InstaCal™

InstaCal itself is Windows-only, but most of what InstaCal does can be performed via our Linux support. InstaCal mainly performed 3 tasks: hardware calibration, hardware configuration, and hardware drivers. Most newer USB hardware models do not require field calibration (if needed, move the hardware to a Windows PC temporarily). Configuration is done programmatically with our Linux support, rather than manually. Lastly, our Linux support includes drivers for most popular MCC hardware models.

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You don’t provide the following key information: What version # of InstaCal is installed, what model PCI board, what version of Windows, whether Windows is 32-bit or 64-bit. Perhaps you decided to migrate from an older Win98/2000/XP PC to a newer Windows. Per the FAQ below, some of our oldest PCI boards cannot be used in 64-bit Windows: http://kb.mccdaq.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50253.aspx

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After installation, our InstaCal/UL driver should not require administrative privileges to use. One of the following 2 FAQs likely can help. If you still have an issue after that, please contact our technical support group. http://kb.mccdaq.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50403.aspx and http://kb.mccdaq.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50250.aspx

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In order for any switch change to be properly recognized by software, the power must be applied after the switch is changed. i.e. the switch changes will not be recognized until after power is cycled. An external power supply is always required to use the USB-ERB24. Since a USB port cannot provide enough power for this board, it takes all needed power externally.

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This rather rare Windows installation error is not specific to MCC. Per Microsoft's definition of this error, the PC is not allowing vbscripts to run. vbscript.dll needs to be registered as administrator; i.e. run regsrv32 as administrator, then reboot. Your IT department is probably best able to assist you.

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Hello Marco - we have a KB article posted for this Error message at: http://kb.mccdaq.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50250.aspx

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For WinXP, CB.CFG is still created in Program Files. But beginning with Vista, it is created in ProgramData. Note that Windows hides the ProgramData folder by default.

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Per the FAQ at the link below, receiving that older error on a modern system means that you have duplicate files. i.e. you have a newer InstaCal installed on the new PC, but have manually copied or deployed an older file (usually a DLL) from an old InstaCal/UL. http://kb.mccdaq.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50431.aspx

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Use of the identifier field is optional (not required). It is a field in InstaCal where the user can choose to type in any string, and that string will be stored in non-volatile memory on the hardware device.

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It sounds like you would like to read the hardware’s factory serial number into your UL program. The UL function to use is: GetDeviceSerialNum

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Hello Dave - InstaCal will only identify Measurement Computing products.

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You don’t say which hardware model, but likely you are using the USB-TC. The self-calibration of the USB-TC uses an on-board reference to check/tweak the voltage measurement accuracy (+/- 80 mV range) of the unit, and is not specific to any particular thermocouple type. The CJC sensors are not adjustable.

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The InstaCal binary data format is not documented for import/export use. InstaCal was intended to be a self-test/configuration program, not a logger. You can use our free TraceDAQ stripchart program to collect data and then use it to export to CSV.

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If the Demo Board showed up without you manually adding it, then your InstaCal version is very old, and is too old for Win7 and the USB-3100 Series. Assuming your InstaCal is much newer, between ver 6.00 and the latest (6.50), lack of recognition is very rare. If the following advice does not help, please contact our tech support group: the LED must be on solid before InstaCal will recognize this device. Remove any USB hub or cable extender, and try a different USB cable. Try a different USB port, and try a USB 2.0 port (if you had been using 3.0). Remove all field wires from the unit, in case power is being loaded down. Confirm the unit works on a different PC. Test a different DAQ unit on this PC.

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The latest version of InstaCal is version 6.35 and it's available for download at: http://www.mccdaq.com/software.aspx

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Hello Ron - The obsolete E-PDISO16 hardware model is still “in” the latest InstaCal (which is ver 6.35), but it is only usable in WinXP. Win7/8 were never tested or supported with the E-PDISO16. If you still wish to test Win7/8 for yourself, which has worked OK for some users, you will need to roll back to at least 6.33. Older software versions are available on our archive page: ftp://ftp.mccdaq.com/Archive/

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Hello Jessica, Unfortunately, InstaCal does not bring out the digital testing feature for the USB-2408. For various reasons that feature was never enabled for the USB-2408 series. Your options for configuring and testing your digital I/O will depend on what your plans are for software programming. TracerDAQ will allow you to monitor up to 8 inputs. These include digital inputs as well. If you are planning on developing an application using our Universal Library then you could use one of the generic example programs that come with the library or download a product specific example from our web site here: http://www.mccdaq.com/downloads/example_programs/Product_Specific_Examples/USB-2408_Series/Universal_Library/. We also have support for LabVIEW through our ULx driver support that will allow you to develop a LabVIEW application that will configure and control your digital I/O. Last, you could download a diagnostic test developed by one of our application engineers here: http://www.mccdaq.com/downloads/example_programs/Universal_Library_Apps_and_App_Notes/Diagnostics/ Download the the Daqware DIO.msi file for digital I/O testing.

