Manual revision 041
Section 6: Troubleshooting
SBE 37-SM RS-232
68
Section 6: Troubleshooting
This section reviews common problems in operating the MicroCAT, and
provides the most common causes and solutions.
Problem 1: Unable to Communicate with MicroCAT
If
OutputExecutedTag=N
, the
S>
prompt indicates that communications
between the MicroCAT and computer have been established. Before
proceeding with troubleshooting, attempt to establish communications again
by selecting
Connect
in the Communications menu in Seaterm232 or pressing
the Enter key several times.
Cause/Solution 1
: The I/O cable connection may be loose. Check the cabling
between the MicroCAT and computer for a loose connection.
Cause/Solution 2
: The instrument communication settings may not have been
entered correctly in Seaterm232. Verify the settings in the Serial Port
Configuration dialog box (Communications menu ->
Configure
). The settings
should match those on the instrument Configuration Sheet.
Cause/Solution 3
: The I/O cable between the MicroCAT and computer may
not be the correct one. The I/O cable supplied with the MicroCAT permits
connection to standard 9-pin RS-232 interfaces.
Problem 2: No Data Recorded
Cause/Solution 1
: The memory may be full; once the memory is full, no
further data is recorded. Verify that the memory is not full using
GetSD
or
DS
(
free = 0
or
1
if memory is full). Sea-Bird recommends that you upload all
previous data before beginning another deployment. Once the data is
uploaded, send
InitLogging
to reset the memory. After the memory is reset,
GetSD
or
DS
will show
samples = 0
.
Problem 3: Unreasonable T, C, or P Data
The symptom of this problem is a data file that contains unreasonable values
(for example, values that are outside the expected range of the data).
Cause/Solution 1
: A data file with unreasonable (i.e., out of the expected
range) values for temperature, conductivity, or pressure may be caused by
incorrect calibration coefficients in the MicroCAT. Send
GetCC
to verify the
calibration coefficients in the MicroCAT match the instrument Calibration
Certificates. Note that calibration coefficients do not affect the raw data stored
in MicroCAT memory.
If you have not yet overwritten the memory with new data, you can
correct the coefficients and then upload the data again.
If you have overwritten the memory with new data, you can manually
correct the coefficients in the .xmlcon configuration file, and then
reprocess the data in SBE Data Processing’s Data Conversion module.