Interrogation Site Metadata

Site visit for moving the modem into a new plastic enclosure to hopefully ensure a more reliable remote data connection. Once everything was moved and wires were reconnected, the site was powered back on. 

We had continued to have intermittent connection using an older cell antenna. We replaced the directional antenna with an omnidirectional antenna that has more gain. We'll continue to monitor connection issues and make adjustments in the future if needed. 

We completed a site overhaul on UGS this week. We installed all new CANBUS cabling, new underwater housings, pvc conduit, new junction boxes, and increased the height on the cell antenna. The antennas themselves are in great shape, but replaced all of the underwater housings for the IS1001 boards. We dug new trenches and placed new 3" PVC piping to provide protection for the cabling and ease any replacements in the future. Additionally, each array now has its own junction box to assist in diagnosing future problems. The system was turned on and fully tuned this week. 

We are still having some difficulty with the remote uploads as cell service continues to be intermittent. 

Site visit to replace the two downstream nodes with the new nodes. We connected the nodes and the system was still shorting out (eliminating the nodes as the source of the short). We replaced the middle array trunk with new CANBUS from the first junction box back to the MC. The short remains leading us to believe the issue is buried in the river at one of the junction boxes. We attempted to swap the potentially flooded node (node 3) on the upstream array, but due to high water and low visibility we were unable to reach the node and remove it. 

The ice has finally melted out. This is the current status of the UGS site"

Downstream Array: There is a short in the grounding wire somewhere between the first junction box (buried under the antenna in the river) and the second antenna. Both nodes were removed and cut open to check for flooding (both were dry). Nodes were replaced with new housing and new boards. 

Middle Array: There is a short in the trunk and all nodes were checked for flooding. Since all nodes were disconnected the short is somewhere within the CANBUS or buried junction boxes. 

Upstream Array: The CANBUS is in good condition with no shorts. Node 3 is hooked up, but not connecting. It is possible the node is flooded. Node 2 also does not connect, but had previously connected when using a different CANBUS connection. There is likely a short somewhere between the junction box and node 2. 

UGS went down. There is a short in the downstream trunk, which is mostly encased in ice at the moment. Warm weather this week should melt out most of the ice to allow inspection of the cable. 

UGS is back up, albeit with one antenna (7) currently working. The site had previously continued to go down due to a short in the grounding wires within the CANBUS. I'll be checking the site in 24hrs to see if it still up after fixes were made today. Ice continues to hamper efforts with the rest of the antennas. There is currently 8-10in of clear ice, 1-3in of cloudy ice, and 1-2in of snow on top of that. The river has continued to open up and hopefully with a round of warm weather forecasted we'll be able to better access the site next week. 

Site back up. Antenna 3 is offline, possibly disconnected due to shifting ice on the river. Node 7 received a firmware update, then tuned and is back up and running. 

Site down - cause unknown. 

Site visit to download and continue making repairs. Data was downloaded upon arrival before we turned off power to the site. We reconnected the downstream array trunk to check for shorts. There were no shorts and began working to remove ice to reconnect the antenna that is currently covering the open water. The antenna was successfully connected and tuned. Power was turned off once again as we tied together the upstream and downstream trunks. Site was powered back up with antenna 3 and 7 operational. Data was uploaded once back at the office. 

Site visit to perform maintenance. Upstream array currently has 1 working antenna (of two). The middle array is down. Downstream array had wire corrosion over approximately 25ft of CANBUS. We cut out the the corroded cable and replaced with new CANBUS. We ran out of daylight to finish the work to bring the downstream array back online. Next site visit will occur once weather clears up next week. 

Site check to download data and check on the antennas. MC firmware was updated and antennas were reset following the update. Antennas 7 & 8 have shorted out, have not found where the short is coming from. Antenna's 2,3,7, and 8 are currently disconnected from the system. Antenna's 4,5, and 6 are up and working. 

Today I went up and replaced the master controller that wasn't working with a new one. Plugged in and hooked up the new master controller, set the Serial #'s for the nodes on the working antennas, and tuned the system. We are back to five worked antennas (4-8) and two antennas are disconnected due to a short (2-3). I will be heading back early next week to place a backup thumb drive into the MC and check on the system. I will also take another look at the two upstream antennas to see if I can diagnose where the problem is. 

Conducted a site visit this morning to check on the UGS array. Previously, we had the 2 upstream antennas short out so we disconnected them until flows receded in order to determine what was going on with them. The antennas looked to be in good working order and cables were in good condition. After opening up the control box housing the MC, I discovered that the system was offline. There is still power in the box, but the MC is not getting power or has been shorted. I'll be working to diagnose the problem and get UGS back up and running soon as I can. 

Update 8-17-22:

I was able to recover data off our backup USB drive. The array was working through 7pm on July 20th, 2022. Antenna 8 exceeded 10.0A and VTT tests were failing for all antennas operating.  

UGS now has 5 of 7 antennas working (Antennas 4,5,6,7, and 8). Upstream antennas (2 &3) will be down until flows come back down and we can access them to determine if a node is flooded or another issue with the cabling. Data was downloaded and uploaded to ptagis. 

Little over half of the UGS antenna site went down with 3 of the 7 antennas remaining working (middle array continued working, upstream/downstream went down). Antennas 7 & 8 went down on April 7th while antennas 2 &3 went down on April 9th. The reason for the antennas going down is believed to be a flooded node on one of the upstream arrays. At this moment, we are unable to get in the river to determine the cause of the short. 

Checked to make sure all the antennas were up and running. Downloaded data to be uploaded to ptagis.

Remote connection to UGS re-established. Manual data download at site to retrieve tags since 12/21/21. 

Remote connection lost with UGS

Site visit to download data.  We also re-secured antennas 2 and 3 to the stream bottom.  Antenna 1, a 10 foot antenna, was removed from the site because it was non-functional and was only covered by water for brief periods of time in the spring during high flow events.  

Replaced the node for antenna 2.  The node for antenna 1 is still missing.  Antennas 2 - 8 are functional.

Site apparently was not recording any data between 7/6 - 8/31, reason for this is unclear. 

Site apparently was not recording any data between 7/6 - 8/31, reason for this is unclear.