FM300 Front Panel User`s Manual
Contents
1. 7 1 Aug 2002 FM300 Front Panel User s Manual The handles will be at the extreme ends of the horizontal axis whenever the number of sample points in the strip chart buffer is less than or equal to 525 The left handle will move toward the right handle as the sample points increase beyond 525 The spacing between the handles is an indication of the number of samples in the buffer the closer the spacing the greater the number of samples Using the Vertical Handles Whenever the strip chart is stopped paused or loaded with data from a file or the FVM400 data buffer two handles will appear along the left vertical axis of each track The handles look like little arrows The top handle arrow points down and the bottom handle arrow points up These handles can be used to adjust the vertical range of samples viewed on the strip chart The strip chart automatically adjusts its vertical scale to be approximately 120 greater than the span between the maximum and minimum values of the track data Ifa large signal produced a wide span the fine details in the strip chart may not be visible The vertical handles can be used to set the upper and lower values of the vertical axis in order to better view the fine structure To adjust the bottom range value of a track click on the bottom handle of the track with the left mouse button With the left mouse button held down drag the handle up or down until the desired lower range value appears at the2. MEDA Inc To start the strip chart click with the left mouse button on the Start button in the Sample Data group The sample interval must be set to a number equal to or greater than one second After the strip chart starts the Start button caption will be changed to Stop and data samples will be taken each sample interval and displayed on the strip chart The strip chart moves from right to left The FVM400 communications controls in the FM300 Front Panel are disabled dimmed while the strip chart is recording data Each component is charted in its own associated track The caption above the track indicates the component being charted and its measurement mode Strip Chart appears in the upper left corner 5 1 Aug 2002 FM300 Front Panel User s Manual of the strip chart area indicating that the displayed data is a strip chart The sample interval appears in the caption in the lower left corner of the strip chart area The numbers along the horizontal axis of the bottom chart indicate the sample number The upper right corner of the strip chart area displays the time the strip chart was started Each time a sample is taken the values of the measured vector components are displayed in their associated boxes in the Sample Data group The elapsed time since the strip chart was started is displayed in the boxes above the vector component values To stop the strip chart click on the Stop button in the Sample Data group As illustrated be
3. 400 300 200 100 0 SA ENUN Snapshat Record Get Setting the Coordinate System Representation To select a measurement coordinate system click in the associated radio button in the Coordinates group When a coordinate system is selected the FM300 Front Panel commands the FVM400 to change coordinate systems and requests a single reading The reading appears in the Sample Data group after about two seconds An error message will be displayed if the command failed the FVM400 is not in the remote mode or if the RS232 connection is missing or faulty Setting the Component Measurement Mode To set the component measurement mode in the Component Mode group click in the check box that is associated with the component If the check box is clear the component is in the Absolute mode If it has a check mark it is in the Relative mode Clicking in the box toggles between the two modes Clicking on the Re button will toggle all three components between the Absolute and Relative measurement modes MEDA Inc 3 1 Aug 2002 FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Acquiring FVM400 Data Taking a Single Reading To take a single magnetic field vector reading click on the Sample button in the Sample Data group After approximately two seconds the values of the three components will appear in the Sample Data group in the boxes associated with the components Also the number in the Samples b
4. Click on the OK button to complete the download Downloading a Data Log File To download older data from the server that is stored in a data log file 1 Click on the right mouse button 2 Select Load chart from the pop up menu 3 From the list of files in the dialog box that appears select the file to download 4 Double click on the selected file or click on the OK button to download the file A message box will appear on the screen informing you that a data file is being downloaded from the FM300 Network Server After a few moments the data will be transferred to the strip chart and a message box will appear stating how many data points were read Click on the OK button to complete the download Strip Charting the Remote FVM400 Data MEDA Inc To strip chart the remote FVM400 data click on the Start button The sample interval set by the remote FVM400 server will appear in the nterval box in the Sample Data group and data will begin to appear on the strip chart and in the Sample Data group component data boxes The strip chart can be temporarily halted by clicking the Pause button or terminated by clicking the Stop button Data that is downloaded from the remote FVM400 into the strip chart can be saved to a data file using the same procedure that is used for data retrieved from a locally connected FVM400 see Saving the Strip Chart 11 1 Aug 2002
