sensonor STIM202 Evaluation Tool Kit User Manual
- June 9, 2024
- sensonor
Table of Contents
sensonor STIM202 Evaluation Tool Kit
General descriptions
The STIM202 evaluation kits provide measurement and configuration access to
STIM202 multi-axis gyro modules. Gyro module configuration, graphical result
presentation and save data to file functions are supported. The single voltage
supply required for operation is provided from any PC or laptop USB port.
Two alternative evaluation kits are available, for either PCI or USB
connectivity.
STIM202 EVK PCI
The evaluation kit with PCI connectivity is the recommended solution for
thorough characterization. The kit is in the following referred to as “the PCI
kit”
STIM202 EVK USB
The evaluation kit with USB connectivity provides the alternative solution,
e.g. for smaller, portable laptop setups, and is an excellent choice for gyro
module configuration and shorter measurement series. The kit is in the
following referred to as “the USB kit”
Note that the evaluation kits does not include the gyro module.
Kit contents
- STIM202 communication and power cable
- Either of the two options for interface hardware;
- PCI to RS422 interface card, “the PCI card”, for the PCI kit, supporting all gyro module transmission bit rates (377400, 460800 and 921600 bits/s)
- USB to RS422 interface cable, “the USB cable”, for the USB kit, supporting only the default gyro module transmission bit rate (460800 bits/s)
- Memory stick with PC software and User manual
- Torx screwdriver for fixing connector of communication and power cable to gyro module
- A hard copy of User manual
Kit Features
- PCI or USB connectivity to PCs/ laptops
- Up to 1000Hz sampling rate
- Temperature measurements
- Service mode access
- Full gyro module information
- Full gyro module configuration capability
- Detailed gyro module diagnostics
- Help section
- Measure panel
- Data presentations and save data to file capability
- Custom scale and zoom functions
- CRC check
- Logging panel
- Support for any measurement duration (only limited by HD memory and processor capacity of PC)
- Various stop criteria for measurement series (Manually, No of samples or Time elapsed)
- Measurements on 2 gyro modules simultaneously supported (requires either one or two additional cables depending on the kit in use)
Configurable and readable parameters
In addition to measurements, the evaluation kits provide access to the following gyro module user configurable parameters:
- Output format (angular rate, increment angle, etc.)
- Datagram format (standard, extended, etc.)
- Sampling rate (125 samples/s, 250 samples/s, etc.)
- Bandwidth/ Low pass filter frequency (16Hz, 33Hz, etc.)
- RS422 transmission bit rate (374400 bits/s, 460800 bits/s, etc.)
- Number of stop bits in datagram (1 or 2 stop bits)
- Parity bit (no parity, odd parity, even parity)
- Line/ Datagram termination (on/off, None/
)
The evaluation kits provide access to the following user readable gyro module parameters:
- Unit part number
- Serial number
- Firmware revision
- Hardware revision
- Guro module diagonistics
Gyro module diagnostic information includes RAM and flash checks, stack
handling checks, status of internal voltage supply references, and various
parameter reports for each measurement axis.
Note: External trigger functionality of STIM202 are not supported by the
evaluation kits.
System requirements
- Windows XP SP2 (or later), Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32/ 64bit)
- 1 free USB port and 1 free PCI slot for the PCI kit
- 2 free USB ports for the USB kit
- Quad core processor recommended (when simultaneously logging data from two gyro modules)
Getting started
Two separate software installations are required:
- NI serial driver installation
- PC software installation
Installation of NI serial driver
Install the National Instruments (NI) serial driver from the CD-ROM included
in the kit. This process is self-instructive. Follow the on-screen messages
without doing any configuration changes.
Figure 3 and Figure 4 show two of the messages that appear during
serial driver installation.
The NI serial driver can also be found from the Sensonor support site. Use
this site to regularly check for updates.
Installation of PC software
Install the PC software by running “setup.exe” found on the included memory
stick. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. See
Figure 5 through Figure 10 for guidance.
The PC software can also be downloaded from the Sensonor support site. Use
this site regularly to check for updates.
First hardware connections
Common preparations
- Connect a gyro module to the Micro-D connector of the STIM202 communication and power cable. Use the T6 Screw driver (included) for tightening the fixing screws of the connector to gyro module
For preparing the PCI kit (skip this step if the USB kit is used)
- Install the PCI card into a free PCI slot of the PC cabinett
- Connect the 9 pin D-SUB connector of the STIM202 communication and power cable to either PORT 1 or PORT 2 of the PCI card. Tighten the screws of the D-SUB connector to ensure a good electrical connection
For preparing the USB kit (skip this step if the PCI kit is used)
- Connect the 9 pin D-SUB connector of the STIM202 communication and power cable to the USB cable. Tighten the screws of the STIM202 communication and power cable to ensure a good electrical connection. See Figure 2 to identify two cables if necessary. (The USB cable is the black one with blue connectors.)
