MCAlink

User’s Manual
9234687A
Copyright 2002, Canberra Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.

The material in this manual, including all information, pictures,

graphics and text, is the property of Canberra Industries, Inc. and
is protected by U.S. copyright laws and international copyright
conventions. No material in this manual may be reproduced,
published, translated, distributed or displayed by any means
without written permission from Canberra Industries.

Canberra Industries, 800 Research Parkway, Meriden, CT 06450

Tel: 203-238-2351 FAX: 203-235-1347 http://www.canberra.com

The information in this manual describes the product as accurately

as possible, but is subject to change without notice.

Printed in the United States of America.

Table of Contents

MCAlink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Hardware Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Serial Port Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Program Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Main Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Data Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Downloading Spectral Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Status Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
MCAlink
MCAlink is a Genie-2000 utility program designed to communicate with the
hand-held microSPEC\fieldSPEC MCA via the PC’s RS-232 serial port. Once com-
munication is established, spectral file header information is downloaded and dis-
played in MCAlink. Spectral files can then be selected, downloaded and automatically
converted to a Genie-2000 Configuration Access Method (CAM) file.

MCAlink also provides a command to retrieve current MCA firmware settings.

Hardware Setup
Refer to your microSPEC\fieldSPEC documentation for proper hardware setup.

Settings
The Settings window in Figure 1, accessed from the main menu Settings option or the
Settings Toolbar button, sets the Serial Port and Program parameters.

Figure 1 MCAlink Serial Port Settings

 MCAlink

Serial Port Settings

Serial Port Settings

Select the Serial Port number to be used to connect with the MCA. Note that
MCAlink disables those serial port options that are either in use by another device or
otherwise not available. Serial port settings that are not available here should be set in
the system port setting according to the specification in the microSPEC\fieldSPEC
User’s Manual.

Serial port settings that are not available here should be set in the system port settings
according to the specification in the microSPEC/fieldSPEC User’s Manual.

Communication Baud Rate

Select the Baud Rate to communicate with the MCA device. Only baud rates that are
supported by the microSPEC\fieldSPEC MCA will be available. Please note that any
mismatch between the baud rate here and the one set in the instrument will result in a
failure to connect to the MCA.

Note: Communication problems that may occur with MCAlink and the
microSPEC\fieldSPEC are due to deficiencies in the MCA itself or IR commu-
nications environment.

Program Tab
This tab (Figure 2) is used to change the MCAlink program settings.

Figure 2 MCAlink Program Settings

2
Main Window

Autoconnect on Start
This option will cause MCAlink to automatically try to establish a connection to a
MCA instrument when the MCAlink program is started.

Use Genie-2000 Path

The second option, Use Genie-2000 Path, causes MCAlink to automatically save
downloaded data files into the registered Genie-2000 CAMFILES file path. If this op-
tion is not selected, you’ll be prompted for a destination directory when downloading
spectra from the MCA.

Main Window
The main MCAlink window in Figure 3 is made up of four different elements, the
Menu Bar, the Toolbar, the Data Window, and the Status bar. Many of the options
available in the Main menu are also available on the Toolbar.

Figure 3 MCAlink Main Screen

Menu Bar
The Menu Bar at the top of the main window has two selections, File and Help. The
standard Help menu needs no explanation, but the File menu does, since it contains
commands not normally seen in a file menu.

The File menu commands can be executed via the Toolbar icons as well.

3
 MCAlink

File Connect/Disconnect
This is a toggle command: it changes state each time you select it.

Connect initializes and opens the connection to the MCA via the serial port selected in
MCAlink’s Serial Port Settings (see page 2).

Disconnect closes the current connection with the MCA.

File Download
The Download command transfers data from the MCA to the CAM files being stored
on the PC.

File Status
The Status command displays the MCA’s status and basic firmware settings.

File Settings
The Settings command opens the settings window for the serial port and program’s op-
erational parameters definitions. See “MCAlink Settings” on page 1.

Toolbar
The Toolbar’s icons provide quick access to File Menu functions: Connect\Discon-
nect, Download, Settings and Status.

Connect / Disconnect
Click on this icon to establish or break communications with the MCA. This button is
a two-stage button, toggling between the Connect and Disconnect functions.

Download
Click on this icon to start transferring the selected files from the MCA to the CAM
files being stored on the PC.

Settings
Click on this icon to open the Settings dialog window for defining the serial port pa-
rameters and program settings. See “MCAlink Settings” on page 1.

Status
Click on this icon to display the MCA’s status and basic firmware settings.

Data Window
After a successful MCA/MCAlink connection has been established, the Data Window
will list the files found in the MCA’s memory.

4
Main Window

Data Sorting
You can sort the data in ascending or descending order by clicking on any column
header.

File Download
You can use the list to select which files are to be downloaded and converted to the
CAM file format.

In order to select a file(s) to be downloaded, click the desired items checkbox or press
the space bar while the desired line is highlighted. One or several files can be selected
for downloading at a time.

Busy Icon
When the program is busy initializing, requesting data or transferring files, the
Canberra logo at the right end of the Toolbar will change to an animated icon.

In case of failure or loss of communication, the icon will display an “Error” label for
about five seconds.

Status Bar
The Status bar at the bottom of the program window shows the serial port, the baud
rate setting, the number of files in the MCA’s memory, and the status of the last
MCAlink function. Below is a description of the individual panels, from left to right.

