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Stalker ATS for Windows Manual

1. IALKER_AlS File Becord Groph Stots Edit View Help Ga t rH by 2a A A j y Graph i Current Trials Inforr inton i a ae Sea Doo xP Accel R 0 171 N 2 Kawasoki Zi AccelR 0 180 v es j 3 Solaris SX Pro AccelR 0153 Yes Yes amaha GPi20iAcceiR 0148 Yes No 50 E 40 H a A N 2 e Kawasaki Zi e Polaris SLX Pro lol 1 _ 030mph_ _ 0 40mph__ 0 50mph__ 30 50mph_ 05sec osson moon C sec see sec sec tet se 2 63 3 89 6 09 3 46 200 27 10 98 15 21 m 250 381 12 11 961 206 96 11 33 16 03 p 090 152 2 33 3 43 1 90 279 52 9 33 13 14 ss 496 Sea Doo XP watercraft with prototype exhaust and the aj PM stock impeller into a slight 5 mph headwind a E User s Guide Stalker ATS for Windows Version 3 0 Stalker ATS for Windows 95 Version 4 0 User s Guide O TALKER AB Versions Stalker ATS for Windows Version 3 0 Stalker ATS for Windows 95 Version 4 0 O IALKER AB This User s Guide This guide provides instructions for the installation and operation of Stalker ATS for Windows software The Stalker ATS program also has extensive on line help documentation that duplicates much of this manual Quick Start Up Instructions The Must Read Chapter The first chapter in this manual is written as a brief overview of Stalker ATS which can be read in about 10 minutes Reading through this chapte
2. Trigger Activated e Gun must not be in continuous transmitting mode o e The radar gun would normally be hand held e Activate the Radar Speedometer by pressing F2 the trigger record icon or use the main menu e Squeezing the trigger will activate the recording session e Continue to hold the trigger for the entire run e Release the trigger when target is finished or out of range Keyboard Activated e The radar gun would normally be tripod mounted E J e The gun must be in continuous transmitting mode Use the X Mit Hold key to switch to XMIT e Activate the Radar Speedometer by F3 the keyboard record icon or use the main menu e If you see Press any key to start data input then the computer is receiving gun data e Use the spacebar enter key or a letter key to start and then stop the recording session The Radar Speedometer The recording window Radar Speedometer must be opened before beginning a recording session This window displays the data transmitted from the radar gun and gives simple instructions for starting and stopping recording Initiate the Recording Window by One of These Methods e Press the F2 button for trigger operation or the F3 button for keyboard operation e Select a Record option from Record on the main menu e Click on the appropriate record icon on the toolbar Once the Radar Speedometer is opened you can begin recording The recording window will display an analog speedometer
3. 5STx 1100 b RAD To Open a Data File l eA a STX 1100 c RAD You open or load a data file through the Open __ 2 Kawasaki 2 RAD a STX 1100 d RAD ee a Kawasaki ZI Run 3 RAD a Data File dialog box To open this box e Click on the File toolbar icon Filename Yamaha GP1200 PAD or Select File gt Open a Data File from the a Daas OOOO as main menu z or Use the shortcut combination Ctrl O He Select the desired file with the RAD file extension The accompanied raw data file RDA will be automatically included but only the processed file will be listed Current Trials Information Window The Trials Information Window lists all of the trials that are currently loaded into memory It also provides tools for managing and displaying trials Trial Number Ee TT Trials Information Mi x Indicates the number of the memory buffer in Kawasaki Z wee Rud 0188 ma Yas which the trial is listed Polaris SLTX Accel Run 0 15 8 Yes No 3 umm 2 28 D00 XP AccelRun 0 17 6 No Yes o 4 Yamaha GP1200 AccelRun 0 148 N Y An asterisk preceding the number indicates peatee ans that this trial is currently the active trial The Plot active trial is generally the most recent one If Squeeze from Graph Del there are gaps in the trials list new trials will be Print Trials Info Edit Average from Disk loaded after the active trial Copy File s A plus after the trial number indicates that e
4. Braking and Acceleration and store your files in these appropriate locations Many new folders or subdirectories can be created to help you organize your data To Create a New Subdirectory PT Espionage ATA In Windows 95 e Open the Windows Explorer Program by clicking on the Start button gt Programs and then select Windows Explorer A opm Mimaso PowerPoint Pressninton l F J s 2 Heriagt Ergel terks heel File Fokje Fila Falie File Foldes S638 1 12 FM e Locate and expand the Stalker folder on Peach Or Olas Dasma ppt Pelee the left screen split by double clicking on Demi mea feKerossli218in 3 ROA xB RDA Fle 16 7 1024 AM Program Files PAD WANS 11 11 AM Stalker e Highlight the Data subdirectory by clicking on it You should see the folder icon next to Data is open e From Explorers menu select File gt New gt Folder e Type in a name for your new folder on the right side of the split Press Enter when completed 2 TEAL ALES SKB ROA File 16 37 10 10 AM 1 Gy 3 30 PM T In ear Testa I Samples Srina Tas me STi La Ap tunnelboets ST aot j r ct me uJ i Creatas anew enghy folder In Windows 3 1X e Open the File Manager from the Main group e Select File gt Create Directory e Then type in the name of the new directory C S TALKER DATA BRAKING To quickly create the subdirectory first highlight C STALKER DATA from the tree then you only n
5. Display Units US Color Scheme ATS standard Setting the Color Scheme to Black on White will provide the highest possible contrast on laptop screens for working in sunlight Configuring Stalker ATS 29 Display Units This option is used to determine the system units Stalker ATS will use to display data on graphs The units used for display are completely independent of the units used by the radar gun As long as a data recording was made with the gun s units and the Input units setting in the software correctly matched Stalker ATS can perform all the required conversions to change the units displayed in a graph The available unit systems and the units that are displayed on the graph are listed in the table below Unit System Distance Units Speed Units Accel Units Time Units US Feet MPH g s Gravity Seconds METRIC Meters KPH g s Seconds SI Scientific Meters Meters sec Meters sec sec Seconds NAUTICAL Nautical Miles Knots Knots Seconds Color Scheme This option is used to change the color scheme of the Stalker ATS screen The colors used by Windows applications are to a large extent determined by the operating system and can be changed through the Windows Control Panel As a general rule you should change display color to something you like using the Windows control panel and leave Stalker ATS on the Window setting In the real world of performance testing however you will be using Stalker ATS outside in changi
6. If there is file damage you may be able to fix it in notepad and resave the file The Help File is Not Found When the on screen help is opened Stalker ATS runs a Windows help program which loads the Stalker ATS help document file The name of the help program could be Winhelp exe or Winhlp32 exe One of these files must be on your system and in the Windows directory in order to access help The Stalker help files are named Stalker3 hip and Stalker4 hlp depending upon which version of Stalker ATS is used See your Windows manual for more information on help files Chapter 11 Troubleshooting 73 Contacting Stalker Radar Applied Concepts Inc Applied Concepts Inc will provide three years of free technical support for registered Stalker ATS owners during business hours But before you call first look through this manual and the on screen help to resolve your question Only if you cannot find your answers should you call technical support When calling for technical support have your radar gun computer Stalker ATS program diskettes and this manual in front of you Stalker Radar 730 F Avenue Plano TX 75074 Phone 972 398 3760 Fax 972 398 3781 www stalkerradar com Hours 8 00a m 5 00 p m Monday Friday Central Time Zone 74 Chapter 12 index Index Acceleration Run 9 34 37 47 Accept Changes 38 42 44 Activate 13 61 63 Add to List 13 62 63 Alt Alternate Key 21 59 Angle Error 34 35 Auto
7. Serial Port 8 16 26 32 70 Setup Box 8 26 Setup Menu 8 32 Setup Stats 13 Shortcuts 21 49 66 68 Squeeze 50 Start Measurement At 62 63 Start Over 42 44 Start Stop 47 Statistics Type 13 62 Statistics Window 12 60 Stats Menu 21 Status Bar 20 24 Sub Windows 12 20 22 SVGA 16 23 66 Symbols 58 Target Drive 7 17 Taskbar 70 71 Technical Support 73 Terrain Readings 34 Test Recording 8 26 33 Ticks 57 Time Date Stamp 24 30 Timing 37 71 Title 14 66 Toolbar 20 22 Transmitting 8 32 36 Transpose 12 61 Trials 48 Trials Information 12 13 49 51 Trials Menu 21 Trigger Gun 8 32 Trigger Recording 9 32 36 37 Trimming Zeros 37 46 47 Tripod Mounted 32 35 Uninstall 19 Units 8 27 29 48 Chapter 12 Unknown 47 Unzoom 42 57 Updates 76 User Default 13 25 63 65 71 Versions 15 18 48 VGA 16 23 66 View Menu 21 Windows 3 1X 15 17 18 37 Windows 95 15 17 18 37 70 71 Windows NT 15 XMIT 8 32 36 Zoom 42 56 57 Program Program Updates 77 Updates Program Updates Radar Sales Inc may make periodic changes in Stalker ATS when problems are discovered or modest improvements are made As a licensee of Stalker ATS for Windows versions 3 0 and 4 0 you can receive minor updates free of charge Major updates version changes may become available in the future for a modest upgrade charge Minor updates can be downloaded from our website at www radarsales com A
8. Start Measurement at bo E End Measurement at eo Ele User Default Values Add to list Peak Speed Peak Speed time mile time ta mile speed NHRA t mi time Replace selection V Activate J Add to list Selecting Statistics On the left side of the Choose Statistics box is the current statistic list Left click on the individual stats to activate or deactivate the stat 660 feet speed 0 30 mph time 0 30 mph dist Creating New Custom Siatistics If the New Statistic page is not visible when the Choose Statistics box is open left click on the New Statistic page tab New Statistic Select Statistics Type Speed at Distance p Add to list c Start Measurement at Replace selection po Et M Activate To Create a New Statistic End Measurement at 1 Select the type of statistics from the Select Statistics Type list EO E 2 Enter the starting and ending measurements 3 Left click on Add to List button The Add to list Replace Selection and Activate options determine how the statistic is entered into the list options and if the statistic is automatically activated See Chapter 9 for more details on working with statistics 14 Printing Screen Capture Help Press F1 anytime you need help Context sensitive help is always available Quick Start Up Instructions Chapter 1 Printing the Results 5 The Stalker ATS program will print to any Windows Print Selection
9. help on the specific screen or dialog box you are in just click on the Help button or press F1 For general help or to search for help by words or topics select Help from the Help menu The underlined green topics are links to other pages with help on similar topics Don t Stop Reading Here This chapter is designed to get you running but be sure to look through the rest of the manual so you can make full use of the many features of the Stalker ATS program Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Installation 15 Installation Versions of Stalker ATS Version 3 0 and 4 0 are nearly identical However version 4 0 supports long file names Computer Requirements The Versions of Stalker ATS Stalker ATS is available in two Windows versions Each is intended for use with different versions of the Microsoft Windows Operating System Before attempting installation please be sure that you have a version that is appropriate for your computer system Stalker ATS for Windows Version 3 0 Stalker ATS for Windows is a 16 bit application intended for use with Microsoft Windows 3 1 and higher including Microsoft Windows for Workgroups This version can be installed and run normally under Windows 95 However this version will not make use of advanced Windows 95 features such as long file names Stalker ATS for Windows 95 Version 4 0 Stalker ATS for Windows 95 is a 32 bit application intended for use with Microsoft Windows 95 This is a true Wind
10. ATS and STALKER ATS HELP are available from this menu item e A shortcut to Stalker ATS is placed on the Desktop 18 If you do not have any previously recorded data files you will need to open sample data files in order to gain familiarity with the program Previous Versions of Stalker ATS Installation Chapter 2 What Installation Does Not Do e No changes are made to any of your Windows configuration files autoexec bat config sys win ini system ini etc e No files are loaded into the Windows directory or anywhere else except the newly created C STALKER directory and it s subdirectories Since the installation program does not change any of your Windows configuration files and does not add any files outside of the STALKER directory it will not affect any other programs or your system settings Sample Data Files A separate diskette labeled Sample Data Files should have been included with ay Wouldyouliketo instal SOftware shipment These files are actual data recordings of automobiles thesempledetafiles Snowmobiles and personal watercraft During installation you will be asked if you would like to install some sample data files e If you answer Yes then you will be prompted to insert the sample data diskette and the sample recordings will be copied into the STALKER DATA directory e If you answer No no sample data files will be copied You can still view and work with the sample data later
11. Edt Sench Help Me Eda Search Help STALKER Version 4 000 STALKER Uersion 4 600 4 file list information about the run TRIAL NAHE Yamaha GP1200 aa 11 12 96 3 49 22 AM 517 88 a o 2 69 1 Stalker ATS Version Number SAMPLE RATE 31 28 cs 2 Units Used by Radar DATA TYPE O acceleration run i 3 Data Type UNITS 1 US j j j ee icin ia 3 48 4 Number of Samples in the File Accel Units g 3 80 Dist Units feet 3 90 ae The processed data file includes the Sample Time Speed Accel Dist 4 79 full table of data coordinates the aa te we Da a comment field and more descriptive i an IB In sn 5 0 run information 4 8 13 2 07 6 74 8 24 6 60 5 6 16 2 58 0 74 0 36 7 18 6 9 19 3 10 0 74 9 51 7T 40 7 022 3 61 6 74 0 68 7 0 8 0 26 4 13 0 74 6 87 20 9 6 29 4 65 6 74 1 69 3 10 10 60 32 5 16 0 74 1 33 E 3 70 F Chapter 7 Opening Data Files In the Windows 95 version you can highlight and open multiple trials at once Current Trials Information You can select a trial by clicking on the trial number To select multiple trials hold down the Ctrl key while clicking To select all trials hold down the Shift key when clicking Working With Data Trials 49 Loading a Data Trial Tae a A data trial is loaded into memory when Lookin 1Dete S cl i e Immediately after it is recorded ee cea Porch ath e Opening a previously saved file In Car Tests 2 Sea Doo XP RAD Samples a Seadoo rad Snow 4 STX 1100 a RAD A Test a
12. Stalker ATS Chapter 4 Save Options The Save Options page of the Setup Dialog is used to determine which method of saving freshly recorded radar data is in use Stalker ATS will save data automatically or let you do it manually depending on how it is configured Left click on one of the buttons to select an option Manual Save Stalker ATS will not automatically save your data to a disk file after it is recorded You must save it od teen ee eae i manually To save a trial select the trial then choose EES OS E File gt Save from the main menu Auto Save Trials will be automatically saved after you have Load Aisin Save entered a file name l B Save Stalker ATS will automatically save your data to a ae aee eae pane iid Sse f 5 saved wiin a Gate time disk file using a file name you provide After you N cine Help have collected a trial a Save Data File dialog box will appear Enter a name for the data file and left click on OK to save your data Quick Save Stalker ATS will automatically save your data to a disk file using an automatically generated file name based on the date and time at which the data was collected This option is useful if you must collect a series of trials in quick succession and wish to save them to disk file for extra 04134534 security A quick saved file name of 04134834 represents the day of the month 2 4 07 1 46 34 PM 04 and the military time which
13. You can use this screen to select and delete raw data points and to change the way your data is processed Automatically prompt for comments after radar data is recorded When you have finished editing click on the Accept Changes icon to accept the h processing curve If you would rather edit your data later still click on the Accept z Changes icon This will finish processing the trial and close the Graph Mode Editor Rejecting changes will discard the trial and the information will be lost See Chapter 6 for more information about editing Chapter 5 There is no limit to the length of comments that can be saved with a trial Comments can always be added later Recording Data 39 Comments Enter Comments If you have selected Auto Comment from the Setup Box Stalker ATS will automatically open the Enter Comment dialog box Type in any comments or notes that you wish to have stored with your data file Left click on the OK button when you have finished entering text If you do not have a mouse use the key sequence TAB gt Enter to move focus to the OK button and activate it The factory default configuration of Stalker ATS has Auto Comment on If you rarely enter comments bypass this screen by disabling Auto Comment in the Setup Box Save the Data to a Disk File If you have selected Auto Save See Setup Record Options Stalker ATS will present you with the Save a Trial dialog box so that you can
14. a 1 foot rollout distance All NHRA sanctioned drag strips use optical timing systems that start measurements after one foot of rollout So the NHRA mile time is the time taken to travel from 1 foot to 1321 feet Yanile 1 foot Since optical timing systems cannot measure instantaneous velocity the NHRA also figures the trap speed as the average velocity over the last 66 feet of the test which would between 1255 1321 feet The factory default list includes statistics to match an NHRA timing system When no rollout distance is used Stalker ATS will base measurements on the instant the vehicle begins to move This measurement criteria meets the actual definitions of the statistics Statistic Lists Different lists of statistics can be created and saved This can be useful if you perform various types of testing that use different statistics Simply create and save the desired lists then a list can be loaded later eliminating the need to recreate custom statistics There is no limit to the number of custom lists that can be saved However there is a limit of 20 individual statistics per list Three Types of Statistic Lists e Factory Default List this list is embedded into the program and cannot be erased e User Default List save your most common list as the user default This list loads automatically e Custom Lists create and save lists that can be loaded in the future Factory Default List The factory default list contains 17 c
