AR1000 User’s Manual
Rev 1.7 1/10
9
3.3.
Power On
Connect a 15 volt power supply to the power and ground lines of the sensor cable. See Signal and
Power Interface (section 4) for wire connections. Only the power and ground need be connected
for operation in addition to the serial interface.
Caution: be sure that the laser will not cause an eye hazard.
When power is applied the laser beam will be emitted from the laser aperture near the large lens
of the AR1000. The laser beam will be bright red when viewed against a white surface. The
sensor will not transmit measurement readings until a measurement mode is selected. To begin
measuring in
Distance Tracking
mode, type DT<Enter>. Distance readings will scroll down the
Hpyerterminal window and the default units are be in meters. See section 5.1 for command
information.
3.4.
Verifying Operation
In DT (distance tracking) mode, the AR1000 transmits approximately 6 samples per second at
9600 baud over the serial signals, and transmits measured distance over the current loop output at
the same update rate. The actual measurement speed will depend upon the selected measurement
mode and the reflectance of the target surface. The current loop should put out 4 mA at the near
end of the measurement range, and 20 mA at the far end. Check either, or both, signals to verify
basic sensor operation.
3.5.
Troubleshooting
The sensor displays simple error indications using its function display LEDs. Trouble shooting
steps are shown below:
Symptom Possible
Cause
Correction
No laser light and no
sample data
Sampling is turned off
Power supply voltage is too low
Turn Sampling on
Check power supply input voltage
Serial port not
responding
Power supply voltage is too low
Baud rate incorrect or unknown
Check power supply input voltage
See section 3.5.1
Error code (Exx) is
transmitted on serial
port
See Error codes section 5.3.
3.5.1.
Serial Communications Check
If no information is received over the serial port, check the power supply and serial wire
connections. The sensor may be in a configuration that prevents serial communication, such
as being set at the wrong baud rate.
Type PR<Enter> to reset the sensor to the factory defaults (including 9600 baud rate). If the
sensor’s baud rate is unknown, then the PR<Enter> command must be issued from the
hyperterminal program while set at each of the AR1000’s possible baud rates until the
