Introduction

This quick start guide is designed to help participants quickly learn how to use the NGRL to acquire data, load it to the laboratory information management system (LIMS), and retrieve it again. It is not intended to replace the user guide.  The NGRL instrument detects gamma events resulting from the decay of radioactive nucliides in the material under study.  See NGRL Users Guide and Technical Note 26: Physical Properties handbook for additional detail.

Getting Started

Open the NGR application by double-clicking the IMS icon on the desktop (Figure 1). IMS will begin by initializing the NGR instrument and associated M-Drive motor. Please ask the PP Tech for assistance in changing the instrument's measurement parameters, the standard set-up is 300s per position for two positions. Once initialized, the logger is ready to measure a section.

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Measure a Sample

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• Wipe excess moisture/mud off core liner
• Tape over any holes in core liner using tape (shattered cores can also be covered in heat shrink plastic; contact a technician for assistance)

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• Seat the section in the titanium boat (Figure 2). The blue end cap ("top") should be near the NGRL door opening.
• The barcode label is visible, ready to be scanned; it does not matter whether the archive- or working-half label is scanned.

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Figure 2: Core section sitting in the loading tray.

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3. A sample information dialog displays (Figure 4). Pressing Cancel closes this panel and returns to the main display.
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4. Ensure the cursor is in the SCAN field and scan either of the core section's barcode labels, A-half or W-half work equally well. Check to be sure all sample information has populated the windows properly. If the experiment is run with incorrect sample information the section will need to be rescanned.

5. Enter sample length observed into the 'User Length' field. Round the sample length to the nearest whole centimeter. Be careful to observe the actual length of the material in the core liner, not just the end cap and to be consistent in how length is determined from measurement to measurement. The "Measure" button will become available once the user has clicked out of the user length field.

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7. When the measurement is complete, the titanium boat will return to original load position.  If the measurement needs to be aborted press the ABORT (Figure 6) button seen on the main display.

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Load the Results

All data are stored locally in C:\data\ngr\  (VERIFY)

To upload acquired data to LIMS:

1. Click the desktop icon to launch MegaUploadaTron (MUT) and log in using LIMS credentials (Figure 7).

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Figure 7: LIMS Data Uploader icon

2. The application window displays with a list of the data files ready to be uploaded (Figure 8). If the program is already running, locate its icon on the taskbar.

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Figure 8: Uploader user interface and listing of files

3. Click the check-box next to Automatic Upload.

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Data Review

To obtain a tabular view of the data, browse to LIMS Reports (LORE) at http://web.ship.iodp.tamu.edu/LORE/. To obtain a graphical view of the data, browse to the LIMS Viewer (LIVE) at http://web.ship.iodp.tamu.edu/LIVE/. Both tools have user guides to explain their use if needed.

Credits

This document originated from the web page "NGR Quick Start Guide (IMS-378P)" by Ty Cobb on Exp. 368X. Credits for subsequent changes to this document are given in the page history.

Archived Versions

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NGR Quick Start Guide
Introduction
Getting Started
Measure a Sample
Load the Results
Data Review
Credits
Archived Versions
Image Added
Introduction:
The Natural Gamma Ray Logger (NGRL) measures the ammount of natural gamma radiation within whole-round core sections.
Preparing the Instrument:
Copy from others
Preparing the Section (Samples ??):

1. Wipe off excess moisture and/or mud from the core line.
2. Tape any drill holes, when applicable.

Note: All core sections entering the NGR must be completely dry. Any moisture or liquids present will damage the instrument.
Making a Measurement:
Note: If you would like to change measurement parameters, please contact the PP technician.

1. Place section in the core tray. Make sure the section is oriented blue endcap towards the instrument, and is flush against the top of the metal boat (Figure ).
2. Click Start. The Section Information screen is displayed.
3. Place the cursor in the SCAN field and scan the section label. SAMPLE ID and LIMS ID automatically fills. These ID tags contain information on expedition, site, hole, core, section number and length.

Additional entry field options are the LIMS and MANUAL tags.

1. Enter sample length into User Length. Round down to the nearest centimeter.
2. Double-click MEASURE.
3. The boat moves to the first measurement position, and begins measurements. If selected, the boat moves to the second position, and begins measurements. The typical measurement rate is 300 seconds each position.
4. Once the measurement is complete, the boat returns to the original position.
5. All instrument data are stored in C:\DATA\IN
6. Data is automatically uploaded to the LIMS database, and is available to view on LORE and LIVE. If data is not instantly visible, please contact the PP technician.