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1.0 INTRODUCTION
This manual provides instructions for Version 3.1 of Biospherical Instruments’ MER-2040 data
acquisition and analysis software. This software is compatible with the MER-2040, MER-2041,
and MER-2050 Spectroradiometers. It is easy to use and is designed to run on IBM-PC and
equivalent computers ("clones").
There are two principal and two secondary programs that comprise this software package:
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"M24-PROF" is used for recording data during a vertical profile. It supports graphic and
numerical displays, annotated rosette firing, and castcard recording.
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"M24-READ" is the data analysis program. It supports the decoding of the recorded binary
data to CRT Graphics, pen plotter graphics, line printer dumps, ASCII file generation,
attenuation coefficient calculations, and many other features. M24-READ works with either
raw or packed data.
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"M24-TEST" facilitates testing of the MER instrument.
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“M24SETUP” is an editor for the configuration file (DEFAULTS.CFG).
In addition to these programs, the software contains two ASCII files: DEFAULTS.CFG and a
calibration file (*.CFL). These files allow you to support two instruments from one program and
make it possible for you to collect data from one type of computer and analyze it on another.
"DEFAULTS.CFG" holds system information, accessory device information, and default
suggestions as to which channels to plot and which to print in reports. The program
“M24SETUP” has been provided to facilitate customization of this file. All data covering the
exact configuration of an instrument and its calibration constants are contained in a second
ASCII file called the calibration file, which ends in the suffix ".CFL". You may change both of
these files to suit your purposes, but you must be very careful not to change the order of
parameters in either file. An example alteration would be to change the display of depth from
"Meters" to "dBars" by changing the label in the calibration file and adjusting the scale factor
appropriately. To make changes in software that require more than editing of the
DEFAULT.CFG and calibration files, you can either contact Biospherical Instruments at (619)
686-1888 and inquire about custom software or make the changes yourself using a Microsoft
compiler for Professional Basic Version 7.1.
This manual offers instructions for editing the ASCII files and for operating the four MER-2040
programs. For your convenience, we have included a sample data file so that you can practice
using M24-PROF and M24-READ before attempting to connect your MER system. It is
imperative that you read both this manual and your MER instrument manual carefully so that
you can fully understand the capabilities of your system and achieve the highest quality of data.
1.1
SOFTWARE DESIGN
Raw data is recorded in a packed binary (8 bit) format that follows the format of the data
transmitted by the MER instrument. Located at the end of the data stream from the MER
instrument is the data from the surface sensors (if any). The last character in the data stream
