.2.6
22.2.7
Actuator .......................................................................................................................................... 87
General purpose I/O port ................................................................................................................ 87
Signal inputs 1-16 (red cable code) ................................................................................................ 88
Signal inputs 17-32 (green cable code) .......................................................................................... 88
High voltage out .............................................................................................................................. 89
High voltage in ................................................................................................................................ 89
EAR PANEL CONNECTORS
Ethernet communications ................................................................................................................ 89
RS-232 / RS-485 communications ................................................................................................... 89
Gate input ....................................................................................................................................... 90
Gate output ..................................................................................................................................... 90
Fiber-optic communications: .......................................................................................................... 90
Power input ..................................................................................................................................... 90
Ground lug ...................................................................................................................................... 91
........................................................................................................................................ 83
......................................................................................................................................... 83
..................................................................................................................................... 83
...................................................................................................................................... 84
...................................................................................................................... 87
........................................................................................................................ 89
....................................................................................................... 81
............................................................... 82
23 CONTROLS AND INDICATORS ................................................................................................................. 92
23.1 F
23.2 R
23.3 F
23.4 R
24 A60 RECOVERY ............................................................................................................................................. 95
24.1 S
24.2 U
25 FAULT-FINDING ............................................................................................................................................ 97
RONT PANEL CONTROLS
EAR PANEL CONTROLS
23.2.1
23.2.2
23.2.3
23.3.1
23.3.2
23.4.1
23.4.2
23.4.3
23.4.4
23.4.5
23.4.6
23.4.7
23.4.8
Reset button ..................................................................................................................................... 92
Address switch................................................................................................................................. 92
Mode switch .................................................................................................................................... 92
RONT PANEL INDICATORS
Power .............................................................................................................................................. 93
HV on .............................................................................................................................................. 93
EAR PANEL INDICATORS
24 V ................................................................................................................................................. 93
2.5 V ................................................................................................................................................ 93
Initiated ........................................................................................................................................... 93
Active .............................................................................................................................................. 93
Com ................................................................................................................................................. 93
Ethernet ........................................................................................................................................... 93
Optical ............................................................................................................................................ 93
Ethernet ........................................................................................................................................... 94
TARTING THE
SING THE
A60 R
A60 R
........................................................................................................................... 92
............................................................................................................................. 92
........................................................................................................................ 93
.......................................................................................................................... 93
ECOVERY UTILITY
ECOVERY UTILITY
................................................................................................... 95
......................................................................................................... 96
26 OPTIMIZING DATA QUALITY ................................................................................................................. 101
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
27 MAINTENANCE ........................................................................................................................................... 102
28 RETURNS PROCEDURE............................................................................................................................. 103
29 SUPPORT ....................................................................................................................................................... 104
30 DISPOSAL ...................................................................................................................................................... 105
31 DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY ........................................................................................................ 106
32 REVISION HISTORY ................................................................................................................................... 107
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
2 Figures
Figure 1. F3200E front and rear panels. Dimensions mm. .................................................................................. 19
Figure 2. F3200E case plan and side views. Dimensions mm. .............................................................................. 20
Figure 3. Schematic sample F3200E installation .................................................................................................... 22
Figure 4. Circuit for measured current using an external power supply............................................................. 24
Figure 5. Circuit for measured current using the F3200E HV supply ................................................................. 24
Figure 6. Data acquisition in internal mode; ADC rate exceeds capacity of communications / host computer26
Figure 7. Data acquisition in internal mode; ADC rate reduced to match capacity of communications / host
computer ........................................................................................................................................................... 26
Figure 8. Data acquisition in internal mode; data rate reduced by downsampling to match capacity of
communications / host computer ..................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 9. Data acquisition in buffered mode .......................................................................................................... 28
Figure 10. Data acquisition in sweep mode ............................................................................................................ 29
Figure 11. PTC DiagnosticG2 installation stages ................................................................................................... 32
Figure 12. Direct connection to PC host ................................................................................................................. 33
Figure 13. Ping test of the Ethernet connection. .................................................................................................... 33
Figure 14. Discover devices window ........................................................................................................................ 34
Figure 15. Discovering loop controllers .................................................................................................................. 34
Figure 16. F3200E discovery – ready to connect to the device ............................................................................. 35
Figure 17. F3200E connected showing slave devices on its fiber optic loop port ................................................ 35
Figure 18. F3200E window after connection .......................................................................................................... 36
Figure 19. Reading background noise in internal trigger mode ........................................................................... 37
Figure 20. Strip chart display .................................................................................................................................. 39
Figure 21. Scope display, buffered acquisition – data sampled at 100 kHz ......................................................... 40
Figure 22. Scope display, sweep acquisition – data sampled at 1 MHz, 20 1000 point sweeps averaged .......... 41
Figure 23. Histogram display. Two channels de-selected for display. ................................................................. 42
Figure 24. Vertical scale selection and positive values only toggle. ...................................................................... 42
Figure 25. Filtering selections. ................................................................................................................................. 43
Figure 26. Peak position calculations. ..................................................................................................................... 44
Figure 27. Center of gravity calculation controls .................................................................................................. 45
Figure 28. Limiting channels included in the peak position calculation. ............................................................. 45
Figure 29. Gaussian regression fit control. ............................................................................................................. 45
Figure 30. Setup ADC and range control. .............................................................................................................. 46
Figure 31. Current range selections. ....................................................................................................................... 46
Figure 32. Trigger controls ...................................................................................................................................... 47
Figure 33. Acquisition modes ................................................................................................................................... 47
Figure 34. Sweep setup controls .............................................................................................................................. 49
Figure 35. Channels controls ................................................................................................................................... 50
Figure 36. Other setup controls ............................................................................................................................... 51
Figure 37. Calibration warning dialog .................................................................................................................... 52
Figure 38. 8.33 µA calibration current directed to channel 3, 10 µA current range .......................................... 53
Figure 39. Clear Calibrations warning dialog ........................................................................................................ 53
Figure 40. Real Time Processing controls ............................................................................................................... 54
Figure 41. Firmware information display............................................................................................................... 55
Figure 42. Firmware update warning ..................................................................................................................... 55
Figure 43. Firmware update progress display........................................................................................................ 55
Figure 44. Network settings ..................................................................................................................................... 56
Figure 45. Fiber optic communication ports (view looking at rear panel) .......................................................... 57
Figure 46. Example fiber optic loop configuration where the F3200E is the loop controller. ........................... 58
Figure 47. Example fiber optic loop configuration where the F3200E is the loop controller – Diagnostic
display. .............................................................................................................................................................. 58
Figure 48. Example fiber optic loop configuration where another device is the loop controller. ...................... 59
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
Figure 49. Example fiber optic loop configuration where another device (A360) is the loop controller. ......... 60
Figure 50. Simple example network for EPICS communications. ........................................................................ 61
Figure 51. Example user interface created in Control System Studio BOY. ....................................................... 62
Figure 52. Example user interface created in LabView™. ................................................................................... 62
Figure 53. System.xml example................................................................................................................................ 64
Figure 54. RS-232 terminal session. ........................................................................................................................ 65
Figure 55. RS-485 cable F3200E to TC100. ............................................................................................................ 66
Figure 56. The basic I-V convertor circuit. ............................................................................................................ 67
Figure 57. F3200E block schematic. ........................................................................................................................ 68
Figure 58. F3200E analog stages block schematic. ................................................................................................ 69
Figure 59. Start, pause and stop conditions. ........................................................................................................... 72
Figure 60. Illustrative scanned beam example. ...................................................................................................... 74
Figure 61. Illustrative scanned beam example - analysis....................................................................................... 75
Figure 62. Burst of pulses captured in sweep mode, 20 sweep averaging. ........................................................... 75
Figure 63. Single shot measurement at 1 MHz sampling. ..................................................................................... 76
Figure 64. Selecting monitor mode. ......................................................................................................................... 77
Figure 65. Demonstration acquisition for monitor mode. ..................................................................................... 78
Figure 66. Monitor output voltage with all channels selected for monitoring..................................................... 78
Figure 67. Monitor output voltage with some channels de-selected. .................................................................... 79
Figure 68. Loopback validation of external high voltage connections ................................................................. 81
Figure 69. High voltage module jumper settings.................................................................................................... 82
Figure 70. Analog input circuit ................................................................................................................................ 83
Figure 71. Digital input circuit ................................................................................................................................ 83
Figure 72. Analog output circuit ............................................................................................................................. 83
Figure 73. Digital input circuit ................................................................................................................................ 84
Figure 74. Connecting a solenoid-operated actuator to the actuator control connector. ................................... 85
Figure 75. Actuator I/O : F3200E internal circuitry. ............................................................................................ 86
Figure 76. JPR 5 location; bootloader mode jumper position. ............................................................................. 95
Figure 77. A60 recovery screen. .............................................................................................................................. 96
Figure 78. Noise level as a function of averaging ................................................................................................ 101
Figure 79. Fan filter removal ................................................................................................................................ 102
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 7 of 107
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
3 Safety Information
This unit is designed for compliance with harmonized electrical safety standard EN610101:2000. It must be used in accordance with its specifications and operating instructions.
Operators of the unit are expected to be qualified personnel who are aware of electrical safety
issues. The customer’s Responsible Body, as defined in the standard, must ensure that operators
are provided with the appropriate equipment and training.
The unit is designed to make measurements in Measurement Category I as defined in the
standard.
CAUTION. According to installed options the F3200E can generate high voltages as follows,
present on the central conductor of the “HV out” SHV (Safe High Voltage) connector.:
+ or – 2000 V DC at 0.5 mA maximum.
or
+ or – 1000 V DC at 1.0 mA maximum
or
+ or – 500 V DC at 2.0 mA maximum
or
+ or – 200 V DC at 5.0 mA maximum
The hazardous live voltages on the SHV central conductor are not accessible under the
definitions of EN61010 but may nevertheless give a noticeable shock if misuse were to lead you
to come into contact with them. The user must therefore exercise appropriate caution when using
the device and when connecting cables. Power should be turned off before making any
connections.
In applications where high energy charged particle beams can strike electrodes which are
normally connected to the F3200E, voltages limited only by electrical breakdown can build up if
the F3200E is not connected to provide the earth return path. The user must ensure that a
suitable earth return path is always present when the particle beam may be present.
The unit must not be operated unless correctly assembled in its case. Protection from high
voltages generated by the device will be impaired if the unit is operated without its case. Only
Service Personnel, as defined in EN61010-1, should attempt to work on the disassembled unit,
and then only under specific instruction from Pyramid Technical Consultants, Inc.
The unit is designed to operate from +24VDC power, with a maximum current requirement of
1100 mA. A suitably rated power supply module is available as an option. Users who make
their own power provision should ensure that the supply cannot source more than 5 A.
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 8 of 107
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
A safety ground must be securely connected to the ground lug on the case.
Some of the following symbols may be displayed on the unit and have the indicated meanings.
Direct current
Earth (ground) terminal
Protective conductor terminal
Frame or chassis terminal
Equipotentiality
Supply ON
Supply OFF
CAUTION – RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
CAUTION – RISK OF DANGER – REFER TO MANUAL
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 9 of 107
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
4 Models
F3200E Thirty-two channel fast current digitizer.
-XP20/10/5/2 Add positive 0 to 2000V / 1000 V / 500 V / 200 V auxiliary bias output
-XN20/10/5/2 Add negative 0 to 2000V / 1000V /500 V / 200 V auxiliary bias output
Example:
F3200E-XP10 F3200E with 1000V positive auxiliary high voltage output.
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 10 of 107
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
5 Scope of Supply
F3200E model as specified in your order.
PSU24-40-1R 24 VDC power supply.
USB memory stick containing:
F3200E User manual
F3200E datasheet
Pyramid DiagnosticG2 software installation files
Pyramid IG2 software installation files
Firmware files
Test data
ADAP-D9F-MINIDIN Serial port adaptor
ADAP-USB-RS232 USB to RS232 adaptor
ADAP-LEMO-BNC Lemo 00 to BNC coaxial adaptor.
Optional items as specified in your order.
OEM customers may not receive all the accessories noted above.
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 11 of 107
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
6 Optional Items
6.1 Power supplies
PSU24-40-1R +24 VDC 40W PSU (universal voltage input, plug receptacle for standard IEC
C14 three-pin socket) with output lead terminated in two-pin Redel PXG locking connector.
