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Getting Started - Setting up the Analyzer

Setup the Hardware:
Install the DT-9800 hardware and drivers (refer to instructions included with your hardware) and connect the transducer you wish to measure to the input channels.

Configure the Device: 
Prior to making a measurement, you need to configure the hardware.  Click the <Options><Processing Settings> menu, press the F4 key, or click the I/O toolbar button to open the Input Device settings.  Select the DT-9800 device to use, set the Sampling Rate to at least twice the highest frequency you need to measure and enable one or more input channels.

Frequency Range:
Go to the FFT Settings dialog box by selecting the <Options><Processing Settings> menu item or the F4 key, and click on the FFT Settings tab  Set the Sampling Rate to at least twice the highest rate that you wish to measure.  Now adjust the FFT size as needed.  

Axis Scaling:
Go to the Scaling dialog box by selecting the Scaling tab under the <Options><Processing Settings> menu item.  Select the appropriate scaling options.  The program defaults to Logarithmic amplitude scaling and Logarithmic frequency axis scaling. 

Open the Plots:
Click the <Plots><Select Single Channel Plots>  menu to select the plots.  Pressing F5 or pressing the corresponding toolbar button will also open the plot selection dialog.  Plots can be opened and closed even when the processor is running but in the case of the 3-D Surface and Spectrogram plots, the contents are erased once closed.

Select the Operating Mode:
Select the Recorder mode if you wish to save the waveform data for later processing.  Select Real-Time mode if you wish to run in a monitor mode without saving the data.  The Real-Time mode will allow you to run continuously whereas the Recorder mode is limited by available hard disk space or memory (depending on the selected File Options) on the computer.  Post Processing mode is used for processing from a previously recorded WAV file.  Click the <File><Open> menu to process one or more existing wave files.

Start the Analyzer:
Click <Run> or <Rec> on the toolbar or use the associated accelerator key <alt> <R> to start the processor.  The displays will then begin updating.  

Stop the analyzer and make a measurement
Click <Stop> on the toolbar or use the associated accelerator keys <alt> <S> to stop the processor.  Use the mouse to point to a feature of interest on one of the plots and press the left mouse button.  Measurement boxes will appear which contain the corresponding plot values.  (See Cursor Measurements for more information).  Right clicking on the plot will popup a menu with many useful operations; you can also copy the contents to the Windows clipboard from this menu.

Print the results
Selecting the <File> <Print> menu item will print the active plot on the selected printer.  You will also have an opportunity to enter custom annotation which is printed along the top center of the page.  

Save the configuration
You may save the current analyzer configuration at any time by using the <File> <Load> Configuration menu item.  All current settings are saved as well as the size and position of each plot and any open WAV file.


See also:  Basic Operation, What is a Spectrum Analyzer? , Opening and Saving Wave files , Aliasing, Printing , Configuration Files , Keyboard Shortcuts