User guide

Chelsea Technologies Group
FAST
tracka
User Guide HB179 Issue 7.0
Page
13
of
47
In order to communicate effectively with the instrument, the user will need a computer with a
terminal communications package. The protocol should be capable of trapping communication
in order to effectively download data from the instrument. To simply reprogram or control the
instrument, however, a dumb terminal is satisfactory. The instrument will communicate with
terminals or emulators set for
9600 N 8 1.
Once the instrument and terminal are connected via the Deck Unit, and the instrument is
activated via the magnet switch, the system supervisor will respond with a status message. If
the instrument has just been turned on, the status will be:
Chelsea Instruments Ltd
Fast Repetition Rate Fluorimeter - Ver X
To cease Host Mode, shut down the instrument either through software or by using the magnet
switch. If the battery is to remain attached, it is necessary to instruct the instrument to sleep by
passing the magnet switch over the optical head, otherwise the instrument will remain on and
drain the battery. Remove the host cable from the instrument and shut down the computer and
external power supplies as required.
3.6 DATA DOWNLOAD
The collected data from the internal PCMCIA flashdisk may be downloaded at any time while the
host cable is connected to the FAST
tracka
. The FAST
tracka
outputs data in BINARY format or ASCII
format of file sizes up to 2 MB.
To download data, connect the host cable between the instrument and the host computer and
ensure connection as described in Host Mode. Power the FAST
tracka
either through the host
cable or by the battery pack as desired. Establish communication with the FAST
tracka
and
proceed with data download as described in the Software Reference section 5.3.4.
Data download will stream information and data through the PC or terminal serial port. The user
will need to provide appropriate terminal emulator software to maintain communication in the host
computer, as well as XMODEM the data from the FAST
tracka
. Most reasonable commercial serial
communications package should work with the instrument.
3.7 DARK CHAMBER & SUNBLOCK
The dark chamber and the sunblock are two pieces which must be affixed to the optical head to
allow proper ambient and dark adapted measurements of FRR fluorescence data. The dark
chamber is designed to retain sample water in dark conditions long enough for relaxation to
occur in the phytoplankton sample. It is also designed to work identically in either a lowering or
raising operation, and therefore the inflow/outflow ports are symmetrical. The sun block is
designed to prevent ambient sunlight in the water column from degrading the quality of the
fluorescence signal observed by the FAST
tracka
on the light chamber.
The dark chamber consists of a body and two ports and is fitted to Channel B, i.e. the optical
channel without the indicator LEDs. The ports need to be screwed into the body before