Mantracourt Instrument Explorer
Instrument Explorer is a configuration and test tool which allows immediate communication with a range of Mantracourt instruments. This allows you to quickly establish communications and verify connections.
The contemporary MS Office 2003 style interface offers a highly configurable user environment.
Supported Instruments
- DSC v3 MantraASCII
- DSC v3 MantraBus2
- DSC v3 ModBus
- DSC v3 MantraCAN
- DCell v3 MantraASCII
- DCell v3 MantraBus2
- DCell v3 ModBus
- ADP MantraBus1
- UAB MantraBus1
- ADW MantraBus1
- LCA MantraBus1
What Can I Do With Instrument Explorer?
Once the desired instrument has been selected you can setup the communications parameters required and then view a virtual instrument control panel where all of the instruments parameters and commands are displayed and allow interaction
This will allow you to view the current instrument parameters including and interactively modify read/writable parameters, just by entering the new value in the appropriate text field and hitting Return.
Data can also be logged to a window or file.
See also the Advanced Features below.
Why Use Instrument Explorer?
Using Instrument Explorer allows to to quickly verify instrument communications or configure an instrument without having to first write your own code. Support for new instruments can be added as and when the drivers are released.
What Are The Advanced Features?
Instrument Explorer offers some advanced features to allow more control over your instruments.
- An Immediate Window allows you to type expressions to interact with the instrument.
- A Traffic Window allows you to view the data passed between the software and the instrument. This can be invaluable when you embark on writing your own code to communicate.
- Logging allows multiple expressions to be logged to a window or a CSV file for later import into MS Excel.
- Macro scripting using VBScript allows automation of functions for calibration, limit testing etc.
- Drivers now contain Wizards that help with calibration, compensation etc.
- The ability to save instrument parameter configuration values and later load them into a new instrument will greatly speed up configuration.
- Watch window allows user specified expressions to be evaluated and displayed with min, max and delta statistics displayed.
- User workspaces can now be saved and loaded. This stores the entire configuration of the current session including instrument settings, logging and macro data, window positions etc.
Where Can I Get Help?
Remember that Instrument Explorer is supplied with on-line help, just press F1 to get help on the currently open window.
Hardware Specification Required To Run
To use Instrument Explorer you will need, as a minimum spec, Pentium 300MHz with 15 Mb of free disk space. 64 Mb of free RAM and at least a 256 colour display. A mouse or equivalent pointing device. The operating system must be either Windows 98, ME, NT4 (with Internet Explorer 5 or higher installed and service pack 5 or higher), 2000 or XP. This software will not work on Windows 3.1 or 95.
