| FTA |
| Q |
How does the FTA measure fruit firmness? |
| A |
The instrument is equipped with
a load cell and measures electronically - exactly the same technique as
used with electronic scales. The position of the probe is controlled
with motion-control circuitry, making it possible to record the firmness
at any given depth. |
| Q |
How does the EFM measure fruit size? |
| A |
The basic principle is the same
as a Cranston gauge: a rubber measuring band wraps around the fruit. As
the rubber band is pulled out of the casing, it turns a small timing wheel.
The amount of revolutions of the timing wheel correlates to the length
of band wrapped around the fruit. The position of the timing wheel supplies
an electric signal to the FTA control circuitry which in
turn calculates the circumference and diameter. |
| Q |
How do the FTA and computer interact? |
| A: |
The FTA and computer
communicate via a serial communication port. A PC (personal computer) normally
has at least two serial ports. On older PC's the mouse is connected
to one of the serial ports, leaving one port available for other peripherals.
The control program, FTAWin, sends the required commands
to the FTA via this serial port as well as receiving the
captured data back through this port. |
| Q |
How do the firmness and size readings go from the
instrument to computer? |
| A |
The FTA will send
all the information, gathered during a specific test, via the serial port
to the PC. A minimum of 12000 data values are packed and transmitted
with each single firmness reading. The control program, FTAWin,
will capture all the information, process it, display some of it in a graph
and log the relevant result (maximum or last value). |
| Q |
What happens to all the firmness and size readings? |
| A |
Part of the setup parameters is
to instruct the system to log the highest or last firmness reading per
test. FTAWin will log the relevant readings and display
it in a grid. When the correct number of firmness and size readings
are logged and displayed, the program will automatically save the results
to file. |
| Q |
I want to measure the fruit firmness twice (on two
opposite sides) and the size only once. |
| A |
Choose Setup from the menu.
Select Profiles TAB from the setup screen. A value interval
will indicate how much the size index will jump after each size reading.
Use the arrows to adjust this amount. (An interval of two will provide
the correct spacing for this specific requirement). |
| Q |
How does the program (FTAWin) create a new and unique
file name for each test result? |
| A |
Before each test sequence, it is
required that the user fill in the identification fields (producer, cultivar,
orchard ID, date, week number). The user supplies the information by selecting
the correct value from a look-up list. The software will use bits and pieces
of each field name, normally the first part, to construct a file name. |
| Q |
What is a look-up list and look-up table? |
| A |
The look-up lists (or sometimes
called look-up tables) used by FTAWin are information (lists
of producers, cultivars, etc.) stored in files. The drop down list
boxes will open the files, process the information in it and display it
as a column with a list of names. Hence the name look-up table -
the list of names are "looked up" in different files. The
names of the files (with the required information) are supplied to the
system in the Setup under the Profiles TAB. |
| Q |
How do I define my own file of cultivars? |
| A: |
Use the "Identification Files editor".
From the menu, select Edit | Identification Files.
The editor will open.
When you look at the information as it is displayed in the editor, you
will understand why they call it a "table". The quickest way
is to edit an existing identification file, and when finished, save it
under a different name. The alternative is to File | New
... from the editor menu. A dialog will appear requesting the
number of rows and columns required. The values in the first column
will be used to create the filename. Keep them as short as possible
and remember that the codes must all be unique in that table. |
| Q |
How do I configure the software so that a warning
appears when a firmness reading is above or below a certain range? |
| A |
When you edit or create a cultivar
look-up table, you can add an extra two columns to that table - No. 3 &
4. The values in the third and fourth columns comprise the
warning range. It does not matter if the large value is in the 3rd column
or vice versa. FTAWin will automatically assign the
larger value to the maximum and the lower value to the minimum of the warning
range. |
| Q |
How do I calibrate the load cell? |
| A |
Choose Setup from the menu.
Select the Hardware TAB. Enter the password. Click on
Calibrate Load cell. Follow the four steps as illustrated
in the graphics and text. Remember, it is very unlikely that there
will be any reason to calibrate the load cell. This function was
added to make provision for a severe condition such as mechanical damage
to the load cell or if the user had to do a Reset to factory. |
| Q |
How do I calibrate the EFM? |
| A |
Choose Setup from the menu.
Select the Hardware TAB. Enter the password. Click on
Calibrate
EFM. Follow the three steps as illustrated in the graphics and
text. Use the calibration disk that was supplied with the system.
You can only calibrate with a 100mm and 20mm gauge. It is also unlikely
that it will be necessary to calibrate the EFM. |
| Q |
What does "reset to factory configuration" means? |
| A |
Each FTA ships with
a default configuration saved in a different memory location. This configuration
only applies to the FTA operating parameters (speed, maximum
firmness allowed, etc.) and does not interfere with the look-up files,
output data format or saving location of the output data. When you Reset
to factory, this configuration gets installed over the current configuration.
There is no undo function after this operation!
NOTE: Calibrate the load
cell and EFM after a Reset to factory. |