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ORTEC DSPEC 50 Hardware User Manual

Standard/advanced digital gamma-ray spectrometer
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ORTEC
®
DSPEC 50 /50A
®
DSPEC 502/502A
®
Standard / Advanced
Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer
Hardware User's Manual
Printed in U.S.A.
ORTEC Part No. 932502
0618
Manual Revision G

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  • Page 1 ORTEC ® DSPEC 50 /50A ® DSPEC 502/502A ® Standard / Advanced Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Hardware User’s Manual Printed in U.S.A. ORTEC Part No. 932502 0618 Manual Revision G...

  • Page 2: Warranty

    Copyright © 2018, Advanced Measurement Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. ® ORTEC is a registered trademark of Advanced Measurement Technology, Inc. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

  • Page 3: Additional Warranty Statement

    ADDITIONAL WARRANTY STATEMENT ® Please note that the integrated computer that controls the ORTEC ® DSPEC 50 is intended exclusively for the tasks detailed in this operation manual. Using this computer for any other purpose may void your warranty. In addition, the DSPEC 50 contains no user-serviceable parts.
  • Page 4 [Intentionally blank]...

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    2. THE DSPEC 50........
  • Page 6 3.3. Step 3: Install the Spectroscopy Application Software......34 3.4. Step 4: Connect the DSPEC 50 to Your Network or Computer....34 3.4.1.
  • Page 7 APPENDIX E. LIST MODE IN THE DSPEC 50........
  • Page 8 [Intentionally blank] viii...

  • Page 9: Safety Instructions And Symbols

    Safety Instructions and Symbols This manual contains up to three levels of safety instructions that must be observed in order to avoid personal injury and/or damage to equipment or other property. These are: DANGER Indicates a hazard that could result in death or serious bodily harm if the safety instruction is not observed.

  • Page 11: Introduction

    The DSPEC 50 is available in Standard (DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502) and Advanced (DSPEC 50A and DSPEC 502A) models with both variants covered in this manual. In addition to the...

  • Page 12: Dspec-Family Technologies For Hpge Systems

    The DSPEC 50 uses our Resolution Enhancer, which enables you to correct for charge trapping by “training” the spectrometer to accommodate the particular performance of your detector.
  • Page 13 List Mode In List Mode, the DSPEC 50 records and stores the pulse value with a time-stamp for every pulse generated by the detector. With List Mode, you can write your own programs that can reconstruct histograms for any time segment without dead time between histograms, or make histograms for overlapping time slices.

  • Page 14: Ballistic Deficit And Adjusting The Flattop Duration

    For this case, the DSPEC 50 includes a flattop feature for the filter that can eliminate the resolution broadening caused by ballistic deficit. Instead of a symmetrical triangle with a sharp point at the peak amplitude, the rising and falling edges are separated by a flattop to form a trapezoid.

  • Page 15: Resolution Enhancer Corrects For Charge Trapping

    The relationship between rise time of the signal and charge trapping is the basis of the Charge Trapping Corrector. The digital filter in the DSPEC 50 measures the amount of charge collected for each event and uses the result to increment the spectrum memory location associated with that charge measure- ment.

  • Page 16: Enhanced Throughput Mode

    Mode can be as little as the rise time plus the flattop. These two scenarios are illustrated in Fig. 1. The DSPEC 50 lets you set a protection time (PT), following a peak-detect, that blocks subsequent peak-detects until the protection time has elapsed. Note that the conventional dead time illustrated in Fig.

  • Page 17: The Low Frequency Rejector (Lfr) Filter

    (6 × rise time) + (3 × flattop) 1.5. The Low Frequency Rejector (LFR) Filter In designing an MCB that can be used in conjunction with mechanical coolers, ORTEC has developed a new digital filter, the Low Frequency Rejector (LFR) filter, capable of correcting the pulse output signal for changes in the baseline caused by cooler-induced microphonics.
  • Page 18 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 The ORTEC LFR filter removes most of the microphonic noise by estimating the microphonic- induced error signal on a pulse-by-pulse basis and subtracting the estimated error signal from the trapezoid output. As noted above, the error signal is proportional to the slope of the baseline dur- ing the energy measurement.

  • Page 19: Zero Dead-Time (Zdt) Mode

    932502G / 0618 1. INTRODUCTION or pole zero the DSPEC 50 while in LFR mode. The Optimize feature should be used with the LFR filter off (checkbox unmarked). Subsequent measurements can then be taken with the LFR filter on. Figure 4. LFR-Enabled Digital Filter.

  • Page 20: Off - Uncorrected Spectrum Only

    As a result, the number of counts in the peak will not be correct. When a supported ORTEC MCB operates in ZDT mode, it adjusts for the dead-time losses by taking very short acquisitions and applying a correction in real time —...

  • Page 21: Norm_Corr - Zdt And Uncorrected Spectra Stored

    NOTE This mode is not useful for quantitative analysis if the counting rate varies significantly during the measurement time, particularly if the user desires an accurate counting rate and standard deviation calculation. When you select the NORM_CORR mode, ORTEC ®...
  • Page 22 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 be expressed as ± with a 1-sigma confidence limit, where N is the corrected spectral data and V is the variance (error) spectral data. The live time is set to the real time within the analysis engine during the analysis of ZDT spectra.