PD-8 Eight output +24 VDC power supply unit, 19” rack mounting
6.2 Signal cables and cable accessories
CAB-D25F-25LN-D25M Cable, low-noise screened, D25 female to D25 male, 25’.
CAB-D25F-25-D25M Cable, standard screened, D25 female to D25 male, 25’.
CAB-SHV-25-SHV Cable, coax HV, SHV to SHV, 25’.
CAB-L00-25-L00 Cable, coax 50 ohm, Lemo 00 to Lemo 00, 25’
CAB-L00-25-BNC Cable, coax 50 ohm, Lemo 00 to BNC, 25’
Other cable lengths are available from 2’ up to 100’.
ADAP-LEMO-BNC Adaptor, Lemo 00 to BNC (for gate in and out adaption)
6.3 Data cables
ADAP-D9F-MINIDIN AB450K-R Adaptor RS-232 6 pin DIN male to 9 pin D sub female
adaptor for serial port.
CAB-ST-HCS-xxx-ST Fiber-optic cable 200 µm multimode silica fiber ST terminated with
color-coded sleeves, xxx foot length. A pair of cables is required to connect a single device.
6.4 Fiber-optic loop
A360 Fiber optic loop controller for two loops.
A560 intelligent real-time cell controller for ten loops with Ethernet interface and interlock
functions.
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
X14 fiber optic fanout, one input, four outputs for trigger distribution.
X22 bidirectional TTL to optical converter for trigger distribution.
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
7 Intended Use and Key Features
7.1 Intended Use
The F3200E is intended for the parallel measurement of currents (from nA to mA) generated by
devices such as Faraday cup arrays, ionization chambers, in-vacuum wire grid arrays, multiwire
proportional chambers and photodiode arrays. The F3200E has design features which make it
tolerant of electrically noisy environments, but the place of use is otherwise assumed to be clean
and sheltered, for example a laboratory or light industrial environment. The unit may be used
stand-alone or networked with other devices and integrated into a larger system. Users are
assumed to be experienced in the general use of precision electronic circuits for sensitive
measurements, and to be aware of the dangers that can arise in high-voltage circuits.
7.2 Key Features
Thirty-two fully-parallel multi-range transconductance amplifiers (I-V converters).
Thirty-two fully parallel 1 MSa/s analog to digital converter channels.
External gate input for synchronized data collection.
External gate output for triggering external events.
Analog monitor output which can track any arithmetic sum of selected input channels
Multiple data acquisition modes
- Unbuffered continuous streaming
- Buffered contiguous data capture at high rates
- Sweep mode for repetitive signals with 1 MHz sampling within the sweep.
Dynamic range 0.1nA to 10 mA.
Built-in calibration check current sources which can be switched to each channel.
Fully-automated internal self-calibration.
Built-in switched 5V test voltage for connection to external resistor arrays, for continuity
checking.
Ethernet interface with TCP/IP and UDP messaging.
Fiber optic looped device capability (future option).
F3200E can act as a fiber-optic loop controller.
F3200E can be operated in a fiber-optic serial communication loop with up to fifteen other
devices.
RS-232, RS-485 serial interfaces built-in. Selectable baud rates.
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
Actuator I/O port with switched +24 VDC, switched +5 VDC output suitable for driving a
pneumatic actuator solenoid plus two opto-isolated digital inputs suitable for reading limit
switches.
General purpose I/O port with three precision analog outputs, four precision differential analog
inputs, four TTL digital outputs, four TTL digital inputs.
Analog output 1 can be set as a real time monitor of sum of any selected channels.
Two fiber-optic digital outputs for process control
Auxiliary HV output option up to + or – 2000 VDC.
HV input for loopback verification of HV bias on external electrodes.
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
8 Specification
Current inputs Thirty-two, independent parallel
Current ranges Four, 10 mA, 1 mA, 100 µA, 10 µA, fully bipolar.
Ranges can be set for each group of two channels (future option).
Input impedance <= 40 ohm
Input protection Back to back fast diode pair to analog ground.
Optional series resistor.
Equivalent noise current
(unloaded)
< 0.1% of full scale, any current range for 1 MHz conversion rate.
Improves by 1/√N where N is number of conversions averaged
into each sample, to a minimum of 0.001% of full scale.
External accuracy Maximum deviation from a reference external current source <
+/-(0.1% of full scale current + 0.1% of nominal current), after
calibration.
Internal calibration currents 83.33 (+/- 0.03) mA (10 mA range)
8.333 (+/- 0.003) mA (1 mA range)
833.3 (+/- 0.3) µA (100 µA range)
83.33 (+/- 0.03) µA (10 µA range)
Used by automated internal calibration routine to derived gain and
offset for each channel on each range.
Analog bandwidth Anti-aliasing filter DC to 250 kHz (-3dB) with four pole filter roll
off on 10 mA and 1 mA ranges. 100 µA and 10 µA ranges have
DC to greater than 50 kHz bandwidth.
Measurement drift < 0.5% over 12 hours (environment 20 (+/- 2) C.
Calibration source drift < 3 ppm / C
Linearity Deviation from best fit line of individual readings < 0.1% of full
scale.
Digitization 14 bit over bipolar range, 1 MHz. Thirty-two ADC channels.
Simultaneity All ADCs convert together to <20 nsec.
Data capture 32 channels converted and transferred to local memory in < 500
Digital filtering Block averages of 1 to 65534 ADC conversions (downsampling).
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 16 of 107
Effective digitization increased by averaging.
nsec.
32 bit counter depth.
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
Local buffering Up to 65535 points each of 32 channels in buffered mode.
Up to 1000 points each 32 channels in sweep mode.
Acquisition modes Internal (free running and continuous transfer to host)
Buffered mode (on-board buffering of contiguous blocks of
readings).
Sweep mode (on-board buffering of triggered acquisitions,
averaging across multiple sweeps for repetitive signals).
External gate input 0 / +5 V (TTL level), 10 kohm input impedance.
External gate output TTL levels, 120 mA maximum current.
Analog outputs Three general purpose, +/-10V, 10 mA compliance. 16 bit
resolution, low transition glitch energy. Maximum update rate
250 kHz.
Analog monitor output Analog output 1 can be assigned to monitor function.
Analog inputs Four general purpose, differential, two-pole analog low pass filter
17 kHz. 16 bit resolution, maximum conversion rate 400 kHz
(downsampled to 10 kHz maximum).
Digital outputs Four general purpose, TTL levels, 5 mA typical, 35 mA
maximum (single output)
Digital inputs Four general purpose, TTL levels. 50 kohm pull up to +5VD.
Auxiliary HV PSU (option) 0 to 2000 V / 1000 V / 500V / 200V programmable, 1W max
output power.
Noise and ripple <0.1% of full scale.
Actuator I/O Two opto-coupled inputs (24 VDC nominal) for limit switch
readback, one +24 V relay-switched output for actuator solenoid,
one +5 VDC relay-switched test output for general purpose.
Test output +5 VDC also available on signal inputs for remote test resistor
arrays.
Power input +24 VDC (+/-2 V), 750 mA (excluding current supplied to
actuator solenoid).
Communications interfaces Ethernet 10/100 Base T, TCP/IP and UDP.
RS-232 / RS-485 115.2kbps, binary serial protocol.
Fiber optic 10 Mb/s binary serial proprietary protocol.
Controls Two rotary switches for loop address and communications mode.
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PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
One push button for soft-reset.
Indicators Front panel illuminated logo for power.
Front panel LED for HV enabled.
Eight rear panel LEDs for power, status and communications.
Case 1U 19” 250 mm deep rack mounting steel chassis with Al alloy
front panel and polycarbonate decals.
Fan-cooled.
Case protection rating The case is designed to rating IP43 (protected against solid
objects greater than 1mm in size, protected against spraying
water).
Weight 2.8 kg (6.2 lb).
Operating environment 0 to 35 C (15 to 25 C recommended to reduce drift and offset)
< 70% humidity, non-condensing
vibration < 0.1g all axes (1 to 100 Hz)
Shipping and storage
environment
-10 to 50C
< 80% humidity, non-condensing
vibration < 2 g all axes, 1 to 100 Hz
Dimensions (see figures 1 and 2).
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POWER IN (LEMO-REDEL PXG)
43.6
(1U)
COMMS MODE
ADDRESS
ETHERNET
I/O (DB25)
ACTUATOR (DB9)
RS-485/232
RESET SWITCH
STATUS LEDs
GATE IN (LEMO)
GATE OUT
482.6
(19")
FRONT VIEW
FIBER-OPTIC RX (ST)
FIBER-OPTIC TX (ST)
CHANNELS 1-16 (DB25)
CHANNELS 17-32 (DB25)
"HV-ON" LED
"HV-ON" LED
HV OUT (SHV)
HV IN (SHV)
+24VDC
M4 GROUND LUG
REAR
VIEW
(ROTATED)
Figure 1. F3200E front and rear panels. Dimensions mm.
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42.6
448.0
TOP VIEW
19.3
43.6
(1U)
482.6
(19")
Figure 2. F3200E case plan and side views. Dimensions mm.
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248.8
221.0
3.0
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
9 Installation
9.1 Mounting
The F3200E is intended for 19” rack mounting, but may be mounted in any orientation, or may
be simply placed on a level surface. A fixed mounting to a secure frame is recommended in a
permanent installation for best low current performance, as this can be degraded by movement
and vibration.
The mounting position should allow sufficient access to connectors and cable bend radii. 60 mm
minimum clearance is recommended at front and back of the device.
Best performance will be achieved if the F3200E is in a temperature-controlled environment. No
forced-air cooling is required in addition to the unit’s built-in fan, but free convection should be
allowed around the back and sides of the case.
9.2 Grounding and power supply
A secure connection should be made using a ring lug, from the M4 ground lug to local chassis
potential. This is the return path for any high voltage discharge passing via the F3200E.
+24 VDC power should be provided from a suitably-rated power supply with the following
minimum performance:
Output voltage +24 +/- 0.5 VDC
Output current 1000 mA minimum, 3000 mA maximum
Ripple and noise < 100 mV pk-pk, 1 Hz to 1 MHz
Line regulation < 240 mV
The F3200E includes an internal automatically re-setting PTC fuse rated at 1.1 A. However the
external supply should in no circumstances be rated higher than 5 A.
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9.3 Connection to signal source
9.3.1 Typical setup
Figure 3 shows an example installation in schematic form. It is only one possible arrangement;
many others are possible. In this case thirty-two Faraday collector electrodes in a beamline
system are connected to the F3200E inputs via low-noise multi-way cables. In this example, a
suppression electrode is biased by the high voltage (HV) output. A loopback HV connection is
made so that the F3200E can verify that the bias is reaching the suppression electrode.
A pneumatic actuator which can move the Faraday collector array is connected to the actuator
connector. The general purpose I/O port is used to output an analog voltage monitor reflection of
the incoming signals, for viewing on an oscilloscope for example. The other analog and digital
lines can be used to control and readback other external devices.
A gate signal generated by a remote timing controller triggers the F3200E to measure data. The
gate out signal is available to synchronize other equipment to the F3200E acquisition.
The F3200E is connected to the host system by Ethernet in this example, and the fiber optic loop
master port is used to connect other Pyramid devices.
Motion actuator
Suppression
electrode
Faraday cup
array
To monitors and
controlled devices
Signals
HV out / rtn
F3200E
Ethernet
Gnd
+24V in
To fiber optic
slave devices
Synch out
Gate in
To host PC
Figure 3. Schematic sample F3200E installation
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The F3200E should be located as close to the source of the signal as reasonably possible. Long
signal cables increase the chances of seeing unwanted signals and noise, particularly at the
highest bandwidths. A maximum length of 10 m and maximum capacitive load per channel of
2000 pF is advised. Longer cables may be used up to a maximum of 50 m, but the lowest
detectable current will be increased.
Other signal sources can include diode detectors, ionization chamber electrodes or any sensors
which produce currents in the nA to mA range.
9.3.2 Signal cables
25-way screened cable with the minimum practicable capacitance should be used, terminated in
good-quality 25-way D subminiature plugs at the F3200E end. Two such cables are required to
connect up all thirty-two channels. Measurements at the bottom of the dynamic range may
benefit from the use of low-noise cable. This cable is made with semi-conductive coatings on
insulators to inhibit the generation of free charge (the triboelectric effect). Low current
measurements can be made with standard cable, but you must take particular care that the cable
cannot move or vibrate for several minutes before or during measurements.