- Connect the (blue) USB connector of the USB cable into a free USB port of the laptop/ PC
Common verifications
- Verify that the NI serial driver installation has completed successfully in the Device Manager. See Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound, or similar path, to locate this. An example for Device Manager in Windows 7 is shown in Figure 11
- Notice the assigned COM port(s) as this information is needed later for connecting to gyro module(s) from PC software
First PC software start-up
- Navigate to the ‘Sensonor evaluation tools’ folder from Windows start menu. Click on the shortcut named “STIM202 EVK” to start the PC software. Ensure to run program as administrator (as this is needed for full function)
- A pop-up box for software registration appears. Fill in four open fields and click “Submit”. The default email client opens. Press “Send” in order to complete this step (and the user information is sent back to Sensonor)
- A pop-up box appears, asking for a parameter (.INI) file. Select the INI-file available in the installation folder and click “Load”
- The Normal mode panel is shown
- Verify the correct COM port settings in the Parameters view. Password to edit is ‘stim’. Click “OK” to confirm when the correct COM port(s) is (are) selected
- Establish connection to module by clicking the ‘Connect to HW’ button in Normal mode panel. A green LED light appears, indicating that the COM port(s) is (are) opened
- Change the ’Apply voltage’ control switch position to ’On’. The pop-up message telling “Turn on device supply voltage” appears. Do this by inserting the USB connector of the STIM202 communication and power cable into a free USB port of the PC/ laptop. Confirm the supply voltage applied by clicking ‘OK’ on the pop-up message
- Verify the connection to module by clicking on the ‘Request config DG’ button. An example of such a result is shown in Figure 19. (The kit is now ready for use !)
Introduction to PC software
Panels overview
In addition to the panel already shown (Normal mode and Parameters panel),
other panels are also available: 
Main panel menus
| Menu | Description |
|---|---|
| ‘File’ → ‘New parameter file’ | For creating a new INI-file. Notice that |
this new INI-file also needs be edited by the user before taken into use. The content is not equal to any existing INI-files. Notice also that the Parameters view in the software is not updated with the new
INI-file content until the user clicks the “Edit” button (this triggers an update of this view)
‘File’ → ‘Open parameter file’| For opening and taking a specific INI-
file into use
‘File’ → ‘Save parameter file as’| To save parameters into an INI-file
‘File’ → ‘Print parameters’| For printing the current ‘Parameters’ content
at the default printer
‘File’ → ‘Edit parameters’| To edit the ‘Parameters’ content
‘File’ → ‘Exit’| To exit program
‘Help’ → ‘Check for updates’| Opens the Sensonor support site in a web
browser. NI serial drivers, any PC software updates and new releases of User
manuals can be obtained from here
‘Help’ → ‘About’| About the program (Program name, publisher and
software revision number)
Normal mode panel descriptions
Table 1: Normal mode panel descriptions
| Panel unit | Functionality and description |
|---|---|
| Connect to HW | To connect to interface hardware. Opens PC COM port according |
to selections in active parameter file
LED| Indicator for hardware connection. A GREEN light indicates the
corresponding COM port is opened
Disconnect from HW| To Disconnect from interface hardware. Closes the
corresponding COM port
Apply voltage switch (On/Off)| To be switched manually (ON or OFF) by user
when asked to. Controls certain functions of the PC software
Device box| Should hold the correct gyro module (device) number according to
active parameter file. Choice depends on which gyro module and COM port the
user wants to operate
Reset device button| Resets the gyro module. Sends reset command (‘R’)
Request config DG button| Sends command (‘C’) to receive configuration
datagram
Request identity DG button| Sends command (‘N’) to receive part number
datagram
Request serial# DG button| Sends command (‘I’) to receive serial number
datagram
Response window| Lists responses from the gyro module
Service mode panel descriptions
Service mode is used for gyro module configuration.
Service mode is entered by clicking on the Service mode tab next to the Normal
mode tab. Panel units, functionalities and descriptions are listed in Table 2.
Exit from gyro module Service mode to Normal mode is done by pressing one of
the other panel tabs (Normal, Logging, Service or Parameter panel tab).
Note: Changes made for the gyro module in Service mode are only stored
permanently in gyro module flash memory when the save command (‘s’) is issued.
