Vernier Tech Info Library TIL #92

Question

I am having problems doing long-term experiments

Answer

Here are some things to check:

- Is the station near any source of electrical interference, such as close to the computer or monitor or major AC power line?
- Is there screen saver software that could be kicking in and causing the problem?
- Is the computer on a network, such that network activity could be interrupting the communication?
- Is there backup software that kicks in at a particular time to mess things up?
- On some Windows 98 and Windows ME computers, it is possible that the computer is not handling the serial port correctly for large data sets. If you are using serial, try adjusting the FIFO buffer settings shown in the attached document. The exact combination will depend on the UART used in your computer. A good starting place is to set:
Receive Buffer: Maximum
Transmit Buffer: High

Created by: dvernier on August 06 1998
Last updated by: jhopkins on March 01 2007