HGL Quickstart Guide

This is a quick overview for users to have a summary of how to start using a system right away. Available features will vary from system to system based on configuration

Desktop:

HawkGUI:

Configurations can be saved, renamed, and reused. For simplest operation, rename the config for each flight. The file menu buttons will allow the user to access options for the configuration. To rename, click the “Save” button and a dialog box will appear to rename the current config.

The “Channel Config” button is where all details of the current config. are stored including channel name, calibration values and alarms.

The “Acquire Data” button uses the current configuration to prepare the system to start acquisition.

Preferences:

Although most preferences are set, some changes to the system can be made to make operation simpler. Manoeuvre types can be pre-defined based on the flight plan. When the system is configured, it is possible to pre-load more details about the flight plan. The system can be set to “Automatic” which will automatically authorize the data as it is written to disk. Manual mode does not authorize data until the end of a test and allows the user to add event and manoeuvre flags.

Engine + EU:

From the preference page, selecting the “Engine + EU” button brings up the page to configure engine details such as tacho parameters. These should be correct, but if a change to the tacho ratio is required, it is done on this page.

System Setup:

To see the available devices that can be added to the setup, click the “Select Devices” button.

“Flush Devices” will remove any device that was previously added but is no longer available.

System Setup - Adding Devices:

Initially, the Hawk/Dragonfly units are displayed. To pair a Dragonfly with a particular Hawk, hold Control and left-click on the device.

Clicking on “Select Devices” brings up a window and will show all acquisition devices (such as a Dragonfly) that are connected on the network. To add one, right click on the icon with the corresponding serial number and select “Add to test cell”. The device will now be in the “Unpartnered Devices” window.

To leave the “Acquisition Devices” page, double click on the “Real Time Acquisition” icon.

The device needs to be assigned to a Hawk. This will allow the data to be streamed for recording and real time monitoring. Right click on each device to bring up a menu that will allow you to partner it to the appropriate Hawk. 

For data to be synchronized across acquisition devices, there must be a master device  for each chain. Right click on the device that is to be master and select “Set as Master”. Physically, the master device will be the unit with an sync cable only connected to the “LVDS OUT” port.

Channel Configuration:

The main channel configuration page is where the channel names, the type of channel, the units and the the calibration method to be used are defined. The channel type will restrict both the type of signal conditioning that is available and the units associated with the channel. Learn more about the channel type definition. The Calibration Method is used to setup the transducer sensitivity and each type has a respective setup tab for entering values. 

The simplest calibration method is mV/EU where it is possible to use the sensitivity defined by the manufacturer of a transducer without any end-to-end check out. All that is necessary is for the mV/EU ratio to be defined along with the appropriate power factors for the input voltage and the output engineering unit power factors. Additionally, it is possible for the power factors between the input and output to be different. For instance, a 1 V RMS input might reference a 100 g 0-pk output. Being able to selectively specify the power factors of the voltage and the output engineering unit aids in the setup of the system. Offsets can also be defined to handle non-zero intercept sensitivities.

In order to inject a voltage and capture it at a specified engineering unit, specify "AC Resp" in the calibration method. A signal generator will be necessary to inject a signal into the system at a known voltage. This voltage is assigned an EU value and will follow a linear slope. To learn more about AC Calibration, click here.

Learn more about the channel config and calibration types.

Signal Conditioning:

For many types of instrumentation such as microphones, accelerometers, and strain gauges, it is necessary to configure the signal conditioning for each channel. Go to the “Sig Cond” tab in the channel config to show which conditioning module is available for each channel. To change the settings, click the “More Settings” button.

Each conditioning module supports a variety of different options. These can all be accessed in the “More Settings” page. For instance, to enable IEPE current supply, go to the “Transducer Supply Type” column and for each channel change the value to “4” which refers to 4mA of constant current required for IEPE/ICP to work.

By scrolling to the right of the screen there are more settings available such as those listed above.  The “Bypass” option will allow you to set the signal conditioning to differential or single.

To go back to the main “Sig Cond” page, click the “Hide Settings” button. “Auto Setup” works when channel types have been assigned to a type of conditioning in the preferences page.

Alarms:

There are three types of alarms in the system: Broadband, Mode, and Unexpected.

Broadband limits are on the full-range of each channel and can be used to indicate an overload condition. For more information on Broadband Alarms, click here.

Mode Alarms define specific frequency tracks (using a 2nd order polynomial) referencing speed. For more information on Mode Alarms, click here.

Unexpected alarms cover any frequency peak that is not captured by a mode alarm. This is configured using only amplitude levels for warning and alarm levels (see above). For more information on Mode Alarms, click here.

All alarms are configure on a channel by channel basis.

Acquiring Data:

The following video is a tutorial on using the RT monitoring system. Or you may read through the information following the video for a brief walk-through.

From the “Configuration” page in the Hawk Gui, select the “Acquire Data” button to configure the system. 

A progress bar appears as the various settings are sent to the necessary applications. Once this completes, the system is ready to begin scanning. Clicking the “Start Scan” button will cause the acquisition modules to send live data to the monitoring screens. Nothing is being recorded yet.

To record data, select “Start Write”. Data is now being written to disk. Data files are written using a 1 channel per data file for a pre-determined size. When the size is reached, the current file closes and a new file started. So, if the system crashes during running or there is a power outage, only the current, relatively small, data segment is corrupted. Additionally, when restoring data using Hercules, it is only necessary to restore the specific files that are required from tape instead of a very large, single, multiplexed data file.

To identify specific time periods of interest, select “Start Manoeuvre”. A manoeuvre is simply a flag in the database that identifies a period of time within the total recording. When the system is in the middle of a manoeuvre, the interface flashes the manoeuvre ID and at the top of the screen the duration of the current manoeuvre length is shown (right below the time the system has been writing data). Manoeuvres can be described using a “Type” field and a “Comment” Field. The “Type” field is pre-determined from the preferences page.

All real time plots have a right-click menu. This brings up a number of options that are available for each type of plot. Some of the options include: Display Peaks, Peak Hold, Set Gain (scale), etc. Plots can be re-scaled by clicking on the magnifying glass icons at the extents of each plot type. Zooming on a FFT actually down samples the channel (i.e. Not a digital zoom).

To change real-time pages, click either the “Prev RT Page”, “Next RT Page”, or “Go to Page”.

Any channel that is in alarm or warning will have the plot outlined. Red for alarm, orange for warning.

The analog output module sends a DC voltage based on the status of the system. The voltage ranges can be configured by shutting down the software, going to c:\HGL Software and opening the “HawkeyeSever.ini” file. In the “Mosquito” section, voltage values can be defined for normal, warning, alarm and overload states. The current settings are: 1VDC for normal, 2VDC for warning, 3VDC for alarm, 3VDC for Overload. The analog module is limited to +/- 3.3VDC. The same voltage is applied to all output channels based on ANY input channel. EG: Input Channel 3 is in alarm, all output channels will read 3VDC.

To stop recording, any running manoeuvre must be stopped. Then the “Stop Write” button will be enabled. Then “Stop Scan” and “Configuration” to return the system to idle. If in “Automatic” mode, all data will be authorized and automatically transfer to the designated HDD when attached.

If in Manual mode, then the above authorisation page will be enabled after selecting “stop scan”. To operate, select channels to view on the time plot. Now, manoeuvres can be adjusted, added, and deleted. Select “Authorise” to finalize the recording. Chose the action and select “accept”. Please note, at this point it is possible to delete the recorded data. Safest operation is to run in Automatic mode. 

To view a quickstart guide for Aurora/Analysis  click here. To view a quickstart guide for Hercules/Archiving click here.