3DATX parSYNC User manual

User Guide
3DATX Corp. parSYNC®miniPEMS
Updated July 2020

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Table of Contents
1 Unpacking your parSYNC® .................................................................................................................... 4
2 Items needed in the field (not included) .............................................................................................. 7
3 Software................................................................................................................................................ 8
3.1 Location and Startup..................................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 8
3.3 Config and Connect..................................................................................................................... 10
3.3.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................. 10
3.3.2 Config Save Button.............................................................................................................. 11
3.3.3 Calibration Settings ............................................................................................................. 12
3.3.4 Admin .................................................................................................................................. 13
3.4 How to Zero ................................................................................................................................ 13
3.5 How to Start Recording............................................................................................................... 15
3.6 Gases Tab .................................................................................................................................... 16
3.7 PM Conc and PN.......................................................................................................................... 16
3.8 PM (Sig) ....................................................................................................................................... 17
3.9 Temperature ............................................................................................................................... 18
3.10 PSN .............................................................................................................................................. 19
3.11 RAW ............................................................................................................................................ 19
4 Span Calibration Procedure ................................................................................................................ 20
5 Test Checklist - parSYNC® and CUBE™ ................................................................................................ 22
5.1 Day before test............................................................................................................................ 22
5.2 Test Day....................................................................................................................................... 22
5.2.1 Zero Sensors........................................................................................................................ 22
5.2.2 If Calibration is needed, proceed below, (IF NOT, skip this section) .................................. 22
5.3 Data Collection/System Setup .................................................................................................... 23
5.4 End Test Cycle ............................................................................................................................. 23
5.5 Post Processing ........................................................................................................................... 24
6 Setup Flow Chart................................................................................................................................. 24
7 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. 25
7.1 Software - Chart Design Elements .............................................................................................. 25
7.1.1 Y-axis and X-axis .................................................................................................................. 25
7.1.2 Chart Area ........................................................................................................................... 27

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7.1.3 Legend................................................................................................................................. 27
7.1.4 Control Palette .................................................................................................................... 28
7.1.5 Scroll Bar ............................................................................................................................. 28
7.2 Test Data File Format .................................................................................................................. 29
7.3 Hardware Overview and Technical Specifications ...................................................................... 31
7.3.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................. 31
7.3.2 Next Generation: iPEMS...................................................................................................... 31
7.3.3 Modular Sensor Cartridge Advantage: Particulates and Gases .......................................... 31
7.3.4 C.U.B.E. – (Condensate Unit for Batch Emissions) Chiller/Water Trap (Sample Conditioner)
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7.4 Technical Memorandum ............................................................................................................. 33
7.4.1 Opacity ................................................................................................................................ 34
7.4.2 Scattering ............................................................................................................................ 35
7.4.3 Ionization ............................................................................................................................ 36

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1Unpacking your parSYNC®
Congratulations on the purchase of your parSYNC® - the next generation, mini portable emissions
measurement system (miniPEMS)!
Follow these easy instructions on unpacking your unit, and you will be up and running before you know
it!
*TIP - Before we get started, remember to carefully open the boxes and save them in case you need to
send the equipment back or use them to ship to a testing location.
Box 1: Open the big box. This box contains your parSYNC® device along with all of its accessories.
•The first layer contains your field bag with warmer inside. You will use this bag to transport and
warm your parSYNC®.
•For shipping purposes, we have packed the following inside of your bag:
oPower strip w/power adapters and handle
oSample probe
oIn one of the interior side pockets, you will find the tablet charger, a bag of PM filters,
and another bag of miscellaneous connectors.
oRemove the first layer of foam protection, and you will see the tablet that has been
mated with your parSYNC®.

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•Remove the second layer of foam protection.
•The final layer holds your parSYNC® with a few other accessories.
oOn this layer, you may find the parSYNC® power adapter/charger, extra tubing, and/or
extra feet that can be attached to the bottom of the unit.