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I have exactly the same error. I can't solve it, tried rebooting, reinstalling, ... Does someone have a solution for this?

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The USB-1208LS calibration process requires you to disconnect all of your signal wires, and to perform the exact wiring connections specified on the InstaCal screen. Usually this error indicates that no wiring connectors were made, or that one of the connections is loose. To simplify the wiring, you can choose to just calibrate 1 or 2 channels at a time, rather than all 8. If this advice does not eliminate the error, then perhaps the unit requires factory repair.

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Hello Joel - Win7-64 is very popular, and as such, InstaCal’s installation has been well tested. The error you report is not common. If Windows throws an installer error, it is best to search the internet for that particular error #, for advice on how to resolve. Also run Windows update, especially if the O/S was recently installed onto the PC. There is no easy way to install the multiple components and registry entries of the InstaCal driver set, as it would require you to create your own installer. If further support is required, please contact MCC Technical Support.

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MCC will officially support Win 8.1 in version 6.32, which is due out very soon (mid April). A subset of our USB models (namely HID models) are adversely affected by power saving changes Microsoft made in Win 8.1, versus Win 8.0. More details can be found in an FAQ on our Knowledgebase (link below) which provides a utility so version 6.31 can be used in the mean time. http://kb.mccdaq.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50499.aspx

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hello daves - There is no hook into InstaCal to automate the creation of a CB.CFG file. However, if you are using a USB device, and if it will always be the same model, and if you will only plug one unit of that model into the target PC at a time, it may be possible to re-use an edited CB.CFG file from another PC. i.e. you would let InstaCal create the CB.CFG on your development PC as normal, then make a certain edit (h/w model dependent) to that CB.CFG file, and then you could copy (or install as part of your installation) that file to the proper location on the target machine. For more information, contact MCC technical support, and be sure to specify which USB model # you will be using.

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Note that the following discussion is aimed at OEMs. The vast majority of InstaCal users should install InstaCal using our normal installation method. icalsetup.exe is a self-extracting zip file that many of our non-OEM customers download and install. Don’t double click on it like they would. Instead, right click on it, and open it (or extract the files) with an unzip utility. You will see the MSI file, plus a bunch of other files and folders. All of these files need to be present, but then you can launch the MSI, in a silent fashion, per below: Here is the command line usually recommended: Msiexec /i instacal.msi /qn Another one to consider is this one: Msiexec /I instacal.msi /passive Note that the above suggestions are derived from Microsoft documentation for their MSI standard. You should thoroughly test this to your satisfaction, as MCC has not done formal testing. P.S. The above should install the InstaCal driver silently (without user prompts), but the user still then must manually run Inscal32.EXE once to have their DAQ hardware recognized (The end result being a text file named CB.CFG file being created by InstaCal, that stores the hardware information).

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You do not mention which MCC hardware model is used. The error you report is not common, and likely is specific to just one of our models (USB-1608FS). There is updated firmware for the USB-1608FS to correct this issue. New firmware and instructions are available on our website on the support page: http://www.mccdaq.com/firmware.aspx

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Beginning with Vista, and continuing on with Win7 and Win8, MCC no longer locates the CB.CFG file in the Program Files folder. We now we put it in ProgramData (a hidden folder). If InstaCal sees the DAQ device, but your application program does not, be sure not to have duplicate copied of CBW32.DLL on the hard drive.

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InstaCal 5.56B is not Windows 7 compatible. Please download our latest software suite from our web site here: http://www.mccdaq.com/software.aspx The MCC DAQ CD will contain all supported software that currently ships with our products or you can just download the latest version of InstaCal.

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Since you plan to use DASYLab, you are likely not using a product from our datalogger family (i.e. a logger that can collect data stand-alone, without a PC). Instead we’ll assume you are using one of our USB DAQ devices. Each USB DAQ device must be recognized by InstaCal before it will be usable/seen in DASYLab. If it is not recognized in InstaCal, be sure to rule out causes such as a USB hub or USB cable extender. An LED on the device should come on solid, if the PC properly recognizes the device. Try a different USB port or a different computer.

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