29P-071167

Research
Pi Workshop
USER GUIDE
Pi Workshop User Guide
Part Number: 29P-071167-8E
July 2007
Refers to Pi Workshop version 8.4.44
© Pi Research, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
1
Disclaimer
Pi Research makes no representation or warranties of any kind whatsoever with respect to
the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for any particular purpose. Pi Research shall not be liable for any errors contained
herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, per-
formance or use of the software, associated hardware, or this written material.
Pi Research reserves the right to revise this publication from time to time, and to make
changes in the content hereof without obligation to notify any person of such revision or
changes.
A copy of the Pi Research Terms and Conditions of Sale is available on request, and in-
cludes a declaration of the warranty and limitation of liability which apply to all Pi Research
products and services.
WARNING: Pi Workshop contains software that allows the manipulation of data for
control, calibration, and analysis and uses mathematical modelling techniques to
simulate the action and response of a vehicle given data describing its character-
istics. Pi Workshop is designed for use by skilled professionals with experience in
working with engines and vehicles. Obtaining data for input and interpreting the
results produced by Pi Workshop are skilled functions; making modifications to
any vehicle, engine, or driver-related settings is a safety-critical activity and it is the
responsibility of the user of Pi Workshop to consider the safety and other implica-
tions of any such change.
Pi and the Pi logo are trademarks of Pi Group Limited
Pi Research is part of the Pi Group Limited
2 Pi Workshop User Guide

Contents
Introduction........................................................................... 10
System Requirements........................................................... 11
Minimum PC system specification.................................................. 11
Networking...................................................................................... 12
Sixnet and Windows XP™.............................................................. 13
Getting started...................................................................... 17
The Pi Workshop package............................................................. 17
About operating systems................................................................ 18
Before you install the software....................................................... 19
Installing the software..................................................................... 20
Upgrading Pi Workshop.................................................................. 21
Units configuration.......................................................................... 22
Network Interface Card (NIC)......................................................... 24
Setting DCOM properties....................................................... 25

Setting DCOM properties in Windows XP...................................... 25
Setting DCOM properties in Windows 2000................................... 28
Starting Pi Workshop............................................................. 31
Maximising the Workspace............................................................. 32
Understanding the Pi Workshop Workspace........................ 33
Workspace............................................................................. 35
Pi Workshop fundamentals............................................................. 36
The Archive Manager and Archive Assistant.................................. 38
Sending your first setup to the car....................................... 41
Channels................................................................................ 43
Channel Properties......................................................................... 43
The Global Channel Database....................................................... 45
Viewing the Global Channel Database........................................... 47
Channel name filter........................................................................ 47
Looking after your Pi Workshop files.................................... 48

Backup copies................................................................................ 48
3
The Setup Organiser.............................................................. 51
Show the Setup Organiser............................................................. 51
Contents
Using the Setup Organiser............................................................. 53
Connecting to another user............................................................ 55
Selecting a Setup.................................................................. 59
To open a Setup Data Manager..................................................... 59
To select a Setup............................................................................ 60
Getting Started
Setting up Sigma Configuration ........................................... 61
Tell Pi Workshop what hardware you have.................................... 61
Setting the FSRs............................................................................ 65
Selectronics I/O Card Setup.................................................. 67

Overview......................................................................................... 67
Selectronic I/O card configuration constraints................................ 71
Setup
Excitation modes............................................................................ 72
Configuring Selectronic I/O card..................................................... 73
Inputs – technical description......................................................... 76
Sensors and looms interface................................................ 79

Getting started................................................................................ 79
Controls
User levels...................................................................................... 80
What are Connectors?.................................................................... 80
Creating a Connector..................................................................... 81
Port Propagation............................................................................. 87
Attaching a Sensor......................................................................... 88
Removing Sensors......................................................................... 89
Pi Server
Removing Sub-looms..................................................................... 89
Removing Connectors.................................................................... 89
Sensor Drag-and-drop.................................................................... 90
Loom Drag-and-drop...................................................................... 91
Looms............................................................................................. 91
The Loom....................................................................................... 92
Ports, Port Addresses and Quantities............................................ 93
Index
Connector Operations.................................................................... 94
Locking........................................................................................... 98
Loom Report................................................................................... 98