1. The serial port number is displayed in the first panel. In the case of a failure
to open, or a disconnection from, the instrument, “not open” will be shown
beside the serial port number.

2. The baud rate is displayed in the second panel.

3. The number of files found in the MCA’s memory is displayed in the third
panel.

4. The function status of the last executed program function is displayed in the
fourth panel.

Function Status Messages

OK MCAlink is waiting for a command or the most recent command has been suc-
cessfully executed.

DOWNLOAD Data transfer is going on.

INITIALIZING The serial port is being opened and initialized.

5
 Downloading Spectral Files

SAVING The received data is being saved as a CAM file.

ERROR An error has occurred. Most commonly, a data transfer or communications

error.

Downloading Spectral Files

The main use of the MCAlink program is to download spectral data from a
microSPEC\fieldSPEC MCA to a PC and store the data in a CAM file format for use
with Genie-2000 Ver 2.1 or greater. This section describes the steps for download and
saving spectral data.

1. Connect the infrared converter’s serial cable to the PC’s serial port, then turn
on the MCA. For more details on how to establish a communication with
your MCA device, see the microSPEC\fieldSPEC User’s Manual.

2. Start the MCAlink program.

3. If the serial port and baud rate have not been set, select “Settings” from the
Toolbar or the File menu and set them before going on.

4. If the “Autoconnect on start” program setting has been selected, go to step 5.

Otherwise, select Connect from the Toolbar or the File menu.

5. Wait until data transfer is complete (the title bar’s status icon changes back to
the Canberra icon). In case of Error, select Disconnect from the Toolbar or
the File menu then select Connect from the Toolbar or the File menu to
create the connection again.

6. When communication has been successfully established, the list of the files
stored in the MCA’s memory will appear in the list box.

7. Select the files to be downloaded by clicking their check boxes or by

highlighting each file and pressing the space key.

8. Select “Download” from the Toolbar or the File menu.

9. When the data transfer is complete, the program will:

• Automatically store downloaded files in the registered Genie-2000

CAMFILES directory if the program setting’s “Use Genie-2000 path” is
enabled.

6
Status Report

• Prompt for the file storage path if the program setting’s “Use Genie-2000
path” is not enabled.

10. For each successfully downloaded and saved file, the status icon in the title
bar will change to back to the Canberra logo.

Note: Saved files will have the same filename as in the instrument, but with a CNF
extension.

Aborting the Data Transfer

You can abort any data transfer at any time by disconnecting from the device.

Status Report
The Status Report in Figure 4 displays the instrument’s status and its basic firmware
settings. Refer to the microSPEC\fieldSPEC User’s Manual for details on the contents
of the status report.

Figure 4 MCAlink Status Report

7
 MCAlink

Save
Select the Save button to save the Status report as an ASCII (TXT) file or as a rich text
format (RTF) file.

Print
Select the Print button to send the file to the system printer.

8
Canberra’s product warranty covers hardware and software shipped to customers within the United States. For
hardware and software shipped outside the United States, a similar warranty is provided by Canberra’s local
representative.

DOMESTIC WARRANTY
Canberra (we, us, our) warrants to the customer (you, your) that equipment manufactured by us shall be free from
defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of one (1) year from the date of shipment.

We warrant proper operation of our software only when used with software and hardware supplied by us and
warrant that our software media shall be free from defects for a period of 90 days from the date of shipment.

If defects are discovered within 90 days of receipt of an order, we will pay for shipping costs incurred in connection
with the return of the equipment. If defects are discovered after the first 90 days, all shipping, insurance and other
costs shall be borne by you.

LIMITATIONS
EXCEPT AS SET FORTH HEREIN, NO OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER STATUTORY, WRITTEN, ORAL,
EXPRESSED, IMPLIED (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) OR OTHERWISE, SHALL APPLY. IN NO EVENT SHALL
CANBERRA HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES OR
DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, WHETHER AS A RESULT OF BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT
LIABILITY (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE.

EXCLUSIONS
Our warranty does not cover damage to equipment which has been altered or modified without our written
permission or damage which has been caused by abuse, misuse, accident or unusual physical or electrical stress,
as determined by our Service Personnel.

We are under no obligation to provide warranty service if adjustment or repair is required because of damage
caused by other than ordinary use or if the equipment is serviced or repaired, or if an attempt is made to service or
repair the equipment, by other than our personnel without our prior approval.

Our warranty does not cover detector damage due to neutrons or heavy charged particles. Failure of beryllium,
carbon composite, or polymer windows or of windowless detectors caused by physical or chemical damage from
the environment is not covered by warranty.

We are not responsible for damage sustained in transit. You should examine shipments upon receipt for evidence
of damage caused in transit. If damage is found, notify us and the carrier immediately. Keep all packages,
materials and documents, including the freight bill, invoice and packing list.

When purchasing our software, you have purchased a license to use the software, not the software itself. Because title
to the software remains with us, you may not sell, distribute or otherwise transfer the software. This license allows you to
use the software on only one computer at a time. You must get our written permission for any exception to this limited
license.

BACKUP COPIES
Our software is protected by United States Copyright Law and by International Copyright Treaties. You have our
express permission to make one archival copy of the software for backup protection. You may not copy our
software or any part of it for any other purpose.

Revised 1/00