Laser Methane Detector
Data Acquisition Software

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Installation of LMD on a vehicle with the data acquisition system. A LMD is mounted on the front windshield and a PC on the back seat is connected with the serial communication cable.

The Laser methane detector has an external memory slot (SD card) for recording data for a long period of time. For users need to save data for very long time, a data logging software running on Windows PC is available. By using this software, users can monitor real time data visually on a PC screen, and the data obtained during an operation can be stored on the PC without limitation of memory size. This software is suitable when the LMD is mounted on a vehicle for maintenance of pipelines or the device is used for methane gas monitoring at land fill sites.

 

SET UP

The procedures to connect the LaserMethane Detector and to set up the software are following:

 

1

Connect the special cable (supplied the software) to the RS232C serial port on the LaserMethane Detector.

2

Connect the special cable to the PC’s serial port.If your PC does not have serial port, you can use a USB/Serial converter cable to connect it to your PC by USB connection.

PC serial port USB/Serial converter

3

After turning ON the power of the LaserMethane Detector, wait until the start up process is completed ].

4

Start up the software, select the COM port number you will use from [system settings] - [communication settings], and click [OK].

5

Press the Locking button while pulling the trigger.After locking the trigger, check on the back LCD monitor that the device is measuring continuously.

Before Trigger Lock After Trigger Lock

6

Execute the data acquisition software, then, click the [starting measurement] button and confirm that the data is continuously renewed.

 

Functions can be executed such as starting measurement, holding measurement, various settings, etc. by manipulating the menu buttons and toolbar buttons on the screen.

 

HOW TO USE THE SOFTWARE

Usage of the software is straight forward. Two graphic windows display the column density and receiving signal intensity. The following table summarizes major functions.

 

Major functions of the software

Control functions

Start/stop measurement, variable sampling period, and others

Threshold functions

Variable threshold, masking below threshold

Graphical functions

Colum density Range: 0-9999ppm・m

Signal intensity:0-9999

Maximum data number 172800

(Data for 2 days at a sampling period of 1 second)

Real time display mode

Variable scaling function

Moving average function

Data storage

Daily bases file handling

 

- In the column density graph, the value that has been set in the threshold settings window will be shown by a horizontal line.

- If you drag the curser on the graph, a vertical line will be displayed within the graph and will display the date/time, column density and receiving intensity.

- If you select [Automatic mode], the vertical axis of the graph will be adjusted automatically.

- If you press the ▲▼ button on the right side of the graph, the maximum value of the graph will change.

- The horizontal axis of the graph will change by pressing the buttons of the [day], [hour], [minute] located at the right and left bottom side of the graph.

 

If you click the [history] button in the toolbar on the basic screen, the history selection window as shown below will appear, and will enable you to select the graph data you wish to display.

 

Refer to the user manual of the software for other detailed functions of the software.

 

REQUIRED COMPUTER SUPECIFICATIONS

OS: Windows XP Professional SP2

Memory: >512MB (recommended >1GB)

COM port: a RS232 or USB port

 

As the original software was programmed under the Japanese Windows environment, the software may not work properly under the OS with other languages despite we checked the compatibility with English environment. Please consult your local agent if you plan to use the software with your PC.

 

The software was programmed by Shikoku Research Institute Inc.

 

© 2005 TOKYO GAS ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS CORP. all rights reserved.