Re: Thermo Fischer FHT 6020 Radiation Monitor

["Smith, Martin via Tech-talk" <tech-talk at aps.anl.gov>]

Hi Keith,

So the one that we had a vibration issue with was installed on the wall of one of our experimental stations

so not to concrete. Just bumping the wall was enough to set it off. Another issue that we have been having

with these is we are seeing random spikes to zero I think. I'm sure that John Edwards (edwardsj at anl.gov)

would be happy to discuss issues with you.

I will need to let Brendan comment on the RS232 "command interceptor" as I like to call it, but he did the 

development work on that and is better equipped to talk about the hardware / software.

We do use CAT6a cable from the Moxa to this device which allows us to have much longer runs of RS232 than

normally allowed. I think the longest run we use is around 100 feet though.

Regards,

Marty

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From: Tech-talk <tech-talk-bounces at aps.anl.gov> on behalf of Baker, Keith (DLSLtd, RAL, LSCI) via Tech-talk <tech-talk at aps.anl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:15 AM
To: tech-talk at aps.anl.gov <tech-talk at aps.anl.gov>
Subject: RE: Thermo Fischer FHT 6020 Radiation Monitor

 

Sorry, I was not at work yesterday, so have just caught up with all the responses and thought it best to reply to all in one message.

 

Steve – yes, I’d be happy to receive another example database and protocol file. A Phoebus screen could be useful too.

 

Matthew, Martin – I anticipate using a Moxa terminal server as well, but you’ve highlighted security issues and options I need to consider. As you say, these are essential safety devices so any remote reconfiguration should be prevented or strictly controlled.

 

Martin – some more information on the RS232 device you have between the Moxa and FHT6020 would be useful. We’d aim to use RS485 as we’d prefer a long cable run from the Moxa to the device.

Regarding the Berthold, when I last looked at this, there was no EPICS support or any information I could find about how to communicate with this unit, so didn’t explore any further.

As for vibration, I’m not expecting any such issue with our installations mostly on concrete walls. Where are yours installed that exposes them to enough vibration to cause a problem?

 

Thanks to everyone else who posted comments or other example files which I have now downloaded and busy looking through. It seems people have taken a variety of approaches depending on their needs and I’m not sure which is the best match for us yet.

 

When I’ve played with our demo unit for a while I’ll post some feedback.

 

Regards,

Keith

 

 

From: Chandler, Brendan <bchandler at anl.gov>
Sent: 17 March 2025 13:40
To: tech-talk at aps.anl.gov; Baker, Keith (DLSLtd,RAL,LSCI) <keith.baker at diamond.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Thermo Fischer FHT 6020 Radiation Monitor

 

You don't often get email from bchandler at anl.gov. Learn why this is important

Hi Kieth,

 

Here is the link to the github repository:

https://github.com/brendanchandler/radmon-fht6020

 

The most interesting files are probably these:

streamdevice protocol file: https://github.com/brendanchandler/radmon-fht6020/blob/main/protocol/FHT6020.proto

database file: https://github.com/brendanchandler/radmon-fht6020/blob/main/radmonApp/db/fht6020.template

medm screens: https://github.com/brendanchandler/radmon-fht6020/tree/main/radmonApp/op/adl

 

Also, for the rest of the list, I had replied to Kieth last Friday but accidentally only replied to him.  Below is my original message from last Friday.

 

 

Hello Kieth,

 

We use these monitors at APS, and I have a streamdevice based IOC that I will post to github later today (US time).  I'll follow up with a link once available.

 

Note that our EPICs support is limited to readbacks only, as we considered it a safety issue to change the device configuration remotely.

Our screens are MEDM based, but probably could be converted to CSS without much difficulty.

 

We have our radiation monitors hooked up via the RS232 port to a moxa, which acts as a bridge to the network and EPICs.

 

Implementing EPICs communication support went relatively smoothly.  Outside of epics, we had some issues with vibrations affecting the readings, so you might consider testing with vibrations similar to your deployment environment.

 

I'll send the code link later.

Brendan Chandler

 

 

Thanks,

Brendan Chandler

 

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From: Tech-talk <tech-talk-bounces at aps.anl.gov> on behalf of Baker, Keith (DLSLtd, RAL, LSCI) via Tech-talk <tech-talk at aps.anl.gov>
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2025 06:14
To: tech-talk at aps.anl.gov <tech-talk at aps.anl.gov>
Subject: Thermo Fischer FHT 6020 Radiation Monitor

 

Hello,

I have posted a few questions here in recent years asking about Radiation Monitors and had lots of helpful replies.

 

We are finally about to borrow a Thermo Fischer FHT 6020 for evaluation, so I would like to get an example EPICS IOC running.

I believe these monitors are in use or have been tested at ISIS, SLAC and Australia, perhaps elsewhere, so I was wondering who had the most up to date or complete driver they could share with me, please?

I found an asyn driver in SLACs EPICS repository and edl files. Is this my best choice to start with?

 

Does anybody use StreamDevice? (Brendan Chandler at APS mentioned this a few years ago.)

Has anybody created CSS opi files? (I could try running an eld->opi converter as a starting point.)

 

The monitor only seems to have an RS232 port, so I was wondering how different sites connect with this? Perhaps a local IOC with serial port, an RS232->RS485 adapter for more remote connections, or a local terminal server?

We don’t need to daisy chain the monitors. We’ll have dedicated wiring and IOC for each.

 

Any recommendations appreciated.

Thanks.

Keith Baker

Diamond Light Source

 

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