15. and display the speed numbers textually Note If the Disable Speedometer option on the Radar Input page of the Setup dialog has been checked the speedometer display will be replaced by a message This may be necessary for acceptable recording on slower Release trigger to stop computers The system will record data normally however Chapter 5 When to Start Recording Starting the recording before the vehicle moves does not add any time to the acceleration curve Recording Data 37 Recording When the system is ready to start recording data press the radar gun trigger in trigger activated mode or press any key on the keyboard in keyboard activated mode to start data recording You may record continuously for up five minutes After five minutes the system will keep recording but only the data recorded during the last five minutes will be kept To stop recording release the radar gun trigger in trigger activated mode or press any key on the keyboard in keyboard activated mode When to Squeeze the Trigger For acceleration testing all of the time measurements are based the actual movement curve of the vehicle or object target and is NOT based on when the recording began So it is not necessary to attempt to precisely time the start of the recording session to the start of the target e Acceleration Tests START recording BEFORE the target begins to move STOP recording AFTER the target reaches the end of the te
16. best way to make accurate acceleration comparisons on vehicles that do not start at zero After Recording If you prefer to edit later to save time in the field then make sure the Auto Edit option in the Setup Box is not selected Recording Data Chapter 5 Cutting Out Data Prior to Acceleration To get clean acceleration curves on vehicles that do not start from zero you can wait until the instant the rider applies the throttle to begin recording Or for more precise control you can record the boat prior to when the throttle is applied and using the Graph Mode Editor exclude all raw data points below the accelerating part of the curve aaa ea miran ee wh SPEED mph SPEED mph TIME s TIME s Exclude any data points before the area of the curve where acceleration is consistent Let Stalker ATS extrapolate the curve back to zero to predict a zero speed starting point See Chapter 6 Graph Mode Editor for more information on editing data After Recording What happens after a recording depends on the way you have configured Stalker ATS Auto edit raw data Automatically open editor window after radar data Is xX Cancel amp Load EH Save Help Radar Input jFilter Display Record Options recorded Editing Auto comment entry If you have selected Auto Edit See Setup Record Options Stalker ATS will present your raw and processed data on a graphical editing screen
17. e Printing Problems e Cannot Open a Radar Data File e The Help File is Not Found e Contacting Radar Sales Inc 70 Troubleshooting Chapter 11 The Gun and Computer Will Not Communicate First make sure you have read the Input Port section in Chapter 4 page 26 If you are still unable to get the Stalker radar gun and the computer talking it will most likely be one of three reasons 1 Computer Settings the correct input port is not selected or the com port is unavailable 2 Bad Cable the serial cable could be broken or defective 3 Radar Gun there may be no data output from the radar gun Computer Settings By far the most common cause for communication problems is with computer settings First attempt a test recording with every input port option set at the Radar Input page of the Setup Box Second check to make sure no other hardware mouse or modem is using or claiming the address for the serial port Third check to see is the computer s BIOS program is assigning a correct name and address to the port and that the BIOS is enabling the port at all times Some power management systems usually controlled in the BIOS program turn off the serial port when it is not in use to save battery life Try turning off all power management functions to eliminate this as a possible problem Refer to your computer s manuals for information on the BIOS program Often to gain access to the BIOS program you must type F2 or F10 dur
18. extension This system of using two data ed Acceleration Run DF Medium B al xv files grants the ability to go back to a recording and reedit Raw Data Processed Data the run o 00 00 oo 0 pooo Both data file t 2 ypes are 1 0 0 03 o 1 o0 required to open and display a 2 0 0 06 2 0 0 06 4408 0 010 trial The copy and delete E functions done in the Stalker 0 0 16 ATS program automatically 6 00 19 mn include both file types 0 0 22 Editing Data The Graph Mode and Text Mode Editors in Stalker ATS provide options to e Remove bad data points from the raw data e Apply one of a selection of data smoothing filters or no filter at all e Select a type specific data processing method e Trim zero data from the beginning and end of the raw data e Overwrite specific data points text editor only A trial can be edited immediately after the recording or it can be reedited at anytime in the future Many if not most recordings should not need any manual editing by the user Stalker ATS s sophisticated data processing techniques can automatically create the processed data with no help from the user Manual editing provides precise control when working with difficult recordings Chapter 6 TIP You can select and start the Graph Mode editing window in one step by double clicking on the plotted line of a trial Graph Mode Editor The Grap
19. indicates that when the File menu is open this function can be selected by simply pressing the O key Print Ctrl P Print Setup Exit Ctrl Q The Toolbar Icons The most commonly used functions have a quick access icon on the toolbar Bi 22 The Three Sub Windows Click on a sub window s toolbar icon to bring that window to the front The Main Screen Chapter 3 Opens a data file that has Opens and brings forward the previously been saved Trials Information Window Saves a trial to the hard drive m Opens and brings forward or to a floppy diskette the Graph Window Opens the Printing Selection Box Opens and brings forward to choose a printing option the Statistics Window Opens the Graph Mode Editing Window to edit the selected trial Activates a recording session for Trigger controlled recording bel Eel I i Activates a recording session for Opens the Text Mode Editor Keyboard controlled recording to edit the selected trial The Three Sub Windows The results of a trial are shown in three sub windows Each of these windows can be maximized to full screen minimized to an icon or custom sized and shaped The Trials Information Window E The Trials Information Window displays information about the trials currently loaded in memory It also provides tools for managing and displaying trials The Graph Window Er Trials that are open and that are selected to be plotted in the Trials Information Window wil
20. is selected at the time of printing or screen capturing like the screen image symbols will be plotted along with the line of any selected trials Make sure no trials are selected by clicking on an outside region of the graph until no trials are selected Place a Stalker ATS Graph Into Your Desktop Publishing Program There is a screen capture utility built into the Stalker ATS Ee Stats Edit view Help program You can place the entire graph into a word Graph Type processor or desktop publishing program just like a Graph Style photographic scan ae To Capture the Graph Legena From the Graph menu select Copy Graph gt UnZoar e To Clipboard places a copy of the graph in the Windows Clipboard program e To Bitmap File saves the graph as a standard Windows bitmap graphics file BMP Read Coordinates Copy Graph Print Grap to Clipboard fo Bitmap File rint Tips For Making the Best Possible Screen Captures The quality of the graph bitmap that can be exported to other programs depends upon the size and detail of the current Graph Window The actual byte size of the file will depend on the screen resolution and Graph Window size 1 Set your computer s video display setting to the highest resolution available e The most common and the lowest resolution is VGA 640 x 480 pixels e A better setting would be SVGA 800 x 600 e Higher resolutions like 1024 x 768 may be available on higher performance computer
21. measured will stay in the lower display window for 4 seconds until it is automatically cleared During that 4 seconds the last speed reading will be continuously output Data Output Specifications Baud Rate Number of Start Bits Number of Stop Bits Number of Data Bits Number of Parity Bits RS 232 Connector Type Mating Connector Type Data Out Pin Signal Ground Pin Time Between Speed Updates Reading Per Second Data Transmitted in Tenths Mode Data Transmitted in Whole Mode Leading Zero Suppression 9600 j 8 None DE 9S attached to right side of gun DE 9P Radio Shack 276 1538 Pin 2 Pin 5 0 032 Seconds 31 25 3 Digits Period 1 Digits and CR 3 Digits and CR No 80 Contact Information Contacting Stalker Radar Contacting Stalker Radar Applied Concepts Inc Stalker Radar will provide three years of free technical support for registered Stalker ATS owners Before You Call e Look through this manual and the on screen help system to resolve your question e If your question is not answered in the support documentation then call Stalker Radar e Have all of these things together before calling Computer On and Ready Radar Gun with a charged battery and the serial cable Stalker ATS Program Diskettes This Manual Stalker Radar 2609 Technology Drive Plano TX 75074 Phone 972 398 3760 Fax 972 398 3781 www stalkerradar com Hours 8 00a m 5 00 p m Monday Friday CentralTime Zone Cc Copyrig
22. mw Dual Horn 3dB Rated Beamwidth 9 Degrees Nominal Receiver Type Direct conversion Homodyne Using a Super Low Noise Schottky Barrier Mixer Diode Weight 3 2 Pounds with the Battery Handle Case High Impact Polycarbonate Fully Shielded Performance Specifications Maximum Estimated Clocking Distances Passenger Cars 8000 Feet Plus Snowmobiles 3000 Feet Personal Watercraft 1800 Feet Baseballs 500 Feet Specifications Data Output 79 The Stalker ATS Professional Radar provides constant rate serial output through the 9 pin RS 232 output connector The output data will coincide exactly with the speed reading shown in the lower display window on the back of the radar gun This speed is output at a constant rate of 31 25 updates per second The speed is selectable between either whole numbers or decimal numbers with measurement units of MPH KPH or KNOTS No Speed Display If the radar gun is transmitting XMIT shown on the readout AND no speeds are being registered the output data will be a speed reading of zero If the radar is not transmitting HOLD shown on the readout no data will be output Auto Clear Setting The speed reading is transmitted as long as the speed is shown in the lower display window If it is desired for the speed reading to disappear immediately when the target disappears set the Auto Clear to OSEC 0 seconds For example if the Auto Clear is set for 4 seconds 4SEC the last speed reading that is
23. of the software and the detailed help file includes specific information about every function Installation Installation Installing Stalker ATS in Windows 3 1X 7 Insert the program disk into your floppy drive pm Stalker ATS 2 Select File then Run from the Program Manager Menu 3 Enter a setup in the command line box and select OK Installation Click OK or press Enter to install STALKER ATS in CASTALKER or select a new target drive Installing Stalker ATS in Windows 95 7 Insert the program disk into your floppy drive 2 Select Start then Run 3 Enter a setup in the open box and select OK Dalseth La c robert The Stalker ATS Installation Box will appear on your screen Make sure that the target drive selected is your hard drive usually drive C Select OK Sample Data Files cE A separate diskette labeled Sample Data Files should have been included with software shipment These files are actual data recordings of automobiles snowmobiles and personal watercraft During 2 would you like to install installation you will be asked if you would like to install some sample data files the sample data files e If you answer Yes you will be prompted to insert the sample data diskette and the sample recordings will be copied into the STALKER DATA directory e If you answer No no sample data files will be copied You can still view and work with the sample data later To view them late
24. password is required for downloading updates so first contact Radar Sales Inc for the password Or you can simply call to have the latest upgrades sent to you on diskette Program Bugs If you discover any errors or problems with the Stalker ATS program please contact Radar Sales Inc immediately at 612 533 1100 or you can E Mail us at stalker radarsales com Comments and Suggestions If you have any comments of suggestions on the software we are anxious to hear from our customers Much of the development of Stalker ATS was based on customer suggestions and recommendations Please call fax or E Mail your comments and suggestions to Robert Vanman robert radarsales com 78 Specifications Specifications The Stalker ATS Professional Radar The Stalker ATS software program is written expressly to interface with the Stalker ATS Professional Radar Gun The Stalker ATS Professional Radar is manufacturing by Applied Concepts Inc exclusively for Radar Sales Inc Warranty Information The Stalker ATS radar gun carries a three year parts and labor warranty The batteries are guaranteed for 90 days Refer to the Stalker radar gun owner s manual for gun operating instructions and detailed warranty information General Specifications Accuracy 0 1 MPH Speed Range 1 300 MPH Target Acquisition Time 0 01 Seconds Internal Sample Rate 31 25 250 Samples per Second Data Output Rate 31 25 Samples per Second Microwave System Ka Band 20
25. pick an axis range based on the range of the data Auto scaling is automatically used when the Stalker ATS program is Time Speed started Automatic C Automatic peseseeeesesssseseseeg C Manual Manual Scaling To manually scale the axis range choose Scale from the Graph menu or from the graph popup menu A Graph Scale box will appear with the two units found in the currently displayed graph type Set the button to Manual and enter in the desired axis speed range Click on OK The graph will be redrawn with the new scale Zoom Scaling To zoom into an area of the graph use the mouse to select an area of the graph 1 Place the cursor on one area of the graph 2 Press and hold down the left mouse button 3 While the left button is held down move the cursor to another portion of the graph You should see a black region area being defined as the cursor is moved 4 When you have created the desired zoom area release the mouse button The graph should then be rescaled to the specific region you outlined The zoomed axis range will also be listed in the Graph Scale dialog boxes Chapter 8 Zoom Scaling Press the Esc key to Unzoom Graph Style Graph style preferences are remembered in the Stalker ATS configuration files so the same preferences will be loaded each time the program is opened Working With Graphs Zoom Scale Example 57 Draw a region around the shift point to zoom in for a clos
26. process and filter the raw data Since data points are edited one at a time in text mode Stalker ATS does not automatically reprocess newly entered data Filters Stalker ATS has the ability to use various data filters that are applied to the processed data at the time of editing The filter has the effect of smoothing the speed time curve sometimes imperceptibly Filtering is useful for several reasons e It reduces the effects of signal noise variations in speed in the radar such as that caused by small targets vibration of intervening objects and poor environmental conditions e It increases the accuracy with which statistics can be calculated e It increases the accuracy of acceleration calculations Any noise in the speed data however small is greatly exaggerated in the acceleration data The movements of a hand held radar gun for example can add noise that is of negligible speed but has a significant and measurable acceleration Depending on your measuring environment you may need more or less filtering Stalker ATS allows you to try various filters when you edit your None data The default filter that is normally applied to new data is changed in the Setup dialog box Digital Filter Filter Options Medium e None keeps the raw data s exact speed samples e Digital Filters Light Medium Heavy C Moving Average e Moving Average 3 point 5 point 7 point 9 point averages 46 The medium digital fil
27. question Keep Changes to Stalker ATS Setup If you continue to have any program crashes contact Radar Sales Inc Error Messages For space reasons we will not list the 40 plus error messages that could be displayed in Stalker ATS For a detailed explanation of an error message open the on screen help system and search under error messages Toggle through the list to read about any messages that may appear Processed Data Curves Have Quirks at the Beginning or End Stalker ATS uses various mathematical filtering techniques that can adversely effect some data points at the beginning or end of trials If you experience problems where trials start or end unusually reedit the trial in Graph Mode and exclude some data points around the area of trouble Or you could experiment with using no filter on the trial Statistics Do No Match Another Timing System First read the Rollout section in Chapter 9 and make sure the two timing systems are using the same rollout distances Stalker ATS can be accurate to about 1 100th second on good recordings recordings that include all of the start have few dropouts are clean and are filtered appropriately Various filters can effect statistics by several hundredths of a second and extended extrapolation at the start might produce a curve that doesn t accurately represent the actual motion at the start 72 Troubleshooting Chapter 11 Printing Problems There are more variables with
