BNC 970 Portable Multi-Channel Analyzer (MCA) - Manual (Page 22)

Model 970 Instruction Manual 19
The first group of three boxes (towards the left) reflect data for the individual channel over which
the mouse cursor is located. These are the channel number, the energy associated with that
channel (only if an Energy Calibration has been performed), and the number of counts in that
particular channel. If a Background Spectrum has been loaded, the count displayed will reflect the
Background-subtracted counts if Show Background Subtracted has been selected under the View
menu on the Menu Bar.
The second group of two boxes (in the center) shows data for whatever ROI the cursor is over, if
an ROI Set is loaded and Show ROIs is checked under the View menu. If no ROI Set is loaded,
Show ROIs
is not checked, or the cursor is not over an ROI, these boxes will be blank. The first of
these two, displays the name given to the ROI, and the second shows the total (integrated)
number of counts in that ROI. If a Background Spectrum has been loaded, the count displayed
will reflect the Background-subtracted counts if Show Background Subtracted has been selected
under the View menu on the Menu Bar.
The final two boxes (towards the right) display overall data for the spectrum. The first of these two
boxes, displays the total number of counts for the spectrum, and the second box displays an
approximation of the overall count rate based on an average of the last 20 seconds of spectrum
data. The overall count data will not reflect Background subtraction. The overall count rate box
may display misleading data for approximately the first 20 seconds following the start of an
Acquisition.
3.8 Acquisition Controls and Indicators
The four buttons along the top of this section control the Acquisition of spectra. From left to right,
these are Start, Stop, Clear, and Clear and Restart.
The Start button begins an Acquisition. If a spectrum is currently displayed but is not currently
accumulating, the Acquisition will re-start, adding data to the existing spectrum. If a spectrum is
currently accumulating, this button will have no effect.
The Stop button ceases spectrum Acquisition. No data is destroyed, and the Acquisition can be
restarted if desired. This button has no effect if the Acquisition has previously been stopped.
The Clear button erases all data from the spectrum, and resets the elapsed time to zero. If a
spectrum is currently acquiring, Acquisition will stop. No warning is given before data is deleted.
The Clear and Restart button is equivalent to pressing the Clear button followed by the Start
button, and is provided for convenience. Again, no warning is given before data is deleted.
Immediately below these buttons are two status displays. The top one of these will always be
visible, and gives some information about the status of the Model 970. The text of this display
may be: