An end-to-end bench test of the system will exercise all of its individual components and confirm that the RBRcervata can read from and write to its storage and that it can communicate with an instrument via serial connection.

Clearing instrument memory

Before beginning the test, ensure that the instrument (RBRconcerto, RBRmaestro, or RBRquartz), has been stopped, and its memory is empty. This practice should always be followed where possible before connecting an instrument to an RBRcervata: if the amount of data stored in the instrument is below a configured threshold, the data controller will attempt to download it before starting a new deployment; if there is a lot of data in memory, this can cause a considerable delay.

1. Unscrew the battery end cap from the instrument.
2. Connect the instrument to a computer via USB and open Ruskin.
3. If the instrument is logging, stop it.
4. Click the “UTC sync” button to synchronize the instrument clock to UTC time.
5. Start a new deployment. You may need to reconfigure the deployment end time before Ruskin will allow you to enable the instrument; any end time is acceptable as this will be reconfigured by the RBRcervata.
6. Stop the deployment again. This ensures that only a negligibly short deployment is stored within instrument memory.
7. Disconnect the instrument from the computer, and reattach the battery end cap.

Performing the bench test

To perform the bench test:

1. For convenience, remove the internal assembly of the RBRcervata from the external tube.
2. For clarity in interpreting bench testing results, do not initially connect any instrument to the data controller.
3. Connect its battery to the internal battery connector. The RBRcervata will then boot.
   • This process will take up to two minutes.
   • As the unit boots, the red LED on its internal assembly will be steadily illuminated. Once it has finished booting, and assuming SD card storage media is connected and correctly formatted, the light will flash on and off for 30 seconds while the unit collects diagnostic data then returns to an idle state. Then the red LED will turn off, and the green LED will be steadily lit.
4. Once the green LED has become lit, connect the instrument's serial connector to the RBRcervata.
   • If there are optical sensors on the instrument, you will see them light up when the data controller starts the deployment and as the instrument continues sampling.
5. Within 20-30s, the data controller will detect that the instrument has been connected, and will begin retrieving any existing data from it; and, if its configuration parameters do not match those expected by the data controller, redeploying it. In this case, the green LED should go out, and the red LED will begin to flash again as the data controller writes data from instrument memory to its internal SD card storage.
6. After the RBRcervata has completed downloading the contents of instrument memory, it will enter deep sleep. Both LEDs will turn off.
   
   • The duration of deep sleep will depend on its configuration; for more information about the configuration of your particular unit, or to reconfigure it to use a shorter sleep duration for easier bench testing, please contact RBR support.
7. After the deep sleep duration has completed, the data controller will power back on, and download new data accumulated in the instrument memory. Then it will re-enter deep sleep. This cycle will continue as long as the data controller and instrument both have power.

To verify data collection, remove the SD card from the RBRcervata, connect it to a computer, and open the recorded dataset in Ruskin. See Removable storage for details.

If the instrument does not seem to start, or no data is collected on the SD card, commence with troubleshooting, or contact RBR support.