ANKOM RF - Manual (Page 21)

Operator’s Manual
Rev F 8/29/14
pg. 21
Following is a description of the individual components displayed on the GPM screen.
1 Live Interval – This box contains the time gap (in seconds) between each instance of Module-to-computer
communication. This interval can contain values up to 60 sec. During setup this time frame is usually set
to very short intervals to permit rapid responses to manual commands. Longer live intervals are
recommended during studies to preserve battery life.
2 Recording Interval – This is the time between recordings of the pressure readings. Changing this value
has no impact on battery life.
For best results the Live Interval should be set so that there are at least 2 Live
Intervals for every Recording Interval. For example, if you want to record data
every 2 minutes, you should set the Recording Interval to 2 minutes and the Live
Interval to 60 seconds or less.
3 Open Valves – When you click this button you open all valves at one time (at the next live interval).
After clicking this button you will see a check mark () in each cell of the
Valve Open row that has a
live module. To preserve battery life, the valves will only remain open for 3 minutes.
Close Valves – When you click this button you close all valves at one time (at the next live interval).
After clicking this button you will see a blank box () in each cell of the
Valve Open row.
Holding the vent valve open may reduce battery voltage. Before clicking the
Record button on your GPM screen to start a study, replace batteries that show
6.6 volts or lower.
4 Global Release – The value in this box is used for all modules as the upper threshold value above which
pressure will be automatically released from the system. After entering a value, click the
Set button so the
value is recognized by the system. You can still change the value for each individual module if you
desire.
The GPM software will not allow a release pressure greater than 10 psi. For
1.8L wide-mouth bottles, it is recommended that you set the release pressure to
a value no greater than 1 psi.
5 Pressure Units – You can select psi or mbar units to apply to the value entered into the Global Release
box and to the values being recorded by the system.
Set your Pressure Units before you click the Record button. You can NOT
change them while the experiment is running and the system is collecting data.
6 Temperature Units – You can select Fahrenheit or Celsius.
7 Record – When you click this button you start recording the pressure and temperature data.
Stop – When you click this button you stop recording the pressure and temperature data and stop the
study.
8 Elapsed Time – This box displays the period of time that the system has been recording data.
9 Save – When you click this button a screen is displayed that says “Saving Experimental Results.” This
allows you to create an Excel file name and a file location within your computer system for the data on
the spreadsheet to be stored. You can save the file any time during the run.
The data points in the saved Excel spreadsheet are time-stamped with actual
clock time instead of incremental elapsed time.