Counterbox Epics Module
A Stream and Asyn based driver for Counterboxes as SINQ.
This supports the older 4 and 8 channel EL737 models and the new 10CH 2nd generation systems.
How to Use
Unless a custom database is needed, a device can be configure simply by setting the required environment variables when calling the correct counterbox script.
Required Variables
| Environment Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
| PREFIX | Prefix of all device specific PVs |
| NAME | First field in all PVs after Prefix |
| ASYN_PORT | Unique name for referencing Asyn device |
| CNTBOX_HOST | Network IP and Port of device |
All PVs take the form
$(PREFIX):$(NAME):*
Available device startup scripts
- scripts/counterbox_4ch.cmd
- scripts/counterbox_8ch.cmd
- scripts/counterbox_v2.cmd
A device can be configured using one of the startup scripts as follows
epicsEnvSet("PREFIX", "SQ:INSTRUMENT") # can also be set in runScript call
runScript "$(counterbox_DIR)counterbox_v2.cmd" "NAME=COUNTERBOX, ASYN_PORT=CBOXV2, CNTBOX_HOST=TestInst-DAQ1:2000"
PVs of Interest
| PV | Description |
|---|---|
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):MsgTxt | Contains unexpected response to executed command |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):STATUS | 0: Idle, 1: Counting, 2: Low rate, 3: Paused, 4: Error |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):MONITOR-CHANNEL | Channel that PRESET-COUNT monitors (has RBV, only v2 can be changed) |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):PRESET-COUNT | Run count until specified pv value reached |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):PRESET-TIME | Run count until specified pv value in seconds reached |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):THRESHOLD | Minimum rate for counting to preceed. (has RBV) |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):THRESHOLD-MONITOR | Channel monitored for minimum rate (has RBV) |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):ELAPSED-TIME | Time Counterbox has been measuring for |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):M_ | Current count on channel. (1-10 depending on box) |
| $(PREFIX):$(NAME):CHANNELS | Number of available channels (4, 8 or 10) |
Testing
The 2nd generation systems have two test channels that can be used to output signals at a variable rate. These can be used to ensure the other channels are working and to check the IOC - Nicos integration. These can be loaded at runtime via the following
epicsEnvSet("LOAD_TEST_PVS","")
runScript "$(counterbox_DIR)counterbox_v2.cmd" "NAME=COUNTERBOX, ASYN_PORT=CBOXV2, CNTBOX_HOST=TestInst-DAQ1:2000"
See the file counterbox_v2_test.db