dScope Series III FAQ, Tips and Techniques
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What is "D/A line-up"?
Answer:
The D/A line-up enables the dScope to show analogue amplitudes in digital units, or vice versa. To do this, it needs to know the analogue equivalent of a full-scale digital signal (0dBFS). The D/A line-up field allows this to be specified.
technical note.
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My dScope was working properly, but now the computer can't seem to connect to the dScope hardware.
Answer:
This is most likely to happen when the power management settings allow the operating system to turn off the power to the USB ports. To fix this,
Open the Device Manager (either using the System icon in the Control Panel, or by right-clicking on the My Computer icon on the Desktop and selecting "Manage").
In the Device Manager, select 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers" - this will probably be the last entry in the list.
For EVERY "USB Root Hub" entry in this section of the tree, do the following:
Right-click on the entry and select "Properties"
If the Properties dialogue box has a "Power management" tab, select it and UNCHECK the box labelled "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
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No signal/the wrong signal is coming out of the dScope's outputs.
Answer:
Check that the outputs are turned on. This may be done using the Signal Generator panel, which has On and Off buttons for each channel.
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How do I configure the dScope inputs and outputs for balanced/unbalanced operation and grounding?
Answer:
The dScope has very flexible input and output circuitry and it is important to make sure that it is configured correctly for the measurement you wish to undertake.
technical note.
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dScope FFT measurements are very slow or not triggering.
Answer:
There are a couple of things that can cause this. The most obvious is that the signal level is not sufficient to cause it to trigger. Check the trigger point in the "FFT parameters" dialogue. Also large FFTs simply take longer to capture and process.
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Can I measure phantom power with the dScope?
Answer:
No. The dScope inputs are AC coupled. You can however measure phantom power with the dS-NET IO Switcher.
analogue outputs architecture page. for more information on this.
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Is Prism Sound calibration traceable to international standards?
Answer:
Yes. The Prism Sound calibration standards and traceability document is available here .
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My dScope is showing a reading of "-INF dB". What does this mean?
Answer:
-inf is short for -infinity and means that the reading could not be calculated in dB. There are two main scenarios when a dScope will display -inf:
The analysis is set to digital, but the incoming digital signal is all zeros. This can happen when an undithered, muted signal is received at the dScope digital inputs. This applies to the Signal Analyzer, Continuous Time Analyzer, and FFT Analyzer.
An FFT detector calculation results in a bin power calculation of less than zero. This can happen in a multi-tone Total Distortion (TD) calculation if the distortion level is lower than the background noise. The calculation attempts to remove the noise from the distortion measurement, but the resulting power sum is less than zero and gets displayed as "-Inf dB". This applies only to some specific FFT detector calculations and will only display in the FFT detectors.
Similarly, if the analysis is set to "Digital" but the selected digital input is not locked onto an incoming digital carrier, the analyzer readings will display "-unlocked-".
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What were dScope Series I and dScope Series II?
Answer:
The original Prism Sound dScope dates from 1993 and was an ISA Card based system for analysis of digital audio that ran under DOS. A single ISA card could do generation or analysis but not both. Fitting two ISA cards allowed generation and analysis in a single computer. This was around the time when a 486DX computer with 4MB of RAM was high tech.
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How do I install the software from the web download?
Answer:
Download the ds3_VXXX.exe file (where 'XXX' represents the software version number). Double-click on it. This will extract all the installation files into a temporary directory and then run the 'setup' program. Follow the on-screen instructions.
Downloads page.
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How do I Install the software from the CD?
Answer:
Insert the CD into your CD drive. If you have 'Auto-run' enabled, then the installation will start automatically. Follow the on-screen instructions. If 'Auto-run' is not enabled, select the 'Run' option from the Start menu. Type in 'D:Setup' (where D is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive) and click OK to start the installation. Follow the on-screen instructions.
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What is Windows Logo testing, and how does it affect the dScope?
Answer:
For seamless installation into the Windows XP operating system, Microsoft requires that Device Drivers are digitally signed (indicating that they have been approved by Microsoft). The dScope drivers are not currently signed, because the signing process cannot easily be reconciled with the dual-driver "re-enumeration" process that the dScope uses. This dual driver/re-enumeration arrangement means that device firmware can be easily downloaded into the dScope in the background when it is first started up. It also allows new firmware to be shipped with new software releases if necessary.
