MI-3000 Version 3.2 Software Package Introduced

June 28, 2005

MI-3000 Version 3.2 Software Package Introduced

ATLANTA: MI Technologies is proud to introduce Version 3.2 of its MI-3000 Data Acquisition and Analysis Software. The MI-3000 software is the system control software at the core of MI Technologies’ MI-2097 Automated Microwave Measurement System.

A few of the new features in Version 3.2 are:

A revised plotting program. While Version 3.2 still produces the same test and measurement plot types MI customers rely on (rectangular, polar, color fill contour, isometric), new features include:

A new user interface that has been completely revised for easier plot configuration.

A ‘rubber band’ zoom function has been added for rectangular plot types, allowing the user to zoom in on selected regions of the plot.

Marker comparison is now supported.

A dynamic cross hair function has been added for rectangular, polar, color fill, color fill/contour and isometric plot types.

For 3D plot types, a second plot window can be created to show a 2D plot in another plot window at a selected location along the 3D plot’s X or Y dimension. The user can then “walk” through that dimension of the 3D plot.

Custom plots may be started automatically at the completion of an acquisition if desired.

Additional plot export formats have been added including bmp, jpeg and enhanced metafile formats.

In order to maintain backward compatibility of existing plot definitions for Version 3.10 and earlier, the previous version of the plotting software is still supported in Version 3.2.

A manual scan acquisition mode has been added. In this mode, the operator controls the scan axis motion manually, and the software will collect data at a specified resolution. The operator can move the positioner back and forth along its axis if desired. This feature is currently only supported by the MI-2012 and MI-4190 position controllers.
A time based acquisition mode has been added. The system can collect data over a specified time interval and at a selected time increment. All receiver drivers except the MI-1795 support this mode.
Command and Control of selected instruments via an Ethernet interface is now possible. Instruments that support both Ethernet and GPIB provide a user configuration choice. Contact the factory for an updated list of supported instruments.
A feature to simplify operations when entire projects are transported from one computer to another has been added. The operator now has the option to update the file paths in all configuration files to the current file path of the project.
A utility to import Microsoft Excel files into MI-3000 data file format has been added.

New Drivers

Support for the following instruments have been added:

Anritsu 37000 Series Vector Network Analyzers, Models C or D
North Atlantic Industries Model 8500 Synchro to Digital Display Unit

Compatibility

Any custom software developed by MI Technologies created for Version 3.0 or 3.1 will be compatible with Version 3.2.
The new plot functions update described above has necessitated a change to the format of the plot definition file. As a result, old plot definitions are incompatible with the new plot package. To support backwards compatibility of plot definitions created with prior software versions, the updated plotting software will recognize the older plot definition formats and will automatically use the previous version of the plotting software.

Editors: For More Information on MI Technologies, Contact
E. Scott Wood
MI Technologies
678-475-8353
swood@mi-technologies.com
www.mi-technologies.com