Multichannel Systems MC_Rack Manual - Manual (Page 71)

Step by Step Tutorial
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The button “Switch Off” can be used to send the currently selected headstage from “Stand By”
mode to “Switched Off” mode, for saving battery energy. From this mode it is not possible to
switch the headstage on again via software control.
The blue LED mounted on the headstage of the Wireless-System indicates the recording phases.
It can be switched into three modes via radio button. Select “Off” if the laboratory animal
is disturbed by the light. Switching off the LED will save a little bit of energy. Select “Blink”
and the LED flashes during recording. Select “On” and the LED will be on permanently. This
feature can be used, for example for camera tracking. The W32-headstage is equipped with two
LEDs, a blue one and an additional red one which can be switched independently of each other.
The user has the same options to set the red LED. Both LEDs together improve the camera
tracking, because with two LEDs it is possible to track the orientation of the headstage.
Choose a “RF Output Power” value from the drop down menu. The smaller the value, for example
–18 DB, the longer the storage battery will support the recording, but the smaller the distance
between animal and receiver.
When operating a wireless in vivo system, there is an additional “WPA” status display for
visualizing the current status of the connected headstage in the status bar at the bottom
of the MC_Rack window.
The WPA status display appears in green color when the W8-System is running. The color turns
into yellow three seconds after the data acquisition is stopped. The yellow color
indicates a stand by mode: The headstage is in energy saving mode, but can be started again
by pressing the MC_Rack “Start” button.
The WPA status turns red if the recording system does not have contact with the selected
headstage. This can be the case if the “Switch off” button has been used to send the headstage
into “Switched Off” mode, if the battery of the headstage is removed, or if the headstage is out
of transmitting range.
The status will automatically become green or yellow again if a headstage comes back into range.