28. to a raw file is then processed to create a complete processed average trial Statistics C Peek Speea Peak Speed 660teet 660 fect 0 20mpn 20 35mph 05sec O 10sec Tit mph oe sec mph STx 1100 a S5Tx 1100 b 5Tx 1100c STx 1100 d The measured statistics of an averaged trial may not necessarily be the numeric average of the same statistics from the original trials Averaged stats that are measurements of speed at time may end up at a precise numeric average but most other stats will vary slightly Peak speed measurements will definitely vary because the peak speed stats from each trial usually occur at different times Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Working The Graph Window Graph POPUP Menu Place the cursor in the Graph Window and right click to display the popup menu This popup menu gives you quick access to all available functions pertaining to graphs Working With Graphs 55 With Graphs Displaying the Results Stalker ATS displays speed time acceleration and distance information as a line chart in the graph window Various functions and options available in Stalker ATS offer flexibility and a high degree of control over the way the graph is displayed me The graph window is automatically displayed when data is loaded or recorded If it is not visible tl alll left click the graph icon on the toolbar or double click the graph icon in the main window Like all windows the Graph Window can
29. using to communicate with the Radar Gun The selected port must correspond to the port address into which the Radar Gun is plugged The first time you use Stalker ATS the Input Port is set to COM 1 You can change the input port by selecting a new one from the list l Disable Speedometer Help gt Radar Input Filter Display Save Options Record Options Your computer s own BIOS program and hardware configuration determine the names assigned to the serial ports Most laptops have only one serial port COM 1 Desktop computer systems usually have two serial ports COM 1 and COM 2 Occasionally you will see configurations that have more serial ports COM 3 and COM 4 The serial port used for the Radar Gun input cannot be shared with another device a serial mouse modem or trackball for example Also the serial port must not be claimed by another software program Some software such as Internet FAX and other communications programs may reserve the serial port even though they are not using it If you have trouble receiving radar data or have a warning which says Invalid COM port you may have the system configured for the wrong serial port Make sure that the Radar Gun is connected to an available serial port i e one that is not claimed by a mouse modem or another Windows application and that the Stalker ATS Input Port is set to the correct serial port designation Chapter 4 The units in which graphs an
30. was 13 48 and 34 seconds Note that recorded data is always preserved as a trial in Stalker ATS memory until you delete it exit the system or until it is overwritten by a new trial Record Options gt gt l The Record Options page of the Setup Box is used to determine a Pi which screens are automatically opened immediately after d rane uate recording a new trial You can save time in the field by only recorded selecting the screens that you plan on using Auto comment entry Automatically prompt for Saving Your Settings comments after radar When you make changes to your configuration settings you can data is recorded save them by clicking on the Save button from the Setup Box To save the settings as your user default save the file name as default cfg Or save your settings when you exit the program by answering Yes when prompted to keep changes to Stalker ATS Setup Chapter 4 Settings on the Radar Gun Any Auto Clear setting other than OSEC will cause data to repeat during dropouts Configuring Stalker ATS 31 Settings on the Stalker ATS Radar Gun There are several settings on the Stalker ATS Professional Radar Gun that will effect data recordings Auto Clear Set to OSEC The auto clear setting dictates how long a speed reading should stay on the LCD screen of the radar gun Since the data output precisely matches the gun s screen anytime a speed is shown on the screen it will also be sent to the compu
31. 9 Icons 22 Include 11 42 43 Input Port 8 26 70 Input Units 27 Installation 7 17 Interpolation 46 47 Invalid COM Port 26 In Vehicle 9 34 35 Invert Selection 63 Keyboard Record 9 36 Leading Zeros 9 License Agreement 19 Line Width 58 Load List 65 Long File Names 15 39 Main Menu 20 21 Main Screen 20 Manual Save 30 39 51 Measurements 47 Memory Slots 11 48 49 Moving Average 46 New List 63 New Statistics 13 62 NHRA Statistics 64 On line Help 68 Opening Files 49 72 Peak Mode 32 Peak Speeds 65 Plot Mode 50 Plot Status 12 50 Popup Menus 12 21 24 50 55 63 75 Print Dialog 66 Print Setup 14 67 Printing Reports 14 Processed Data 10 40 41 44 48 Quick Save 30 Radar Gun Placement 9 34 Radar Gun Settings 8 27 31 32 Radar Speedometer 8 9 33 35 Range 8 32 43 Raw Data 10 40 41 44 47 48 Read Coordinates 58 Record Menu 9 21 36 Record Options 30 Recording Radar Data 9 33 Region Box 11 42 43 56 Reject Changes 38 42 44 Replace Selection 13 63 Requirements 15 16 Restore Defaults 63 Right Click 12 24 Rollout Distance 64 Running Stalker ATS 7 19 Sample Data Files 7 18 Save List 65 Save Options 30 Saved 50 Saving Data 11 Saving Data 7 39 44 51 Saving Settings 30 Scale 56 Screen Capture 14 66 Screen Resolution 23 66 Select Trial to Edit 13 41 Selecting Data Points 11 42 Selecting Trials 13 41 51 Sensitivity 9 34 Serial Cable 70 76 Index
32. ATS is using to communicate with the Radar Gun The selected port must correspond to the port into which the Radar Gun is plugged The first time you use Stalker ATS the input port is set to COM 1 You can change the input port by selecting a new one from the list xl Chapter 11 Troubleshooting Index Troubleshooting 69 Hints Hints are brief descriptions of functions that appear in little boxes on the screen Point the mouse at floppy disk icon on e Beco Trials Graph Stets Edt Mew Help the toolbar for example and after a moment a hint box will Ey Bik appear with the message Save data file to disk file Hints may also be displayed on the Status Bar at the bottom of the screen Left click on the H button at the bottom right corner of the screen and hints will be displayed continuously as the mouse moves around the screen and the menu system You may like to keep the Status Bar hints active the first few times you use STALKER ATS until you become more familiar with the different operations If you find that hints are more annoying than they are helpful select Help gt Hints from the main menu to turn them off oon a data file to a new location Ba lic HI Troubleshooting Index e Gun and Computer Will Not Communicate e Windows 95 Taskbar Obstructs the Screen e Program Stalls When Recording e Program Locks Up e Error Messages e Quirks in the Processed Data e Statistics Do Not Match Another Timing System
33. Aree traps laa lt f am amp a E O O LL LL LL LL a 0 0 oD 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 9 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 DISTANCE feet DISTANCE feet Line Width The line width settings adjust the thickness of the curve lines used on the graphs Thin lines show more detail thick lines are easier to see To change the line widths select Graph Style gt Line Width from the Graph menu Borys REG Sins Ree SPEED mph SPEED mph o 20 40 60 80 100 12 140 o 20 40 60 80 100 12 140 DISTANCE feet DISTANCE feet Reading Coordinates Off the Graph The Read Coordinates function on the Graph menu opens the Read Graph Window for displaying the values of data points currently plotted on the screen To read values e Select the Read Coordinates function on the Graph menu e Place the cursor on part of the line and left click e The left and right arrow keys move the point across the screen e The up and down arrow keys switch between different trials that are plotted on the graph Chapter 8 Averaging a Region of a Graph Working With Graphs 59 Take an Average from the Graph A region of the graph can be averaged This can be very useful in determining the average top speed of a vehicle over a period of time or distance To Average a Region 1 Hold down the Alt key 2 Place the mouse to the left side of the region to be averaged 3 Press and hold the left mouse button down 4 Drag the mouse to the right side
34. Chapter 4 Peak Mode The Peak Mode setting on the gun has no effect on the output data Range Set to Hi The gun should be set for maximum sensitivity except when high interference causes the gun to ghost read Set the range to Hi or SEn4 depending on the gun version Setup Menu High and Low Speed Cutoffs The cutoff settings can restrict which speeds the gun displays and outputs For acceleration and braking tests the low speed cutoff should be set to zero mph Set the high speed cutoff to 140 if your target will not be exceeding 140 mph Projectile Testing If you are tracking baseball pitches or other projectile objects use the BALL mode settings which are designed to work best for those type of targets Refer to the Stalker ATS radar gun manual for more information on the Setup Menu options X Mit Hold The X Mit Hold key performs the same function as the gun s trigger It turns the transmitter on and off If you are hand holding the Stalker gun it is usually more convenient to transmit by trigger When the gun is tripod mounted then toggle the gun into continuous transmitting operation using the X Mit Hold key The Stalker gun always outputs a data stream when it is transmitting even if no target speeds are present Most Common Stalker Gun Settings e Auto Clear OSEC e Units 1 10th MPH e Setup Menu H140 Lo 0 e Range Hi or SEn4 e Peak Mode On e X Mit Hold HOLD Use the trigger to transmit when h
35. Clear 8 31 43 Auto Comment 30 39 Auto Edit Raw Data 30 38 40 Auto Save 30 39 Averaging a Region 59 Averaging Trials 54 Axis 5 7 Bitmap Files 14 67 Bounce 4 7 Brake Test 9 34 37 Brief Report 14 66 Choosing Statistics 13 61 Clear Selection 63 Clipboard 14 67 Closing Trials 53 Color Schemes 29 COM Port 26 Comments 24 39 Communication 8 70 Configuration Settings 25 26 Constant Speed Run 47 Contacting Radar Sales 73 Context sensitive Help 68 Coordinates 58 Copy File s 52 53 Copy Graph 14 67 Chapter 12 Ctrl Control Key 14 Custom Statistics 13 62 Data Type 27 28 42 45 47 Deceleration Run 47 Decimal Units 27 Default Configuration 25 71 Delete data file 53 Digital Filter 28 45 46 Directories 17 19 51 52 Disable Speedometer 8 28 36 71 Display Units 29 Distance 29 34 56 62 64 DOS Version 18 Dropouts 31 43 46 47 Edit Graph Mode 40 43 Edit Text Mode 44 45 Edit Menu 21 Editing 10 11 38 40 45 End Measurement At 62 63 Error Messages 24 71 Escape Esc Key 57 Exclude 11 38 42 43 Exit 25 Extrapolation 37 46 47 F1 Key 68 F2 Key 8 36 F3 Key 36 Factory Defaults 25 64 File Dialogs 51 53 File Extensions 40 48 53 65 72 File Locations 52 File Menu 21 Filter 28 42 44 46 Format 61 Graph Menu 21 Graph Mode Editing 10 38 Graph Style 57 Chapter 12 Index Graph Type 56 Graph Window 12 55 Grid 57 Helo 14 68 Help Menu 21 68 Hints 24 6
36. The other system was mounted in the vehicle The two data recordings were then copied onto one computer and plotted together For this example both recordings were processed with no data filtering so the angle error effects can be easily seen LEE E m cn EL EL E E m al LL LL LL LL A A o o 0 2 4 G B 10 12 14 16 18 20 10 0 12 0 14 0 16 0 18 0 sel TIME sec F TIME sec Twin Recordings Viewed Full Scale A Close Up View Shows Angle Errors When the two curves are viewed at full scale they look very close Also the quarter mile times are within 0 05 seconds of each other However if you zoom into a small section of the graph you can see how the in vehicle curve RUN3IN is very noisy and always reads slightly less than the road side recording Sometimes In Vehicle Recordings Will be the Only Option In vehicle recordings may not be as clean or quite as accurate as a tripod mounted test however there may be many test situations when testing alone where in vehicle testing is the best option 36 Trigger Versus Keyboard Recording The Radar Speedometer Recording Data Chapter 5 Trigger Versus Keyboard Activated Recording There are two different options for starting and stopping a recording session e Trigger Activated recording starts when the trigger Graph Stats Edit view Help on the gun is squeezed TETE e Keyboard Activated recording starts when a SEE ENT EE F3 keyboard key is pressed
37. To view them later place the sample diskette into your floppy drive choose Open a Data File and then select a sample file from the floppy drive Installing With Previously Installed Stalker ATS Versions Present Previous DOS Versions You can install any Stalker ATS for Windows version and it will not have any effect on a previously installed DOS version Both the DOS and Windows versions can be left on the same computer Installing Stalker ATS for Windows with an Older Version V2 0 V2 30 Present Installing a new version will update and install all needed files automatically However you may wish to delete the desktop icon from the old version prior to installation so that you always start the newer version the executable file for Stalker ATS for Windows V3 0 is stal ker3 exe where versions less than 3 0 used stalker2 exe Installing the Windows 95 Version with a Previous ATS for Windows Version Present Installing the Stalker ATS for Windows 95 will update and install all needed files automatically and it will create a new icon for the Windows 95 version the Windows 95 Version uses the file named stalker4 exe to run However if you previously saved any custom statistic lists from the previous version they will be files in the Stalker directory that end with a SLM extension those lists will be incompatible and they should be deleted prior to running the Win95 version Chapter 2 The Stalker ATS software program in
38. a GP1200 RAD Deleting a Data File You can permanently delete data files even if the data is not loaded into Stalker ATS memory To delete a file e Select File gt Delete a data file from the main menu e Locate and select the file you wish to delete from the Select a data file to delete dialog box e Click on the Open button Both RDA and RAD files will be permanently deleted from the drive If the particular trial is currently open the delete function will also be available from the Trials Information Window s popup menu Closing a Trial Closing a trial is the process of clearing an open trial from memory If a trial that has not been saved is closed the run will be lost However if the trial is saved closing the trial does not delete the file from the disk EB Conon Trials Information Tua Tem Smad fae ree Artel Mun 0150 es Ves You can close a trial s through the Trials Information Window s popup menu rien keeap 2 1 First select the desired trial s to close 7 oo ona u ve Tamaha GP1200 Accel Run 0 14 48 Hao es 2 Then right click to bring up the popup menu 3 Choose Selection gt Delete gt from Memory Prot i A Squeeze from Graph Del Or after step 1 use the shortcut key combination Brint Trials info Edit oe from Dek Shift Delete Copy Filets Plot kode E Select Each tial Bos All Trials C Fi Curent Trial Ony To close all open trials sel
39. and holding the gun XMIT Switch to constantly transmitting when the gun is tripod mounted Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Recording Data 33 Recording Data Test Recording If the Speedometer changes to RECORDING but seems to stall then disable the speedometer graphic display through the Setup Dialog Box Stalker Radar Gun Connection The included cable has a 9 pin male DE 9P connector for connecting to the Stalker radar gun and a 9 pin female DE 9S connector for mating to the computer s serial port This cable will fit the vast majority of computers If your serial port does not have a 9 pin male serial port and requires a different connector 25 pin for example you will need to acquire an adapter 1 Plug the male end of the cable into the side of the Stalker and tighten the thumbscrews 2 Plug the female end of the cable into your serial port and tighten the thumbscrews You may need to remove the spacers on the cable 3 If you have not used STATS before try a test recording Test Recording Do a test recording to verify that the radar gun and computer are communicating 1 Start a trigger activated recording session by any of the following actions e Press the F2 function key on the computer e Select Record gt Record Trigger Activated from the main menu e Click on the red toolbar icon Record radar data Auto Trigger Squeeze the trigger on the radar gun to begin transmitting XMIT should display on gun Wave
40. and save as many lists of statistics as you Emmm wish Then you can load these lists when working on trials appropriate for the custom statistic list To Save a Custom Statistic List 1 Setup a statistic list to your preferences you can modify another list or start with a new list 2 Click on the Save List button in the Choose Statistics dialog box daisut sie 3 Enter a name for your list that ends with the Doi BSA Cancel Zeve l SLM statistic list menu file extension Tesi neste __ tee Save your statistic lists in the STALKER directory If you name a list default sim it will become your user default list that will be loaded automatically when the program starts Loading Statistic Lists Edit iew Help To load recall a specific list of statistics use the Load List option from the J Stats menu heading Or you can click on the Load List button Save List located in the Choose Statistics dialog box Setup stats Transpose How to Include Peak Speed Statistics in Custom Lists ENOL Stel The Peak Speed and Peak Speed Time statistics cannot be created from the New Statistic page So if you would like to include those statistics in a custom list you will need to modify the factory default list Load the factory default list see page 64 Activate all of the stats that you do not wish to keep make sure the peak stats are not active Open the popup menu by right clicking on
41. ar Gun Placement In order to get accurate test results the radar gun needs to be positioned correctly Optimal Radar Placement For Acceleration Runs Place the radar 15 30 feet directly behind the target vehicle Braking Runs Radar can be placed in front of or behind the vehicle In Vehicle See Chapter 5 Where to Place the Radar Gun The sensitivity of the Stalker radar gun is intentionally reduced at speeds below 10 MPH so it is recommended that the portion of a run where the lowest speeds are measured is the same end of the run that the radar is positioned When you have positioned the radar correctly and have attached the serial cable from the radar gun to computer you are ready to begin recording Trigger Versus Keyboard Recording You can use the trigger on the radar gun to start and stop a recording session or you can use the computer if the radar gun is set to constantly transmitting mode e If the Gun is Hand Held Use the trigger method e If the Gun is Tripod Mounted Use the keyboard method To Start Recording Open The Radar Speedometer To begin a recording session first the radar soeedometer box is opened by any of these three ways e Press the F2 or F3 function keys on the computer e Choose a recording method from the Record menu e Click on one of the red record icons from the toolbar When to Start Recording For acceleration testing all of the time measurements are based the actual movement curve of the vehicl
