I N T R O D U C T I O N

 

Congratulations! You have purchased one of the finest SPL meters ever produced for measuring the Sound Pressure Level inside of a vehicle.

 

This manual covers the installation of the Term-LAB software and hardware components. You must install all of the software components prior to attaching or installing any of the hardware components to your computer.

 

A complete installation will progress as follows…

 

  1. Software Installation
    1. Install the Instacal configuration utility.
    2. Install the Term-LAB application.

 

  1. Hardware Installation
    1. Attach the Interface Box to the USB port on the computer.
    2. Configure the Term-LAB data acquisition system.

 

3.      System Assembly

 

4.      Sensor Configuration

 

Section 1 - Software Installation

 

The Term-LAB software may be installed on Windows XP and Windows 2000 systems. We strongly suggest that you upgrade your system to Windows XP as this will ensure that your system has current driver files.

 

There are two separate software components that must be installed. Please install these components in the order outlined below.

 

Installing From CD

 

Insert the Term-LAB CD into the CDROM. If the auto-run feature on your computer is enabled, a window showing the contents of the CD should open automatically. (If auto-run is not enabled, use Explorer to navigate to the CD drive and double-click on the drive letter to open a window showing the contents of the CD.)

 

1-a Install Instacal

 

1.      Find the folder named, “Instacal” on the Term-LAB CD. Double-click on this folder to view its contents. Locate the file named, “Setup.exe”.

2.      Double-click on the file named, “Setup.exe”. This will launch the Instacal setup program.

3.      Follow the on-screen instructions.

4.      Please allow the setup program to update your Autoexec.bat and System.ini files.

5.      After the installation is complete, you must restart your computer.

 

1-b Install Term-LAB

 

Install Term-LAB

 

1.      Find the folder named, “Termlab” on the Term-LAB CD. Double-click on this folder to view its contents. Locate the file named, “Setup.exe”.

2.      Double-click on the file named, “Setup.exe”. This will launch the Term-LAB setup program.

3.      Follow the on-screen instructions.

 

 

 

Section 2 - Hardware Installation 

 

2-a Term-LAB USB

 

The Term-LAB USB system is completely plug-and-play. There are no switches or jumpers to set prior to installation in your computer. Configuration is controlled by your systems’ Human Interface Device Services.

 

1.      Attach the Term-LAB Interface Box to a USB port on your PC using the supplied USB cable.

2.      A dialog box may pop up on your monitor indicating that new hardware has been detected. Allow Windows to install the required software automatically.

3.      Restart the computer if instructed to do so.

 

2-b Configuring the Term-LAB Data Acquisition System

 

The Instacal utility is used to configure your Term-LAB System.

 

WARNING! Never run the Calibrate utility in Instacal. Doing so will corrupt the factory calibration and void your warranty.

 

1.      Run Instacal. (Select Start / Programs / Termlab / Instacal)

2.      The first time you run the Instacal utility, the program will detect your Term-LAB Data Acquisition system. Allow the program to add the system (Term-LAB USB) to the configuration file.

3.      Exit Instacal.

 

Section 3 – System Assembly

 

  1. Carefully unpack the Term-LAB system.
  2. Attach the Term-LAB power supply to the power jack on the back of the white Interface Box. The power LED on the front panel should illuminate.
  3. Attach the SPL Sensor(s) to the Term-LAB Interface Box with the included CAT5 cable. Attach the first sensor to the input labeled Sensor 1 and the second sensor to the input labeled Sensor 2.

 

This completes the Term-LAB Assembly.

 

Section 4 - Sensor Configuration

 

The Term-LAB software includes default configuration files for all available input devices. Each configuration file provides detailed information about the input device being used. After installing Term-LAB, you must edit the default configuration files for the SPL Sensors and specify the sensitivity values (K-Factor) for the Sensors included with your system.

 

  1. Run Term-LAB. (From the Start Menu, select Start / Programs / Termlab / Termlab.)
  2. Click on the Hardware Tab at the top of the screen.
  3. Press the “Edit” button next to the Sensor you would like to configure.
  4. Enter the “K-Factor” value specified below for the sensor being edited.
  5. Repeat this process for each input device in your system.

 

Sensor 1  ­­­­­____________

Sensor 2  ­­­­­____________

 

Please do not omit the Sensor Configuration process or your SPL readings will be inaccurate.

 

Program Operation

 

Term-LAB operation is simple and straightforward.

 

From the Start Menu, select Start / Programs / Termlab / Termlab. This will launch the Term-LAB application.