  • Page 23: Choosing A Zdt Mode

    932502G / 0618 1. INTRODUCTION ! The error spectrum is always used to calculate the uncertainties of counts whenever needed. For example, if peak deconvolution is needed, the error spectrum is used to find the best fit for the peak background. 1.6.4.

  • Page 24: The Norm_Corr Diagnostic Mode

    Avoid using the NORM_CORR mode because ISOTOPIC v4 will default to analyzing the LTC spectrum and will ignore the ZDT spectrum. More Information For more detailed information, contact your ORTEC representative or go to our website at www.ortec-online.com ! Application note AN56, “Loss Free Counting with Uncertainty Analysis Using ORTEC’s Innovative Zero Dead Time Technique.”...

  • Page 25: About This Manual

    User’s Manual as well as the manuals for GammaVision , ISOTOPIC, and our other integrated MCA emulator/analysis software. NOTE Except as noted, when we refer to MAESTRO in this manual, we mean the ORTEC MCA emulator or spectrum analysis application you are using (i.e., MAESTRO, GammaVision, ISOTOPIC, etc.).
  • Page 26 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 [Intentionally blank]...

  • Page 27: The Dspec 50

    This chapter discusses the front panel power switch and touchscreen interface (Section 2.1); and the rear-panel connectors (Section 2.2). 2.1. Front Panel Figure 5 shows the DSPEC 50 front panel, which includes the ON/OFF rocker switch and the 800 × 480 pixel color touchscreen. Figure 5. The DSPEC 50.
  • Page 28 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Figure 6. The DSPEC 502 Switchboard (showing the two banks of data display thumbnails for MCA-1 and MCA-2). — If the Switchboard is displayed for >5 seconds, it begins cycling through the four (or two sets of four) data display screens (see Section 2.1.3).

  • Page 29: The Display Control Screen (Status Screen Setup)

    932502G / 0618 2. THE DSPEC 50 2.1.3. The Display Control Screen (Status Screen Setup) Tapping the yellow “multi-screen” thumbnail opens the screen shown in Fig. 7, which allows you to display or hide the four data display screens and up to nine -format images of your .JPG...

  • Page 30: The Communication Control Screen

    The Advanced models will also display the Web Page address (IP address/ORTEC) under the MAC address. The lower right section of the screen shows the DSPEC 50 software and firmware version numbers, and the serial number for each MCA board in the chassis.

  • Page 31: Set Password

    932502G / 0618 2. THE DSPEC 50 2.1.4.1. Set Password This options lets you set a password to discourage accidental changes to the settings on the Communication Control and Data Display screens. You must re-enter the password each time you attempt to access either screen. Note that you can also block changes to data acquisition settings, spectrum deletion, etc., with the password feature in MAESTRO;...

  • Page 32: Regional Settings

    ! See the reset instructions in Section B.3. 2.1.4.2. Regional Settings... This accesses the DSPEC 50 computer’s Windows Mobile regional settings utility. (You may wish to use a touchscreen stylus to change these settings.) Tap Regional Settings, choose the desired locale, and tap OK. This will return you to the Communication Control screen. Tap Apply to put the new settings into effect and return to the Switchboard.
  • Page 33 932502G / 0618 2. THE DSPEC 50 When counting to a preset, the % Preset readout tracks progress, then remains in its final posi- tion at the end of acquisition (100% if the preset counted to completion, <100% if the count was manually halted before the preset was reached).

  • Page 34: The Chart Screen

    ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Figure 11. The Gauges Screen, Preset Reached and Acquisition Halted. 2.1.5.2. The Chart Screen Figure 12 illustrates the Chart screen, which presents “virtual strip-charts” of the current input count rate and % dead time.

  • Page 35: The Spectrum Screen

    If “standard” ROIs have been defined in an ORTEC spectroscopy application, using the com- mands on the ROI menu, they are indicated with an orange background on the DSPEC 50 spectrum screen. See the three orange ROIs in Fig. 13 and refer to the ROI Mark command in the software user manual.
  • Page 36 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Figure 14. Two Nuclide Report ROIs Defined. Figure 15. The Spectrum in GammaVision (showing “standard” ROIs).

  • Page 37: The Big Numbers Screen

    Indicator. 2.2. Rear Panel Figures 17 and 18 respectively show the rear panels of the DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502. Note that each chassis has only one ac input power module, Ethernet connector, USB connector, SD card slot, and RESET port. Otherwise, each MCA has the following set of inputs and outputs.
  • Page 38 INPUT Rear-panel BNC accepts preamplifier output signals of either polarity. PREAMP POWER Rear-panel, 9-pin D connector; provides ±24 V and ±12 V for preamplifier power. Figure 17. The DSPEC 50 Rear Panel. Figure 18. The DSPEC 502 Rear Panel. GATE IN (GATE) Accepts slow-positive NIM input; Software-selectable as off, coincidence, or anticoincidence.

  • Page 39: Changing The Fuse(S) And Line Voltage

    SHUTDOWN IN (SHUTDOWN) Rear-panel BNC turns off the bias supply voltage when the detector is warm. Software-selectable ORTEC or TTL mode (SMART-1 detectors auto- select the SMART shutdown mode). In ORTEC mode, the detector’s Bias Shutdown cable must be connected to this input or the high voltage will not turn on.

  • Page 40: Replacing The Fuse(S)

    ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Insert a small flat-blade screwdriver in the small gap under the left side of the module’s door, as shown in Fig. 19. Gently lift up until the entire door pops up approximately 0.25 inch (Fig. 20).

