Related Manuals for ORTEC EASY-MCA-8K
Summary of Contents for ORTEC EASY-MCA-8K
- Page 1 ORTEC ® EASY-MCA-8K ™ EASY-MCA-2K ™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual Printed in U.S.A. ORTEC Part No. 931044 1014 Manual Revision C...
- Page 2 Copyright © 2014, Advanced Measurement Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. ® ORTEC is a registered trademark of Advanced Measurement Technology, Inc. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS Safety Instructions and Symbols ..........v Cleaning Instructions . - Page 4 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 3.2. Feature Mask Bits ........... . . 18 4.
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Page 5: Safety Instructions And Symbols
Safety Instructions and Symbols This manual contains up to three levels of safety instructions that must be observed in order to avoid personal injury and/or damage to equipment or other property. These are: DANGER Indicates a hazard that could result in death or serious bodily harm if the safety instruction is not observed. -
Page 7: Introduction
Ron Jenkins, R. W. Gould, and Dale Gedcke, Quantitative X-Ray Spectrometry (New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.), 1981, pp. 266–267. For the purposes of this manual, when we refer to MAESTRO, we mean the ORTEC MCA emulator/analysis ® application you are using (e.g., MAESTRO, GammaVision... - Page 8 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 [Intentionally blank]...
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Page 9: Getting Started
2. GETTING STARTED 2.1. The EASY-MCA 2.1.1. Front Panel Figure 1 shows the EASY-MCA front panel. Figure 1. EASY-MCA Front Panel. 2.1.1.1. Inputs and Connectors ! INPUT Accepts positive unipolar, positive gated integrator, or positive-leading bipolar analog pulses in the dynamic range from 0 to +10 V; +12 V maximum; semi-Gaussian- shaped time constants from 0.25 μs to 30 μs, gated-integrator-shaped time constants from 3 μs to 30 μs, or delay-line-shaped with width >0.25 μs. -
Page 10: Cabling For Spectroscopy
® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 Figure 2. EASY-MCA Rear Panel. 2.1.3. Cabling for Spectroscopy Figure 3 shows the standard cabling of an EASY-MCA in an HPGe detector system. If the detec- tor has a TRP preamplifier (“-PLUS” model), all connections shown below should be made. -
Page 11: Software And Hardware Installation
2) Install the accompanying MAESTRO MCA Emulation Software (A65-BW). 3) Connect the EASY-MCA to the USB port on the computer. 4) Run the MCB Configuration program to build a list of available ORTEC MCBs. 2.2.1. Step 1: Install the C... -
Page 12: Step 2: Install Maestro
® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 Figure 4. Choose ‘USB-based instruments’. 2.2.2. Step 2: Install MAESTRO Install MAESTRO according to the instructions in its User Manual. 2.2.3. Step 3: Connect the EASY-MCA to the Computer 1) With the computer powered on, connect the EASY-MCA to the computer’s USB port. -
Page 13: Step 4: Run Mcb Configuration To Communicate With Your Mcbs
1) Make sure the EASY-MCA is connected and powered on. 2) Connect and power on all other local and network ORTEC instruments to be used, as well as their associated computers. Otherwise, the MCB Configuration program will not detect them during installation. -
Page 14: Configuring A New Instrument
Make the desired changes and click Close. Any changes you have made to an ID number or description will then be written back to the corresponding MCB. If this is a first-time installation of ORTEC products, all your instruments will be “new.”... -
Page 15: Attaching More Than One Easy-Mca To The Computer
Once the drivers have been installed for one EASY-MCA, adding subsequent units is simple. REMINDER Be sure to run MCB Configuration any time you add new EASY-MCAs (or other ORTEC MCBs) to your system, or when you move an instrument from one USB port to another. -
Page 16: Adc
® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 Note that as you enter characters in the data-entry fields, the characters will be underlined until you move to another field or until 5 seconds have lapsed since the last keyboard input. During the time the entry is underlined, no other program or computer on the network can modify this value. -
Page 17: About
931044C / 1014 2. GETTING STARTED 2.3.2. About This tab (Fig. 9) displays hardware and firmware information about the currently selected EASY-MCA, as well as the data Acquisition Start Time and Sample description. In addition, the Access field shows whether the MCB is currently pass- word locked (see the password dis- cussion in the MAESTRO user manual). - Page 18 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 widely varying activity and do not know the general activity before counting. For example, the Live Time preset can be set so that sufficient counts can be obtained for proper calculation of the activity in the sample with the least activity.
