Do I need a PC to run the CoCo-80?
No, the CoCo-80 is a standalone instrument. It can be operated independently. However you will need a PC to download the data files.

What are the major advantages of CoCo-80 over PC-tethered signal analyzers?
CoCo-80 has several major advantages over PC-tethered instruments:

1. PC tethered instruments use either USB or Ethernet cables for real-time data transfer. Any disruption to the cable, such as shock or vibration, may stop or corrupt the data. CoCo-80 integrates the user interface, DSP and storage into one compact instrument. CoCo-80 is designed to be more reliable.
2. Tethered instruments are acceptable for laboratory use but are not very adequate for field work. Field work with a tethered instrument requires the operator to juggle the PC, the instrument and the interconnection cables while the combination is probably heavier than the CoCo-80. By nature, the PC-tethered instrument is not user-friendly in the field.
3. The performance of PC-tethered instruments depends on many factors such as the processor speed and the operating system of the PC, or the tasks running on the PC. CoCo-80 is under the control of designers and is always deterministic.
4. It is more difficult for a PC-tethered instrument to operate on batteries. Yes some of them use the USB to supply the power to the instrument but the total battery operating time and the number of channels will be limited.

My sensor only has 60dB dynamic range. Why do I care about the 130dB dynamic range of your instrument?
The real advantage of having a 130 dB dynamic-range is that the instrument can function without any input range settings. In traditional instruments, the input range settings, i.e., the amplifier gain, are where the operator can make the biggest mistakes. If you set the range too large, then you won't be able to measure small signals; if the range is too small, then the measurement may get overloaded. A handheld system will have more problems in such a setup. With the unique hardware design, the CoCo-80 reaches a 130 dB dynamic range. The instrument can measure signals as high as +/-10V or as small as a few micro-volts without concern of input range settings.
Given this advantage, users don't need the range setting in the channel table.

How is it possible to run so many functions on such a small handheld system with so few buttons?
Ease-of-use and flexibility are two main goals in a design but they sometimes conflict with each other. In the old days, users had to make a choice between a simple but feature-lacking instrument or a more advanced but more complicated one. Fortunately this is not the case for the CoCo-80. The CoCo-80 is both easy to use and offers many powerful functions. The trick is a new technology developed by Crystal Instruments, the CSA or Configurable Signal Analysis. With this technology, the user first makes certain editing and configurations on the PC and creates the CSA script. The CSA scripts then are downloaded to the CoCo-80 where the user only needs to make very few choices in the setup.
The CoCo-80 is delivered with a dozen of the most often used CSA's. The user can do most of the work using these samples of CSA's.

What do the two LEDs mean?
The two LEDs near the power button are the indicators for the system power-on and the battery charging status. The right LED indicates the charging status which is shown with two colors. Battery charging indicator status is:

• No Light: no external DC power is connected
• Red: Charging
• Green: battery is charged fully

Can I replace the main battery?
Yes. The battery is easily replaced by opening the cover on the back. Be sure that the system is in the power-off state when the main battery is being replaced. The time and date information will not be lost.

Can I transfer the data files to a USB stick or SD memory card?
The data files can be copied to SD memory cards but not the USB memory sticks. The user then can use the EDM software to read the data files from the SD cards. (You probably need a card reader to access the SD card on the PC).

Should I choose USB or Ethernet to connect the CoCo-80 for file downloads?
Either way is fine. If you have a spare Ethernet connector in your office local network, Ethernet, is probably more convenient. When the Ethernet is used, the CoCo-80 can be configured as a fixed IP or "dynamically obtained IP".
USB is more convenient if you want to connect the CoCo-80 to your laptop when you travel. If you want to use USB, you must to install the USB device driver that can be found on the host software CD.
CoCo-80 can also be connected to a PC directly through the Ethernet port if a cross-over Ethernet cable is used.
You'll find that the Ethernet connection is faster than USB when you download the data.

