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AP Sensing

DTS Configurator

User’s Guide

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 2

Notices

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AP Sensing further certifies that its

calibration measurements are trace-

able to the United States National

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Technology, NIST (formerly the

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allowed by the Insti- tutes’s

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Table of Contents

1 Getting Started ........................................................................... 7

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 8

Customer Support ...................................................................................................................... 9

Installation ............................................................................................................................... 10 Requirements ................................................................................................................................. 10 Installing DTS Configurator ............................................................................................................. 10 Setting up the DTS Configurator for autostart ............................................................................... 11

User Interface .......................................................................................................................... 12 File Explorer Pane ........................................................................................................................... 13 Properties Pane .............................................................................................................................. 15 Data Visualization Pane .................................................................................................................. 17 Instrument Pane ............................................................................................................................. 19 Menu Bar ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Tool Bar .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Status Bar ....................................................................................................................................... 21

Application Settings ................................................................................................................. 22 General Application Settings .......................................................................................................... 22 Measurement Window Settings ..................................................................................................... 23 Auto Save Traces ............................................................................................................................ 24 Auto Save POSC .............................................................................................................................. 26 Auto Save Alarm Table ................................................................................................................... 27 User Settings ................................................................................................................................... 28

2 Using the DTS Configurator ................................................... 29

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 30 File Management............................................................................................................................ 30

DTS Instrument ........................................................................................................................ 31 DTS Instrument Discovery .............................................................................................................. 31 Instrument Properties .................................................................................................................... 33 SD Card ........................................................................................................................................... 34 Calibrating Instrument Sensor........................................................................................................ 35 Log File ............................................................................................................................................ 38

Configurations ......................................................................................................................... 39 Creating a New Configuration ........................................................................................................ 39 Modifying a Configuration.............................................................................................................. 51


Copying a Configuration ................................................................................................................. 52 Extracting a Configuration from a Trace ........................................................................................ 52 Downloading Configurations .......................................................................................................... 52

Sequences ................................................................................................................................ 55 Creating a New Sequence .............................................................................................................. 55 Adding Configurations to a Sequence ............................................................................................ 56 Dual-Ended Configuration within a Sequence ............................................................................... 56 Modifying Configuration within a Sequence .................................................................................. 58 Modifying a Sequence .................................................................................................................... 58 Copying a Sequence ....................................................................................................................... 59

Measurements ......................................................................................................................... 60 Starting a Single Measurement ...................................................................................................... 60 Starting a Sequence Measurement ................................................................................................ 61 Viewing a Running Measurement Trace ........................................................................................ 61

Traces ...................................................................................................................................... 63 Creating a New Trace ..................................................................................................................... 63 Viewing a Trace .............................................................................................................................. 63 Manual Saving of Multitrace Files .................................................................................................. 64 Unpack Multitrace Files .................................................................................................................. 65 Copying a Trace .............................................................................................................................. 65 Downloading Traces ....................................................................................................................... 66 Suppress Intermediate Traces ........................................................................................................ 67

Modbus ................................................................................................................................... 68 Configure the DTS ........................................................................................................................... 68 Overview of Holdings and Coils ...................................................................................................... 69 Available Commands ...................................................................................................................... 69 Using the Modbus Interface ........................................................................................................... 74

3 Users ......................................................................................... 75

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 76

Logging In................................................................................................................................. 77

Administering Users ................................................................................................................. 78


1 Getting Started

Introduction ................................................ 8

Customer Support .................................... 9

Installing DTS Configurator ...................... 10

User Interface ........................................... 12

Application Settings ................................... 22


Introduction

DTS Configurator provides an easy-to-use graphical user interface for the DTS instrument from a computer and can be used as the basic application for handling configurations and traces.

It enables calibrating the sensor, creating configurations, creating measurement sequences, starting measurements and saving and viewing traces.

NOTE This guide assumes you are already familiar with your instrument’s operation and parameters. For details on the DTS instrument refer to the AP Sensing DTS User‘s Guide.

The DTS Configurator may only installed and used in conjunction with this documentation.

Qualified Personnel

DTS instruments are frequently used to monitor temperature levels in critical environments. Therefore the installation, commissioning and operation of the system may only be performed by qualified personnel. Qualified persons are defined as persons who are qualified and authorized to install systems in accordance with established safety practices and standards.

The instructions are intended for certified technicians or engineers.

General knowledge of optical fibers, electrical safety, DTS instruments and the application field is needed to understand the operating instructions and to perform valid installations and configurations.

Many applications (e.g. fire detection) require approved parameter sets to ensure operation compliant to stated national standards and instrument certifications. The use of any other measurement or alarm parameter sets void the compliance to these standards.

Legal Notices

We have reviewed the contents of this publication to ensure consistency with the hardware and software described herein. Since variance cannot be precluded entirely, we cannot


guarantee full consistency. However, the information in this publication is reviewed regularly and any necessary corrections are included in subsequent editions.

It is our policy to constantly improve the design and specifications. Accordingly, the details represented in this manual cannot be regarded as final and binding.

Limitation of Use

DTS Configurator is mainly intended to configure and commission a DTS instrument.

DTS Configurator may be also used to permanently visualize alarm levels and temperatures of a connected DTS instrument. This application is not certified by e.g. UL, VdS. Upon e.g. a connection loss the information displayed by DTS Configurator may not be current anymore and important alarm conditions may not be reported.

Therefore every critical alarm, an instrument failure or a sensor fiber break must be handed off to a suitable alarm panel / fire panel via internal relay contacts. The proper wiring and alarm handoff via these relays must be tested during instrument commissioning.

Scheduled Functional Verification

As for any monitoring equipment scheduled functional verifications are required – at least annual or as per local regulations. During this functional verification the entire system functionality and alarm handoff must be verified.

Customer Support

In case this DTS Configurator Guide doesn’t clarify specific questions please contact [email protected] or call +49 (7031) 309 6699.

mailto:[email protected]


Installation

Requirements

Available on the DTS Software & Manuals CD

DTS Configurator runs on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems (32-bit and 64-bit). Windows 95, 2000 ME and NT operating systems are not supported.

Software requirements:

• Microsoft NET Framework-Version 2.0 (only for Windows XP)

• Adobe Reader

• Agilent IO Libraries Suite

Agilent IO Libraries Suite is needed for communication with the DTS device. It is downloadable from http://www.agilent.com/find/iosuite

Minimum hardware requirements:

• Pentium III, 700 MHz

• 256 MB RAM

• 15 MB free disk space

• Ethernet or USB (refer to AP Sensing DTS User’s Guide).

• Screen resolution min. 800 x 600, 96 dpi font size

Installing DTS Configurator

To install the DTS Configurator, insert the installation CD into your

CD- ROM drive and run SetupDTSConf.msi.

The installation wizard will guide you through the installation

procedure. Read the license agreement carefully before agreeing and

then follow the wizard to select the destination folder and complete

the installation.

NOTE After installation, there are no predefined users and the application will

work in the anonymous mode (no authentication is required). For

instructions on how to add users, refer to chapter “Users” on page 75.

http://www.agilent.com/find/iosuite


Setting up the DTS Configurator for autostart

For automatic start of the DTS configurator with Windows XP/ Vista/

Windows 7/ Windows 8 start-up (for example after power fail on the

computer),

• Create a DTS Configurator shortcut in the Windows “Startup” folder for all users (right-click on Windows “Start”, select “Explore all users”, go to the “Startup” folder and create the shortcut there).

• Configure Windows to start without login (press Windows-key + r, enter “control userpasswords2“ and press Enter; uncheck “Users must enter user name and password”). Warning: with this setting the computer and its data can be accessed without login!


User Interface

Figure 1 Graphical User Interface

When you start the application the window for instrument discovery opens first, where you need to perform instrument discovery (see “DTS Instrument Discovery” on page 31).

The application window is divided into four main areas. On the left are

the File Explorer pane and on the right the Properties pane (if

selected). In the middle is the Data Visualization pane. The bottom

part of the window contains the Instrument pane. Refer to Figure 1 on

page 12.

To select which panes you want to see open the View menu and select the appropriate panes.

All described areas can be resized, moved and customized. To move a

pane, double-click its title bar and the pane will detach from the

window and you can move it to a place of your choice. To put the pane

into its original position double-click its title bar again.


File Explorer Pane

Figure 2 File Explorer Pane

File Explorer pane contains the list of configurations, sequences and measurement trace files.

Naming of entries

• Each new entry is marked with * until saved

• When an entry is saved it receives...\prefix.

• When a saved entry is modified it receives * next to the name until it is saved again.

Editing options are available in the context menu for each list entry. To access the context menu right-click an entry.

Configuration context menu contains:

• Edit; opens the Configuration Editor dialog box. For more information see chapter ”Configuration“ on page 39.

• Clone; creates a copy of the selected configuration. The name of the copy is marked with C and the number of clone, created for the selected configuration, e.g. C1-configuration_name.

• Start Measurement; starts a measurement for the selected configuration.

• Other actions: Rename, Save and Close.

Sequence context menu contains:

• Edit; opens the Sequence Editor dialog box. For more information see chapter ”Sequences “ on page 55.


• Clone; creates a copy of the selected sequence. The name of the copy is marked with C and the number of clone, created for the selected sequence, e.g. C1-sequence_name.

• Start Measurement; starts a measurement for the selected sequence.

• Other actions: Rename, Save and Close.

Sequence/Configuration context menu contains:

• Edit; opens the Configuration Editor dialog box. For more information see chapter “Configurations” on page 39.

• Remove; removes the selected configuration from the sequence.

• Other actions: Rename

Measurement context menu contains:

• Visible; If ticked, the trace is visible in the Data Visualization pane.

• Markers; for a complete measurement only All or Off can be selected. Temperature and Loss entries can have different markers selected (e.g. one red and the other blue).

• Show graph; opens the graph of the selected trace in the Data Visualization pane.

• Export to Excel; Exports trace information into Excel file.

NOTE The export into Excel file is possible only when at least one trace is available. The Excel file is limited to 16.000 traces in a single file. If more than 16.000 traces are present, only the newest 16.000 traces are exported.

• Extract Configuration; extracts the configuration from the trace file and displays it in the list of configurations.

• Clone; creates a copy of the selected trace. The name of the copy is marked with C and the number of clone, created for the selected trace, e.g. C1-trace_name.

• Other actions: Stop Measurement, Rename, Save and Close.


Measurement/Temperature and Measurement/Loss context menus contain:

• Visible; if ticked, the trace is visible in the Data Visualization pane.

• Markers; select any of the available markers to make them visible or invisible in the Data Visualization pane. You can select two different colors of markers, one for Temperature, the other for Loss.

• Show graph; opens the graph of the selected trace in the Data Visualization pane.

NOTE When two or more traces overlay one another, selecting a trace in the File Explorer Pane will bring the selected trace forward and make it visible in the graph.

Properties Pane

Figure 3 Properties Pane

Properties pane displays information about files, measurements, sensors and alarms.

• General section displays general data of the selected trace file, e.g. trace name and name of the configuration file.

• Measurement section displays measurement data for the


selected configuration or for the configuration of the selected

trace.

• Repetition section displays if the hibernation mode was enabled

for the configuration of the selected trace (for configurations

this section is part of the measurement section).

• Sensor section displays sensor and sensor section information

for the selected configuration or for the configuration of the

selected trace. To view section information select the section

entry and click the button next to it.

• Alarms section displays data about alarm settings in the selected

trace file. To view zones or fire classes information select the

Zones or Fire Classes entry and click the button next to it.

• Trace section displays the timestamp of the selected trace (will

not be shown for configurations).


Data Visualization Pane

Figure 4 Data Visualization Pane

Data Visualization pane displays different windows:

• The visualization pane is named after the trace of the

measurement that is currently in progress and displays the

actual temperature and loss data as well as alarm and zone

information (if available).

• Temperature Trace graph - showing finished or opened

measurement results.

• Loss Trace graph - showing finished or opened

measurement results.

Temperature Status Pane

Temperature Status pane displays information about measured temperatures occurring during the measurement process.

Loss Status Pane

Loss Status pane displays information about measured fiber losses.


Alarm and Zone Status Panes

Figure 5 Alarm and Zone Status Pane

NOTE Alarm and Zone Status panes display information about fires, active alarms and zones in which the fires occurred.

Alarm and Zone Status panes are available when check marked above the temperature trace.

In the Alarms list the biggest temperature events that occurred in the selected configuration are listed. The direction of the biggest temperature events is also given. The number of the biggest temperature events to be displayed is set in Program -> Options -> Measurement Window.

Zone Status list displays either all zones or only zones with alarms (if only Zones with Alarms is checked). Zones and parameters are coded with colors:

red, in case the parameter raised a new alarm,

orange, in case the parameter raised an alarm since the last reset but is currently without a raised alarm,

yellow, in case of a zone affected by a fiber break (data may be partially or completely unavailable),

white, if none of the parameters raised an alarm.

The column ”StdDev“ shows the noise of the temperature trace within the zone. It’s value is defined according to “Temperature resolution” (please see User’s Guide for further information).


Instrument Pane

NOTE

Figure 6 Instrument Pane (with 20 and 44 relays)

Instrument pane displays information about the active instrument, active outputs and fiber breaks.

• Instrument section displays data about the active instrument

(e.g. default instrument, connection type, instrument status,

number of measurements during the measurement process)

and connection status. If connection fails the instrument

handles the device connection automatically.

The next sections are available only when alarm handling for selected

configuration is enabled, otherwise the More button is disabled. This

part can be shown with the More button or hidden with the Less

button respectively.

• Active Outputs section displays list of outputs. Outputs marked

with orange color have been activated since the last alarm reset. Outputs marked with red color are activated at the moment.

• Fiber Breaks section displays information if fiber breaks occurred on a sensor or not.

• Reset Alarms button clears all alarms from all zones.

Menu Bar

Figure 7 Menu Bar

The Menu Bar provides mouse driven access to many high level functions related to DTS measurements, along with administrative functions, application settings and help.


Menu Bar contains the following menus:

• File - Standard Windows file operations (Open, Save, Close...) and application exit.

• Edit - Access to configuration, sequence and trace settings, export of traces into an excel file, unpack multitrace files, extract configuration from trace.

• View - Used for selecting toolbars, for opening File Explorer, Properties and Instrument pane, for opening graph comparison of temperatures and losses, for centering markers and for auto scale the X & Y axis.

• Instrument - Instrument settings, instrument discovery, starting and stopping of measurement for the selected configuration or sequence, access to downloading of configurations and traces, access to the log file.

• Settings - User management (login/logout), language settings, and application settings.

• Window - various window arrangements. Useful when viewing more than one measurement trace graph.

• Help - Application Help and information.

Tool Bar

Figure 8 Tool Bar

The Tool Bar consists of three option groups and offers shortcuts to operations mentioned in the Menu Bar chapter.

• File Menu Actions - Create New, Open, Save and Close.

• Measurement Menu Actions - Start Measurement, Stop Measurement and DTS Discovery.

• Settings Menu Actions - Login, Options, Show Help, Center Markers and Auto Scale.


Status Bar

Figure 9 Status Bar

The Status Bar consists of three groups and offers information about selected items, users and alarms.

