FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
399 Reservation Road, Marina, California U.S.A.
Ph: (831) 384-4300 Fax: (831) 337-5786
www.foxthermalinstruments.com
©2006 Fox Thermal Instruments, Inc.
07/19/13
Introduction:
The FT2 View™ application software is a program that runs on a PC and communicates with a Fox FT2
Thermal Mass Flowmeter.
Installation:
To install the FT2 View™ program, you must first download the file from the Fox website. The latest
version of the FT2 View™ software is available for download at
http://www.foxthermalinstruments.com/products/ft2view.php.
FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
To install the FT2 View™ program, run the “FT2View_V#.##-setup.exe” file that is located in the
downloaded file.
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FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
After clicking “Next” the screen will show:
Select the folder in which you wish to install FT2view™, then click “Install.”
When the program is done installing, you may exit, then restart your computer.
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Operation:
Connect a RS232 DB9 cable from the FT2 RS232 serial port located on the inside of the
FT2 transmitter and a serial port of a PC. The serial cable must be a null modem cable or use a null
modem DB9 adapter. If your PC does not have a RS232 port, you will need a USB to RS232 converter
along with a VCP driver.
If the PC is connected to the Internet and running Windows 7™, the PC will try to automatically load
the VCP driver. If the driver does not load automatically, download the VCP driver at:
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
Run the application by clicking on FT2_View.exe and select the Communication port
used when prompted by using the drop down menu and press OK.
FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
The COM port selection can be found by going to the control panel and opening the Device Manager
and clicking on the PORT (COM&LPT). A COM port assignment should be displayed.
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Welcome Screen
The right side of the first screen shows all of the FT2 parameters which are scanned once upon entering
the program. The left side of the window displays FT2 variables which are automatically refreshed about
once a second.
FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
- The “Error Code List” button enables the user to display a list of error codes and their descriptions
(see example below).
- The “Scan Enable/Disable” button allows the user to stop and start the data scanning.
- The “Configure” * button allows the user to enter a sub-menu to allow FT2 parameters settings and
display. A password will be requested to access different levels of parameters protection. See pages
3-4 for more information.
- The data can be refreshed by clicking on the “Display Parameters” button located at the bottom
right.
- “Acquire data to Excel file” button is use to save specified data at a requested time interval to an
Excel spreadsheet. See page 6 for more information.
- The “Stop Acquisition” button is clicked to terminate data collection.
o * Please note that the “Configure” button will be visible only after communication has been
established with the FT2.
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Configure Menu:
After pressing the “Configure Menu” button, a screen will prompt the user to enter a password that will
allow access to some or all parameters. After entering the password (1234 for most parameters), the
“Configure Menu” button will flash with “Please Wait” until the program has acquired all the
parameters from the FT2 and displays them on the screen.
FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
Unit Select
o Choose the Flow Rate unit, temperature in F or C and the pressure label.
Temperature Calibration
o The Temperature calibration section allows the user to modify the temperature calibration factors
but should not be modified unless the temperature reading is out of calibration.
Simulation
o Flow rate, Temperature and sensor sense voltage can be simulated by clicking on the respective
display box, entering new values and then selecting Sim=Enable. The Simulation message will
be displayed on the FT2 local display every 10 seconds when operating in that mode. After a
power cycle, the simulation mode will be automatically disabled.
Display
o The display section allows programming of the display 1 & 2 of the local display.
Dsp1l1 is for display 1 line 1.
Dsp1l2 is for display 1 line 2.
Dsp2l1 is for display 2 line 1.
Dsp2l2 is for display 2 line 2.
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4-20ma
o The 4-20mA section allows programming of the two 4-20 mA outputs for flow rate and
temperature.
Frequency
o The frequency section allows the programming of the pulse output associated with flow rate.
Three methods are provided to accomplish this.
EE Prom
o “Recall EE from EEbackup” is used to recall default parameters set at the factory when the
unit was calibrated. A switch on the FT2 circuit board needs to be activated before performing
this function.
Other Parameters
o “CTC out” allows the programming of the digital output as an alarm indicator for exceeding a
certain threshold for flow rate or temperature.
o “CTC inp” allows the programming on a contact input to reset the totalizer.
o The “Reset Total” button is used to reset the FT2 total.
o The “Set database CRC” is used to re-calculated the CRC associated with some of the critical
parameters. This would be done to clear a “Database CRC Error” after verifying that all the
critical database parameters are accurate. This button allows the user to reset the CRC associated
with critical data in the event an error has been detected. All critical data need to be verified
before resetting the CRC to avoid operating with corrupted data.
“RS485” Button
o This button allows the user to configure the RS485 serial port and bus type. The RS485 settings
apply only if the bus type selected is Modbus.
FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
The “20mA Flo” is the flow rate corresponding to the 20 mA and the “4 mA Flo” is the
flow rate corresponding to the 4mA. “20 mA Temp” and “4 mA Temp” are settings for
gas temperature.
The “20mA flo cnt” and the “4mA flo cnt” are the calibration settings and should not be
changed unless the output is out of specification.
The “20mA Temp cnt” and “4mA Temp cnt” are for the output associated with
temperature.
Method 1: the first method is by setting the maximum flow rate and corresponding
frequency output (frequency may not exceed 100 hz)
Method 2: the second method is by setting the number of pulses per unit of total (i.e 10
pulses per SCF)
Method 3: the third is by setting the total unit per pulse (i.e 10 SCF per pulse).
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“Save cfg to file” Button
o This button is used to save all the settings to a data file.
“Recall cfg from file” Button
o This button is used to recall previously saved settings from a file.
“Refresh screen” Button
o This button is used to refresh all the parameters on that screen.
“Calibration table” Button
o This button allows access to the flow calibration tables.
o If the meter is calibrated with multiple curves, the “Curve #2” and “Curve #3” buttons may be
used to view calibration table information of the other curves.
FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
“Print Form” Button
o This button allows the user to print the page.
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Data Acquisition to Excel File
After selecting the “Start Acquisition to Excel File” button, a box will prompt the user to enter a list of
data index to collect the data.
FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
Please refer to the Thermal Mass Flowmeter & Temperature Transmitter RS232 Message Protocol for
data index codes. Data index should be separated with commas. Next a box will prompt the user to enter
the sample interval time in seconds and then the file name.
Select the directory in which you wish to log data. Ensure there are no spaces in the folder names and
file name. The file name must end with “.xls” and do not save your data in the root directory, as
Windows 7 does not allow this.
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FT2 View™ Instruction Manual
The program will collect the data to the Excel file at the specified rate and save it to disk every 30
seconds until stopped by pressing the “Stop Acquisition” button.
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