1.0 Introduction
The QiQuac Mobile app is Fathom’s attempt to move from the stone tablets of yesteryear and into the world of machines that listen to us and control our thoughts. But you’ll find no such subterfuge in the QiQuac Mobile app. It’s one purpose is to make your salty life even saltier, allowing your phone to manage its own battery, power button, user interface, ram, and screen resolution. This can be beneficial if you have a dedicated device to record and display your SDIQ, but can be heartbreaking if you walk away with your phone, or the battery dies mid-measurement. So please consider purchasing a dedicated Android device for this purpose, and a backup USB powerbank.
The QQ Mobile app is a bluetooth enabled app that connects either to a QiQuac Fee-Oh (headless (!) T-HRECS and router) or a QiQuac Stone Tablet (QM5). It has the added benefit of being able to connect to the Fathom Salt Portal and sync your SDIQs and CFTs up to the motherducking ship (read that again, all above board). It does not require internet connection to work, but does benefit from it to sync files and projects.
1.1 Installation
Google Play store:
1.2 Getting Started
On first open, you will be taken to the Projects List screen. There will be no projects available as you have not been signed in. You will want to sign in before making any measurements as those will not be uploadable unless you move them (feature coming soon). You can still copy the QQM files to your computer if connected by USB and properly configured.
To sign in, open the navigation menu and click Sync with Salt Portal to be taken to the login page. Enter the same user and password you would for the Salt Portal.
After successful sign-in, there will be a small wait as QQM loads in your SP projects and stations.
Note: This does not download data into the app – QQM uses its own local database and only exports to SP; it does not import from it apart from project / station data.
1.3 Projects List Page
This page displays all the projects to which the user has access in SP. To quickly search for a station or site, use the filter search box at the top of the page.
Click on a station to access the station detail page.
1.4 Station Detail Page
On a respective station’s detail page, the user can manage data, export, or initiate the bluetooth streaming process through 4 different tabs: Export tab, SDIQs tab, CFTs tab, and Stream tab.
1.5 Export Tab (i) Button
From this tab, the user can see a summary of the data in this station. Note that the numbers reflect only what is contained in the app, rather than what is on SP. Press the export button to upload all measurements, calibrations, and files to SP; duplicates are detected and rejected.
1.6 SDIQ and CFT Tab
These tabs show past measurements and calibrations. From these tabs, a user can delete or edit the record by opening SD Calc.
1.7 Stream Tab
From this tab, the user can see a dropdown list of detected Bluetooth devices. Once a device name is selected, the app will try to connect to that device. If it is a valid QiQuac, there will be a play button. It initiates an authentication process which takes the user to the Salt Dilution Calculator (SD Calc) to receive and process the incoming data.
Every connection or authentication event will be logged in the ‘Console’ section (initially hidden). Use the information here to diagnose any connection issues. Most of the time, problems are solved by resetting SDIQ mode on the QQ and restarting QQ Mobile.
There is also a section to list the SD Files streamed in the past. From these SD Files, the user can actually create a new SDIQ or CFT.
1.8 Connecting to QiQuac
In the stream tab, you can connect to a QiQuac device via Bluetooth. Follow the instructions below and see the GIF for a demonstration.
- Navigate to the desired station and ensure your Bluetooth and location services are on.
- Go to the stream tab.
Optional: expand the Console section to see connection details. - Tap the scan button to see which devices are in the vicinity.
- Look through the now-populated drop-down list and select the desired QiQuac. Wait a second as the app establishes a connection.
- When ready, press the green play button. Wait a few seconds as the app establishes an encrypted connection. The app will automatically navigate to the stream page to view incoming ECT data.
If there is an error, try again from step 3. If the error persists, reset SDIQ mode on the QiQuac, and then back to the app, exit out of the station and try again from step 1.
1.9 Salt Dilution Calculator
The Salt Dilution Calculator (SD Calc) is a tool used for performing calculations on a set of ECT data plotted against time, either while reading from a QiQuac, or in post-processing. Be sure to save your progress to the database before exiting!
This works very similarly to Salt Portal’s SD Calc, but on a lighter UI.
1.10 Calibration
A user can create a calibration by highlighting the calibration steps and selecting the tuning points.
1.11 Discharge
A user can measure the discharge by highlighting the salt wave, giving some room for background points.
1.12 Taking a Live Measurement
Please visit this page to see a walkthrough on taking a live measurement with QQ Mobile.
1.13 Editing a Measurement
SDIQs and CFTs can be edited by tapping the edit button on the desired SDIQ or CFT. This loads the targetted item and opens SD Calc. Remember to save your changes!
It is important to note that SDIQ and CFT records are not intrinsically related – this means that when editing an SDIQ measurement, the app will load the measurement into SD Calc, but not the CFT with which it was recorded. While editing the SDIQ, working on the Calibration tab will create a new CFT, not edit the original CFT.
Likewise, editing a CFT will load the CFT data but no SDIQ data, and any work done in the Discharge tab will create a new SDIQ. Editing an SDFile will load just the ECT data, and any work done will create a new SDIQ and/or CFT.
2.0 Live Measurement with QQ Mobile
This section will walk through taking a live measurement through the streaming page. First, follow the instructions above to connect with a QiQuac.
For these methods, ensure that you have selected a single channel, as opposed to viewing all channels at the same time.
Caution: Salt dilution measurements can take several minutes or even hours – ensure that you have set your phone to not fall asleep. The app will continue to take data as it comes, but a sleeping mobile device may use memory saving methods which unpredictably delay the recording of the time-sensitive data.
2.1 Calibration
You can either collect a calibration measurement or enter a manual CF.T value. 0.486 is the expected value from Richardson et al (2017)
2.1.1 Use Manual CFT
- At the bottom of the calibration tab, there is Calibration Settings expansion tile.
- Select “Use Manual CFT” to calculate the discharge value by using manual CFT instead of default/calculated CFT
- Change the value under “Manual CFT“ to customize the CFT value
Important: When Manual CFT is selected, you can’t navigate to the Calibration Screen and generate a calculated CFT.
2.1.2 Use Calculated CFT
- From the calibration tab, move the selection range slider to highlight the calibration steps
- Tap the “Go to Calibration Screen” button
- The sliders correspond to 5 red CFT points in order. Move them so that they’re on the steps
- Scroll down to see calibration settings. Edit them as needed
- Review the calculated CFT and save. The app returns to the SD Calc screen, and further SDIQ calculations will use the calculated CFT.
Discharge
- From the discharge tab, move the selection range slider to highlight the ‘salt pulse’. There should be green points on the edges of the intersection to denote background points. If the conditions are right, an SDIQ will be calculated automatically
- Scroll down to see discharge settings. Edit them as needed
- Review the calculated SDIQ and save
- NOTE: As of April 3, 2024, sometimes if you save your measurement, it shows the same ID as a previous channel. It is necessary to navigate to ALL, then back to the individual Channel to update the ID. Ensure you save each channel to a unique ID before leaving your streaming page. You can also take a screen capture of your measurement to ensure no data is lost.
3.0 Copy Files to your Computer
It’s possible to download the SDIQ files directly from your phone. First, go to the Stream tab where you saved your files, then click the “Copy” icon. This will copy the file from internal memory (hidden) to external memory accessible to the user.
The app will tell you where the file was saved. You’ll need to access your device’s file system to find the copied file.