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•Once you have removed the unit from the bottom of the box, place the other previous layers of
foam back into the box for safe keeping.
Box #2:This smaller box contains the CUBE™ (Condensate Unit for Batch Emissions).
*TIP - Again, be careful opening the box so that you can save the box and foam inserts.
•The first layer of this box contains the power adapter/charger for your CUBE™.
•Remove the first layer of foam protectant and you will find your CUBE™ below.
•Now let’s get charging! Be sure the parSYNC®, CUBE™, and tablet all have a full charge before
starting your first test.
oWhen you power up your tablet, *IF* a PIN or password has been set, they are:
PIN = 2020
Password = parSYNC (this is case sensitive)

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2Items needed in the field (not included)
•Screwdriver
•Wrench(s) (Adjustable)
•Multimeter
•Calibration Gases with regulators (flowrate ~ 2.0 lpm)
1. NO
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(Nitrogen Dioxide) - 100 ppm
2. Bar 97 HIGH Blend (Gas Mixture)
NO (Nitrogen Oxide) – 3000 ppm
CO (Carbon Monoxide) – 8%
CO2(Carbon Dioxide) – 12%
C3H8(Hydrocarbon) – 3100 ppm
Routine measurement should be made of
the parSYNC® sampling flowrate (with the
standard lengths of hoses when the system
was purchased) and any significant decrease in
flowrate is an indication that the sampling
pump requires replacement (flowrate will
increase with no hose attached).

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3Software
3.1 Location and Startup
By default, the parSYNC® software base folder is set to C:\parSYNC. Within this folder, are the sub-
folders for the:
configuration files, C:\parSYNC\Config
software licenses, C:\parSYNC\License
software executable, C:\parSYNC\Software
recorded test data, C:\parSYNC\TestData
user guides, C:\parSYNC\UserGuide
The base folder path can be as per user choice; however, the sub-folder names are fixed. Thus, for
example, if the base folder is set to D:\level1\level2\foldername, the configuration files sub-folder path
will be D:\level1\level2\foldername\Config. The base folder on your hard drive must be same as the
base folder in the parSYNC software Config > Test Setup tab.
Start-up Application
The parSYNC® unit must be turned ON and running before starting up the operational software. Push the
Main power button on the unit and verify that the blue LED surrounding the power button is lit and that
the sampling pump is running (audible noise).
On the laptop controller, click the shortcut link on the Taskbar or Desktop that points to the parSYNC®
application executable file. The executable file in the “Software” is typically named parSYNC_**.exe where
the ** is a placeholder for software version number and date. For example, the executable could be
named parSYNC_190903a.exe
3.2 Overview
Upon software start-up you will see a series of tabs which contain both input data for the system and
displays for the data output from the parSYNC® sensors and software processing.
The Tabs
1. Config (Data File and Hardware Configuration Settings)
a. Test Setup
b. Calibration Settings
c. Admin
2. Zero (Reset sensors to reference base)
3. Gases (Gaseous Pollutants Concentration)
4. PM Conc (Particle Mass Concentration)
5. PN (Particle Number)
6. PM Sig (Particle Matter – individual sensor signals)
We advise keeping the base folder as default unless there’s a good reason to move it. Also, make
sure all users of the computer have full access to the base folder.