  • Page 41: Changing The Line Voltage

    932502G / 0618 2. THE DSPEC 50 Figure 22. Remove the Fuse Holder. Figure 23 shows the 100 V/120 V side with an AG fuse in place. In Fig. 24, the fuse holder has been rotated to show the 230 V/240 V side (facing right) and the two brackets for its metric fuses.

  • Page 42: Closing The Input Power Module

    ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Orient the card so the desired voltage is readable at the bottom. Figure 26 shows the orientations for the four voltage settings and how to replace the indicator pin in the card for that voltage.

  • Page 43: Hardware And Software Installation

    3.1. Step 1: Line Voltage, Fusing, and Power Cord ORTEC factory-sets the DSPEC 50 line voltage, fusing, and input power cord based on your location. However, before you use the unit, we strongly recommend that you confirm it is pro- perly set up for your region’s ac mains supply.

  • Page 44: Step 3: Install The Spectroscopy Application Software

    Ethernet switch, Windows will auto-assign IP addresses to each DSPEC 50. To do this, attach the DSPEC 50s to your network (or to the standalone com- puter’s Ethernet switch) with a standard Ethernet cable, power the DSPEC 50s on, wait 3–5 minutes for the IP addresses to be assigned, and you’re ready to run the MCB Config-...

  • Page 45: Usb Connection

    932502G / 0618 3. INSTALLATION IP address to your DSPEC 50, or (b) if you are otherwise using static IP addressing, see the instructions in Appendix A. When all units have been assigned a static IP address, you’re ready to run the MCB Configuration program (Section 3.5).

  • Page 46: Configuring A New Instrument

    Master Instrument List of instruments found (Fig. 28). Each DSPEC 50 will be identified in the list by the Host name displayed on the Communication Control screen (Fig. 8, page 20). If you have a DSPEC 502, both inputs will...

  • Page 47: Customizing Id Numbers And Descriptions

    The DSPEC 50 can be connected to and disconnected from the computer without shutting down either. If you disconnect from the computer during data acquisition (leaving the DSPEC 50 under power so that the high voltage stays on), the DSPEC 50 will continue data...
  • Page 48 DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 collection. To redisplay the spectrum, simply reconnect the DSPEC 50 via the same method (Ethernet or USB), then close and reopen the MAESTRO spectrum window for that input.

  • Page 49: Mcb Properties In Maestro

    (e.g., GammaVision, ISOTOPIC) when you click Acquire/ ONNECTIONS MCB Properties..Data acquisition with the DSPEC 50 is completely software controlled. The MCB Properties dialog contains all of the instrument controls including ADC setup parameters, acquisition presets, amplifier gain adjustments, pole zero controls, detector bias controls, and access to the InSight Virtual Oscilloscope.

  • Page 50: Optimize

    The settings (Auto, Fast, or Slow) are saved in the DSPEC 50 even when the power is off. The time constant can be manually set on the InSight display (see the discussion beginning on page 42).

  • Page 51: Amplifier 2

    Select either the Resistive Feedback or Transistor Reset option and click Start Auto. The optimize command is sent to the DSPEC 50 at this time and, if the DSPEC 50 is able to start the operation, a series of short beeps sounds to indicate that optimization is in progress. When optimizing is complete, the beeping stops.

  • Page 52: Insight Mode

    The InSight display (Fig. 34) shows the actual sampled waveform in the digital processing units on a reference graticule. The Properties dialog remains active and can be used to change settings while viewing the pulses. As none of the traditional analog signals are available in the DSPEC 50, this mode is the only...
  • Page 53 This lets you conveniently zoom in on a particular part of the waveform (such as the tail for pole zeroing). Figure 34. DSPEC 50 InSight Mode. In the Auto trigger mode, the display is updated every time a new pulse exceeds the trigger...

  • Page 54: Mark Types

    PHA mode. The display will return to the InSight mode when you return to the first DSPEC 50. If you exit the program with the DSPEC 50 in InSight mode, it will be in InSight mode on the next startup.
  • Page 55 Busy When the DSPEC 50 busy signal is active, Busy shows in the Mark box. It represents the dead time. Gate This shows when the gate signal is present on the gate input connector. If the Gate mode on the ADC tab (see Fig.

  • Page 56: Amplifier Pro

    Low Frequency Rejector — This feature is discussed in detail in Section 1.5. You cannot optimize or pole-zero the DSPEC 50 while in LFR mode. The Optimize feature must be used with the LFR filter off. Subsequent measurements can then be taken with the LFR filter on.
  • Page 57 Rise Time and Flattop settings, however, you can adjust this value at any time. Each time you change the rise time or flattop, the DSPEC 50 will automatically set itself to the new minimum protection time.

  • Page 58: Training" The Resolution Enhancer

    ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 4.3.1. “Training” the Resolution Enhancer The Resolution Enhancer can help reduce the low-side peak tailing that results from increased charge trapping (but not other causes); see the discussion in Section 1.3. It operates by measur- ing the rise time (collection time) of the pulses and adjusting the gain based on the rise time.

  • Page 59: Adc

    Amplifier PRO tab and unmarking the Resolution Enhancer checkbox. The table of adjustments will be stored in the DSPEC 50's memory. 11) If you change any parameters that affect peak shape, you must repeat this “training”...
  • Page 60 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Gate — This allows you to select a positive TTL logic gating function. With gating Off, no gating is performed (that is, all detector signals are processed); with gating in Coincidence mode, a gating input signal must be present at the proper time for the conversion of the event;...

