sparklike Handheld User manual

1SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
SPARKLIKE HANDHELD
INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
GAS FILL ANALYZER FOR
WINDOWS AND DOOR

2SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
Contents
WARNINGS.................................................................3
2 Delivered with Sparklike Handheld ........................................ 4
3 How does it work? ....................................................... 4
4 How to use Sparklike Handheld ............................................5
4.1 Startingupforthersttime ...........................................5
4.2 How to use Sparklike Handheld encoder button..........................5
5 How to charge the battery................................................ 6
6 Using Sparklike Handheld LCD Screen .................................................7
6.1 Start Up .............................................................7
6.2 Loggingandstoringmeasurements. ....................................7
6.3 Howtocreatealogle................................................8
6.4 Howtoerasethelastloggedmeasurement .............................8
6.5 HowtoturnofftheLOGmode ........................................ 9
6.6 Display contrast ..................................................... 9
6.7 Gas type, Argon or Krypton ..........................................10
6.8 Sparklike Handheld only calibrated for Argon...........................10
6.9 ChangecalibrationmodetoKrypton ..................................10
6.10ChangecalibrationmodebacktoArgon ............................... 11
6.11 Enabling the PC Connection. .......................................... 11
6.12Settingtimeanddate ................................................12
6.13 Sensor test..........................................................12
6.14Informationdisplay. ..................................................12
7 Thingstoconsiderwhentakingameasurement.............................13
7.1 High voltage ........................................................13
7.2 Light ...............................................................13
7.3 Inbrief,factorstoconsiderwhenmeasuring............................14
8 Howtoperformameasurement...........................................14
8.1 Restrictions .........................................................16
9 Troubleshooting Sparklike Handheld.......................................17
9.1 Errorswhenmeasuring ...............................................17
10 How to connect to a PC ..................................................18
11 How to install Sparklike Handheld PC software (Win XP).....................19
11.1 Installing the USB <-> Serial Converter. ................................19
12 Installing the PC software ............................................... 24
13 HowtondandsettherightCOMportfromthePC. ....................... 28
14 How to use Sparklike Handheld PC software...............................30
15 Troubleshooting the PC software. ........................................ 34
16 Registering as a Sparklike device user .................................... 35
17 Annual Calibration of Sparklike Handheld with Sparklike CARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
18 Checking the calibration................................................. 37
18.1 Calibrationcheckwithpre-lledIGunits.............................. 37
18.2Checkingthecalibrationwithpremixedgas. .......................... 39
19 AppendixA:SparklikeArgonCalibration ..................................40
19.1 Accuracyofthedevice: .............................................40
20AppendixB:SparklikeKryptonCalibration .................................41
20.1KryptonAccuracyLimits.............................................41
22AppendixC:Technicalspecications ..................................... 42
23AppendixD:Assuranceofconformity .................................... 43
1

3SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
WARNINGS!
• Theinstrumentuseshighvoltage.TheinstrumentshouldNEVERbe
usednearcomputersnorothersensitiveelectronicdevices.
• Personswithheartconditionsorwhousepacemakersshouldnotuse
thisinstrument.
• Thehighvoltagedischargeshouldneverbedirectedathumansorat
animalseitherdirectlyorthroughaconductivematerialsuchaswires
ormetalstructures.
• SparklikeHandhelddeviceisdesignedtomeasureONLYinertgas
combinationssuchasArgon,KryptoncombinedwithnaturalAir
(78%Nitrogen,20,9%Oxygen,0,9%Argon+<1%othernaturalAir
components)locatedwithininsulatingglassunits.
• SparklikeHandheldshouldNEVERbeusedtomeasureanyammable
substancesnorbeusedinanyammableenvironment.Alsomakesure
theinsulatingglassunitdoesnotcontainanyammablesubstances.
(Asanexampleofsuchsubstances,Isopropanol,Alcohol,Acentone,
Xylen, Thinner).
• Theinstrumentshouldneverbeusedinwetorinhumidconditions.
• Neverusetheinstrumentwhilestandingonunsteadysurfaces.
• Theinstrumentisaprecisionmeasuringinstrumentandshouldbe
handled accordingly. HANDLE WITH CARE!
• Make sure that the front optics of the device is not scratched nor
contaminatedwithdirt.
• Donotcleanthefrontoptics.Contactmanufacturerbeforeinterfering
withthefrontopticsinanyway.Thecalibrationsmightbevoidincase
of interfering.
• Thedeviceisnotwaterproof.Donotcleannorletthedevicecomein
contactwithliquidsofanyform.Theoutershellofthedevicemightbe
cleanedwithaslightlymoisttissue(notoptics).Donotuseanykindof
cleaningsubstancesotherthanthosesuggestedbythemanufacturer.
• Alwaysturnoffthepowerwheninstrumentisnotinuse.
• Keepngersandotherbodypartsclearofthehighvoltagearea
when in use. Do not keep the device connected to your PC nor other
electronicdeviceswhileperformingmeasurements.
• Donotallowthebatterytodischargecompletelybeforerecharging.
• Do not open Sparklike Handheld casing. In such case calibration is void
and no safety guarantee can be granted.
• Donotpenetratethecasingwithanymetallicobjectnorotherobjects.
• Do not use any other battery charger than the charger provided by the
manufacturer.
• Donotchargethebatterybyanyothermeansthanwiththecharger
provided.
• Do not use any other power source for Sparklike Handheld than the
battery provided.

4SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
1. Sparklike Handheld Device
2. Neck strap
3. CD with software and
instructions
4. Calibration data and fast
instructions
5. Battery
6. USB Cable
7. Battery charger and power cord
8. Carry case
9. Protective cap
3 How does it work?
A high voltage spark (1) is ignited
inside the IG unit (A). This high
voltage spark causes the argon
atomtoemitlighttoaspectrometer
(2),whichmeasuresthelight.A
microprocessor(3)interpretsthe
informationofthespectrometerand
calculates an argon percent, which it
outputs to a display (4).
2 Delivered with Sparklike Handheld
(1)
A
(2)
(3)
(4)

5SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
1. Open the battery hatch 2. Insert the battery
3. Connect the battery
cable to the socket
4. Power the device on us-
ing the ON/Off switch
4 How to Sparklike Handheld
4.1 Startingupforthersttime
5. Device settings will be
displayed on the screen.
6. The device is now ready
for use.
4.2 How to use Sparklike Handheld encoder button
Pressdownto:
1. Enter MENU
2.Conrmaselection
Turnto:
1. Scroll in the MENU
2.Namealogle
Note!
Read all
warnings before
the device is taken
in use.

6SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
5 How to charge the battery
SparklikeHandheldusesaLi-ionbatteryasmainpowersupply.Thebatterycan
only be charged when connected to Sparklike Handheld. The device is also provid-
ed with a integrated back up battery that enables Sparklike Handheld to contain all
datastoredandmaintainingacurrenttimeanddateevenifthemainbatteryruns
out.SparklikeHandheldbatteryisdesignedsothatitwillbepossibletoperform
measurementsforapproximately8hoursbeforethebatteryrunsout.Thisisnatu-
rallydependingonthefrequencyofuse.Thechargingtimeforanemptybatteryis
approximately2hours.
1. Connect the provided charger to
Sparklike Handheld.
2. A red light on the charger
modulewilllightwhenthebatteryis
being charged. See picture
3. The light will turn green when the
battery is fully charged.
4.Chargingtimeisapproximately
2h hours.
5. CHARGING ... Will be displayed
when the battery is charged.
NOTE!
UseONLYthebatterychargerprovidedbythemanufacturer.
Ifanyotherchargerisused,itmaycausethebatteryto
EXPLODE.
NOTE!
Thecharginglevelmustbelessthan16.2V(canbeeseenon
the screen) for the charger to start the charging process.
NOTE!
Li-ionbatterieshasamuchshorterlifecyclethanexpectedfor
thedeviceitselfanditmightbethattheuserhastoreplace
thebatteryaftersometime.

7SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
6 Using Sparklike Handheld LCD Screen
6.1 Start Up
1. When the device is
initially powered on, Spark-
like Handheld will run a
short, self-diagnosis.
2. Once the self-diagnosis
hasbeencompleted,the
display will show the de-
viceinformationscreen.
3.Theinformationscreen
shows:
• Revision of the software
• Last calibration date
•Currenttime
• Battery charge status
4. Device is now ready to
use
5. When the button is
pressedforthersttime
afterstartup,themeasure-
mentresultwillshow.
6.Thecurrenttimeand
battery charge status can
be seen on the screen.
7. The LCD display will also
indicateifthemeasure-
menthasnotbeenre-
cordedtothelogmemory.
(See, “How to create a log
le”)
6.2 Loggingandstoringmeasurements.
SparklikeHandheldhastheabilitytolog(store)approximately
1900measurements.
 Loggingthedataenables:
a.Tostoreeachmeasurementsetasaseparatelogle
b.Tostoreanumberofdifferentloglescontainingseveralmeasurements.
(Oneloglecancontainseveralmeasurements)
c.Tomeasurealongtheday,reviewandeditthedataatalaterstage
d.Tonameindividuallogles(onlynumberscanbeused)
Start Up

8 SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
1.Fromthemainmenu,
scroll by turning the en-
coder button to the LOG
ON/OFFmenu
2. Pressing down on the
encoderbuttonwillmake
the selection and the
display will show the
DATALOGGINGmenu.
3. When a new log is cre-
ated, the DATALOGGING
menuwillautomatically
advancetheloglenum-
ber by one.
4. Turning the encoder
button will increase or
decreasethelognumber.
Press down on the encoder
buttontoconrmaselec-
tion.
5.“LOGGING,”followed
bythelognumber,willbe
displayed under a reading
when the logging feature is
enabled.
6.3 Howtocreatealogle
NOTE!Therecanbeseverallogleswiththesamename.
6.4 Howtoerasethelastloggedmeasurement
Whenthelogmodeisonandameasurementhasbeentakenbuttheoperatorfeels
thatthemeasurementwasanerrormeasurement,itispossibletoerasethismea-
surement.ThisisdonetopreventfaultyloglesonthePC.
1.Themeasurementisnot
satisfactory.
2. Press and hold the encoder
button for at least 2 seconds.
3. The log value will be deleted
permanently.

9SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
6.5 HowtoturnofftheLOGmode
1.Fromthemainmenu,
scroll by turning the en-
coder button to the LOG
ON/OFFmenu.
2. Pressing down on the
encoderbuttonwillmake
the selection and the
display will show, “DATA-
LOGGINGOFF”.
NOTE!WhenSparklikeHandheldisconnectedtothePCandthelogleshave
beenretrieved,thelogmemorywillbedeletedfromSparklikeHandhelddevice.
UsingSparklikeHandheldsoftwareistheonlywaytocompletelyemptythe
memory.Thisshouldbedoneperiodicallytopreventthememoryfromexceeding
it’smaximumstoragecapacity.
1.Fromthemainmenu
scroll, by turning the
encoder button, to the
DISPLAYMODEmenu.
2. Select this by pressing
the encoder button once.
3. Turn the encoder but-
tontoadjustthecontrast
of the screen to desired
level.
4. Press down the encoder
toconrmchoiceandexit
displaymode.
6.6 Display contrast
4. With datalogging
turnedoff,“NOTLOGGED”
will be displayed after
everymeasurement.
5.Tocreateanewlogle
withanewname,repeat
theprocedureexplained
in 11.

10 SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
6.7 Gas type, Argon or Krypton
Sparklike Handheld can be calibrated for both Argon and Krypton. The calibration
isdonebythemanufacturerandtheuserhasthereforetoinformthemanufacturer
aboutthiswhenorderingadevice.ThedevicecomesstandardwithaArgoncali-
bration.
6.8 Sparklike Handheld only calibrated for Argon.
1.Fromthemainmenu
scroll, by turning the
encoder button to the
GASTYPEmenu
2. Select by pressing the
encoder button once.
3. A screen will display that
only an Argon calibration
is installed.
4. The display will return to
mainmenu.
6.9 ChangecalibrationmodetoKrypton
1.Fromthemainmenu
scroll, by turning the
encoder button to the
GASTYPEmenu
2. Select by pressing the
encoder button once.
3. A screen will display that
the calibration has been
changed to krypton.
4.Whenmeasuringthe
measurementheaderwill
beKr:
Kr 94,2%
indicatingthatthemea-
surementisinKrypton
mode.

11SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
6.11 Enabling the PC Connection
BeforeSparklikeHandheldlogdatacanbedownloadedtoaPC,thecommunication
porthastobeopened.Thismustbeperformedbeforeenablingtheconnection
fromthePC.
TosetupPCforcommunication,seechapter9.
6.10ChangecalibrationmodebacktoArgon
1.Fromthemainmenu
scroll, by turning the
encoder button to the
GASTYPEmenu
2. Select by pressing the
encoder button once.
3. A screen will display that
the calibration has been
changed to Argon.
4.Whenmeasuringthe
measurementheaderwill
beAr:
Ar 94,2%
indicatingthatthemea-
surementisinArgon
mode.
1.Fromthemainmenu
scroll by turning the en-
coder button to the
PC-CONNECTmenu
2. Pressing down on the
encoderbuttonwillmake
the selection and the dis-
play will show, “PC-CON-
NECTIONENABLED”.
3. A screen will display that
thePCcommunicationis
enabled.
4. The Sparklike Handheld
isopenforcommunication
with the PC.

12 SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
6.12 Settingtimeanddate
6.14Informationdisplay
6.13 Sensor test
Thedevicedateandtimecanbesetbyenteringthemenu,selectingsetupmenu
and’Settimeanddate’.Turnencoderbuttontosetyearandpressittomoveon.In
asimilarway,setmonth,day,hours,minutesandseconds.
WhencontactingSparklikeservice,youmaybeaskedtorecordthesensorinfor-
mationtocheckthesensorfunctionalityonsite.Thisisdoneasfollows:Enterthe
setupmenuandselect’SENSORTEST’.Afterthedeviceshowstext’MEASURE
NOW’,performasinglemeasurementon80%Argonoraboverecommendedwin-
dow.Checkthatthesparkhitsdirectlythroughthewindow.Recordallthenumbers
onthescreenandsendthemtoSparklikeservice.
Youcanretrievethedeviceserialnumberandcalibrationinformationthrough
SETUP->INFO.

13SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
7 Things to consider when taking a
measurement
Tobeabletousetheinstrumentinthebestway
therearesomefactorsinuencingthemeasure-
mentthatshouldbeconsidered.SparklikeHand-
heldrequirestwomainthings;LIGHT(Optics)and
HIGHVOLTAGE(Electricity).
If either or both of these factors are disturbed, the
measurementmightbeaffected.
WARNING!!!!!HIGHVOLTAGE!!!!!WARNING
7.1 High voltage
Themeasurementismadeusingahighvoltagespark.Thevoltageisapprox.
50000Vbutthecurrentisverysmall.Comingintocontactwiththesparkwillsting
alittlebutnotharmanormalhealthypersoneventhoughtheinstrumentMAYNOT
tobeusedbyapersonwithapacemakerorwhoisinpoorphysicalhealth.Nor
should the spark ever be pointed at any sensitive areas (eyes etc.).
Whenmeasuring,thehandunitwillcreateasparkthatpassesthroughGlass1and
ignitesinsidetheairspace.Glassisanelectricallyinsulatingmaterial,asisair.This
meansthatthesparkneedstobestrongenoughtojumptheairgap.Inadditionto
theotherelectricallyinsulatedmaterials,suchaslaminatedglass,plasticlms,etc.
oneithersideofGlass1,thismakesitevenhardertoigniteinsidetheIG.
WARNING!!!!!HIGHVOLTAGE!!!!!WARNING
IfthereisametalliccoatingonGlass1,itwillbeimpossibleforthesparktoget
throughasthemetalliclmwillcausethesparktostayonthesurface.Argongasis
abetterconductorforthesparkthanair.Thismeansthatthesparkactuallyignites
easierwhenthelllevelishigher.Theotherthingthathelpsthespark“jump”isa
metalliccoatingonGlass2,whichgroundsthespark.
NOTE! NO SPARK DETECTED. Check that spark hits through the window.
7.2 Light
Themeasurementisdependentonastablelightsignal.Thelightcannotbe
measuredifthetotallightlevelistooweakortoostrong.Thetotallightintensity
increases with the background light level as well as with increasing argon percent
whenmeasured.Ifthebackgroundlightistoostrong,e.g.measuringagainstthe
sunorabrightlamp,theargonlightwill“drown”inthesunlight.Iftheargoncon-
centrationisverylow,thesignallightisverylowcausingthespectrometernotto
see the light.

