Important PTAGIS Field Software Update

It is essential that you download and install the latest releases of P3 version 1.5.1 and MiniMon version 1.7.0 field software to support the new types of tag codes described in the August 2012 newsletter. The new tags are being distributed into the Basin with different manufacturer identifiers and will not pass the validation constraints of previous versions of the software. Prior versions of P3 will report the new tags as “invalid”. Prior versions of MiniMon will not record the new tags as passive observations and instead write them to a local log file as an invalid tag code.

With this release, P3  now supports the new Biomark HPR Plus portable reader also described in the last newsletter. The announcement of a new multiplexor reader from Biomark is still pending and will require a subsequent release of PTAGIS software that is yet to be scheduled.

Table 1. Available PTAGIS Field Software

The latest PTAGIS field software releases can be downloaded from this page. Please note before upgrading: you will need to perform a manual uninstallation of any MiniMon version 1.5.1 or older (version 1.5.1 was released 5 years ago); rebooting the target computer after uninstallation is also recommended to ensure a successful upgrade.

The PIFF (PTAGIS Interrogation File Formatter) utility software that transforms raw device data into PTAGIS interrogation files will be updated in the coming weeks to support the 2013 M4 deployment. If you have any outstanding needs for this software please contact me ASAP.

M4 Deployment on Schedule

The final high-availability and fault-tolerant features of M4 have been completed and tested.  The Kennewick field staff has finished upgrades to the computer rooms at interrogation sites operating separation-by-code. These upgrades were necessary to support the production deployment of M4 for the 2013 season described in the last newsletter article.

The M4 interrogation software is planned as an internal release with deployment at interrogation sites maintained by PTAGIS staff only. This strategy will allow us to focus on evaluating the most complex features of the software related to separation-by-code, high-availability and fault-tolerance.

Sites currently running MiniMon can continue through the 2013 season.  The only required action for stewards maintaining these sites is to upgrade MiniMon to version 1.7.0. We will create a public release sometime after the 2013 season adding documentation and support for new readers used exclusively at smaller interrogation sites.