Run Coordinator report: Fall 2018 w7

We were scheduled for 160 hours of CW beam, of which 68.5 hours (43%) was delivered to Hall D. Of this, we used 67.2 hours (ABU), or 42% of the scheduled beamtime. We had 11.6 hours of BANU, of which around three hours were due to DAQ restoration after crashes and configuration tests, four hours were associated with new threshold scans of the tagger microscope and an hour lost to a target interlock problem and associated unplanned access to repair. The remaining unused beam was due to our normal configuration changes between diamond orientations and the amorphous radiator, as well as repositioning these radiators after harp scans.

We have now collected 17% of our expected data for the fall 2018 run, versus 77% of the original schedule. These numbers do not account for the proposed change in the end date of GlueX phase I, and may be re-baselined as and when we confirm our new run plan.

Detector performance was excellent overall, with our usual program of FCal base replacements fitting into planned accelerator downtimes, alongside running maintenance for the CDC gas system and a number of other parallel accesses. Although limited by the restoration of Hall C operations on Friday, preparations for a TAC run were successful, and we are set up to attempt such a run at the next available opportunity.

Whenever there was beam, its parameters were mostly acceptable, however drifts in energy have been observed, and there was a short delay re-establishing acceptable beam after the RF recovery period on Tuesday due to a magnet not having its settings properly restored. PSS trips, vacuum problems and separator failures have all conspired to limit the available beam MCC could send, but we have made best use we could of what they did deliver.