OPS OWL report

We lost lock and several suspension have tripped from a 5.7 from Northern Mexico. There are DACKILLs on both the ITMs, this needs a model restart I believe to fix, we are going to be DOWN for the rest of the OWL shift at least. I'll call out for help in a bit, after 6.\

The microseism is also increasing, so I'm not so sure we'd be able to relock.

Thurs EVE Ops Summary

TITLE: 11/07 Eve Shift: 0030-0600 UTC (1630-2200 PST), all times posted in UTC
STATE of H1: Microseism
INCOMING OPERATOR: Ryan C
SHIFT SUMMARY:

Shift started with locking outlook grim, but eventually H1 locked DRMI and it was automatic after that.  There was an issue with ADS lines, but that was mostly taken care of with some help from friends.   Microseism continues to be very high.

Since Locking was fine, we are set for OWL tonight (gave RyanC a heads up).  If there is a lockloss, the ADS Clock Gain SDF diff will need to be accepted.

LOG:

• 0050 Optics Lab is back to Laser SAFE (rahul)
• 0101-0120 Initial Alignment
• 0138-0146 PEM equipment clean-up in LVEA (robert)
  • Turned off some amps which were turned on earlier in the day and coiled up some cables.
• 0141 New Lock
  • 0146 PRMI locking and finally locked by 0150
  • And after this H1 made it all the way to NLN!
  • 0243 NLN
  • 0337 OBSERVING
  • 03:59:47 - 03:59:56 out of observing to LOAD change for ADS Lines (THIS WILL NEED AN SDF ACCEPT FOR NEXT LOCK!) 

A quick look at duty cycle wrt .3-1hz ground motion

With the locking difficulties lately, we were wondering if the .3-1hz gnd motion might have an impact on the ability of the interferometer to stay locked. I'm not sure I have a complete answer to that yet, but it does seem like there might be some impact. For the 4 attached plots, I got the max minute trends for the .3-1hz blrms velocity and the .1-.3hz blrms for the Y leg of the ITMY STS for O3 and O4A,B&C. For each minute, I plot the .3-1hz blrms on the x-axis and .1-.3hz blrms on the y-axis. The blue points are all of the data points, the red points are for the times we were locked at NLN. The first plot is for O3, the second is O4A, third is O4B and the fourth is O4C.

For all plots, the bulk of the .3-1hz motion is below 200nm/s. For O3, it seems like the motion was generally lower for these bands in the y direction, but we were locked for more of the points above 200nm/s for the .3-1hz band. It also seems like we have gotten less robust against both bands as O4 has gone on, the distribution of red locked points seems pushed down and left for O4C relative to the other runs.

Last plot is a cumulative distribution function for the .3-1hz blrms velocity for O3 and O4C. The x axis is the .3-1hz blrms velocity, the y intercept for each curve is the percent of the time the velocity was below the x-value. The solid lines are the cdfs for all of the data for each run, the dashed lines are the cdfs for time we were locked at nln. This plot again suggests the overall velocities for O3 were lower than O4C. The separation between the upper end of the O4C curves also suggests that the higher velocities had more of an impact on our ability to stay locked.

HXDS unboxing

This afternoon I picked up the Pelican case with the HXDS from Rahul and brought it up to the triples lab to unwrap, and inspect.

Inspection of the Pelican case showed the shock pads were untriggered, and the zip tie was intact. Opening the case I found the Shipping/Receiving checklist, digging out the foam I found the desiccant indicator (top right) had not triggered at any percentage. The outer bag looked good, no rips or tears and it was fully sealed, the inner bag was the same story. Taking the suspension out of the inner bag, the foil was in pretty good shape (front, back) aside from the front right corner where it was tearing a bit to reveal the C3 underlay. Under the foil was the final layer, a C3 cloth cover. Under the cloth there were some dry wipes to protect the blades (front, back). I inspected the major assemblies (front, back) and verified their serial numbers to the ICS load, the Interm Mass Fixture Assy on the front and the Interm Mass Wire Mtg. Plate Assy on the sides. The dowel pins all looked well seated, the screws and nuts were tight across the suspension, aside from the double nut on the back blade's earthquake stop (when viewed from the front). I found that double nut loose to the touch, moving the suspension let me hear that the blades had play. Both the blade with the tight and loose double nuts had some vertical play that I could hear.

