TSI Instruments PORTACOUNT 8020 Installation and operating instructions

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 1
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
www.tsi.com
PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020
Technical Addendum
(includes the N95-Companion™ Model 8095)

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 2
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
INTRODUCTION
This document is a addendum to the PortaCount Plus®Model 8020 Operation
and Service Manual (TSI p/n 1980092). It contains detailed technical information
that is not normally needed by persons using the PortaCount Plus for respirator
fit testing. Persons who will find this document of interest include respirator
manufacturers, respiratory protection researchers, and persons conducting
general ultrafine particle studies not related to respirator fit testing.
The most recent version of this document as well as the PortaCount Plus Model 8020
Operation and Service Manual can be obtained from the TSI Web site www.tsi.com.
CONTENTS
Dip Switch Settings.............................................................. 3
Serial Interface Output......................................................... 7
Data and Accessory Port Pin Assignments........................ 10
Computer Interface Cables ................................................ 10
Remote Control via Computer............................................ 12
N95-Companion................................................................. 23

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 3
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
DIP SWITCH SETTINGS
LASER CAUTION
This instrument is a Class I laser device. Adjustments or performance of procedures
other than those specified herein may result in hazardous radiation exposure.
There is a bank of 8 DIP switches located inside the PORTACOUNT Plus. To gain access to
the switches you must separate the top and bottom halves of the enclosure. Follow the
instructions below:
1. Turn the PORTACOUNT Plus off.
2. Turn the PORTACOUNT Plus over so that it is face down and locate the four screws
on the bottom that hold the two halves of the enclosure together. Remove all four
screws.
3. Turn the PORTACOUNT Plus right side up while holding the two halves of the
enclosure together so they do not separate.
4. Gently lift the top half of the case and set it down just to the left of the unit.
Notice that there is a ribbon cable connecting the top and bottom half together.
Try not to pull on the ribbon cable. You do not need to disconnect the ribbon
cable from the circuit board.

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 4
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
5. The DIP switches are located
towards the bottom of the circuit board
just to the left of center. Make sure the
PORTACOUNT Plus is always off when
changing DIP switch settings.
There are 8 DIP switches. The top
switch is number 1 and the bottom
switch is number 8. A switch is
considered to be "ON" when the right
side is pushed down and "OFF" when
the left side is down.
As shipped from the factory, the DIP
switches are set as follows:
Switch Number Factory Setting
1ON
2OFF
3ON
4ON
5ON
6ON
7ON
8ON
The function of each of the DIP Switches is as follows. Factory settings are shown in
BOLD type:
DIP Switches 1, 2 and 3: Baud Rate
Switches 1, 2 and 3 control the Baud rate used by the RS-232C Data Port. The factory
setting is for 1200 Baud. If you change the Baud rate of the PORTACOUNT Plus, you must
also change the Baud rate of devices that communicate with the instrument such as a
printer or computer. You should leave the Baud rate set at 1200 unless you have a good
reason to change it. The switch settings for various Baud rates are:
Baud Rate Switch 1 Switch 2 Switch 3
300 ON ON ON
600 OFF ON ON
1200 ON OFF ON
2400 OFF OFF ON
9600 OFF ON OFF
All Baud rates use 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. Switch combinations not shown are
undefined.

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 5
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
DIP Switch 4: Memory Lock
Switch 4 allows you to lock the PORTACOUNT Plus memory so that the internal settings for
the sampling times, fit factor pass level and number of exercises cannot be changed from
the PORTACOUNT Plus Keypad or by using the MODIFY program software supplied with
the instrument. The reason you might want to lock memory is to prevent unauthorized
persons from altering the fit test protocol. The factory setting for switch 4 is ON which
means that memory lock feature is OFF and the internal settings can be changed using the
Keypad or software. The FitPlus software is not affected by DIP switch 4.
Memory Switch 4
Unlocked ON
Locked OFF
DIP Switch 5: Factory Checkout
Switch 5 is used by TSI when performing factory checkout of the PORTACOUNT Plus and
should always be in the ON position for normal use.
Mode Switch 5
Checkout OFF
Normal ON
DIP Switch 6: Reset Factory Settings on Power Up
Switch 6 should always be left ON unless you want to reset all the internal settings back
to the way they were when the PORTACOUNT Plus was new.
When switch 6 is OFF, the PORTACOUNT Plus will reset back to the factory settings when
the power is turned on. Once the power is turned back on, you will be able to change the
internal settings (unless switch 4 is OFF), but they will be reset to the factory values the
next time the power is turned off and then on again.
If you want to reset the internal settings back to the factory values, move switch 6 to the
OFF position and then start the PORTACOUNT Plus. Now turn the PORTACOUNT Plus off and
change switch 6 back to the ON position. The instrument will be reset and you will be
able to permanently change the internal settings. The factory settings are:
Fit Factor Pass Level: 100
Number of exercises: 8
Ambient Purge Time 4 sec
Ambient Sample Time 5 sec
Mask Purge Time 11 sec
Mask Sample Time, All exercises: 40 sec
DIP Switch 7: Reserved
Switch 7 must always be left ON.
DIP Switch 8: Use CTS
When switch 8 is on (the factory setting), the PORTACOUNT Plus will not require a Clear
To Send (CTS) signal in order to send data through the RS-232C Data Port to a

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 6
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
peripheral device. When switch 8 is OFF, the CTS signal will be required. The CTS
signal is always required when the PORTACOUNT Plus is in External Control Mode
regardless of the position of switch 8.
CTS Signal Switch 8
Not required ON
Required OFF

