Operating instructions

M300USERSGUIDE SEA
SERVICEANDTROUBLESHOOTING  203
8. According to QSSL, the developers of QNX, large amounts of memory allocation (done either
statically or dynamically) can have effects on the time it takes to deliver a proxy. Since the kernel
is single threaded, if they are in the kernel doing memory allocation and mappings and an
interrupt goes off which needs to deliver a proxy, then they delay that delivery until after we exit
the kernel (on the way out actually).
9. The ‘Fatfsys’ driver can allow users to create files larger than 2GB on DOS partitions (such as on
USB and the Kingston drives). These files cannot be read back into the QNX 4 system. As a fix,
we have modified M300 to limit the data file size just short of the 2GB limit. Another work
around is to take the file in a Windows machine and resize it to less than 2GB, then recopy the
file to the desired transmission medium (USB, DVD, Kingston, etc.).
BACKUPORDATAANDPROJECTS
One of the main tasks for the M300 system is to acquire data. The raw M300 binary files are
extremely important. They must be copied as soon as possible to another system or medium.
The more copies of your data files you have (in different physical locations) the better the chances are
of holding on to your data in case of a problem which can cause permanent data loss.
The data files can be transferred via network using FTP, mounted partitions, USB drives, etc.
The data files cannot be burned on to CD or DVD directly in the QNX 4 system. To do this you
must first copy the data to a Windows machine or another system that supports this.
Project files are configuration files used to run the M300 system. These files can also be extremely
valuable. Again it is recommended that the user backup these files to other systems. The files should
be archived using the tar utility and then compressed. The archive of files is necessary to keep the file
permissions.
SERIALPORTTROUBLESHOOTING
The following general guidelines will help you troubleshoot any problems you may experience with
serial port operations.
1. Make sure the serial cable is connected from the outside to the correct port on the system.
2. Use the ‘serread’ utility (see SEA Utilities Users Guide) to read data in from the instrument
without using the M300 software. This will confirm that the instrument is connected to the
correct serial port. It also ensures that the instrument is turned on, transmitting and that the
correct serial port protocol is being used. For example, if you have 9600 baud data coming in on
‘/dev/ser3’, type serread -b 9600 /dev/ser3 and make sure the data looks correct before
going to the next step.
3. Add a board for serial port data. Make sure you have the correct port and protocol parameters.
4. Add an acquisition event for serial ASCII data, type 37. Make sure the data size is large enough to
handle the largest block. Set Para1 (End of Sentence Character) to 10 (LF) or 13 (CR).