Multiple gamma controller assembly

A method of measuring radiation given off by geological formations downhole, the method including the following steps:

• deploying a radiation measurement assembly downhole, the radiation measurement assembly comprising:
• a plurality of gamma probes configured within a single well zone to sense radiation given off by downhole formations and provide output pulses representative of the radiation,
• one or more microcontrollers, at least one of which is configured to detect when one of the plurality of gamma probes is providing output pulses that may indicate that one or more probes has malfunctioned, and
• one or more memory elements for storing the gamma controller assembly executable program and for logging gamma probe data;
• sensing radiation given off downhole from formations by the plurality of gamma probes, the plurality of gamma probes each generating pulses that are communicated to at least one of the one or more microcontrollers;
• interpreting the pulses given off by each of the plurality of gamma probes by at least one of the one or more microcontrollers such that the pulses are each assigned representative data;
• determining if one or more of the representative data interpreted from each one of the plurality of gamma probes may indicate that a particular one of the gamma probes has malfunctioned;
• and
• disqualifying one of the plurality of gamma probes, responsive to the determining step, such that the pulses output by the disqualified gamma probe are no longer considered valid.

A downhole measurement assembly to facilitate the reliable downhole measurement of radiation given off by geological formations adjacent a wellbore, the downhole measurement assembly comprising:

• a plurality of gamma probes configured within a single well zone to sense radiation given off by downhole formations and provide output pulses representative of the radiation,
• one or more microcontrollers, at least one of which is configured to detect when one of the plurality of gamma probes is providing output pulses that may indicate the probe has malfunctioned,
• a communication pathway between each of the plurality of gamma probes and at least one of the one or more microcontrollers wherein the output pulses of each of the plurality of gamma probes are communicated on the communication pathway to at least one of the one or more microcontrollers for interpretation and logging,
• one or more communication pathways to convey gamma probe data between the downhole measurement assembly and a remote computer, and
• non-transitory computer-readable storage medium in communication with the one or more microcontrollers with an executable program stored thereon, the executable program comprising a set of instructions that, when executed by the one or more microcontrollers, causes the one or more microcontrollers to perform the operations of:
• sensing radiation given off downhole from formations by the plurality of gamma probes, the plurality of gamma probes each generating pulses that are communicated to at least one of the one or more microcontrollers;
• interpreting the pulses given off by each of the plurality of gamma probes by at least one of the one or more microcontrollers such that the pulses are each assigned representative data;
• determining if one or more of the representative data interpreted from each one of the plurality of gamma probes may indicate that a particular one of the gamma probes has malfunctioned;
• and
• disqualifying one of the plurality of gamma probes, responsive to the determining step, such that the pulses output by the disqualified gamma probe are no longer considered valid.

A computer-implemented method to facilitate the reliable downhole measurement of radiation given off by geological formations adjacent a wellbore, the computer-implemented method comprising the following steps:

• sensing radiation given off downhole from formations by a plurality of gamma probes configured within a single well zone, the plurality of gamma probes each generating pulses that are communicated to at least one of one or more microcontrollers;
• interpreting the pulses given off by each of the plurality of gamma probes by at least one of the one or more microcontrollers such that the pulses are each assigned representative data;
• determining if one or more of the representative data interpreted from each one of the plurality of gamma probes may indicate that a particular one of the gamma probes has malfunctioned;
• and
• disqualifying one of the plurality of gamma probes, responsive to the determining step, such that the pulses output by the disqualified gamma probe are no longer considered valid.