Our staff spend much of their time each summer working in the field on the stations that make up our seismic network, but the work of maintaining these stations is not limited to the summer or even to the field. Much of the important work is done ahead of time, in the comfort of the lab, where we review our diagnostics for clues that can tell us what is wrong at a station before we get there. This diagnostic "state-of-health" data comes in alongside the seismic data, over the same communication links.

The state-of-health information consists of a dozen or more data channels that describe voltage, current, temperature, and other parameters reported by radios, dataloggers, charge controllers, and other equipment. A knowledgeable technician can use this information to tell a story about what is happening at the station, without ever leaving the lab.