1	LHC Beam Loss Monitor Threshold Comparator Design Considerations:
2	Threshold values storage Non-Volatile RAM on the mezzanine to hold the Th table. Specific Th to every Ion. Chamber globally. Data always available for reload after a power down or reset. Can be used as a calibration and offset tool. Less computation in each system. (Read vs. Calculated value) Extra electronics More tables to prepare and Must make sure that they are loaded in the right card. External connector on the surface card to load data. Assuming that six 16-bit and five 32-bit Th values needed per Chamber (i.e. 11 TimeWindows) then: 512 bytes per Energy step on every card.
3	Threshold values update Update from NVRAM into the FPGA Should be possible only when no beam circulating? or anytime? Ways to determine no operation (i.e. no beam circulating) BIC interface & Beam Permit Status. MicroFIP connection in the tunnel. (maybe not available) VME bus (not reliable)
4	Beam Energy Way to determine wrong or no beam energy transmission BET (Beam Energy Tracking) “status” output. Steps/divisions needed to describe the energy. 8 steps (0.45, 1, 2, … , 7 TeV) ? 14 steps (0.45, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, … , 6.5, 7 TeV) ? More ?
5	Status Information High Tension – 1 bit per 8 chambers CFC power – 1 bit per 8 chambers CFC error – 1 bit per chamber Laser status possibilities(?)
6	Identification Procedures Ways to identify components to prevent errors from wrong connections: Tunnel Card no. (10bits) transmission on every frame Equals to giving an ID to each Ionization Chamber. e.x. (in decimals) chamber 234-7 would mean 7^th chamber of card no. 234 Possibility of comparing that ID with Th table’s ID. During the preparation of the table the ID will be added on its top and the FPGA should compare if the table ID is equal to that received from the tunnel card. Setup frame transmission. If bidirectional comm. then with request. With header in the start-up and after a reset.
7	Installation Procedures Make use of the wireless Ethernet connection in the tunnel. Barcode tags to cards, cables, chambers and position to help cataloging.
8	Length of Codeword