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Page 19: Mda Preset
931044C / 1014 2. GETTING STARTED Marking the Overflow checkbox terminates acquisition when data in any channel exceeds 2 (>2×10 ) counts. 2.3.5. MDA Preset The MDA preset (Fig. 11) can monitor up to 20 nuclides at one time, and stops data collection when the values of the minimum detectable activity (MDA) for all of the user-specified... -
Page 20: Troubleshooting
2.4. Troubleshooting 2.4.1. MAESTRO Does Not Connect with the EASY-MCA If properly installed and functioning MAESTRO software (or other ORTEC spectroscopy applications) cannot find and communicate with the EASY-MCA, check for the following: ! The EASY-MCA does not have power. -
Page 21: The Mcb Configuration Program "Hangs" While Trying To Locate The Easy-Mca
If MCB Configuration successfully locates the EASY-MCA but the unit does not respond within MAESTRO, cycle the power to the EASY-MCA by disconnecting and reconnecting its power cable. For further assistance, contact your ORTEC representative or our Global Service Center. - Page 22 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 [Intentionally blank]...
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Page 23: Specifications
3. SPECIFICATIONS 3.1. EASY-MCA ADC Successive-approximation type with sliding-scale linearization. Max Resolution ! 8K model Software-selectable as 8192, 4096, 2048, 1024, 512, and 256. ! 2K model Software-selectable as 2048, 1024, 512, and 256. Dead Time per Event 2 μs, including memory transfer. Integral Nonlinearity <±0.025% over the top 99% of the dynamic range. -
Page 24: Inputs And Connectors
® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 3.1.1. Inputs and Connectors INPUT Accepts positive unipolar, positive gated integrator, or positive-leading bipolar analog pulses in the dynamic range from 0 to +10 V; +12 V maximum; semi-Gaussian-shaped time con- stants from 0.25 μs to 30 μs, gated-integrator-shaped time constants from 3 μs to 30 μs, or delay-... - Page 25 931044C / 1014 3. SPECIFICATIONS Meaning Software-selectable conversion gain Software-selectable coarse gain Software-selectable fine gain Gain stabilizer Zero stabilizer PHA mode functions available MCS mode functions available 918-style list mode functions available Sample mode functions available Digital Offset (e.g., 920) Software-selectable analog offset HV power supply Enhanced HV (SET_HV, SET/SHOW_HV_POL, SHOW_HV_ACT)
- Page 26 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 Meaning MCS-mode SCA input available MCS-mode positive TTL input available MCS-mode fast-negative NIM input available MCS-mode discriminator input available Software-switchable MCS-mode discriminator edge Software-programmable MCS-mode discriminator level Software-programmable SCA upper and lower thresholds...
- Page 27 931044C / 1014 3. SPECIFICATIONS Meaning DSPEC Plus-style Insight triggering (LIST/SET_TRIG_SAMP) ® Multiple inputs per connection (for example, OCTÊTE Plus) Hardware count-rate meter (SH_CRM) Multiple ZDT modes (SET/SHOW/LIST_MODE_ZDT) Multi-nuclide MDA preset MCS Replace then Sum Mode (SET_RPLSUM) Programmable external dwell voltage capability NO Peak Preset feature (M CA and OASIS) Programmable pulser (OASIS)
- Page 28 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 Meaning Coarse and fine gain not user changeable from property page PZ and flattop tilt not user changeable from property page LFR not user changeable from property page (requires Bit 96)
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Page 29: Firmware Commands And Responses
Software communication with the EASY-MCA will take place through the C soft- ONNECTIONS ware layer. C is used by all ORTEC software and can be accessed for other software ONNECTIONS ® development with our C Programmer’s Toolkit with Microsoft ActiveX... -
Page 30: Dollar Response Records
® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 Command execution error Invalid Command For macro code 129 (syntax error) or 131 (execution error), the following apply: Invalid Verb Invalid Noun Invalid Modifier Invalid first parameter Invalid second parameter... -
Page 31: Mcb Commands
931044C / 1014 4. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES unsigned checksum of all characters on the record up to but not including the checksum charac- ters, and <CR> represents the ASCII carriage return character. $Axxxccc<CR> xxx is a single 8-bit unsigned number. $Cxxxxxccc<CR>... - Page 32 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 CLEAR_ALL This command is equivalent to the combination of CLEAR_COUNTERS, CLEAR_DATA, CLEAR_PRESETS, and CLEAR_ROI commands. CLEAR_COUNTERS The live time and true time counters are set to zero. CLEAR_DATA The channels of spectral data in the window of interest (see SET_WINDOW command) are set to zero.