  • Page 61: Stabilizer

    4.5. Stabilizer The DSPEC 50 has both a gain stabilizer and a zero stabilizer (see Section D.2). The Stabilizer tab (Fig. 40) shows the current values for the stabilizers. The value in each Adjustment section shows how much adjustment is currently applied. The Initialize buttons set the adjustment to 0.

  • Page 62: High Voltage

    NOTE NaI detectors require the DIM-POSNAI interface and the DIM/SMART source selection. The shutdown types are ORTEC, TTL, and SMART. The ORTEC mode is used for all ORTEC detectors except SMART-1 (SMART) detectors. For non-ORTEC detectors, check with the manufacturer. The TTL mode is used for most non-ORTEC detectors.

  • Page 63: About

    MAESTRO User’s Manual), Read/Write indicates that the Detector is unlocked; Read Only means it is locked. Figure 42. DSPEC 50 About Tab. 4.8. Status Figure 44. DSPEC 50A Status Tab. Figure 43. DSPEC 50 Status Tab. Figures 43 and 44 shows the Status tab for the Standard and Advanced models respectively.

  • Page 64: Presets

    DSPEC 50. The Security, Detector temperature, and Live detector temperature are used by SMART-1 detectors and display N/A for non-SMART-1 detectors. However, in this release of the DSPEC 50, the Detector temperature and Live detector temperature return N/A for both SMART-1 and non-SMART-1 detectors.
  • Page 65 20 milliseconds (ms) since the MCB clock increments Figure 45. DSPEC 50 Presets Tab. by 20 ms. Real time means elapsed time or clock time. Live time refers to the amount of time that the MCB is available to accept another pulse (i.e., is not busy), and is equal to the real time minus the dead time (the time the MCB is not available).

  • Page 66: Mda Preset

    ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 The Uncertainty preset stops acquisition when the statistical or counting uncertainty of a user- selected net peak reaches the value you have entered. Enter the Preset in % value as percent uncertainty at 1 sigma of the net peak area.
  • Page 67 Change as needed, then click Update. Figure 46. DSPEC 50 MDA Preset Tab. To remove a preset, click to high- light it in the table, then click Delete. IMPORTANT These MDA presets are not dynamically calculated. Each time you add an MDA preset to this table, its CorrectionFactor value is calculated and stored in the MCB’s memory.

  • Page 68: Nuclide Report Tab

    (9) user-selected peaks. Once the report is set up, the two lowest- energy ROIs and their respective activity readouts are displayed on the DSPEC 50's Spectrum screen. The peak area calculations in the hardware use the same methods as the MAESTRO Peak Info option (see the MAESTRO user Figure 47.

  • Page 69: Selecting Peaks From The Working Library

    4.11.3. Delete To remove an entry, select the entry and click Delete. When you close the Properties dialog, all the values entered are written to the DSPEC 50 and the two lowest-energy ROIs and corresponding activity readouts are displayed on the DSPEC 50 screen.

  • Page 70: Setting The Rise Time In Digital Mcbs

    4.13. Setting the Rise Time in Digital MCBs To achieve the best results when using a digital spectrometer, such as the DSPEC 50, we recommend that you set the rise time of the pulses being processed by the digital filter to the minimum value for the resolution needed.
  • Page 71 23 ìs. If throughput is not an issue because all samples are low rate, increasing the rise time beyond 12 ìs might achieve a small improvement in resolution. For planar detectors, such as ORTEC’s GLP, Si(Li), IGLET, and IGLET-X Series, operating at longer rise times frequently gives improved resolution.
  • Page 72 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 [Intentionally blank]...

  • Page 73: Web Interface

    5. Web Interface The Advanced models (DSPEC 50A and DSPEC 502A) include Web Page and Web Services interfaces available for instrument control without the need for ORTEC drivers and application software. These interfaces can be particularly useful when non-Windows Operating Systems are desired in the user environment.

  • Page 74: Web Services

    ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Standard MCA Emulation functions are performed from the Home page. When accessing the DSPEC 502 MCA1 or MCA2 is selected from the dropdown selector, and acquisitions can be started, stopped, and cleared for the selected MCA.
  • Page 75 932502G / 0618 4, 5. MCB PROPERTIES IN MAESTRO Establish a connection to the instrument using the OpenDet function (i.e. WSO.OpenDet()) Send commands to the instrument to set hardware properties and control the instrument using the COMMAND function. This function returns the applicable command responses described in Section 7.
  • Page 76 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 [Intentionally blank]...

  • Page 77: Specifications

    ! Coarse Gain 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 ! Fine Gain 0.5 to 1.1 The available range of gain settings supports all types of HPGe detectors. Specifically, the fol- lowing maximum energy values are achievable using the standard ORTEC preamplifier (maxi- mum to minimum gain): ! COAX 187 keV–12 MeV...
  • Page 78 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 the total counts in each of the peaks is correct. For a detailed discussion, see Section 1.6. ! Low-Frequency Rejector (LFR) When ON, removes low-frequency (<3 kHz) input noise from spectrum., as discussed in Section 1.5.
  • Page 79 (MDA) for up to 20 user-specified MDA nuclides reaches the preset value. The presets are implemented in hardware so the computer does not have to poll the DSPEC 50. See Section 4.10, 4.12, 5.1, 5.2 for details on the MDA preset calculation.

