Summary of XPIA AXYS Vindicator LiDAR Deployment & WC Operations, 30 March 2015

AXYS Vindicator LiDAR Deployment

• Yanis Gryshan led the way to install two AXYS Vindicator LiDARs just to the east of the LiDAR supersite at the BAO, across the dirt driving path from the two WC v1s from CU, the Halo scanning LiDAR, and the NRG/Leosphere v2 profiling LiDAR.
• The Vindicator lidars stand on Lundquist group WindCube flat platforms.
• Each system has a serial number, noted as "13" and "15", these being AXYS generation 3 systems.
• Single power cord run across the road with orange plastic fencing noting the placement. Power cable connections secured with electrical tape.
• 10-minute averaged data can be accessed in real time through AXYS user login website, which Yanis and colleagues will disburse.
• Data is distributed through cell network in real time. Also system has satellite connections available if cell network goes down.
• (Much can be done by AXYS remotely once systems are running.)
• Systems have installed GPS and compass for position can orientation that can be viewed on website also.
• (Technically, both Vindicators are facing directly south, but these adjustments can be made in post processing, and may show systems aligned property due to correction in the software according to Yanis Gryshan.)
• 1-second data is available on compact flash card inside electrical box. Access to the CF card should be via coordination with AXYS and Julie Lundquist.
• Data heights are 49, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 149.7m (where the start and ending heights are near the BAO tower sonic heights, but are dependent on the Vindicator system setup).
• On-site system login is very similar to a WindCube LiDAR where the system IP Address must be specified and a Laptop can be used for a remote connection with an ethernet (CAT 5) cable. Would need to obtain IP addresses for each Vindicator LiDAR from Yanis or AXYS.
• LiDAR pair is to be deployed ~2 months.
• Washer fluid and compressed air tank should last ~6 weeks without changing needs. These components wash off the optical apertures if they are obstructed or dirty.

AXYS Vindicator Next Steps

• Arrival of UMBC motion table on truck will be coordinated with BAO staff Dan Wolfe, safety officer Otto, Julie Lundquist, and Andy Clifton. UMBC should be bringing compressed air tanks so that Julie can return compressed air rental tanks to Broomfield ASAP. Note that two compressed air tanks should last the two lidars three months.
• AXYS LiDAR closer to the road ("15") will be deployed to the UMBC motion table for testing.
• To deploy, the LiDAR does not need to be powered down, but could be via the red turn switch on the west side.
• There is ~4.5m cable that can be extended out to keep the RS power cables connected between the systems.
• Care must be taken in taking the Vindicator onto the motion table as cords / tubes must be threaded out from the central stand to not be obstructed keeping the systems connected.

AXYS Vindicator Storage Boxes

• The AXYS Vindicator storage boxes are put back together and stored under the BAO middle shipping container next to the tower.
• The boxes are covered with tarps to keep dry from weather.
• The top and front panels are held in place only with two screws.
• Robertson drives (square heads) are required to seal / unseal these boxes.
• All remaining Robertson head screws are in sealed ziploc bags inside the AXYS boxes.
• Note: The Robertson (square head) bit still needs to be returned to the BAO since it goes with the AXYS tool set. (Might want to hold onto it until packing up the Vindicator LiDARs for opening the boxes.)

General Field Work Notes:

• Halo scanning LiDAR at the BAO LiDAR supersite was observed to be moving and scanning upon further examination. Julie Lundquist observed very little change in aperture orientation. Later, Paul Quelet confirmed the change of scanning head position. Hopefully, this system is working well.
• Created on breeze in /data/fielddata/XPIA/ the following folders: MGAUS_photos and BAO_LiDAR_supersite_photos, and AXYS_Vindicator_deploy_photos. These are the start of some folders where photos can be transferred, shared, and used.

CU / NCAR WindCube LiDAR Notes:

• Morning of 30 March 2015, Julie Lundquist manually wiped off the apertures of the WC LiDAR systems. Should see momentary loss of data on the date 30 March in MDT morning.
• As of 30 March, WC68 is about 58% full on the local instrument D: drive data storage. This is cautioned with yellow in the WindSoft software. (WC61 is only ~40ish % full, so going strong).
• WC61 continues its great performance. Did not make any changes to the system. Cover is on and Verizon cell dongle hangs vertically from entrance door, but still under sun shield cover. Usually has about 3 bars of Verizon 3G cell service.
• WC68 has been inconsistent in cell data connection for remote login or data transfer (TeamViewer or FTP). Usually only has 1 bar of Verizon 3G cell service.
• Testing of WC68 Verizon dongle on 30 March revealed stretching out the dongle to top of WC68 produced greater cell signal strength. When put away without sun shield, dongle was stretched more horizontally, so (update) 1-2 bars of Verizon 3G cell service is now occurring.
• WC68 continues to not transfer the full files in FTP. (Update: 31 March 2015.) WC61 did not transfer full files via FTP either.
• Could consider installing WC68 sun shield and hanging Verizon dongle vertically for better remote connectivity. 
• On site, Paul Quelet was able to remote desktop with ethernet cable to WC68. Transferred all current Alarm, .rtd, and .sta files. Copied them over to breeze.
• Changed WC_FTP.txt (script) on WC61 and WC68 to dates of 2015_03_3* so that only March 30 & 31 files are transferred.
• Must change WC61 and WC68 WC_FTP.txt scripts to 2015_04* at the beginning of April to transfer all April files.
• WC16 (new v2 system) needs more careful steps to remote desktop into to obtain 1-second data files. Also, requires FileZilla according to Welly Cobden from NRG to complete this data transfer. The manual must be read carefully here and executed on site.
• WC49 is unplugged completely. Still would need an external keyboard, monitor, and mouse ("old school" style) to troubleshoot problems with on board computer. (Not quite a priority at this point.)