5. bottom of the vertical axis Release the left mouse button To adjust the top range value of a track click on the top handle of the track with the left mouse button With the left mouse button held down drag the handle up or down until the desired upper range value appears at the top of the vertical axis Release the left mouse button Saving the Strip Chart The data in the strip chart buffer can be saved to a disk file that is compatible with most spreadsheets The data can also be loaded back into the strip chart at any time To save the strip chart data 1 Click on the right mouse button From the pop up menu select the Save chart command In the Save As dialog box select a disk drive and directory in which to save the data Ye Enter a file name The default file extension is fpc Use prn as the extension if you plan to import the data into a spreadsheet 5 Click on the OK button The data will be saved to the specified disk and directory See the Using Strip Chart Data in Excel section for a description of the data file format Loading a Saved Strip Chart 1 Aug 2002 Previously saved strip chart data or FM300 Network Server data log files can be loaded into the FM300 Front Panel strip chart To load in a data file 1 Click on the right mouse button 2 Inthe pop up menu select the Load chart command 3 Inthe Open dialog box select the data file to be loaded into the FM300 Front Panel strip chart Data files
6. Component Mode 10 U 1 1 1 i is s if Z All q L Re F Rel F Rel Hel 5 m Sample Data Hours Minutes Seconds 5 i Cursor m jo jo x ite Z nC l Z i Cursor l l l E eoo eoo az i Start Pause 0 Samples Interval 5 fo fi Seconds 1 SN r t t T 1 t r 1 v nal FM300 Buffer 500 400 300 200 100 0 Snapshot Record Get Sample Number Sample Connecting to the FVM400 1 Aug 2002 Before the FM300 Front Panel can communicate with the local FVM400 Vector Magnetometer the supplied RS232 interface cable must be connected between a communications port of a PC and the RS232 connector on the side of the FVM400 The FM300 Front Panel can use any unused COM port The FVM400 RS232 interface cable has a 25 pin female D connector on one end that mates with a desktop PC s standard COM2 port connector The COM1 normally has a 9 pin D connector and is usually dedicated to a serial mouse If you want to use the COM port a 25 pin to 9 pin adapter is required Newer computers may only have USB ports In this case a USB to RS232 interface is needed to add a COM port Inside Out Networks makes a model Edgeport 1 that has been tested successfully with the FVM400 Once the RS232 connection has been established you are ready to begin communicating with the FVM400 First turn the FVM400 power switch to the ON position and
7. FM300 Front Panel User s Manual August 2002 MEDA Inc Macintyre Electronic Design Associates Inc 22611 Markey Court Suite 114 Dulles VA 20166 FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Disclaimer of Warranty FM300 Front Panel NO WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS Macintyre Electronic Design Associates Inc disclaims any warranty or condition for the software product The software product and any related documentation are provided as is without warranty or conditions of any kind either expressed or implied including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability fitness for a particular purpose or noninfringement The entire risk arising out of use or performance of the software product remains with you LIMITATION OF LIABILITY To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law in no event shall Macintyre Electronic Design Associates Inc be liable for any special incidental or consequential damages whatsoever including without limitation damages for loss of business profits business interruption loss of business information or any other pecuniary loss arising out of the use of or inability to use the software product or the provision of or failure to provide support services even if Macintyre Electronic Design Associates Inc has been advised of the possibility of such damages In any case Macintyre Electronic Design Associates Inc s liability shall be limited to the greater of the amount actually paid by yo
8. To collect manual data 1 Click on the right mouse button 2 Inthe pop up menus shown below select the Clear sample buffer command This command will place zeros in the sample buffer Load chart Save chart Print chart Display samples Clear sample buffer 3 Select the desired coordinate system representation and component measurement modes 4 Click on the Sample button in the Sample Data group each time you wish to record a sample The Samples box below the Sample button will indicate the number of samples that have been collected 4 MEDA Inc FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Note Do not change the coordinate system or the components measurement modes until all the data points have been collected The manually collected data can be displayed on the strip chart To display the manually collected data 1 Click on the right mouse button 2 Inthe pop up menu select the Display samples command The data will be displayed on the strip chart and the cursor will be positioned to the last sample point The data can be saved to a disk file or printed like any other strip chart Retrieving the FVM400 Recorded Data To retrieve FVM400 recorded data click on the Get button in the FM300 Buffer group located on the bottom right of the FM300 Front Panel screen An hourglass will appear until the FVM400 data has been transferred to the FM300 Front Panel It takes about five to six seconds for the data to download from the F
