background image

86 Toolbar 

Buttons 

 

Linear fit 

Draw a line of linear fit of the selected 
data set 

 

Slope 

Calculate and display the slope of the 
selected point 

 

 

 

 

Stop 

Stop video recording or video replay 

 

Play 

Replay video and/or data 

 

Pause 

Pause replaying 

 

Record 

Record video 

Summary of Contents for EcoLog

Page 1: ...EcoLog User guide First Edition First Print Printed in July 2003...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...Contents Introduction 11 Working with EcoLab 12 Install the Software 12 System Requirements 12 Software 12 Hardware 13 Installation 14 Overview 15 EcoLab On screen Layout 15 EcoLab Window Layout 17...

Page 4: ...n 19 Prepare EcoLog 19 Enable online Video 20 Setup the EcoLog 20 Start Recording 21 Data recording options 22 Single measurement 22 Replace 23 Add 23 Online Video 24 Online video 24 Recording 25 Repl...

Page 5: ...ect 32 Print 33 Print a graph 33 Print a table 34 View the Data 35 Display Options 35 Graph Display 37 The Cursor 38 Zooming 40 Panning 42 Scrolling 42 Changing the X axis values 43 Bar graph 43 Forma...

Page 6: ...the table 49 Formatting the table 49 The Meters Display 50 Data Map 51 Control the display with the Data Map 51 Understanding Data Map icons 53 Export Data to Excel 55 Copy the Graph as a Picture 55 P...

Page 7: ...64 Area 64 Statistics 65 Workbook 67 About Workbook 67 Working with a Worksheet 68 To open a Worksheet 68 To print the current Worksheet 70 To launch an experiment 70 Working with a text window 71 Cre...

Page 8: ...lbar Buttons 83 Main upper Toolbar 83 Graph Toolbar 87 Meter Toolbar 89 Workbook Toolbar 90 Working with EcoLog 92 Operating the EcoLog 92 Quick reference 92 EcoLog Modes 93 Displaying the EcoLog curr...

Page 9: ...connections 95 Working with batteries 95 Working with the AC DC adaptor 95 Communication connections 96 Connecting the EcoLog to the computer 96 Connecting external sensors 96 Specifications 97 Index...

Page 10: ......

Page 11: ...logging or connected to a PC for live online data recording and display The EcoLog is powered either from two 1 5V batteries or from an AC DC adaptor It can record data from up to 7 sensors simultaneo...

Page 12: ...s To work with EcoLab your system should be equipped with the following Software Windows 95 or later Windows 95 and Windows NT will not support video recording Internet Explorer 5 0 or later you can i...

Page 13: ...M 64 MB recommended 10 MB available disk space for the EcoLab application 50 MB to install the supporting applications To work with the video window your system should be equipped with a video camera...

Page 14: ...to continue In case auto run is not working open My Computer and click on the CD drive folder d drive in most cases double click on the setup icon then follow the on screen instructions To uninstall t...

Page 15: ...tools and view online or recorded video movies of the actual experiment The program includes seven windows A graph window table window setup window video window Workbook window meters window and navi...

Page 16: ...orkbook is a lab activity that gives the student a step by step preview of the activity and then automatically configures the EcoLab program and sets up the EcoLog so that the student can begin collec...

Page 17: ...Overview 17 EcoLab Window Layout Data map Main window Information bar Video window Setup window Main toolbar Main window toolbar...

Page 18: ...information you collect and process for a given experiment is stored in a single project file Each of these files contain all the data sets you collected with the EcoLog the analysis functions you ve...

Page 19: ...Getting Started Set up a Recording Session Prepare EcoLog 1 Connect EcoLog to the PC see on page 96 2 Wake up EcoLog see on page 92 3 If required plug in any external sensors see on page 96 4 Open th...

Page 20: ...the PC 2 Click View on the menu bar then click Display video 3 Point the camera to the experiment setup To expand the Video window and to display it in the main window click Video on the main toolbar...

Page 21: ...g the data in real time plotting it on the graph as it is recorded You can stop recording at any time by clicking Stop on the toolbar 2 To conduct a remote recording disconnect the EcoLog from the Com...

Page 22: ...flects the sampling rate Data recording options To set the behavior of the data display when you start a new recording session click on the down arrow next to the Run button and select one of the foll...

Page 23: ...old data sets will still be available in the same project file They will be listed in the Data Map and you can add them to the display at any time Add EcoLab will add the new data set to the graph in...

Page 24: ...m simultaneously with the data graph You can also add voice comments to the video recordings To work with the video window your system should be equipped with a video camera To be able to record and p...

Page 25: ...nd the Video window and to display it as the main window click Video on the main toolbar To restore to normal size click Video a second time Recording 1 From the Video menu select Enable video 2 Click...