42. ave a User Default List that loads automatically every time the program is started place the cursor within the current statistic list and then right click to open a popup menu Then choose Save as User default Quick Start Up Instructions 13 Select a Trial Before you can perform certain functions like copying deleting reediting or averaging a trial you must first select the trial s so that the program knows which trials to apply the function Think of selecting a trial as highlighting the trial A Trial Can Be Selected by Any of These Actions e From the Edit menu choose Select trial to edit gt and then select the trial name from the list of open trials e Click on the plotted curve line in the Graph window e Click on the trial name in the Statistic window e Click on the trial number in the Trial Information window Once a trial has been selected you should see that the plotted line has symbols on it and the selected trial will have a sign by it s listing in the Statistics and the Trials Information Windows Choose Statistics Choosing Performance Statistics The Choose Statistics dialog box contains all the eta ene functions required to create edit and manage lists of statistics To access this box select Stats gt Setup Stats from the main menu or right click on the Statistics Window to display the popup menu and select Setup Stats New Statistic Select Statistics Type Speed at Distance
43. be maximized to full screen minimized to an icon or custom sized to any shape in between Place the cursor on the window frame to custom size the window f Graph 0 x b Edit Graph Type speed Time Graph style opeed Distance Scale Distance Time Legend Acceleration Time Zohn Acceleration Listance Read Coordinates Copy Graph SPEED mph Sea Doo sP Polaris SLTA 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 2 STALKER ATS TIME sec 56 G r L SPEED mph raph Types SPEED mph DISTANCE feet o 8e828 288 9 ACCELERATION g ACCELERATION g 1 10 TED DISTANCE feat Working With Graphs Chapter 8 Graph Types Stalker ATS can plot a results curve in five different formats e Speed versus Time e Speed versus Distance e Distance versus Time e Acceleration versus Time e Acceleration versus Distance To change the graph type select Graph gt Graph Type from the main menu or the graph popup menu and choose a new graph type The default graph type is Speed versus Time Graph Scales The scaling of the graph refers to the range of numbers on the axes Graphs can be scaled one of three ways e Automatic Scale Stalker ATS chooses an appropriate scale based on the data e Manual Scale You can select specific axis ranges in the Graph Scale Dialog Boxes e Zoom Scale You can zoom into an area of a graph Automatic Scaling Stalker ATS will automatically
44. cluding all versions is owned by Radar Sales Inc and is protected by the United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions Starting Stalker ATS T Stalker ATS Installation 19 Removing Stalker ATS From Your System Remove Stalker ATS from your system by deleting the STALKER ATS group from Program Manager or by removing the STALKER ATS group from the Start menu of Windows 95 If you want to remove Stalker ATS and your radar data from your computer delete the C STALKER directory from your hard drive To remove Stalker ATS but keep your data simply delete all contents of the STALKER directory except the DATA subdirectory License Agreement When you install the Stalker ATS software program you have agreed to accept the terms of the Radar Sales Inc license agreement If you do not agree with the following terms return the uninstalled diskettes to Radar Sales Inc for a refund Grant of License Radar Sales Inc grants to the user the rights to e Use the Stalker ATS program to record analyze and print radar recordings generated from only one Stalker radar gun e The user may install the program on more than one computer however the user must purchase an additional copy of the program with each Stalker ATS radar gun that is purchased or used The following are expressly prohibited with this grant of license e The program may not be used with any other radar system or input device other than a Stalker ATS P
45. d and placed anywhere in the main screen region Status Bar This area displays S Current Settings C Comments H Warnings and Error Messages Graph elol x Statistics Elle Fa Trials elol x Input Port COM Memory 2 Trials Version 4 00 Input Units US Filter Medium Auto save Of Status Bar Controls Controls what information is The actual appearance of the screen will vary depending on whether you are running Windows or displayed in the Status Bar Windows 95 and on the Windows color scheme and fonts you have selected If your Windows 95 Area taskbar obstructs the lower screen see page 70 in troubleshooting to eliminate this problem Chapter 3 The Main Menu TIP You can use the Alt key together with the underlined letter of a menu item to activate that menu item For example to access the Stats menu type the shortcut key combination Alt and S keys POPUP MENUS When you place the cursor in one of the sub windows and Right Click a Popup Menu will appear listing all of the options and functions available within that specific sub window The Toolbar The Main Screen 21 The Main Menu File Record Trials Graph Stats Edit View Help File Functions for opening and closing data files saving data and printing You can change the configuration of Stalker ATS by selecting SETUP from this menu Also you can terminate Stalker ATS by selecting Exit from this menu Record Functions fo
46. d statistics are displayed can be set independently of the input units Therefore it is not normally necessary to change input units The Normal Data Type setting will be automatically used in the Editors but can always be manually changed at the time of editing Configuring Stalker ATS 27 Units Used by Radar The Stalker ATS Radar Gun is capable of displaying data in three different units US mph METRIC kph and NAUTICAL knots For the Stalker ATS program to perform calculations correctly it must be told which units the gun is using Most users record speeds in miles per hour Both the radar gun and the software default to this system of units If you do decide to use different input units you can change the configuration of the software by selecting the appropriate units from the list of options The input units selected must correspond to the units setting of the Stalker Radar gun Using 1 10th Units on the Stalker Gun is Normally Recommended The radar gun will transmit data with or without a decimal point When changing units on the Stalker gun the units button cycles through the following modes e MPH with decimal point e MPH no decimal point e KPH with decimal point e KPH no decimal point e KNOTS with decimal point e KNOTS no decimal point Stalker ATS can accept data in any format However greater accuracy is achieved with a decimal point When changing units on the radar gun make sure that the decimal poi
47. e e The Stalker ATS Professional Radar Gun e Everything in the Standard Package e Battery Handle amp Smart Charging System e Second Battery Handle e Calibrated Tuning Verification Fork e Gun Mounting Cradle e Deluxe Carrying Case e Tripod e Stalker ATS Software e Serial Cable How the System Works Think of the Stalker ATS radar gun as the speed sensor and the computer as the recorder The Stalker measures the speed of the vehicle or object and then sends those numbers to the computer at precise intervals The computer records the speed data The Data assigns time information and calculates distance and ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS acceleration rates for each data sample This data is then saved as a file on the computer s hard drive Since speed time distance and acceleration are mathematically related having any two of these measurements means the other components can be derived with absolute accuracy Speed Measured by Gun Time Assigned by Computer CALCULATIONS Distance Speed x Time Acceleration Change of Speed Time Chapter 1 Quick Start Up Instructions 7 Chapter 1 Quick Start Up Instructions If you won t read the entire What is This Quick Start Up Chapter manual at least read This is a short overview of Stalker ATS that can get most people up and running the STATS system through this chapter and software in 10 minutes The rest of this manual provides the necessary detail for understanding the capabilities
48. e between data points and dropouts e Smoothing applying a data filter to adjust for minute speed variances e Trimming cutting off beginning or ending zero speed samples Chapter 6 Editing Data 47 Setting the Default Data Type Setup The setting chosen in the Setup Box will determine the default data type that will be o_o used when editing trials The data type can X Cancel always be changed in the graph of text mode Units used by Radar X coral editors at the time of editing Picking the data MPH 7 amp Load type that you most commonly use will save Namai DaT Type time Acceleration Run H Save Help 2 ons Record Options Deceleration Run Available Data Types Start Stop e Acceleration Run for runs that start at or near zero and increase in speed drag race style tests aca e Deceleration Run for runs that start at some speed but slow dowr ro Speed braking tests e Start Stop for tests that both start and end at zero speed combined acceleration and braking e Constant Speed for tests that run along at various speeds but do not include a standing start or a complete stopping point e Bounce for tests that start at and return to zero multiple times testing elasticity of a bouncing object e Raw Data for tests that no processing or smoothing methods are desired e Unknown for constant speed type tests that only filtering is to be used in
49. e or object target and is NOT based on when the recording began So it is not necessary to attempt to precisely time the start of the recording session to the start of the target e Acceleration Tests START recording BEFORE the target begins to move STOP recording AFTER the target reaches the end of the test run or when the target goes out of the radar gun s clocking range e Braking Tests START recording at anytime prior to the brakes being applied STOP recording only after the target is completely stopped Beginning and Ending Zeros Are Discarded Any speed readings of zero taken prior to the vehicle moving or taken after the vehicle stops are automatically discarded and will not add to the length of a recording 10 Editing The Data Type and Filter that is selected in the Setup Box will be the options automatically listed in the Editors Quick Start Up Instructions Chapter 1 Two Types of Data Files The Stalker ATS program creates two types of data files for each run e Raw Data File A data file that includes just the actual speed numbers that were output from the Stalker radar gun e Processed Data File A data file that is created using the information from the Raw Data File and includes speed time distance and acceleration coordinates All graphs and statistics use the processed data files Processed Data is Created During Editing The Processed Data file is created when a trial is edited The Processed Data File is eff
50. ect File gt Close All Trials from the main menu 7 Help 54 Averaging Trials Averaging several trials together is the best method to factor out small variances such as wind Working With Data Trials Chapter 7 Averaging Trials Stalker ATS can create a new file that is an average of two or more trials To Create an Averaged Trial i i c Trials Inf i cr 1 Open all of the trials you wish to average Sen Sea Bs i Tria Name Type Time Savea Pio 2 From the Trials Information Window select 1 9281 Accel Run two or more of the open trials by holding down Cn Te the Ctrl key and clicking on the trial numbers 9284 Accel Run 29265 Accel Run Average Accel Run 3 From the main menu or the popup menu choose Trials gt Selection gt Average The new trial is displayed on the graph and given ee rem the default name Average The trial is given a DA comment annotation which lists the trials that were Plot Mode used to form the average The time date stamp of Help Select Each trial the new trial reflects the time the average was se erent calculated not the times the original radar data were recorded The average trial is not saved to disk automatically Averaged trials cannot be reedited because there is no actual raw data file Statistics Will Not Average Exactly Average trials are created by averaging the processed speed tables from the selected trials This new speed table similar
51. ected by the data filter if any the data type and by which raw data points are selected or not selected The Graph Mode Editor Stalker ATS will attempt to take the data output from the radar gun and as automatically as possible create a clean curve representing the run However some types of problems with the data cannot be overcome automatically and you will need to manually assist in processing the data If the Auto Edit option is selected in the Setup Box then immediately after a run is recorded it will be loaded into the Graph Mode Editor e Raw data points are represented as X and O marks e Processed data is represented as a blue curve passing through the raw data points PAE citing 650SX3 RAD Dts pirs in ue eS n a iii R oii aaa aD ih igi Chapter 1 For accurate test results it is very important to understand editing completely Look at the editing section in Chapter 6 and the editing examples on page 43 For a closer look at specific areas first zoom into the area by drawing a region box with the mouse and then clicking on the Zoom button on the toolbar Quick Start Up Instructions 11 Editing Has Three Components 1 Selection of which data points to be included in the processed curve 2 Selection of the data type See Chapter 6 Data File Types 3 Selection of the data filter to be applied See Chapter 6 Data Filters The objective in the Graph Mode Editor is to include all of the good data
52. eed to type in the name of the new subdirectory you are creating BRAKING Copying and Moving Data Files You can use Stalker ATS to move around your data files or you can use Explorer or File Manager If you move copy or delete files from Stalker ATS both the raw RDA and processed RAD files will be included together automatically When using Explorer and File Manager be sure to choose both file types in your operations Chapter 7 Stalker ATS a Record Trials Graph pen a Data File Ctrl 0 Save Ctrl amp Close All Trials Copy a data file Delete a data file Setup Frint Cirie Frint Setup Exit Working With Data Trials 53 Copying a Trial Stalker ATS can save a copy of a trial both RDA and RAD files in a new location 1 Select File gt Copy a data file from the main menu 2 Select the trial you wish to copy and click on Open 3 Select the new location from the Copy files to dialog box then click on OK Look jn 23 Data J f E sia Select destination drive and directory Brainerd Drag Stip Runs 3 Kawasaki ZI Run 3 RAD ElYamaha GF CAstalke DATA Samples Demo d Polais SLTX RAD p Jin Car Tests 3j Porsche 3265 Automate RAD Drive J New Folder 3 Ses Doo XP RAD j c robert Sarnples 3 Sesdoored 1Snow 3 STX 1100 a RAD Directory Tos a STX 1100 b RAD J tunnelbosts a STX 1100 RAD 3 Kowasaki ZI RAD 33 STX 1100 dRAD File pame Yamah
53. en required Factory Default Configuration The factory default configuration is permanently stored in Stalker ATS This configuration reflects the most common settings Frequently you will be able to use Stalker ATS without changing to a new configuration You can reset Stalker ATS to the factory default configuration by selecting File gt Setup gt Reset gt to factory defaults from the main menu User Default Configuration Automatically Loaded You can also have your own default setting which is called the user default configuration This file is Confim i o saved in the STALKER directory with the name default cfg If you change the setup during a session with Stalker ATS the 2 Keep changes to Stalker ATS setup program will ask you on exit Keep Changes to Stalker ATS Setup If you respond by left clicking the Yes button or pressing the Enter key the new configuration will be saved as the user default configuration and automatically recalled the next time you start the program You can reset Stalker ATS to the user default configuration by selecting File gt Setup gt Reset gt to user defaults from the main menu Custom Configurations You can save many different configuration files that can be manually loaded for specific situations First choose the desired settings and graph preferences Then from the Setup Box click on the SAVE button Third give the configuration file an appropriate name that ends with the file ext
54. ension CFG To load a custom configuration in future sessions select File gt Setup gt Load and choose the custom configuration file 26 Setup Box Specific pages of the Setup Box may be accessed directly from the status bar buttons by clicking on a Status bar setting Configuration Settings If you are setting up STATS for the first time try a Test Recording This will verify that you have chosen the correct Inout Port See Chapter 5 Test Recording Configuring Stalker ATS Chapter 4 Settings Saved in Configuration Files The information stored in configuration files include settings and graph preferences Setup Box Settings e Input Port e Speedometer Display e Color Scheme e Automatic Comment Screen e Units Used by Radar e Default Data Filter e Save Option e Default Data Type e Display Units e Automatic Graph Editor Graph Preferences e Graph Axis e Symbols e Line Width The Setup Dialog Box Accessing the Setup Box All of the program settings are conveniently controlled in Input Port one screen The Setup Box can be accessed in two ways OM 1 e Select File gt Setup gt Change from the main menu Units used by Radar lt OK bd I x Q w 5 D or Left click on a setting displayed on the status bar gt Load Normal Data Type Acceleration Run E ao Configuration Settings Input Port This list displays the number of the serial port COM port that Stalker ATS is
55. er look To return to full scale select UnZoom from the Graph menu or simply press the Esc Escape key Grape Re Fi SPEED mph 20 29 30 g z 10 Scale Limits There are limits to how small the axes can be set e Time 0 5 Seconds e Distance 6 Feet e Speed 1 MPH e Acceleration 0 05 g s Changing the Look of Graphs The look of graphs can be changed in terms of e Axis Style e Symbols e Line Widths i rapa SPEED mph To change these styles select Graph Style gt from the popup menu or below Graphs on the main menu Axis Style Pie Mij 3 0 4 0 5 0 TIME sec Selection b Edit Graph Type SENN Notines Scale Symbols Ticks Legend gt Line width CC Fine Grid Very Fine Grid Orzoam Read Coordinates Copy Graph gt Print This function controls the number of axis lines that are on the graph 100 SPEED mph SPEED mph 10 15 TIME see SPEED mph 10 13 TIME sec Edit gt Graph Type p END o gt Soale Symbols Legend Line width Eine Bead Coordinates Copy Graph v UbraBold Bret Read Coordinates Read Graph Ed BRAKE DISTANCE feet 106 36 SPEED mph 26 74 Working With Graphs Chapter 8 Symbols Symbols can be used to help denote specific trials when multiple trials are plotted If you are printing to a black and white printer symbols will help match the curves with the trial names Boras
