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4.2 SAVING AND PRINTING:
Saving Data to the SD Card
At the end of every test at its respective Test Completion Page, the operator has the option to save the final
data to the SD card or to print the data to the onboard thermal printer. The system can save to any standard
capacity SD card, formatted with FAT16 or FAT32. Pressing S for save will create a text file on the SD card
that can be read on any PC with the correct card reader or card reader/adapter fitted to the computer. The
file is in the following format:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . p15
|__| |__| |__| |__|
Day Mo. Hr. Min.
The file name is the time the operator saved the data from the test set in 2-digit day, 2-digit month, and time
of the day in 24HR format. The data in the text file includes the data and time of the test and the final results
for each respective test (Reference the test sections for what results are recorded in each test method).
NOTE: To read these files on a PC, you must manually sel
ect which program to open them as the “.p15”
extension will not be recognized. Select a plain text reader, such as Notepad, to view these files. These files
can also be opened into Excel, where further editing to make test reports can be done.
Printing to the Paper Roll
The same information will be printed through the unit’s panel printer if the operator chooses to print a hard
copy of the test data for record keeping purposes.
When removing a printout from the printer, pull the printout toward the tear bar and tear from one side to the
other across the serrated edge.
Refer to Care and Maintenance (Section 5) for Printer functions and loading the paper roll.
NOTE on Recorded Test Time - Duration time for each test is recorded as actual run time of the unit and may
differ from the test duration entered by the operator at the setup screen. This affects data regardless of
whether it is saved to an SD card or printed onto the paper roll.
Data Acquisition through USB Port
The driver for the USB port can be downloaded here:
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
. Once the unit
is connected and recognized via the windows driver, Hyper Terminal can be used to view data in voltage and
current. Port settings must be set to 115,200 bits per second, 8 data bits, no parity, stop bit of 1, and
“NONE”
flow control. The output current is in a numerical format that must be multiplied by 10pA to indicate the
correct output current. Windows based data acquisition software is currently under development by Phenix
Technologies for the PM15-4A. End users are free to develop their own front-end interface in conjunction
with the data stream from the USB port to record and analyze results.