  • Page 80: Inputs And Outputs

    932502G / 0618 6.1.1. Inputs and Outputs Note that each chassis (DSPEC 50 or DSPEC 502) has only one ac input power module, USB connector, Ethernet connector, SD card slot, and RESET port. Otherwise, each MCB has the following set of inputs and outputs.

  • Page 81: Electrical And Mechanical

    SHUTDOWN IN Rear-panel BNC turns off the bias supply voltage when the detector is warm. Software-selectable ORTEC or TTL mode (SMART-1 detectors auto-select the SMART shut- down mode). In ORTEC mode, the detector Bias Shutdown must be connected to this input or the high voltage will not turn on.

  • Page 82: Feature Mask Bits

    6.2. Feature Mask Bits The following table describes the feature bits from the SHOW_FEATURES and SHOW_FEATURES_EXT commands. If the feature is supported in the DSPEC 50 the bit is set to 1; if the feature is not supported, the bit is 0.
  • Page 83 932502G / 0618 67. SPECIFICATIONS Meaning Support for flattop optimization (ENA/DIS_OPTI) Stoppable AutoPZ (STOP_PZ_AUTO) Network support (e.g., DSPEC) ® Multi-drop serial support (e.g., MicroNOMAD Software-selectable DPM address (SET_DPM_ADDR) Multiple devices (e.g., 919) Software-selectable ADC gate mode (SET_GATE...) Software-downloadable firmware Time histogramming functions available (e.g., 9308) Software-selectable lower level discriminator Software-selectable upper level discriminator MCS-mode SCA input available...
  • Page 84 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Meaning Ordinal numbers for shaping times (SET_SHAP 0, SET_SHAP 1, ...) Query gain ranges (LIST/VERI_GAIN_FINE, ..._COAR, ..._CONV) Routable inputs (SET/SHOW_INPUT_ROUTE) External dwell support (ENA/DIS_DWELL_EXT) Selectable SUM or REPLACE MCS modes (ENA/DIS_SUM)
  • Page 85 ID Reports (DO_ID, SHOW_REPORT, SHOW_REPO_LINES) Has neutron detector (SHOW_CRM 2 returns valid number) List Mode data streamed and formatted like DIGIBaseE Has the ORTEC new Alpha Instrument feature set Selectable HV source Has noise rejection circuits in the Fast Channel (SET/SHOW/LIST_NOISE_REJ)
  • Page 86 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 [Intentionally blank]...

  • Page 87: Firmware Commands And Responses

    7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES Most software communication with the DSPEC 50 will take place through the C software layer. ONNECTIONS is used by all ORTEC software and can be accessed for other software ONNECTIONS ® development with our C Programmer’s Toolkit with Microsoft ActiveX...

  • Page 88: Usb-Interface Error Codes

    ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 For commands across the Ethernet interface, an optional checksum may be added to the end of any command sent to MCB API. The checksum is a 1-byte unsigned integer sum of all of the characters in a command, treated as unsigned integers, up to and including the comma or space(s) that separates the checksum from the command.

  • Page 89: Percent Response Records

    The macro error code represents the general class of error with 0 meaning no error, and the micro error code represents the sub-class of error with 0 meaning no error. Following is a list of all percent responses for the DSPEC 50. Unconditional Success: %000000069<CR>...
  • Page 90 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Note that the above responses can be combined to indicate a combination of warnings such as: %000048081<CR> Amplifier was not pole zeroed nor was high voltage enabled. The START was attempted anyway.

