Troubleshooting Magellan/Columbus

Created by L. Heering on 12. April 2005

Software Exceptions
When a software exception occurs in the QMatrix program a message window pops up
and shows the available information about the exception.

Example of a software exception message

All software exceptions are also recorded in a logfile located in the installation directory
of QMatrix: %InstallDir%\QMatrix\Status\RQuantron.log.

Software exceptions can help you to analyse problems and can assist you during
service activities. How you can handle with the most common software exceptions is
described below. The possible solutions are listed in a “most common happened”
ordered.

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[QEXG_SOCKET] Timeout while connecting to host: IP [192.168.10.50] Port
(1500)

Errorgroup:
TCP/IP Socket-Error

Description:
The QMatrix program could not establish a connection to the instrument. The QMatrix
program turns into FAILURE (offline) mode as shown in the status bar below.

The QMatrix program can now be used for configuration purposes only.
Running measurements are not possible in FAILURE mode. The QMatrix program
must be restarted in order to get back into READY mode again.

Solutions:
Check if instrument’s Main Switch (red) is turned on.
-or-
Check if network cable coming out of the instrument is plugged into correct port on PC
site. Usually an additional PCI network adapter is installed in the PC for communication
with the instrument.
-or-
Check the two LED’s beside the RJ45 plug on PC’s additional network adapter. If the
network cable is connected and the instrument in on, one LED should be continuously
on, indicating the established network link. The other LED should flash (glow),
indicating network traffic.
-or-
Check the configuration of the additional network adapter by using the ipconfig
command on the commandline (Start->Run->cmd: ipconfig /all). One of the network
adapters should be configured like this:
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI For Complete
PC Management NIC (3C905C-TX)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : (different for every system)
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
-or-
Open the housing of the Readout-System and check the red LED beside the RJ45 plug
on the Instrument-Controller. It should glow and sometimes flash, indicating network
link and traffic. If this LED sometimes turns off for about one second, the BECK
Controller is booting. Please check the voltages at the power plug of the Readout-
System (->see electrical drawings).

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[QEXG_SOCKET] Nothing received after N seconds! Code: …
[QEXG_SOCKET] ::recv() failed! Code: …

Errorgroup:
TCP/IP Socket-Error

Description:
A command that was requested to be executed by the Application-Controller has not
been acknowledged in time. There seems to be a problem in the Application Controller
while processing a command.

Solutions:
Send the Logfile to [email protected] and contact the QUANTRON Service.
The Logfile is usually located at:

%InstallDir%\QMatrix\Status\RQuantron.log

[QEXG_SOCKET] ::gethostbyname() failed on host:… Code: …

[QEXG_SOCKET] ::getservbyname() failed on service:… Code: …

Errorgroup:
TCP/IP Socket-Error

Description:
The given name (Host or Servicename) could not be translated to an IP-Address.

Solutions:

Some entries are missing in these files:

In file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\HOSTS:

Line: 192.168.10.50 Q-APPCTRL-0 # QUANTRON Application Controller

In C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\SERVICES:

Line: QDL 1500/tcp # QUANTRON Application Controller

Use the standard Windows text editor (Notepad.exe) for adding these lines to the end
of the files.

Hint: Sometimes these files are replaced during a network setup by the customer.

Attention: These filenames have no extension, do not assign any extension when
saving with notepad!

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[QEXG_DAQ_BOARD] Timeout while waiting for next Buffer! Code: 0!

Errorgroup:
Data-Acquisition-Error

Description:
An expected trigger did not occur during data acquisition.

Solutions:
Check if the DAQ (68 pin SCSI) cable coming out of the instrument is plugged and
threaded properly on the installed DAQ board on PC site.
-or-
Check the DAQ (68 pin SCSI) cable for damages, maybe one or more pins in the plug
on the cable site are out of shape or broken.
-or-
Check the fibre-optic connection between Readout-Master and Source-Master board.
-or-
Check the fibre-optic connections between Readout-Master and DAQ-Interface board.

[QEXG_DAQ_BOARD] Acquisition stopped, rate too fast for current options.

Code: 0!

Errorgroup:
Data-Acquisition-Error

Description:
The QMatrix program could not process the acquired data fast enough.

Solutions:
Check if another Windows program is running on the Instrument PC which consumes a
lot of CPU time. This can be evaluated by using the Task Manager (press Ctrl+Alt+Del
and choose Task Manager). Sometimes printing routines may consume much process
time with a higher priority than the data acquisition process is running on.

Avoid running Windows screen-savers during measurements!

