fig2 a in one embodiment the flow switch circuitry 250 which also may be called the flow sense circuitry may be located on the pulser driver board in other embodiments the flow switch circuitry 250 may be located in other components of the mwd tool or it may be distributed around the tool flow switch circuitry 250 may include memory a microprocessor or microcontroller and input output communications ports to other components such as the orientation module 102 and the gamma ray detector 104 shown in fig1 firmware that controls the pulser is stored in onboard memory and run by a microprocessor on the board as noted above when the tool 100 is operating downhole the gamma ray detector 104 measures the naturally occurring formation radiation while much of this data may be stored in onboard memory in the tool some or all of it may be communicated uphole by mud telemetry using the pulser 105 similarly the orientation module 102 measures orientation and azimuthal data and some or all of that data may be communicated uphole by mud telemetry part of the decision on whether to communicate real time data at any particular time may depend on whether the flow switch circuitry 250 determines that mud is flowing and thus whether a mud pulse signal may be generated at that time in other instances certain data may be queued for transmission and then transmitted at a time when the flow switch determines that.