  • Page 91: Dollar Response Records

    932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES 7.1.4. Dollar Response Records SHOW and STEP commands respond with a single dollar response record followed immediately by a percent response record. All valid dollar response records for each command are listed in the command dictionary.
  • Page 92 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 the term <CR> represents the ASCII carriage return character, decimal value 13, and the charac- ter “_” represents the ASCII underscore character, decimal value 95.
  • Page 93 INITIALIZE_GAIN_ STABILIZATION, SET_GAIN_PEAK or SET_GAIN_WIDTH command. See also SHOW_GAIN_STABILIZATION. DISABLE_HV Turns off the high-voltage enable signal of the DSPEC 50. See the section on the bias supply for more information about the high-voltage output. See also ENABLE_HV and SHOW_HV. DISABLE_HV_DIM Disables the use of the DIM connector on the back of the DSPEC 50 and causes the DSPEC 50 to suppress SOH information (see SHOW_HV_HEALTH command).
  • Page 94 Disables the Pile-Up Rejection Circuitry. DISABLE_PZ_AUTOMATIC Disables the automatic pole zero mode. See also ENABLE_PZ_AUTOMATIC. DISABLE_PZ_NEED Disables the reporting of an error when the DSPEC 50 has not been pole zeroed. DISABLE_REMOTE No function in the DSPEC 50; included for backward compatibility. DISABLE_RENH Returns the DSPEC 50 to normal operation if the Resolution Enhancer is enabled.
  • Page 95 ENABLE_GAIN_STABILIZATION Enables the stabilization of the gain peak. See also DISABLE_GAIN_ STABILIZATION, SHOW_GAIN_STABILIZATION, and INITIALIZE_GAIN_STABILIZATION. ENABLE_HV Turns on the high-voltage enable output of the DSPEC 50. See also DISABLE_HV and SHOW_HV. Non-USB Execution Errors: %131137085<CR> The high voltage could not be enabled due to a high voltage shutdown condition.
  • Page 96 Enables the Sample Ready connector. Acquisition will then start when an external trigger occurs on the Sample Ready connector or when the TRIGGER command is issued. See also TRIGGER, DISABLE_TRIGGER, SHOW_TRIGGER, SET_TRIGGER_POLARITY, and SHOW_TRIGGER_POLARITY. ENABLE_ZDT Sets the DSPEC 50 to ZDT mode. See SET_MODE_ZDT for information on selecting the ZDT mode.
  • Page 97 Enables the stabilization of the zero peak. See also DISABLE_ZERO_ STABILIZATION, SHOW_ZERO_STABILIZATION, and INITIALIZE_ZERO_STABILIZATION. INITIALIZE Returns the DSPEC 50 (including flash) to the factory default settings. CAUTION: If using the DIM connector, turn off the detector bias and physically disconnect the DIM cable from the DSPEC 50 rear panel before issuing this command.
  • Page 98 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 LIST_FAST_COIN x Lists the valid settings for fast coincidence delay and window. If x=0 then the valid Window settings are returned. If x=1 then the valid Delay settings are returned.
  • Page 99 Lists the valid ROI sample settings. Response: ROI_SAMP PUR BLN BLRG BLD BUSY GATE RESV PKDET LIST_SHAP_CUSP Not used by the DSPEC 50; included for backward compatibility. LIST_SHAP_FLAT Lists the valid flattop width settings. Response: SHAP_FLAT 0.3 2.4 3 24 Settings are 0.3 to 2.4 in 22 steps of...
  • Page 100 ROI flags are not affected. SET_DATA_APPLICATION “string1",”string2" This is used to store information in the DSPEC 50 internal memory that can be used by other programs, such as sample descriptions and energy calibrations. The Unified MCB Interface (UMCBI) structure and ORTEC C make use of this feature.
  • Page 101 65535. See also SHOW_DELAY_SAMPLE. SET_DEVICE SET_DISPLAY No function in the DSPEC 50; included for backward compatibility. SET_FAST_COIN xx.xxx, yy.yyy Sets the Coincidence window to xx.xxx and Delay to yy.yyy in microseconds for the fast coincidence function. Delay range is -6.375 to 6.375. Window range is 0.025 to 6.375.
  • Page 102 SET_GAIN_POSITIVE Sets the amplifier input polarity to positive. SET_GAIN_PRESET count No function in the DSPEC 50; included for backward compatibility. SET_GAIN_WIDTH chans Sets the width in channels for the stabilizer gain peak. The gain width must be chosen such that the beginning channel is no lower than channel 0 and the ending channel is no higher than the maximum channel as determined by the conversion gain.
  • Page 103 Causes the DSPEC 50 to use the ADC gate input signal in anticoincident mode. See also SET_GATE_OFF, SET_GATE_COINCIDENT, and SHOW_GATE. SET_GATE_COINCIDENT Causes the DSPEC 50 to use the ADC gate input signal in coincident mode. See also SET_ GATE_OFF, SET_GATE_ANTICOINCIDENT, and SHOW_GATE. SET_GATE_OFF Causes the DSPEC 50 to ignore the state of the ADC gate input signal.
  • Page 104 SET_LIVE ticks Sets the live-time counter to the specified number of ticks. The number represents live time in units of 20 ms (50 ticks/s). Normally this value is set by the DSPEC 50 during data acquisition. See also CLEAR_COUNTER and SHOW_LIVE.
  • Page 105 This sends the value to the port. This command can be issued without entries for port and value because the DSPEC 50 has only one port. If you wish to specify a port number, it must be zero for this unit. See also SHOW_OUTPUT. See also STEP_OUTPUT.
  • Page 106 DSPEC 50. Setting a peak preset to 0 counts disables the preset. The peak preset may be set to from 0 (disabled) to 2147483647 counts. See also CLEAR_PRESETS and SHOW_PEAK_PRESET.
  • Page 107 Sample Port (or manually set the output option using MCB Properties pages). SET_SEGMENT No function in the DSPEC 50; included for backward compatibility. SET_SHAP_FLAT value Sets the width of the flattop to value. Value is in microseconds, ranging from 0.3 ìs to 2.4 ìs in steps of 0.1.
  • Page 108 SET_THRESHOLD_NEGATIVE value Sets the negative threshold to value. The negative threshold is normally set automatically by the DSPEC 50. See also ENABLE_ THRESHOLD_AUTOMATIC and SHOW_ THRESHOLD_NEGATIVE. SET_THRESHOLD_POSITIVE value Sets the positive threshold to value.
  • Page 109 SET_TRUE ticks Sets the true-time counter to the specified number of ticks. The number represents true time in units of 20 ms (50 ticks/sec). Normally this value is set by the DSPEC 50 during data acquisition. See also CLEAR_COUNTER and SHOW_TRUE.
  • Page 110 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 SET_UNCERTAINTY_PRESET percent Sets the uncertainty preset to the specified value in percent. Percent is a floating point value from 0–99.9999. See also SHOW_UNCERTAINTY_PRESET. SET_WINDOW [start, length] Sets the window of interest to the specified start channel and number of channels.
  • Page 111 %131136084<CR> The command was attempted while zero stabilization was enabled. SHOW_ACTIVE Returns a 1 if the DSPEC 50 is active (i.e., acquiring spectral data) or 0 if it is not active. Responses: Not active. $C00000087<CR> $C00001088<CR>...