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7. Temperature (PM Cartridge Temperature)
8. PSN (Particulate Synchronization Number)
9. Raw (Raw Voltage Signals from All Sensors)
The tabs will be described as they come up when you set-up parSYNC®, operate your equipment, and
analyze your data afterwards.
TIP: For any button or control in the User Interface (UI), right-click and click “Description and Tip…” for
notes on usage and/or functionality.
When you start the software, it will default to the Config tab, as shown below. Also, at startup, the
software will look for the default configuration file named config_default.ini in the basepath\Config sub-
folder. If it does not locate a suitable file, the message window will inform the user that a config file
needs to be loaded. This can be done using the “Config Load” button in the Config tab.
Key elements of the parSYNC® graphical user interface (GUI). The left bar contains these elements
(top to bottom):
1. Buttons to control recording of test data AFTER initial connection has been established
between the parSYNC®®software and parSYNC® miniPEMS. These buttons are labeled
Start, Pause, and Clear Charts.
2. Message window that informs the user about a required action or current state of the
software
3. Bag number control
To the right, are the tabs for making initial connection, zeroing the parSYNC® miniPEMS, and
visualizing the test data in real-time. In general, these tabs are arranged left to right based on
typical workflow. For example, the leftmost tab is “Config” because configuration and connection
are the first things the user must do before anything else can be done with the software. The next
tab is “Zero” because right after a connection is established, it is expected that the parSYNC®®
needs to be zeroed.
The configuration file (extension .ini) contains the last known state of the software, including any
user set values such as base folder path and sensor zeroing and span calibration settings.
The GUI buttons are state aware. That means, if a button is not valid or should not be clicked, it will
be grey and disabled. For example, when you load the software, the Start and Pause buttons are
disabled because they cannot function until a connection has been established. On the other hand,
the Config Load button and Connect button are enabled.

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3.3 Config and Connect
3.3.1 Overview
If a suitable default config file is found the message window will instruct the user to proceed with
establishing a connection between the software and the hardware.
Note that when a config file is loaded, many of the GUI controls will be populated by the values stored in
the config file. For example, the date and time the config file is created is displayed (above the “Config
Load” button).
To proceed, the connection procedure requires the user to hit the “Connect” button on the Config tab.
During connection attempt, the message window will display “Connecting. Please wait.” If the
connection is successful, the message window will show “Connection successful. Please Zero.” Or it will
say “Could not connect!” followed by a likely explanation of what caused the failure to connect and how
to remedy it. If the connection is successful, the “Connect” button will turn to grey and disabled state to
prevent the user from making a duplicate connection. Similarly, the “Config Load” button also gets
disabled, however the “Start” button is enabled.

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3.3.2 Config Save Button
Use this button to save a new config file. User can create as many config files as required and they can
be located anywhere and have any name. The default config file, which the software looks for at startup,
is always in the basefolder\Config location and has the name “config_default.ini”. The boolean button
above the “Config Save” button can toggle between YES and NO, where yes means that when the user
saves a new config file (any name, any location), the software will create two new files: (1) it overwrites
the default config file with the new settings, plus (2) it creates a new file with the user’s selected name
and description. If the user chooses to not change the default config file, change the boolean button to
“NO” and it only saves the one newly created file. [Note: Another way to change the default config
outside of the program is to simply copy-paste an existing config file to the location of the default config
file and rename the newly copied file as “config_default.ini”].
A new test data file is created each time a new connection is established. The file is named
“YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_parSYNC-GasMOD_Data.csv” where YYYYMMDD is the year, month, and
date and HHMMSS is the hour, minute, and second when the Connect button was clicked by the
user. Thus, each test data file has a timestamp in its file name and no two files should have the
same file name. The test data file is stored in the basefolder\TestData location.
Currently, parSYNC® records data at 1 hz. The actual data recording does not start until you zero
the system or hit the “Start” button.
*User can create custom description of config
file for better identification

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3.3.3 Calibration Settings
The other sub-tabs under the Config tab are labeled “Calibration Settings” and “Admin”. The calibration
settings include the user defined span and zero concentration values for the calibration gases and the
span and zero voltage response from the sensors (values that are saved to/from the Config file). The
gaseous sensors (NO2, NO, CO2, and CO if that is available) have both span and zero concentration and
voltage settings. The particulate matter (PM) sensors – scattering, ionization, and opacity – have only
the span and zero voltage setting while the span and zero concentration settings should remain “NaN”
(Not a Number).
The span and zero concentration values for NO2and NO are in parts per million (ppm), while those for
CO2and CO are in percent (%). The user will manually enter the span and zero concentration values for
the gases when doing a span calibration. The span concentration value is obtained from the calibration
gas bottle while the zero concentration values are, typically, 0 ppm or 0% (user may input a different
zero level for any of the gasses if desired (e.g. 0.45% CO2). The software automatically fills in the
measured zero voltages from all parSYNC® sensors when the system is zeroed prior to a test run (using
the controls in the Zero tab). The span voltages for the test calibration gases are obtained by using the
equipment to test the calibration gases and referencing the span voltage values displayed in the “RAW”
tab. The user manually obtains the span voltages and enters them in the appropriate boxes in the
“Calibration Settings” tab.

