Meter
The Meter sink performs various measurements on the source's data.
The measurement values can be displayed in segment displays (default) as well as gauge
displays.
Appearance of the meter can be configured in the program settings.
Multiple sources can be connected to the meter and per source, multiple measurements can be
displayed, in individual displays.
Sources with time domain data and sources with frequency domain data can be connected to a
meter.
For each connected source, a column with displays is added to the meter window,
a caption at the top of the column indicates the source by its icon and name or alias.
Connecting a source can be done in two ways:
- drag the source onto the Meter in the object tree
- drag the source onto the window of the Meter
The following measurements are available:
- Maximum
- Minimum
- Top-Bottom
- Root Mean Square (RMS)
- Mean
- Variance
- Standard Deviation
- Frequency
- Duty cycle
- Duty cycle inverted
- Crest factor
- Rise time
- Fall time
- dBm
- Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)
The measurements are performed over all post samples of the associated source. In the program settings can be determined which measurements are default shown when creating a meter.
Display properties and actions
To control the behavior of a display of the Meter, several properties are available. These can be accessed through a popup menu which is shown when the display is right clicked.
Color
When multiple sources are displayed in a meter, they can be distinguished from each other by their Color. Two color settings are available for a meter display.
-
As source
The display will use the same color as its source. -
User defined...
The color of the display is user selected, using a color picker dialog. Any color can be used.
Digits
The Digits option determines how many digits are used to show the value on the segment display. Three different options are available:
-
Auto detect
The segment display determines the optimal number of digits, based on the resolution of the value. -
6
The segment display uses six digits to display the value -
User defined...
The number of digits is user defined, using a number input dialog.
Decimals
The Decimals option determines how many decimal positions are used to show the value on the segment display. Three different options are available:
-
Auto detect
The segment display determines the optimal number of decimals, based on the resolution of the value. -
3
The segment display uses three decimals to display the value -
User defined...
The number of decimals is user defined, using a number input dialog.
Auto Prefix
The option Auto prefix determines whether a prefix (µ m k M G etc.) is added to the displayed unit on a segment display. The displayed value is shown accordingly. Auto prefix is default on. When Digits and Decimals are set to Auto detect, Auto prefix will be fixed to on.
Range
The Range option determines the full scale range of a gauge display. Two options are available:
-
Auto ranging
The gauge display sets the full scale range according to the output range of the associated source of the display -
User defined...
The upper and lower limit of the gauge display range are user defined, using an input dialog.
Measurement
The property Measurement determines which measurement is performed on the data of the associated source of the display. A submenu allows to select from the available measurements.
Type
The property Type determines whether a segment display or a gauge display is used to show the value.
Delete
The Delete action deletes the display.
Meter source actions
Some actions that are related to a connected source of a meter are available. These can be accessed through a popup menu which is shown when the source caption is right clicked.
Add Measurement
The action Add measurement adds a display with a specified measurement to the column of displays for the associated source. The measurement to add can be selected from a sub menu.
Disconnect source
To remove a source from a meter, the Disconnect source action can be used. This will remove all displays and caption for that source from the meter window.
Meter properties and actions
To control the behavior of the Meter sink, several properties are available. These can be accessed through a popup menu which is shown when the sink is right clicked in the object tree.
Copy to clipboard
The Copy to clipboard action copies the values of all displays including layout to the Windows clipboard, from where it can be pasted in various applications. The Copy to clipboard action is available in the popup menu.
Always on top
When the Always on top property is switched on, the Meter window cannot be hidden under other windows of the Multi Channel software. The Always on top property is available in the popup menu.
Alias
You can change the displayed name of an object by giving it an Alias. This can be handy when you are dealing with a lot of objects and have problems keeping them apart. You can for example give channel one of your instrument the alias "Battery", when it is measuring a battery voltage. To give an object an alias, use the item Alias ... in its menu. To remove an alias and revert to the original name of the object, set the alias to an empty string.
Disconnect source(s)
To disconnect one or more sources from an I/O or Sink, use the Disconnect source(s) action. This will show a dialog that lists all connected sources. Individual sources can then be selected and disconnected from the object.
Disconnect all sources
To disconnect all sources from an I/O or Sink at once, use the Disconnect all sources action.
Clone
When a new object is to be created, similar to an already existing object, with the same properties, the Clone action can be used. This will create an identical copy of the original object, with the exact same properties. Source(s) and sink(s) of the new object are not yet connected.
Delete
The Delete action deletes a source, I/O or sink. All connections of the object will be disconnected and then the object will be removed from the object tree. The source property of the objects that used this object as source will be cleared. The sink property of the objects that used this object as sink will be cleared. An axis in a graph that was connected to this object will be also deleted.
Load
The Load action allows to load the settings and data for an object from a TPS or TPO file. This is detailed described on the page about Loading into selected objects.
Save as
The Save as action allows to save the settings and data of one or more objects to a TPO file. When multiple objects are selected, the connections between the objects are saved as well. This is detailed described on the page about Saving objects to a TPO file.