MK IV Formatter Commands

printed from SNAP command list http://lupus.gsfc.nasa.gov/fsdoc/manuals/snapcmd.html#_1_33

form - formatter setup (Mark IV rack)

Syntax: form=mode,rate,fan,barrel

Response: form/mode,rate,fan,barrel,rev,rack,error

Settable Parameters:

mode The recording mode,choices for the mode are m, a, b1, b2, c1, c2, e1, e2, e3, e4, and dn, where n=1 to 28. No default. Modes a, b, b1, b2, c1, c2, e1, e2,

e3, e4 and dn correspond to the traditional Mark III modes. For the bx and cx modes, x corresponds to the sub-pass recorded (odd Mark III tracks for b1 and

c1, even Mark III passes for b2 and c2). For the dn modes, n corresponds to the Mark III track number recorded. For the ex modes, x corresponds to the Mark

III group number recorded. Mode m uses the sampler track assignments and formatter track enables specified by the trackform and tracks commands.

rate Sample rate in Mbits/sec. Choices are 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32. Default 4. For Nyquist sampling this selection must be twice the bandwidth

set-up used in the bbc commands

fan The fan-in or fan-out ratio. Currently, the only choices are 1:4, 1:2, and 1:1, where on a per channel or track basis, the number before the colon is the number

of sampled channels and the number after is the number of tracks. Default 1:1.

barrel Barrel-roll mode. Currently the only choice is off, which is the default.

Monitor-only Parameters:

rev Formatter firmware revision number as an integer.

rack Rack ID, reported as a hex value.

error Error status, okay or the hex value.

Comments:

The Mark IV formatter clock is set with the fmset program. After setting or resetting the formatter time, issue a

sy=run setcl offset & command to reset the Field System time.

Since the Mark IV recorder does not include group enables, some of the traditional Mark III mode names used in mode have numbers appended to them to

distinguish which sub-pass, group, or track is being recorded.

Some combinations of rate and fan cannot be accommodated by the formatter. No output that would require more than 16 MHz nominal data rate per track is

supported. Specifically a rate of 32 and a fan of 1:1 is impossible. Some combinations of fan and rate cannot be accommodated by the recorder. Any combination

of rate and fan that would imply a nominal data rate per track of 0.125 MHz or less for high density recording (thin tape) is not supported. Any combination of rate

and fan that would imply a nominal date rate per track of less than 0.125 MHz for low density recording (thick tape) is not supported.

For the time-being, in order to help facilitate debugging of the formatter in the field, the status of the setable parameters is logged when the formatter set-up is

changed. This information is logged in the form of the output of the low-level MAT commands that return this information. Additionally, whenever the formatter times

out or reports an unknown command error (error "7"), the command that resulted in the time-out or the unknown command error response is logged. These

debugging features will be removed in a subsequent version.

chekr does not currently support checking of the formatter. However, the set-up of the formatter can be monitored by entering a form command. If any of the

displayed values do not agree with the last value commanded, then the formatter is not in the last commanded state.

trackform - sampler assignments (Mark IV, VLBA rack)

Syntax: trackform=track,sampler,track,sampler, ...

Response: trackform/track,sampler,track,sampler, ...

Settable parameters:

track VLBA or Mark IV recorder track number whose sampler assignment will follow, must be between 2 and 33. For Mark IV add 100 to the track

number for stack 2.

sampler For VLBA racks , the sampler that will be mapped to the preceding track, 0, or in the form nnsd, where nn=bbc number (0 through 14),

s=sideband ( u or l), d is the data bit (s or m).

For Mark IV racks, the same syntax can be used as for VLBA racks. In addition the nnsd sampler code can have a +m appended, where m is the lag 0,

1, 2, or 3 when fan out is being used.

Comments:

The tracks and samplers must appear in pairs. Multiple commands are allowed because all of the pairs may not fit on a single line.The first trackform

command after a form=... command resets all the unspecified tracks to 0. This command specifies the how the samplers will be assigned in the next

form=... command that uses either mode m or v. Please note that although tracks are specified as recorder tracks, this command assigns the samplers

to tracks in the formatter.

The samplers that can be selected are determined by the rack type specified in the equip.ctl control file. For rack type vlba, only the first eight BBCs

can be used. For rack type vlbag, up to fourteen BBCs can be used, but only the sign bit is available. For Mark IV two bits for each of 16 VCs can be

used.

For both VLBA and Mark IV racks, only the first track of a VLBA style fan-out group needs to have a sampler assigned. For a Mark IV rack, the lags

can be assigned to specific tracks. It is an error to assign a lag that is not generated by the fan mode selected. This error will be reported when the

formmater is set-up with the form=... command. For example lag +3 cannot be requested for 1:2 fan-out.

Note that a VLBA or Mark IV track number equals the Mark III track number plus three. Consequently, odd Mark III tracks are even VLBA or

Mark IV track numbers and vice-versa. See the Track Assignment Tables in the System Set-up Manual. Also VLBA group numbers equal Mark III

group numbers minus one, but the VLBA groups include additional tracks. Note that this command uses VLBA or Mark IV track numbers.

tracks - formatter track enables (Mark IV, VLBA rack)

Syntax: tracks=list

Response: tracks/list

Settable parameters:

list list of VLBA or Mark IV recorder tracks for which to enable the corresponding formatter tracks. The tracks may specified as values of 2-33, as the

VLBA "groups" of tracks not including the system tracks (v0, v1, v2, v3), or as the Mark III tracks in with the corresponding VLBA "groups" (m0,

m1, m2, m3). For Mark IV add 100 to the track number for stack 2.

Comments:

This command specifies which formatter tracks will be enabled in the next form=... command that uses either mode m or v. Please note that although

tracks are specified as recorder tracks, this command actually enables the corresponding tracks in formatter. Recorder enables (enable command)

must also be turned on for data to be recorded.

Note that a VLBA or Mark IV track number equals the Mark III track number plus three. Consequently, odd Mark III tracks are even VLBA or

Mark IV track numbers and vice-versa. See the Track Assignment Tables in the System Set-up Manual. Also VLBA group numbers equal Mark III

group numbers minus one, but the VLBA groups include additional tracks. Note that this command uses VLBA or Mark IV track and group numbers.

form4 - formatter control and monitor (Mark IV rack)

Syntax: form4=command

Response: form/response

Settable parameters:

command any legal command sentence as described in the Mark IV Formatter Vocabulary manual. The characters \r\n (carriage-return, line-feed) are appended

before sending the command.

Monitor-only parameters:

response response to command. The >\r\n at the end of the response is not included in the Field System log. For accepted commands, which have only >\r\n as the

response, the Field System logs ack.

Comments:

Refer to the Mark IV Formatter Vocabulary manual for a description of all valid commands and their syntax.

This command is a simple feed-through to the Mark IV formatter. No checking is done on the command, no action is taken for any response. This form of the

command is temporary while it is determined what standard parameters are desired.

The command is sent to the MAT bus just as if the operator had used the mat command. No modifications are made before the command is sent on the bus.

Use this command to set the formatter clock, with the /TI, /TR, /TA commands. After setting the formatter time, issue a sy=run setcl offset command to reset the

Field System time. The fmset program may also be used to set the formatter time.

Examples:

form4=/ass 0 1:2 3:4 #92/ass 0 1:2 3:4\r\n