56. h Mode Editor is the normal editor to use Editing Data 41 Selecting a Trial to Edit If Auto Edit is selected from the Setup options when you complete a new recording the trial will automatically be loaded into the Graph Mode editing window To edit a previously recorded trial first it must be opened and it must be selected A trial can be selected by any of these actions e From the Edit menu choose Select Trial to Edit gt then select E view Help a trial from the list of open trials F Edit selected trial in Graph Mode e Click on the plotted curve line in the Graph window Edit selected trial in Text mode e Click on the trial name in the Statistic Window e Click on the trial number in the Trial Information Window When a trial has been selected you should see that the plotted curve line has symbols on it and the selected trial will have a sign by it s listing in depl Accel Run both the Statistics and the Trials Information Windows Once you have OR ae ra an selected a trial you can edit it in either the Graph or Text mode editors CCE Ur a 4 gyod Accel Run 5 9205 Accel Run Once a trial is selected you may edit the trial in Graph Mode by clicking on the Graph Mode toolbar icon Or choose Edit gt Edit selected trial in Graph mode from the main menu Graph mode editing allows the results ice of editing and processing selections to be visually inspected as editing proceeds Raw Data Point
57. he sub windows and many of the dialog boxes a Popup Menu is available that lists all of the possible functions that can be selected pertaining to the current screen or window When you place the cursor in one of the sub windows or screens right click to activate the Popup Menu Choose Statistics x There are a few screens where some Highlight the statistics that New Statisti functions are only available through the you wish to be calculated Select Statistics Type popup menu User Default Values Speed at Distance Add to list Replace selection Peak Speed time Start Measurement at rile time po r MV Activate mile speed NHRA 44 mi time End Measurement at Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Configuring Stalker ATS 25 Configuring Stalker ATS Configuration Files Configurations and Preferences Many of the settings and features used by Stalker ATS can be adjusted by the user Most users will have particular kinds of projects to do and will have their own preferences for things like systems of units filters and color schemes The flexible configuration of Stalker ATS makes it possible to set and maintain these preferences Configuration Files Many of the program settings and graph preferences are saved in configuration files You can save and recall different configurations of Stalker ATS This feature enables you to establish settings for different kinds of tests or operating environments and instantly recall them wh
58. he time taken to accelerate from 30 to 50 mph Distance at Speed measures the distance traversed between two speed transitions Examples 0 60 mph distance the distance required to accelerate from 0 mph to 60 mph 30 0 mph distance the braking distance from 30 mph to a stop Speed at Time measures the recorded speed after a specified elapsed time or the speed change between two time points Examples 0 6 sec speed the speed achieved after 6 seconds of elapsed time 60 120 sec the speed change during the second minute of a run Distance at Time measures the recorded distance after a specified elapsed time or the distance travelled between two time points Examples 0 5 sec distance the distance travelled after 5 seconds of elapsed time 60 120 sec distance the distance traveled during the second minute of a run Distance at speed speed at Time Distance at Time Chapter 9 Use the Tab key to quickly toggle between the Start and End settings Some functions are only available through the popup menu Measuring Statistics Start Measurement At The entry in this box defines the starting point of the Statistic calculation To change the number you can highlight the entry and over type it or use the up and down buttons to scroll to the desired number End Measurement At The entry in this box defines the end point of the statistic calculation Add to List Radio Button Setting If this option is se
59. hese points excluded and a new curve plotted Chapter 6 The objective in the Graph Mode editor is to turn all of the good data points to O s and any bad points to X s Editing Data 43 Examples In this braking test some data was recorded after the vehicle stopped This is easily fixed by selecting the later data points and excluding them The replotted graph smoothly decelerates to zero and stops abruptly The ending zero speed readings are automatically discarded Er sang nann TERT D r n r A T jE l EEE ew ten Df Bien FEE ew tes 4 J 3 SPEED mph SPEED mph The recording below was particularly noisy as the watercraft approached the very end of the Stalker s clocking range By zooming into a small part of the graph including all of the samples that were in the target speed range and excluding the obviously noisy samples the processed curve becomes much more stable It is important to note that the Auto Clear setting on the radar gun had been set to 0 seconds for this recording so any repeated data points were NOT dropouts but were additional readings at the same speed In the first graph the automatic edit attempt had treated repeated data points as probable dropouts so those points were initially excluded ME a ROSAE RAD m Acre A d en f of 204 PRM ten en 0 46 0 SPEED mph SPEED mph 44 Text Mode Editor Use the Text Editor only in situations where specific data po
60. ht 1997 aci All rights reserved Not responsible for typographical errors Specifications subject to change without notice
61. ick Save Trials will be automatically saved with a date time generated file name ae Eza Bse 2 Help gt Radar Input Filter Display Save Options fRecord Options 12 Displaying the Results Click on a sub window s toolbar icon to bring that window to the front POPUP MENUS When you place the cursor in one of the sub windows and Right Click a Popup Menu will appear listing all of the options and functions available within that specific sub window Quick Start Up Instructions Chapter 1 The Three Sub Windows There are three sub windows used on the main screen 1 The Graph Window 2 The Statistics Window 3 The Trials Information Window Each sub window has a toolbar icon that brings that window to the front of the screen These windows can be sized and shaped inside the main screen to best fit it s contents The sub windows can overlap each other and they can be minimized but they cannot be closed The Trials Information Window This window displays information about the trials currently loaded in memory It also provides tools for managing and displaying trials The plot mode and column control which of the loaded trials will be displayed in the graph and statistic windows e Left click in a trials Plot column to change the plot status of that trial Fiat Modir Solgct Each tral C Bio All Trala C Fiat Curman Trial Cinhy The Graph Window Trials that are
62. ing the boot up period Bad Cable Serial cables are cheap both in price and often in quality In may not be a bad idea to purchase another cable just to rule out the cable as the cause of the problem If you have been trying to link cables together to gain length use only one cable that is no more than 10 feet long You could also rule out the cable by using the cable with another system Radar Gun If you have access to another computer install Stalker ATS software on another computer and try a test recording If you are successful then you can rule out the radar gun and the cable If you cannot get the gun to talk to another computer then it is possible the problem may be in the Stalker radar gun Over the years Radar Sales has tracked about 0 75 percent failure related to data output It is rare but not impossible for the problem to be in the gun If all else fails you could ship your gun and computer to Radar Sales for diagnosis and setup Windows 95 Taskbar Obstructs the Screen Stalker ATS for Windows 95 is designed to maximize Input Port COMI Acceleration run Memory O Trials ol u ll Upon opening lf the Astar Ascreenzs tif l Stalker ATS e 3 56 PM Windows 95 taskbar is not set to Auto Hide it will obstruct any windows that are maximized There are two ways to fix this you can manually resize Stalker ATS so it the bottom edge is above the taskbar Or this is the best option you can set the taskbar to a
63. ints need to be changed in order to correct unusual trials or to synchronize a run with another data acquisition system Editing Data Chapter 6 Text Mode Editing Text mode editing allows the numerical values of both raw and processed data to be inspected The figure below shows the Text Edit Window Raw data points are displayed in the table on the left and the results of processing are displayed in a table on the right The scroll bar on the right of the display is used to scroll through the two data tables which are automatically synchronized Editing PORSCHE 911 CARRARA RAD X 7 Acceleration Run DF Medium B B olxlyv Raw Data Processed Data Speed o ooo oo o 00 00 l 1 0 0 03 1 0 003 0 0 06 0 0 06 0 0 10 oo j 3 oom 0 0 13 4 0 0 13 a IE a 6 0 0 19 0 0 22 8 0 0 26 Data Type Setting Filter Setting Start o A 7 Acceleration Ruri DF Medium ia x Save to Disk Process Data e The Help button opens the Stalker ATS help file at this page e The Data Type selection box displays the currently selected data type Left click on the down arrow to select another data type from the list e The Filter selection box displays the currently selected filter Left click on the down arrow to select another filter from the list e The Save button displays the comment dialog box so that notes can be added to the data and then saves bo
64. k the OK button Windows 95 e Insert the installation disk in your floppy disk drive e From the Start menu select Run e Enter a lsetup in the Open box If your floppy drive is not labeled a substitute the appropriate drive letter e Press Enter or left click the OK button Stalker ATS Installation The Stalker ATS Installation Box will appear on your screen Make sure that the target drive selected is your hard drive usually drive C Then select OK Click OK or press Enter to install STALKER ATS in CASTALKER or select a new target drive Special Installations If you wish to install to another hard drive or to a network drive EE use the list box labeled Target Drive at the bottom of the Target drive screen to select another drive Left click on the down arrow at the right edge of the list box to display the list of available drives Select a drive from the list with a left click c robet _ __ M What Installation Does A new directory called STALKER is created on the target disk drive The Stalker ATS program files are loaded into this directory A new subdirectory STALKER DATA is created which becomes the default directory for data files In Windows 3 1X e A new Program Manager Group called STALKER ATS is created Icons for the STALKER ATS program and STALKER ATS HELP are added to this group In Windows 95 e A new item called STALKER ATS is added to the Start menu STALKER
65. l a Plot Mode the trial is selected Some actions and AS Select Each tial commands for example editing copying LS C Plot All Trials deleting averaging act only on selected trials L Piot Curent Trial Only Trial Name This column lists the trial name which is normally the name of the data files associated with the trial This name appears on the graph legend also e Left click on the trial name to display and edit the comments associated with the trial 50 Just click on the word Yes or No in the plot column to change the plot status Popup Menu The Trials Information window has a popup which duplicates the Trials menu portion of the main menu To access the popup menu right click on the Trials Information Window Working With Data Trials Chapter 7 Type Lists the data type of the trial Acceleration Run Deceleration Run etc Time Lists the length of the trial in minutes and seconds Saved Indicates whether or not this trial has been saved to disk If any changes are made on a trial comments added or if the trial is reedited the trial would need to be resaved to retain the changes e Left click in a trials Saved column to save the data in that trial Plot This column indicates that the trial is currently being graphed in the Graph Window and statistics are being calculated for the trial in the Statistics Window e Left click in the trials Plot column to change the plot status
66. l be displayed in the Graph Window The trial can be displayed in any combination of speed time distance and acceleration The Statistics Window This window displays a table of the currently active statistics on all of the open and plotted trials The trials can be arranged in rows or columns Resizing the Display Windows Like all windows these sub windows can be sized and shaped appropriately for the data Do this by lt P aI placing the mouse on the frames of the windows i Peek Soest sl PaseSpeed al a0mpht holding down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to resize the box You can move any of the windows around the screen by placing the mouse on the title bar of the window hold down the left Eee button and move the window to a new area Chapter 3 The desktop can be arranged in a nearly unlimited number of layouts The Main Screen 23 Arranging Your Desktop The three sub windows can be sized and arranged on your desktop to best fit the information currently displayed Below are some examples of how the desktop can be viewed Just the Graph Window Full Screen Graph and Statistics Windows Split Screen ee ge ea rat CCL LE ca nel a tse CR ee FEEL LTCC BS cee WA l Ree 18 A fe ATER pema g i EI ee SPEED mph i 10 12 44 16 18 H ii i na ma 2 d4 6 10 12 4 16 11 2 TIME sec TIME sec id 16 14 20 TIME sec Screen Resolution Your screen display
67. lected the new statistic will be entered in an empty space in the statistics list when the Add to List button is clicked Replace Selection New Statisti select Statistics Type Time at Speed Start Measurement at oo mph End Measurement at 30 0 mph 63 w Add to list Replace selection T Activate Mew Statistic If this option is selected the new statistic will replace the most recently selected item in the statistic list when the Add to List button is clicked Activate If this box is checked the new statistics will be activated as soon as it is added to the statistics list It will be highlighted in the list and the calculated values of the statistics will be displayed in the Statistics Window Popup Menu To activate the Choose Statistics popup menu place the cursor somewhere on the current list of Statistics and right click Choose Statistics x Highlight the statistics that you wish to be calculated Factory Default Values Peak Sneed time Clear Selection Invert Selection Select All Delete Selected Stats imn es aM le on New List 0 30 mph dist 0 60 mph time 0 60 mph dist xl Bestore Defaults gt User Defaults Save as User defaults Factory Defaults New Statistic Select Statistics Type Time at Speed Start Measurement at oo 6S mph End Measurement at 30 0 mph Add to li
68. menu The Graph Scale dialog will appear allowing you to manually enter the desired axis ranges e The Unzoom button restores the original graph display The Unzoom function is also available on the popup menu which appears when the mouse is Right Clicked on the graph e The Start Over button restores the data type and filter settings to their original values and undoes any data point selections that have been made since editing began e The Reject button restores the original data and closes the edit window Closing the edit window has the same effect e The Accept bution stores the new processed data and closes the edit window Selecting Data Points To select data points draw a box around them with the mouse Left click where you want a corner of the box to be Keep the mouse button pressed and move it to the opposite corner of the box The box will be drawn on the screen as you move the mouse Release the mouse when the box includes the data points you wish to select To include the selected data points in the processed data click the button on the toolbar The data points you have selected will be activated and marked with an Oon the graph The data will be reprocessed with these points included and a new curve plotted To exclude the selected data points in the processed data click the button on the toolbar The data points you have selected will be deactivated and marked with an X on the graph The data will be reprocessed with t
69. n angle to the direction of travel Optimal Placement for Acceleration Runs HL a e 15 30 feet directly behind the starting area ia e If you start with the radar too close to the target it becomes more difficult to minimize angles e If the radar is placed at extreme distances from the target the gun will have a greater chance of missing some of the low initial soeed readings Optimal Placement for Braking Tests e Placement can be either behind or ahead of the test vehicle e If the vehicle is approaching the radar the signal strength will be greater at the critical end of the test however safety could be compromised Radar Sensitivity is Reduced at Speeds Below 10 MPH The sensitivity of the Stalker ATS radar is intentionally reduced at very low speeds If the sensitivity did not roll off at low speeds the radar would have a tendency to track blowing sand or leaves waving in the wind So it is recommended that the portion of the run where the lowest speeds are measured is the same end of the run that the radar gun is positioned In Vehicle Recordings The Stalker ATS gun and computer can also be mounted inside the test vehicle so that the radar gun takes it s reading off the ground and terrain However the accuracy of an in vehicle recording will be slightly degraded due to angle errors Terrain Readings The Stalker ATS radar gun can track up to nine target speeds simultaneously however it will only display a