9. VM400 After all of the data has been downloaded it is displayed on the strip chart Strip Charting FVM400 Data The strip chart capability of the FM300 Front Panel is probably its best feature It allows the user to visually inspect the magnetic field vector data while it is being collected or after it has been recorded Data sample intervals can range from one second to one hour A total of 3 600 samples can be recorded For continuous data recording use the FVM400 Network Server to collect the data and the FM300 Front Panel to display the data Setting the Sample Interval The sample interval determines the time between samples measured by the FVM400 and displayed on the strip chart The sample interval must be set before the strip chart can be started To set the strip chart sample interval 1 Click in the nterval box in the Sample Data group 2 Enter the interval value in seconds in the Interval box One second is the minimum allowable sample interval Some computers may not be able to sample the data this fast The multitasking environment of Windows 9x ME and Windows NT 2000 XP may cause the sample interval to vary Turn off screen savers and background processes such as disk scanners and virus checkers to achieve the best results A total of 3 600 samples can be stored in the strip chart data buffer At the minimum sample interval of one second this represents one hour of strip chart data Starting and Stopping the Strip Chart
10. ion request to the remote server If the connection succeeds the Sample Start Pause and Get buttons will be enabled and you can begin retrieving data from the remote FVM400 using the procedures described below If the connection fails you will be given a chance to try again or to change the server address If you cannot connect to a server the FM300 Front Panel controls will remain disabled and the net radio button will remain checked You can click on the net radio button at any time to retry to connect If you are connected to a server when you click on the net radio button you will receive a message stating that you are already connected to a server The message will include the server s IP address At this point you can cancel the connection request or close the current connection and open a new connection to the same or a different server Getting a Single Sample To get the latest data point click on the Sample button in the Sample Data group Within a few seconds the sample data will appear in the Sample Data group boxes Downloading the Data Buffer To download the most recent data stored in the remote FVM400 data buffer click on the Get button in the M300 Buffer group A message box will appear on the screen informing you that data is being retrieved from the FM300 Network Server buffer After a few moments the data will be transferred to the strip chart and a message will appear stating how many data points were downloaded
11. look like little arrows The left handle arrow points right and the right handle arrow points left These handles can be used to adjust the range of samples viewed on the strip chart The strip chart normally displays the last 525 data points The strip chart buffer can hold up to 3 600 data points The handles can be used to set the right and left data sample extremes To adjust the left sample point click on the left handle with the left mouse button With the left mouse button held down drag the handle to the right or left until the desired sample number appears at the left end of the horizontal axis Release the left mouse button To adjust the right sample point click on the right handle with the left mouse button With the left mouse button held down drag the handle to the right or left until the desired sample number appears at the right end of the horizontal axis Release the left mouse button oxi nT Abs Started unknown Help r Connection come Device Seriall gt r Coordinates Rectangular Polar r Component Mode x T z All Rel Rel D Rel _Rel m Sample Data Hours Minutes Seconds Cursor p jo 4 13784 x Se Z 23372 ja 805 fi 5228 Sample Start Pause Samples Interval jo fi Seconds a m FM300 Buffer 50 100 150 200 Interval 0 05747 seconds Sample Number Snapshot Record a
12. low the FVM400 communications controls will be enabled and the Elapsed time caption will change to Cursor to indicate that the values in the associated boxes is the cursor position inixi Record X nT Abs Started unknown Help 33150 i r Connection 33550 z COM2 Device Seriat gt 33300 7 33350 33400 r Coordinates ec 2 Rectangular Polar 33550 r G z ia m Component Mode liae x Y z All 21750 Y i J Rel f Rel J Rel Rel 21800 21850 Sample Data 21900 j Hours Minutes Seconds 21950 i Cursor jo fo 0 171 75 22000 z z p z ZinT Abs Cursor e2 fas fisa 15600 7 15500 Sample Start Pause tea f i Samples Interval 15200 J fo fi Seconds 15100 0 Cc a m FM300 Buffer 50 100 150 200 Interval 0 05747 seconds Sample Number Snapshot _ Record ee The cursor is initially positioned to the last sample Once the strip chart has been stopped it cannot be restarted without losing the existing strip chart data The Saving the Strip Chart section explains how to save the strip chart data to a file The strip chart can be paused and then restarted without losing data The Pausing the Strip Chart section explains how to pause and restart the strip chart Pausing the Strip Chart 1 Aug 2002 The strip chart can be paused at any time to inspect the s