  • Page 112 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 SHOW_CORRECTION_FLAT Shows the flattop correction value. See also SET_CORR_FLAT. Responses: CORR_FLAT 000000000000000 SHOW_CRM Returns the current reading of the count-rate meter. Response: $G0000050781096 Current input count rate is 50781 counts/s.
  • Page 113 $FNAID000 NaI DIM firmware version. $FSMDT000 SMART-1 firmware version. SHOW_DEVICE Shows the currently selected device. Always 1 for DSPEC 50. SHOW_DISPLAY No function in the DSPEC 50; included for backward compatibility. SHOW_ETP Reports if Enhanced Throughput Mode is enabled. Responses: Enhanced Throughput Mode disabled.
  • Page 114 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 SHOW_FAST_COIN Returns the Coincidence window time and whether the coincidence function is enabled or disabled. Examples: FAST_COIN_ENA 0000000000000.5, 0000000000000.1 0.5 uS window, 0.1 uS delay Enabled.
  • Page 115 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES SHOW_GAIN_COARSE Returns the coarse gain for the DSPEC 50 internal amplifier. In operation, the resulting signal gain is the product of the coarse gain, the fine gain, and the super-fine gain (used by stabilizer). The coarse gain is returned in terms of an integer gain multiplier.
  • Page 116 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 SHOW_GAIN_WIDTH Reports the current width for the stabilizer gain peak. See also SET_GAIN_WIDTH, SET_GAIN_CHANNEL, and SHOW_GAIN_CHANNEL. Responses: $C00001088<CR> Gain width has not been set. $C00003089<CR>...
  • Page 117 932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES SHOW_HV_POLARITY This returns the HV polarity defined in the DIM as a $F record. Responses: $FNEG<CR> The HV is set to negative. $FPOS<CR> The HV is set to positive. SHOW_HV_RECOMMEND Returns HV in volts, in ASCII, from SMART-1 detectors. SHOW_HV_TARGET Under normal operation, the HV will go to this value when the HV is enabled.
  • Page 118 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Reports the sum of the specified group of spectral data channels. If start_chan and number_of_chans is not provided, SHOW_INTEGRAL reports the sum of all channels in the currently selected window that have their ROI flag set.
  • Page 119 932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES Responses: Live time reported as 0 ticks. $G0000000000075<CR> $G0000000001076<CR> Live time reported as 1 tick (20 ms). $G4294967295132<CR> Live time reported as 4294967295 ticks (over 23000 days). SHOW_LIVE_PRESET Reports the current live-time preset in units of 20 ms (50 ticks/s). See also CLEAR_PRESETS and SET_LIVE_PRESET.
  • Page 120 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Coefficient a = 2.71, b = 0, and c = 21.7. SHOW_MDA_PRESET [PeakNumber] Reports MDA preset PeakNumber. If PeakNumber is omitted, 0 is assumed. Example Response: MDA_PRES 0000000000025.7...
  • Page 121 932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES where sssss represents an integer number that is the number of the first channel of the “next” group of channels that all have their ROI bit set, and nnnnn represents an integer number that is the number of channels in the group.
  • Page 122 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 largest count is reported if more that one channel contains the largest number of counts. Channel 16383 is the highest numbered channel in any device.
  • Page 123 932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES SHOW_RENH Reports if Resolution Enhancer mode is enabled. Responses: Resolution Enhancer mode disabled. Resolution Enhancer mode enabled. SHOW_ROI Used in conjunction with the SHOW_NEXT command, SHOW_ROI reports the first continuous group of channels that have the ROI flag set. The response is of the form: $Dsssssnnnnnccc<CR>...
  • Page 124 Shutdown is active (supply is shut down or can’t be turned on). Shutdown is inactive (supply is on or can be turned on). SHOW_SNUM Responds with a $F record indicating the serial number of the DSPEC 50 Response: $F100 Serial number = 100.
  • Page 125 932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES where llllllllll represents the live time as returned by the SHOW_LIVE command, tttttttttt represents the true time for the current device as returned by the SHOW_TRUE command, aaaaa represents the active device mask as returned by the SHOW_ACTIVE_DEVICES command, and hhhhh represents the hardware status, which is an ASCII representation of a 16 bit decimal number with the following bit definitions: Bit 0 (LSB):...
  • Page 126 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 THR_POS 00000126811 Positive threshold is 126811. SHOW_TIME Reports the time from the battery backed-up system clock in the form: $Nhhhmmmsssccc<CR> where hhh represents a 3-digit integer hour (0–23), mmm represents a 3-digit integer minute (0–59), and sss represents a 3-digit integer second (0–59).
  • Page 127 932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES SHOW_TRIGGER_SAMPLE Reports the trigger source in Insight Mode. Responses: $F0LLD LLD is source. $F1PKD Peak-detect is source. Trigger happens randomly. $F2RANDOM $F3Gate Gate Input triggers the waveform. SHOW_TRUE Reports the contents of the true-time counter in units of 20 ms (50 ticks/s). See also CLEAR_COUNTER and SET_TRUE.
  • Page 128 UNCE_PRES 000000000000000 No preset. UNCE_PRES 0000000000008.5 Preset set to 8.5%. SHOW_VERSION Reports the DSPEC 50 firmware version number in the form Fmmmm-vvv<CR> where mmmm is a 4-character model designator and vvv is a 3-character version designator. Example Responses: $FDS50–003<CR> Model DSPEC 50 firmware version 3 reported.
  • Page 129 START [seg-mask] Starts the acquisition of spectral data. The optional segment mask is provided for compatibility with other MCBs and may be any value from 0 to 65535 but is ignored by the DSPEC 50. Execution Warnings: %000004073<CR> No segment selected (occurs with other warnings).
  • Page 130 %000005074 Acquisition already stopped (no changes made). STOP_OPTIMIZE Stops the optimization in progress. The DSPEC 50 may be in an indeterminate mode. See also START_OPTIMIZE. STOP_PZ_AUTOMATIC Stops the optimization in progress. The DSPEC 50 may be in an indeterminate mode. See also START_PZ_AUTOMATIC.
  • Page 131 932502G / 0618 7. FIRMWARE COMMANDS AND RESPONSES VERIFY_CORR_FLAT VERIFY_SHAP_FLAT VERIFY_SHAP_RISE These test the argument against the list of valid settings and return true if valid.
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  • Page 133: Appendix A. Static Ip Addressing