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[QEXG_DAQ_BOARD] Input overrun error: acquisition stopped. Code: 0!

Errorgroup:
Data-Acquisition-Error

Description:
This error occurs when data transfer from the hardware to the driver cannot keep up
with the input clock rate.

Solutions:
When the PC wakes up after the Windows “Standby-Mode” this error occurs during the
next measurement. The computer must be restarted before the next measurement.
Please do not enable any Standby-Mode in Windows.
-or-
Check the fibre-optic connections between Readout-Master and DAQ-Interface board.
If the two fibre-optics (Trigger & Clock) are exchanged, this exception message will
occur as well.

[QEXG_DAQ_BOARD] DT-OpenLayers Error: …. Code: ….!

Errorgroup:
Data-Acquisition-Error

Description:
An internal error occurred while calling a DAQ board’s driver function.

Solutions:
Reinstall the DAQ board’s driver software from CD (OmniCD) that was shipped with the
Instrument-PC. The name of the board is DT321.
-or-
Replace the DAQ board.

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[QEXG_QDL] QDL-Service Error: R_PARAMETER_ERROR Code: 0!
[QEXG_QDL] QDL-Service Error: R_UNKNOWN_CMD_ERROR Code: 0!
[QEXG_QDL] QDL-Service Error: R_RESOURCE_ERROR Code: 0!

Errorgroup:
QDL-Error

Description:
This error is generated by the QDL-Server running on the Application-Controller. An
unknown command was received by the QDL-Server or a parameter for a received
command was not specified or has an invalid value.

Solutions:
There might be a version conflict between the QMatrix program and the QDL-Server.
Update the QDL-Server as described below.
1. Exit QMatrix
2. Make sure the instrument is switched on
3. Start the Windows-Explorer and navigate to
%InstallDir%\QMatrix\Tools\Q-APPCTRL\FTP_Update\
4. Doubleclick with the left mousebutton on the link:
(NOT FTP_Update.bat)
5. After this link has been executed, switch off the instrument and wait 5 seconds
6. Switch on the instrument
7. Start QMatrix
-or-
Send the Logfile to [email protected] and contact the QUANTRON Service.
The Logfile is usually located at:
%InstallDir%\QMatrix\Status\RQuantron.log

[QEXG_I2C_BUS] I2C-Service Error: R_I2C_ERROR Code: 0!

[QEXG_I2C_BUS] I2C-Service Error: R_I2C_INT_RESET_ERROR Code: 0!

Errorgroup:
I2C-Error

Description:
This error is generated by the QDL-Server running on the Application-Controller. An
error occurred while accessing the I2C bus which connects the I/O-Board to the
Source-Master.

Solutions:
Check, if voltage on I/O-Board’s power supply plug is ok (->see electrical drawings)
-or-
Check the blue cable between the I/O-Board and the Source-Master.
-or-
Replace the I/O-Board.

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[QEXG_DMB_BUS] DMB-Service Error: R_DMB_ERROR Code: 0!

Errorgroup:
DMB-Error

Description:
This error is generated by the QDL-Server running on the Application-Controller. An
error occurred while accessing the DMB (DIN MEASUREMENT BUS) which connects
one or more Drive-Controllers to the Application Controller.

Solutions:
Check, if voltage on Drive-Controller’s power supply plug is ok (->see electrical
drawings and ISEL Product Information)
-or-
Check the cable between the Drive-Controller and the Application-Controller (15 pin
DSub).
-or-
Replace the Drive-Controller.

[QEXG_FCT_PARAM] Value (0) out of range [-10,-4500]! Code: 0!

Errorgroup:
Function Parameter Error

Description:
This error is generated by the IO-System when a requested steppermotor position is
out of the specified range.

Solutions:
If this exception occurs during the start of QMatrix and after a QMatrix software update,
check the file %InstallDir%\QMatrix\Settings\IOSignals.ini for this entry and modify it
like:

[IO/SIGNALS/OUT_STEPPER_MASK]
UseDefaultValue = 0

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More Trouble?
Beside the Software Exceptions there are other effects that might need some
explanation.

Net Intensities are zero or show only a few digits

Description:
There were no intensities measured during measurement.