Loom Views.................................................................................... 99
Sensor and Loom Migration........................................................... 99
Sensors with Calibrations............................................................. 101
Linking a Sensor to an Application............................................... 105
Using a Channel in a Calibration.................................................. 105
Sensors........................................................................................ 108
Channel usage............................................................................. 109
Setting up a Sensor ............................................................ 110

Overview....................................................................................... 110
Attaching a pre-defined sensor..................................................... 111
Sensor Colour Coding.................................................................. 115
Adding a new Sensor................................................................... 117
Zeroing sensors................................................................... 120

Applying Offsets........................................................................... 120
Setting up a Wheelspeed ................................................... 125

Tell the MCU that you want to measure Speed............................ 125
Setting up the Loom to receive the Sensor.................................. 128
Attaching a Sensor to the Port...................................................... 132
Setting up a Beacon ........................................................... 135

Tell the MCU that you want a Beacon input................................. 135
Setting up the loom to receive the Beacon................................... 137
Attaching a Beacon Sensor to the Port........................................ 140
Setting up a Fuel Input........................................................ 141

Tell the MCU which channel measures Fuel Used....................... 141
Setting up a Fuel Flow Meter.............................................. 147

Tell the MCU that you want to measure Fuel Flow....................... 147
Setting up the Loom to receive the Fuel Flow Sensor.................. 149
Attaching a Sensor to the Fuel Flow Port..................................... 155
Setting up a Serial Stream ................................................. 160

Tell the MCU what Stream you want............................................ 160
Setting up the Serial Stream input................................................ 162
5
Setting up GearNumber . .................................................... 164
Tell the MCU which Channel measures Gear.............................. 164
Contents
Calibrating GearNumber from an ECU Channel.......................... 165
Calibrating GearNumber from a direct input via a Sensor............ 171
Setting up EngineSpeed...................................................... 172

Tell the MCU which channel measures engine RPM................... 172
Getting Started
Setting up a Tachometer ................................................... 177
Tell the MCU that you want a Tacho input................................... 177
Setting up the Loom to receive the Tacho.................................... 180
Attaching a Sensor....................................................................... 185
Miscellaneous Application.................................................. 189

Outing Information........................................................................ 189
Cornering...................................................................................... 191
Setup
Logging Triggers........................................................................... 192
Beacons....................................................................................... 194
Wheel Setup................................................................................. 196
Track and Fuel.............................................................................. 198
Fuel Capacity................................................................................ 199
Effective Boost.............................................................................. 200
Controls
Qualifying Mode............................................................................ 202
Modifying the Logging Table............................................... 204

Changing an existing Logging Rate.............................................. 204
Adding a channel to a logger........................................................ 205
To create a new Logger................................................................ 207
Pi Server
Logging Inventory......................................................................... 210
Setting up Telltales ............................................................ 215

Open the Telltales Application...................................................... 215
To edit a Telltale........................................................................... 220
To delete a Telltale....................................................................... 220
Events.................................................................................. 221
Index
Overview....................................................................................... 221
Event storage............................................................................... 223

Display Alarms..................................................................... 226
To set up a new Event and Alarm................................................ 226
Setting a Dash Alarm.................................................................... 231
Editing existing Alarms....................................................... 234
Auto clearing Events and Alarms....................................... 239

Event Clear................................................................................... 239
Setting up a Dash................................................................ 242