70. nd output the reading of the strongest signal A radar mounted in the vehicle takes it s readings off of the terrain and there are usually many objects in the terrain that are reflective like road signs trees bridges boats etc Chapter 5 Recording Data 35 Changing Terrain Targets The problem lies in the fact that many of these reflective objects may be off to the side of the vehicle s line of travel Any readings made with the reflections from terrain objects on the side will be subject to cosine error and the reading will be lower than actual As the vehicle and radar travel down the road the reading at one instant may come from the road surface directly ahead which would have little or no angle error The next instant the reading could come from a road sign 10 degrees off to the right This reading would be 1 5 lower than actual The cosine of 10 degrees is 0 985 A Slightly Slower Result The result will be a recording that has repeating jagged dips where the curve is temporarily pulled down due to angle errors A heavy data filter can smooth out the curve but the average speed sample will often be about 0 5 low making the overall curve lower by the same amount An Example of In Vehicle Versus Tripod Mounted Recordings Below is a test done with two separate Stalker Acceleration Testing Systems measuring the same vehicle at the same time One system was tripod mounted on the road surface behind the starting area
71. nded by operating system Recommended 8 Mb RAM Windows configured with a permanent swap file Virtual Memory as recommended by operating system Hard Disk 1 5 Mb hard disk space for a typical installation 10 kb to 500kb for individual data files Serial Port A serial port not used by a modem mouse or other application Mouse A Windows compatible mouse or point device Note For convenience when working in the field most functions of Stalker ATS including data recording can be accomplished using the keyboard alone Floppy Diskette Drive 3 5 inch 1 44 Mb floppy drive The Bottom Line If your system can run Windows it can probably run Stalker ATS On the other hand if you have a 386 SX with monochrome screen 2 Mb RAM and a 40 Mb hard drive this would be an excellent time to upgrade Chapter 2 Installation Procedure The installation disk has been configured for Auto Start under Windows 95 If you are using Windows 95 the installation program may Start itself automatically when you insert the floppy disk Some desktop icons are created so you can access STALKER ATS easily Installation 17 To Install Stalker ATS on Your Computer System Windows 3 1X e Insert the installation disk in your floppy disk drive e From the Program Manager Menu select File gt Run e Enter a lsetup in the Command Line box If your floppy drive is not labeled a substitute the appropriate drive letter e Press Enter or left clic
72. next to the trial number in the Trials Information and Statistics Windows Saving a Trial The Save a Trial and Open a Trial dialog boxes will appear different when operating in Windows 3 1 but the same operations apply Working With Data Trials 51 Select a Trial Before you can perform certain functions like copying deleting reediting or averaging a trial you must first select the trial s so that the program knows which trials to apply the function Think of selecting a trial as highlighting the trial A Trial Can Be Selected By Any of These Actions e From the Edit menu choose Select trial to edit gt and then select the trial name from the list of open trials e Click on the plotted curve line in the Graph Window e Click on the trial name in the Statistic Window e Click on the trial number in the Trials Information Window Once a trial has been selected you should see that the plotted line has symbols on it and the selected trial will have a sign by it s listing in the Statistics and Trials Information Windows Saving a Trial A trial must be saved to a diskette or to the hard drive to retain the trial data for the future If the Auto Save or Quick Save options are checked in the Setup Box new recordings will be saved upon completion of the run If manual save is selected or if changes are made to a previously saved trial you will need to save the trial through the Save a Trial dialog b
73. ng and often poor ambient lighting conditions The middle of a test series is not a good time to start messing with the Windows Control Panel Therefore Stalker ATS allows you to quickly override parts of the Windows color scheme In addition to the standard settings the options include four color schemes that can help make a small laptop screen more visible in difficult lighting conditions The Available Color Combinations e Windows Stalker ATS conforms to the desktop colors defined in the Windows Control Panel e ATS Standard Our favorite color combination very similar to the Windows Designer and Windows 95 Teal color schemes e Hi Contrast A nauseous combination of purple yellow and black that shows up well on some monochrome screens Do not try this color screen if you have a weak stomach e Greyscale Shades of gray for those with VGA monochrome i e 16 shades of gray laptops e Black on White Black text and lines on a white background Very useful on some monochrome laptops and on color screens if lighting conditions are difficult e White on Black White text and lines on a black background Also useful on some monochrome laptops and on color screens if lighting conditions are difficult The screen will change colors as soon as you select a color scheme However if you select CANCEL to exit the Setup Dialog Box the original colors will be restored 30 7 Keep changes to Stalker ATS setup Configuring
74. nt is showing When to Use Whole Units One case where it may be recommended to NOT use 1 10th units on the gun would be when tracking objects with EXTREME acceleration three g s or more Internally the Stalker ATS takes about 240 samples per second in whole units versus 31 25 samples per second in 1 10th units The faster internal sample rate can improve the gun s ability to track projectile objects use a BALL setting from the Stalker gun s Setup Menu or targets with very rapid changes in speed A medium or heavy digital data filter should be used on whole unit recordings The data output rate and the computer s data files of 31 25 samples per second remains the same regardless of using whole or tenth units Normal Data Type Different kinds of measurement tasks require different data processing techniques Stalker ATS can adapt it s filtering and analytical methods to meet the needs of different measurement applications The setting of Normal Data Type determine the kind of data that Stalker ATS expects to receive The program will tune its data processing to the requirements of the selected data type You can change the processing methods and filters applied to your raw data at any time using the edit functions so this is not a final commitment The advantage of giving Stalker ATS some clue about which kind of measurement you are making is that it can automatically process and analyze your data for you as you collect it and witho
75. of that trial Plot Mode The setting of the plot mode buttons determines which trials are automatically displayed in the graph window The rules established by the selected plot mode are applied every time a trial selection is changed The available settings are e Select Each Trial Only selected trials will be plotted on the graph e Plot All Trials All loaded trials will be plotted on the graph e Plot Current Trial Only Only the most recently selected trial E Current Trials Information OR x the current trial will be plotted Kawasaki Zl Accel Run 018 5 YES Yes Squeeze Function gt pa 2 Polaris SLTX AccelRun 0158 Yes No This function squeezes the trials in ee memory so that they occupy consecutive 4 Yamaha GP1200 Accel Run 0 14 68 Meo Yes locations in the Trials Information Windows Gaps can arise if you delete a trial from Selection z memory squeeze k Print Trials Info Stalker ATS will always load data into the next available slot and will use up the gaps if they occur Squeezing is therefore not essential to the function of the program Plot Mode However it may make it easier to manage Help Select Each trial trials in the Trials Information Window S o ives i C Plot Current Trial Only Chapter 7 Selecting a Trial Current Trials Information _ To te Accel Run es EEEE Accel Run 4 J203 Accel Run 4 gzad Accel Run F J205 Accel Run A selected trial will show a
76. of the region to average 5 Release the mouse button and the Alt key A window containing average values of each trial in the selected region will appear From 600 00 feet To 1200 00 feet SPEED mph 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 STALKER ATS DISTANCE feet KAWSO0D TIP If you want to take averages of specific regions you could first manually scale the graph to only include the exact region you wish to average and then you would drag the mouse across the entire graph Or you can hold down the Shift key along with the Alt key to select a region with major axis borders 60 Chapter 9 Measuring Statistics Chapter 9 Measuring Statistics The Statistics Window Statistics Possibly the most useful capability of Stalker ATS is the ability to measure performance statistics from trials Statistics are based on the processed data and they are defined in the Choose Statistics dialog box Statistics are then displayed in the Statistics Window Since a trial contains the complete picture of the run measurements of all kinds can be calculated The Statistics Window This window displays a table of the currently active statistics for each plotted trial To bring the Statistics Window to the front of your screen left click on the statistic toolbar icon a Greek sum sign C PeckSpeea Peok Spesa 20mph 020mph O40mph 0S0mph e0 40mph 3050mph O10se gt fosson Tiel mph sec see secs sec see sec sec
77. ommonly used measurements and has 3 available slots for new statistics The factory list includes Peak Speed and Peak Speed Time These two statistics cannot be recreated from the New Statistics page To Restore the Factory Default List 1 Open the Choose Statistics dialog select Stats gt Setup Stats from the main menu 2 Open the popup menu by right clicking on the current Clear Selection Invert Selection Select All Delete Selected Stats Restore Defaults 4 User Defaults statistic list Save as User defaults Factory Defaults 3 Choose Restore Defaults gt Factory Defaults from the popup menu New List Chapter 9 Name a list default slm to have it loaded automatically To include Peak Speed Statistics on a custom list Modify the Factory Default Statistic list Measuring Statistics 65 User Defaults Clear Selection Save your most commonly used list of statistics as the User Default list Invert Selection This list will automatically be loaded each time you start the Stalker ATS Select All program Delete Selected Stats To Save the User Default List Restore Defaults 1 Set up a statistic list to your preferences Save as User defaults h amp 2 Open the popup menu from the Choose Statistics dialog 3 Select Save as User defaults from the popup menu You can also save the list normally but give the list the name default sim Mew List Custom Statistic Lists You can create
78. open and selected to be plotted in the Trials Information Window will be displayed in the Graph Window The trials can be displayed in any combination of speed time distance and acceleration e To change the graph type select the Graph gt Graph Type gt and select one of the five types FERFI Pan i The various functions and options available under the Graph menu offer flexibility and a high degree of control over the way the graph is displayed The Statistics Window This window displays a table of the currently active statistics on all of the open and plotted trials The statistics can be displayed with the trials in rows or in columns To transpose the display select Stats gt Transpose from the main menu or right click with the cursor in the Statistics window for the popup menu and then select Transpose The Statistics and Graph Windows can be sized so they both fit on the screen together or the Statistics Windows can be pulled to the front so that it is placed within the Graph Window in an area that doesn t block the curve Pa Statistics Me x ss Peak Speed Peak Speed 0 30 mph SEC SEC 55 40 56 01 BB 28 Chapter 1 Selecting a Trial Current Trials Information os Tosca VEO Accel Run 2 9282 Accel Run 3 4203 Accel Run 4 9204 Accel Run F 9205 Accel Run A selected trial will show a next to the trial in the Current Trials Information Window and the Statistics Window Statistics To s
79. ows 95 application providing access to long file names and other advanced features of the operating system Installing on Windows NT If you are using Windows NT you must use the 32 bit version of Stalker ATS Depending on which version of NT you have i e whether you have a Windows like or a Windows 95 like interface Stalker ATS may or may not install automatically on your system Please contact Radar Sales if you have difficulties with your Windows NT installation Computer Requirements The following are the minimum and recommended configurations for computers running Stalker ATS While Stalker ATS will work on a minimally configured system it will probably be slow and cumbersome The recommended configuration will allow you to operate more efficiently and smoothly Laptop computers are generally a must for collecting data in the field 16 Computer Requirements Note Stalker ATS is distributed on 3 5 inch diskettes so a floppy drive is required for installation If you require Stalker ATS on a different medium contact Radar Sales Installation Chapter 2 Processors IBM compatible computer with 386 or higher processor Recommended 486 DX or Pentium processor Operating System Microsoft Windows 3 1 Windows for Workgroups Windows 95 or Windows NT Graphics VGA graphics 640x480 resolution with monochrome or color monitor Recommended SVGA graphics and a color monitor Memory 4 Mb RAM Virtual Memory as recomme
80. ox See Chapter 4 Save Options for more information To Manually Save a Trial SORET r e Click on the Save Data to Disk icon on TN 5 the toolbar or Select File gt Save from the main menu gt l a Kawasaki ZI RAD or e Use the shortcut key combination Ctrl S 2 Kawasaki ZI Run 3 RAD 3 Polaris SLTX RAD a Porsche 9285 Automatic RAD a Sea Doo XP RAD The Save a Trial Dialog Box When a trial is saved you will need to give it a name and location The name should include the e nsa 1 1M RAD file extension however Stalker ATS will i Save as type Radar Data File Cancel automatically add this file extension should you __Cancet__ forget The default location to save data files is eee om Help the STALKER DATA directory Stalker ATS will save two data files the raw and processed files however only the processed RAD file will be shown 52 Managing Files and Directories Sens stalker El Data Working With Data Trials Chapter 7 Managing the Locations of Data Files The default location new data files are saved to is C STALKER DAITA the Data subdirectory under the Stalker directory When a trial is saved any location can be selected from the available drives To help organize the files it is a good idea to create custom subdirectories folders For example if you are performing brake testing and acceleration testing you could create two new folders called
81. points and exclude any bad data points When the run is first loaded into the Editor Stalker ATS will make it s best guess at which data points should be included or excluded e Included data points are represented as O s e Excluded data points are represented as X s Selecting Data Points To select data points draw a box around them with the mouse Left click where you want a corner of the box to be Keep the mouse button pressed and move it to the opposite corner of the box The box will be drawn on the screen as you move the mouse Release the mouse when the box includes the data points you wish to select e Once you have highlighted an area containing the data points Click on the button to include the selected data points Click on the button to exclude the selected data points When the curve looks appropriate click on the green check to accept which will close the Graph Mode Editor Saving the Trial When a trial is recorded it is loaded into one of 12 memory slots To keep the trial permanently it must be saved to the hard disk or to a floppy diskette If the Auto Save option is chosen in the Setup Box then you will be prompted to save the trial after it is recorded or edited See Chapter 7 Saving Trials C Manual Save You must manually save the trials you wish to keep xX Cancel Auto Save Trials will be automatically saved after you have entered a file name Load H Save C Qu
82. printers and printer drivers than in any other area of computing Stalker ATS has been tested with a few dozen printers but that only represents a fraction of the available printers Theoretically the Windows environment makes printing a function of Windows so application programs need not be aware of the zillions of variables However the real world dictates otherwise Statistics Do Not Fit on a Page Set the statistic format to Rows if you are printing more that six stats at a time See page 61 Symbols Are Included on the Graphs Before printing make sure that no trials are currently selected See page 51 If you experience other printing problems you may wish to contact your printer manufacturer Cannot Open a Radar File If you receive error messages when attempting to open a radar data files first check to make sure both the raw and processed files are present in the same location subdirectory Use Explorer or File Manager to look for the RAD and RDA versions of the data file If the raw data file is missing you could rename another raw file with the missing file name with the understanding you will not be able to reedit the file again If the processed file is missing you could rename another processed file with the missing name reedit the run and then resave the file If both files are present but you still have problems use Notepad or Wordpad to open the data files and compare their structure to the examples on page 48
83. processing Data Processing Techniques by Data Type Apply Data Interpolation Filters Extrapolation End Extrapolation Dropouts x Start Acceleration Run Deceleration Run Start Stop Constant Speed Bounce Raw Data Unknown S Ye Ye Ye ZZ lt zZ lt z OO Po ep 48 Chapter 7 Working Trials Versus Files Working With Data Trials Chapter 7 With Data Trials Trials Stalker ATS defines a trial as the data from a single radar gun recording A trial consists of the following information e The name of the trial e The date and time the trial was recorded e Raw data from the recording speed and time e Processed data calculated by Stalker ATS smoothed speed distance acceleration e Other status information for internal use by Stalker ATS Stalker ATS can store up to 12 trials in memory at any one time Each trial may contain up to 5 minutes of radar data Trials can be loaded into memory either by making a radar recording or loading a data file Files Trials can be permanently stored in your computer as data files In fact Stalker ATS uses two files to store a trial one containing the raw radar data and one containing processed data Processed data files have the extension RAD Raw data files have the extension RDA Processed Data File RAD Raw Data File RDA O Yamaha GP1200 RAD Notepad MEE CE The first four lines in the raw data Pie