Table 2: Service mode panel descriptions
| Panel unit | Functionality and description |
|---|---|
| Available commands window | Shows a list of available commands. See product |
datasheet for details
Complete command window| Contains the complete command to send. It is auto-
completed by usage of the listings in the available commands window. Left
click in the complete command window shows a list of earlier sent commands.
Right click enables manual command entry
Send command button| Sends command to the gyro module
Active device indicator| Informs about the active gyro module (device).
Corresponding COM port is according to the active parameter file
Command response window| Shows the responses from the gyro module. See product
datasheet for details
Erase button| Erases the content of the command response window
Save button| Saves the content of the command response window to a text file
with a detailed date and time tag
Measure panel descriptions
Table 3: Measure panel descriptions
| Panel unit | Functionality and description |
|---|---|
| Measure button | Starts a measurement series |
| Samples box | Defines the number of samples to be collected (max 50 millions) |
| Save to file button | Saves data from a completed measurement series to a |
result file. The file path defined in the active parameter file is proposed
X-, Y- and Z-axis check boxes| Selects which axis data to present in the graph
area (up to 3 axes can be plotted)
Active device indicator| Informs about the active gyro module (device).
Corresponding COM port is according to the active parameter file
CRC and DG-ID LEDS| Confirms all CRC checks and DG-IDs as expected. Normally
GREEN. LEDs turn RED if checks fail
Data box| Selects which datagram content to be shown. Several options are
available, depending on the active datagram type. Use the arrows in the left
side of box to scroll between available selections. The plot updates
immediately if a measurement
series has already been done.
Scale box| Enables user to select between different scales (Full range, User
defined, or Auto)
Sample rate box| Informs what sample rate has been used for the measurements
Unit box| Indicated the active Output unit (Angular Rate, Incremental Angle,
etc.)
DG type box| Shows the type of datagram received
Save to disk icon| Saves a picture of the plotted data to file
Print icon| Prints a picture of the plotted data to the default printer
1:1 icon| Resets zoom level to 1:1 (if ZOOM is active. See below)
Zoom icon| Enables a custom zoom of the presented results in the strip chart
(graph area) according to placement of available cursors
Cursors (On/Off) switch| Enables usage of cursors (default is Off)
Cursor 1| Shows the location of cursor no 1
Cursor 2| Shows the location of cursor no 1
Delta| Shows the delta between the two cursor locations (X and Y values)
Progress bar| A blue continuous line shows the measurement series progress
Lower bar on panel| Shows the INI-file in use and the active mode (NORMAL
MODE)
Save data to file from measure panel:
An example of a result file is shown in Figure 25, for a standard datagram
measurement series of device # 1. A description of each of its column of data
is found in Table 4.
Table 4: Result file example. (Standard datagram content written to file.)
| DG-type | Col. # | Heading | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1 | Time[s] | Time in seconds |
| 2 | GYRO_X | Gyro signal X-axis | |
| 3 | GYRO_Y | Gyro signal Y-axis | |
| 4 | GYRO_Z | Gyro signal Z-axis | |
| 5 | STS | Status-byte | |
| 6 | RxCRC | Received CRC | |
| 7 | CalcCRC | Calculated CRC | |
| 8 | DG_ID | Datagram identifier |
Logging panel descriptions
Table 5: Logging panel descriptions
| Panel unit | Functionality and description |
|---|---|
| Start button | Starts data logging |
| Stop button | Stops data logging |
| Stop criteria slide | User selections between “manually”, “no of samples” and |
“Time elapsed” for stopping a measurement series
Samples box| In use when defining a series length with “no of samples”
Time elapsed| Shows the real time for the test running
Samples acq.| Shows number of samples acquired
CRC_errors| Shows number of CRC errors (normally 0, otherwise the user should
consider to reject results data in any analysis)
Resynch’s| Increments from 0 to a number if any re-synchronisations are needed
in order to re-establish data collections from module
Log to file capability:
- Quad core processor is recommended when measuring on two gyro modules simultaneously
- The size of the log file is only limited by the free memory of the hard disk(s) in use
- The path for result file storage is defined in the active parameter file
- The program should be run as administrator to ensure the necessary rights to establish result files
Parameters panel descriptions
Table 6: Parameters panel descriptions
| Panel unit | Functionality and description |
|---|---|
| ===== General parameters ===== | |
| Password | Current valid password to be able to edit the parameters list. The |
password is “stim”
Folder for result-file storage| “c:\userdata\test\
What priority will this program run with| Instructs the program priority for
the PC operation system
What format to use for result files| ASCII text by default. Can be changed to
8 byte binary
===== Device communication ===== IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Always verify hardware
connections and COM port settings before trying to connect to the device|
RS422 port # to device 1| Defining which COM port # to be assigned to gyro
module (device) # 1
RS422 port # to device 2| Defining which COM port # to be assigned to gyro
module (device) # 2
RS422 Bitrate [bit/s]| Manual RS422 bit rate selection. NOTE that USB cable
that comes with the USB kit, supports only the default 460800 bits/s option,
while the PCI card of the PCI kit supports all available bit rates
RS422 Stopbit| 1 or 2. Default is “1”
RS422 parity| None, odd or even. Default is “None”
===== External Hardware =====|
The GPIB-card # to use| Normally “0” (when no GPIB card in user). If card(s)
are in use; the first card will be assigned to #1, second to #2, etc. Default
value is
“0”
Type of power supply used| Normally “None” (when not in use). Agilent E3631A, E3633A and
E3644A supported. Default value is “None”
Interface that the power is connected with| Normally “None” (when not in use).
