QCN USB Sensor Installation Guide

QCN USB Sensor Installation Guide

Document by:

Jesse F. Lawrence, Jennifer Saltzman, Carl Christensen, Elizabeth Cochran,

Angela Chung & Thomas Boyce Download this document from:

http://qcn.stanford.edu/downloads/QCN_USB_Sensor_Kit_Instructions_Windows.pdf

1. Table of Contents:

1. Table of Contents: 1

2. Contents of QCN USB Sensor Kit: 1

3. Mount the USB Sensor and connect it to your computer: 2

4. Install QCN USB Drivers on your computer: 3

5. Install QC Network Software (for monitoring the USB Sensor): 5 6. Configure QCN Earthquake Monitoring on Your Computer: 6 7. Install QCNLive (interactive software for learning and demonstrations): 8

2. The QCN USB Sensor Kit:

The following items are included in this package:

A. Strong-motion sensor(s) with USB cable(s) and connected compass. B. Directions for getting started.

C. A CD (Mac OS X & Windows compatible) with:

o Directions for mounting and connecting the USB sensor o QCN Sensor Drivers:

 Directions for installing the QCN sensor drivers

 QCN sensor driver installation software for Mac & Windows o QCN network software:

 Directions for installing QCN network software

 BOINC: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/ o QCNLive software (for both Mac & Windows):

 Directions for installing the QCNLive

 QCNLive User Manual o Activities for K-12 students:

Note: All software, user manuals, activities, and directions can be found online at http://qcn.stanford.edu/downloads/

3.

USB Sensor Mounting Instructions:

A. Find the USB sensor included in the USB Sensor Kit. B. Find a flat horizontal or vertical spot near the computer to

mount the sensor. QCN requests that you mount the sensor on or near the floor of the lowest level of the building/house.

C. Using the compass on top of the sensor, rotate the sensor to align the north arrow (^) with the north line. (This does not have to be perfect, just within a few degrees). The sensor should be permanently mounted in this orientation.

D. Secure the USB sensor using one of the following options:

a. A screw & screw driver b. Glue

c. Strap

d. Other (Please inform us if there is a better way to attach the sensor).

E. If you have the black model of USB sensor, then connect the USB cable to the USB sensor. (If you have the white USB sensor, the cable is already connected to the sensor.)

F. (Optional) Shutdown your computer and power off. (The software is plug-and-play. However on some systems the sensor could interfere with other hardware.)

G. Connect the USB cable to the computer USB port on your computer.

H. (Optional) Turn your computer on and login. I. Continue to QCN Driver Installation (Page 3).

4.

Install USB Sensor driver (Windows – Black Sensor Only):

A. Insert the QCN CD into your computer. Open the CD and find the QCN USB driver for Windows. It is called “MotionNodeWin.msi” and is located in the “Drivers” folder on the CD:

Drivers/QCN_Black_USB_Drivers_Win.msi

B. Start installing the driver by double clicking on MotionNodeWin.msi. Follow the directions and click “Next”.

D. Choose a folder to install the driver in if you wish, then click “Next”:

E. Click “Install” to install the driver:

F. Click “Finish” to complete installation of the driver. Congratulations. You are now done installing the QCN USB driver:

5. Install Quake-Catcher Network Software

Please follow these instructions to download & install the software that will run QCN on your computer to monitor the Sensor. Please read the instructions carefully. A. Download BOINC (the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing)

from http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php. BOINC manages the data transfer and day-to-day operations for the Quake-Catcher Network.

B. Run the BOINC Installer: Double click on the file named something similar to boinc_6.2.19_windows_intelx86.exe that should now be on your “Desktop” or in your “Downloads” folder.

C. Press “Next,” and accept the license agreement. Then press “Next” twice more, making sure the desired installation directories are specified. Finally press “Install” to install BOINC.

6. Configure QCN Monitoring on Your Computer:

in the Start menu). To run and configure QCN the computer must be connected to the internet. If it is not, please wait until it is before

proceeding.

B. Add QCN to "My Projects": i. Select "Add Project" (Lower

Right) if the “Attach to project” dialogue box doesn’t appear on its own.

ii. Select “Next”.

iii. Under “Project URL” type http://qcn.stanford.edu/sensor

C. Enter your email address and a password:

(If you have installed QCN on another computer, you can add a second computer under the same account by selecting “Yes, existing user)

D. QCN should now be ready for personalized configuration: Your default web browser should connect to “QCN Account Setup”.

If your browser does not open, click on the QCN logo and select “Computer Location Info” from the drop down list.

E. Provide your computer’s location.

For USB Sensors attached to desktop computers, you need only enter one location if the sensor stays in the same location. Select one icon, enter the location name such as work, home , or Class. Select the computer’s location on the Google map.

i. Zoom in or zoom out with the + and -.

ii. Move the map by dragging it from side to side or up and down. iii. Toggle between “Map

View” and “Satellite View”.

If the computer is currently at the location you selected, then select “Set Current” to permanently link your IP address with that location.

Select “Update info” so that changes take effect.

F. (Optional) Set QCN/BOINC as your default Screen Saver.

i. Right-click on an empty space on the desktop and select “Personalize” (Vista) or “Properties” (XP).

ii. Click on “Screen Saver” (Vista) or the “Screen Saver” tab (XP). iii. Select “BOINC” from the list of screen savers and click “OK”.

G. (Optional) Run QCN all the time.

QCN hopes you will run QCN continuously in the background - not just when your computer is idle. BOINC and QCN use 2-4% of the CPU. By running BOINC & QCN continuously, you will be more likely to catch an earthquake. QCN thanks you for considering this option. In BOINC select “Preferences” and then “Do work after idle for” “0 (Run Always)” minutes. (If you are running QCN on a laptop with an internal sensor, please do not run QCN in

“Run Always” mode. Typing on the laptops keyboard will cause too many false vibrations.)

H. Notes:

i. On laptops, QCN should only run when idle for 3 minutes – Not in “Run Always” mode. That way QCN does not just measure typing.

ii. QCN monitoring only installs and runs properly when connected to the Internet.

iii. If there is an earthquake in your area, please let us know if you felt it. 7. Install QCNLive (Interactive Software for Learning & Demonstrations):

To learn how QCN operates, download the interactive program called QCNLive. With QCNLive you will be able to see the current seismograms generated by your computer’s internal or USB sensor.

A. Copy the compressed version of QCNLive from the QCN USB Kit CD to your computer’s desktop:

Or Download QCNLive to your computer: http://qcn.stanford.edu/downloads/ Move the downloaded file to your computer’s desktop.

B. Double click on the file to uncompress the program (the one on your desktop). i. QCNLive should create a new directory.

ii. (Optional) Copy the new directory to another directory of your choice.

C. To run

QCNLive, double click on the QCNLive application in the newly created folder. You should now be able begin using QCNLive.

D. To uninstall, just move the QCNLive directory to the “Recycle Bin”. E. To reinstall QCNLive, Repeat Steps A through C.