13. ox will increase by one Collecting Snapshot Data To collect Snapshot data click on the Snapshot button in the FM300 Buffer group that is located in the bottom right corner of the FM300 Front Panel All of the controls associated with the FVM400 interface will be disabled dimmed for 7 5 seconds until the snapshot operation is complete The Snapshot data can be retrieved from the FVM400 data buffer by clicking on the Get button in the M300 Buffer group see the Retrieving the FVM400 Recorded Data section Collecting Record Data To collect Record data click on the Record button in the FM300 Buffer group that is located in the bottom right corner of the FM300 Front Panel All of the controls associated with the FVM400 interface will be disabled dimmed for 30 seconds until the Record operation is complete The Record data can be retrieved from the FVM400 data buffer by clicking on the Get button in the FM300 Buffer group see the Retrieve FVM400 Recorded Data section Collecting Manual Data 1 Aug 2002 The FM300 Front Panel can be used to collect manual discrete samples of the field Measuring the magnetic field produced by an object at discrete angles of rotation is an example application of this feature Another example is measuring the magnetic field at various discrete locations within aregion The FVM400 can also collect manual data using the Manual sampling function See the FVM400 Instruction Manual for more information
14. press the Remote key on the FVM400 keypad REM will appear on the bottom right side of the FVM400 display that indicates that the FVM400 is in the remote mode Now click on the down arrow to the right of the control in the Connection group just below the OK button A list of available connections will appear Click on the COM port that corresponds to the communications port to which the FVM400 is connected Ifthe connection is successful the FM300 Front Panel controls will be enabled If an error occurs while trying to connect an error message will appear and the controls will remain disabled Check your connections and the state of the FVM400 and click the selection again or try a different COM port 2 MEDA Inc FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Once communication has been established with the FVM400 the FVM400 is set to the default mode Rectangular coordinate system and Absolute measurement mode and the controls are enabled as shown in the following figure 2101 x Hel OK etl q m Connection COM2 Device Seriall 1 i Coordinates Rectangular Polar T Ended r Component Mode O A x Wy Z All w L Rel JT Rel f Rel Rel m Sample Data Hours Minutes Seconds 5 j Cursor jo fo fo x Y Z m D l z l Da l l l S p at fo 5 l j Sample Start Pause 0 Samples Interval 5 fa fi Seconds 1 a es ar re os ra FM300 Buffer 500
15. ta on disk in a spreadsheet compatible format e Retrieve and display previously saved data e Record and later display manual data The strip chart Save Load and Print functions are available through a menu that pops up when the right mouse button is pressed With a network connection the FM300 Front Panel can be used to e Download data stored in a buffer by the remote FVM400 network server e Download data files logged by the remote FVM400 network server e Download the most recent reading taken by the remote FVM400 network server e Strip chart data as it is being acquired by the remote FVM400 network server For more information see the Acquiring Data Over a Network section Getting Started MEDA Inc To start the FM300 Front Panel program 1 Connect the local FVM400 to one of the PC s RS232 COM ports Turn the FVM400 on and press the Remote key Click on the Start button in the status bar at the bottom of the Windows main screen oe NS Select Programs from the Start menu and then select the FM300 Front Panel program group l 1 Aug 2002 FM300 Front Panel User s Manual 5 Inthe program group list double click on the FM300 Front Panel entry to start the program The following will appear on your screen ini xi A Di Started Help M Connection none 5 a r Coordinates Rectangular Polar 10 g T T T T T T 1 T a y Ended r
16. terval In this configuration the FM300 Front Panel can be used to e Download the most current data from the remote FVM400 s data buffer e Download older data stored in data log files e Take a single reading e Automatically record data on the strip chart each time the remote FVM400 takes a sample Connecting to the Network 1 Aug 2002 To connect to a remote server 1 Click on the net radio button in the Connection group The Network Information dialog box shown below will appear on the screen ix Help OK r Connection net ba xinT bs Started unknown r Coordinates Rectangular Polar r Component Mode x Vf Z All m Eies Rel Network Information xj Server FVM400 meda con oO ae ta Minutes Seconds jo aa 3784 2 ja fi 5228 Sample Start Pause Samoe stat Pause ours Samples Interval jo fi Seconds n n a m FM300 Buffer 50 100 150 200 Interval 0 05747 seconds Sample Number Snapshot Record a 2 Inthe Server edit control enter the Internet address for the remote FVM400 server e g mycomputer mycompany com 10 MEDA Inc FM300 Front Panel User s Manual 3 Inthe Port edit control enter the port number of the remote FVM400 server or accept the default value 4 Click on the OK button to send a connect