 

Simple SPL Measurements

 

To start the SPL measurement process, select the first “Mode” button (SPL Mode). Next, press the “Start Button”. The meter will start acquiring data and updating the screen once per second. To stop the metering process, simply press the “Stop” button. Please note that other program operations are inhibited while metering is taking place.

 

Display Options

 

Pressing the “Display Options” button will bring up a configuration panel that may be used to configure the various displays, ranges, and resolutions of the Term-LAB meter.

 

General

 

This tab includes slider controls that affect the “Top” scale of various displays as well as the “dB/Div” for each of these displays.

 

The “Sync all channel settings to Channel A” checkbox synchronizes all of the settings (except for Input Selection) for all channels to those shown in Channel A.

 

The “Numeric Data” button opens a dialog box that contains very specific information about each channel. (This panel may remain open while measurements are taking place.)

 

Channel A (Channel B)

 

These tabs control the measurement and display characteristics for each of Term-LAB’s channels.

 

Enabled – This checkbox turns the channel on and off.

 

Input Selector – These buttons are used to select the input device you wish to measure.

 

SPL Readout – The “Enabled” checkbox enables or disables the digital SPL readout on the screen. The 3-1/2 and 4-1/2 Digits radio buttons are used to select the resolution that you would like to have displayed on the SPL readout. 3-1/2 will display SPL’s to 1/10th of a dB and 4-1/2 will display SPL’s to 1/100th of a dB.

 

Bargraph Meter – The “Enabled” checkbox enables or disables the bargraph meter on the screen. You may need to disable the bargraph meter on screens with low resolution, or when you have more than two channels active at one time.

 

Spectrum Analyzer – The “Enabled” checkbox enables or disables the Spectrum Analyzer on the screen.

 

SPL Stripchart – The “Enabled” checkbox enables or disables the SPL Stripchart on the screen. The “SPL History” checkbox enables or disables the scrolling capability of the SPL Stripchart.

 

Oscilloscope – The “Enabled” checkbox enables or disables the Oscilloscope on the screen. The “Input Waveform” and “Windowed Waveform” is used to tell the oscilloscope which waveform to monitor. The “Waveform History” checkbox is used to enable or disable the scrolling capability of the Oscilloscope. The Zoom drop down box is used to select the amount of zoom that is applied to the Oscilloscopes display (horizontal only).

 

Peak Hold

 

The “Peak Hold” feature is available on the main control panel whenever the system is in SPL mode.

 

Enable – This checkbox enables or disables Peak Hold. When Peak Hold is enabled, the meter will hold the highest measured SPL, waveform display on the Oscilloscope, and frequency spectrum on the Spectrum Analyzer. The held these displays will not change unless a new SPL exceeds the level of the currently held SPL.

 

Reset Button – This button is used to reset the Peak Hold display.

 

Auto Reset – This checkbox enables or disables the Peak Hold Auto Reset Feature. When enabled, the meter will automatically reset the Peak Hold display based on the Interval value displayed in the Interval check box (in seconds).

 

Sensor Placement

 

The SPL sensor(s) should be attached to the inside surface of the windshield of the contestant’s vehicle. Make sure that the surface where the sensor will be placed is clean. For competition purposes, use a standard mic jig to position the sensor in the normal measuring location. (The “crosshair” in the center of the sensor’s label will aid in this process.)

 

To remove the sensor, gently lift one edge of each suction cup to release the vacuum.

 

Finding Your Peak Frequency

 

Every competition vehicle has a frequency where a maximum SPL will be achieved. This frequency can vary due to local atmospheric conditions. (These conditions are affected by temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and elevation.) To maximize your score at a particular event, it is important that you identify the frequency you should use during competition under the current atmospheric conditions.

 

  1. Press the SPL “Mode” button. (Under the digital timer.)
  2. Press the “Display Options” button.
  3. Select the “General” tab and then press the “Numeric Data” button. Move the Numeric Data window to an area of the screen that won’t interfere with operation of Term-LAB. Close the “Display Options” window.
  4. Select the “Peak Hold” option for the digital readout.
  5. Using the dB Jams V6 Competition CD, select one of the 10 Hz sweeps that encompasses your normal competition frequency.
  6. Press the “Start” button on the SPL meter.
  7. Play the test sweep at a fairly high volume.
  8. After the sweep has completed, the RTA and the Numeric Data fields will indicate the frequency where your highest SPL occurred. This is the frequency you should use when competing.