84. r place the sample diskette into your floppy drive and choose Open a Data File and then select a file from the floppy drive Starting the Program T Double click on the Stalker ATS icon and wait for the start up photo banner to load and iS clear This should bring you to the main screen Stalker ATS Setup For best results set the Stalker gun s Auto Clear setting to 0 seconds OSEC and set the units to read in 1 10th mph units If the Radar Speedometer shows some numbers but seems to stall then check the Disable Soeedometer option in the Setup Box Quick Start Up Instructions Chapter 1 The Setup Box The Setup Box controls the program configuration settings Access this box by selecting File gt Setup gt Change Choose the Correct Input Port Input Port me From the page tabbed Radar Input choose the serial port oe X Cancel address used for the radar gun input The open serial port on Units used by Radar most computers will be COM1 and some will use COM2 MPH Match the Units to the Radar Make sure that the radar gun s units and this unit setting are the same Radar Gun Settings Recommended Settings for Most Applications e Auto Clear OSEC 0 Seconds e Setup Menu H140 Lo 0 0 140 mph speeds e Units 1 10th mph e Range Hi or SEn4 e X Mit Hold Use trigger to transmit when hand holding gun and set to constantly transmit when the gun is tripod mounted The Stalke
85. r ATS radar gun outputs data through the serial port when it is transmitting If it is transmitting but no speed readings are present it will output 0 0 speed data samples Test Recording Do a test recording to verify that the radar gun and computer are communicating 1 Start a trigger activated recording session by any of the following actions e Press the F2 function key on the computer e Use the menu to select Record gt Record Trigger Activated e Click on the red toolbar icon Record radar data Auto Trigger 2 Squeeze the trigger on the radar gun to begin transmitting XMIT should display on gun 3 Wave your fingers in front of the gun for a few seconds so that some speed readings are taken 4 Ifthe gun and computer are communicating then the Radar Speedometer window should change to RECORDING If the Radar Speedometer continues to display Press the trigger on radar gun to start data input then the test has failed If the test failed try another COM Port setting See Chapter 4 for more information on Input Port settings Chapter 1 Recording Doppler radar needs to be lined up exactly in the line of travel of the object it is clocking If the radar is positioned off to the side angle error will cause readings to be lower than actual See page 34 for more detailed instructions on radar gun placement Radar Speedometer x RECORDING Release trigger to stop Quick Start Up Instructions 9 Rad
86. r recording radar gun data using either the radar gun trigger or the computer s keyboard to activate recording Trials Functions which act on the currently selected trial editing plotting etc or effect the Trials window display Graph Functions which change the graph displayed in the Graph window or manipulated the currently displayed data Stats Functions which change the display of performance statistics and manipulate lists of performance parameters Edit Functions for editing radar data View Functions for determining which objects are displayed on the Stalker ATS main screen Help Functions which provide information about how to use Stalker ATS Shortcut Key Combinations Some frequently used menu functions have Shortcuts or key combinations which allow those functions to be directly activated from the keyboard without opening a menu If a menu option has a shortcut the key combination used to activate it directly is listed in menu next to the menu item For Example The first item on the File menu is Open a Data File Ctrl O The Ctrl O after the name of the menu item indicates that this function can be directly accessed from the keyboard using the combination of the Ctrl and the O keys Stalker ATS Record Trials Graph Stats Edit View Help Save Ctrl S Close All Trials Copy a data file Delete a data file Setup gt The Alt key will activate the main menus The underlining of the O in Open
87. r will provide most user s enough understanding to operate the STATS system The rest of the manual provides the supporting detail and includes instructions on many features that are not covered in chapter one 4 Table of Contents Table of Contents Welcome Introduction Introduction to Stalker ATS 6 Chapter 1 Quick Start Up Instructions Installation 4 Setup and Configuration 8 Recording 9 The Graph Mode Editor 10 Displaying the Results 12 Selecting a Trial 13 Statistics 13 Printing 14 Chapter 2 Installation Versions of Stalker ATS 15 Computer Requirements 16 Installation Procedure 17 Previous Versions of Stalker ATS 18 Licence Agreement 19 Chapter 3 The Main Screen Major Screen Elements 20 The Main Menu 21 The Toolbar 21 The Three Sub Windows 22 Status Bar Displays 24 Popup Menus 24 Chapter 4 Configuration Configuration Files 25 Configuration Settings 26 Settings on the Radar Gun 31 Chapter 5 Recording Runs Test Recording 33 Where to Place the Radar Gun 34 In Vehicle Recordings 34 Trigger Versus Keyboard 36 The Radar Speedometer 36 When to Start Recording 37 After the Recording 38 Table of Contents Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Editing Data Raw Versus Processed Data The Graph Mode Editor The Text Mode Editor Data Filters Data File Types Working With Data Trials Trials Versus Files Opening Data Files Trials Information Window Selecting Trial
88. resolution 640 x 480 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768 will determine how much detail is available See your Windows manual for details on setting your display resolution The above screen captures were done with the screen set to 1024 x 768 pixels 24 Status Bar Display Popup Menus Popup menus provide the quickest access to all functions available in the current screen or window Right click to activate the Popup Menu The Main Screen Chapter 3 The Status Bar The status bar is used for displaying information relevant to the status function and control of Stalker ATS There are 4 different kinds of status displays that you can select between Status Information Comments and the Time Date Stamp O input Por GO eloration r ry 2 Trials aki JRun 3 awasaki z a BB et ey ee Hints Error Messages Copy data file to a naw location E E H Mo data s t has been selected frac ka s E H These Buttons Switch the Status Bar Display To switch between status displays click on the Help appropriate letter from the box to the right of the I Tepa status bar area To display any Error Messages in in Window the status bar area select View gt Error Messages gt in Status Bar in StatusBar EEN Error messages will temporarily replace the current status bar selection S Status Information C Comments and the Time Date Stamp H Hints Popup Menus In all of t
89. rofessional radar gun e The program may not be reverse engineered decompiled or have derivative works created from the software Starting the Stalker ATS Program In Windows 3 1X e Open the Stalker ATS group in Program Manager and double click on the Stalker ATS icon or Select File gt Run from the Start menu enter the command C stalker stalker3 exe and press Enter f your hard drive is not C substitute the appropriate drive letter In Windows 95 e Double Click on the Stalker ATS icon on your desktop or Select Programs Stalker ATS Stalker ATS 95 from the Start menu or Select Run from the Start menu and open the file C stalker stalker4 exe If your hard drive is not C substitute the appropriate drive letter After a few moments a banner announcing the arrival of Stalker ATS to your desktop will appear The banner will remain active while Stalker ATS loads and initializes itself When initialization is complete the Stalker ATS Main Screen will appear 20 The Main Screen Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The Main Screen Major Screen Elements When Stalker ATS first opens the main screen will look something like this Stalker ATS MEI E Main Menu ile Record Trials Graph Stats Edit View Help Gives complete access to Gel Bal m Z p all important functions Toolbar Provides quick access to the most common functions The Three Sub Windows These three windows can be custom size
90. s Saving Trials Managing Files amp Directories Averaging Trials Working With Graphs The Graph Window Graph Types Graph Scales amp Zooming Graph Styles Reading Graph Coordinates Averaging a Region of a Graph Measuring Statistics The Statistic Window Choosing Statistics Creating Custom Statistics Roll Out Distances Managing Statistic Lists Printing Print Dialog Box Screen Capture Utility Trouble Shooting Built In Help Hints Troubleshooting Index Appendixes Index Program Updates Stalker ATS Specifications Contacting Radar Sales Inc 40 41 44 45 46 48 49 49 51 51 52 54 55 56 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 64 66 67 68 69 74 tf 78 80 6 Introduction Welcome introduction Congratulations You have purchased the finest radar based testing system available on the market today The STalker Acceleration Testing System STATS is used by most magazines and vehicle manufactures for product testing because it is extremely accuracy high quality easy to use and very affordable The Stalker Acceleration Testing System STATS The STATS system consists of the Stalker ATS radar gun and the Stalker ATS software program This system is designed to measure vehicle or objects as they accelerate and then provide a detailed picture of the dynamics of acceleration STATS can be used for vehicle or kinetic testing What Is Included The Standard STATS Package The Deluxe STATS Packag
91. s e These settings are changed in the Windows Control Panel under Display 2 Maximize the size of the Graph Window so it is as large as possible 3 Be sure that the line width axis style and legend is to your liking 68 Chapter 11 Troubleshooting Chapter 11 Troubleshooting Help 7 Help g aS Help Help he Ctrl H How to Use Help 4 Hints About stalker Press the F1 key at any time to get context sensitive help The underlined green headings are links to related topics Click on the heading to switch topics This Chapter This chapter is designed to help you if you encounter problems while using Stalker ATS for Windows Built In Help Stalker ATS was nearly 100 pages of help screens written into the program The help system provides detailed documentation on the installation and use of STATS You can access the help system in a number of ways On line Help Ctrl H This help file can be accessed from the Stalker ATS menu Select Help gt Help or press Ctrl H The contents page of this help file will appear Select Help gt How to Use Help from the main menu to get more information about using the Windows Help System Context Sensitive Help F1 STALKER ATS has context sensitive help This means that 2 STALKER ATS HELP ox File Edit Bookmark Options Help detailed help about the actions you are performing or trying to edea ee e ee perform is available at almost any time Context sensiti
92. s Represented as X s and O s e X s are raw data points that are not being considered when creating the processed curve e O s are raw data points that are being used when creating the processed curve is wm Of x SPEED mph Processed Data Represented as a blue curve passing through the data points 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 1 6 18 20 22 TIME s 42 The zoom button will be activated only after an area has been selected with the mouse When zooming into an area of the graph if you hold down the Shift key while selecting the area the limits of the zoomed graph will set to the nearest tick marks on the graph Editing Data Chapter 6 The Graph Mode Editor Toolbar The toolbar contains all the functions required to edit data Start Over Editing POLARIS ALT RAD Fa Acceleration Run DF Medium Filter Setting Zoom Into a Zoom Out selected area return to full scale Help Data Type Setting e The Help button opens the Stalker ATS help file at this page e The Data Type selection box displays the currently selected data type Left click on the down arrow to select another data type from the list e The Filter selection box displays the currently selected filter Left click on the down arrow to select another filter from the list e The Zoom button zooms rescales into the currently selected area To select the zoom area Right Click on the graph and select Scale from the popup
93. s dialog provides functions for the management of statistics lists and the creation of custom statistics as well as duplicating many of the functions available in the Stats menu and the Statistics Window Selection Load List Save List To open the Choose Statistics dialog select Stats gt Setup Stats from the main ee a menu Or right click in the Statistics Window to display the statistics popup menu and select Setup Stats Transpose Print Stats Choose Statistics xj The dialog has three zones To Highlight the statistics that New Statisti the left is the current statistics you wish to be calculated E list On the lower right gt a Addtali collection of buttons which Time at Speed to list ee oe perform various functions Start Measurement at eo Above the buttons is a tabbed f 0 0 B mph T Activate dialog box with three pages E E labeled Format Rollout and New Statistic Factory Default values Feak Speed time vamile time wamile speed MHRA a mi time MHRA wami speed 1OUU feet time 1000 feet speed BBO feet time RAD feet speed 0 30 mph time Three Tabbed Pages Format Rollout New Statistics 0 60 moh time 0 60 mph cist Function Buttons The active statistics are the ones highlighted To activate or deactivate a statistic simply left click on the individual statistic to change it s status 62 Measuring Statistics Chapter 9 Creating Custom Creating Custom Statistics Stati
94. save your data to a file Give your trial a name and make sure it s ends with the file extension RAD If you are using Windows 95 you can use a long name up to 256 characters Windows 3 1X is limited to 7 characters If you have selected Manual Save your data will not be emsa zx saved unless you select a completed trial and save it Savein Data Si Gel le E If you have selected quick save your data will be oats Tess ou automatically saved to disk using a time date stamp as 2kewasakizi raD a Kawasaki ZI Run 3 RAD the file name and you will not see a dialog box a Polaris SLTX RAD a Porsche 9288 Automatic RAD a Sea Doo XP RAD See Chapter 7 Saving Trials for more information Filename Porsche 9285 Autometic RAD Save as type Radar Data File Cancel l Open as read only Help 40 Chapter 6 Editing Data Chapter 6 Editing Data Raw Versus Processed Data Files The Two Types of Data Files The Stalker ATS program creates two different data files for each single recording e Raw Data Contains just the actual soeed samples exactly as they were output from the radar gun These files have an RDA file extension e Processed Data Contains a complete table of speed time acceleration and distance numbers for each sample The numbers in this file are generated at the time of editing All of the graphs and statistics are based on the processed data file These files have an RAD file
95. st C Replace selection Activate Clear Selection deactivates all highlighted statistics Invert Selection changes the activate status on all statistics Select All activates all statistics Delete Selected Stats removes any highlighted statistics from the list Restore Defaults loads either the user or the original factory lists Save as User Defaults saves the current list as default sim which is loaded automatically at start up New List loads a blank list that can be filled with new statistics 64 Rollout Distances Rollouts have a huge effect on statistics Since the progress at start of a race is the slowest a one foot rollout could easily effect times by 1 3rd of a second Managing Statistic Lists Measuring Statistics Chapter 9 Rollout Distances Many types of testing equipment begin a test only after the vehicle has moved a certain distance By programming in a specific rollout distance Stalker ATS is able to mimic the timing methodology used by these other testing systems When a rollout distance is specified Stalker ATS will base the statistics starting from the moment the vehicle has moved the rollout distance Rollout Do you want the time statistics to be calculated after a rollout distance C No show use actual distances a fixed rollout distance Rollout Distance Units 1 0 Feet For example some official timing systems use
96. st run or when the target goes out of the range of the radar gun e Braking Tests START recording at anytime prior to the brakes being applied STOP recording only after the target is completely stopped Leading Zeros Are Discarded Any speed readings of zero prior to the vehicle moving are automatically discarded and will not add to the length of an acceleration recording Acceleration Tests That Do Not Start at Zero Personal Watercraft When acceleration testing with personal watercraft you can use another technique for starting Since most personal watercraft do not have a neutral gear they will be crawling along at a few miles per hour whenever they are running which makes an actual drag strip type run from stop not possible It is best to simulate a run from a stop by the following e Make sure the file type is set to acceleration run e Wait to start recording until the rider applies throttle or for more precise control start recording right away but later edit out any data points prior to the beginning of the acceleration section e Let Stalker ATS software extrapolate the motion curve from when acceleration begins often about 6 mph backwards to where the curve would cross zero e The result will be a clean acceleration curve starting from zero Also all statistics can be calculated from the predicted zero speed start with very consistent results See the example on the following page 38 A predicted zero speed Start is the
97. stics The list of possible statistics is not limited to the factory default list You can set up your own measurement parameters through the New Statistic page from the Choose Statistics dialog box Nearly any possible measurement can be made To Create a New Statistic 1 Select the desired Type of statistic from the New Statistic tabbed page see the examples 2 Enter in the point to begin the measurement at Start Measurement At 3 Enter in the ending point for the measurement End Measurement At 4 Add it to the current list by clicking on the Add to list button 5 Make sure your new statistic is activated highlighted on the list If the Activate box was checked when it was added it will be activated automatically Select Statistic Type Speed at Distance Speed at Distance measures the speed increment between two distance markers Time at Distance Examples lanier mcr 0 500 feet speed the speed increase over the first 500 feet of the run 1320 2640 feet speed the speed change during the second Ymile of the run Time at Distance measures the time increment between two distance markers Examples 0 1320 feet time the elapsed time for a quarter mile run from a standing start 1320 2640 feet time the elapsed time over the second Ymile of a run Time at Speed measures the time increment between two speed transitions Examples 0 60 mph time the time taken to accelerate from rest to 60 mph 30 50 mph time t