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When I plug in the hardware, it brings up the 'Found new hardware' wizard. What do I do?
Answer:
Firstly, make sure that the dScope software has been installed. If not, then Select "Cancel" from the wizard and install the software from the CD or the web download.
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Why does Windows find the hardware twice when it is first installed?
Answer:
The dScope system works by behaving as two separate hardware units. When it is first switched on, a loader driver will load (dsloader.sys) which downloads some firmware into the dScope box. The box then tells windows that it is new hardware, and the usual dScope driver (dsusbdrv.sys) will load. In this way, new releases of the firmware can be shipped with software, and the hardware does not need to be upgraded when new firmware becomes available.
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When I switch on the hardware for the first time, the 'Found New Hardware' wizard tells me it can't install the hardware.
Answer:
You need to install the dScope software first. Ensure that the hardware is switched OFF while you do so.
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When I run the dScope software, it can't find the hardware.
Answer:
Check that the hardware is switched on, and the USB is connected - the 'on' LED should be red. If you plugged in the hardware before installing the software, then Windows will not have linked the dScope hardware to the software correctly. Switch off the hardware, un-install the software, and restart Windows. Then install the software again, and turn on the hardware.
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I deleted an old version of dScope, and now the software won't install.
Answer:
If the software is simply deleted rather than un-installed, Windows thinks that the software is still there because it still has references to it in the registry. The new installation tries to un-install it but since it doesn't exist, the installation fails. To fix this, please see this technical note.
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New During the installation, I get a message that says 'Error 1904.Module C:WindowsSystem32ScriptDlg.dll failed to register. HRESULT -21470224770. Contact your support personnel.'
Answer:
On Windows 2000 and XP, the ScriptDlg.dll ActiveX control used with the dScope Scripting system can fail to register. This may be because the installation has been performed without Administrator privileges. Try un-installing the software, then log on as an Administrator and re-install the software.
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When I run another program, I get a message saying 'dScope Series III -Preparing to install' before the program runs.
Answer:
This can occur if a previous installation has been cancelled. To fix this problem, you need to clean out the registry entries that make Windows think the old dScope software is still installed. For details of how to do this, please refer to this technical note.
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When I switch on the dScope software, it recognises a USB device 'Prism Sound dScope Series III - uninitialised (dsloader.sys)' but then doesn't get any further.
Answer:
We have found that a certain notebook PC (Compaq Evo N1015v) exhibits this problem. We are not aware of any other machines that this is a problem on.
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I know there has been a new software release, but I haven't been informed about it.
Answer:
You need to register your dScope for this to happen. We will then keep you informed of future software releases and upgrades. You can register your dScope here
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Does dScope work with Windows Vista?
Answer:
From version 1.21 dScope will work with Vista 32bit edition. 64 bit software is not supported.
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Can I try the software without the hardware?
Answer:
Yes, although obviously you won't be able to make any measurements. The software is free and running it is one of the best ways of finding out about dScope. It can be easily un-installed using the Windows "add/remove programs" dialogue.
here.
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Do I need to un-install the old software before installing a new version?
Answer:
No. The installer will update your installation looking after all this for you and will not remove your configurations or scripts etc.
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What is "Encoded Stream Generation"?
Answer:
This refers to the ability of the dScope generator to play out digital streams that are encoded with Dolby Digital or DTS. These are stored as wavetables that are pre-encoded and can be selected from an interface that simplifies the selection of the required waveform.
here .
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How do I update the dScope firmware?
Answer:
You don't need to. The firmware is automatically managed by the software behind the scenes.
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How do I go back to a previous version of software?
Answer:
Occasionally it may be necessary to go back to a previous version of software, particularly if there are scripts or configurations which don't yet work with the new version. To do this, you will need to:
Make sure all your configurations, scripts etc are backed up
Turn off dScope so that the "On" LED is off (not just red) or disconnect the USB
Un-install the current version of dScope software using Windows Control Panel "Add or Remove Programs"
Re-install the previous version.
This process should leave all your configurations and scripts intact, although if you have made any changes to the configurations or scripts that are installed by dScope, they will get overwritten. If you don't have a copy of the previous version of software for installing, please contact us as we may be able to provide it. Some previous versions are available from the downloads page
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Which operating systems are supported?
