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Industrial Products Division

CureTRAK®, Indata®/SourceTRAK®, and DataWorker™

COMMUNICATIONS

Q1.2: My Indata, CureTRAK, or DataWorker Logger does not communicate my PC. Why? I am sure there is nothing wrong with my PC's COM port(s).

Q1.3: My Windows software does not communicate with any ECD products on my old or new PC, why not? And, I also notice that my COM port is ON all the time because as soon as I connect the CureTRAK or Indata to the PC, it's LED turns on. Why?

COMPATIBILITY

Q2.2: Just what software is compatible with what firmware anyhow?

GENERAL

Q3.1: Are your products and software Y2K Compliant?

Q3.2: Why do I receive an "out of memory" message when trying to save a file to a network drive. It still allows Save As, but will not allow Save.

SourceTRAK for Windows (STFW)

Q4.2: Why don't my oven zone temp reference lines show up on the graph even thought the graphic display box is checked in STFW 3.15/3.16?

Q4.3: I don't like the new file structure and spread sheet format. Why did you switch from *.mdm to *.mst?

Q4.4: When I save the *.mst file on a network-drive I can't see the profile-data. Why?

Q4.5: How can I open my old Indata *.mdm files using the STFW version 3.16 or higher?

Q4.8: Why does the STFW v3.16 program crash when I'm trying to import files from a previous software version?

Q4.9: Why is my profile graph blank or missing data when I use the RF option? The profile is completely visible in the RF window, but is altered in the STFW profile view.

DATA LOGGER

Q6.1: Are the older 3000 series Loggers Y2K compatible?

Q6.2: I am using Model 50 and/or Model 5000 DOS software with Windows 95/98/NT, and I want to print my file over the network printer. It is not printing, why?

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Q1.2: My Indata, CureTRAK, or DataWorker Logger does not communicate my PC. Why? I am sure there is nothing wrong with my PC's COM port(s).

A: First, we need to verify if the PC's COM port is working properly or not:

One way to test is if there are two COM ports available and you have a serial mouse, try to connect your mouse to the COM port you are trying to use with the software and restart your PC. If the port is properly working, your mouse should function the same as before. If your mouse is not working, it means that particular COM port is NOT working as well.

Another way is with Windows 95/98 and NT operating systems, there is a terminal program called "Hyper Terminal" located in the accessory folder of the program menu. Run the "Hypertrm.exe" and set the following configuration settings: phone number: direct to COM 1 (You may need to try COM 2 or 3 if you are not sure which COM is enabled in your PC.), baud rate: 9600, 8 data bits, Parity: None, Stop bits: 1, and Flow control: Hardware. Connect the CureTRAK Data Box, Indata, or DataWorker Logger to the COM port selected above on your PC. (Please note that, for DataWorker, the unit has to be turned on in order to communicate with it.) Press the Enter key on the PC keyboard. The unit should reply with a question mark "?". This shows that the selected COM port and the cable is working. Now be sure the ECD PC software is configured to reflect the working COM port your just used with Hyperterminal. If you do not get a "?" in response to the Enter key, close the Hyperterminal program (do not save when prompted) and reopen it, changing the settings as above, but using another COM port number. If still unsuccessful, your PC comp port may be busy do to other programs in your PC or the ECD equipment may be damaged and need to be returned for test.

Q1.3: My Windows software does not communicate with any ECD products on my old or new PC, why not? And, I also notice that my COM port is ON all the time because as soon as I connect the CureTRAK or Indata to the PC, it's LED turns on. Why?

A: Make sure no other programs are using the same COM. Because of the vast number of applications that may need access to your PC COM port, you will have to determine if you or someone else has installed a program which may be causing the interference. One typical example is the "Palm Pilot" software. If you are using this software, make sure you set it's, "Hot Sync", to NOT detect the COM port automatically and then restart your PC.

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COMPATIBILITY

Q2.2: Just what software is compatible with what firmware anyhow?

A: Click to see table

GENERAL

Q3.1: Are your products and software Y2K Compliant?

A: Our products compute, display and print a two digit year. Thus the year 2000 can be entered into and read from our products as "00". Some companies may call this Y2K "Ready" but not "Compliant" because we do not print/display the four digit number "2000". However, the year is used for reporting purposes only, and not for any decision-making or calculating processes.

Q3.2: Why do I receive an "out of memory" message when trying to save a file to a network drive. It still allows Save As, but will not allow Save.

A: Many networks are set up so that users are not allowed to Save in certain drives. Generally, the Save command is treated differently than Save As. This prevents users from altering files that are critical to network operations. To work around the issue with ECD software, save files to a local drive or speak to your network administrator about altering your access permission level.

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SourceTRAK for Windows (STFW)

Q4.2: Why don't my oven zone temp reference lines show up on the graph even thought the graphic display box is checked in STFW 3.15/3.16?