Page 26: ...data graphing process and the video recording simultaneously Note Saving the file will automatically save the video as well Replaying an experiment To simultaneously replay the video and the data gra...

Page 27: ...Getting Started 27 Video and Audio Properties To set the video properties click Video on the menu bar then click Video properties to open the video properties dialog box...

Page 28: ...ile space and the computer s performance as well A higher video quality means more disk space is used which can slow down the computer s performance Audio Visual Options The default option is Audio vi...

Page 29: ...he PC the EcoLog transmits each data sample immediately as it is recorded The software thus displays the data in real time in both the graph window and the table window Off line data logging To downlo...

Page 30: ...ng data that includes external sensors make sure that the selected external sensors in the setup window match the data Save Data Click Save on the main toolbar to save your project This will save all...

Page 31: ...t under another name Note To delete a specific data set a graph or a table from the project use the Data Map see page 51 To remove unwanted data from a specific data set apply the crop tool see page 8...

Page 32: ...indow Use the Data Map see page 51 to display the desired data set Create a New Project There are three ways to create a new project 1 Open the EcoLab program which will open a new file each time 2 Wh...

Page 33: ...g Started 33 Print Print a graph 1 Click Print on the main toolbar 2 Select the Graph option 3 Click Print to open the print dialog box 4 Click OK EcoLab will print exactly what you see in the graph d...

Page 34: ...on the main toolbar 2 Select the Table option 3 If you want to print only a specific range uncheck the Print all data check box and type the desired row numbers into the To and From edit boxes 4 Click...

Page 35: ...window and Data Map window In the main window you can display graph the default view table meters workbook or video To specify a window as the main window Click the window s button on the main toolbar...

Page 36: ...36 View the Data Click View on the menu bar then click Display video in main window...

Page 37: ...displays all the data sets of a given recording but you can use the Data Map to remove one or more of the sets from the graph see page 51 In order to keep the graph clear and simple only two Y axes ar...

Page 38: ...ct a range of data points To display the first cursor Double click on an individual data point or click 1st Cursor on the graph toolbar You can drag the cursor with the mouse onto any other point on t...

Page 39: ...n the graph area or click 2nd Cursor The information bar will now display the difference between the two coordinate values To remove the cursors Double click anywhere on the graph area or click 1st Cu...

Page 40: ...magnify Release the mouse button to zoom in to the selected area Click Zoom to selection a second time to disable the zoom tool Autoscale Click Autoscale on the graph toolbar to view the full data di...

Page 41: ...ight click on the axis to open its Properties dialog box To restore auto scaling click Autoscale The stretch compress axis tool Move the cursor onto one of the graph axes The cursor icon changes to th...

Page 42: ...he zoomed area To do this click Pan on the graph toolbar then click anywhere on the graph and drag the mouse to view another area Click Pan a second time to disable the Pan tool Scrolling To make the...

Page 43: ...ph toolbar 2 In the dialog that opens select the desired data set from the drop list 3 Click OK To change the x values back to time click X axis values a second time Bar graph You can change the graph...

Page 44: ...ge the data line s color style and width You can also add markers that represent the data points on the graph and format their style and color The color of the Y axis matches the corresponding plot s...

Page 45: ...e line or the marker uncheck the corresponding Visible check box Click OK To restore the default formatting click Restore default Add a graph to the project EcoLab displays new data in the graph windo...

Page 46: ...ject tool Click Add to project on the graph toolbar The Table Display Click Table to display the table in the main window When you start a new recording EcoLab displays the new data on the table The d...

Page 47: ...e original data unchanged To do this 1 Select a data cell by clicking on it 2 Type in the new value 3 Press Enter on the keyboard to accept you can also press Tab or the arrow keys to accept and move...

Page 48: ...n the Comment column click the cell where you want to enter the comment 2 Type in the comment and press Enter on the keyboard to accept you can also press Tab or the arrow keys to accept and move to t...

Page 49: ...o add or remove data sets from the table use the Data map see on page51 to add or remove them from the graph Formatting the table Changing column width Drag the boundary on the right side of the colum...

Page 50: ...ive data and are updated 5 times per second Data is not saved in the meters mode There are four meter types analog bar digital and color To display the meters 1 Click Display meters on the main toolba...

Page 51: ...oaded in the current session as well as the lists of all the saved graphs and tables Use the Data Map to navigate through the available data sets and to keep track of the data that is being displayed...

Page 52: ...analysis functions performed on the measurements for any individual experiment double click the experiment s icon or click the plus sign next to it To collapse a list under an individual experiment d...

Page 53: ...te the item click Save on the main toolbar To delete all data sets from the Data Map right click the Data sets icon and click Delete All Data Understanding Data Map icons Data sets list Linear fit inc...

Page 54: ...a set currently not on display Individual data set currently displayed on graph 1 Data recorded without video Data recorded with video List of saved graphs Saved graph data sets vs time Saved graph da...