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3.3.4 Admin
The Admin sub-tab under the Config tab is not meant for the user and is only for use by the developers
of the parSYNC® system. This tab is useful when someone from 3DATX needs to troubleshoot a data
acquisition issue for a remote user.
3.4 How to Zero
After a connection is established, the typical requirement is to zero the parSYNC® hardware. The zeroing
process calibrates the sensors and sets them to clean air (also called zero air). Ideally, the user would
calibrate with a true zero air cylinder. However, for typical test requirements, sampling with clean
ambient air, either as is or passed through a HEPA filter, is sufficient for zeroing purposes.
Be careful not to sample dirty ambient air or tail pipe air during the zeroing process because this will
lead to a bad zero calibration and all measurements, until a good zero calibration is conducted, will be
biased low. For example, if the sample gas has 20 ppm NO during zeroing but the zeroing concentration
is set to 0 ppm NO, then all future measurements with 20 ppm NO will be recorded as 0 ppm NO (and 30
ppm NO will be recorded as 10 ppm NO, and so on).
•Connect the parSYNC® sampling line to clean ambient air or a zero-calibration gas
•Set the “Zero Time Max” to a suitable number of seconds. The default is 30 seconds
•Start sampling by clicking on the “Zero Start” button
Do NOT make any changes to the values and settings in the Admin tab

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The sampling will auto stop when the system has run up to the number of seconds set in step 2. When
the sampling is stopped, automatically or by user, the average voltage values for gases and PM sensors
are copied to the Zeroing Voltage cell in the “Calibration Settings” tab under the “Config” tab. Note that
values for all sensors are copied and thus, the zero air must be zero for all measured pollutants.
Zeroing state values are recorded at 1 hz in the test data file with the bag number column marked with
“Zeroing”.
After the system has been zeroed, you can proceed with recording test data. Remember to connect the
sampling line to the tail pipe or location of exhaust flow sampling point!
Please note – sudden significant change in values or when opacity zero value drops below 5 VDC
are indicative of cartridge reaching end of service life.
Zero air data recording (when warming up the parSYNC) should be reviewed regularly.
If the system was used to measure non-zero or polluted air before zeroing is attempted, it is
advised that the system be purged with zero air before conducting the zeroing steps outlined
above. The purge can be done by running clean air through the system for 10 seconds BEFORE you
hit “Zero Start”.

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Please note – appearance of spurious noise on the data values is also indicative of cartridges
reaching end of service life.
3.5 How to Start Recording
To start recording, click the “Start” button in the left panel. This will start sampling of gases and PM and
the values are displayed in real-time on the charts in the tabs to the right side of the Zero tab.
Use the “Bag” number control in the left panel to mark events in your test. Bag numbers go from
zero to higher integer values. Currently, the control allows the user to go back to a lower integer
but it’s best to avoid doing that. You can change the bag number at any time when the system is
recording and the seconds of data that point onwards will be marked with the current bag number.
This helps to easily distinguish events such as a route, or part of a route, or a vehicle state such as
idling or high acceleration. Bag numbers are most useful if you also have notes about what each
bag number represented during the test.
TIP: You can place your mouse cursor in the bag number field and then use the UP arrow key on
your keyboard to increase the bag number.