Pi Compact Dash.......................................................................... 243
Pi Compact Dash and Pi Satellite Modules.................................. 244
Pi Compact Dash set up............................................................... 245
Pi Compact Dash gear shift lights................................................ 251
Pi Steering Wheel Dash set up..................................................... 254
Pi Steering Wheel Dash Gear Shift Lights.................................... 260
Pi Steering Wheel Dash Message Centre.................................... 263
Pi Omega Dash set up................................................................. 272
Pi Omega Dash shift/alarm module.............................................. 280
Pi Omega Dash Message Centre................................................. 283
Switch Application.............................................................. 297

Overview....................................................................................... 297
Switch to CAN boxes.................................................................... 298
Adding an Output Channel........................................................... 300
Editing the Mapping...................................................................... 301
Validity.......................................................................................... 302
Telemetry Application......................................................... 303

Types of telemetry........................................................................ 304
Setting up telemetry...................................................................... 305
Tell the MCU which Serial Port to use.......................................... 318
Writing a Math Channel....................................................... 321

Overview....................................................................................... 321
Adding a Math Channel................................................................ 322
Define the outputs........................................................................ 327
Look Up Table.............................................................................. 330
7
Registers.............................................................................. 333
Overview....................................................................................... 333
Contents
Example - a simple filter............................................................... 334
Example - a counter resetting at the Beacon............................... 335
Example - last Beacon code seen channel.................................. 336
Example - a Beacon counter........................................................ 337
Potential problems with registers.................................................. 338
Getting Started
Math Channels Operators and Functions........................... 340
Operators...................................................................................... 340
Functions...................................................................................... 341
Real Time Data Manager..................................................... 345

Introduction................................................................................... 345
Real Time Data Manager operation............................................. 346
To set up a Real Time Data Manager.......................................... 347
Setup
Real Time Data Manager states................................................... 353
Introduction to Controls...................................................... 357

Toolbars........................................................................................ 359
Controls Available......................................................................... 359
General Controls Toolbar............................................................. 360
Controls
Graphing Controls Toolbar........................................................... 361
General Controls: Tabular Lap Report Control............................. 362
General Controls: Events Control................................................. 365
General Controls: Hot Link Control............................................... 366
General Controls: Channel Display Control.................................. 369
General Controls: Text Control..................................................... 375
Pi Server
General Controls: Graphic Control............................................... 376
General Controls: Knob Control................................................... 377
General Controls: Button Control................................................. 392
General Controls: Slider and Thermometer Control..................... 396
General Controls: Bit Indicator..................................................... 397
Using the Bit Indicator: An example............................................. 402
Index
Graphing Controls: 20-Second Char Recorder............................ 404
Graphing Controls: Autoscaling X-Y Graph.................................. 417
Graphing Controls: 10-Bin Histogram........................................... 418

Graphing Controls: Telemetry Map.............................................. 420
Activating controls........................................................................ 423
Deleting controls........................................................................... 423
Sizing a control............................................................................. 424
Positioning a control..................................................................... 424
Pi Server Application........................................................... 427

Starting Pi Server......................................................................... 428
Selecting and sending a Setup to the car..................................... 430
Setting up Pi Server to receive Telemetry.................................... 433
Real Time Broadcast.................................................................... 435
Telemetry Key Cache................................................................... 438
Telemetry diagnostics................................................................... 438
Pi Digital Broadcast Telemetry Setup........................................... 439
Telemetry logging......................................................................... 441
Pi Server Logger page.................................................................. 442
Pi Server Details page.................................................................. 444
Pi Server message prefixes.......................................................... 445
Messages generated by Pi Server............................................... 446
Index.................................................................................... 453
Contact information............................................................ 464
9
Introduction
Pi Workshop gives you what you need to set up a Pi Sigma System; from the logging rates
to the display, everything you need is included in the package.
A key feature is the ability to use data from many different sources. This is implemented
through integration with third-party applications, industry standard software tools, and exist-
ing Pi Research software, including:
n Pi Toolbox – data analysis for data from any source.
n Pi Setup – database for the storage and organization of tasks associated
with race car preparation.
n Pi Sim – powerful and versatile race car performance simulation.
n Pi AutoCal – on-line calibration editor for editing and optimizing control sys-
tem data maps.
n Pi AutoSim – bench-top system for simulating an engine or power train to
test control systems.
Default templates and Setup database

Pi Workshop has default data viewing templates and a customer specific pre-configured
setup database, prepared by Pi Research support engineers.

