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On the main display, click the ‘Edit Info’ button in the middle of the bottom row of buttons. This screen (Fig. 11) is where the sample information is entered. All fields in the right column are editable by double clicking and should be reviewed and changed for each sample:
- Sample Type:
- Standard – a powdered standard in a sample cup
- SHLF – a measurement taken directly on a section half or of a piece from a section half
- Sample – a powdered sample in a sample cup
- Expedition: The current expedition
- Example: 397
- Site & Hole: The site and hole the sample was taken from
- Example: U1586A
- Core/Section: The core number with letter indicating the core type and the section in that core that is being measured or that the sample was taken from. If measuring a standard, enter the standard name.
- Sample example: 1H/6 or 32X/1
- Standard example: BCR 2 or BHVO 2
- TextID: The unique sample number for every sample. This is found on the lower right corner of the typical sample label, example: SHLF11754181. If measuring a standard, use the information from the appropriate QAQC label provided. If a standard does not have a QAQC label, leave this field blank. Note: If the device is connected to the laptop and using Bruker RemoteCtrl software, attach and use the barcode scanner to enter the TextID by scanning the QR code on the section half or sample label.
- Example: SHLF11744181
- Top Offset (cm):
- For a section half or piece from a section half, this is the distance in cm from the top of the core section, example: 34 or 101.5 (Do not put a range!).
- For powdered samples and standards, use 0.
- Comment: Use this to provide any additional information, such as a physical description for reference or to indicate a replicate measurement.
Note: If any of the Field Names are changed using the 'Configure' button, this will impact the upload of the data! If changes are made, notify a developer of these changes so they can make the same changes in the upload code for 'Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis'!
Figure 11. The Edit Info display screen.
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A beep will sound when the device has finished measuring and the device can be moved away from the sample or repositioned for the next measurement. At this point, the previous measurement’s data has been stored and added to the results file.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Downloading the Data
The Tracer updates the ‘Data’ folder after each new measurement with an associated .pdz file and also adds the data to the appropriate application .tsv file and .csv ‘Results’ file.
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Open MegaUploadatron2 (MUT2) on the laptop desktop. MUT2 will look for certain files or file types in C:\DATA\IN, make sure all data is placed in this folder. For the pXRF results, MUT2 will look for a .tsv file and use the date and time of each sample to determine if new samples need uploading. To upload a sample, MUT2 will also require an associated .pdz file (that matches the File #). The 'Results.csv' will be uploaded with each sample if present as well. MUT2 will indicate with a green check if all associated files are as it expects and that the data is ready for upload based on this criteria (Fig 19). If the 'GeoExploration.tsv' file has a purple question mark for the status, it may be because the files it is looking for are not present (the associated .pdz files) within the DATA\IN folder. The 'Misc' column indicates there are new measurements that have not been uploaded. Check the box for the file to be uploaded. Multiple .tsv files can be uploaded at the same time as long as they do not include identical sample measurements and/or identical .pdz file names. Select 'Upload' in the bottom right corner.
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To examine the settings of the analysis, click once on 'Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis' and then select the settings icon 
that appears. A window will appear below this icon detailing the parameters the analysis is looking for (Fig. 24). If any changes need to be made to file types or editable fields, this can be adjusted here, however, it is strongly advised to have Developer assistance.
Figure 24. Parameters of the 'Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis' as they should be The analysis parameter 'FirstElementName' indicates that when uploading the element results, it will begin once it reaches the column with MgO reported. For the Geoexploration and Limestone applications, the first element reported is 'MgO'. However, for the Precious Metals 2, 'Al' is reported first and for the Mudrock applications, 'Na' is reported first. Therefore, you will need developer assistance to change this or uploading of the data will not happen properly (element results will be skipped until it reaches the column reporting 'MgO'. If an application other than GeoExploration is used, see below and consult a developer for what changes will need to be made to the analysis settings, namely 'FirstElementName'. The developer can convert 'FirstElementName' into a list of elements if other applications are used.
Figure 24. Settings parameters of the 'Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis' as they should be set.
!!! Clearing data from the internal memory and USB!!!
