Frequently Asked Questions PowerChrom

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Calibration Document; A customer asked how calibration is performed in PowerChrom.

The obvious answer is the PowerChrom Manual which describes the calibration procedure.

A video teaching about calibrations is available at https://www.edaq.com/wiki/Method_and_Calibration_Tables

A sample calibration file: File:Calibration is performed in PowerChrom.zip


Why can I see steps in my data instead of getting smooth curves?

It is likely that you have chosen a recording range which is too big and you are seeing digitization. If your peaks are only a few millivolts high, and you have left the default 10 volt range, you will see stepped peaks; the signal and areas will be inaccurate. You should select a recording range slightly higher than the largest signal you will record. Have a look at the Basics of Data Acquisition application note.


Why am I getting a noisy signal? / Why is there noise in my data?

There can be many reasons why you are getting noise. Have a look at this application note.


PowerChrom Error codes

When a PowerChrom system stops or crashes unexpectedly, a cryptic error message is often generated. This can be caused by:

  • Hardware error
  • Software error
  • Operating system action - for example an update
  • Other software application


List of error messages:

These error messages are not always useful in identifying a fault and the eRRS Software (eDAQ Remote Reporting Software) is much more useful in identifying problems.

See below. There are two sets of error codes, so depending on where/when it occurred, it might be one thing or another.


Maybe

dsMustUseFCBAccessors = 119, /* FCBSPtr and FSFCBLen are invalid - must use FSM FCB accessor functions */

dsVMBadBackingStore = 113, /*Error occurred while reading or writing the VM backing-store file*/

or

eParamErr = 113; { Bad parameter error }

eRestarted = 119; { Application wasn't recognised }


The full error lists are:


 dsNoFPU                       = 90,   /*an FPU instruction was executed and the machine doesnÕt have one*/
 dsNoPatch                     = 98,   /*Can't patch for particular Model Mac*/
 dsBadPatch                    = 99,   /*Can't load patch resource*/
 dsParityErr                   = 101,  /*memory parity error*/
 dsOldSystem                   = 102,  /*System is too old for this ROM*/
 ds32BitMode                   = 103,  /*booting in 32-bit on a 24-bit sys*/
 dsNeedToWriteBootBlocks       = 104,  /*need to write new boot blocks*/
 dsNotEnoughRAMToBoot          = 105,  /*must have at least 1.5MB of RAM to boot 7.0*/
 dsBufPtrTooLow                = 106,  /*bufPtr moved too far during boot*/
 dsVMDeferredFuncTableFull     = 112,  /*VM's DeferUserFn table is full*/
 dsVMBadBackingStore           = 113,  /*Error occurred while reading or writing the VM backing-store file*/
 dsCantHoldSystemHeap          = 114,  /*Unable to hold the system heap during boot*/
 dsSystemRequiresPowerPC       = 116,  /*Startup disk requires PowerPC*/
 dsGibblyMovedToDisabledFolder = 117,  /* For debug builds only, signals that active gibbly was disabled during boot. */
 dsUnBootableSystem            = 118,  /* Active system file will not boot on this system because it was designed only to boot from a CD. */
 dsMustUseFCBAccessors         = 119,  /* FCBSPtr and FSFCBLen are invalid - must use FSM FCB accessor functions */
 dsMacOSROMVersionTooOld       = 120,  /* The version of the "Mac OS ROM" file is too old to be used with the installed version of system software */
 dsLostConnectionToNetworkDisk = 121,  /* Lost communication with Netboot server */
 dsRAMDiskTooBig               = 122,  /* The RAM disk is too big to boot safely; will be turned off */
 dsWriteToSupervisorStackGuardPage = 128, /*the supervisor stack overflowed into its guard page */
 dsReinsert                    = 30,   /*request user to reinsert off-line volume*/
 shutDownAlert                 = 42,   /*handled like a shutdown error*/
 dsShutDownOrRestart           = 20000, /*user choice between ShutDown and Restart*/
 dsSwitchOffOrRestart          = 20001, /*user choice between switching off and Restart*/
 dsForcedQuit                  = 20002, /*allow the user to ExitToShell, return if Cancel*/
 dsRemoveDisk                  = 20003, /*request user to remove disk from manual eject drive*/
 dsDirtyDisk                   = 20004, /*request user to return a manually-ejected dirty disk*/
 dsShutDownOrResume            = 20109, /*allow user to return to Finder or ShutDown*/
 dsSCSIWarn                    = 20010, /*Portable SCSI adapter warning.*/
 dsMBSysError                  = 29200, /*Media Bay replace warning.*/
 dsMBFlpySysError              = 29201, /*Media Bay, floppy replace warning.*/
 dsMBATASysError               = 29202, /*Media Bay, ATA replace warning.*/
 dsMBATAPISysError             = 29203, /*Media Bay, ATAPI replace warning...*/
 dsMBExternFlpySysError        = 29204, /*Media Bay, external floppy drive reconnect warning*/
 dsPCCardATASysError           = 29205 /*PCCard has been ejected while still in use. */


     kMajorVersion     = 1;     { Required major patch level for this interface code }
     kNWarnings     = 4;     { # of warning records: enough to bore the user }
     kMaxConnected   = 10;     { Maximum simultaneous connections, not widely used so could remove restriction if we cared! }
     kInitialTimeOut = 30;  { Red Bear application timeout in seconds; we have to
                                 communicate with it at least this often }
     eQFull         = 112;    { Queue-full error code }
     eParamErr      = 113;    { Bad parameter error }
     eIntfBad       = 114;    { Interface bad }
     eTimeOut       = 115;    { Something timed out }
     eUpdateProblem = 116;    { Updating process got unexpected response }
     eMissingClass  = 117;    { Class needed for updating wasn't there }
     eClassLimit    = 118;
     eRestarted     = 119;    { Application wasn't recognised }
     eNotImplemented= 120;
     eBadContext    = 121;
     eNoSuchUnit    = 122;
     eNoEcho        = 123;    { Didn't echo: check patchlevel }
     eTruncHeader   = 130;    { AppleTalk protocol problems }
     eWriteTrunc    = 131;
     eSyncLost      = 132;
     eRetarded_s     = 133;  { Enabler/MacLab too old for this code }
     eAdvanced      = 134;     { Enabler or MacLab version too new for ths code }
     e6502Based     = 135;     { Maclab isn't an s-series }
     //eNoEnabler_s   = 136;     { No enabler found and MacLab not up to date }
     eWrongUSBDriver= 137;  { Wrong USB driver version }
     eUSBGoneAway     = 138;     { USB MacLab has gone away }
     //eNoEnabler_20  = 139;     { No enabler found and MacLab not up to date }
     eNoEnabler        = 900;
     eNoEnabler_s         = eNoEnabler + kEnablerKind_68k;    // No enabler found and MacLab not up to date
     eNoEnabler_Last     = eNoEnabler + kEnablerKind_Last;    // No enabler found and MacLab not up to date