A: This is a known bug with the following work around:

1. Open the "stsample.mst" file included with the installation disc set. (This file is in the same directory as the application.)

2. Select the profile from the sample spread sheet view that is closest to your application.

3. Note that the zone temp reference lines are in the profile view.

4. When you down load the next Indata run, answer YES to "Start new experiment" and YES to "Clone existing experiment" (the one you just selected with the working temp reference lines).

5. Adjust the new cloned oven model to match your oven.

6. Always "clone" new runs from a run that has working zone temp reference lines.

Q4.3: I don't like the new file structure and spread sheet format. Why did you switch from *.mdm to *.mst?

A: This new software represents a completely new evolution in the advancement of gathering, analyzing and reporting of the data collected by the Indata/SourceTrak thermal profile system. In addition to creating a common database platform, it allows room for further enhancement by taking advantage of advancements introduced by other ECD product lines such as: easy manipulation of many files, data summary in spread sheet format, advanced data analysis and reports, enhanced graphic tools and many more.

To accomplish these advancements, portions of the "old way of doing things" had to be improved. That is why a new file extension was created, the *.mst which now presided over groups (user definable) of *.mdm files. The *.mst database like structure can be opened as a new file and populated with new Indata runs, or opened and populated with "imported" runs (old *.mdm) from older versions of SourceTrak Software. The importing of old files need only be done once and can be done one at a time or all at once by selecting more than one *.mdm during import.

It is important to note that *.mst files represent collections of *.mdm files in a common place where they can be easily organized and manipulated. The old *.mdm structure still exists, but is controlled by the *.mst data base file. Although different than the former method of file handling, we feel the benefits outweigh the initial potential for confusion. We have included "Readme" and software manual files on the same FTP site to aid in the introduction of this new format.

Q4.4: When I save the *.mst file on a network-drive I can't see the profile-data. Why?

A: Workbook files which contain downloaded data and other settings are saved with a file extension of *.mst, and the data for the Profile worksheet are saved with an extension of *.mdm. These two files must be kept in the same folder (directory) because they are inter-dependent on each other. Thus, you must move all the *.mdm files to the same network drive the *.mst file is located. Once open on the network drive, the SourceTrak application will automatically save future Indata down loads in that same drive.

NOTE: This is true for all software products of V3.10 and higher

Q4.5: How can I open my old Indata *.mdm files using the STFW version 3.16 or higher?

A: Run STFW version 3.16 or higher and follow the steps below:

1. From the File Menu in either the Finder or Profile worksheets, select the Import command. This will open the Import Dialog Box.

2. Using the Import Dialog Box, open the folder where existing (Indata *.mdm) files are saved.

3. Select one or more files and press the Open button.

4. The Import function will copy the selected files into the current folder (the directory from which you opened your database file) first. The selected files will be then imported one at a time into the Finder worksheet. This process will also copy all documentation information (i.e. part, process) from the files under the USER 1,2,3,4,5 columns.

5. You can now go to the Profile worksheet to view any of the imported profiles.

6. Make sure you "save" the database after completing the import process.

Q4.8: Why does the STFW v3.16 program crash when I'm trying to import files from a previous software version?

A: The number of files you can successfully import with STFW v3.16 is dependent on the system resources available in your computer. In general, you can import between 10 to 30 files. A quick "test" import will allow you to determine what the limit is for your particular system. If you are trying to import more than 10 files, you may have to import the profiles in sets of 10.

Q4.9: Why is my profile graph blank or missing data when I use the RF option? The profile is completely visible in the RF window, but is altered in the STFW profile view.

A: There is a known software bug when using the Cloning feature with the RF option. Use the following workaround: When you prepare to download new data, choose Yes when asked "Start an new experiment file?" You will then be asked, "Clone existing experiment?" Choose No.

Cloning an existing experiment while using the RF option may cause the scaling to be undesirable on the STFW profile view. Unless you are cloning from a file that has scaling almost identical to the experiment you are starting, the scaling will be off. Data points will be missing from view for those falling outside the cloned x-axis range.

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DATA LOGGER

Q6.1: Are the older 3000 series Loggers Y2K compatible?

A: Yes, in that they do not keep track of the year and thus do not care about Y2K. These units only keep track of days of the year, which is a 000-999 digit counter that can be set to any value and will roll over to 000 at midnight the day it reaches 999.

Q6.2: I am using Model 50 and/or Model 5000 DOS software with Windows 95/98/NT, and I want to print my file over the network printer. It is not printing, why?

A: The Model 50 and Model 5000 software are DOS based programs, and thus they do not support network printers. In order to print, you need to have a local printer which is directly connected to your PC. New DataWorker LE software for Windows is now available.

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