Answer:
dScope Series III is a 32bit Windows software application that requires USB support. Supported operating systems include Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista (dScope version 1.21 and later only). dScope Series III will NOT run and is not supported on Windows NT (No USB support), or on 64bit operating systems.
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What is dS-NET?
Answer:
dS-NET is a communication protocol used by the Prism Sound dScope Series III to control peripherals. It is a proprietary, open protocol which can use RS232 or RS485 hardware. In practice, on the dScope it is normally configured to run with RS232. It is possible to use a PC serial port to control any dS-NET device.technical note.
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Can I control dS-NET peripherals from a PC serial port?
Answer:
Yes, however we do not provide any software to do this as the control of the peripherals is integrated into the dScope software.
here .
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Where can I find details of the dS-NET protocol?
Answer:
The dS-NET protocol is available here.
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Are dScope Configurations backwards compatible?
Answer:
Yes, you can load older Configurations into newer versions of dScope software. The reverse is usually not true: Configurations saved with a newer version of software often can not be loaded with older versions of software.
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How do I get started with dScope?
Answer:
For a quick start guide to using dScope for the first time, please see this technical note .
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I want to open a lot of windows, but don't have enough space on the screen.
Answer:
The dScope display has five separate 'Pages' that can contain different windows. For example, you may wish to have the Trace window open on one Page, Signal Analysis details on another, and the generator setup on yet another Page.
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How do I get started using VBScript?
Answer:
To find out how to use the VBScript language, you can download a VBScript help file directly from the Microsoft web site. Please note that this link moves periodically. If it doesn't work, try searching the Microsoft site for script56.chm
Getting Started with Scripting page on this web site which in turn links to other scripting resources.
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How do I access the 'My Documents' directory from a script?
Answer:
You need to use the Windows Shell object from your script, to access the Special Folders. Further information on the Window Shell object can be found in the Microsoft MSDN WSHShell Object Documentation
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Under Asian versions of Windows, the 'Applications' button gives an error message and doesn't run.
Answer:
The symbol used to denote 'microVolts' ("µ") is treated together with the character after it as a special symbol (e.g. a Chinese character). When Asian versions of Windows are used to run the script, the character in the script is interpreted as a special symbol, which stops the script from being interpreted correctly.
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How do I use files and folders from my script?
Answer:
Most of the things you need to do with files and folders can be achieved using the File System Object. For more information, see Microsoft MSDN documentation on the FSO
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I can't control Microsoft Office applications from my script.
Answer:
Access and Excel can be automated from the dScope using the DAO (Database Access Objects) object. If scripts using this object do not run correctly, then firstly check that these Office applications were installed with 'Database Access Objects' selected.
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When I start up the dScope from another application (e.g. Visual Basic), I get a run-time error. Why is this?
Answer:
When you start the dScope software from another application, you must give it time to initialize before trying to access any of the dScope`s properties or methods. To do this, use the `IsInitialized` function.
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I need to automate some tests, but I don't have time to write scripts myself. What do I do?
Answer:
Prism Sound offers an application development service in which staff engineers will assist with code development for test automation. sales@prismsound.com
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Where can I find examples of scripts and scripting techniques?
Answer:
There is a selection of scripts and examples available on the scripting page.
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Why is my script returning inaccurate results?
Answer:
If your results retrieved from a script appear to be erratic and variable, check that the "Use settling details when getting Result values from scripts" option is enabled. This is checked by default and there are very few instances when it should be disabled.
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How do I get started automating dScope?
Answer:
There is an introduction to dScope scripting and automation available here .
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How do I create a scripted user interface?
Answer:
It is possible to create a flexible and powerful scripted user interface using the "Script Dialogue" DLL provided with dScope. This provides a means to produce a user interface from VBScript including such things as buttons, checkboxes etc.
Creating Custom Controls using ScriptDlg.DLL . Full documentation is available in the dScope Scripting manual available as a PDF download from the downloads page , or in the ScriptDlg.DLL CHM help files available here . Note that the ScriptDlg reference is also included in the dScope help in the "Scripting Manual" section under "The ScriptDlg ActiveX control". Many of the dScope applications are scripted using this control so they are a good source of examples of how to use it.
the downloads page include the necessary keywords for ScriptDlg methods, properties and events.
My problem is not listed
here - what should I try next?
Contact your local distributor for help. Prism Sound distributors
Contact tech.support@prismsound.com
for specific problems not found above.
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