The cable screen should be connected to chassis through the connector hood at the F3200E, and
similarly to the sensor housing or vacuum vessel at the other end. In some cases you may get
better noise performance if this screen is connected at one end only. The optimum arrangement
can be found by experiment.
You may use any of the AGnd pins on the signal connectors for the current return path, or the
cable screen, or a separate path to the chassis.
9.3.3 Signal current path
The currents measured by the F3200E must be allowed to return to their point of generation. If
there is no return path, then you will see no current, or get erratic readings. Usually there will be
a return path via the common ground of the F3200E chassis and the sensor enclosure, but this is
not always true, so if you don’t see the currents you expect, you should look carefully at the
circuit.
The currents you are measuring pass along the cable inner conductors to the F3200E inputs. The
current flowing into the I-V amplifier inputs are balanced by current in the feedback which is
supplied by the power supply to the amplifiers. Thus the measured current effectively flows
between the terminals of the input amplifiers to the local circuit ground (AGND), due to the
operational amplifier action.
Figure 4 shows a typical current path for conventional current in an application where the current
originates in an ion source and is formed into a particle beam by a high voltage supply. The
supply may be remote from the place where the current measurement is being made, for example
the current measured by an electrode in a charged particle beamline actually originates in the ion
or electron source, which could be many metres away.
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Current source
(beamline with
(Faraday cup)
Multiway cable
F3200E
-
i
+
Ion source
AGND
HV supply
PS
Chassis
Figure 4. Circuit for measured current using an external power supply
In the case of an ionization chamber or similar device, where the F3200E is providing the bias to
the chamber, the return path is through the F3200E HV supply (figure 5) to complete the circuit
back to the biased electrode. If the supply is not enabled, then it appears as an impedance of
approximately 0.3V kohm, where V is the rating of the supply.
Multiway cable
Current source
(ionization chamber)
F3200E
i
Figure 5. Circuit for measured current using the F3200E HV supply
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Bias
PSU
-
+
PS
AGND
Chassis
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
10 How the F3200E Works - An Overview
The F3200E is a very powerful instrument which provides many facilities for measuring fast
current waveforms on multiple channels. In this section we shall take a general overview of
these capabilities.
All thirty-two signal channels are identical and work in synchronization. The signal currents
entering the circuit are converted to voltages because equal opposite current flows through the
precision feedback resistors of transconductance amplifier circuits, also known as I-V converters.
After low-pass filtering to prevent aliasing in the digital domain, the voltages are converted to
binary values by thirty-two high-speed analog to digital converters (ADCs). All the conversions
occur simultaneously. The conversions are read by an FPGA (field-programmable gate array)
which handles timing, averaging and buffering. Binary values are converted to floating point
values in amps using a stored linear calibration for each channel / range combination. A second
FPGA handles communications with the host computer.
10.1 Current ranges
Each F3200E channel has four current ranges ranging from +/-10 mA full scale down to +/-10
µA full scale. This is achieved by switching between amplifiers with different feedback resistor
values. All channels are set to the same range. A future software release could allow the ranges
to be set independently for each pair of channels if there is an application requirement.
10.2 Triggering
In many cases you will need to coordinate the F3200E measurements with external events. The
gate input is a TTL signal which triggers, pauses and stops a pre-defined acquisition, according
to the trigger conditions you set. The TTL signal on the gate out connector is a passthrough of
the incoming gate allowing multiple devices to be daisy-chained. In sweep mode, the gate out
signal indicates the time intervals when the sweep data is being taken.
10.3 Acquisition modes and averaging
The F3200E can generate very large amounts of data, more than can generally be accepted in real
time by either the communications link or the host computer. For example, if all thirty-two
channels are digitized at 1 MSa/s, the resulting data rate is about 1 Gb/s. The F3200E therefore
provides averaging and buffering schemes that allow you to adapt the acquisition to optimize the
trade-off between data rate and signal to noise ratio.
Internal mode is a simple free running acquisition. You can set the ADC conversion rate up to 1
MSa/s (1000000 Hz). This data rate will exceed the capability of the host system to absorb the
data, so you would expect to see gaps in the data record (figure 6). You can reduce the sample
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rate to avoid this by reducing the conversion rate (figure 7). However it may be more useful to
average and downsample the data by averaging a number of conversions into each reading (figure
8). This has the effect of narrowing the bandwidth, thus improving signal to noise ratio, and
increasing the resolution.
Time
Successive ADC conversions
Channels
Retained
data
Figure 6. Data acquisition in internal mode; ADC rate exceeds capacity of communications /
host computer
Time
Successive ADC conversions
Channels
Retained
data
Figure 7. Data acquisition in internal mode; ADC rate reduced to match capacity of
communications / host computer
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Time
Successive ADC conversions
Channels
Averaged
data
Figure 8. Data acquisition in internal mode; data rate reduced by downsampling to match
capacity of communications / host computer
Buffered mode is a means of acquiring a limited contiguous set of data at high rate, so as to
preserve the full time resolution. Up to 65535 readings of thirty-two channels each can be
buffered in the F3200E and sent up to the host computer as a series of blocks of data. The data
display on the host computer will inevitably lag behind the actual measurements because the
communications channels cannot keep up with the acquisition rate, but all the data is captured
and can be saved and analyzed at your convenience.
The maximum measurement rate is determined by the requested number of readings and the rate
at which the internal buffers can be unloaded to the host computer. Typical values are greater
than 50 kHz for 10000 readings and greater than 160 kHz for 1000 readings if the F3200E is
connected via Ethernet.
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Trigger
Successive ADC conversions
Buffered
data
Time
Figure 9. Data acquisition in buffered mode
Sweep mode is designed for situations where there is a repetitive signal, synchronized to some
trigger. An example is a scanned charged particle beam which repeatedly passes over apertures
in front of Faraday collectors. In this circumstance, we can average across multiple scans
without loss of time resolution. The mode is analogous to the averaging mode of digital storage
oscilloscopes. Each block of data (a sweep) can be up to 1000 samples, which corresponds to 1
msec of contiguous data at 1 MHz ADC rate, and thus a data rate to the host PC of about 1 kHz.
You can average up to 65534 sweeps together to improve the signal to noise ratio, and the data
rate to the host PC is correspondingly reduced. Thus if you average 1000 sweeps, each of 100
samples taken at 1 MHz ADC rate, the data rate will be about 10 Hz.
To sample longer events in each sweep, you can reduce the ADC rate; for example 1000 samples
at 10 kHz ADC rate would give 0.1 seconds for each sweep.
Figure 10 shows a simplified schematic representation of sweep mode in which three sweeps are
averaged, each with just six samples across the sweep (1000 is the more typical number). Note
that there is no requirement that the triggers are equally spaced in time, only that the signals in a
sweep are synchronized to their initiating trigger.
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Trigger
Successive ADC
conversions
Channels
Trigger Trigger
Averaged
data
Figure 10. Data acquisition in sweep mode
Time
10.4 Self-testing and calibration
The F3200E has a self-calibration function. It can calibrate itself on all channels fully
automatically, on each of the four ranges. It stores the resulting offset and gain factors in nonvolatile memory so that it can provide results in amperes from then on by reading off linear
calibrations. The calibration sources use high precision, high stability components as these
determine the absolute accuracy of the device.
You can turn on the calibration current at any time and send it to any channel to get a verification
that a channel is functioning normally.
10.5 Monitor output
The F3200E can be set to generate a realtime analog output that can be used to display the signals
on an oscilloscope or meter. The analog voltage is generated by a DAC controlled by the
acquisition FPGA and is updated at up to 400 kHz. It is a computed value which can be the
arithmetic sum of any subset of the input signals, multiplied by a gain factor. In sweep mode, the
gate out signal is set when sweep data is being collected, so its rising transition can be used as a
trigger for the oscilloscope.
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10.6 Communication to the host computer
The F3200E provides three alternative communications interfaces to the host computer. You
must work with a suitable host computer and software to set up acquisitions on the F3200E and
read back and display the results.
The most commonly-used is the standard 100/10BaseT Ethernet interface which supports TCP/IP
and UDP protocols. The F3200E can serve multiple clients on the network.
There is also a 10 Mbps serial fiber optic channel which provides compatibility with the Pyramid
Technical Consultants, Inc. loop controllers, and thus the complete range of Pyramid products.
Finally, a serial interface which can be operated with RS-232 or RS-485 levels provides a simple
interface for applications where high data rates are not needed or diagnostic work.
As well as being a slave device on a fiber optic loop, the F3200E can also act as a loop
controller. This allows other Pyramid devices to connect to a host computer through the F3200E,
therefore avoiding the need for a dedicated loop controller in some cases.
The F3200E supports the Ethernet, fiber optic interface as a loop controller and serial interface.
Support for use of the F3200E as a slave device on a fiber optic loop may be added in a future
software release according to customer need.
10.7 Embedded software
The F3200E runs an embedded version of the Linux operating system on NIOS processors
implemented in the FPGAs. Four firmware files make up a full release, and you can update with
a single zip file which integrates all the releases, and thus ensures that you have compatible
versions.
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11 Using the PTC Diagnostic G2 Host Program
The PTC DiagnosticG2 is a stand-alone program which allows you to read, graph and log data
from the F3200E, and set all the important acquisition control parameters. It supports
communication via any of the interfaces. For some applications it may be adequate for all of
your data acquisition needs. The Diagnostic uses the same function library that is exposed for
users who develop their own host applications, and therefore also serves as a debugging aid.
PTC DiagnosticG2 was introduced to support the G2 range of Pyramid Technical Consultants,
Inc. products which feature embedded Linux processors and built-in Ethernet interfaces. It is not
compatible with the PSI Diagnostic G1 program which supports previous Pyramid products.
However the PTC Diagnostic G2 program supports most of the previous products also, and will
be extended in the future to add support for the full range.
Your F3200E was shipped with a USB memory stick with the installation files you need. We
recommend that you copy the files into a directory on your host PC. Currently the program
supports connection to the device via Ethernet. The fiber optic and serial ports will be added in a
future release. Check the Pyramid Technical Consultants, Inc. web site at www.ptcusa.com for
the latest versions.
In this section we’ll describe connecting to the device using its Ethernet port and the PTC
DiagnosticG2. The other communication and host software options will be described in the
following section.
11.1 Installation
The PTC DiagnosticG2 program runs under the Microsoft Windows operating system (Windows
versions XP, 7, 8, 10). Linux versions are available to special request for selected Linux
distributions. Contact Pyramid Technical Consultants for further information.
Copy the installer file PTCDiagnosticG2Setup.msi to the hard drive of the host computer. The
program will run on Windows XP, Vista and 7. The PC must have a standard Ethernet port.
Run the installer and follow the prompts.
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Figure 11. PTC DiagnosticG2 installation stages
The installer will create a subdirectory in the Program Files directory containing all the
executables and configuration files.
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11.2 Connecting to the F3200E
The following steps take you through the process of connecting to the device.
1) It is simplest to start with a direct connection from your host computer to the F3200E. Once
you have established reliable communication, and set a suitable unique IP address, then you can
move the F3200E onto a general local area network if required.
Ethernet
Figure 12. Direct connection to PC host
2) The F3200E is set with static IP address 192.168.100.20 at shipment, unless you requested a
particular setting. Once you have a connection you can change this setting as required. Set up
your host PC Ethernet port with a different fixed IP address in the same subnet range, for
example 192.168.100.11, or 192.168.100.200. Disable Windows firewall, which will block
some of the F3200E messages. Later you can set up firewall permissions if you need to operate
with the firewall active.
3) Connect 24 V DC power to the F3200E, but no other connections. The front panel Pyramid
logo should illuminate when the power is applied. While the device is booting, the rear panel 24
V and 2.5 V power LEDs illuminate and the communication LEDs cycle. Booting takes about 25
seconds. When the device is ready, the cycling stops and the Active LED should be illuminated.
4) Make the Ethernet connection from the host PC to the F3200E. Check that you can ping the
device from a command window prompt. You will see the LED on the Ethernet jack respond to
the pings.
Figure 13. Ping test of the Ethernet connection.
