User Manual - Far West Technology, Inc.
Contents
1. and item The fwt100 xls spreadsheet on the distribution CD ROM illustrates how the data may be accessed how a dose may be determined from default initial absorbance and thickness and a lookup table and how to copy the information as data rather than links into another area of the spreadsheet Troubleshooting If you are having problems with the FWT100 reader or software please check the following 1 Reader is securely fastened to the ADC card using the cable supplied by Far West Technology 2 Computer is connected to an appropriate stable power supply and is turned on We encourage the use of a quality computer surge protection and any line filter needed to provide the computer with a stable voltage input FAR WEST TECHNOLOGY FWT 100 Radiachromic Reader PAGE 5 3 The lamp is on If there is no light first check items 1 and 2 above then try replacing the lamp per the directions in the Lamp Replacement section above 4 The reader s optical path is clear Be sure there are no dosimeters in the reader that the film or filter holder is securely in place and that the LED sensor path is clean To view the LED sensor path remove the film or filter holder from the reader and look at the side of the holder A small slot runs from one side of the holder to the other If dirt has gathered in this slot you may clean it my taking the holder apart undoing two screws cleaning with a cotton swab or cloth and reassembling the holder If the abo2. FWT 100 RADIACHROMIC READER SYSTEM User s Manual Covers Installation and Windows software for ISA and PCI cards May 2002 A FarWest Technology Inc 330 D South Kellogg Ave Goleta CA 93117 USA INTRODUCTION The FWT 100 Radiachromic Reader is a computer controlled densitometer designed to read FWT 60 00 Radiachromic Detectors The complete reader system consists of a computer IBM PC XT AT compatible the reader head an ADC card for the computer a cable to connect the head to the card and software HARDWARE INSTALLATION Dedicated Computer We recommend that you use a dedicated computer for the Model 100 We have found that users who network run multiple programs or use inexpensive computers often have poor results with the Model 100 If you do have problems stop multitasking shut down all concurrent programs remove the network connection remove excess hardware and or try a better quality computer ADC Board ISA Version Before installing the ADC board in the computer you need to note the base address of the board If you have other expansion cards in the computer you should also check that the base address does not conflict with the address of the other cards If necessary the base address may be altered by changing the DIP switch on the ADC card To determine the base address of the card examine the DIP switch settings and the numbers printed on the printed circuit board not the numbers on the DIP switch housi
3. e lamp from moving Do not over tighten the screw or you may damage the lamp s housing Attach the lamp s connector to the circuit board Replace the access cover Holders The FWT 100 comes with two holders the film holder and the neutral density filter holder which has a larger slot than the film holder To remove a holder unscrew the thumb screw A spring will push the holder up as you unscrew the screw You may need to apply a little downward force on the body of the holder to ease pressure To insert a holder drop it into the slot and press it down while screwing the screw in Make sure that the thumb screw is securely fastened and that the holder is even with the block surrounding it If itis not secured down completely the computer will not be able to detect accurately whether there is film present in the holder Both of these holders may be taken apart to clean the inside of the holder Software Version 1 x for DOS This software is located in the DOS folder on the CD ROM Information on the nstallation and use of the FWT 100 software v 1 x for DOS may be found in the file MANUAL1 DOC or Manual pdf in that folder Software version 2 x for Windows Version 2 x of the FWT 100 software is an applet that communicates with other programs such as a spreadsheet database or word processor through dynamic data exchange DDE links The applet displays the absorbance wavelength and any error message and makes these available to other prog
4. ng The card is originally set up with an address of 0x300 which has switches 3 and 4 off and switches 5 9 on The base address of the ADC card may be changed to provide a range of selections to the user Table 1 gives the decimal and hexadecimal values and the position of each switch Note the base address of the card so that this may be specified in the configuration file DOS software version 1 x or in the setup dialog box version 2 x The windows version allows you to specify the base address by showing how the DIP switches are set Consult your computer manual for details on installing an expansion card in your computer Most installations are as follows First make sure that the computer is turned off and unplugged Next open the case to allow access to the expansion slots Choose an appropriate empty slot for the card Remove the retaining bracket being careful not to drop the screw in the computer Firmly insert the card in the slot and screw the bracket to the chassis Replace the case ADC Board PCI Version See the PCI DOS08 User s Manual for installation instructions for the PCI version of the ADC card The PCI Board and supporting software should be installed before the FWT100 software is installed Connecting the Head to the Card Before connecting the head to the card you should make sure that the computer is turned off Connect either end of the supplied cable to the card and the other end to the reader head the two ends a