System Requirements
Pi Workshop is designed to run on a PC under the Windows 2000® or Windows XP® operat-
ing systems. The following list gives information on a minimum specification. As with any
computer system, the accepted rule of thumb is to get the best that you can afford providing
it meets at least the minimum PC system specification.
Minimum PC system
specification
For use on a single PC:
NIC network
PC
NIC to Pi Sigma System (10/100 Base T)
network
‘Server PC’ printer

Pi Sigma System
n a PC with an 800MHz (or faster) processor.

n 128MB of application RAM. Application RAM is the amount of memory left to
applications after Windows has started.
n one gigabyte (1GB) of free hard disk space. The amount of disk space will
depend upon how much data you want to keep on the disk.
n one 10/100 Base T Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC) for connection to
your Pi Sigma system. (Pi Sigma Elite systems communicate at 100Mbps.
Other Pi Sigma systems connect at 10Mbps.)
n If you intend to connect your PC to a network, use a separate NIC for your
network connection. Pi Research recommends that you do not share a NIC
between your Pi Sigma system and other network devices.
n SVGA colour CRT or LCD screen with at least 16 colours or grey scales.
11
n keyboard and mouse.
n Windows 2000® or Windows XP® operating system.
For use on a network of computers:

In addition to the equipment listed above, for a network installation you will need
n a minimum of one other computer. The computer that you designate as the
Server PC and communicates with the Pi Sigma should use separate NICs
for network connections and connection to your Pi Sigma System.
n suitable network adapters and cables.
n Windows 2000® or Windows XP® operating system.
Networking
Pi Workshop communicates with your Pi Sigma system using a high-speed Ethernet

10/100 Base T network connection—an established type of computer network. Pi Sigma
Elite systems communicates at 100Mbps and other Pi Sigma systems communicate at
10Mbps.
Network Interface Cards (NICs) and the Server PC

The PC that communicates with Pi Sigma System is usually designated as the Server PC.
If you intend to use Pi Workshop on a network of PCs, with several ‘work stations’ sharing
information with the server PC, it is important that the server PC is fitted with two Network
Interface Cards; one providing point-to-point connection to Pi Sigma and the second provid-
ing general network connectivity.
Choosing a Network Interface Card

Network Interface Cards are notoriously difficult devices with which to achieve a satisfac-
tory performance. As with most peripherals, they operate by interrupting the PC system
and demand use of the processor. They are therefore in competition with other devices for
use of the processor. In most cases this behaviour is not noticed by ‘slow’ network devices
such as printers. However, the situation is unsuitable for fast devices such as Pi Sigma
systems.

Recommendations for choosing Network Interface Cards (NIC)
n Choose a popular NIC and not a low-volume custom model.
n Choose a NIC with a driver that is supplied with Windows and not a custom
model that will require frequent upgrades.
n Allocate one NIC for communication only with Pi Sigma systems (point-to-
point connection). Use a separate NIC for more general network connec-
tions.
n Use a different make of NIC for Pi Sigma communication to that used for gen-
eral network communication.
Sixnet and
Windows XP™
Sixnet is a transport protocol that Pi Workshop uses to communicate with a Pi Sigma

System for downloading data. The standard Sixnet driver installed with Pi Workshop is
not compatible with Windows XP™. An updated Sixnet driver is available which is compat-
ible.
If you are using Windows XP™, contact Pi Research for information on how to obtain a
copy of this updated driver file. information with the server PC, it is important that the server
PC is fitted with two Network Interface Cards; one providing point-to-point connection to Pi
Sigma and the second providing general network connectivity.
Choosing a Network Interface Card