Solutions:
If changes to the method were made:
• Check if all sequences that are related to the measurement channels are
configured with a measure-time greater than 0 seconds (Edit->Measuretimes).
• Check if all channels are related to a measured sequence
• Check if all channels are set to valid integrator numbers
• Check if there are any warnings displayed in the channel list

If no changes to the method were made:

• Check the position of the ball valve’s red lever which is installed between
sparkstand and tank. It should be open, red lever should point to sparkstand.
• Maybe the High Voltage turned off because of vacuum failure. Check the status
of High Voltage (->see electrical drawings)
• Check the LED’s on the SHMux Boards. Depending on the type of used SHMux-
Board one or both of the LED’s should flash once before each measurement
sequence. On SHMux-Boards with 16 channels, both LED’s should flash. On
SHMux-Boards with 8 channels only the upper LED should flash (->see
electrical drawings).

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Diagnostic Tools
Web Server on Application-Controller
There is a web-server running on the Application-Controller that can show some helpful
information about the instrument’s status. The information is shown within three different
HTML-pages that can be opened using the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) running on
the instrument PC.

Status of the Application-Controller (http://q-appctrl-0/cgi_sc12)

Type http://q-appctrl-0/cgi_sc12 into address field of the IE.

Status of the Readout System (http://q-appctrl-0/cgi_rdo)

Type http://q-appctrl-0/cgi_rdo into address field of the IE.

Status of the Source System (http://q-appctrl-0/cgi_src)

Type http://q-appctrl-0/cgi_src into address field of the IE.

Chiptool.exe
This program is provided by BECK, the manufacturer of the one-chip computer that is
used on the Application-Controller. The program is located at:

%InstallDir%\QMatrix\Tools\Q-APPCTRL\BECK\Chiptool_V4018\Chiptool.exe

After starting the program it scans the network for BECK controllers and lists the found
ones. This program should only be used for diagnostic purposes.

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QUANTRON Helpdesk System (ISL LIGHT)
Using the QUANTRON Helpdesk system, the service engineer can be assisted by the
QUANTRON service department.

The helpdesk system contains three components:

1. The “Conference Proxy Server” installed at QUANTRON
2. The “Desk” installed at QUANTRON
3. The “Client” installed at Customer site on the instrument’s PC

The “Client” can be started on the instrument’s PC through:

Start->Programs->QUANTRON->QMatrix->Tools->QUANTRON Helpdesk

Basics
ISL LIGHT enables you to see your customer's desktop over the internet when
help is needed. Using ISL LIGHT there will be no more doubts what your customer is
talking about over the phone. You can see your client's desktop on the screen and you
are able to remotely control his keyboard and mouse. ISL LIGHT can be used as an
online support for your software products and services, or for distance collaboration
when preparing presentations, business plans or other documents. You can also
exchange files as simply as using drag and drop.

Easy to use
ISL LIGHT can be used in a few seconds. No installation or configuration is needed.
The only thing your customer needs is an internet connection (ISDN or faster) to
download the ISLClientLight.exe from your website. You lead your customer over the
phone through the process of establishing connection.

Security
Connection over ISL LIGHT cannot be established until unique session number is
entered. Secure SSL connection and file transfer. When the connection is terminated,
the session number becomes obsolete. Please read ISL LIGHT Security Statement for
details.

Requirements
- MS Windows or Linux operating system
- internet access and any web browser
- Port 7615 must be open for outgoing connections on client site when using a firewall

Benefits
- access any PC worldwide
- efficient online customer support

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- secure, easy to use and reliable
- no installation or configuration required
- distance consulting and e-learning
- drag and drop file transfer
- firewalls, dynamic IP addresses compatible

See detailed documentation for using the QUANTRON Helpdesk system in file:
QUANTRONHelpdeskUserGuide.pdf

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Glossary
QMatrix Name of the spectrometer program
LED Light Emitting Diode
RJ45
Source-Master Electronic component (board) that controls the source
Readout-Master Electronic component (board) that controls the readout
system
Application-Controller A small computer inside the instrument mounted on top of the
Readout-Master board. It contains the BECK one-chip-
computer, an Ethernet interface and a RS485 plug for the DIN
MEASUREMENT BUS.
I/O-Board Electronic component (board) for reading and setting signals
within the instrument
DAQ-Board Abbreviation for Data Acquisition Board
SHMux-Board Abbreviation for Sample & Hold Multiplexer Board
Used to acquire 8 or 16 channels per board.
I2C Bus system used for communication between I/O-Board and
Source-Master
DMB Abbreviation for DIN MEASUREMENT BUS
Used to connect one or more Drive-Controllers
(Steppermotors) to the Application Controller
QDL Abbreviation for Quantron Device Language
QDL-Server Application running on the Application-Controller (usually
qsource.exe)
IE Internet Explorer
%InstallDir% Placeholder for the chosen QMatrix installation directory path

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