Using the STIX Ground Unit

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The STIX ground unit (GU) is a partial replica of the STIX instrument stored in a clean room at PSI. The ground unit computer (GUC) can be accessed remotely and used to test telecommands, IORs, etc. on the GU before being used onboard STIX itself.

1 Required Software

In order to remotely access the GUC, you will need to install the following software locally:

2 GUC Interface Hierarchy

Interfacing the the GUC requires a hierarchy of GSE software all of which, with the exception of TeamViewer, is installed on the GUC.

  • CMDVS: Interfaces directly with the GU
  • TSC: Accepts telecommands, e.g. as defined in an IOR, and passes them onto CMDVS to be executed by the GU
  • STIX-SIRIUS: Provides a more user-friendly interface on top of TSC that enables small numbers of commands to be sent more easily. Also enables the status of the GU to be more easily and quickly monitored.
  • TeamViewer: Software on local user machine that facilitates remote connection to the GUC.

3 How to Connect to the GUC

  • Connect local machine to the GUC computer
    • Open TeamViewer
    • Set the Partner ID to 1005807352, select "Remote Control" and enter the relevant password. This should log you into the GUC.
    • You should see a Windows log in screen. In the TeamViewer banner at the top of the screen, click Actions -> Send Ctrl + Alt + Del and log in as cmdvs. (For the password, contact Hualin Xiao hualin.xiao@fhnw.ch or Dan Ryan daniel.ryan@fhnw.ch)
  • Connect CMDVS to the ground unit.
    • Open CMDVS by double clicking on the shortcut on the desktop.
    • Set CMDVS to On-line Mode by clicking Mode -> On-line Mode
  • Power on the GU
    • Open System Control window by clicking Control -> System Control.
    • Through the CMDVS System Control window, power on the GU. Click the PFE button, then toggle the Bus A power button, followed by the Module 01 power button.
    • Activate control by clicking the DFE tab in the System Control window. In the "IO Activation Control", enter "201" and click Activate. (Note that 202 is to power off.)
    • Wait about 10 seconds, then connect the Spacewire link. In the System Control window SFE tab, click the "Link Control" sub-tab. Click "Open", then "Start".
    • Confirm the GU is on by clicking the PFE tab in the System Status window. The Power should be ~3.2 W.
  • Connect TSC to CMDVS.
    • Open TSC by double clicking shortcut on the desktop
    • Load the instrument database (similar to MIB). Click File -> Load DB
    • Enable CMDVS for remote control by clicking Mode -> Remote Control Mode. If the only option is Local Control Mode, it is already in Remote Control Mode.
    • Connect to CMDVS by clicking Data Souce -> cmdvs and then click Data Source -> Connect. Packets should start appearing in the TSC.
  • Connect SIRIUS to CMDVS via TSC.
    • Double click SIRIUS shortcut on desktop to open SIRIUS.
    • Run script in TSC to connect to SIRIUS. In the Test Sequence window in TSC, click on the Common_Scripts tab and find SIRIUS.tcl. Right click and select Exec.
    • Go back to SIRIUS and click the Mode etc. tab. Click Request CMDVS Remote Control. To confirm the operation has been carried out, open the Reports/Packets tab and confirm packets are coming in.

4 How to Test an IOR on the GU

  • Prepare the GU
    • Open and connect CMDVS, TSC, and SIRIUS as described #How to Connect to the GUC.
    • Synchronise time codes between CMDVS and GU. In SIRIUS, click the Mode etc. tab, then click "Enable timecode", "Enable TC(9, 129)", and "Enable TC(20, 128)".
    • Set GU to the mode that the IOR assumed STIX will be in. This is usually Nominal. Click AUTONOMINAL on the SIRIUS Mode etc. tab.
  • Upload the IOR to the GUC
    • Identify the IOR file on your local machine that you wish to test. It must be a .tcl file.
      • To create a .tcl file from a .SOL file, load the .SOL into STIX-Starlet and click the .tcl button in the STIX-Starlet toolbar. Alternatively, if you have just created the IOR and it is still open in STIX-Starlet, simply click the .tcl button.
    • If there are long delays between commands in the IOR, edit the delay times in the TCL file so that the IOR will conclude quickly. For ground unit testing, delays should be in the range 10s to a few minutes depending on the previous command.
    • Upload tcl file via the GUC window by clicking Files & Extras -> Open File Transfer on the TeamViewer banner at the top.
    • In the window that pops up, select the file on your local machine via the file system on the left.
    • Select the location to which to transfer the file on the GUC computer via the filesystem on the right. You should pick D:/Personal Folders/YourName where YourName is a directory labelled with your name.
      • If you don't have a directory, create one by right clicking in the Personal Folders and selecting the appropriate option from the menu that appears.
    • Transfer the file by clicking the "Send" button above the left filesystem.
  • Execute the .tcl file
    • Add the directory containing the .tcl file to TSC by going to the Test Sequence Files window (top right) in TSC and click Add. Select folder in which the file you want is located and click Open. This opens a new tab within the Test Sequence Files window which shows contents of that folder.
    • Execute TCL script by right-clicking the tcl file and clicking Exec.
  • Confirm the execution of the TCL file
    • Confirm commands ran on GU without problem on SIRIUS. If there are errors, the telecommand with appear in red.
  • Once test is done, return GU to SAFE mode by going to SIRIUS, Mode etc. tab and clicking SAFE mode.
  • Log out of GUC by going to TeamViewer banner and clicking Actions -> End Session.

5 Powering Down the GU

When not using the GU, it can be left in SAFE mode. However, to power down:

  • In SIRIUS, go to the Modes etc. tab and change the mode to SAFE.
  • Close SIRIUS.
  • Disconnect TSC from CMDVS. In TSC click Data Source -> Disconnect.
  • CLose TSC.
  • In CMDVS, return to local control by clicking Mode -> Local Control.
  • If not already open, open the System Control window by clicking Control -> System Control
  • Turn off GU by going to the DFE tab and entering 202 in the IO Activation Control box. Clock "Activate".
  • Then go the the PFE tab and toggle the Bus A power button to OFF.
  • Set CMDVS to Off-line mode by clicking Mode -> Off-line Mode.
  • Close CMDVS. In the Exit system window set the following options:
    • PFE: Leave running
    • SFE: Reboot
    • DFE: Reboot
    • SSET: Leave Running
    • Core: S/W Shutdown
  • Log out of GUC via the TeamVIewer toolbar. Click Actions -> Send Ctl + Alt + Del. Then click Actions -> End Session.