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 7
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
SERIAL INTERFACE OUTPUT
Output in Fit Test Mode
An example of the printout from a eight exercise fit test is shown below. All characters
are ASCII. Each line is terminated with both carriage return (0D hex) and line feed (0A
hex) characters. The comments to the right side do not print.
COMMENTS
NEW TEST PASS = 100Start of new test
Ambient 4750 #/cc Ambient concentration
Mask 11.30 #/cc Mask concentration
Ambient 4800 #/cc Ambient concentration
FF 1 422 PASS Fit factor exercise 1
Mask 5.20 #/cc
Ambient 4700 #/cc
FF 2 894 PASS Fit factor exercise 2
Mask 9.80 #/cc
Ambient 5000 #/cc
FF 3 505 PASS Fit factor exercise 3
Mask 4.10 #/cc
Ambient 5100 #/cc
FF 4 1231 PASS Fit factor exercise 4
Mask 7.90 #/cc
Ambient 4900 #/cc
FF 5 610 PASS Fit factor exercise 5
Mask 13.50 #/cc
Ambient 4800 #/cc
FF 6 359 PASS Fit factor exercise 6
Mask 9.80 #/cc
Ambient 5000 #/cc
FF 7 505 PASS Fit factor exercise 7
Mask 11.30 #/cc
Ambient 4800 #/cc
FF 8 422 PASS Fit factor exercise 8
Overall FF 612 PASS Overall fit factor
Output in Count Mode
The PORTACOUNT Plus sends ASCII characters through the Data Port in the following
format while in 1-Second Count Mode. Each line is terminated with both carriage return
(0D hex) and line feed (0A hex) characters. A line of data is transmitted every 2-seconds
instead of every second to accommodate slow printers. When in 1-Second Count Mode
the Display show 1-second averages updated every second. The Data Port transmits 2-
second averages updated every 2-seconds.
Conc. xxxxxx #/cc

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 8
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
In 15-Second Count Mode, the ASCII output is in the following format. Each line is
terminated with both carriage return (0D hex) and line feed (0A hex) characters. A line
of data is transmitted every 15-seconds.
Ave. Conc. xxxxxx #/cc
The "xxxxxx" is the numeric particle concentration in particles per cubic centimeter.
Concentrations from 100 up to 999999 are formatted as integers, values below 100 have
two decimal places. For example, a concentration of 87 would be transmitted as:
Conc. 87.00 #/cc
Output During the 60-Second Warm-up
During the initial 60-second warm-up period, the PORTACOUNT Plus automatically
transmits status information that shows the internal memory settings. The settings reflect
how the PORTACOUNT Plus memory is set at the moment and can be changed. For
example, when all settings are at the factory settings, the data will transmit as follows:
NOTE: If the optional Model 8095 N95-Companion is attached and active, the
printout will show the timing used with the N95-Companion. These
settings are different than those used by the PORTACOUNT alone.
PORTACOUNT PLUS PROM Vx.x
COPYRIGHT(c)1991 TSI INC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Serial Number xxxxx
FF pass level = 100
No. of exercises = 6
Ambient purge = 4 sec.
Ambient sample = 5 sec.
Mask purge = 11 sec.
Mask sample 1 = 40 sec.
Mask sample 2 = 40 sec.
Mask sample 3 = 40 sec.
Mask sample 4 = 40 sec.
Mask sample 5 = 40 sec.
Mask sample 6 = 40 sec.
Mask sample 7 = 40 sec.
Mask sample 8 = 40 sec.
DIP switch = 10111111
•Each line is terminated with both carriage return (0D hex) and line feed (0A hex)
characters.
•The mask sample times are transmitted only for the number of exercises set.

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 9
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
•DIP Switches are considered ON if set to 1 and OFF if set to 0. DIP Switches are
numbered 1 - 8 from left to right on the printout and 1 - 8 from top to bottom on the
circuit board.
Output When a Battery Runs Low
The PORTACOUNT Plus will turn itself off when a battery runs out of power. Just before it
turns off the following message is transmitted:
Low Battery

PORTACOUNT®Plus Model 8020 Technical Addendum revised 7-27-2001
TSI Incorporated, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 10
Copyright © 2001 all rights reserved
DATA and ACCESSORY PORT PIN ASSIGNMENTS
The PORTACOUNT Plus features bi-
directional RS-232C communications
through the Data Port. The Accessory
Port is used to interface with the N95-
Companion accessory.
The PORTACOUNT Plus Data Port uses a
modular RJ-45 connector with 8
contacts. The contacts are numbered 1
through 8 from left to right when viewed
as shown.
The PORTACOUNT Plus Accessory Port
"ACCY" is a 6-pin MMJ modified
modular connector. Contact 1 is on the left when viewed as shown.
Data Port Pin Assignments
Contact
Number Function Direction
1 Not used
2 Ready (DTR) From PORTACOUNT Plus
3 Receive data (Rx) To PORTACOUNT Plus
4 Not Used
5 Transmit data (Tx) From PORTACOUNT Plus
6 Not Used
7 Signal Ground (G)
8 Clear to send (CTS) To PORTACOUNT Plus
PortaCount Accessory Port Pin Assignments (use TSI cable 1303522)
Contact
Number Function Comment
1 Ground (-)
2 + 5 VDC Supply voltage for all circuits
except solenoid valve
3 N95 Attach Sense Pull to ground to signal that
N95-Companion is attached
4 + 5 VDC Solenoid valve
voltage feed High current supply for solenoid valve only
5 Solenoid valve control 0.0 VDC = sample from
sample tube
5.0 VDC = sample from
ambient tube
6 Not used
Data PortACCY Port