• File explorer selection - Shows information about the selected item in the file explorer pane. For running measurements it shows name of the trace file, number of already saved traces, type of the configuration’s save mode, as well as date and time of the last performed measurement.

• User information - name of the user that is logged in.

• Alarm - if alarm notifications are set on and an alarm occurs the alarm speaker icon is visible in the right corner of the status bar. Alarms can be muted by clicking the speaker icon.


Application Settings

You can customize the DTS Configurator settings. To change application settings, select Options in the Settings menu. The Program Options dialog box opens, where you can set or change the settings.

General Application Settings

Select Applications where you can set the general application settings. Refer to Table 1 on page 22.

Table 1 Application Settings

Option Description

.\ “.\” indicates the folder where the

program is installed.

Always use This option enables you to select

the default destination folder for

all configuration, sequence, trace

and log files.

Last used folder All files will be stored into the last

used folder which is displayed

here.

Layout This option saves your application

layout settings.

Show login on app. start

This option controls whether the

Login dialog box opens when the

application is started. You can set

the time interval after which it

automatically closes.

Open sync time dialog on app. start if a time difference found between PC and instrument

When a time difference between

PC and instrument is found, a

dialog window appears where

you can automatically

synchronize the time settings.

On application start automatically connect to DTS

When you start the application

the default instrument will be

selected automatically.


Disable Splash Screen Disables the splash screen

during application start.

NOTE

Units

You can set the view to US customary units or metric units. Select temperature and distance units that will be used throughout the interface: meters or feet and degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Select the axis on which you would like the data to display in graphs. If you select the x-axis the graph will be displayed along the x-axis. If you select the y-axis, the graph will be displayed along the y-axis.

X-distance means that the x-axis is the distance axis and the y- axis is the loss or temperature axis. Y-depth means the distance from the DTS instrument is shown on the negative y- axis and the x-axis is used for temperature and loss.

Sounds

You can set the alarm and their sounds:

• Alarm

• Error in instrument

• Error in application

Select which sounds you would like to hear when an error or alarm occurs. For each of the alarms you can select a sound file by clicking the browse button and selecting a file. All Windows Media Player formats are supported.

When an alarm is set a speaker symbol is shown in the right

corner of the main application window status bar. Click it to

mute it.

Measurement Window Settings

Select Measurement Window where you can set default viewing settings.


Table 2 Measurement Window Settings

Option Description

Single / Multitrace measurement window

Either display one trace per

window or multiple traces in

one window.

Alarm panel height

Select the maximum number of

rows that will be displayed in the

alarm table.

Display Select which data should be

automatically visible when you

start a measurement.

Disable “Show Intermediate traces”

to surpress the intermediate traces.

Auto-Scaling Define the percentage of the

margin above and below the graph.

Zone status table columns

Select which columns should be

displayed in the Zone Status

table.

Auto Save Traces

Figure 10 Auto Save Trace Settings


Select Auto Save Traces to choose the settings for saving traces. Refer to Table 3 on page 25.

Table 3 Auto Save Trace Settings

Option Description

Enable Enable or disable auto save. All

trace files will be stored into the

specified folder with the filename

prefix which is a combination of

the configuration name and a

prefix defined in the Filename

prefix setting.

NOTE:

Depending on the measurement

settings, enabling auto save may

consume a large portion of disk

space.

Create Multitrace files This option allows you to save

multiple traces in a single trace

file which is useful for post

processing. If the option is not

selected, each trace will be saved

in a separate file.

Enabling auto save option

together with create multitrace

files, could result in very large

trace files and could slow down

the application.

Use Binary Format This option lets you save traces in a binary format, which uses less space than the ASCII format. If the option is not selected, the traces are saved as comma separated.

Limit by Size This option limits the size of the created Multitrace file. Once the size limit is reached a new file will be created.

Automatically export to Excel

Automatically extracts Multitrace files to *.csv files which will be saved in the same directory. Only Multitrace files which are limited in


size can be exported to Excel automatically.

Trace File Prefix Define the prefix which will be

added automatically to the trace file

of a configuration.

Trace File Extension Define the extension of a trace

file. By default it is “.tra”.

Auto Save POSC

POSC (WITSML) is an industry data standard. This file format is used in the Oil & Gas industry.

Select Trace / POSC to set the POSC settings. Refer to Table 4 on page 26.

Table 4 POSC Settings

Option Description

Predefined

(in application options)

All POSC files will be saved

in the predefined folder in

the Application Settings.

Select Folder Saves the POSC files in a further

user defined folder.

Temperature Unit It can be selected if the user

wants temperature unit in

Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Distance Unit It can be selected if the

user wants distance unit in

meter or feet.


Auto Save Alarm Table

Table 5 Auto Save Alarm Table

Option Description

Enable Enables or disable auto

save alarm table. A *.csv

file will be created with all

zone information.

Create Daily / Weekly / Monthly

Create an alarm table daily, weekly

or monthly.

Limited by Size Limits the maximum size of the

alarm table. After exceeding the

limit a new file will be created.

Destination Folder Saves the alarm table in the

predefined folder (defined

under Application) or in a

further user defined folder.

Zone File Prefix Define the prefix which will

automatically be added to the zone

file.

Zone File Extension Define the extension of a zone

file. By default it is “.tra”.

Figure 11 Auto Save Zones Window


User Settings

For instructions on how to set the user settings, refer to chapter ”Users“ on page 75.


2 Using the DTS Configurator

Introduction ........................................... 30

DTS Instrument ..................................... 31

Configuration .......................................... 39

Sequences ............................................ 55

Measurements ....................................... 60

Traces ................................................... 63

Modbus .................................................. 68


Introduction

NOTE

DTS Configurator enables management of measurement configurations and reviewing measurement traces.

In addition, it provides a user interface to the connected DTS instruments. You can set instrument specific data, calibrate the sensor, start and stop measurements, save results (traces) and manage the connected instrument.

Some actions require user authentication and you should log in to be able to perform them (for example, starting and stopping measurements, configuring the DTS instrument). For more information about user authentication, refer to chapter “Users” on page 75.

.

File Management

NOTE

DTS Configurator provides a common file management system for managing configurations, sequences and traces. You can add new files, open existing ones and modify them, copy and save them.

You can also open multiple files and close them one by one (using the Close option in the File menu) or all at once (using the Close All option in the File menu).

The same principle applies for saving the files. You can use the Save option in the File menu to save the currently selected file, or Save All to save all open files.

The destination folder for new and copied files is defined under Settings -> Options menu in the Program Options dialog box under Application -> Default Folder.


DTS Instrument

Managing the DTS instrument involves the following:

• ”DTS Instrument Discovery” on page 31

• “Instrument Properties” on page 33

• “SD Card“ on page 34

• ”Calibrating Instrument Sensor“ on page 35

• ”Log File” on page 38

DTS Instrument Discovery

If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before

NOTE

NOTE

you can find and add an instrument.

DTS Configurator enables you to find and add available DTS instruments. You can also connect to the global VISA database, which contains the instruments previously discovered using the Agilent Connection Expert.

The application retains information on all discovered instruments, but connects to only one instrument at a time.

To perform DTS instrument discovery, follow the procedure below:

1. In the Instrument menu click Discovery. The DTS dialog box opens.

1. find an instrument in two ways:

ick Quick Find to list all instruments, which were already discovered by Agilent Connection Expert. Instruments are listed in a tree. Each instrument can have up to 4 different entries, one for each type of connection.


Figure 12 DTS Instrument Discovery - Quick Find

ick Find DTS to search for a new instrument. The Find DTS dialog box opens, where you can search for the instrument by hostname, IP or VISA address. Select the appropriate option and enter the required information. When searching by hostname or IP address, you can also specify advanced search options.