    Note that the first two bytes (sections) in the computer and DSPEC 50 IP addresses match. However, the printer’s second byte is different. As a result, the computer and the DSPEC 50 can communicate, but the printer cannot.
  • Page 134 Figure 51. Static IP Addressing: Tap the “Defaults” Button, Then “Use the following IP Address,” Then “Apply.” For the first DSPEC 50, the factory default IP address and subnet mask can be used as-is. Tap Apply to close the Communication Center dialog.
  • Page 135 PING the IP address assigned to the DSPEC 50, and verify that no other device responds to the . If a device does respond, choose a new address for the DSPEC 50 and try again. See PING also Sections A.1 and B.2 or consult your IT department.
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  • Page 137: Appendix B. Troubleshooting

    Global Service Center. ! Check the Master Instrument List on the computer to ensure that the DSPEC 50 is on the list. If it is not listed, shut down and restart the computer, cycle the DSPEC 50 power, then rerun the MCB Configuration program being sure not to use the -L switch.

  • Page 138: Troubleshooting Static Ip Addresses

    If the DSPEC 50's subnet mask doesn’t match the computer’s, change the DSPEC 50 subnet mask to match. ! Assign the DSPEC 50 an IP address that does not match any address currently in use. If you suspect a conflict is occurring, unplug the DSPEC 50 Ethernet connection,...

  • Page 139: Appendix C. State-Of-Health Bit Definitions

    Figure 52. The SOH Status Tab Under MCB Properties. Description Comment +24V The first four bits monitor the voltages coming from the DSPEC 50. If +12V one of these values varies by more than ±2 V, the corresponding bit is 12 V set.
  • Page 140 Description Comment Security At the start of the acquisition, the DSPEC 50 queries the SMART-1 HPGe detector for its serial number. The DSPEC 50 then writes a random number to the SMART-1 HPGe detector. At the end of the acquisition, both numbers are read from the SMART-1 HPGe detector and compared to the original values.

  • Page 141: Appendix D. Calculations

    Nuclide Report at any time. The peak area calculations are the same as the calculations in MAESTRO and other ORTEC software, so the Report contents can be duplicated using the spectra stored in the computer. The calculated value is computed by multiplying the net peak count rate by a user-defined constant.
  • Page 142 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 NetCounts is computed with the following equation: GrossCounts is the sum of the counts in the ROI, excluding the first and last 3 channels of the ROI.

  • Page 143: Gain And Zero Stabilization

    When used with the zero stabilizer, both the zero intercept and the gain (slope) will be monitored to keep all the peaks in the spectrum stabilized. The zero stabilization and gain stabilization are separate functions in the DSPEC 50 but both will affect the position of the peaks in the spectrum.
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  • Page 145: Appendix E. List Mode In The Dspec 50

    APPENDIX E. LIST MODE IN THE DSPEC 50 The DSPEC 50 is equipped with List Mode, which streams spectroscopy data directly to the computer, event-by-event, without the data “dead periods” associated with the acquire-store- clear-restart cycle of standard spectrum acquisition. To enter List Mode, issue the SET_MODE_ LIST command;...
  • Page 146 4 overhead words were returned, you should immediately request another block of data. The DSPEC 50 has buffer storage for up to 96k 32-bit words. Therefore, six requests may be needed to drain the buffer and find all of the hardware time words. In practice, a program buffer of 96k words would always hold enough data to drain an instrument buffer assuming that all six requests were made in less than 1 second.
  • Page 147 APPENDIX C. LIST MODE IN THE DSPEC 50 clock rolls over a RT Word and LT Word are created. The 30-bit real time stamp on the RT word corresponds to the number of times the 200 ns clock rolls over. The 10 ms real time clock and the 10 ms live time clocks are cleared when the CLEAR command is sent to the spectrometer.
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  • Page 149: Index

    INDEX Acquisition presets..... . . 54 ROI peak count preset....55 ADC setup.
  • Page 150 ® ® DSPEC 50 and DSPEC 502 Digital Gamma-Ray Spectrometer User’s Manual 932502G / 0618 Optimize......40, 41 Password reset lost password..

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