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5) Start the PTCDiagnosticG2 software. The program will open the Discover Devices window.
If you see the A60 recovery entry you can ignore it for now. It is a device recovery utility in case
of firmware corruption.
Figure 14. Discover devices window
6) Click on Discover Controllers. The software will search the accessible networks on all active
network adaptors for compatible devices.
Figure 15. Discovering loop controllers
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7) In the case of this very simple setup, only the F3200E will be discovered. Click on the entry
to highlight it and enable the Connect & Discover Subdevices button.
Figure 16. F3200E discovery – ready to connect to the device
8) Click on the Connect & Discover Subdevices button. The software will open the connection
to the F3200E and show any slave devices connected to it in the System pane. In the example
there are two devices connected to the F3200E on its fiber optic loop port.
Figure 17. F3200E connected showing slave devices on its fiber optic loop port
Double click the F3200E entry in the table to open its window. The device may start in an error
state, but this is of no concern. Pressing the clear errors button at the bottom of the screen
will clear the startup errors.
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Figure 18. F3200E window after connection
9) Now click the Initiate button at the top right. The F3200E will start streaming data to the host
computer, and you should see background noise signals in the digital displays, and in the
histogram graphic. Click the Stop button and the acquisition should stop.
In the following section we shall look at the screen controls a displays in detail.
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Figure 19. Reading background noise in internal trigger mode
11.3 Screen layout
The F3200E user interface screen is divided into two halves plus a top banner area.
The top banner contains the following indicators and controls:
Comms bar
When moving, this indicates that messages from the F3200E are being
received by the PTCDiagnosticG2. The message rate is indicated,
typically about 20 Hz.
Connected LED
When lit, this indicates that communications are valid and the system is
not in error.
Busy LED
When lit, this indicates the F3200E is busy and cannot respond to inputs,
for example while performing a calibration.
Measuring LED
Error LED
When lit, this indicates that data acquisition has been initiated.
When lit, an F3200E error has been latched. There will be a
corresponding red error message in the message window. The error can
be acknowledged and cleared with the Clear last error button below the
message area .
Auto Initiate
If this box is checked, the F3200E will start a new acquisition whenever
any parameter is altered.
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Initiate
This button starts an acquisition or restarts an acquisition
in progress.
Stop
This button stops an acquisition.
On the left below the banner there is a graphic display of the data and the message window,
which are always visible. On the right there is a screen area which changes according to which
display option you select.
Data: A numeric display of the data on each current measurement channel. Readback and
output settings for the general-purpose analog and digital lines and high voltage monitoring
(models with HV option only). Check boxes to allow you to suppress the graphic display of any
subset of the channels. The colour codes correspond to the colours of the traces of the strip chart
and scope mode graphics. Any channel which is highlighted in red is overrange. The Encoder
readout is a count of the edges detected on the gate input connector.
Data Analysis: The F3200E can perform peak detection and fitting across the 32 input channels
using two different calculations. The calculations can be enabled and controlled on this screen.
Setup: Controls to set the acquisition mode and triggering, current ranges and mapping of the
input signal to the analog monitor output, high voltage control, encoder pulse counting and
actuator controls.
Calibration: Controls for the calibration process and display of the calibration parameters for
the four current ranges, the general purpose analog inputs and outputs and the high voltage
control and readback.
Properties: Firmware version display and update controls, and IP address setting.
Real Time Processing: Controls to perform complex control and acquisition functions
(application-specific options).
11.4 Graphic display
There are three ways of displaying incoming data in a graphical way. These can be selected
independently of the acquisition mode, although there are generally displays that are better suited
to particular modes. Any subset of the full thirty-two channels can be selected for display by
checking and unchecking the channels in the Data area.
11.4.1 Strip chart display
Data from the thirty-two channels, with the selected averaging, is plotted onto a rolling strip chart
as it is acquired. This display is well-suited to the Internal acquisition mode. The horizontal axis
is the time of acquisition and the vertical (y) axis is the current. You can select automatic or
fixed vertical scaling.
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Figure 20. Strip chart display
When the data has filled the display, a slider appears underneath. You can use this to scroll back
through the data that has been buffered by the PTC DiagnosticG2 program (up to 100,000
readings). If you click in the graphic area near a trace, a cursor is placed with readout of the
channel number, the timestamp and the current at that point.
11.4.2 Scope display
A data block that has been buffered and averaged in the F3200E is displayed as a whole, in a
similar manner to a digital oscilloscope transient capture. The next available data block replaces
the previous one as a whole. This display is most suited to the display of buffered data,
especially the sweep mode.
In buffered mode the number of readings per refresh of the display is given by the burst size. If
no burst is defined, the screen is refreshed for each block of data sent up by the F3200E. In
sweep mode, the screen is refreshed with each averaged block of data.
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Figure 21. Scope display, buffered acquisition – data sampled at 100 kHz
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Figure 22. Scope display, sweep acquisition – data sampled at 1 MHz, 20 1000 point sweeps
averaged
11.4.3 Histogram display
The current in each channel is displayed as a vertical bar; there are 32 bars arranged from channel
1 on the left to channel 32 on the right. The horizontal axis will be a spatial axis if the F3200E is
connected to a sensor with a linear array of sensing elements.
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Figure 23. Histogram display. Two channels de-selected for display.
11.4.4 Vertical scale control
The vertical scale can be set to autoscale, or to be various fixed percentages of the full scale of
the selected current range using the drop down control.
Figure 24. Vertical scale selection and positive values only toggle.
Pressing the “+” button next to the vertical scale selector toggles the vertical scale from +/- Y%
of the current range to +Y%, -0.1Y%, which is useful if your signals are positive going only.
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11.4.5 Filtering
The PTC Diagnostic G2 can apply low-pass filtering to the displayed data to allow longer term
trends to be seen more clearly. This is in addition to averaging performed by the F3200E itself.
The filter is a simple exponential IIR type
Yi = Xi/A + (1 - 1/A)Yi-1,
where Yi is the latest output of the filter, Yi-1 is the prior output of the filter and Xi is the latest
reading from the F3200E. A is the averaging value from the drop-down list.
Figure 25. Filtering selections.
Note that the data is not altered, only the way it is displayed, so you can change between various
filtering settings at any time.
11.4.6 Zero offset suppression
The F3200E should have low offset currents when it is calibrated. However there may be offsets
from the sensor system that you wish to suppress. If you press the Zero button ( / ),
the signal at that time is captured for each channel and subtracted from subsequently displayed
data. Press the clear button to turn off the zero correction. Note that the data is not altered,
only the way it is displayed, so you can turn zeroing on or off at any time.
11.5 Data logging
The PTCDiagnosticG2 software has a data buffer which can accumulate up to 100000 samples,
at which point it starts overwriting the oldest data. Accumulation starts automatically when you
click Initiate. You can capture the contents to a .csv format file at any time using the Save button
. Pressing the Clear button clears the buffer and restarts the logging. The csv file includes
timestamps, a trigger count which increments from 1 to 256 with each acquisition, an overrange
indication and the 32 channels of current data.
11.6 Data panel
The 32 channels of data are displayed in amperes in exponential format. The units drop down
allows you to scale the displayed values into mA, µA or nA. Colour-coded boxes correspond to
the colours of the graphic traces, and you can suppress the graphic display of any number of the
channels by unchecking the appropriate channels. Use the vertical scroll bar to reveal the highernumbered channels.
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The Analog display shows the measured voltages on the four general-purpose analog inputs. The
three analog outputs can be set by entering the required voltage in the range +/- 10V. If monitor
output mode is selected, then analog output 1 is used for the monitor output.
The high voltage readings are the monitored voltage leaving the F3200E, and the voltage
measured at the HV read back connector. If any value is outside limits defined on the setup page,
the relevant Over or Under LED will illuminate.
11.7 Data Analysis panel
The position of one or more peaks in the distribution of signal over the 32 input channels can be
determined two different ways. The calculations are enabled by checking the relevant boxes.
Checking the Display Full Statistics box displays additional results from the calculations.
Figure 26. Peak position calculations.
11.7.1 Center of Gravity
The first calculation is a simple center of gravity (first moment) of the distribution of signals in
the channels within some window about a local maximum channel. You can set the number of
channels include in the calculation by setting a Noise Threshold as a percentage of the highest
channel signal. All channels contiguous with the peak channel out to this level will be included,
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bounded by the window, which is the maximum number of channels to include either side of the
peak channel.
Figure 27. Center of gravity calculation controls
In the following schematic illustration, a threshold of 20% and a window of 2 limits the
calculation to the yellow channels.
Figure 28. Limiting channels included in the peak position calculation.
11.7.2 Gaussian Fit (regression)
Channels for the fit are chosen in the same way as for the center of gravity calculation. A
Gaussian curve is fitted to the data by a weighted regression method. This method works well
where signal is spread over several channels, and it is relatively robust in the presence of noise.
A minimum of three channels are required in the fit. The Peak Threshold setting allows the fit to
be inhibited if the charge in the peak channel is below to the setting, to prevent spurious fits to
noise.
Figure 29. Gaussian regression fit control.
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11.8 Setup panel
The top section of this panel has controls for the conversion rate for the 32 parallel analog to
digital converters (ADCs) and the number of conversions that are averaged into each sample.
The sample rate is the ADC rate divided by the conversions per sample number.
Figure 30. Setup ADC and range control.
The ADC rate can be set between 2000 Hz and 1 MHz. Usually it is best to use a high ADC rate
and reduce the sample rate as necessary by increasing the number of conversions per sample, as
this improves the resolution and signal to noise ratio. The value can be set between 6 and 65535
in internal and buffered modes. In sweep mode it is set automatically to 1.
The full scale current range can be set to 10 mA, 1 mA, 100 µA or 10 µA. The setting applies to
all thirty-two channels. A future firmware release will allow the range to be adjusted
individually for pairs of channels.
Figure 31. Current range selections.
The remainder of the setup controls are presented on three sub-panels, covering triggering and
acquisition modes, channel gain settings and other controls. Below is a Save Configuration
button which will save the acquisition parameters to non-volatile memory and the F3200E will
recall the configuration when it powers up.
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11.8.1 Trigger pane
Figure 32. Trigger controls
The Buffer Contiguous Data check box tells the F3200E whether to use its internal memory to
buffer data. This allows you to collect blocks of data that are contiguous in time, even though
the data rate is greater than the communications channels can accommodate. You should always
set a stop condition when using buffering.
11.8.1.1 Acquisition modes
The Mode drop down lets you select the type of acquisition.
Figure 33. Acquisition modes
Custom
This mode gives you direct access to the parameters that start, pause
and stop an acquisition. It is used primarily to set up buffered
acquisitions. The following modes are special cases of Custom mode:
External Start, External Start/Stop, External Start/Hold, External
Windowed.
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Internal
External Start
External Start/Stop
External Start/Hold
External Windowed
Sweep
This mode is the simplest acquisition mode, and is most useful when
used without buffering. Data is sent to the host at the maximum rate
that the communications channel allows. The F3200E runs indefinitely
after it is initiated.
The acquisition starts after it is initiated and a trigger edge is detected at
the gate input
The acquisition starts after it is initiated and a trigger edge is detected at
the gate input. It stops when the opposite edge is detected.
The acquisition starts after it is initiated and a trigger edge is detected at
the gate input. A single measurement is made on each trigger edge.
The acquisition starts after it is initiated and a trigger edge (rising for
example) is detected at the gate input. The acquisition pauses on the
falling edge, resumes on the rising edge and so on.
The acquisition starts after it is initiated and a trigger edge (rising for
example) is detected at the gate input. Sweep Length number of
samples are buffered. This is repeated for each subsequent rising edge
and the data is averaged with the previous until Sweep Averaging
number of sweeps have been averaged. The averaged data is returned
to the PTC DiagnosticG2 program for display, and the process repeats
indefinitely.
Encoder Driven
This mode is not currently supported on the F3200E.
In Custom mode you must specify what starts, pauses and stops an acquisition. In other modes
you will need to set up some of the conditions.
11.8.1.2 Start On:
You can start the F3200E acquisition immediately when the Initiate message is received from the
host computer, or on the first gate edge after the Initiate. The required gate edge can be
configured to be rising or falling. The F3200E can look for the gate as a TTL signal on the Gate
In coaxial connector, or on the gate optical input. Note that the gate optical input is the same
connector that is used for fiber optic communications where the F3200E is the loop controller.