Figure 13 Finding Specific Instrument

2. default instrument and click OK. Therefor select the instrument connection in the tree and click on Set as default

A user can remove an instrument by selecting it and clicking the Remove button. If the removed instrument was set as default instrument, the user must select another default instrument before.

An instrument can be connected in more than one way (e.g. via LAN and USB). Such instrument is listed twice in the list of


instruments. The two insertions can be differentiated by the data in the VISA address column.

Instrument Properties

Figure 14 Instrument Properties

NOTE If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before you can modify the instrument properties.

To open the Instrument Properties window, go to Instrument and Discovery. In the DTS window select the instrument and click the Properties button. If the DTS Configurator is already connected to the instrument, go to Instrument and Properties. In this window you can:

• See general instrument data (General)

• Set communication between instrument host and network domain (Communication)

• (optional) Select the Modbus Holding Register File and Modbus Coil Register File

• (optional) Test inputs and outputs (Electrical In/Out) and set operation mode (active open / active closed)

• (optional) Check the SD Card speed

• Restart the network or reboot the instrument


Figure 15 SD Card Properties

SD Card

For instruments which have a SD card slot (not available for N438XA and N4387B instruments) the following window (see Figure 15 on page 34) is available under Instrument, Properties and SD Card. The user can test the speed of the inserted SD card and verify if the SD card is suitable to save trace files automatically.

• Traces are automatically saved to the SD card. But they cannot be saved for measurements that are shorter than 30 seconds. Once the SD card is full, no further traces are saved.

• Test whether your SD card is fast enough to save the traces reliably. This test takes approximately 10 seconds.

• On the SD card, they are stored in a directory /data/yyyymmdd/

where yyyymmdd is the year, month and day, for example 20110117 for the 17th of January, 2011.

• Each new measurement each day has its own directory. Where there is more than one measurement on a day, a five digit number is appended to the directory name (( _00001, _00002, and so on).

• There is one data file for each sequence entry. All the traces are appended to each file (as in “Create Multitrace files”). The traces are stored as binary files, named after the configuration and appended with channel and configuration number, as well as the “StartingMeasurementTime”.


NOTE To configure the DTS Configurator to automatically re-connect to the DTS instrument after power fail on the computer, please see section Application Settings on page 22.

Calibrating Instrument Sensor

Sensor calibration data is part of a configuration and can be obtained using the Sensor Calibration Wizard. The Wizard guides you through the steps of the calibration procedure and helps you determine the sensor calibration values (gain, offset and attenuation ratio).

To calibrate the sensor perform the following steps:

1. From the File Explorer pane select a configuration and right-click it.

2. Click Edit and in the Configuration Editor window select Sensor.

3. Click Calibration Wizard button to open the wizard. On the first page all steps that follow are listed.

Figure 16 Sensor Calibration Wizard

NOTE Configurations included in the sequence and marked as dual- ended can only be calibrated with dual ended traces or with a new measurement from the sensor calibration wizard. Otherwise calibrations can be performed only with single- ended traces.


Click on Next to continue.

Figure 17 Selecting Data Source

4. On the Selecting data source page there are two possibilities to get reference traces:

• If you selected run a measurement you need to define measurement time and click Start. The measurement will start.

• If you selected one or two trace files the traces are displayed in the Confirm Selected Traces window. Click on Next to continue.

5. In the Set end of fiber section or finish calibration window

do one or all of the following steps in the same order as described below:

• Move the cursor to select the end of the first fiber section or

• Click Set Length button to correct the refractive index, set accurate length, or set the scaling factor. Confirm with Enter and click Next.

NOTE To move between Set Refractive Index and Set Section End fields use Back and Next button.

• Click Set Temp to choose calibration type and to

set the attenuation ratio, temperature gain and temperature offset.


• You can choose between Gain and Offset Calibration, only Offset Calibration or Two Point Calibration. Click Next.

• The selected section is displayed in the Set Attenuation Ratio window. With black cursors select region 1, with green cursors select region 2. To calculate the attenuation ratio select which region to include and click Calculate and Next.

NOTE

NOTE

You can insert the attenuation ratio manually.

• On the Set the Actual Temperature page click

Calculate to get the measured temperatures in the selected regions (can be modified by the user with moving the black and green cursor) and then insert the actual temperatures that occur in the selected regions. Click Next to get the calculated Gain, Offset and Attenuation ratio results and click Next to confirm.

• Once a fiber section is added you can finish calibration by clicking the Finish button, create a new sensor section by clicking the Add button or change the data of the last section. You can add and calibrate up to 16 sections.

You can change only the last calibration section in order to keep section junctures untouched. To change the first section you must delete all the following sections first.


Figure 18 Set end of fiber section or finish calibration

6. When you click Finish, the changes are saved into the configuration for which you created the calibration. The changes are visible in the Configuration dialog box (Edit -> Configuration -> Sensor).

Log File

NOTE

The Log file contains information about all actions that happened on an instrument. It will be automatically saved in the predefined folder. Please refer to General Application Settings on page 22.

To view the log file select Read Log File in the Instrument menu. A new window with contents of the log file will open. If you already have a log file open and you open another log file from the Instrument menu, the old log file will close and the new will open.


Configurations

Managing measurement configurations involves the following:

• ”Creating a New Configuration” on page 39

• ”Modifying a Configuration” on page 51

• ”Copying a Configuration” on page 52

• ”Extracting a Configuration from a Trace” on page 52

• “Downloading Configurations” on page 52

Creating a New Configuration

To create a new configuration, follow the procedure below:

1. In the File menu click New and select Configuration. A new configuration item is added in the File Explorer.

2. The configuration Editor box opens automatically. But you can also select the new configuration and then in the Edit menu click Configuration. The Configuration Editor dialog box opens. The window opens also if you double-click the configuration or right-click it and select Edit.

3. Select Measurement and specify the required settings. Refer to Table 6 on page 39.

Table 6 The Configuration Measurement Settings

Option Description

File Name Name of the configuration file - can only be changed in the File Explorer by right-click on the configuration and choosing rename.

Name Configuration name which is the same as the file name and cannot be edited.

POSC Export Enable or disable POSC export to a folder, predefined in the application settings. If POSC export is enabled two additional fields appear, Well UID and Wellbore UID, which are exported into the XML file.

Comment Additional description or comments (up to 79 characters).


Channel Number of the channel (optical output). (dual ended = odd channels)

Start [m] Start distance of measurement results.

Span [m] The length between start and stop distance, calculated from both values.

Stop [m] End distance of measurement results.

Measurement Time [s] Duration of the measurement in seconds.

Intermediate Update Time [s]

The intermediate trace update time in seconds.

Update Time [s] Time after which a new measurement begins.

Sampling Interval [m] The distance between samples in the measurement result trace.

Spatial Resolution[m] Spatial resolution setting for the instrument.

Repeat Repeat mode of the measurement - either continuous, until the instrument's internal trace buffer is full or a specified number.

Repeat Value Number of measurement repetitions (only in “value” mode).

Hibernation Enable Enables power saving mode if difference between Update Time and Measurement Time is sufficiently long.


Figure 19 Configuration Measurement Settings

4. Select Sensor and specify the settings as required. Refer to Table 7 on page 41.

Table 7 Configuration Sensor Settings

Option Description

Start Point Offset Reset the “0” Point to the beginning of the monitored object.

Temperature Offset The temperature offset from the measured object, e.g. if there is a constant temperature delta between fiber and the object.

Sensor Sections Sensor calibration sections as determined in the calibration process. You can edit section settings manually by double- clicking the entry in the Temperature Calibration Data list.


5. To modify the section settings, double-click the entry in the list. The Sensor Section dialog box opens, where you can specify the section options as required. Refer to Table 8 on page 42.

Table 8 Section Settings

Option Description

Span The length of the section, e.g.

between two connectors or splices.