Why are there Rec/Stop and a Save buttons for data storage?
CoCo-80 is essentially two instruments combined into one. The first is a data recorder (like an old Sony or Teac recorders), and the other the real-time signal analyzer. Rec/Stop is used for initializing or stopping the recording of the time streams; the Save button is used to store snapshots of the signals, such as transient captured time signals or spectra. In other words, the Rec/Stop button serves the similar functions as in a continuous data recorder while the Save button applies to the signal analyzer part of the instrument.
The software follows a data flow of: inputs ->data conditioning -> acquisition mode -> signal analysis. In the data conditioning stage, all signals are continuous time streams and can be "Recorded"; after the acquisition mode stage, the signals that can be "Saved" are block by block for spectral processing.

How are the signal names determined?
Signal names are determined by the CSA Editor when the CSA script is created and they can be arbitrary strings. By default the CSA Editor follows these rules to name the signals:

• Time streams from the native measurement channels use reserved names ch1, ch2, ... ch8
• Time streams are all in lower case
• Block signals are cascaded by abbreviated capital letters and related native channels. For example, G(ch3, ch1) stands for the cross-power spectrum between channel 3 as response channel and channel 1 as excitation channel
• H stands for FRF, G for auto or cross-spectrum, COH for coherence functions.

How many different trace graphs can be displayed?
A trace graph is a window that contains the live signal displays. The user can configure as many trace graphs as he wants. Multiple signals of the same type can be over-laid on the same trace graph. In the initial release, only one trace graph can be displayed at a time. In the future we plan to enable multiple traces on the same screen.

How do I change the X and Y scaling of the display window?
On the Display page, simply press F4 to change the scaling from Auto to Scale, then you can use the arrow buttons to reduce or expand the X or Y scales. In the fixed scaling mode, pressing the Shift button will toggle the functions of the arrow buttons from Reduce/Expand to Move Left/Right and Up/Down. Here are the three states of the arrow buttons:

How long of a time signal can be viewed on the screen?
CoCo-80 has implemented a useful method for viewing both short and long time histories. Time signals as short as a few milliseconds or as long as a few seconds can be shown live on the screen. When long duration signals are displayed, the screen switches to a scrolling mode (chart recorder mode). When a short period is displayed, the time signals are displayed block by block.
If you are viewing a transient captured signal, the display time range is determined by the block size and the sampling rate. The duration is (Block Size * dT) where dT is the sampling rate in the time description.

What is the Block Size in the analysis parameter setting?
Block Size is a standard term used in the CoCo-80 to describe the total length of the time signal blocks that are captured by the Acquisition Mode. It is also the size used for data windowing and FFT.
Time streams are not governed by the Block Size. Time streams are continuous data streams that can be viewed and recorded.

What is Acquisition Mode?
In CoCo-80 the Acquisition Mode defines how to transform the time streams into block by block time signals. It is mainly set by the trigger function and the overlapping processing. Typically one of following Acquisition Modes can be selected:

1. Free Run
2. Continuous after Trigger
3. Single Shot with Trigger
4. Single Shot without Trigger
5. Auto-Arm Trigger
6. Manual-Arm Trigger

What parameters will be changed when a new CSA is loaded?
The following parameters are not changed when each new CSA is loaded: Sampling rate, input channel table, output channel parameter and system setup parameters such as network or power setups.
The following parameters are CSA-dependent: Acquisition Mode, Analysis Parameters, Time Stream Recording Setup, Signal Save Setup and Display setup.

What does Restart Button do?
It resets the timer of time streams, resets the average to 1 for spectral analysis, and re-arms the trigger when applicable.

What does Hold Button do?
It holds the display, holds the trigger, or pauses the block by block signal processing. It does not stop the data conditioning process or data recording.

How many cursors can I enable?
Two vertical and two horizontal cursors can be enabled on a trace graph.