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3.6 Gases Tab
The Gases tab displays real-time 1 hz data for NO2(ppm), NO (ppm), CO2(%), and CO (%). The CO
channel is a new addition, and if your model of parSYNC® does not have the CO sensor then the CO
chart will remain blank.
3.7 PM Conc and PN
The PM Conc tab displays the PM values in micrograms/cu.meter (µg/m3) while the PN tab displays the
particle number (PN) in number/cu.centimeter (#/cm3). Both, PM Conc and PN, tabs also have
coefficients established for the quadratic fit used to estimate the number and mass concentrations. Do
NOT change the coefficients unless you have a robust empirical process for determining them and
consult with the 3DATX engineering team.
The weighted contribution of each sensor to the composite particulate number and mass is displayed on
the lower right side of each attributed tab. The contributive weights of each sensor were determined by
convolution of sensor size responsivity with empirical measurements of sensor sensitivity response to
specific sample particle distribution profiles. The combination of the quadratic fit and sensor weightings
work to the provide a transfer matrix with outcome of calculated particulate concentration data.

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3.8 PM (Sig)
The PM (Sig) tab shows the absolute (or modulus) voltage signal from the particulate sensors after
correction for the sensor voltage during zeroing. Typically, the user would not need to pay attention to
this tab, but it does provide a window into the response of the scattering, ionization and opacity sensor
channels. It is mostly for troubleshooting issues with particulate sensor response and calibration.
However, in some situations, such as when measured engine technology or fuel is significantly different
from typical and the conversion to concentration or number units are not likely to be very robust, the
unprocessed signal could provide some insight to the nature of the measured particles.

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3.9 Temperature
The internal temperature (in degree Celsius) of the parSYNC® miniPEMS hardware is displayed on the
Temperature tab. Note that this is not the temperature of any specific gas flow path, but rather the
temperature of the inside of the PM cartridge inside of the parSYNC®. The temperature trends are
useful in diagnosing the thermal stability of the system and use in recalibration of individual sensors that
are affected by temperature variations.

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3.10 PSN
The PSN tab displays the particle synchronization number (PSN), which is a simplified metric that can be
used for pass/fail type testing. The PSN metric was initially developed to apply pass/fail criteria to issues
with diesel particulate filter (DPF) technology, where a hairline crack in the DPF would not be noticed by
a typical opacity sensor but would be readily seen by the parSYNC® due to its three particulate
measurement technologies.
3.11 RAW
The RAW tab shows the raw voltage from each of the gaseous and particulate sensors. This is
completely unprocessed signal and does not include any zeroing corrections. The RAW tab is also used in
the span calibration of the gaseous sensors. We do not expect the user to be doing the span calibration
for the particulates, though that is feasible if the user wants to.

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4Span Calibration Procedure
1. After following calibration gas bottle and equipment setup to proper working temperature,
complete the zeroing process and start sampling the calibration gas using the parSYNC®
miniPEMS (minimum of approximately 10 seconds of steady state span gas measurement).
2. Observe the signal for the span gas in the chart on the GASES or RAW tab. For example, if your
span calibration gas has NO and CO2, then you are only paying attention to the signal for the NO
and CO2channels. Once you have a “10 second” stable signal, turn off the gas supply and tap the
“Pause” button to stop further sampling.
3. On RAW tab> Use the vertical zoom button to select the record area of the chart where you
have the stable signal for your test gases. This function is located in the middle function of the
control palette, as shown below (also see Appendix for full description of chart design
elements). To zoom out to normal view use the lower right function of the control palette.
4. After zooming in to the appropriate measurement area, hit the “Get Avg” button to populate
the average values from the selected area in the numeric cells on the right-side of the chart.
5. Note the voltage values for the gas or gases that were span tested. In this example, that would
be NO and CO2.
6. This process should be repeated for each appropriate calibration gas bottle that you require. Be
sure to hit the “Get Avg” button each time a new record area is selected.
7. Input these measured voltage values in the “Span Voltage” cells of the “Config > Calibration
Settings” sub-tab. Also input the calibration gas concentrations (marked on the test bottle) into
the “Span Calibration” cells.