CL System
Affordable Technology

DSG operations - FAQ

1. Q: When I press 'GO' I keep getting 'No power to the DSG' message.

A: Check the power supply to the DSG. As the power supply is plugged into the DSG and powered up, you should be able to hear the relays within the DSG initialising, if not check that the mains is switched on and the cable to the DSG is not broken.

2. Q: The DSG appears to scan but I am getting no display or the display is erratic.

A: There could be a few reasons but the main likely ones are:

1. Make sure your PC or Laptop is set to ECP mode in the BIOS. DSG requires this mode for fast data transfer. For instructions to setup this mode, see this page.

2. Make sure the LPT (printer) port is not used by other applications such as printer, scanners, zip drives...etc. Some of these application continuously poll the port and conflicts will occur.

3. Make sure the channel display scroll is not set too high or low with high magnification, such that the signal reading is off the display scale.

3. Q: Sometimes, I am getting erratic FFT plots when I switched between Scope+Generator and FFT modes.

A: The FFT functions uses data length of 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K and 32K. When sampling is carried out in Scope and Generator mode the sample length may not be exactly at the right length for the FFT function. The FFT function can be forced to operate on a smaller buffer length of the correct size by switching to Scope mode, adjust the buffer size and then switch back to FFT mode. Note: FFT functions will be erratic on any samples less then the minimum of 2K.

4. Q: How can I display live FFT samples?

A: Set up the DSG in scope mode to sample the signal repeatedly. Adjust Range, Sample rate and Trigger mode to suit your signal. Then switch over to FFT mode by clicking the 'F' button. That is it, the display now shows the FFT plots for each set of data captured, repeatedly.

5. Q. When I connect a printer extension lead (2m length) to the DSG, the scope display becomes unstable.

A. Due to the fast data transfer between the PC and DSG, the printer port extension lead must not exceed 1m and should not be heavily filtered. If required we can supply a 1m printer port extension lead (ribbon cable), please refer to our price list.

6. Q. After installing the USB cable software and attaching the DSG unit, the software is unable to detect the DSG.

A. Even though you have installed the USB software correctly, Windows will sometimes select  a different driver for the USB interface cable.  When this occurs, Windows will pick it up incorrectly as a 'USB serial port' . To correct this you will need to go to 'My Computer' >'System Information' > 'Hardware' > 'Device Manager' > 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers' . Double click on the 'USB serial' device , select 'Driver' > 'Update Driver' > 'Install from a list or specific location' > 'Don't search, I will chose the driver to install'  > 'FTDI FT8U2XX Device' and follow installation prompt.  A PDF help file is available HERE.