Can I use the CoCo-80 for hammer testing?
Yes, hammer testing is one of the basic applications of CoCo-80. Simply use the Manual Re-Arm mode in the Acquisition Mode. The software provides an instant view to the triggered signals and lets you decide whether it is acceptable or not. If it is accepted, the signals of all the channels will be transformed into frequency domain and used in the spectral calculation.

Can I upgrade the number of channels from 4 to 8 after purchase?
Yes but you have to return the unit to the factory for the upgrade.

How long the battery power will last?
About 6 hours.

Can I use the power supply of the car cigarette lighter for CoCo-80?
Yes, but you must purchase the hardware accessory, CoCo-A03 to support the voltage conversion.

Can I use the CoCo-80 for acoustic and vibration measurements?
The CoCo-80 supports IEPE type of sensors as well as any sensor/amplifier that can output voltage signals. Most transducers manufacturers offer a range of accelerometers and microphones that can be connected directly to the CoCo-80. . You can connect these transducers directly to the CoCo-80 inputs.
CoCo-80 does not support condenser microphones, that is microphones that require 200V/28V polarization voltage.

How do I calibrate the System?
System calibration software is included with each system purchase. You can calibrate the system by yourself if you have a high quality AC/DC volt meter that is used as a calibration reference. However, we recommend that the calibration be done by CI or a designated service companies.
To calibrate the CoCo-80 by yourself, you must have a voltmeter with valid calibration certificate. The voltmeter must be able to measure DC and True RMS to an accuracy of 0.25%. The AC bandwidth for the voltmeter should be higher than 5 kHz.

What does Self-Test do?
The CoCo-80 provides a self-test capability. The execute icon is under Setup->Measurement category. Self-test uses an accurate internal signal source to check to ensure the input channels are all within reasonable ranges. Self-test will not change the system calibration results but is a convenient tool for the user to check that his hardware is functioning properly.

How do I measure the tacho signal?
The CoCo-80 is designed so that the first analog channel can be configured as tachometer input. When configured as a tacho, it will sample at its highest rate to provide an accurate rotating speed measurement. The detection threshold is adjustable between -10V and +10V.

How do I update the software on the CoCo-80?
Updating the CoCo-80 is done on-line. You simply connect the CoCo-80 to your local network via Ethernet. Press the update function button. The system will automatically detect the new software components on the server and provide instructions for updating the instrument.

How are the signal names determined?
Signal names are created by the user when the CSA is edited on the host software. They can be made up of any letter, number or symbol.

What Operating System that the host software supports?
EDM host software runs on both Windows XP and Vista. For Windows XP, the installation will detect whether the .NET framework 2.0 is installed. If not, the installation process will automatically install it. Office 2000 or higher is required in order to generate the report.

Does the USB connection need a driver?
Yes. You must install the USB device driver that is provided on the CD that comes with the system.

Does the Ethernet connection need a driver?
No special device driver is needed for Ethernet connection. The user only needs to set the IP address on the CoCo-80, as he would when configuring a PC on the network.

I've lost my original installation CD/Software, how do I get these replaced?
All installation software is available online. Log in using your user account. The user name is the product serial number and the password comes with the shipment of the analyzer. You can also request to have a replacement CD.

What steps do I need to take to have my system serviced (re-calibrated or repaired)?
In order to obtain factory re-calibration service, please do the following:

• Please contact your sales representative for pricing information.
• Please contact CI to obtain an RMA # prior to returning your unit to the factory for re-calibration or repair.
• You will then be provided with a shipping address.

• Serial number
• Description of problem. The more detailed the description, the better we can serve you.
• Purchasing date

What is the cost for service/repair if my CoCo-80 system is out of warranty?
The minimum cost for service/repair of any system that is out of warranty is $300 (US). If however, the cost of the repair is found to exceed this minimum amount, you will be notified immediately.

I've found a possible software bug, how do I report it and when can it be fixed?
If you have found a possible software bug, please report it to technical support immediately. Please have the following handy: CoCo-80 system serial number, application software version number, detail description of problem including how to duplicate it and what error messages appeared (if any).
Normally the bugs will be fixed in the next software release.