FAQs

Do you already have 40 installations? That’s the maximum number you can store in early DataMates. If you’re in the field and need to do a survey of a new installation, you can use another installation as a temporary holder for your data – just edit its parameters as required. Later, when you return to the office, you can place the survey under a proper installation

Yes. Humidity greater than 60% can cause problems, particularly when the DataMate undergoes temperature changes, such as being taken from a warm office to cold outdoors or from hot outdoors to air-conditioned office. If possible, store the DataMate in a cool, dry place in winter and in a warm, dry place in summer. 

Yes, there are certain reading values that are good indicators of problems:

Reading of 12000 in either axis: This indicates a sensor problem.

Reading of ±6000 to 8000: This indicates a power line problem if it appears both axes. The problem is probably in the cable or a connector.

Reading of +730 or 740 (English) or +1280 or 1290 (Metric): This indicates an input line problem on DataMates with firmware version 1997 or earlier. This is the same reading that appears if no probe is connected. The problem is probably in the cable or a connector.

Reading of +1786 or 1787 (English) or +3125 or 3126 (Metric): This indicates an input line problem on DataMates with firmware 2005 or later. This is the same reading that appears if no probe is connected. The problem is probably in the cable or a connector.

Reading of 60 or some other low number: If you see a low number that stays constant in one axis, the problem is mostly likely in the probe. The accelerometer for that axis is not working and the op amp is trying to compensate, resulting in a constant value.

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.

The answer involves both the inclinometer probe and the orientation of the inclinometer casing. 1. The inclinometer probe contains two accelerometers. One accelerometer senses tilt in the plane of the wheels. The other accelerometer senses tilt in a plane rotated 90 degrees to the wheels. The drawing at right is a top view of the probe. If the bottom of the probe is held in a fixed position, moving the top of the probe in the direction of the arrows results in positive and negative readings. 2. Inclinometer casing has grooves that control the orientation of the inclinometer probe. Usually one set of grooves is aligned with the expected direction of movement (For slopes, this is usually downhill. For excavations, this is usually toward the area being excavated). The probe travels in this set of grooves. If the probe is inserted so that the upper wheel points to the expected direction of movement, then A0 pass through the casing will show positive tilt if there is actually tilt in that direction. 3. On a graph, positive movment is shown on the right side of the graph, assuming that casing grooves are aligned with the direction of movement and that the probe was inserted with the upper wheels pointing in the downhill direction for the first pass.

It is not a good idea to use an English probe with a metric cable (or vice versa). You will introduce errors and lots of complications. Here’s a suggestion of how you can switch over those installations from English to metric:

1. Rent an English Digitilt system and take a final survey of the inclinometer installations with the English system.
2. On the same day that you take the final English readings, take two or three surveys of the same installations with your metric system.
3. Reduce the English data, evaluate the displacements and file all the readings from the past. This closes the book on the English unit data.
4. From now on, use only your metric system. Choose one of your metric datasets and use it as the initial. If you must report information in English units, use DigiPro for Windows to generate English unit graphs and data from your metric readings.

At one time, we recommended regular recalibrations. Now we recommend recalibrations only for the following three conditions below.

Condition l: Your probe requires repair. After we repair your probe, we must recalibrate it.

Condition 2: You need the probe certified for your company’s quality program. In this case, we may not actually open the probe to make adjustments. First, we put the probe on our tilt table to generate a calibration form. Then, if the probe is found to be within tolerances, we print out the calibration form. However, if the probe is found to be out of tolerance, we open it, make the necessary adjustments, and then run the calibration test again.

Condition 3: If you follow ASTM Standard D7299 (http://www.astm.org/Standards/D7299.htm) and readings in the check stand or in an inclinometer installed on stable ground show drifting or unusual readings.

Summary: If your readings and graphs are consistent, and there is no obvious need for repair, we recommend that you continue using the probe as is. Recalibration is unlikely to significantly improve the performance of a probe that is already working well.

Note that the probe is a special case. Other instruments, particularly readouts, can benefit from annual recalibrations.

These values are used for manufacturing quality checks. They assure us that the accelerometers are aligned properly and working properly. The values have no practical application for end users.