UltimaSerial Lab Note Taker with support for third party instrument control
 

Supported 3rd party hardware

Any instruments support RS-232 or USB-based virtual RS-232 remote inputs, such as Fluke 515A Temperature/Pressure Calibrator and many SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments)-based instruments.

Lab Note Taker

It uses a script file to program digital and analog output port of the WinDaq device, as well as any instrument that supports RS-232 or USB-based virtual RS-232 remote command inputs while recoding data to a log file. This addon is perfect for applications when one has to program a instrument to change a certain condition, wait a few seconds, then take a reading from WinDaq to the log file. For example, you can use use this addon to program Fluke 515A Temperature/Pressure Calibrator to verify the calibration of WinDaq instruments.

 

Features:

  • If log file extension is .csv, the file can be opened by spreadsheet program, such as Excel, immediately

  • Mark-up commands to customize the test

 

Script file syntax

  • ASCII characters only, perfect for SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments)-based instruments
  • All control characters will be replaced by SPACE
  • Every non-empty command line will log one scan to the log file unless instructed otherwise 
  • Mark-up commands 
    • <PAUSE> pauses the current run, and the remainder of the line will not be sent to the device. This command gives the user time to change experiment configuration.
    • <SKIP> skips the logging for the duration of this command line. 
    • <CR> splits the command line here and send out CR-terminated commands. This command allows multiple SCPI commands within the same text line.
    • <INTERVAL> changes the pacing interval, the number in front of the command tag is the new interval in second (minimum is 0.5), and the remainder of the line will not be sent to the device
    • Added to version 2.55
      • <DOUT> outputs the number in front of the command tag  to digital output port instead of serial port 
      • <DAC1> outputs the value in front of the command tag to DAC port 1
      • <DAC2> outputs the value in front of the command tag to DAC port 2
      • <GOTO> moves the file pointer to the line specified by the number in front of the tag. The first line of the script file is 1
    • Sample script for Fluke 515A Temperature/Pressure Calibrator

      TC_TYPE K <SKIP>
      2<INTERVAL><SKIP>
      OUT 0.1 V<CR>OPER
      OUT 0.2 V<CR>OPER
      OUT 0.3 V<CR>OPER
      OUT 0.4 V<CR>OPER
      OUT 0.1 V<CR>OPER
      <PAUSE><SKIP>Now we need to change the configuration
      OUT 1 CEL
      OUT 2 CEL
      OUT 3 CEL
      OUT 4 CEL
    • Sample script for digital output of the WinDaq device (version 2.55 is needed)
      Note: The remarks are in green, and should not be entered to the script file
      4<INTERVAL> Set pacing interval to 4 seconds
      15<DOUT> Set D0 to D3 to 1 (decimal 15 equals binary 1111)
      1<DOUT> Set D0 to 1, rest to 0 (decimal 1 equals binary 0001)
      2<DOUT> Set D1 to 1 , rest to 0 (decimal 2 equals binary 0010)
      4<DOUT> Set D2 to 1 , rest to 0 (decimal 4 equals binary 0100)
      8<DOUT> Set D3 to 1 , rest to 0 (decimal 8 equals binary 1000)
      1<GOTO> Go back to first line
     
  • Script will be shown when running

To Use WinDaq Add-on Lab Note Taker 

  1. Start WinDaq, and select (highlight) a channel 

  2. Invoke Windaq->View->Add-ons->Lab Note Taker, and the selected channel will be used as the default channel. 

  3. Do not change WinDaq's configurations while WinDaq add-ons are running, or some add-ons may terminate.

Configuration File

C:\Windows\labnotetaker.ini

 

Last update: 07/22/24

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