- Page 33 931044C / 1014 4. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES LIST_DISPLAY Not used by the EASY-MCA; included for backward compatibility. LIST_GAIN_CONV Lists legal conversion gain settings. Response: GAIN_CONV 256 512 1024 2048 4096 8192 8K model. GAIN_CONV 256 512 1024 2048 2K model. RESET No function in the EASY-MCA;...
- Page 34 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 SET_GATE_ANTICOINCIDENT Causes the EASY-MCA to use the ADC gate input signal in anticoincident mode. See also SET_GATE_OFF, SET_GATE_COINCIDENT, and SHOW_GATE. SET_GATE_COINCIDENT Causes the EASY-MCA to use the ADC gate input signal in coincident mode. See also SET_GATE_OFF, SET_GATE_ANTICOINCIDENT, and SHOW_GATE.
- Page 35 931044C / 1014 4. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES SET_MDA_COEF a,b,c Sets the coefficients in the MDA preset calculation to the specified values. A, b, and c are floating-point values. The MDA preset checks for the following condition to be met: The calculation is performed once every 30 seconds with i starting at 0 and advancing through each of up to 20 unique MDA presets.
- Page 36 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 SET_ROI start_chan,number_of_chans Sets the ROI flags for the specified channels. This command can be used multiple times to set ROI flags without affecting previously set flags. ROI flags specify channels within a device that are considered for ROI integral and ROI peak presets.
- Page 37 931044C / 1014 4. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES SHOW_ACTIVE Returns a 1 if the EASY-MCA is active (i.e., acquiring spectral data) or 0 if it is not active. Responses: $C00000087<CR> Not active. $C00001088<CR> Active. SHOW_CONFIGURATION Returns a record that indicates the hardware configuration of the MCB. The record contains information about the number of segments in an MCB (always 1 for the EASY-MCA), and the current conversion gain for each segment.
- Page 38 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 Responses: $C00000087<CR> Neither input is acquiring data. $C00001088<CR> Only input 1 is acquiring data. $C00002089<CR> Only input 2 is acquiring data. $C00003090<CR> Both inputs 1 and 2 are acquiring data.
- Page 39 931044C / 1014 4. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES SHOW_INTEGRAL_PRESET Reports the current ROI integral preset value. For more information about the ROI integral preset, see SET_INTEGRAL_PRESET. See also SHOW_INTEGRAL. Responses: $G0000000000075<CR> Integral preset reported as 0. $G4294967295132<CR> Integral reported as 4294967295. SHOW_LIVE Reports the contents of the live-time counter in units of 20 ms (50 ticks/s).
- Page 40 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 SHOW_MDA_COEF Reports the current settings for coeffficients a, b, and c used for the MDA calculation. See SET_MDA_COEF. Example Responses: MDA_COEF 000000000002.71 000000000000000 00000021.700001 Coefficient a = 2.71, b = 0, and c = 21.7.
- Page 41 931044C / 1014 4. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES $D0215000150086<CR> Next ROI group starts at channel 2150 and is 150 channels long. $D0000000000072<CR> No other ROI groups to report. SHOW_OVERFLOW_PRESET Reports the state of the overflow preset. Responses: $IT<CR> Overflow preset enabled. $IF<CR>...
- Page 42 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 $G2147483646120<CR> Peak preset set to 2147483646 counts. $G2147483647121<CR> Peak preset set to 2147483647 counts. SHOW_ROI Used in conjunction with the SHOW_NEXT command, SHOW_ROI reports the first continuous group of channels that have the ROI flag set. The response is of the form $Dsssssnnnnnccc<CR>...
- Page 43 931044C / 1014 4. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES where llllllllll represents the live time as returned by the SHOW_LIVE command, tttttttttt represents the true time for the current device as returned by the SHOW_TRUE command, aaaaa represents the active device mask as returned by the SHOW_ACTIVE_DEVICES command, and hhhhh represents the hardware status, which is an ASCII representation of a 16 bit decimal number with the following bit definitions: Bit 0 (LSB):...
- Page 44 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014 SHOW_UNCERTAINTY Returns the current value of the uncertainty for the peak in the uncertainty preset. See also SET_UNCERTAINTY. Responses: UNCE 0000000000008.5 Uncertainty of the peak is 8.5%. SHOW_UNCERTAINTY_PRESET Returns the current uncertainty preset setting. See also SET_UNCERTAINTY_PRESET.
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Page 45: Index
INDEX Acquisition presets ....11, 17 ADC gate ......3, 18 ADC setup . - Page 46 ® ORTEC EASY-MCA™ Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 931044C / 1014...
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