Minutes of Run IIb L1 Cal Meeting - 24-Mar-2005

Participating sites: Fermilab, MSU, FSU, Northeastern, Saclay,  York

HARDWARE STATUS REPORTS
=======================

ADF Cards
---------
Dan Edmunds (DE): 60 cards are here the remaining 24 are available
from Adco this week. Testing is going on at the rate of 20 cards/week.
We will take another Wiener crate back to MSU so that full crate tests
can be facilitated.

Cabling
-------
Alan Stone (AS): Req. is out for pleated foils (192 = 160
needed+20%). Expect an 8 week delay. Working on labeling scheme and
preparing sketch of wiring area; it is very congested. Prototype
paddle card had a problem (DE) corrected. Working on extended paddle
card that services ADF + output for TAB/GAB. Design review set for
tomorrow with participation of DE, Lynn Bagby, Vogelsong, Anderson et
al.
The req. has been approved by Viv.  

SCLD Board
----------
Denis Calvet (DC): Received one SCLD board. Cannot test full
functionality but did establish connection to ADF1. Have not had time
to put on front panel.
 DE: ship it without panel as we have one her at Fermilab working fine.
Question from DE to DC: We are using the channel link tester. If
things went badly, is there a spare? Ans: no but could produce one
although it will take some time and money (not a problem). 
DE: Don't bother.


INTEGRATION TEST STATUS
=======================

TAB to Lvl3 
-----------
Sabine Lammers (SL)- Test was not approved by run coordinator for last
week as it was potentially too risky for data taking. The Readout
Crate on the sidewalk is being readied with VRB, SBC etc. 
Nayeem: Need to connect SBC’s and resolve power issues.

TAB to Lvl2 & Lvl3
------------------
Lynn Bagby (LB): Will not be able to run Lvl2 & Lvl3 readout at test
setup in parallel with experiment as splitter losses are ~4.5 dB, too
large for signal levels. 
General feeling was that it is very valuable to debug things as much
as possible before installation and that solutions to this problem
should be sought. Avenues to explore include new drivers, Mike
Utes' special card.

L1 Caltrack Connection
----------------------
AS: Cables are there and need to be checked for length. Need daughter
cards. Working on this with K.J. and Susan.

General Comments
----------------
DE: Before signing off on paddle card make sure we have attempted ADF
to TAB data transfers. Fixes now are easier than after the card is
sent on to etch.
SL: Plans are in place to do integration tests.
DE: Are TAB debugging  facilities available in firmware e.g. registers for I/O?
SL: Understands that the latest versions implemented by Yaro do have
these facilities.
Darien Wood (DW): Are there plans for pseudo-random pattern tests?
DE: We can start with transfers of static data to eliminate obvious
hardware errors e.g. dead bits, crossed wires etc. After that the
pseudo-random tests are essential to test all available data space
which is not possible with real data that consists mainly of
pedestals.


SOFTWARE ISSUES
===============
Todd Addams (TA): Implementing Lvl3 debug facilities such as hexdump
and placing things in CVS. Have not worked with specific data formats
yet.
Ella Barberis (EB): Simulator data format could be implemented even
though it is not final format. TA: prefer to stay flexible.
Wendy Taylor (WT): IOgen is not committed yet. Code that fills ADC
info is not committed yet, but will be later today. To use it, some
files from her directory will be needed.
EB: What about Lvl2 Worker? WT: Roger Moore will write it but, beond
that I have no information.
SL: Work is starting on placing data into CAF. Will have a report on
this at our next meeting.


NEW MEETING TIME AND PLACE
==========================
There was general agreement that scheduling our meetings on Week A
Tuesdays 1500 - 1630 in the Dog House was a good idea. It was
suggested that the conflict with the weekly Level-2 meeting could be
solved by inviting them to our meeting.


Respectfully submitted by
Maris Abolins