Instruction manual

SECTION 1. SETTING UP THE NETWORK AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE DATALOGGER
1-6 PC208W, Version 3.0, Instruction Manual
NOTE: By default, only Final Storage area
1 is set up for CR10s, CR10Xs, and
CR23Xs. For data to be stored in Final
Storage area 2, memory must be allocated
in the datalogger, and the program must
write data to this area.
File format
PC208W supports three formats for the
collected data:
• ASCII, Comma Separated - This is the best
choice for most applications. Data values
are separated by commas with no leading
zeros and with each array on a new line.
This is the easiest format for importing into
other software; it’s reasonably compact and
can be viewed directly.
• ASCII, Printable - Numbers are aligned in
columns and preceded by a 2-digit ID
indicating the array position. The column
IDs repeat after 100 columns. Each row in
the data file has up to eight columns before
a new line is started. This format is easiest
to read manually (i.e., printed copy) but is
difficult to import into spreadsheets and
other applications. SPLIT can be used to
convert to other formats. This format is
ambiguous for data arrays of 100 or more
and should be avoided for purposes other
than printing.
• Binary - This format is the most compact
but must be converted before it can be
used. SPLIT can be used to convert to
other formats.
1.2.6 SETUP SAFETY TIPS
You can freely move between the different
PC208W windows. This means you can open
the SETUP screen while you are
communicating with a datalogger or using one
of the other PC208W programs. However, if
you change the setup, PC208W will hang up all
calls in process and will not call again until the
changes are saved. It does this to prevent data
storage pointers from being corrupted.
Therefore, it is better to avoid changing the
setup while communicating with a datalogger
that will be affected by the change.
You must click on Save Edits for the device
settings to take effect and continue any
scheduled communications. You will also be
prompted to Save Edits if you close the Setup
window or PC208W if you have not yet saved
the new device settings. If you find you have
made a mistake while changing device settings
but have not yet saved the edits, you can return
to the previous configuration by clicking Cancel
Edits. This only works for one previous setup
because otherwise, PC208W may have called a
datalogger and changed data storage pointers,
making a return to previous settings unreliable.
You may drag and drop devices from one
connection to another. If the place where you
drop a device is ambiguous, PC208W will ask
whether to place the moved device as a child or
at the same level.
PC208W uses the computer clock to control
some of its timing. Changing the PC clock
while connected to a datalogger may cause
unexpected results in PC208W.
1.3 CONNECT
brings up a window
which gives you real
time access to any of
the dataloggers in
your Device Map.
You can transfer programs to a datalogger, set
the datalogger clock, collect data from the
datalogger, collect data from the storage
module, and display or graph datalogger
measurements. From the CONNECT window
you may connect to only one datalogger or
storage module at any given time.
Only dataloggers and storage modules are
shown on the CONNECT screen. You can
switch to a different device by clicking on it with
the mouse pointer. If you are connected to a
device, PC208W will warn you and ask if it
should close the current connection.
PC208W assumes a double click on a different
datalogger means you want to switch
regardless of the current connection. It will
close the connection in an orderly fashion and
switch to the new CONNECT screen. Note that
PC208W saves the location and appearance of
the screen for each datalogger, so switching to
a new one may appear to make the screen
“jump” from one position to another.