98. tal filter and does not distinguish precisely between the data and noise components of the radar data The advantage of a moving average is that it requires fewer data points to be discarded at the beginning and end of a trial The filter designation indicates the number of data points used to calculate the average In general the higher the designation the smoother the resulting curves but the greater the number of points that must be discarded at the end of the run When to Not Use a Filter No data filter can be used when tracking stable targets that are very close or very reflective to the radar AND smooth acceleration rate graphs are not required You may also choose to not use filtering if the samples at the very end of the run are critical or if it is very important to keep the actual speed readings recorded from the radar Even on very clean recordings the graphs that include acceleration rates will tend to look very noisy because the speed samples retain only the original 1 10th mph resolution Filtered data will resolve the speed readings to 1 100th mph resolution Understanding Data File Types Different kinds of measurement tasks require different data processing techniques The Data File Type setting gives Stalker ATS a clue as to what techniques to use on the given trial Some of the processing techniques are e Start or End Extrapolation predicting how the curve would continue to meet zero e Interpolation filling in the curv
99. ted item is printed when you left click on the OK button The Available Items e Brief Report A two page summary of your data including the graph statistics and comments e Graph Prints a copy of the currently displayed graph on its own page To print a smaller graph change the value of the scale in the box adjacent to the Graph selection e Statistics Prints a copy of the statistics table If you have more than six statistics you may need to group format your stats In Rows see page 61 e Trials Information Prints a copy of the trials information table e Comments Prints the comments and annotations associated with each of the trials in memory Left click on this button to send the selected items to your printer Chapter 10 Screen Capture Use the Copy Graph function to take a snapshot of the graph that can be placed into other programs This is a high resolution capture and it retains all of the colors Use the Paste command in most programs to dump the clipboard contents into your publishing programs Printing 67 Cancel Left click on this button to close the Print dialog without printing anything Setup at Left click on this button to launch the Windows Print Setup dialog This dialog provides tools for changing the setup of your printer or selecting another printer Left click on this button to display the help information Selected Trials Have Symbols That Will Be Printed If a trial
100. ter This setting has a large impact on recordings when there are momentary drop outs With the Auto Clear set to zero seconds OSEC if the radar gun loses sight of the target momentarily the screen will clear and the gun will output a speed sample of 0 0 With the Auto Clear set to one second 1SEC if the radar loses sight of the target it will continue to output the last reading for one second or until a new speed reading is acquired These Are the Available Settings From the Auto Clear Function e OFF the gun s readout will not automatically clear e OSEC clears in 0 seconds e 1SEC clears in 1 seconds 2SEC 3SEC amp 4SEC 2 3 amp 4 seconds to clear To the right is a run that had some momentary dropouts and the Auto Clear had been set to 1 second 1SEC Notice how data points are repeated anytime the radar gun could not resolve target speed Had the recording been made with the Auto Clear at 0 seconds the dropouts would be represented as 0 0 mph samples When editing a run Stalker ATS is able to identify dropouts by 0 0 speed readings and repeated data points It will automatically exclude dropout regions and smoothly interpolate between the good data points TIME s Setting the Auto Clear to OSEC 0 Seconds is Always Recommended It is much easier for the user to manually edit data in the Graph Mode Editor when drop outs are represented as 0 0 speed readings 32 Configuring Stalker ATS
101. ter is best for most applications When editing a trial in Graph Mode you can try out various filters to see their effect Zoom into a small area of the curve for the closest inspection Data File Types Editing Data Chapter 6 Digital Filtering The digital filter is defined as a fourth order zero lag Butterworth filter The advantage of a digital filter is that it more precisely attenuates noise frequencies while preserving the data frequencies that you are trying to measure It s disadvantage is that it requires extra points at the start and end of a run to make calculations accurately Thus the last few samples of your data may be lost or have unusual characteristics when using digital filters e The light setting applies minimal filtering and should only be used on clean radar data e The medium filter setting is recommended for most applications and will normally produce the greatest accuracy This is Stalker ATS s default setting e The heavy filter setting applies a heavy low cutoff frequency filter to the raw data This setting should normally be used only on very noisy data This filter setting is especially useful for filtering out noise due to vibration and when the radar gun is mounted IN the test vehicle The heavy filter can have a tendency to overexaggerate a transition from increasing to decreasing speeds Moving Average Data will be smoothed using a moving average The moving average is less accurate than a digi
102. tet se Kawasaki zl i f f i 555 17 Polaris SLTX i i i 633 96 Sea Doo XP A 581 43 701 03 The Statistics Window can maximized to full screen minimized to an icon or custom sized to fit the amount of data es LT inir ATE fee fema Jae Geeps iaa iip ia ye aa S a3 duza a pam a z S m E 7 o aa LL a oD o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 en TIME sec See ajeje a RES merana Mem LN EN The Statistics Window can share the screen Or Statistics can overlap the Graph Window with the Graph Window Chapter 9 Choosing Statistics The Name of the Current List of Statistics Current List of Statistics Measuring Statistics 61 Switching Rows and Columns Format The table of statistics can be grouped with trials in Se oe an paT BSE at Sn columns or rows referred to as the format To aN Uei A i a ER jg change the format select Transpose from the 7 5 a Save List Starter ava Stats menu or the Statistics Window popup menu So ech CC E a n i E P E o Right click for the statistics popup menu The E format can also be changed in the Choose Transpose Statistics dialog box at the Format tabbed page Print Stats e Left click on the in Columns box to display the statistics in columns and the trials in rows e Left click on the in Rows box to display the statistics in rows and the trials in columns Choosing Which Statistics to Display The Choose Statistic
103. th the raw and processed data to a disk file you select e The Process button initiates recalculation of the processed data table using the data type and filter settings e The Start Over button restores the data type and filter settings to their original values and undoes any data point selections that have been made since editing began e The Reject button restores the original data and closes the edit window Closing the edit window has the same effect e The Accept button stores the new processed data and closes the edit window Chapter 6 Data Filters Data filters generally increase the accuracy and improve the look of the curve The effects of filters is most noticeable on the acceleration vs speed and acceleration vs time graphs Editing Data 45 Using the Text Mode Editor Select the Data Type The Data Type selection box displays the currently selected data type Left click on the down arrow to select another data type from the list Select the Filter to be Applied The Filter selection box displays the currently selected filter Left click on the down arrow to select another filter from the list Adjustment of the Numerical Values of Individual Raw Data Points To change a data value in the raw data speed column left click on it Edit the data in the cell using the number keys Del and Backspace in the normal way Press Enter or left click to finish editing the cell Process the Data Left click on the button to
104. the statistic list Select Delete Selected Stats from the popup menu leaving only stats you wish to keep Create and add any new statistics you desire When the list is complete click on the Save List button and give your list a new name QUA QUN 66 Chapter 10 Printing The Print Dialog Printing Chapter 10 The information displayed in the Graph Trials and Statistics Windows can be output to your printer Printing can be controlled with the Print dialog or by using the print commands associated with individual windows The output size can be adjusted scaled and color printing will be available if you have a color printer The Print Dialog Print Selection X fest The Print dialog provides complete control over which Title information is printed in your report Using the print dialog you can enter a title for your printout select which the items to be printed and change your printer setup Select items to print M Brief report I Graph 100 E of l Statistics To Launch the Print Dialog e Select File gt Print from the main menu or Left click on the toolbar print icon or Use the shortcut key combination Ctrl P L Trials Information LC Comments Title Enter a title in the text box This title will be printed at the top of each page of your printed reports Select Items to Print Click on a check box to select or deselect an item for printing If a box is checked the associa
105. ut any further intervention 28 Configuring Stalker ATS Chapter 4 The Available Data Types e Acceleration Run For test runs that start from zero and increase in speed e g Drag Races e Deceleration Run For tests starting at some speed but slow down to zero speed Brake Tests e Start Stop For tests that start and end at zero with periods of acceleration and deceleration in between e g combined acceleration braking tests e Constant Speed For tests that do not start or end at zero speed e g speed detection and monitoring e Bounce For tests which start at zero speed and where speed may return to zero many times during the course of a test e g for testing the elasticity of a bouncing object e Raw Data For tests where the raw data from the radar gun needs to be recorded without any processing or filtering e Unknown Any other kind of recording that does not start or end at zero speed and that requires only minimal filtering and processing See Chapter 6 Data File Types for more information Disable Speedometer If your computer is a M Disable Speedometer N the Setup Box check this box to disable the Radar Speedometer display 486 33 or slower you while recording This may be necessary for acceptable recording on slower should disable the Radar computers Speedometer Display Under normal operating conditions Stalker ATS will display a soeedometer isa while it is recording data The speedometer pro
106. uto hide which will make the taskbar disappear when not in use Chapter 11 Troubleshooting 71 ee Auto Hide the Taskbar to Prevent Obstruction aa 1 Left click on the Windows 95 Start button S 2 Choose Settings and then Taskbar This opens the Taskbar Properties box g y 4 3 Check the Auto Hide option This makes the bar disappear when not in use Sour Ale Program Stalls When Recording If when attempting a recording the text under the Radar Speedometer changes to recording but then locks or stalls the program the problem is most like CPU power You will need to disable the graphical radar speedometer during recording sessions Do this by checking the Disable Speedometer option in the Setup Dialog Box Program Locks Up Distribution versions of Stalker ATS have been tested on hundreds of different computer platforms and there should be no program crashes If there is a crash first make sure that you do not have a conflicting default sim or default cfg file from an older version of Stalker ATS Open Microsoft s Explorer program or the File Manager and look for files named default sim or default cfg in the Stalker directory Move these file s to another directory or subdirectory and restart Stalker ATS If the problem is fixed then delete the file s You may then wish to recreate your users default statistic list See chapter 9 The default cfg will be recreated when you exit Stalker ATS and answer Yes to the
107. ve Setup Radar Input help can be accessed in two ways e If a Help button one is visible in the window you are working with left click on it e Press F1 at any time to get help on your most recent action See Also Data Processine Input Port COM 1 Units used by Radar MPH For example if you click on the HELP button or press F7 while working with the Setup window a help window will open at the page describing how to use Setup Similarly if you press F1 while the mouse is positioned in the Statistics Window your Help System will display information about statistics Normal Data Type Acceleration Run O Disable Speedometer The Radar Input Page of the Setup Dialog allows the input port input units and Normal data type used by Stalker ATS to be set In each case the available options are presented in a list box Only the currently selected option is visible To change the selection left click on the down arrow button to the right of a list box to display the list of options Select one the options with the and v keys or by left click ing on it The Help File This help file can also be used as an on line manual without running Stalker ATS To access this file directly double click on the Stalker ATS Help icon in Program Manager Windows 95 users may select Stalker ATS Help from the Start Menu Input Port This list box displays the number of the serial port COM port that Stalker
108. vides both analog and digital hae beun disabled in onder to displays of the speed currently reported by the radar gun On slower naik computers 386 processors and 486 processors with clock speeds of 33 MHz aaia or less and on computers without accelerated graphics generally older o Stalker ATS Help for moro desktops and laptops the computer may not be powerful enough to update the graphics display and read data from the radar gun at the same time ama If you have a problem collecting data especially if you find that your computer SSS continues to process and display data for a while after you have released the trigger you should disable the soeedometer display The Medium Digital Filter Filter Setting C None smooths out the graph A data filter is a mathematical data smoothing method intended to reduce lines but does not introduce variances in speed readings and increase the overall accuracy of graphs and Digital Fitter a lag effect common with statistics The Filter page of the Setup Box determines what filter will be Medium W a simple moving average automatically applied at the time of editing The filter setting can always be changed manually when a trial is edited C Moving Average The factory default is a Medium Digital Filter This is recommended for most applications See Chapter 6 Data Filters for more details about filters Chapter 4 Display units are independent of the units used by the radar gun
109. x compatible printer The output size can be adjusted Title scaled and color printing will be available if you have a color Stalker ATS printer You can print any of these results Graphs e Statistics Select items to print e Trial Information e Comments TABU HEH e A Brief Report includes the graph statistics and l Graph oo comments C Statistics C Trials Information Open the Printing Selection Box by Any of the Following e Click on the Printer icon from the toolbar e From the File menu choose Print e Use the shortcut key combination Ctrl P C Comments If you wish to print a title with your graph type your title into the text box To change your specific printer s functions or to change printers click on the Setup button to launch the Windows Print Setup dialog box Built In Screen Capture Utility Place a Stalker ATS Graph Into Your Desktop Publishing Program There is a screen capture utility built into the Stalker ATS program You can place the entire graph into a word processor or desktop publishing program just like a photographic scan To Capture a Graph e From the Graph menu select Copy Graph gt To Clipboard places a copy of the graph in the Windows Clipboard program To Bitmap File saves the graph as a standard Windows bitmap graphics file BMP Help ts Built in Built into the Stalker ATS program is over 100 pages of help documentation For Context Sensitive help
110. your fingers in front of the gun to generate some speed readings for a short time If the gun and computer are communicating the Radar Speedometer window should change to RECORDING If the Radar Speedometer continues to display Press the trigger on radar gun to start data input then press the ESC key to cancel the recording If the test failed first check the cable and connections then try the other Input Port settings and try another test recording See Chapter 4 Configuration Settings Inout Port for more details Radar Speedometer x Radar Speedometer x RON If you are unable to complete a test recording and have tried all of the Input Port settings refer to Chapter 11 Trouble Shooting 100 150 RECORDING Release trigger to stop Press trigger on radar gun to start data input 34 Where to Place the Radar Gun Line up the radar with the direction of travel For acceleration tests place the gun BEHIND the test vehicle In Vehicle Recordings Recording Data Chapter 5 Where to Place the Radar Gun In order to get accurate test results the radar must be lined up exactly in the line of travel of the target object If the radar is positioned off to one side an angle error will be introduced to the speed readings and the accuracy of the test results will be reduced eee o Correct SS a a a a a a a a a a a a a Lined up with the n direction of travel Incorrect At a

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