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Set up manual sampling

Learn how to manually select recorded data points. This mode is useful when recording a sensor measurement versus a non-sensor measurement.

In this tutorial, we're going to use a Wireless Pressure Sensor (PS-3203) with a syringe to explore the relationship between pressure and volume. If you have a PASPORT or Science Workshop sensor, see Connect a sensor to Capstone for more information.

Set up the experiment

Connect the sensor to Capstone and set up the manual sampling template.

  1. Click New Experiment to create a new Capstone file.

  2. Click the Sensor Data menu and select Manual Sampling.

  3. Turn on the sensor by pressing the power button until the lights turn on.

  4. Select the sensor that matches the device ID printed on your sensor.
  5. Click Hardware Setup in the Tools palette to close the Hardware Setup panel.

Enter the non-sensor data

The Manual Sampling template provides you with a table and graph. The first thing you need to do is enter non-sensor data (in this case, Volume) into the table.

  1. In the Table, select x, then click Rename.
  2. Change the name to Volume and press Enter.
  3. Change the units to mL and press Enter.
  4. Enter the Volume data in the table. For this experiment, we will record a data point every 5 mL from 60 mL to 20 mL.

Collect sensor data

In this step, we're going to monitor the pressure as we change the volume in the syringe. It is important to recognize that data isn't being continuously recorded. Since we're in Manual Sampling mode, we must manually select when to record a data point.

  1. Click Preview to begin monitoring data. Capstone displays the live measurement in the table and graph but doesn't record it.
  2. Select the data cell next to 60 mL.
  3. Set the syringe to 60 mL, then click Keep Sample to record the data point.
  4. Repeat the previous two steps for the other Volume values.
  5. Click Stop when you are finished collecting data.

Analyze the data

Analyze the data in the graph using the Graph and Table tools. To start, let's apply a curve fit to observe the relationship between pressure and volume.

  1. Go to the graph toolbar and select Highlight Data to make the highlighter visible.
  2. Drag the highlighter over the data you want to analyze. Use the handles on the highlighter to resize the highlighter.
  3. Click the down arrow next to the Curve Fit tool, then select Inverse (no offset): A/x + B from the menu.

For information on analyzing the data with other tools, see the Graph display page.