DataMate Readout FAQ

There are two ways this can happen. (1) You are accidentally telling the DataMate that you have a metric (or English) system, or (2) the installation information in the DataMate is incorrect.

Case 1: When you start a survey using the DataMate, you choose an installation and then you must step through the installation parameters by pressing the Enter key. If you press the down arrow by mistake, you’ll change the value of that parameter. For example, if you press the down arrow at the Units prompt, you’ll change the value from English to metric or vice versa. It seems logical that you could press the down arrow to scroll through the readings, but you can’t. Always press the Enter key to step through the parameters.

Case 2: You should check that installation information in the DataMate is correct. Switch on the DataMate. Choose Read to display the Read menu. Then choose Installations. Scroll through the list of installations and choose the one that is causing problems. Then step through the installation parameters until you see Units. Set this to English or metric, depending on the type of probe that you have. Press Enter to see the next parameter, Ins Constant. Set this to 20000 for English probes or 25000 to metric probes. Also, check your DMM database to see that probe type and instrument constant are set properly for that installation.

Fixing Incorrectly Recorded Data: If you recorded an English probe with a metric setting in the DataMate, or you recorded a metric probe with an English setting in the DataMate, your data values are not correct. There are three solutions.

1. In DMM, edit each value in the affected survey.

2. In DMM, edit the

Apply a sensitivity correction in DigiPro.

3. Change the Probe Constant for that You can edit each value in the survey and keep , you can or you can change the instrument constant for each affected survey so that computed deviations and displacements will be correct. Here are instructions:

1. Open the project database, choose the appropriate installation.
2. Choose the appropriate survey and click the Edit Add button.
3. Change the value in the “probe constant” field as follows:

There are two ways this can happen. (1) You are accidentally telling the DataMate that you have a metric (or English) system, or (2) the installation information in the DataMate is incorrect.

Case 1: When you start a survey using the DataMate, you choose an installation and then you must step through the installation parameters by pressing the Enter key. If you press the down arrow by mistake, you’ll change the value of that parameter. It seems logical that you could press the down arrow to scroll through the readings, but you can’t. Always press the Enter key to step through the parameters.

Case 2: You should check that installation information in the DataMate is correct. Switch on the DataMate. Choose Read to display the Read menu. Then choose Installations. Scroll through the list of installations and choose the one that is causing problems. Then step through the installation parameters until you see Units. Set this to English or metric, depending on the type of probe that you have. Press Enter to see the next parameter, Ins Constant. Set this to 20000 for English probes or 25000 to metric probes. Also, check your DMM database to see that probe type and instrument constant are set properly for that installation.

Moisture in the connectors is the most common cause. There are three connectors that could be affected: the connectors on the control cable and the connector on the probe. Use an ohmmeter set to the 2 Megaohm range to check. Check cable connectors when the cable is not connected to the probe or the DataMate. Check the resistance from pin to pin and pin to connector body. In each case, the ohmmeter should read overrange (infinite resistance). If you see another reading, there is a problem. A reading cause by moisture usually drifts (does not remain steady). Continuity checks for the conductors should read about 1 ohm per 100 feet of cable. Check the pin to probe body resistance (not pin to pin). The roll pins (pins that go through the body to hold the springs) make a good connection to the body. Again, the reading should be overrange. If you find a problem in the cable connector that plugs into the DataMate, you may be able to disassemble and dry the connector by yourself. See this technote for directions. However, if you find moisture in the cable connector that attaches to the probe or in the connector built into the probe itself, you must send them to the factory for servicing. Send both items. See instructions for returning equipment to Slope Indicator.

the DataMate records both A and B axes with only two passes through the casing: the A0 and A180 pass. The B axis is less accurate because the wheels can move from side to side in the A grooves, and this affects the tilt of the sensor in the B axis. Slope Indicator’s casing has very narrow grooves, so this is not usually a problem. However, if you are using casing that has wider grooves, the probe can wander in the B axis and give less accurate readings. In that case, the highest accuracy is obtained by orienting the probe so that the wheels travel in the B axis. (Thus you use the A-axis accelerometer to record B axis readings).

The DataMate offers a “Uniaxial” routine that lets you record one direction at a time: A0, A180, B0, and B180. When you step through the parameters of the borehole before recording a survey, change Type from Digitilt to “Spiral.” This tells the DataMate to perform a uniaxial survey. Keep your instrument constant, depths, and intervals the same as usual. The DataMate will then prompt for the A0 pass, continue with the A180 pass, and continue with the B0 and B180 grooves.

When you retrieve the data with DMM, you have to make one change. In the dataset header of DOS DMM, change the value of “Spiral?” to N or False. In the Windows DMM, change the value of Probe Type from Spiral to Digitilt.

There are two possibilities.

1. There may be a partial vacuum in the box due to air shipment. The vacuum is sucking on the keypad and causes the “key down” error message. In this case, unscrew the two screws at the bottom of the box and wiggle the box a bit. This should allow air to flow into the box and release the keypad.
2. The keypad may be too large for the panel. In 2004, we received a batch of keypads that were slightly too large. They fit the panel well enough during assembly, but later expanded. The result was this same “key down” error. In this case, please contact your distributor. He may be able to replace the keypad or will send the box to us for repair.