RS232 (for Agilent E3631A only) and GPIB supported. Default is “None”
Port or address to power| Normally “0”, when not in use. Selectable up to 31.
Default is “0”
Voltage on output of power supply [V]| Default value is “5.1”. Can be
neglected if not in use. Value should be within the supply voltage range of
the gyro module. Clicking on the arrow of the control unit when editing this
parameter allows for voltages as high as 6.0V maximum. Manual entry allows
even higher
| values, however with a warning. Note: The entered value/ voltage applied to
the gyro module should never exceed the absolute maximum ratings value for
the supply voltage of the gyro module (maximum 7.0V)
---|---
Current limit on output of power [A]| Default value is “1.0”. To limit the
current consumption from the power source
Messages from the program
Messages that the program can display are listed in Table 7:
Table 7: Possible messages given by the program
| # | Message | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | This application is already running! Stop loading of 2. instance… | The |
program is already started, a second instance will not be allowed
2| Wrong password entered!| The password entered does not match the required
one for this INI-file
3| No response to message was received| Did not receive the expected response
to sent service- mode command
4| There is no measurement data available for storage| To be able to save
measurement data, there must be data available
5| Unable to open the selected file| Saving of measurement data failed, unable
to open or create the selected file
6| Unable to allocate the required memory| Failed to acquire the requested
number of datagrams from the gyro module due to error when trying to allocate
memory for temporary storage
7| No product identification datagram received| Even after retries the,
expected datagram is not received as response to command sent
8| No configuration datagram received| Even after retries the, expected
datagram is not received as response to command sent
9| No serial number datagram received| Even after reties the, expected
datagram is not received as response to command sent
10| No datagrams received| Failed to acquire the requested number of datagrams
from the gyro module, no recognizable datagrams received
11| Turn off device supply voltage| Instruction to user when running without
controlled power-supply
12| Turn on device supply voltage| Instruction to user when running without
controlled power-supply
13| Error encountered when trying to control voltage| Failed to control the
specified power-supply
14| Unexpected DG-ID received !| When waiting for datagrams, unexpected
datagrams are received
15| Unable to read config DG to determine output unit !| Unable to read
configuration datagram to determine the output unit
16| Unable to synch with DG-stream !| Failed to acquire the requested number
of datagrams from the gyro module, unable to get in synch with datagram stream
17| Error encountered when trying to print, check configuration !| Failed to
print the graph, check that a printer is configured
18| Unable to create result-folder specified by parameter !| The specified
pathname can not be created, either due
| | to access-rights or errors in the path specification
---|---|---
19| Unable to enter service-mode !| Unable to enter service-mode, does not
receive expected response to command.
20| Unable to save parameters to active INI-file !| Error encountered when
trying to save parameters onto INI-file
21| Edit-mode of parameters is active, unable to exit !| The edit-mode of
parameters are active, unable to exit the program until edit mode is ended
22| You are about to change the RS422 bit rate.
If are you using the USB kit hardware provided by Sensonor, please notice that you will not be able to communicate with the device if you change to something else than supported 460800 b/s!
For the PCI card there are no worries – it supports all available bit rates
| A warning to the user about limitations for certain RS422 hardware
23| Unable to create/save to selected file, check access rights to folder|
Unable to open or create the specified file in the selected folder, try
another filename and/or location. The reason may be lacking access rights to
the folder, or illegal filename format
24| Unsupported datagram-type received| When trying to read datagrams from the
device an unsupported datagram-id was encountered.