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Mudrock 2 Air
Mudrock 2 He
Credits: J. Riekenberg and B. Cervera
LIMS Component Table
| PLACEHOLDER until the new PXRF components and data structure is defined | |||
| ANALYSIS | TABLE | NAME | ABOUT TEXT |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | Exp | Exp: expedition number |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | Site | Site: site number |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | Hole | Hole: hole number |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | Core | Core: core number |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | Type | Type: type indicates the coring tool used to recover the core (typical types are F, H, R, X). |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | Sect | Sect: section number |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | A/W | A/W: archive (A) or working (W) section half. |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | text_id | Text_ID: automatically generated database identifier for a sample, also carried on the printed labels. This identifier is guaranteed to be unique across all samples. |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | sample_number | Sample Number: automatically generated database identifier for a sample. This is the primary key of the SAMPLE table. |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | label_id | Label identifier: automatically generated, human readable name for a sample that is printed on labels. This name is not guaranteed unique across all samples. |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | sample_name | Sample name: short name that may be specified for a sample. You can use an advanced filter to narrow your search by this parameter. |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_sample_state | Sample state: Single-character identifier always set to "W" for samples; standards can vary. |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_project | Project: similar in scope to the expedition number, the difference being that the project is the current cruise, whereas expedition could refer to material/results obtained on previous cruises |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_capt_loc | Captured location: "captured location," this field is usually null and is unnecessary because any sample captured on the JR has a sample_number ending in 1, and GCR ending in 2 |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | location | Location: location that sample was taken; this field is usually null and is unnecessary because any sample captured on the JR has a sample_number ending in 1, and GCR ending in 2 |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_sampling_tool | Sampling tool: sampling tool used to take the sample (e.g., syringe, spatula) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | changed_by | Changed by: username of account used to make a change to a sample record |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | changed_on | Changed on: date/time stamp for change made to a sample record |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | sample_type | Sample type: type of sample from a predefined list (e.g., HOLE, CORE, LIQ) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_offset | Offset (m): top offset of sample from top of parent sample, expressed in meters. |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_offset_cm | Offset (cm): top offset of sample from top of parent sample, expressed in centimeters. This is a calculated field (offset, converted to cm) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_bottom_offset_cm | Bottom offset (cm): bottom offset of sample from top of parent sample, expressed in centimeters. This is a calculated field (offset + length, converted to cm) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_diameter | Diameter (cm): diameter of sample, usually applied only to CORE, SECT, SHLF, and WRND samples; however this field is null on both Exp. 390 and 393, so it is no longer populated by Sample Master |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_orig_len | Original length (m): field for the original length of a sample; not always (or reliably) populated |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_length | Length (m): field for the length of a sample [as entered upon creation] |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | x_length_cm | Length (cm): field for the length of a sample. This is a calculated field (length, converted to cm). |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | status | Status: single-character code for the current status of a sample (e.g., active, canceled) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | old_status | Old status: single-character code for the previous status of a sample; used by the LIME program to restore a canceled sample |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | original_sample | Original sample: field tying a sample below the CORE level to its parent HOLE sample |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | parent_sample | Parent sample: the sample from which this sample was taken (e.g., for PWDR samples, this might be a SHLF or possibly another PWDR) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | standard | Standard: T/F field to differentiate between samples (standard=F) and QAQC standards (standard=T) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | login_by | Login by: username of account used to create the sample (can be the LIMS itself [e.g., SHLFs created when a SECT is created]) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | login_date | Login date: creation date of the sample |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | legacy | Legacy flag: T/F indicator for when a sample is from a previous expedition and is locked/uneditable on this expedition |
| PXRF | TEST | test changed_on | TEST changed on: date/time stamp for a change to a test record. |
| PXRF | TEST | test status | TEST status: single-character code for the current status of a test (e.g., active, in process, canceled) |
| PXRF | TEST | test old_status | TEST old status: single-character code for the previous status of a test; used by the LIME program to restore a canceled test |
| PXRF | TEST | test test_number | TEST test number: automatically generated database identifier for a test record. This is the primary key of the TEST table. |
| PXRF | TEST | test date_received | TEST date received: date/time stamp for the creation of the test record. |
| PXRF | TEST | test instrument | TEST instrument [instrument group]: field that describes the instrument group (most often this applies to loggers with multiple sensors); often obscure (e.g., user_input) |
| PXRF | TEST | test analysis | TEST analysis: analysis code associated with this test (foreign key to the ANALYSIS table) |
| PXRF | TEST | test x_project | TEST project: similar in scope to the expedition number, the difference being that the project is the current cruise, whereas expedition could refer to material/results obtained on previous cruises |
| PXRF | TEST | test sample_number | TEST sample number: the sample_number of the sample to which this test record is attached; a foreign key to the SAMPLE table |
| PXRF | TEST | Top depth CSF-A (m) | Top depth CSF-A (m): position of observation expressed relative to the top of the hole. |
| PXRF | TEST | Bottom depth CSF-A (m) | Bottom depth CSF-A (m): position of observation expressed relative to the top of the hole. |
| PXRF | TEST | Top depth CSF-B (m) | Top depth [other] (m): position of observation expressed relative to the top of the hole. The location is presented in a scale selected by the science party or the report user. |
| PXRF | TEST | Bottom depth CSF-B (m) | Bottom depth [other] (m): position of observation expressed relative to the top of the hole. The location is presented in a scale selected by the science party or the report user. |
| PXRF | RESULT | datetime | RESULT datetime: date/time stamp for each run |
| PXRF | RESULT | mode | RESULT mode: the calibration selected for the run (e.g., Geochem, Mudrock) |
| PXRF | RESULT | run_number | RESULT run number: serial number of the run (incremented by the instrument for each sample) |
| PXRF | SAMPLE | sample_name | SAMPLE sample name: repeated display of the sample label ID from the SAMPLE table |
| PXRF | RESULT | reading | RESULT reading number: human-input run number for each sample |
| PXRF | RESULT | run_spm_asman_id | RESULT spectrum file ASMAN_ID: serial number of the ASMAN link for the spectral raw data (.SPM) file |
| PXRF | RESULT | run_spm_filename | RESULT spectrum filename: file name for the spectral raw data (.SPM) file |
| PXRF | RESULT | run_main_asman_id | RESULT main report ASMAN_ID: serial number of the ASMAN link for the reduced data table (.CSV) file |
| PXRF | RESULT | run_main_filename | RESULT main report filename: file name for the reduced data table (.CSV) file |
| PXRF | RESULT | offset (cm) | RESULT offset (cm): position of the observation made, measured relative to the top of a section half. |
| PXRF | RESULT | result comments | RESULT comment: contents of a result parameter with name = "comment," usually shown on reports as "Result comments" |
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