Loop controller function is unavailable if you use the input for triggering.
The start conditions are also the resume conditions if you set up pausing.
11.8.1.3 Pause On:
Pausing is optional. You can pause when a particular number of readings has been made (the
Burst Size). This is best used for buffered acquisitions, and in particular you can use it to get a
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stable scope display. You can also pause on the opposite gate edge. Both Burst Size and gate
can be selected at once; the F3200E will pause when the first of the conditions is met.
11.8.1.4 Stop On:
Stopping is optional in unbuffered mode, but you should set a limiting stop count in buffered
mode. You can stop when a particular number of readings has been made (the Stop Count).
You can also stop on a gate edge, which must be opposite to the start gate edge. Both Stop
Count and TTL or optical gate can be selected at the same time; the F3200E will stop when the
first of the conditions is met.
11.8.1.5 Sweep Setup
Figure 34. Sweep setup controls
In Sweep mode you need to set up the number of points in each sweep, up to a maximum of
1000, and the number of sweeps that get averaged to create each block of data that is returned to
the host computer, up to a maximum of 65534. The Min. Sweep Time is a calculated value
Min. Sweep Time = Sample Rate x Sweep Length x Sweep Averaging
Triggers for the sweeps must no arrive faster than this, or some will be missed.
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11.8.2 Channels
Figure 35. Channels controls
The analog monitor output is formed as the sum of the channels checked in this list multiplied by
a gain factor.
The F3200E hardware supports a feature in which the current range can be set individually for
each pair of channels, overriding the setting at the top of the Setup pane. This feature may be
added in a future software release according to customer application needs.
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11.8.3 Other
Figure 36. Other setup controls
Analog output 1 (pin 19 relative to pin 9 on the I/O connector) can be assigned to be manually
programmed, so that the output voltage is set directly from the host software on your PC, or to be
a monitor of the input currents. The currents that sum into the monitor signal are set on the
channels pane.
Various high voltage bias modules can be installed as a factory option. Internal jumper settings
identify the rating of the module to the internal software. A -2 kV module has been detected in
figure 36. The setpoint should be entered in volts including the polarity, for example “-1750”.
Pressing the HV button ( ) enables the supply. The front panel LED will illuminate and you
should see a readback voltage similar to the setpoint. The High and Low settings allow soft
limits to be imposed on the high voltage settings.
The four general purpose analog inputs are typically used for relatively low bandwidth signals.
You can set the averaging period between 100 µsec and 1 second.
The actuator control turns on the 24 VDC output on the actuator connector (pin 1 relative to pin
2), intended for controlling pneumatic actuator solenoids. The Test (5V) output turns on 5 VDC
which is available on the actuator connector (pin 3 relative to pin 9) and on the signal input
connectors (pin 15 relative to pins 16-23).
11.9 Calibration panel
11.9.1 Current measurement calibration
The F3200E includes four high stability precision current sources which are used for the
automatic calibration process. Each source is assigned to one of the ranges.
Range Calibration current
10 mA 8.333 mA
1 mA 833.3 µA
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100 µA 83.33 µA
10 µA 8.333 µA
The calibration factors for each channel are displayed in a separate tab for each current range.
The gain values are relative to the gains if all relevant electronic components have exactly their
nominal value. The offset values are the number of bits that will be added to measured binary
values to compensate the electronic offsets.
Clicking the Calibrate button will open a warning dialog that the existing calibration is
about to be overwritten. If you proceed, new calibrations will be done for the range and stored in
non-volatile memory. For maximum accuracy you should only run the calibration process when
the F3200E has come to operating temperature, and with nothing connected to the inputs.
Figure 37. Calibration warning dialog
The calibration routine takes about 30 seconds to complete, then the new values are displayed.
You can save the values to a csv file for your records .
11.9.2 Using the calibration sources to test individual channels
You can also turn on a current source chosen from the source current options at any time and
direct the current to any of the 32 channels, for fault-finding purposes.
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Figure 38. 8.33 µA calibration current directed to channel 3, 10 µA current range
11.9.3 Analog I/O and high voltage calibrations
There are separate calibration tabs for the general purpose analog inputs and outputs, and for the
high-voltage supply. These are set at time of manufacture and require external voltage sources
and meters to calibrate. You should not need to adjust these calibrations.
11.9.4 Clearing calibrations
The Clear All Calibrations button opens a dialog warning that you
are about to overwrite all calibrations (all current ranges, analog I/O and high voltage).
Figure 39. Clear Calibrations warning dialog
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If you continue, all gains will be set back to 1.000 and all offsets to zero. Be certain that this is
what you want to do.
11.10 Real Time Processing panel
The F3200E can run a wide range of user-programmed sequences for control and data logging
using the G2 Real Time Processing utility. If the F3200E is acting as a fiber optic loop
controller, the controls and data can be on the looped devices as well as the F3200E itself.
Examples of applications are coordinated data collection across multiple devices, servo loops and
reacting to particular sets of circumstances. Generally development of the file that defines a
particular real time application will be initiated by Pyramid, although the use of transparent xml
format files makes it relatively easy for users to modify and extend to suit their requirements.
Figure 40. Real Time Processing controls
The Upload Configuration button allows you to select an xml file that tells the F3200E how to
behave during real time processing, such as which parameters to set and read, how to compute
derived parameters, the paths to the looped devices and so on. Upload Map allows you to select
a csv file which provides the sequence of set points for the controlled variables. Once the device
is configured and the map is accepted, then you arm and initiate the map to execute it. Measured
and calculated values are displayed and graphed while the map executes. See section 18 for
further details.
11.11 Properties panel
The properties panel is where you can update the F3200E firmware and change its network
settings.
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11.11.1 Updating firmware
There are four firmware files that make up a full release, which are shown. For convenience,
these are bundled into a single overall Firmware Version zip file that is extracted automatically
by the firmware update utility. Note that firmware updates can only be performed over an
Ethernet connection to the F3200E, not via fiber optic or serial port.
Figure 41. Firmware information display
Clicking the update button opens a warning dialog.
Figure 42. Firmware update warning
If you choose to proceed, the software opens a navigator window so that you can select the
firmware file. A countdown timer plus information in the message area show progress, and you
will be prompted to reboot the F3200E at the end.
Figure 43. Firmware update progress display
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11.11.2 Configuring the network settings
You can set the name of the F3200E to help you recognize it on the network and select static or
DHCP address assignment. If you select a static IP address, you must set the address, the subnet
mask, and optionally the address of the network external gateway and a destination for error
logging.
Figure 44. Network settings
If you set a static address but forget it, you can force the F3200E to boot up at a default address
of 192.168.100.20 by pressing the rear panel reset button for several seconds at the start of power
up.
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12 Fiber Optic Loop Communications
The F3200E supports fiber optic loop communications with other Pyramid products. There are
two fiber optic ports on the rear channel, plus two transmitters that can send out digital signals.
The first port is used when the F3200E is acting as loop controller. The second port is used when
the F3200E is a device on a loop managed by another loop controller.
FT1 FT2 FT3 FT4FR1 FR2
Out Out Out OutIn In
Channel 1
(F3200E is
loop controller)
Channel 2
(F3200E is device
on a loop)
Process
Status
Enable
Beam
Figure 45. Fiber optic communication ports (view looking at rear panel)
Fiber optic receiver device FR1 is also used as the input for optical gate signals to trigger the
F3200E. This function is therefore unavailable if the F3200E is acting as a loop controller.
12.1 Using the F3200E as a loop controller
As a loop master, the F3200E can connect up to sixteen other devices. Each device must have a
unique address (0 through F) on the loop, set with a rotary switch on the device. The addresses
do not have to be sequential on the loop. The host computer communicates with the slave
devices through the F3200E’s Ethernet port.
In the schematic example shown below, the F3200E is acting as loop controller to two remote
devices, an M10 general purpose I/O device such as might be used to control a power supply, and
an H10 dual Hall probe for magnetic field measurements. The fiber optics can be hundreds of
meters long, and provide perfect electrical noise immunity. When you press “Connect &
Discover Subdevices” in the Discover Devices dialog, the looped devices will be identified and
shown in the system tree on the left of the PTC DiagnsoticG2 display. Their windows can then
be opened so that you can control them and collect data. They operate independently of the
F3200E, which just passes their communications through to the host computer. The only
exception is if you are using real time processing, when the F3200E can coordinate subdevices
during map execution.
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M10M10
H20
F3200E
Fiber optic
Ethernet
Figure 46. Example fiber optic loop configuration where the F3200E is the loop controller.
Figure 47. Example fiber optic loop configuration where the F3200E is the loop controller –
Diagnostic display.
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12.2 Using the F3200E as a looped subdevice
The F3200E can be a subdevice on the loop of another device, such as an A360 or A560 loop
controller. This may be more convenient for some systems, but note that the data rates possible
over the fiber optics are lower than over Ethernet, so there will be some reduction in the ability to
measure fast signals at high rates compared to a direct connection to the F3200E using Ethernet.
The F3200E cannot be connected simultaneously via fiber optic and Ethernet. In the schematic
example below, an A360 loop controller connects the F3200E on one port and two F100s on its
second port.
F100
Fiber optic
F100
F3200E
A360
Ethernet
Figure 48. Example fiber optic loop configuration where another device is the loop controller.
When you connect the subdevices on the loop controller, the PTC DiagnosticG2 software will
display the tree of looped devices in the system pane.
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Figure 49. Example fiber optic loop configuration where another device (A360) is the loop
controller.
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13 IG2 and EPICS Connections
13.1 What is EPICS?
The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS, http://www.aps.anl.gov/epics/)
is:
“A set of Open Source software tools, libraries and applications developed collaboratively and
used worldwide to create distributed soft real-time control systems for scientific instruments such
as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large scientific experiments. EPICS uses
Client/Server and Publish/Subscribe techniques to communicate between the various computers.
Most servers (called Input/Output Controllers or IOCs) perform real-world I/O and local control
tasks, and publish this information to clients using the Channel Access (CA) network protocol.
CA is specially designed for the kind of high bandwidth, soft real-time networking applications
that EPICS is used for, and is one reason why it can be used to build a control system comprising
hundreds of computers.”
Pyramid supplies an executable called IG2 which embeds an open source Channel Access Server
from the EPICS community. This allows connection via the Ethernet interface. IG2 is
configured for the devices you wish to connect using editable xml files. Once IG2 is running on
a computer in your network, then any other computer can run a client program which can display
and control the process variables for the devices. In the simple network in figure 50, the process
variables of a F3200E and an M10 plus H20 attached to the F3200E via fiber optics, are exposed
to the network by the IG2 service running on a server computer. One or more client GUI
computers can then access the values.
M10M10
H20
F3200E
Fiber optic
Router / switch
GUI computer
Ethernet
IG2 server
Figure 50. Simple example network for EPICS communications.
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There is a wide range of client interfaces from the EPICS community, including interfaces for
C++, C#, Java, Python, Labview ™, and Matlab ™. The Control System Studio, or CS Studio,
(http://controlsystemstudio.github.io/) is a set of ready-made tools built on Java and Eclipse
(http://www.eclipse.org/ ) that allows users to get started with little or no programming required.
There are various logging, plotting, post-processing and alarm point tools. A fully-featured “drag
and drop” user interface editor (BOY) allows quite complex customized user interfaces to be
created with minimum development time. The figures below show an example GUIs for the
F3200E created in CSS BOY and in LabView™.
Figure 51. Example user interface created in Control System Studio BOY.
Figure 52. Example user interface created in LabView™.
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13.2 Installing and Configuring IG2
The IG2 package is available to users of Pyramid products. A version supporting the F3200E
will be added in a forthcoming release. It is supplied as a zip file which should be decompressed and the entire folder moved to the computer that will act as the server. The server
and the user interface computer can be the same machine. The F3200E, the server and the user
interface computer should be able to communicate with each other over your network.
In the folders you have saved, there is an xml file that needs to be edited to customize your
particular setup. IG2 looks for the file system.xml in the \service subdirectory to establish the
configuration of the system. You can locate system.xml elsewhere than the default location, or
give it a different name, in which case you need to specify the name and path by means of an
argument in the command line that launches IG2. The system.xml file includes all the
information about your setup, including all the process variables that you want to expose, and
what you want to call them. Since the names must be unique, it is a good idea to include the
device name and the process variable description in the name.