14 SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
7.3 Inbrief,factorstoconsiderwhenmeasuring
8 Howtoperforma
measurement
As described above there are different fac-
torsthatmayaffectthemeasurementresult.
Sparklikehasdoneextensiveresearchon
how to obtain the best possible results when
measuringwithSparklikeHandheld.
Thefollowingproceduresarerecommended
whenmeasuringwithSparklikeHandheld.
Measure close to the spacer
AsthespacerbarofanIGunitisoftenmetallicorcontainsmetal,thespacerbar
willhelpthesparktoignite.Itisthereforesuggestedthatthemeasurementismade
closetothespacer.ThecentreofSparklikeHandheldshouldbeapprox.5cm(2”)
fromtheinnersideofthespacer(Approx.10mmfromthesideofthefrontpiece).
ThereisnodifferenceatwhichheightoftheIGitismeasured.
Factors affecting the
optics:
- Coloured glass
-Tintedglass(minimaleffect)
- Strong background light (Against the
sun or other source)
-Dirtonglass(minimaleffect)
-Dirtonthefrontopticalbre
-Damagedfrontopticalbreor
electrode
Factors affecting the
spark:
-Thickglass(over6mm)
-PlasticlmsonGlass1(Laminated
glass, coatings, etc.)
-MetalliclmsonGlass1
-MetalliccomponentsinGlass1
-LowArgonll(Lessthan80%)
-Widespacer(over20mm)
- Electrode is not in contact with the
glass surface
- Sparklike Handheld is not evenly
pressed against the glass.
-Non-metallicspacers
Correctconditions:
- Stable dark background light
-HandunitNOTmovedduring
measurement
Factorsmakingit
easier for the Spark to
“jump“:
-Highargonlls
-Thinglass(6mmorless)
-Thinairspace(20mmorless)
- Metallic or other conductor on
surface 3, such as low-e coating
- Metallic spacer bar

15SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
Measureseveraltimes:“Becauseyoucan”
Whenmeasuringthesparkwilligniteinsidetheairspaceion-
izing the gases, leaving the gases ionized for a short period of
time.Thismeansthatthesecondmeasurementwilligniteeasier
andproducingabetterresult.Measuringmorethanthreetimes
ononeplacemaycausetheLow-Ecoatingtoburnchanging
thereadoutofSparklikeHandheld.Forrepetitivemeasurements,
movethehandunitslightlyaftertwoorthreemeasurements.
Keep the IG upright
Duetotheearth’smagneticeldandtheionizationof
thegasses,thesparkwilltryto“travelup”duringthe
measurement.Thiscausesthesparktoactmoreerrati-
callythaniftheIGwouldbelayingatdown.Inthisway
theLow-Eisprotectedbetterfromburningsoitissug-
gestedtomeasuretheIGstandingup.
Donotmovethehand
unit during ONE single
measurement
Duringonemeasurementcycletwoindividualmea-
surementsarebeingmade;onebackgroundmeasure-
mentandonewiththesparkon.Ifthehandunitis
beingmovedduringthemeasurementcycle,theback-
groundisalteredandtheresultsmaynotbeaccurate.
Keepthehandunitushto
the IG unit
If there is space between the spark electrode and the
surface of the glass, a big part of the spark burst will
occuroutsideoftheIGunit.Thismeansthattheinstru-
mentisnotmeasuringthesparkinsidethewindow
butamixoftheinsidegasandnormalaircausingthe
readings to be too low. The user can easily hear when
thehandunitisushtotheIG.
Non Low-E IG units
AstheLoW-Ecoatingismetallic,thiswillactasagroundforthespark.Thisgroundingis
beingusedwhentheinstrumentiscalibrated.IfthewindowhasnoLow-Ecoating,there
isnogroundtowherethesparkwilligniteproducingmoreerraticreadings.Thesewin-
dowsshouldbemeasuredwitheitherangeronthebackoftheIGorsomeothermetallic
ground for the spark.






16 SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
8.1 Restrictions
Following is a list of different IG types that can be
measuredandtypesthatcannotoraredifcult
tomeasure.Thereareseveralconditionsthatwill
affect the restricitons. Most of the restrictions are
bound to the possibility for the spark to break
throughandcomeincontactwiththecentergas
thatistobemeasured.Anymetalliccoating(on
thesideofmeasurement)willpreventthespark
fromreachingthegas.Athickglassorathick
laminationwillalsorestrictthesparkfromgoing
throughtheelement.AsArgonandKryptonare
goodconductors,ahighlllevel(>80%)willmake
the prosess easier. Consult your local distributor
or Sparklike for any special types.
Most of the restrictions are caused by the Glass 1
Side of
measure->
Surface 1 Glass1 Surface 2 Spacer Surface 3 Glass 2 Surface 4
Following is a list of different IG types that can be measured.
a. IG with glass 1 = clear and surface 3 = LowE
Clear Clear Max. Clear Max. 24mm LowE N/A N/A
6 mm.
b. IG with glass 1 = Clear and surface 3 = Clear
Clear Clear Max. Clear Max. 24mm Clear Clear Max Clear
6mm 6mm
c. IG with glass 1 = Toughened and surface 3 = LowE
Clear Tgh Max Clear Max 24mm LowE N/A N/A
6mm
d. IG with glass 1 = Toughened and surface 3 = Clear
Clear Tgh Max Clear Max 24mm Clear Clear Clear
6mm Max 6mm
Following is a list of different IG types that are difficult or can not to measure.
e. IG with glass 1 = Tinted
As there are a lot of variations of tinted glass including solar control and different colorizations of the glass there can not be one true rule
for this. If the tint includes a metal component it will prevent the spark from breaking trough glass 1 and it will therefore prevent
the measurement. As the Gasglass Handheld measures light wavelengths, a coloured glass might also have an effect. Please contact your
distributor for these. Otherwise rules applies as for point a.
f. IG with glass 1 = Laminated
As the lamination will act as an insulator it will therefore more efficiently prevent the spark from breaking trough glass 1. Therefore there
might be difficulties measuring thick laminations. As the Argon and Krypton gas will act as conductor they will therefore make the process
easier. In an IG unit where the Argon/Krypton concentration exceeds (>) 85% gas the following general limits can be set.
Clear 4+1+4 Clear Max. 20mm LowE N/A N/A
Laminated
g. IG with glass 1 = Frosted
Same restrictions as for a. and b. depending on LowE coating
h. Triple glazing
Due to different compositions of a triple glazing unit there are several that can not be measured as the spark will not reach the insulating gas.
As one guideline can be mentioned that if Surface 3 or 4 has an LowE coating and there are no one of the restrictions mentioned earlier,
the unit can be measured, otherwise contact your distributor.

17SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
9 Troubleshooting Sparklike Handheld
9.1 Errorswhenmeasuring
Thereareanumberoffactorsthatcanaffectthemeasurement.Whenthesefactors
occuranerrormessageorwarningmessagewillbeshownonthescreen.Inaddi-
tiontoerror/warningmessage,ascrollingtextindicatesmorepreciseerrormes-
sage and possible action to resolve the issue.
Themeasurementaccuracyisnotspeciedintheerror/warningsituations.
Themostcommonmessagesare:
LOWCONCENTRATIONDETECTED.Themeasuredconcentrationisbelow40%.
Themeasuredwindowmayhavelowconcentration,nollorthesparkmaybe
measuringair.(Airhas0.9%argoninadditionto78%nitrogenand21%oxygen.)
WEAKSPARKSIGNAL.Thedetectorcannotseethesparkwellenoughtomakea
measurement.Checkthatthesparkhitsthroughthewindow.Trymeasuringfroma
slightly different position.
BADSPARK.Gaspercentagecannotbecalculatedfromthespectrummeasured.
Typicallythiserrormessageisgivenwhenthesparkignitesoutsidethewindow.
OVEREXPOSURE.Thesensorreceivestoomuchlightduringthemeasurement.
Checkthattherearenobrightlightsbehindthewindowbeingmeasured.
WEAKSIGNAL.Thesensordoesnotreceiveenoughsignal.Trymeasuringagain.If
theproblempersists,theremaybeanelectronicsfaultthatrequiresservice.
NOSPARKDETECTED.Thesensordoesnotreceiveenoughlightfromthespark.
Check that spark hits through the window. If the spark hits to the side spacer, try
measuringfromaslightlydifferentlocationsothatthesparktravelsthroughthe
window. Check also that the sensor ‘eye’ in the front piece is clean of dust and dirt.
UNKNOWN WARNING / UNKNOWN ERROR. An unknown error occurred in the
measurement,tryrepeatingthemeasurement.Iftheproblempersistscontactyour
reprentative.
IfSparklikeHandheldshowsawarningmessage,thepresentedmeasurementresult
isonlyforinformationalpurposesandresultshouldnotbetrusted.

18 SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
10 How to connect to a PC
Provided with Sparklike Handheld is a PC software that can be found on the
productCD.Pleasemakesurethatallneededsoftwareanddriversareinstalled
beforeattemptingtoconnectSparklikeHandheldtothePC.
1. Connect the provided USB cable to
the USB socket in Sparklike Hand-
held
2. Connect the provided USB cable
to the PC
3. Start up Sparklike Handheld
4.EnablethePCconnectionfrom
Sparklike Handheld.
See:EnablingthePCConnection
(6.11)
5. Start the PC software
6.Pressthe“readdatalogs”
See:HowtouseSparklikeHandheldPC
software (10)

19SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
11 How to install Sparklike Handheld PC
software (Win XP)
TobeabletousethePCsoftwaresomeadditionalsoftwareneedstobeinstalled.
Pleasefollowtheseinstructionsintheorderthatareexplainedbelow.
11.1 Installing the USB <-> Serial Converter.
ForSparklikeHandheldtobeabletocommunicatewithaPCit’sneededtocreate
avirtualserialport(COM)fromoneofthePCsUSBports.WiththeprovidedCD
there is software that does this.
Please note that the pictures for these instructions are for windows XP and if an-
otherversionofwindowsisused,thelay-outmaybedifferent.
A. Insert the Provided CD into the PC
B. Connect Sparklike Handheld via the provided USB cable
to one of the PCs USB sockets.
C. Turn on Sparklike Handheld
D. Ainformationboxinthebottomofthescreenwillappear.
E. Theinstallwizardsoftwarewillstartupautomatically.
Do not allow windows to search for the drivers.
 Tag:No,notthistime.

20 SPARKLIKE HANDHELD — INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL
F. This wizard for installing USB < - > Serial Converter opens up.
Tag;Installthesoftwareautomatically.NOTE!InserttheCDatthisstage.
G. When the installation wizard has found the drivers it was looking for
 itwillstarttheinstallation(thismighttakeafewminutes)