Also here's a side by side of the upgrade small suspensions, in order the HRTS (suspended configuration that will attach to the BBSS), the HXDS, and the HTTS (tip tilts). None of the suspensions have their bottom stage optics in yet (the tip tilt has an old optic in it currently).

H1 Back To Observing, But Had 20Hz ADS Line Peak

Finally able to get H1 locked.  It is interesting that DRMI was able to lock as soon as Robert was finished turning off his amps and coiling his cables.

Basically made it all the way to NLN automatically.

However, a few issues at NLN:

1. Saw a big peak at 20Hz (Robert mentioned he saw this earlier, but it wasn't him---see 1st screenshot)
2. SDF Diff due to Excitations---these were a pair of PEM excitations (see 2nd screenshot).  Robert killed these, but still had the big peak.
3. On Mattermost, RyanS mentioned the 20Hz peak was most likely due to the LOWNOISE_ASC shuffle from earlier today and it was the ADS Lines.
4. Jenne noticed this earlier today (see Matt's alog).
5. Phoned Daniel since he was next on the Call List (and it was Thurs Dinner).  Elenna was able to walk me through how to get rid of this peak (basically taking ADS Clock Gains from 300 down to 0.  Remembered seeing this in guardian while troubleshooting....
6. Matt made changes to ISC_LOCK.py earlier today, but changes he noted with his initials/date were only related to timers---this is why I didn't notice gain changes. There are comments related to ADS Clock Gains (i.e. "#was 300"), but this was noted from 2020--so I didn't pay attention to them (see 3rd screenshot).

Since Elenna had me zero  the clock gains on sitemap/ASC/DitherOverview, I revisited ISC_LOCK.py and changed the 300s to 0s (4th screenshot), SAVED, & hit LOAD, I was kicked out of observing and then I took H1 back to Observing 9-seconds later.   (I reckon I should have added a new comment saying I made this gain change and added today's date, but we're already back to observing).

BUT, on the TO DO list is ACCEPTING these CLK GAINS for the next lock.  (I've given RyanC (owl) heads up in case this happens overnight.)

Guardian prep for doing lownoise ESD transition using ETMY, not ITMX

Since Alicia and Joan-Rene found that there may be some correlation between some combs and the ITM ESDs, we're interested in trying to ground the ITM ESDs.  But, since we use ITMX during the transition of the ETMX ESD electronics, we need to change the transition such that we use ETMY and not ITMX.  

I started with the LOWNOISE_ESD_ETMY state that we had put in some months ago, and made it look more like TRANSITION_FROM_ETMX.  Having done that, I think we can go LOWNOISE_COIL_DRIVERS -> LOWNOISE_ESD_ETMY -> LOWNOISE_ESD_ETMX, rather than the usual LOWNOISE_COIL_DRIVERS -> TRANSITION_FROM_ETMX -> LOWNOISE_ESD_ETMX.  I've made that a viable path in the ISC_LOCK guardian, but with a giant weight of 15 so that it won't ever take this new path on its own.  Note that this means we don't need at all the BACK_TO_ETMX state, which I've removed from the path.

For changes to LOWNOISE_ESD_ETMY,

• I moved turning off the L3 lock gain to before the DARM output matrix starts getting sent to ETMY; this is consistent with and more similar to TRANSITION_FROM_ETMX.
• I set the ETMY_L1_LOCK_L_GAIN to 1.2 (from 1.06) to match TRANSITION_FROM_ETMX.
• I set the ETMY_L2_LOCK_L_GAIN to 15 (from 23) to match TRANSITION_FROM_ETMX.
• I set the ETMY_L3_LOCK_L_GAIN to 1.25 (from 1.0) to match TRANSITION_FROM_ETMX.

I left the ETMY L3 DRIVEALIGN L2L gain at -34.7, since that's what it was last time we tried this (looks like around March 20th 2025, 16:20 UTC).  But, I think we'll definitely need to double-check that number by measuring the DARM loop.

As Sheila suggests, the right thing to do to test this is probably to do the state LOWNOISE_ESD_ETMY by hand, so that we can go partway and measure the DARM loop, to make sure the gains are kind of okay.  We might give this a try sometime next week.

 

Thurs EVE Ops Transition

TITLE: 11/07 Eve Shift: 0030-0600 UTC (1630-2200 PST), all times posted in UTC
STATE of H1: Microseism
OUTGOING OPERATOR: TJ
CURRENT ENVIRONMENT:
    SEI_ENV state: USEISM
    Wind: 8mph Gusts, 5mph 3min avg
    Primary useism: 0.04 μm/s
    Secondary useism: 0.77 μm/s 
QUICK SUMMARY:

H1 had a bit of a day.  What's new today from TJ---is that H1 is having trouble locking DRMI.

Microseism definitely continues to be the main culprit environmentally with (0.1-0.3 and 0.3-1.0Hz bands both being high and even increasing over the last 6-8hrs).  Winds are now low and it is raining out.

Plan for the EVE shift is to continue with locking.

Plan for OWL shift (if locking woes continue), is to NOT set OWL shift alerts for the night, take ISC_LOCK to IDLE, and then I just touched base with RyanC about having him assess H1 locking about 4hrs after the EVE shift (~around 2AM).  If locking looks better, continue locking, but if it continues to look dire, take ISC_LOCK to IDLE for the OWL shift .

Ops Day Shift End

TITLE: 11/07 Day Shift: 1530-0030 UTC (0730-1630 PST), all times posted in UTC
STATE of H1: Microseism
INCOMING OPERATOR: Corey
SHIFT SUMMARY: Two lock losses this morning, the first from the 1Hz ring up and the second most likely from PEM injections. We haven't been able to get back to low noise since, because the 0.1-1.0Hz seismic motion has risen in the past 6 hours to the point where we can't hold DRMI. 
LOG:

• 1755 Lock loss
• 2154 Lock loss                                      

Start Time	System	Name	Location	Lazer_Haz	Task	Time End
16:00	FAC	Randy	Xarm	N	Caulking joints	19:19
18:00	SUS	Betsy	LVEA	N	Pre-LVEA C3 Cover Acquisition	18:14
19:19	FAC	Randy	Yarm	n	BTE sealing on Y2	23:13
19:41	SYS	Betsy	Opt Lab	n	Poking her head in on things	20:39
20:40	PEM	Robert	LVEA	n	In and out to setup measurements	23:36
21:49	ISC	Keita, Rahul	Opt Lab	Local	Checking setup (Keita out 2239)	00:27
22:21	ISC	Sheila, Kar Meng	Opt lab	LOCAL	OPO spot finding	23:59
22:39	ISC	Sheila, Kar Meng	LVEA	n	Find BS near HAM6	23:09
23:01	SPI	Corey, Ryan S	Opt Lab	n	Optics cleaning	00:31
23:36	CDS	Dave	H2 Build	n	Testing new DACs	02:36

Lock loss 2154UTC

Most likely from PEM injections, HEPI BS seemed to trip first and then we lost lock 1.2 seconds later.

moving LOWNOISE_ASC to just before NLN with a 5min timer

M. Todd, S. Dwyer, T. Shaffer

---

After the 1Hz ring up causing a lockloss we decided to move LOWNOISE_ASC to just before NLN and gave it a 5min timer before it goes and sets gains. This should hopefully give the IFO enough time to thermalize past MAX_POWER and keep the higher gains in the ASC loops until the 1Hz oscillation comes back down.

Thu CP1 Fill

Thu Nov 06 10:16:33 2025 INFO: Fill completed in 16min 29secs

 

HVAC Fan Vibrometers Check - Weekly

Last checked in alog87617, Closes FAMIS27430

The OUT building fans look the same as during the last check.

The CS fans, MR_FAN1_170_{1.2} look to be ever so slightly increasing in motion over the past 3 days, the rest look just as they did during the last check.