The system file comprises a header section on the xml schema, which does not need to change.
Then comes a description of the user interface host computer, descriptions of the fiber optic loop
controller devices in your system and descriptions of the devices attached to loops. The F3200E
is a loop controller, because it has the capability to support multiple slave devices through its
fiber optic port. You don’t have to describe every device and every input/output point that is
present in your system, but only the ones that you expose in the system file will be visible to
EPICS. The following system.xml example corresponds to the CSS GUI shown in the previous
figure.
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Figure 53. System.xml example.
The convention of “wires” for Pyramid device process variables, and the fixed names of those
wires for each supported product, are described in Pyramid document “ig2_scripting_v#.#.pdf”,
where #.# is the document revision number. The document also describes how you can scale the
values, for example to convert voltages from general purpose I/O devices to physical units
relevant to the item they are controlling, and how you can set up monitoring against tolerance
bands.
The choice of a corresponding working name for each wire is up to the user; you may wish to
choose something descriptive that is relevant to what you are measuring or controlling. We
nevertheless recommend a naming convention that makes it clear whether a value is a readback
or control (the prefixes c_ and r_ are used in the example), which particular device the value is
associated with, and a number or letter to indicate the channel for multichannel devices.
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14 Serial Communications
Data is generated at too greater rate by the F3200E for a 115 kbps serial interface to be useful for
general use. However, it can be useful to check or change network settings or query the setup of
the unit for diagnostic purposes. The commands are ASCII and use the SCPI format. A
command that ends with a query solicits a response. A command without a query is an
instruction to the device.
The F3200E supports 115.2 kbps RS-232 ASCII communication. In the following example the
F3200E is asked to return its identity. The Ethernet IP address and mode is requested, then the IP
address is set to a new value.
Figure 54. RS-232 terminal session.
14.1 RS-485 connection example
RS-485 is used to extend a serial connection over a long distance. RS-485 is not currently
enabled in the F3200E, but may be added for specific customer needs. If you have a RS-232
serial port on the host PC, then an RS-232 to RS-485 converter is used at the host PC end. The
built-in RS-485 of the F3200E allows a direct connection at its end.
A commonly-used converter for the beam position monitor application is the MOXA TC100.
The Moxa TCC-80 is a low-cost alternative for less critical applications. The converter should
be configured for four wire (full duplex) RS-485 operation. The F3200E provides parallel
termination for transmit and receive. It is therefore optional whether you also terminate at the
TC100 end, but there is no harm if you do. The recommended Dip switch setting for the TC100
is:
Sw1 Sw2 Sw3
OFF ON ON
The recommended Dip switch setting for the TCC-80 is:
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Sw1 Sw2 Sw3
ON OFF ON
1 :Tx2: Rx+
3: Gnd
4: n/c
5: Tx+
6: Rx-
5
3
1
2
F3200E
6
4
TC100
Figure 55. RS-485 cable F3200E to TC100.
Tx+ (B)
Tx- (A)
Rx+ (B)
Rx- (A)
SGnd
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15 Principle of Operation
15.1 Transconductance amplifiers
The F3200E uses the transconductance amplifier circuit, or I-V converter, to produce a
convenient voltage from the small signal current. You can consider that the signal current I
flows through the precision feedback resistor Rf in the amplifier circuit, resulting in a voltage I.Rf
at the amplifier output. Provided that the output of the amplifier does not saturate, the input
impedance of the amplifier is close to zero ohms. The actual input impedance of the circuit is
determined by any series impedance Rs that is upstream of the feedback loop.
C
f
R
f
i(t)
R
s
-V(t)
-
+
f
)(. tiRV
AGND
Figure 56. The basic I-V convertor circuit.
The fidelity with which the output voltage tracks the input current over all frequencies depends
upon the speed of the amplifier, and any integrating effect of capacitance in the feedback loop,
either deliberately added or stray, which will roll off the high frequency response. A small
amount of feedback capacitance Cf is often added to ensure that the amplifier is unconditionally
stable.
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15.2 F3200E Circuit Overview
The circuitry is arranged on a main board plus two daughter boards. The A60 is a standard
Pyramid processor card which handles the communications interfaces to the host computer. The
fiber optic mezzanine card mounts the six fiber optic devices.
Signal
inputs
Range select
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
Cal 1
Cal 2
Cal 3
Cal 4
FPGA
2
DAC
DAC
DAC
DAC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
ADC
Relay
Relay
Opto
Opto
Analog outputs
HV
module
Analog inputs
+24 V switched out
+5 V switched out
Opto A in
Opto B in
Gate in
Gate out
Digital outputs
Digital inputs
HV output
HV input
LEDs
JPRs
+15 (HV)
DC-DC converters
+5 +3.3 +2.5 +1.5
Mode
Addr
Reset
Watchdog
+15 -15
SRAM
NIOS
CPU
FPGA
1
NIOS
CPU
DRAM Flash
Fiber
optic
mezz
Fan
A60
TX
RX
TX
RX
TX
TX
24 V in
24 V out
Port 1
Port 2
Ethernet
Serial
drivers
RS-232 / RS-485
Figure 57. F3200E block schematic.
15.2.1 Signal input stages
Each signal processing channel comprises four distinct I-V converter circuits, differing in the
value of the feedback resistors. Stabilization capacitors in the feedback loops give an effective
time constant of 0.8 µsec on each range. One of the four circuits is switched in by analog gate
switches at any time in order to establish a particular full scale current. The input impedance is
determined by the “on” resistance of the analog gate, which is 40 ohms typical.
The I-V converter stage is followed by a four-pole low-pass filter with -3dB rolloff set to 250
kHz, to provide anti-aliasing for the analog to digital converter.
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Range select
200
-
+
2k
-
+
20k
2 pole LP
filter 250 kHz
2 pole LP
filter 250 kHz
Buffer
ADC
-
+
200k
-
+
Figure 58. F3200E analog stages block schematic.
The input stage is repeated thirty-two times to make up the full channel count. Each channel has
a dedicated 1 MHz 14-bit ADC, and all channels are converted simultaneously. The analog
signal is biased in the filter and buffer stages so that the fourteen bit range of the ADC maps to
+/- the full scale current.
15.2.2 FPGAs
The digital circuitry is based around two field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) which handle
all data collection, processing and communications.
FPGA 2 on the main board controls all the ADCs and DACs, and collects the conversions over
multiple serial lines. The monitor output is generated in real time by the acquisition FPGA
(FPGA 2) and delivered to analog output 1 when enabled. The FPGA also handles tasks such as
calibration current control, control and readback of the optional HV supply, gate inputs and
outputs, and the auxiliary connector I/O lines.
FPGA 1 in the A60 card contains two embedded NIOS II processor cores, one handling the realtime F3200E application written in Embedded C, and the other handling Ethernet
communications running on µCLinux. High speed FPU instruction blocks are implemented in
the FPGA to provide real time data processing. The application processor communicates with
devices on the main board using a fast serial bus. It is connected to external memory for the
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operating system and application programs. It handles the communication channels to the host
PC, reads the rear panel switches and drives the LEDs.
15.2.3 Power supplies
24 VDC input power enters via a 1.1 A fuse, and is used directly to power the cooling fan. It is
also available via a fused output on the auxiliary (actuator) connector. The 24 V input is
protected against polarity reversal by a series diode, and from transients by series inductors and
transorbs to chassis which limit excursions to 6 V (not shown on the block schematic). DC-DC
converters generate the +/-12 VDC supplies for the analog circuits, and +5, +3.3, +2.5 and +1.5
VDC for the digital circuits.
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16 Triggers and Buffering
The F3200E offers the ability to measure small currents at high rates plus great flexibility for
collecting data and triggering to synchronize with external events. The basic internal mode
provides a simple to use acquisition that does not need any external trigger. The various external
trigger modes require incoming synchronization triggers. Most of the external modes can be also
set up in the custom mode, which provides comprehensive controls for choosing the conditions
that start, pause and stop an acquisition. Sweep mode is intended for repetitive signals that a
synchronous with a trigger signal.
16.1 Internal trigger mode
If you simply want to stream data continuously from the F3200E, then the Internal trigger mode
achieves this. Don’t check the Burst Count or Stop Count boxes. When you press Initiate, the
F3200E will start streaming data to the host computer, and will continue until you abort the
acquisition. The PTC DiagnosticG2 strip mode and histogram graphics will keep up with real
time, shown under the strip mode plot as the time in seconds since the Initiate. The data rate is
limited by communication rates over the Ethernet, however, and by the load on the host
computer. Thus, beyond a particular data sampling rate, there will inevitably be missing readings
in the record. The critical rate will generally be close to the Comms rate displayed on the PTC
DiagnosticG2, normally about 20 Hz. When the sample rate is greater than the communications
rate, the proportion of samples that you capture will be given by (communications rate)/(sample
rate) to a good approximation.
16.2 Data buffers
16.2.1 F3200E internal buffer
The internal memory of the F3200E allows you to acquire time contiguous data at very high
rates. The maximum buffer size you can select is 65,534. However, because the buffer is
implemented as a cascade of memory, and because data is always being sent up to the host
computer during an acquisition, the amount of available buffering can appear to be variable.
Best performance is achieved with a fast network connection to the F3200E. If the device is
connected via fiber optic to a loop controller, the maximum rates and buffer sizes before
overflow will be lower. When you are acquiring data into the buffer at high rates, the PTC
DiagnosticG2 display will generally lag behind real time, underscoring the fact that you are now
taking data faster than it can be delivered to the host computer.
The F3200E can capture a single shot capture of the full buffer of 65534 readings with 67 kHz
sample rate with a direct Ethernet connection. This corresponds to a 0.98 second burst of
contiguous data with 15 µsec time resolution across all 32 channels. At the shortest allowed
averaging time of 6 µsec, over 3000 readings can be taken without buffer overflow. It is possible
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to get time resolved single shot data down to 1 µsec resolution by suitable setup of the sweep
mode, as described in section 16.4.
Before taking any critical time-resolved data, you should test the available maximum number of
samples under the expected worst-case loading of your network and host computer. We
recommend that you also set a maximum number of readings (the Stop Count) when using the
data buffers, to avoid arbitrary overwriting of the data.
16.2.2 PTC DiagnosticG2 buffer
The PTC DiagnosticG2 has its own circular data buffer with a maximum of 100,000 entries.
This is independent of the F3200E buffering. If you allow an acquisition to run longer than this,
and recover the log file, you will see that the data has wrapped around. The oldest entries will be
overwritten. You can clear the Diagnostic buffer at any time with the “Clear the data buffer
button” . You can save the current buffer contents to a csv format file at any time using the
“Save the data buffer to a file” button .
16.3 External triggering
16.3.1 Custom triggering
The F3200E will respond to edges on the gate input to start, pause and stop acquisitions. Using
the Custom trigger mode allows you great flexibility in choosing when and how the F3200E
should take data, and how data taking should be synchronized with external events. Consider an
acquisition with start, pause and hold conditions.
Start Pause Resume Pause Resume Stop
Acquiring
Not acquiring
Initiate
(Initiate)
or
Gate ↑
Burst count
or
Gate ↓
Gate ↑
Burst count
or
Gate ↓
Gate ↑
Stop count
or
Gate ↓
Figure 59. Start, pause and stop conditions.
Every acquisition must start with an Initiate command from the host computer, for example
clicking the button in the PTC DiagnosticG2 program. In Internal mode, this is
sufficient on its own to start the acquisition. However to synchronize with an external event, the
start condition should be selected to respond to an incoming gate signal edge. The gate edge can
be on the Lemo 00 TTL input or the optical gate input (fiber optic channel 1 Rx).
Pausing is optional, and only possible if the start condition was set on the gate input. You can
select whether the acquisition pauses when it has reached a defined Burst Size (number of
measurements) or when it sees the opposite direction edge on the gate input to that which started
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the acquisition. Both conditions can be selected, in which case the condition which applies first
will pause the acquisition. The acquisition resumes when the gate defined for start is seen again.
There is no limit to the number of pauses and resumes.
Stopping is optional, but strongly advised if you are buffering contiguous data, to reduce the risk
of buffer overflow. You can stop when a defined Stop Count has been reached, or when the
F3200E detects opposite direction edge on the gate input to that which started the acquisition.