Page 55: ...ill then open a new Excel workbook displaying the data Copy the Graph as a Picture You can copy the graph to the clipboard as a picture and then paste it to other Windows programs such as Word or Powe...

Page 56: ...oLog Setup To Setup EcoLog connect it to the PC run EcoLab and select the desired settings in the Setup window Temperature sensor Light sensor Humidity sensor Pressure sensor Sound sensor 1st external...

Page 57: ...to select a sensor click on the button next to the sensor s icon The button s color will change to red Click a second time to deselect the sensor 4 To specify the external sensor type a Double click t...

Page 58: ...p Recording Click Stop on the main toolbar Communication Setup EcoLog communicates with the EcoLab software via a serial communication port Some users may find it difficult to select the correct port...

Page 59: ...ct it for you Connect the communication cable from EcoLog to one of the PC COM Port connectors In most cases the port connectors are located near the mouse port Use the 9 25 adaptor if the PC connecto...

Page 60: ...rogram EcoLog If communication fails 1 Select Comm Setup from the Logger menu EcoLab will display a dialog box reporting what COM Ports are already in use and which port is recommended for use with Ec...

Page 61: ...ed port as EcoLog s communication port You can override the EcoLab recommendation and choose the COM Port yourself by clicking the check box button to the left of the desired port and clicking Try to...

Page 62: ...nates of all of the curves simultaneously bring up digital meters see page 50 for each of the curves When you position a cursor on one curve the meters will show the corresponding Y coordinates for th...

Page 63: ...he fit 2 Click Linear Fit on the main toolbar to draw a line of linear least square fit b ax y The line s equation will appear on the information bar at the bottom of the graph window Note If you want...

Page 64: ...other points EcoLab will display the slope in the information bar at the bottom of the graph window Area Click Area on the main toolbar to calculate and display the area between the graph and the X ax...

Page 65: ...statistics include Average The average of all the numbers in the column Maximum The largest value in the column Minimum The smallest value in the column Std Dev The standard deviation To display stati...

Page 66: ...66 Analyze the Data 2 Click Analysis on the menu bar then click Statistics EcoLab will display the statistics in the information bar at the bottom of the graph window...

Page 67: ...coLab and EcoLog at the push of a button To begin recording all you need to do is click Run Every time you run an experiment from a worksheet EcoLab opens a new project file with the same predefined s...

Page 68: ...orksheet To open a Worksheet 1 Click Workbook on the main toolbar 2 Click Open worksheet on the workbook lower toolbar 3 Navigate to the folder in which the worksheet is stored 4 Double click the file...

Page 69: ...Special Tools 69 Workbook Window...

Page 70: ...ttons to navigate throughout the document To print the current Worksheet Click Print Worksheet on the workbook toolbar To launch an experiment 1 Click Launch on the workbook toolbar to configure EcoLa...

Page 71: ...th a text window 1 To open a new text document click New text document on the workbook toolbar 2 Type in your text 3 To paste text from the Worksheet or other files a In the source file click and drag...

Page 72: ...toolbar or press Ctrl V on the keyboard 4 To save your text click Save text document on the workbook toolbar 5 To open saved text document click Open text document on the workbook toolbar 6 To print...

Page 73: ...For example Word or Front Page This file should include the lab manual and the experiment instructions The second step is to use the EcoLab software to create a configuration file which is a file that...

Page 74: ...Open Word 2 In the File menu click New 3 Do one of the following On the General tab click Web Page to open a blank Web page On the Web Pages tab click the template that you would like to base your We...

Page 75: ...kbook 7 Click Save Create a Web page from an existing Word document 1 Open the existing file with Word 2 In the File menu click Save as Web Page 3 Navigate to C Program Files Fourier Systems EcoLab Wo...

Page 76: ...76 Workbook 2 Open the worksheet you want to configure see page 68 3 Click Workbook on the menu bar point to Launch settings and then click For EcoLog to open EcoLog s launch settings dialog...

Page 77: ...ge to red Click a second time to deselect the sensor 2 To specify the external sensor type select a sensor from the drop list 3 To preset a sensor s scale and line format click Properties next to the...

Page 78: ...r graph check box if you want to display the data in bar graph 7 Select the desired recording mode in the Recording mode drop list 8 Click OK Presetting meter display 1 Select a sensor click on the bu...

Page 79: ...the real data Click Run on the main toolbar to start recording Click Pause Continue on the graph toolbar to freeze the graph Data transmitted from the EcoLog while the graph is frozen is stored onto t...

Page 80: ...nd and so on 2 Click Add prediction on the graph toolbar to create another prediction 3 Click Pause Continue a second time to resume live data display and to compare your predictions with the real dat...

