B: Troubleshooting
000-20000-300-02- 201110 181
Problem Possible Cause(s) Recommended Solution(s)
It took longer than
expected to get a
spectrum on the graph.
The host computer requested
some change in the
spectrometer's acquisition
parameters (integration time,
status of the strobe/lamp enable,
etc.).
SpectraSuite discards the next spectrum it
acquires after making changes to acquisition
parameters. This extra discarded
stability scan
causes the next single-shot acquisition to take
longer than normal because it is really acquiring
two scans.
For the same reason, a second external hardware
trigger pulse may be required if the
Normal free-
running trigger mode is not being used. When
preparing to do single-shot acquisitions or
external triggering, it is recommended that all of
the acquisition parameters be set in the
continuously acquiring free-running mode to
minimize this effect.
If SpectraSuite is taking turns acquiring spectra
with different acquisition parameters from the
same spectrometer, it may be doing a stability
scan before every sample scan. Also, as above,
the number of scans to average is multiplied by
the integration time.
Can’t access Absolute
Irradiance mode
A spectrometer calibration and a
Dark spectrum have not been
stored.
Go to
File | New | New Absolute Irradiance
Measurement
to open a wizard to guide you
through the process. Absolute irradiance requires
a spectrometer calibration (either loaded from disk
or generated using a calibrated lamp) and a
stored dark spectrum. The most typical reason for
not being able to access absolute irradiance mode
is that you must store a dark spectrum after
loading a calibration.
The graph window
shows a broken pattern
of dots instead of a
spectrum line.
On Microsoft Windows systems,
ATI video cards are known to
have problems displaying the
graph properly.
Right-click the desktop, choose Properties, then
select the Settings tab and click the
Advanced...
button. There should be a tab for the device that
allows you to change the hardware acceleration.
Set the hardware acceleration to about half and
press
Apply. That should immediately correct the
problem. If not, try lowering the acceleration
further.