Both conditions can be selected, in which case the condition which applies first will stop the
acquisition.
16.3.2 Pre-defined trigger modes
The F3200E provides a number of pre-defined trigger modes. Most can be achieved by
appropriate Custom trigger settings. Similarly, having chosen one of these preset modes, you can
alter some settings to add extra Burst Size or Stop Count conditions, as if you are using custom
mode. For every trigger mode you can force the F3200E to stop acquisition state at any time by
sending the Abort command.
Mode Start Pause Stop Notes
Internal Internal n/a n/a Acquisition will start immediately you send Initiate, and
continue indefinitely if unbuffered, or to the <Stop Count>
if buffered.
Custom Full user control over start, pause, resume and stop.
External Start Gate n/a n/a Acquisition will start when a valid trigger edge is seen after
you send Initiate, and continue indefinitely.
External StartStop Gate n/a Gate Acquisition will start when a valid trigger edge is seen after
you send Initiate. Readings will continue until the opposite
polarity trigger edge is seen.
External StartHold Gate n/a n/a <Burst Size> is forced to a value of 1 in this mode.
A single reading is taken for each valid trigger edge. This
will continue indefinitely.
External Windowed Gate Gate n/a Acquisition will start when a valid trigger edge is seen after
you send Initiate. Acquisitions continue until the opposite
polarity edge is seen, at which point the acquisitions pause.
They resume when the next trigger edge is seen.
Sweep Gate Gate n/a Acquisition will start when a valid trigger edge is seen after
you send Initiate, and <Sweep Length> readings will be
taken. On the next trigger edge another <Sweep Length>
readings will be taken and averaged with the first. This will
continue until <Sweep Averaging> number of sweeps have
been averaged together, and the data will be sent to the host
computer. The averages are reset and the process repeats
indefinitely.
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16.4 Sweep mode
16.4.1 Repetitive signals
Sweep mode provides the highest available effective sampling rate, but requires a repetitive
signal. A typical application is particle accelerators where the beam is scanned across an array of
detectors. This schematic illustration shows a linear particle sweep backwards and forwards
across a beam dump which includes multiple equispaced beam collector slots, each connected to
an F3200E channel. The objective is to create a uniform beam fan from a narrow pencil beam.
The signal from the beam collectors is nominally completely repetitive, and synchronized by the
scan generator clock. High performance magnet systems are capable of doing such beam scans at
rates up to 1 kHz.
Figure 60. Illustrative scanned beam example.
Assume that the sweep frequency in this example is 500 Hz, so that a single pass of the beam
takes 1 msec. Setting up the F3200E in sweep mode with 1 MHz ADC rate and 1000 points per
sweep will generate 1000 readings for each pass of the beam and take 1 msec. In practice there
needs to be some extra time, about 5-10 µsec, before the next synchronization trigger arrives so
that data can be transferred inside the F3200E and a new trigger edge can be detected. So a more
sensible setup would be 980 points to provide a 20 µsec period for data transfer.
The number of sweep averages to use will depend upon the signal to noise ratio and the temporal
frequency components you need to see in the beam. When it has overlaid and averaged the
requested number of sweep averages, the F3200E will return the result and repeat the process.
The “comb” of peaks is a mapping into the time domain of the spatial behavior of the beam
across the scan. The F3200E is also providing spatial information if the spacing of the slots is
well-known, so a measurement of the local beam spot velocity is possible. The data can also be
analyzed to check parameters such as constancy of the beam profile and intensity across the
sweep. Combining all the data allows the uniformity of the fan beam line to be assessed.
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Shapes indicate
beam profile
Separations indicate
beam velocity
Figure 61. Illustrative scanned beam example - analysis.
Heights indicate
beam intensity
Figure 62. Burst of pulses captured in sweep mode, 20 sweep averaging.
16.4.2 Single shot acquisition at 1 MHz
Normal buffered acquisition is limited to a maximum sampling rate of 167 kHz to minimize
buffer overflow risk. However it is possible to use sweep mode to collect single shot data at 1
MHz for up to 1000 samples. Simply set the number of sweep averages to 1, and deliver a single
start trigger pulse. The F3200E will capture 1000 readings on each of 32 channels with 1 µsec
intervals, and you can save the data to a csv file if you are using the PTC DiagnosticG2 program.
Note that you must consider the analog bandwidth when looking at data that has been sampled at
this rate.
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Figure 63. Single shot measurement at 1 MHz sampling.
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17 Monitor output
The monitor output analog signal can be selected as the function of analog output 1 (pin 19 on
the I/O connector, relative to ground (pins 9 or 13). It provides a wideband real time view of the
inputs when the F3200E is measuring, independent of the communication channel to the host
computer. When monitor mode is selected, the value is computed as the sum of user-selected
channels by the main PCB FPGA and sent to the DAC that drives analog output 1.
Figure 64. Selecting monitor mode.
The gain factor is given by the full scale current range in use and the number of channels that you
have selected for the summation.
Gain = (10 / Current range) * (1 / number of channels) volts per amp
As an example, if the current measured on channel 1 is 6 µA on the 10 µA range, and you have
selected only channel 1 into the summation, the output voltage will be 6e-6 * (10/10e-6) * (1/1),
or 6 volts.
In the following example, a 500 Hz sine wave is delivered with equal magnitude to channels 1-16
and a 10 kHz at various amplitudes into channels 19-32. The F3200E was running in sweep
mode at 1 MHz sampling.
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Figure 65. Demonstration acquisition for monitor mode.
If all channels are selected for monitoring, an oscilloscope measuring analog output 1 shows the
summed version delivered to the monitor output, shown on the blue trace in figure 64. The
monitor output is updated only while the F3200E is measuring (red trace). When it is waiting for
the next trigger, the most recent output value is held.
Figure 66. Monitor output voltage with all channels selected for monitoring.
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Deselecting channels 1-16 leaves only the 10 kHz signals contributing to the monitor.
Figure 67. Monitor output voltage with some channels de-selected.
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18 Real Time Processing
Custom application code can be loaded into the F3200E using an xml schema. The code can
coordinate data across the F3200E itself and devices connected to it as fiber optic loop slaves.
Maps which comprise a table of command values plus values to be monitored can be executed in
a regular time sequence to create a coordinated data set.
If your application could benefit from a real time processing application we recommend that you
contact Pyramid Technical Consultants for assistance to develop an initial set of files.
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19 High Voltage Supply
19.1 Setting the High Voltage Supply
The F3200E is available with a one-watt high voltage supply suitable for biasing ionization
chambers, diodes, and proportional chambers. The voltage range can be specified at time of
purchase from 200, 500, 1000 and 2000V with either polarity.
The front panel HV on LED illuminates when the supply enabled. The set value can be adjusted
at any time, independent of what measurements are in progress.
A voltage divider on the HV output senses the actual voltage being delivered. There is a second
identical divider on the HV input. This allows an optional loopback verification that the high
voltage is reaching the intended electrode. The HV return line should connect to the driven
electrode at a different place to the incoming voltage to confirm absolutely that the voltage is
reaching its destination.
HV In
HV Out
Figure 68. Loopback validation of external high voltage connections
If the monitored values differ significantly from the setpoint, you know that the output is either
being loaded down by a low resistance to ground, or that it is being driven by another source of
higher compliance. A vacuum chamber with a large free electron population can load down a
positive power supply connected to an electrode in that chamber. A charged particle beam
striking the electrode connected to the HV supply can have this effect. In all cases you should
investigate the cause, because damage may result to the F3200E.
Positive supplies source conventional current, and negative supplies sink conventional current.
A bleed resistor fixed load is connected to each high voltage supply output which drains 40 μA at
maximum voltage. Transorb protection devices prevent the absolute value of the voltage at the
output going more than 80 V above the maximum rating. However these devices are not
designed to pass large currents indefinitely, so you should be careful not to overdrive the outputs
with other power supplies or with charged particle beam strike currents.
CAUTION
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Do not connect external power supplies to the F3200E external high voltage output that will
drive the built-in supplies away from the voltages they are trying to regulate, or you may cause
damage to the F3200E.
19.2 Changing the High Voltage Supply Range and Polarity
The range and polarity of the high voltage supplies is fixed and must be specified at time of
purchase. Units may be returned to the factory to alter the high voltage modules if necessary. It
not recommended that users change the high voltage supply module. The following jumper
setting information is included for reference only.
No HV
J6 J6 J6 J6 J6
No HV
J6 J6 J6 J6 J6
+500 V+200 V
-500 V-200 V
Figure 69. High voltage module jumper settings
+2000 V+1000 V
-2000 V-1000 V
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20 Using the General I/O Connector
The F3200E provides a general purpose input/output connector with analog and digital lines that
may be used for any compatible purpose. All circuits include current limiting resistors (shown in
the figures below) and diode clamps (not shown).
20.1 Analog inputs
Four differential inputs, +/- 10V. Current limiting resistors.
1k
1M
1k
+
-
Figure 70. Analog input circuit
20.2 Digital inputs
Four inputs, TTL levels with pull up to 5 V. Series protection resistor.
+5 V
50k
500
Figure 71. Digital input circuit
20.3 Analog outputs
Three outputs single ended, +/- 10 V, max current 50 mA.
+
-
100
10k
10k
Figure 72. Analog output circuit
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20.4 Digital outputs
Four outputs TTL levels, max current 35 mA.
100
Figure 73. Digital input circuit
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21 Using the Actuator Control Connector
Many detector devices are mounted on motion actuator systems so that they can be moved in and
out of the path of a beam of charged particles or ionizing radiation. The F3200E provides an
auxiliary input / output connector on the front panel intended for control of a pneumatic actuator,
but also available for other purposes.
Switched +24 VDC power is available to drive a solenoid, relay coil or similar device. The
output is protected by a 130 mA automatically resetting fuse.
Two opto-isolated digital inputs are provided for limit switch sensing or general applications. 24
VDC power is available on pins 4 and 8, protected by 130 mA automatically resetting fuses.
Figure 74 shows a typical arrangement for pneumatic actuator control.
Opto A input
+24 VDC
0V
Solenoid
15
69
+24 VDC
switched
+24 VDC
Opto B input
Figure 74. Connecting a solenoid-operated actuator to the actuator control connector.
A relay switched +5 VDC continuity test signal is routed to pin 3 on this connector in parallel to
pins on each of the signal input connectors. A FET-switched fast logic signal with 10 kohm
pullup to +5 V is provided on pin 6.
Figure 75 shows the F3200E internal circuits, to allow users to design other interfaces to the
connector as required.
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Solenoid drive
Opto input A
Opto input B
8
2 +24 V rtn
10 k
5
+24 V rtn
10 k
7
+24 V rtn
FS 130 mA
+24 V1
10 k
Read
Read
FS 130 mA
Test signal
10 k
FET switched
logic signal
6
10 k
9 Gnd
Figure 75. Actuator I/O : F3200E internal circuitry.
+5 V3
+5 V
Gnd
Control
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Pin 1
Pin 6
Pin 5
Pin 9
Pin 1
Pin 14
Pin 13
Pin 25
22 Connectors
22.1 Front panel connectors
22.1.1 Actuator
Dsub 9 pin female.
(External view on connector / solder side of mating plug)
1 +24 VDC switched 6 Digital output
2 PSU GND 7 Opto in B
3 +5V relay switched 8 +24 VDC out
4 +24 VDC out 9 DGnd
5 Opto in A
22.1.2 General purpose I/O port
Dsub 25 pin female.
(External view on connector / solder side of mating plug)
1 24 V return 14 +24 V DC out
2 Chassis 15 Analog out 3
3 Analog in 1 + 16 Analog in 1 4 Digital out 1 17 Digital out 2
5 Analog in 2 + 18 Analog in 2 6 Analog in 3 + 19 Analog out 1
7 Analog in 3 - 20 Analog out 2
8 Analog in 4 - 21 + 5 VDC out
9 Ground 22 Digital out 3
10 Digital out 4 23 Analog in 4 +
11 Digital in 4 24 Digital in 3
12 Digital in 2 25 Digital in 1
13 Ground
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Pin 1
Pin 14
Pin 13
Pin 25
Pin 1
Pin 14
Pin 13
Pin 25
22.1.3 Signal inputs 1-16 (red cable code)
Dsub 25 pin female.
(External view on connector / solder side of mating plug)
1 Input 02 14 Input 01
2 Input 03 15 +5V switched
3 Input 04 16 AGND
4 Input 05 17 AGND
5 Input 06 18 AGND
6 Input 07 19 AGND
7 Input 08 20 AGND
8 Input 09 21 AGND
9 Input 10 22 AGND
10 Input 11 23 AGND
11 Input 12 24 Input 16
12 Input 13 25 Input 15
13 Input 14
22.1.4 Signal inputs 17-32 (green cable code)
Dsub 25 pin female.
(External view on connector / solder side of mating plug)
1 Input 18 14 Input 17
2 Input 19 15 +5V switched
3 Input 20 16 AGND
4 Input 21 17 AGND
5 Input 22 18 AGND
6 Input 23 19 AGND
7 Input 24 20 AGND
8 Input 25 21 AGND
9 Input 26 22 AGND
10 Input 27 23 AGND
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Pin 1Pin 2
11 Input 28 24 Input 32
12 Input 29 25 Input 31
13 Input 30
22.1.5 High voltage out
SHV male. To mate with standard SHV connector such as Radiall R317 005.
Core: high voltage
(2 kV max)
Outer screen: shield
(at chassis GND)
22.1.6 High voltage in
SHV male. To mate with standard SHV connector such as Radiall R317 005.
Core: high voltage
(2 kV max)
Outer screen: shield
(at chassis GND)
22.2 Rear panel connectors
22.2.1 Ethernet communications
RJ-45 jack. To mate with standard RJ-45 plug.
Auto MDIX facility - cable can be direct or crossover type.
22.2.2 RS-232 / RS-485 communications
Six pin mini-DIN socket (PS/2 mouse/keyboard type).
Pin 5Pin 6
Pin 3Pin 4
(External view on connector / solder side of mating plug)
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1 RS-232 Tx / RS-485 Tx- 4 n/c
2 RS-232 Rx / RS-485 Rx+ 5 RS-485 Tx+
3 Gnd 6 RS-485 Rx-
The socket incorporates a sensor switch that allows the F3200E to detect that a plug has been
connected. When a connection is made, the RS-232 / RS-485 transceiver is active, and the
communication mode is set by the mode switch.
22.2.3 Gate input
Lemo 00 50 ohm miniature coaxial EPL.00.250.NTN. To mate with Lemo 00 plug (part number
FFA.00.250.CTAC31Z). A Lemo to BNC adaptor is available (ADAP-LEMO-BNC). 50 ohm
drive capability.
22.2.4 Gate output
Lemo 00 50 ohm miniature coaxial EPL.00.250.NTN. To mate with Lemo 00 plug (part number
FFA.00.250.CTAC31Z). A Lemo to BNC adaptor is available (ABF.00.250.CTA, available as
ADAP-LEMO-BNC from Pyramid Technical Consultants). 50 ohm drive capability.
22.2.5 Fiber-optic communications:
Six HFBR ST bayonets suitable for 1 mm plastic or 200 µm silica fiber. 640 nm (visible red)
light. Four transmitters (Tx), two receivers (Rx). Dark casing = receiver, light casing =
transmitter.
Tx Tx Tx Tx Rx Rx
Channel 1 Channel 2
Channel 1 provides communications when the F3200E is a loop controller. Channel 2 provides
communications where the F3200E is a subdevice on a loop. The port 1 receiver also functions
as optical trigger input. Two transmitters are available for fast digital signaling to other devices.
22.2.6 Power input
Two-pin Lemo-Redel PXG.MO.2GG.NG. To mate with Redel PXG free connector.
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+
+24 VDC
0 V (24 V rtn)
(External view on connector / solder side of mating plug)
22.2.7 Ground lug
M4 threaded stud. To mate with M4 ring lug.
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23 Controls and Indicators
23.1 Front panel controls
None.
23.2 Rear panel controls
23.2.1 Reset button
Momentary push-button that forces a warm reset of the on-board processor.
Holding the button in during the first few seconds of powering up forces the device to the default
IP address 192.168.100.20.
23.2.2 Address switch
16 position rotary switch setting device address for use when you have the F3200E as a slave on
a fiber optic loop. Choice of address is arbitrary, but each device in a fiber-optic loop system
must have a unique address. The switch is recessed behind the rear panel – use a fine flat-bladed
screwdriver to change the setting.
Setting Function
0-15 Available address settings (x00 to x0F).
23.2.3 Mode switch
10 position rotary switch setting communications mode. This switch may be left at position 0 for
RS-232 ASCII communications.
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23.3 Front panel indicators
23.3.1 Power
Illuminated logo. +24 VDC power is present, DC-DC converter is running and generating 5
VDC.
23.3.2 HV on
Yellow LED. Illuminated if the HV supply is enabled.
23.4 Rear panel indicators
Eight green LEDs.
24 V
2.5 V
Initiated
Active
Com
Ethernet
Optical
Serial
23.4.1 24 V
Green LED. 24 VDC power is present, DC-DC converter is running and generating 2.5 VDC.
23.4.2 2.5 V
Green LED. Unit has powered up correctly.
23.4.3 Initiated
Green LED. Device has been initiated for measurements.
23.4.4 Active
Green LED. Device has booted up correctly and is running.
23.4.5 Com
Green LED. A host communication channel is active.
23.4.6 Ethernet
Green LED. Ethernet is the active communication interface.
23.4.7 Optical
Green LED. Fiber optic is the active communication interface.
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23.4.8 Ethernet
Green LED. Serial (RS-232 or RS-485) is the active communication interface.
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24 A60 Recovery
If your F3200E ever suffers corruption of its stored programs, it may no longer be able to
communication with it via normal means. This could happen if you were to suffer a power
failure or communications interruption during a firmware update. We hope this never happens to
you, but in case it ever does, the A60 recovery utility can recover the situation. We recommend
that you only use this utility under direction of Pyramid.
CAUTION
Do not use the A60 Recovery utility except under the direction of Pyramid. Misuse could render
your F3200E inoperable, and you would then need to return it to the factory for repair.
24.1 Starting the A60 Recovery Utility
You need to start the F3200E in bootloader mode. To invoke this, you must fit a 2mm jumper to
position one of jumper JPR5. JPR5 is located close to the fiber optic mezzanine board near the
rear of the main circuit board.
Disconnect power from the F3200E. The jumper can be accessed by removing the four small
screws at the rear of the top cover of the unit, sliding the cover back and removing it. JPR5 is
located near the rear panel, between the gate BNC connectors and the LED indicators. Make
sure you are well grounded to the F3200E chassis before touching the jumper or any other
internal component, to prevent damaging the electronics by static discharge. Fit the jumper and
ensure all other positions on JPR5 are open.
Figure 76. JPR 5 location; bootloader mode jumper position.
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24.2 Using the A60 Recovery Utility
Reconnect the power and let the F3200E boot up. Start the PTC DiagnosticG2 software and
discover devices. The A60 Recovery will appear. Connect to this and the recover screen will
open. You can confirm you are connected to the correct device in case of doubt by looking at the
serial number.
Figure 77. A60 recovery screen.
Using the information on the screen, Pyramid will be able to tell you if any of the firmware is
corrupted. It is possible to load individual firmware files without going through the full update
process using the Erase and Update firmware button, and this may restore the function of your
F3200E.
After using the A60 Recovery utility, power down the F3200E, restore the original jumper setting
and refit the top cover
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25 Fault-finding
Symptom Possible Cause Confirmation Solution
High noise levels Insufficient averaging for the
signal being measured
Noise level reduces with
averaging period
Use an appropriate amount of
averaging time for the signal
level.
RF pickup Noise varies with cable
position, status of neighboring
equipment.
Check integrity of outer
screens of signal cables.
Line voltage pickup Noise level drops sharply if
averaging period is 16.7 msec
(60 Hz) or 20 msec (50 Hz)
Keep F3200E and signal
cables clear of unscreened
high current mains voltage.
Use averaging periods (N/line
frequency).
No signal Small signal lost in noise Signal appears on more
sensitive current range or with
more averaging.
Use appropriate current range
and averaging.
Unit is waiting for external
trigger.
Check trigger mode. Use appropriate trigger mode.
Very few samples measured Unit is in unbuffered mode
with a low stop count
Check settings Use buffered mode or remove
stop conditions.
No data seen on PTC
DiagnsoticG2 scope display
Number of samples per burst
less than the number needed to
refresh the display.
Look at strip chart display Define a burst size that forces
scope mode refresh.
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F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 98 of 107
Measured currents or charges
are inaccurate
Unit not calibrated. Gain factors are all 1.00 and
offsets are all zero.
Calibrate.
Calibration was carried out
while a signal current was
present.
Repeat calibration with no
external signal present.
Unit is overheating due to
failed fan
Unit feels warm. Fan stopped. Return unit for fan
replacement.
Unit is overheating due to
airflow blockage
Unit feels warm. Performance
improves when operated on
the bench.
Clear space around the unit
and improve airflow.
No signal on analog monitor
output
Unit is not measuring. Signal appears when unit
initiated and triggered.
Ensure F3200E is measuring
when you want to see the
monitor output.
Analog output is set to manual
mode.
Check setting Set to monitor mode.
No channels with signal are
selected for summation.
Check all channels - signal
should appear.
Ensure you select all the
relevant channels for summing
into the monitor output.
8.3 mA (833 uA, 83 uA, 8.3
uA) background on one
channel
Internal calibration source has
been turned on.
Turn off calibration source.
No signal seen on analog
inputs
Missing ground reference –
inputs are differential
Check electrical circuit If the measured signal is single
ended, make sure the analog
input – and signal ground are
referenced to F3200E ground.
No or incorrect response to Incorrect gate polarity Use correct polarity.
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 99 of 107
external gate selected.
Wrong gate input selected. Use correct setup.
No or low high voltage Shorted to ground in external
circuit
Monitor HV reading zero or
very low relative to setpoint.
Monitor value recovers if
F3200E disconnected from the
external circuit.
Eliminate shorts to ground.
Effective short to ground via
free electrons
Monitored HV reading zero or
very low relative to setpoint.
Monitor value recovers if
F3200E disconnected from the
external circuit.
Reduce electron concentration
if possible.
High voltage not at setpoint A high compliance source
such as a charged particle
beam is driving the HV
electrode.
Monitor value recovers if
F3200E disconnected from the
external circuit.
Change geometry to reduce
beam strike.
Cannot set high voltage Trying to set above the
maximum allowed value soft
limit.
HV OK if a lower value is
chosen.
If allowed, increase the
maximum allowed value.
Unable to communicate via
Ethernet
Incorrect IP address for
F3200E or host.
Check settings of F3200E and
host PC.
Use consistent IP addresses.
F3200E and host have
different subnet masks
Check settings of F3200E and
host PC.
Use consistent subnet masks.
Messages being blocked by
Windows firewall
Check firewall setting. Disable firewall (disconnect
measurement system network
from internet if required for
PSI System Controls and Diagnostics
F3200E User Manual F3200E_UM_180726 Page 100 of 107
security)
Messages being blocked by
anti virus software.
Disable anti-virus software Set up allowed channels for
F3200E messages.
Unexpected changes to
F3200E state
Another host is
communicating with the
F3200E.
Change IP address.
Use a direct cable connection
instead of a network.
Set up IP addresses and subnet
masks to prevent conflicts.
Communications interruptions Other processes on PC host
interfering with comms ports.
Use a dedicated PC with
simple configuration and
minimum number of processes
running.
Unable to connect on fiber
optics
Using wrong fiber optic
channel
Check connections Connect on channel 2 if
F3200E is a looped device.
Fiber optic loop topology
incorrect.
Check Tx to Rx links around
the loop.
Correct loop topology.
Bad fiber optic Check fiber optic light
attenuation.
Replace or repair bad fiber
optic cables.
Loop controller does not
support F3200E
Check loop controller
firmware version
Update firmware.
Unable to connect on serial
port
Another program is using the
COM port.
Try to access the required port
with puTTY or RealTerm.
Choose another port or close
down the other program.
Incorrect port settings. Check port settings Correct the settings.
Incorrect cable. Make up a suitable cable.
F3200E mode switch not set
correctly.
Check setting. Correct the setting.
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