Page 81: ...e trimmed data is shifted so that it will start at 0 t If you want the automatic curve fit equation to start at 0 t apply the crop tool before any type of curve fitting After applying the crop tool th...

Page 82: ...82 Special Tools Click on the Graph menu then click Crop To trim all data outside a selected range Use the cursors to select the range you want to keep Click on the Graph menu then click Crop...

Page 83: ...Toolbar Buttons 83 Toolbar Buttons Main upper Toolbar New Start new project Open Open saved project Save Save project Print Select print options...

Page 84: ...Start a data recording session Click on the down arrow to select recording mode Stop Stop recording Connect Connect to EcoLab Download Download the data from the most recent recording session Data ma...

Page 85: ...5 Meter view Display Meters Graph Display the graph window Table Display the table window Workbook Display workbook Video Display and enable the video window Area Calculate and display the area betwee...

Page 86: ...it Draw a line of linear fit of the selected data set Slope Calculate and display the slope of the selected point Stop Stop video recording or video replay Play Replay video and or data Pause Pause re...

Page 87: ...Graph Toolbar Zoom to selection Zoom in to a selected area Pan Pan in all directions while in zoom mode Autoscale Display all the data 1st Cursor Display or remove a cursor 2nd Cursor Display or remo...

Page 88: ...Select the data to display on the axes Graph properties Graph formatting scaling and units selection Add to project Add the displayed graph to the project Export to Excel Export the displayed graph t...

Page 89: ...Add prediction Add a prediction onto the graph Erase prediction Erase the selected prediction Meter Toolbar 4 meters view Format fonts and units Analog meter Digital meter Bar meter Add the current ta...

Page 90: ...data Workbook Toolbar Open Worksheet Open a Worksheet from Workbook library Print Worksheet Print the current Worksheet display text window Display or hide text window Copy Copy selected text to clip...

Page 91: ...tons 91 New text Open empty text file Open text Open saved text file Save text Save the current text file Print text Print the current text file Launch EcoLog Configure EcoLog and EcoLab to preset con...

Page 92: ...for 10 seconds indicating that the EcoLog is in standby mode To start recording press the ON OFF button a second time within 10 seconds from the first pressing The led indicator will blink every time...

Page 93: ...N STOP button switches between standby and data collection modes Displaying the EcoLog current mode 1 Press the RUN STOP button 2 If the led indicator is blinking for 10 seconds then the EcoLog is in...

Page 94: ...the 10 seconds of mode display 3 EcoLog will switch standby mode and data collection mode Sleeping mode In sleeping mode the EcoLog power consumption is very low to ensure long battery life EcoLog ent...

Page 95: ...attery compartment at the back of the EcoLog Take care to insert them in the right polarity Working with the AC DC adaptor 1 Remove the battery compartment cover at the back of the EcoLog and replace...

Page 96: ...nication cable to the COM input on top of the EcoLog 2 Connect the 9 pins plug of the serial communication cable to a free COM input at the back of your computer Connecting external sensors 1 Connect...

Page 97: ...s Sampling rate from 2 hour to 10 second Simultaneous sampling of up to 7 sensors 8 bit 256 levels of sampling resolution 8k of sampling memory optional 16k Operated by two 1 5V AAA batteries or by AC...

Page 98: ...nge 10 to 40 C Sensitivity 0 33 C Max error 1 C Barometric Pressure Range 800 to 1100 mBar Sensitivity 1 2 mBar Max error 15 mBar Light Level Range 0 to 5000 lux Sensitivity 20 lux 0 4 Relative Humidi...

Page 99: ...Specifications 99 Sound Level Range 60 to 108 dB Sensitivity 1 dB Max error 3 dB External Input specification Range 0 to 5V Sensitivity 19 5mV Impedance 1M...

Page 100: ...rivative 64 autoscale 40 B Bar graph 43 C COM port 60 communication setup 60 connect 61 coordinates 38 copy 55 crop 81 cursor 38 curve fit 63 D data map 51 delete 53 derivative 64 display control the...

Page 101: ...ndex 101 meters 50 options 35 table 46 download 29 E EcoLog 11 edit data values 47 Excel 55 export 55 F format graph 44 table 49 G getting started 19 graph 37 Graph Bar 43 I Installation 14 M meter 50...

Page 102: ...nning 42 port 58 predict 79 print 33 programming EcoLog 56 project 18 32 properties graph 40 44 video 27 R recording data 21 options 22 start 58 stop 58 video 25 replay 26 requirements 12 run 58 S sav...

Page 103: ...t 21 stop 21 System requirements 12 T table 46 toolbar graph 87 main 83 table 89 90 trim See crop V value 38 video 24 view 35 voice comments 24 W Window layout 17 workbook 67 worksheet 67 creating 73...

Page 104: ...104 Index Y Y axis 37 Z zoom 40...

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