OPS Day Shift Start

TITLE: 11/06 Day Shift: 1530-0030 UTC (0730-1630 PST), all times posted in UTC
STATE of H1: Lock Acquisition
OUTGOING OPERATOR: Ryan S
CURRENT ENVIRONMENT:
    SEI_ENV state: USEISM
    Wind: 26mph Gusts, 19mph 3min avg
    Primary useism: 0.06 μm/s
    Secondary useism: 0.46 μm/s 
QUICK SUMMARY:

IFO is LOCKING at LOCKING_ALS

Wind and microseism were high last night and microseism is still quite high and over the 90% threshold. H1 was finishing an automatic initial alignment when I arrived.

Relocking now.

Wed EVE Ops Summary

TITLE: 11/06 Eve Shift: 0030-0600 UTC (1630-2200 PST), all times posted in UTC
STATE of H1: Observing at 19Mpc
INCOMING OPERATOR: Ryan S
SHIFT SUMMARY:

H1 was locked the entire shift.  There was one quick drop due to an "automatic" PMC Voltage adjustment.  Microseism is still high and mostly stable at same level for the last 20hrs.
LOG:

• 0327-0330 SQZ lockloss due to PMC having too high of a voltage (see attached)---in contrast to last night when it was too low.  It relocked automatically and PMC Voltage went from 93 down to 30V.
• 0348-0533 Cleaning SPI optics & organizing in Optics Lab (corey, with remote H1 alerts on my phone enabled)

Weekly In-Lock SUS Charge Measurement - FAMIS 28430

Attached are the plots for all four Test Masses.  Closing FAMIS 28430.

TCS Monthly Trends (FAMIS #28466)

Attached are monthly TCS trends for CO2 and HWS lasers.  (FAMIS link)

NOTE:  The change for ITMx HWS is due to its SLED being swapped on Oct 7 (alog 87353).

Ops Day Shift End

TITLE: 11/06 Day Shift: 1530-0030 UTC (0730-1630 PST), all times posted in UTC
STATE of H1: Observing at 148Mpc
INCOMING OPERATOR: Corey
SHIFT SUMMARY: We had 3 lock losses from Close_Beam_Diverters today. The first reminded us that the issue is still present, even though we didn't have a problem getting locked last night. For the second, we tried to delay when the OMC whitening came on, thinking it was getting engaged too soon while the beam diverters were closing. The third we spaced out when the beam diverters closed, so they wouldn't close all three at once. It lost lock just after the first one closed. We then relocked and went to observing with the beam diverters open, but this ended up being a rather short, 1hr, lock. On the final attempt of this shift, we tested out moving the beam diverters and ended up moving the ISC_LOCK state that closes them to just after engaging ASC for full IFO. We have been observing since. See alog87970 for more beam diverter investigations.
LOG:

• 2027 Observing with beam diverters open
• 2121 Lock loss
• 2340 Observing with beam diverters closed           

Start Time	System	Name	Location	Lazer_Haz	Task	Time End
16:03	FAC	Nellie	Opt Lab	n	Tech clean	16:18
16:31	FAC	Tyler, Apex	MY	n	LIGHT earth moving for CEBEX	22:42
17:22	FAC	Tyler, Rays	site	n	Septic tank inspection , pump. Staging closest to IFO	19:42
17:38	FAC	Randy	Xarm	n	BTE sealing	18:38
18:49	VAC	Janos	MY	n	Look at equipment	19:49
21:29	IO	Rahul	Opt Lab	LOCAL	JAC optics	22:02
21:48	-	Corey	Opt Lab	n	Optics cleaning	00:02
21:51	-	Ryan S	Opt Lab	n	Optics cleaning	00:13
22:21	-	Richard	LVEA	n	Look at door	22:34
23:49	IO	Rahul	Opt Lab	n	Parts	23:50

Observing at 2027UTC but with the REFL, AS, and POP beam diverters open

We are back to Observing at 2027UTC but we have the REFL, AS, and POP beam diverters still open. See alog87970 for more info.