Using MintakaCommander
Introduction
MintakaCommander is a Macintosh and Windows application that allows you to connect your Mintaka Duo Barometer to a computer via the USB connector.
MintakaCommander is a flexible and powerful tool to:
• View versatile, interactive graphs of stored data, including a unique trend analysis feature.
• Show a full-screen plot of the pressure on your computer that updates at regular intervals.
• Region zoom the graphics to show the slightest change in pressure.
• Download user-selected data to a .csv file to view off line. (Valuable for mining, medical, and other applications that require an archived record of a pressure history.)
• Check or set the Duo's high-accuracy internal clock.
• Check for latest Duo firmware and update it automatically if needed.
• Check for and download updates to MintakaCommander.
• Connect directly to the Duo and run commands from the included terminal window (without the need for an external tool).
Table of Contents
Available barometer controls, readouts, and operations are available from the menu bar. They are outlined below.
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Choose Duo. With multiple units attached to the computer, use this to select the one of interest. (Once data has been synced with the computer, you will then have the later option to view and analyze this saved data without the Duo connected to the computer.) Export Data. Graphically select (click start and end points) a region of data for export to csv file for analysis or archive elsewhere. Delete Data. Graphically select (click start and end points) a region of data to delete. |
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Info. Shows current state of the Duo. See sample. Show Pressure. Displays at the bottom on the page: current time, pressure, sensor temperature, difference between sensors and calibrated difference between sensors. Run a Command. Lets you run any of a number of commands. The command h gives a list of commands. See sample. |
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Read Time. Displays the clock date and time according to the Duo's internal clock. Also displays the error relative to computer time along with the time period since it was last set. This assumes the computer has correct time, which is likely the case if it is newish and connected to the Internet. See notes on finding accurate time. Runtime. Shows the total time the Duo has been running along with the time period since the last power up. Set Time and Time zone. Sets the Duo to the computer time and time zone. Note it does not ask you to confirm this; it just does it, so best to check the Read Time to see if this is needed. You can adjust the time by a given number of seconds with the command ST, and also set the time zone without changing time with command SZ. See finding accurate time to be sure you need to change it. The Duo should be a very accurate clock.
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Connect. Connects the Duo to your computer via a command or terminal window, active at the bottom of the window. You can issue commands in that window or monitor autosample output. Disconnect. Closes the terminal connection. |
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Synch. Synchronizes the data in the Duo with that stored in your computer. After the initial sync, only new data will be added. There is also an Auto Sync option on the right-hand side of the menu bar that you can set to any interval that will automatically update the data and display it in the graph for a live display of pressure accumulation. |
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MintakaCommander Help. Documents MintakaCommander's functionality. Check for Mintaka Duo Updates. This checks your Duo for latest firmware version and allows an automatic update (connected to Internet) along with a brief note of the changes being added. Check for MintakaCommander Update. Checks online to see if you have the latest version of this app and offers the option to download it. Load Firmware File. This is another way to update the firmware by first downloading the file to your computer then loading it from your computer. Diagnostics. Displays a file of information that could be useful in evaluating the performance of the instrument as needed. About. Tells the version number of the app. |
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Auto Synchronization Choose to enable auto synchronization (AutoSynch). |
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Graphic display manipulation |