GBS Elektronik MCA-527 Binary Data Format - Manual (Page 4)

MCA527
1 Introduction
The MCA binary data format has been developed by us for the present applications of the MCA527, however, it is also designed to
be extended for future applications or MCA types. The MCA527 prefers the MCA binary data format since it is more compact and
easier to write than the MCA spectral data format
1 (*.spe). All MCA527's with microSD memory card socket and firmware version
12.02 or higher are able to write measurement data to MCA binary data files (*.mca).
The MCA binary data format is not exclusively used by the MCA527 but also by computer programs because the compactness of
the file format is ideally suited for large amounts of data.
1.1 Basic rules
• MCA binary data files consist of one or several file blocks.
• For reasons of simplification, the MCA527 only writes file blocks that size is always a multiple of 512. The rest of each file
block is filled with dummy bytes. This rule does not refer to files that are written by computer programs.
•
The first file block is named basis file block. It starts with a 28 bytes long header. The meaning of the further bytes of the basis
file block is depending on the general mode.
• Computer programs can add freely defined file blocks behind the regular file blocks. Each of these file blocks must start with
an unsigned long value that defines the file block size including this 4 bytes. The computer programs are free to define the file
block format according to its needs.
1.2 Header of the basis file block
Position Name Data type Remarks
Byte offset 0 File identification 14 characters The string 'MCA527BINARY ' identifies the file
as a binary data file that has been directly written
by the MCA527.
The string 'MCA527BIN_APP ' identifies the file
as binary data file that has been written by any
application. The data origin is the MCA527.
Byte offset 14 Used bytes of the basis file block unsigned short This value defines the number of valid bytes 2 .
If the file has been directly written by the
MCA527, the rest of the basis file block is filled
with dummy bytes to get a multiple of 512.
Byte offset 16 Firmware version unsigned short
Byte offset 18 Hardware version unsigned short
Byte offset 20 Firmware modification unsigned short
Byte offset 22 Hardware modification unsigned short
Byte offset 24 Serial number unsigned short
Byte offset 26 General mode unsigned short
1 See document “MCA Data Spectral Format” (MCA_Spectral_Data_Format_ XXXX_XX_XX .pdf).
2 Applications which read files from this type should take into consideration that the number of valid bytes are potentially
increased by higher firmware or software versions.
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