UltraLo-1800 Alpha Particle Counter
XIA LLC
Page 62
D.
Counting Issues
1.
Can’t C
onnect to Counter
If CounterMeasure cannot connect to
the counter (diagnosed as starting with the
“Disconnected” icon present (Figure VII-2)),
the most likely cause is that the counter is
powered off, or the USB cable has come
unplugged. Check that the counter is
powered on and the USB cable is connected.
If they both are, open the device manager
(by going to the Windows Start menu,
clicking Control Panel, and then clicking
Device Manager) and check under “Universal
Serial Bus controllers”. If “UltraLo-1800” appears in this section, then everything should be working
properly. If it’s not, try clicking the “Scan for Hardware Changes” button (see Figure VII-3). If this turns
up nothing, or if the UltraLo-1800 only shows up with an error icon, try cycling the power switch on the
support box off and then back on. If you still cannot connect to the counter, please contact
2.
Counting Stops During Measurement
If counting stops during a measurement the most likely causes are detector power issues or USB
connection failures. Especially if the counter is located in a busy lab the USB cables can come
disconnected and cause interruptions. Further, temporary power outages, even if they’re very fleeting,
can also cause communication issues. (If a stable power line is available, using it will help prevent power
dips from causing problems.) If CounterMeasure experiences either interruption while running, it will
stop the run and display an error message (see Figure VII-4a). Left unattended in this state,
CounterMeasure will attempt to reconnect automatically, and if the interruption was temporary it will
re-establish the connection. However, CounterMeasure won’t restart a run, and the error message will
continue to be displayed to alert you to the
issue. To verify that the counter is connected,
check for the “Disconnected” icon (Figure VII-2).
If CounterMeasure isn’t able to reconnect
automatically, follow the troubleshooting steps
outlined above in
Finally, if you experience counting stoppages
that cannot be explained by interruptions in the
power supply or USB connection, or particularly
frequent stoppages, please contact
CounterMeasure will also stop during a
measurement if it detects excessive amounts of
noise that affects the integrity of the data being
Figure VII-3: Device Manager with "Scan for Hardware Changes"
button circled in red.
Figure VII-4a: Error message when communication is lost.
Figure VII-5b: Error message indicating excessive noise.