Refractive Index The refractive index of the fiber

Scaling Factor If a fiber is wound (for example, around a power cable), the fiber length and the cable length are different. The DTS measures the length of the fiber, which does not correspond to the position on the power cable. The scaling factor is the ratio between the cable length and the fiber length (for example, 0.8). Using the scaling factor, the traces are displayed by the length along the cable. If the fiber is laid straight (along the cable in this example), the scaling factor is 1.

Attenuation Ratio This is a property of the fiber,

which specifies the difference in

absorption of the two Raman

signals (Stokes and anti- Stokes)

along the fiber. The wrong value

causes a slope in the temperature trace. A typical value is 0.25

Figure 20 Configuration Sensor Settings


db/km.

Gain Adjusts measured temperature

differences to ensure that a

temperature change over time or

distance is displayed accurately.

The correct gain ensures, for

example, that a temperature step

of 20.00°C (over distance) is

displayed as 20.00°C.

The default value of 1 is sufficient for most applications.

Offset Corrects the offset of a sensor

section, for example caused by a

connector or by different fiber

characteristics of a section.

The following parameters are only visible for N44XX and

N438XB instruments

DMAGain The DMAGain is a corrective

scaling factor for the DMA

correction (default value: 0.0 dB).

The differential mode attenuation

(DMA), which occurs only at

some fibers, could cause an

exponential temperature decay at

the beginning of a section.

Note: For dual-ended

measurements these values

apply for the odd channel.

DMADecay Is needed in addition to the

DMAGain. DMADecay specifies

the decay constant of the DMA

correction (default value: 0.0

dB/km).

Note: For dual-ended

measurements these values

apply for the odd channel.

DMAGain (Reverse) Only visible when dual-ended

measurement is check marked.

Same as DMAGain, but for the

even channel.

DMADecay (Reverse) Only visible when dual-ended

measurement is check marked.


Same as DMADecay, but for the

even channel.

NOTE When dual-end measurement is check marked and the configuration is already part of a sequence, the configuration will be automatically marked as dual-ended within the sequence editor (refer to chapter Dual-Ended Configuration within a Sequence on page 56).

Figure 21 Section Settings

NOTE To get assistance in the sensor calibration click on the calibration wizard button. For more information please refer to the chapter Calibrating Instrument Sensor on page 35.

6. Select Alarm and specify the settings as required. Refer to

Table 9 on page 44.

Table 9 Configuration Alarm Settings

Option Description

Enable Alarm Handling Flag to activate or deactivate alarms

Point to Return Destination where the fiber changes the direction back to the instrument. Only used to calculate the direction of the biggest fire.


Confirmation Cycles Number of alarm criteria repetitions before an alarm is raised

Reset Inputs Through the selected inputs the alarms can be reset. Note: In a sequence, the last configuration defines which inputs are active for alarm resetting. Be sure to have Alarm Handling enabled in the last configuration to enable alarm resetting.

Figure 22 Configuration Alarm Settings

7. Select Alarm / Zones and specify the settings as required.

8. Click Add and the Alarm Zone Editor window opens. Specify the settings in this window as required. Refer to Table 10 on page 45.

Table 10 Configuration Alarm Zone Settings

Option Description

Name The name of the zone.

Start The zone start.

Span The length of the zone, calculated from zone start and zone end. A zone must be at least 2 m.

Alarm Zones with Span = 0 are ignored when running a measurement.


Stop

The zone end.

Zone Type Only as note. Zone types can be customized by <Edit List>.

Maximum Check Checking of maximum temperature at any point in the zone area is either enabled (on) or disabled (off).

Maximum Value Maximum temperature that can be reached at any point of the zone before raising an alarm. The value is given in actual degrees (either C or F).

Minimum Check Checking of minimum temperature at any point in the zone area is either enabled (on) or disabled (off).

Minimum Value Minimum temperature that can be reached at any point of the zone before raising an alarm. The value is given in actual degrees (either C).

Positive Check Checking of maximum positive difference of temperature to zone average before raising an alarm is either enabled (on) or disabled (off).

Positive Difference Maximum positive difference in Celsius of one point compared to the zone average before raising an alarm.

Negative Check Checking of maximum negative difference of temperature to zone average before raising an alarm is either enabled (on) or disabled (off).

Negative Difference Maximum negative difference in Celsius of one point to the zone average before raising an alarm.

Gradient 1/2/3 Check Checking of the Gradient 1, 2, 3 is either enabled (on) or disabled (off).


Gradient 1/2/3 Temperature

The temperature can rise or fall for the defined number of Kelvin in a specified time before raising an alarm.

Gradient 1/2/3 Time The temperature can rise or fall for the defined number of Kelvin in a specified time before raising an alarm.

Outputs The outputs that will be notified about an alarm in the defined zone.

FiberBreak Outputs The outputs that will be notified in

case of a fiber break in or near the

selected zone. The first output is

marked by default, same as

system fault.

Figure 23 Alarm Zone Settings


NOTE

NOTE

A fiber break can be detected only in an alarm zone where at least one condition is checked; if it is required to detect a fiber break outside of the monitored area of interest you can set up a zone throughout the entire fiber length with e.g. the minimum check enabled and the minimum value set to -273.15°C (will never raise an alarm).

To repair a fiber break, you need to stop the measurement.

When you restart the measurement, it automatically clears the

fault status and switches off the LED.

The zone span must be greater than 2 m and equal to or greater than twice the sampling interval.

Zone span ≥ max(2 m, 2 x sampling interval)

9. Click OK to save the settings.

10. Select a zone from the table and click Clone to create

another zone with the same characteristics.

11. To modify the zone settings, double-click an entry and specify the settings in the Alarm Zone Editor window. Refer to Table 10 on page 45.

12. To delete a zone, select the zone from the list and click

Remove.

13. To change the order of zones select a zone and move it by

clicking the arrows below the list.

14. Select Alarm / Fire Classes and specify the settings as required. Refer to Table 11 on page 48.

Table 11 Configuration Fire Class Settings

Option Description

Fire Class Definition Classes of fire where the fire sizes and the outputs that must be notified in case of individual fire class are defined.

15. To modify the fire class settings, double-click an entry in

the list. The Fire Class Collection Editor window opens.


Specify properties of the selected fire class. Refer to Table 12 on page 49.

Table 12 Fire Class Settings

Option Description

Size The size of the fire

Outputs The output that is going to be notified in case of a fire of defined size.

Figure 24 Fire Class Settings

16. Select Multi Sensor Board (optional) to choose between different settings of the analog inputs of the Multi Sensor Board, if available. Refer to Table 13 on page 51. For detailed information about the Multi Sensor Board please refer to the Multi Sensor Board User Guide.


Figure 25 Multi Sensor Board Settings


Table 13 Multi Sensor Board Settings

Option Description

Temperature Inputs 4 different PT100/1000 temperature inputs can be enabled. Enter start and stop

(m) of the sensor cable reference position. Either for the simple data logging or for calibration purpose (therefore “use for calibration” must be enabled).

Analog Voltage Inputs If enabled, gain, offset and the unit can be defined for each input separately. The value recorded in the trace file is gain*value+offset. The unit can be used to refer to the physical measured values.

Analog Current Inputs If enabled, gain, offset and the unit can be defined for each input separately. Refer to the analog voltage inputs.

Digital Inputs

The digital input status will be logged if enabled.

17. Click OK to save all configuration settings.

Modifying a Configuration

To modify an existing configuration double-click the configuration or select it and then in the Edit menu click Configuration. The Configuration Editor dialog box opens, where you can modify the measurement, sensor, alarm and Multi Sensor Board settings. Refer to chapter „Creating a New Configuration“ on page 39.

The configuration files have the .cfg extension.

NOTE After changing the configuration attributes in the Configuration Editor dialog box, save your changes.


Copying a Configuration

To copy a configuration select the configuration you want to copy and perform one of the following:

• In the File menu select Save As. Specify a new name for the copy and click OK. The configuration is saved to the disk and renamed in the File Explorer pane. The original configuration is still stored on the disk.

• In the Edit menu select Clone Configuration. This option creates an exact copy of the currently selected configuration file with C and the number of copy before the filename.

Extracting a Configuration from a Trace

Trace files also contain the information about the configuration with which a measurement was initiated.

The DTS Configurator enables you to extract a configuration from a trace. This option creates a new Configuration file based on settings contained in a Trace file.

To extract a configuration, open the trace you want to use and in the Edit menu select Extract Configuration or right-click on the trace in the File Explorer and select Extract Configuration.

Downloading Configurations

The application also enables you to download configurations from the DTS instrument. To download a configuration follow the procedure below:

1. In the Instrument menu select Download and Configurations. The Download Configurations dialog box opens.


Figure 26 Download Configurations

2. Click Download Configurations to start downloading

configurations. You can monitor the download progress and each downloaded configuration is added to the Configuration List.

NOTE Invalid configurations will not be downloaded.

Figure 27 Save Downloaded Configurations

3. You can save downloaded configurations. Select the

configurations you want to save by clicking the corresponding check-boxes.


4. Select the destination folder. You can save configurations to the default (predefined) folder, or select a different folder.

5. In the Filename Prefix, enter the prefix for the filenames.

You can also leave this field empty. All configurations are saved under the filename consisting of the prefix you entered and their original name.

6. Click Save Selected to save the configurations.

To exit the Download Configuration dialog box, click Close.


Sequences

A sequence is a group of configurations that are a part of the same measurement process. When a sequence measurement is started measurements of all configurations in the list are triggered in the same order as the configurations are listed in the sequence.

Managing sequences involves the following:

• ”Creating a New Sequence “ on page 55

• ”Adding Configurations to a Sequence“ on page 56

• ”Dual-Ended Configuration within a Sequence“ on page 56

• ”Modifying Configuration within a Sequence“ on page 58

• ”Modifying a Sequence“ on page 58

• ”Copying a Sequence“ on page 59

Creating a New Sequence

To create a new sequence of configurations, follow the procedure below:

1. In the File menu click New and select Sequence. A new sequence item is added in the File Explorer.

2. Select the new sequence and then in the Edit menu click

Sequence. The Sequence Editor dialog box opens. The window opens also if you double-click the sequence or right-click it and select Edit.

3. Select General and specify the required settings. Refer to

Table 14 on page 55.

Table 14 The Sequence Settings

Option Description

Repeat Repeat mode of the sequence measurement. Each measurement cycle starts with the first configuration and ends with the last configuration in the sequence.

4. Select Files and specify the configuration files that will be a part of the new sequence. Refer to Table 15 on page 56.


NOTE Configurations in a sequence must set to Repeat Value = 1, while the whole sequence can be executed with Repeat Value

= Continue.

For all configurations within a sequence, the values for Measurement Time, Intermediate Update Time, Sampling Interval and Spatial Resolution must be identical.

The update time must be at least the sum of all measurement times of the single configurations.

Table 15 The Sequence Files

Option Description

Files The list of configuration files that are included into the sequence (see “Adding Configurations to a Sequence” on page 56).

Adding Configurations to a Sequence

To add a configuration to a sequence:

1. Open the File Explorer pane.

NOTE

2. Click on a configuration and drag the configuration into a sequence. You can put up to 24 configurations into a sequence, depending on your system options.

Each added sequence receives a name prefix C1. If you add the same configuration twice the second added configuration will be renamed with prefix C2, C3, etc.

Dual-Ended Configuration within a Sequence

One sequence can contain up to 24 configurations or up to 12 dual-ended configurations. To define whether a configuration is dual-ended or not:

1. Double-click a sequence


2. Select Files and check the Dual ended check box for the configuration which should measure in dual-end mode. The configuration has to be defined for an odd channel.

NOTE When dual ended is check marked, the configuration will be automatically marked as dual-ended measurement for the calibration within the configuration editor (refer to chapter Creating a New Configurationon on page 39).

Possible combinations of configurations are:

• Up to 24 single-ended configurations

• Several dual-end and single-end configurations, e.g. up to 12 single-end and 6 dual-end configuration

• Up to 12 dual-ended configurations

Figure 28 Dual-Ended Configurations


Modifying Configuration within a Sequence

In the Sequence Editor window you can also edit configurations or remove them from a sequence. To modify a configuration:

1. Double-click a sequence.

2. Select Files and click Edit or double-click on the

configuration entry of the sequence in the File Explorer. See „Modifying a Configuration“ on page 51 for more details.

3. Click OK to save the changes.

4. When you change a configuration within a sequence you

do not save the actual configuration, therefor you need to save the sequence.

5. To rename a configuration within the sequence select the

configuration, click the name of the configuration and insert new name.

6. To change the order of configurations click and drag a configuration into the desired position.

NOTE

You can drag the configuration from a sequence into the Configurations folder where its name receives a prefix C1.

Modifying a Sequence

To modify an existing sequence double-click on it in the File Explorer or select it and click then in the Edit menu Sequence. The Sequence Editor dialog box opens, where you can modify the settings. Refer to chapter “Creating a New Sequence” on page 55.

NOTE The configuration files have the .seq extension.

After changing the sequence attributes in the Sequence Editor

dialog box, save your changes.


Copying a Sequence

To copy a sequence select the sequence you want to copy and perform one of the following:

• In the File menu select Save As. Specify a new name for the copy and click OK. The sequence is saved to the disk and renamed in the File Explorer pane. The original sequence is still stored on the disk.

or

• In the Edit menu select Clone Sequence. This option creates an exact copy of the currently selected sequence file.


Measurements

Managing measurements involves the following:

• ”Starting a Single Measurement “ on page 60

• ”Starting a Sequence Measurement “ on page 61

• ”Viewing a Running Measurement Trace “ on page 61

Starting a Single Measurement

You can start a single measurement with new or existing configurations.

If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before

NOTE

NOTE

you can start a measurement.

To start a single measurement perform the following steps:

1. Create a new configuration or select an existing configuration.

2. In the Instrument menu click Start Measurement.

A measurement can be started only if the default DTS instrument is specified. Refer to chapter “DTS Instrument

Discovery” on page 31. If the measurement parameters are inconsistent or invalid for the available instrument you will receive an error message.

When a measurement starts, a new item appears under Traces in the File Explorer pane, indicating a running measurement.

Once the application is started it begins to record the actual traces of a running measurement. The running measurement must be started previously by any user.

To stop the measurement click Stop Measurement in the Instrument menu.

When connected to the particular DTS instrument, all running measurements are monitored and visualized. In the following scenarios a new running trace is automatically created and the visualization begins as soon as the next trace data arrive:

1. The DTS Instrument is measuring and the DTS Configurator has just been started.


2. The DTS Configurator is running and someone starts a measurement from another connection to the DTS instrument (DTS instruments support more than one LAN connection, i.e. connection types).

Starting a Sequence Measurement

You can start a sequence measurement with new or existing configurations.

NOTE

If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before you can start a measurement.

To start a sequence measurement perform the following steps:

1. Create a new sequence or select an existing sequence (see ”Creating a New Sequence” on page 55).

2. In the Instrument menu click Start Measurement. For each configuration of the sequence a trace graph will be displayed in the Data Visualization pane.

Viewing a Running Measurement Trace

While a measurement is in progress, you can view the running measurement trace and the measurement status.

In the Instrument pane you can track the progress of the measurement. The number of created traces and the status of the measurement are displayed.

Figure 29 Measurement Data in the Instrument pane

The Data Visualization pane enables you to:

• Zoom in and out

• Pan the view

• Save pictures

• Send the graph to the printer


These options are available in the graph context menu. To access the context menu right-click in the graph area.

To zoom in on a specific part of the graph, click with the left mouse button and drag a rectangle in the area you want to view. To view markers on the zoomed-in part of the graph click the Center Markers icon in the toolbar. The markers will be visible on the graph only if the graph contains at least two sample points.

Figure 30 Zooming In

The temperature and the loss data will be saved in the trace files.

There are two types of traces:

• Intermediate trace is a trace that occurs during the

measurement and is marked with black color. This measurement is not saved, it is displayed only as intermediate information. The interval for intermediate traces is set in the Configuration settings, under Measurement -> Intermediate Update Time (see “Creating a New Configuration” on page 39).

• Measurement trace is a final trace, displayed when a measurement cycle is finished. This measurement is marked with the same color as the icon next to the measurement in the file explorer. The interval for measurement trace is set in the Configuration settings, under Measurement -> Measurement Time (s).

When a measurement finishes, you can save the measured results in the trace file. Select the finished trace in the Measurements tree (File Explorer) and in the File menu click Save.


Traces

Managing measurements involves the following:

• ”Creating a New Trace“ on page 63

• ”Viewing a Trace“ on page 63

• ”Manual Saving of Multitrace“ on page 64

• ”Unpack Multitrace Files” on page 65

• ”Copying a Trace” on page 65

• “Downloading Traces“ on page 66

• ”Suppress Intermediate Traces“ on page 67

Creating a New Trace

A new trace will be automatically created with each new measurement. When a measurement starts, a new trace item is added in the Measurement tree in the File Explorer pane. The newly created trace automatically inherits the configuration settings with which the measurement was started.

Viewing a Trace

NOTE

When a measurement is finished you can view the temperature or loss graph of the traces. In contrast to the running measurement trace (see chapter “Viewing a Running Measurement Trace” on page 61) they both show results of a finished measurement.

To view a trace of a measurement:

1. Open a saved trace by clicking the Open icon or select a

finished trace in the File menu.

2. In the File menu right-click a trace and select Show Graph. The measurement graph will open in the Data Visualization pane.

In case of non-valid data detection in a trace file, such value is represented with zero value in the graph.

3. To view another trace of a measurement, repeat the above

with another trace. Both graphs are now visible in the Data Visualization pane. You can simultaneously view multiple graphs.


NOTE If more than one graph window is open and you selected a full page view (by maximizing a graph window) select another open window by pressing ctrl + tab key.

Opening different graphs at the same time enables comparison of the results.

You can zoom in on a part of the chart by clicking and

dragging the mouse over the area you want to magnify.

Editing options are available in the context menu. To access the

context menu, right-click the chart. The menu contains the

following actions: AutoScale, Zoom, Undo Zoom, Print, Copy,

Save and Properties.

Manual Saving of Multitrace Files

Manual saving of Multitrace files is possible only when the following conditions are met:

• In Settings -> Options go to Auto Save Traces and leave the Create Multitrace File check box unchecked.

• In Settings -> Options go to Auto Save Traces and leave the Enable check box unchecked.

To save multiple traces:

1. When a measurement is finished, click the Save button and Save Multiple Traces window appears.

Figure 31 Save Multiple Traces


2. Define the document prefix and select the folder or leave default folder, according to which data the traces should be saved.

3. Click Save to save the Multitrace file.

Unpack Multitrace Files

Multirace files can be unpacked to single trace files. Therefore go to Edit and Unpack Multitrace Files.

Select the Multitrace file and choose the destination folder, the filename prefix and the destination format of the single trace files.

Click Unpack and the multitrace file is unpacked into single trace files. You can then load these into the DTS Configurator again, either in ASCII or binary format.

Figure 32 Unpack Multitrace Files Window

Copying a Trace

To copy a trace, open the trace you want to copy and perform one of the following:

• In the File menu select Save As. Specify a new name for the copy and click OK. The trace is saved to the disk and renamed in the File Explorer pane.

• In the Edit menu select Clone Trace. This option creates an exact copy of the currently selected trace file.


Downloading Traces

The application also enables you to download measurement traces from the DTS instrument. To download a trace follow the procedure below:

1. In the Instrument menu select Download and Traces. The Download Traces dialog box opens.

Figure 33 Download Traces

2. Click Download Traces to start downloading traces.

You can monitor the download progress and each downloaded trace is added to the Trace List.

Figure 34 Save Downloaded Traces


3. You can save downloaded traces:

a) Select the traces you want to save by clicking the corresponding check-boxes.

b) Select the destination folder. You can save traces to default (predefined) folder, or select a different folder.

c) In the Filename Prefix enter the prefix for the

filenames. You can also leave this field empty. All traces are saved under the filename, consisting of the prefix you entered and their original name.

d) Click Save Selected to save the traces.

4. To exit the Download Traces dialog box, click Close.

Suppress Intermediate Traces

When the measurement time is very long, for example when monitoring power cables, you have a smaller intermediate update time and get the results (intermediate traces) before the first measurement cycle is finished. Usually and inherently, the intermediate trace is not as precise as the trace after the first cycle. You can change and suppress the intermediate traces by configuring the following settings:

1. Under Settings -> Options go to Measurement Window.

2. Uncheck ”Show intermediate traces”.

3. Click OK.

Now the intermediate trace update is suppressed and you get the next, precise final trace when the running measurement cycle is finished.

Example:

The measurement time is 600 seconds, intermediate update time is set to 30 seconds. With this configuration the trace graph you get will be updated after 600 seconds.


Modbus

Using Modbus involves the following:

• ”Configure the DTS“ on page 68

• ”Overview of Holdings and Coils“ on page 69

• “Available Commands“ on page 69

• ”Using the Modbus Interface“ on page 74

Optionally the DTS can be equipped with an integrated Modbus TCP slave interface, which provides data that can be polled with an appropriate Modbus master system. The category “Modbus” is visible in the instrument settings, if the instrument is equipped with the Modbus option.

Configure the DTS

You need two files to configure the Modbus interface: the RegisterHolding.csv to parameterize the register holdings and the RegisterCoil.csv for the coils.

To configure the Modbus interface, select a RegisterHolding.csv and a RegisterCoil.csv by clicking on the “...”-buttons to browse for the files. Click “Configure Instrument” to download the configuration files to the DTS. This may take a few seconds.

Figure 35 Configure the DTS


Overview of Holdings and Coils

The holdings and coils in the DTS’ Modbus interface are divided

into different units. A 4-channel DTS comes with four virtual

units, a 12- channel DTS has 12 units. The available register

holdings and coils per unit depends on the number of

channels:

Table 16 Available holdings and coils

Channels Units Holdings per unit

Coils per unit

1-4 4 16.384 3.000

8 8 8.192 1.500

12 12 5.461 1.000

24 24 2.730 500

The register holdings can contain integer values from -32768 to 32767 and represent - among other things - measured temperatures and time stamps.

The coils in the Modbus protocol contain boolean values, either 0 or 1. The default value is 0, which means that no alarm was triggered. It changes to 1 if there is an alarm (or fiber break) in the particular zone.

NOTE

To get default files please contact [email protected]. You can customize the files as you need, but be careful and save a backup before changing anything. Please refer to the overview about the default parameterization of the register holdings and coils.

Available Commands

The following commands are available in the internal Modbus configuration:

RegisterHoldings.csv

• TempMax100, TempMin100, TempAverage100

Exports the maximum, minimum and average per zone, multiplied by 100; a value of 3261 means 32,61 oC.



Example: 1; 2008; TempMax100; 2; 9 This exports the maximum temperature in zone 9 of the second sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 2008.

• TempMax10, TempMin10, TempAverage10

Exports the same, but multiplied by 10; a value of 422 means 42.2°C.

Example: 1; 1603; TempAverage10; 0; 3

This exports the average temperature in zone 3 of a single configuration measurement into unit 1, holding register 1603.

• TraceTemp100, TraceTemp10

Exports measured temperature of a single measurement point; a measured span of 8000 m at a defined sampling interval of 0.5 m results in up to 16000 possible values.

Example: 3; 1010; TraceTemp100; 2; 9 This exports the measured temperature of the 9th measurement point of the second sequence entry into unit 3, holding register 1010.

• FireDetected

Ask the instrument if there is a temperature event. Response: 0 if there is no temperature event, 1 if there is a temperature event. Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example: 1; 1010; FireDetected; 1; 1

This exports an alarm (return value 1) in case of a temperature event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 1010. The last number (1) indicates the number of the fire detection resource (max. 10).

• FireDirection

Get the direction in which the temperature event is moving. Response: 1 if the temperature event is moving away from the DTS. 0 if the temperature event is stationary, -1 if the temperature event is moving toward to the DTS. Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event.


Example: 1; 1011; FireDirection; 1; 2 This exports the direction of the second largest temperature event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 1011.

• FirePosition

Get the position of the temperature event (center) in meters from the sensor start position. Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example: 1; 1012; FirePosition; 1; 3

This exports the position of the third largest temperature event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 1012.

• FireSizeAbsolute

Get the size of the temperature event in meters. Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example: 1; 1013; FireSizeAbsolute; 1; 2

This exports the size of the second largest temperature event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 1013.

• FireSizeClass

Get the specified size class of a temperature event. Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example: 1; 1014; FireSizeClass; 1; 1

This exports the size class of the largest temperature event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 1014.

• FireTempMax10

Exports the maximum temperature of an alarm event multiplied by 10; a value of 326 means 32,6 oC. Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.


Example: 1; 1603; FireTempMax10; 0; 3

This exports the maximum temperature of the third largest temperature event (regardless which zone) of a single configuration measurement into unit 1, holding register 1603.

• FireTempMin10

Exports the minimum temperature of an alarm event multiplied by 10; a value of 158 means 15,8 oC. Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example: 1; 1604; FireTempMin10; 0; 2

This exports the minimum temperature of the second largest temperature event (regardless which zone) of a single configuration measurement into unit 1, holding register 1604.

• TraceLow, TraceValue, TraceHigh

With these commands you can export the measurement index, the number of finished measurement cycles in low and high byte; after 6 measurement cycles TraceLow contains 6 and TraceValue contains 1536 (256 times 6).

Example: 2; 5021; TraceLow; 1; 0 This exports the measurement index of the first sequence entry into unit 2, holding register 5021.

• Value

You can define constants to determine certain regions in the register holdings.

Example: 1; 1000; Value; -1; 1111 This sets holding register 1000 of unit 1 to the value 1111.

• Year, MonthDay, Hour, MinuteSecond

These commands present the timestamp of when the last measurement cycle was completed; MonthDay and MinuteSecond present the value in high and low byte; 521 in ”MonthDay“ results in 9th of February (521/145 = 2 remainder 9)

Example: 4; 900; MinuteSecond; 4; -1

This shows the timestamp in minutes and seconds of when the fourth sequence entry was measured the last time in unit 4, holding register 900.


• DistanceOfFirstItem; LengthOfTrace; NumberOfDataPoints If the measurement span starts at 20 meters, ”DistanceOfFirstItem“ will show 20; ”LengthOfTrace“ shows the lengths of measured span and ”NumberOfDataPoints“ is the number of measurement points in the measured span.

Example: 1; 5001; LengthOfTrace; 2; 0 This exports into holding register 5001 of unit 1 the measured distance of the second sequence entry.

• OpticTemp10, RefCoilTemp10

These are reference temperatures within the DTS

Example: 3; 1; RefCoilTemp10; 0; -1

This exports the measured temperature of the reference coil within the DTS into holding 1 of unit 3.

RegisterCoil.csv

• Alarm, FiberBreak, SystemStatus, AlarmAccu

Exports a value of 0 or 1, depending on whether an alarm or fiber break was triggered. The AlarmAccu shows the status of the zone accumulated and needs to be manually reset like the Alarm LED.

Example: 1; 2090; FiberBreak; 3; 90

This shows, in coil 2090 of unit 1, if there is a fiber break in zone 90 of third sequence entry.

• DTSMeasurementRunning

Exports a value of 0 if the connected DTS is currently not measuring; 1 if there is a measurement running.

Example: 1; 592; DTSMeasurementRunning; -1; -1 This shows, in coil 592 of unit 1, if a measurement is running.

• DTSConditionErrors

If the DTS has an internal error status (not when fire alarm or fiber break occurs) this command exports 1


Example: 1; 593; DTSConditionErrors; -1; -1

This shows, in coil 59 of unit 1, if the DTS has an internal error.

.

• PointAlarm; PointAlarmAccu

Exports a value of 0 or 1, depending on whether an alarm or fiber break was triggered at the sample point. The PointAlarmAccu shows the status of the sample point accumulated and needs to be manually reset like the Alarm LED

Example: 1; 2090; PointAlarm; 3; 90

This shows, in coil 2090 of unit 1, if there is a fiber break at the sample point 90 of the third sequence entry.

Using the Modbus Interface

To read the register types you need an appropriate Modbus master system. Set the desired IP address of the DTS in the communication settings. Connect the Modbus master via ethernet to the DTS; the Modbus protocol uses port 502.


3 Users

Introduction ..................................... 76

Logging In ....................................... 77

Administering Users ........................ 78


Introduction

DTS Configurator features a multi-user management and login system.

The purpose of this feature is to provide a secure environment for instrument discovery, instrument modification and for starting or stopping the measurements. Only registered users (users with a user name and password) have access to these functionalities.


Logging In

The application can run in two modes:

• Anonymous mode

• User authorization mode

NOTE

NOTE

When you first install the application, there are no predefined users and the application will work in the anonymous mode (no authentication is required).

As soon as the first user is configured, the application starts working in user authorization mode and authorization is required.

If you want to switch from user authentication mode back to anonymous mode, you have to delete all configured users.

In the user authorization mode you need to log in to perform the following actions:

• Start a measurement

• Stop a measurement

• Configure a DTS instrument (perform DTS discovery, set instrument settings)

To log in, perform the following procedure:

1. In the Settings menu, select Login to open the Login dialog box or click the Login icon on the toolbar.

2. Enter your username and password and click OK.

If the Auto logout after x minutes checkbox is enabled, you will be automatically logged out when the specified time in minutes elapses.

Figure 36 Login Dialog Box

Tip: If you are not logged in and want to start or stop a measurement, or configure the DTS instrument, the Login dialog box opens automatically.


Administering Users

All registered users can add, modify and delete other users.

For user administration perform the following:

1. In the Settings menu select Options to open the Program Options dialog box.

2. Select Users from the tree.

This dialog box enables you to:

• Add users

Enter a new username and password, and reenter the password in the Confirm Password field. Click Add to save this user.

• Modify users

You can only change the user password. In the list double- click the user you want to modify or insert user name in the Username field, enter a new password and confirm password. Click Update.

• Delete users In the list select the user you want to delete and click Delete.

Figure 37 User Administration


AP Sensing GmbH

Herrenberger Str. 130

71034 Boeblingen, Germany

Tel: + 49 7031 309 6610

Fax: + 49 7031 309 6611

[email protected]

www. apsensing.com

© AP Sensing GmbH 11th Edition, February 2014


http://www.apsensing.co/

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