PosiTector Advanced (serial numbers 784000 and greater) and PosiTest AT-A instruments (with a color display) allow live streaming of measurement values to a USB connected computer.
The included example uses Windows HyperTerminal (not included in Windows 7 and newer) for data collection. Any software that accepts data via a serial interface can be configured to accept the PosiTector data stream.
A common application for serial streaming is PC-based statistical process control (SPC) software. Proficient (by InfinityQS) and WinSPC (by DataNet systems) are two popular options. See our technical note for more information on setting up serial communications with Proficient and WinSPC. While written for Bluetooth, the same step-by-step instructions apply to serial communications over USB.
https://dl.defelsko.com/html-p/bluetooth/PosiTector6000-SPC-Bluetooth-Note.pdf
Step 1: Power on the PosiTector and access the menu by pressing the center navigation button (menu button on PosiTest AT-A). Then perform the following:
Image of 3 gage body screenshots showing the menu structure for setting up the gage to Stream Measurement Data
Step 2: Download and extract the gserial driver (required for Step 4).
Step 3: Connect the Gage to the computer using the supplied USB cable.
Step 4: Select Device Manager from within the Windows Control Panel
CDC Serial Should be listed under Other Devices. If not, ensure the gage is powered-on and connected to the computer.
Right click on CDC Serial and select Update Driver Software
Select the Browse button and navigate to the gserial driver downloaded in Step 1. Select it.
A Windows security error may display. Select Install this driver software anyway to continue.
Installing driver software... status bar will display
When complete, the following dialog box will display indicating successful installation of the Gadget serial driver
The Gadget Serial will now be listed within the Ports (COM & LPT) in Windows Control Panel
Select the COM port assigned by the Gadget Serial during the installation process. In this example, the Gadget Serial device was assigned COM12.
Use the default Port settings as shown below and click Ok.
Successful measurements, as they are taken, should now display within the HyperTerminal window.
For the purposes of this document, the following conventions are used:
STX = ascii STX character (0x02)EOT = ascii EOT character (0x04)CR = ascii carriage return character (0x0a)
Each reading is output using the following layout:
STX CRREADINGEOT CR
A READING may consist of multiple values, for example a PosiTector DPM with 5 or 6 values. A READING is output using the following layout:
VALUE1 CRVALUE2 CR...VALUEN CR
Each VALUE# consists of 3 or 4 fields. The fields are:
LABEL VALUE UNIT MATL
PosiTector 6000 Example: Thickness 50 microns F
LABEL describes the data type being displayed. LABEL will display one of the following values:
Thickness - Thickness measurement. (PosiTector 6000, UTG, 200, PC)Roughness - Roughness measurement. (PosiTector SPG, RTR)N - Non Ferrous thickness. (PosiTector 6000 FNDS Duplex probe)Zn - Zinc layer thickness. (PosiTector 6000 FNDS Duplex probe)
PosiTector 200
Layer_1 - Layer 1 thicknessLayer_2 - Layer 2 thicknessLayer_3 - Layer 3 thickness
PosiTector DPM
Ta - Air temperatureTs - Surface temperatureTd - Dew Point temperatureTs-Td - Delta temperatureTw - Wet bulb temperatureRH - Relative humidity
PosiTector RTR
H/HL - Height / Linearized HeightPd - Peak Density
PosiTest AT-A
Pressure - PressureDuration - DurationIn Hold - Number of seconds into hold time when pull endedStatus - Pull status VALUE contains status of the pull 0 = No Pull occurred 1 = Pull occurred 2 = Pull cancelledLimit - Maximum pressureHold_Time - Number of seconds to hold LimitDolly_Size - Dolly size in mmRate - - Rate to increase pressureP/F - - Pass / Fail status VALUE: 0 = Fail 1 = Pass
PosiTector SHD
HD - ShoreD hardnessHA - ShoreA hardnesst - Duration in seconds
PosiTector SST
Conductivity1 - Referenced conductivityConductivity2 - Sample conductivityTemperature1 - Reference temperatureTemperature2 - Sample temperatureDuration - DurationVolume - Sample VolumeSurface Density - Surface Density
VALUE contains the numerical value corresponding to value being measured. This is either a float with period separator, or integer value as appropriate.
UNIT contains a string describing the unit of measurement for the value being measured. UNIT will contain one of the following values:
PosiTector 6000, UTG, 200, PC, SPG, RTR
mils - thousands of an inch, or milsum - micronmm - millimeterinch
PosiTector DPM, SST
C - Degrees CF - Degrees F
PosiTest AT-A
psi - pounds per square inchMPa - megapascalN/mm2 - Newtons per millimeter squaredN - Newtons - secondspsi/sMPa/sN/mmsN/s
PosiTector SHD
Shore_D - Shore D hardnessShore_A - Shore A hardness
PosiTector SST
uS/cmmS/mmg/m2 - milligram per m squaredug/cm2 - microgram per cm squaredml
MATL is optional. It may be blank. In cases where non blank, it will consist of one of the following values
PosiTector 6000
N - Non ferrous substrateF - Ferrous substrate
PosiTector RTR
C - Coarse tape gradeXC - Extra Coarse tape grade