17. ther spreadsheets have similar procedures To import FM300 Front Panel strip chart data into Excel 1 In Excel select Open from the File menu 2 Inthe Open dialog box set the Files of type box to Text Files if the data file suffix is txt or prn otherwise select All Files 3 Select the file you wish to import and click on the Open button 4 Inthe first screen of the Text Import Wizard accept the defaults by clicking on the Next gt button 5 Inthe second screen of the Text Import Wizard check the Comma box in the Delimeters group then click on the Finish gt button The strip chart data will be imported into the spreadsheet with the sample number and component data in separate columns ready for further processing 9 1 Aug 2002 FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Acquiring Data Over a Network The FM300 Front Panel can retrieve data from a remote FVM400 that is connected to the Internet The FM300 Network Server program that is included with the FM300 Front Panel software package can be executed on any PC connected to the Internet and running the Microsoft Windows 9x ME or Windows NT 4 0 2000 XP operating systems When communicating with a remote FVM400 only a limited number of FM300 Front Panel features are available to the user and this subset depends on how the remote FVM400 server is configured In a typical configuration the FVM400 network server would be set up to continuously sample and log data at a fixed sample in
18. trip chart data When the strip chart is paused data continues to be collected in the background but the displayed data is not updated making it easier to inspect To pause the strip chart click on the Pause button in the Sample Data group The caption in the Pause button will change to Run To restart the strip chart click on the Run button in the Sample Data group The strip chart will be updated with the data that had been collected while the strip chart was paused 6 MEDA Inc MEDA Inc FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Using the Cursor The cursor is enabled whenever the strip chart is paused or stopped It is initially positioned to the last point in the strip chart data buffer The Elapsed caption in the Sample Data group is changed to Cursor and the associated boxes indicate the cursor position The boxes in the Sample Data group associated with the vector components display the component values at the cursor position To inspect any other point on the strip chart click on the left mouse button near the point The cursor will snap to the point and update the cursor position and component values boxes You can also move the cursor by holding the left mouse button down and dragging the cursor to a new point Using the Horizontal Handles Whenever the strip chart is stopped paused or loaded with data from a file or the FVM400 data buffer two handles will appear along the horizontal axis of the bottom track The handles
19. u for the software product or US 5 00 Because some states and jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability the above limitation may not apply to you Microsoft Windows Windows NT and Excel are trademarks of Microsoft Corp 1 Aug 2002 ii MEDA Inc FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Table of Contents MEDA Inc iii 1 Aug 2002 FM300 Front Panel User s Manual Intentionally left blank 1 Aug 2002 iv MEDA Inc Overview FM300 Front Panel User s Manual The FM300 Front Panel program is a convenient way to control a locally connected FVM400 Vector Magnetometer through an RS232 serial communications port of an IBM compatible personal computer PC or with a remote FVM400 over a network The program runs under Microsoft Windows 9x Windows ME Windows NT 4 0 Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems With a serial port connection the FM300 Front Panel can be used to e Set the measurement coordinates to Rectangular or Polar e Set the measurement mode of each vector component to Absolute or Relative e Acquire and display a single reading of all three vector components e Activate one of the FVM400 recording functions Snapshot or Record e Download the recorded data stored in the FVM400 data buffer and display it on the strip chart e Perform a strip chart recording of the FVM400 readings at a user selectable sample interval e Print the strip chart e Save downloaded or strip chart da
20. with the fpc extension are previously saved strip charts Data files with the fmd extension are data files logged by the FM300 Network Server 4 Click on the OK button 8 MEDA Inc FM300 Front Panel User s Manual After the data has been read from the file it will be displayed on the strip chart and the cursor will be placed at the last sample point Printing the Strip Chart The FM300 Front Panel strip chart can be printed only if the strip chart is in the stopped condition To print the strip chart 1 Click on the right mouse button 2 Inthe pop up menu select the Print chart command 3 Inthe Print dialog select the printer and set the desired printer properties 4 Click on the OK button The strip chart area of the FM300 Front Panel will be printed with the orientation specified in the Print dialog Using Strip Chart Data in a Spreadsheet MEDA Inc FM300 Front Panel strip chart data that has been saved to a disk file can be imported into most spreadsheets The data file is a text file Below is an example of its format File Name D FM300fp fm0420 prn Type Strip Chart Started Apr 20 1998 14 38 49 Stopped Apr 20 1998 14 39 49 Comp 1 Abs Comp 2 Abs Comp 3 Abs Interval 2 00000 seconds Points 205 Components Rectangular Sample x Y Z 4050 43848 39747 4050 43848 39747 4045 43851 39750 4044 43851 39749 wONhN oO The following procedure applies to Microsoft Excel 97 O
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