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                                                                     Precision Measurement Engineering, Inc.

Establishing Communication

SCAMP communicates with the host computer by USB 1.0.  SCAMP is connected to the host computer via the supplied I/O cable. This cable plugs onto SCAMP’s I/O connector and into any USB connector on the host computer. The host computer will automatically recognize SCAMP within 5 seconds after this connection is made. There will be no obvious screen display, but SCAMP will appear in Device Manager. The images below show USB I/O cable connection to the SCAMP.

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Be careful not to bend or twist the rubber boot at the SCAMP connector end. Even slight bending will break the internal wires. Twisting may cause the SCAMP connector to unscrew. A little silicone grease sparsely applied on the SCAMP connector outside diameter will help.


Begin SCAMP control dialog by browsing to the C:\SCAMP directory and selecting the Control.exe program. After a few seconds the control dialog will begin operation. The following Windows dialog box will appear.

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SCAMP communication is now initialized.

SCAMP’s internal clock is set to host computer time at this point.

HOST COMPUTER

The HOST computer must be prepared for profiling. You must insure that sufficient battery power exists within the computer to allow it to operate for the duration of the profile. It is not unusual for the SCAMP batteries to outlast laptop computer batteries. One convenient way to provide extra battery power is to use a large lead-acid rechargeable battery, an inverter to generate normal AC service voltages, and then use the laptop computer's external AC power adapter.

The HOST computer often has an automatic power saver function that shuts it down during periods of inactivity. This may inconveniently occur during SCAMP data upload where several minutes pass with no keyboard entry. There is usually a software control supplied with the computer that will disable this feature. Disable it.