Instruction manual

SECTION 1. SETTING UP THE NETWORK AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE DATALOGGER
1-8 PC208W, Version 3.0, Instruction Manual
• If you enter the Remote Keyboard Mode, be
sure to press the ‘ *0 ’ keys sequence to get
a LOG1 message from the datalogger
before you leave the TERMINAL screen so
the datalogger is left in a known state.
1.3.2 CONNECT SAFETY TIPS
• Leaving PC208W connected to a
datalogger keeps the communication link to
the datalogger open and may prevent
scheduled collection or callback from other
dataloggers which use the same COM port.
• If you pause the clock display and the
numeric display, there will be no visual
clues as to when you are connected. In
fact, PC208W may not stay connected as
there is nothing to do. If you pause
communication for more than about 40
seconds, the datalogger may time out and
hang up the link.
• If you are connected, selecting the
TERMINAL tab will stop all other
communication with the datalogger until you
return to the TOOLS tab. If communication
between the computer and datalogger
remains idle for more than about 40
seconds, the datalogger may time out and
hang up the link. When the datalogger
times out, you may get odd characters on
the screen.
• During data collection if the disk or other
storage devices becomes full, an error will
be written to the SWF log and the data
collection attempt will be halted. Once
space is freed up on the disk or a new
storage device is attached and data
collection is resumed, some duplicate data
may be written to the file.
1.4 STATUS
displays information
for all the
dataloggers on the
Device Map at one
glance. You can
check the status of
data collection including scheduled calls, errors,
retries, and how much data was collected. You
can also launch windows displaying SWF
(Status, Warning, and Fault) messages or Low
Level I/O (input/output) to monitor the binary
traffic between the PC and datalogger. Buttons
are also provided to conveniently collect data,
stop data collection, turn on scheduled calls or
reset retries.
1.4.1 DEVICE MAP AND STATION MAP
The top portion of the Status window shows a
summary for all the devices you have set up.
Information is displayed on data collection
attempts and the next scheduled call. A
checkbox in the lower left portion of the screen
allows you to choose between viewing
information on all the devices or just the stations
(dataloggers). You can also highlight one or
more dataloggers to manually collect data or
manually terminate a collection in progress.
When a device is highlighted, you can press the
right mouse button to bring up a list of data
collection related options. You can Toggle
On/Off the device's schedule; Collect Data from
the device; Collect Data and Do Task (that is,
perform any "After Call Do" items); Reset
Retries to 0, or Discontinue the current data
collection process.
This display gives a variety of diagnostic
information summarized below.
On-line
O - the device is currently on-line or being
dialed.
T - the device, usually a modem, has been
dialed and is currently transparent (active but
not the end of the link).
M - the COM port is being monitored for
datalogger initiated communication (callback).
Error Rate
This is a running average of the errors in the
last 20 communication attempts. (n) will appear
following the error number if the last attempt to
communicate failed. “n” is the number of
successive failures. Typically the higher the
error rate number, the worse the
communication link.
Last Call
Indicates when the last call or attempt to call
finished (even if it failed).