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Centring, The handheld control unit – Guralp Systems CMG-3TB User Manual

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Operator's guide

need to move the instrument.

To unlock the instrument, hold down the

ENABLE and UNLOCK

buttons (or the

UNLOCK switch on a breakout box) for at least six

seconds. The sensor's microcontroller will free the vertical, N/S and

E/W sensor masses in turn and ready them for use. Once this is done,
the controller automatically starts a centring cycle. If you issue an

UNLOCK command when the masses are already free, the instrument

will attempt to lock the masses first, and then unlock them in

sequence as normal.

To lock the instrument, hold down the

ENABLE and LOCK buttons (or

the

LOCK switch) for at least six seconds. The sensor's microcontroller

will lock the vertical sensor mass, followed by the N/S and E/W sensor
masses in turn. After this, the controller locks the base of the

horizontal instrument, tilting it until it is held against its end stop. The
instrument is now protected against accelerations up to 10

g, and is

ready for transportation.

Centring

To centre the instrument, hold down

ENABLE and CENTRE buttons

(or the

CENTRE switch) for at least six seconds. If the masses are

locked, the microcontroller will do nothing. Otherwise, it attempts to
zero the output of the vertical, E/W, and N/S sensors in sequence by

exerting a small extra force on the boom. For the vertical sensor, a
motor-driven adjuster presses a small spring lever against the boom

until the mass position output indicates an offset close to zero. In the
case of the horizontal sensors, the sensor frame is tilted on its base

plate. Again, the controller monitors the mass position sensor and
stops the centring process once it reaches its lowest offset.

After successful centring, the mass position outputs should be in the

range 0.1 – 0.8 V. If the centring process leaves the mass position
outputs above ±1.1 V, start another centring cycle. You will probably

need to perform several rounds of centring before the masses are ready.

The handheld control unit

This portable control unit provides easy access to the seismometer's

control commands, as well as displaying the output velocity and mass
position (

i.e. acceleration) on an analogue meter.

November 2006

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