5. ows you to Exit the program The only active option on the Help menu will give you information About the software including the version number The Setup menu has four options Neutral Density Filter Check allows you to verify reader performance by analyzing neutral density filters NDF on the current wavelength When you select this option you will be prompted to change the holder in the reader Then a dialog box will appear With the NDF filter holder in place and empty you should click on the zero button Zeroing will enable the three filter buttons You may then place any filter into the reader and click the appropriate button to take readings of that filter Do this for one or more of the filters The absorbances will display on the screen and are available through a DDE link see DDE Links section below The software uses a calibration factor to adjust the ADC readings to absorbance readings This check will give you the information you need to adjust this calibration factor if desired you may also treat the difference between the observed NDF values and the certified values as a bias of the reader The default calibration factor is 1 9 The calibration factor may be changed using the fwtgain exe program in the support directory of the CD ROM Start the program enter the reader s serial number enter 1000 for the serial number if you are using a PCI card and the version 2 0 0 of the software The program will display the current or default
6. rams Installation Insert the CD ROM into your computer If you are using the ISA card you must first install Scientific Software Tool s port95nt exe driver found in the Port95NT folder Double click on the file to start it then follow the directions Note if you are running Win NT or 2000 you must have administrator rights to install the software Use Windows Explorer or similar to navigate to either the ISA or PCI directory on the CD ROM drive Double click the setup exe file to run the setup Follow the instructions in the setup program to install the software Running the Software From Window s Start Program menu select FWT100 or FWT100PCI to run the appropriate software for your card The file will be in the Far West Technology folder if you accepted the default folder during installation The first time the software is run on a computer it will display the Port Address Setup dialog box In the PCI software select the PCI DAS08 card from the pull down list and click the accept button In the ISA software specify the port address either by entering the address in hexadecimal into the address box or by clicking the DIP switch display to indicate how the switches are set on the card You may then test the address before accepting it FAR WEST TECHNOLOGY FWT 100 Radiachromic Reader PAGE 4 The main display for the software is a box with the menus wavelength being analyzed and absorbance reading The only option on the File menu all
7. re interchangeable Securely fasten them by tightening the screws on the connectors FAR WEST TECHNOLOGY FWT 100 Radiachromic Reader PAGE 1 Table 1 FWT 300 Computer ADC Card Base Address Selection NOTE Addresses 000 to OFF hex used by internal I O MARAA 600 258 off off on off on on off FAR WEST TECHNOLOGY FWT 100 Radiachromic Reader PAGE 2 Boe lha o e as e ls l aTa 696 2B8 off off off on off on off Do not use Reserved for system ool Hell Mal ial Del fal De in DEFAULT SETTING 776 308 on on on on off 784 310 on off on on on off off Do not use Reserved for system Do not use Reserved for system 960 3co on on on off off off off FAR WEST TECHNOLOGY FWT 100 Radiachromic Reader PAGE 3 Lamp Replacement The FWT 100 comes with a lamp installed and one spare lamp taped to the inside of the lamp access cover When the lamp burns out or becomes too dim you should replace it To replace the lamp first remove the access cover by unscrewing the black thumb screw on the back of the reader head Remove the access cover and from the bottom of the reader unscrew the black thumb screw which holds the lamp in place Disconnect the lamp from the circuit board by pulling the connector off the board Remove the lamp and discard it Insert the new lamp into the holder as far as it will go and tighten the thumb screw just enough to prevent th
8. value for the reader You may change the value or exit the program without changing the value Decreasing the gain will decrease the absorbance readings thus if your NDF readings average about 2 high you would adjust the gain down 2 Zero allows you to zero the absorbance reading The reading may change over time a slow drift in zero is normal Wavelength allows you to select between the two wavelengths that the reader has For standard readers this will be 510 nm and 600 nm Port brings up the Port Address Setup dialog box discussed above DDE Links Dynamic Data Exchange DDE links allow data to be transferred from one program to another The FWT100 program allows other programs to access the wavelength and absorbance reading The communication is established with a link source of fwt100 for both the ISA or PCI version of the program a topic of data and an item of wl for wavelength a for absorbance nA nB or nC absorbance of neutral density filter A B or C respectively The FWT100 software should be started before trying to access any data from it Consult the software manual for your spreadsheet database or word processor to determine its capabilities for DDE communication and the appropriate syntax In Microsoft Excel the syntax is would be fwt100 data a to have the cell s contents reflect the absorbance reading The pipe character separates the program name and topic an exclamation point separates the topic
9. ve actions do not solve your problem you may check our website for additional information on troubleshooting or contact us at Far West Technology Inc 330 S Kellogg Ave Suite D Goleta CA 93117 USA Tel 1 805 964 3615 Fax 1 805 964 3162 E mail info fwt com When contacting us please indicate the following 1 The version of the FWT100 software you are using see the Help About dialog box and whether you are using a PCI or ISA card 2 The version of Windows you are using 3 The serial number of your reader 4 Contact information including contact name company location include country if outside the USA fax number and e mail address 5 A complete description of the problem you are experiencing FAR WEST TECHNOLOGY FWT 100 Radiachromic Reader PAGE 6
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