Network Interface Cards are notoriously difficult devices with which to achieve a satisfac-
tory performance. As with most peripherals, they operate by interrupting the PC system
and demand use of the processor. They are therefore in competition with other devices for
use of the processor. In most cases this behaviour is not noticed by ‘slow’ network devices
such as printers. However, the situation is unsuitable for fast devices such as Pi Sigma
systems.
13
Getting Started
Getting started
Getting started
This section explains how to get started with Pi Workshop. It applies to versions of Pi Work-
shop that have been supplied with a default template which was created by Pi Research to
meet your minimum requirements. This will be installed into the correct directory when you
Getting Started
install the software onto your PC. It contains all the information required to enable you to
send a setup to your car. You may need to make some minor changes to the setup such
as entering a driver name or zeroing your sensors.
It covers the following:

n Installing the software
n Starting Pi Workshop for the first time
n Sending the first setup to your Pi Sigma system using Pi Server
n How to view channels
n Change setup parameters (calibrations, driver name etc.)
The Pi Workshop
package
The Pi Workshop package contains the following items:

n a Pi Workshop CD-ROM that contains the Pi Workshop software and associ-
ated applications (the software has an auto-running installer for Windows
2000™ and Windows XP™).
n a customer specific default setup database that describes the operation and
electrical connections of your Pi Sigma system
n a default viewing template of pre-configured controls and displays
n an uninstaller
n a printed Pi Workshop User Guide (this document). (A PDF version is also
on the Pi Workshop CD-ROM.)
Getting started 17
About operating
systems
The preferred operating systems for Pi Workshop are Windows 2000™ and Windows XP™.
Although Pi Workshop will run under Windows 98 and Windows NT Pi Research no longer
supports these operating systems for running Pi Workshop.
Pi Workshop uses Microsoft core technology that is not provided with a normal Windows
installation. The installer automatically analyses your PC and installs the core files that are
required. Pi Workshop uses
n Data Access Objects (DAO)
n Common Controls
n Distributed Communications (DCOM)
Data Access Objects (DAO)
Data Access Objects (DAO) allows applications, and in this case Pi Workshop, to read and
write Microsoft Access database files (.MDB).
Common Controls
Pi Workshop uses Common Controls enhanced dialog support provided by Windows to
ensure consistent operation.
Distributed Communications (DCOM)

DCOM is an application interface that allows computer applications to communicate and
share information whether they are installed on single computers or over a network.
Windows 2000™
If you are running Windows 2000™, the installer installs everything you need to run
Pi Workshop.
Windows XP™
If you are running Windows XP™, the installer installs everything you need to run Pi Work-
shop except for the Sixnet driver. Sixnet is a transport protocol that Pi Workshop uses to
communicate with a Pi Sigma System. The standard Sixnet driver installed with Pi Work-
shop is not compatible with Windows XP. An updated Sixnet driver is available which is
compatible. If you are using Windows XP™, contact Pi Research for information on how
to obtain a copy of this updated driver file.

Before you install the
software
This section gives information about your Pi Workshop CD-ROM and describes how to
install Pi Workshop on your PC hard disk and start the application.
Before you install Pi workshop for the first time you should:
n ensure that your PC meets the minimum PC system specification.
Getting Started
n make backup copies of important files.
n for the PC you designate as the server PC, ensure that you have two Ether-
net Network Interface Cards correctly installed.
The Pi Workshop installation application can detect Network Interface Cards and makes
the setup of these cards easy.
Networking and Remote Access

Pi Workshop is designed to work across a network, giving you the flexibility to use the
software in a way which suits your working methods.
If you intend to use Pi Workshop on a network

1 Install Pi Workshop on the PC that you designate as the Server PC.
The Server PC is usually the PC that is used to communicate with your Pi Sigma sys-
tems.
2 On all other PCs install Pi Workshop.
Getting started 19
Installing the software
Before installing the software log in to the local PC either as an administrator or using your
personal login so long as you have administrator rights to your local PC. The installation
process requires administrator rights to install some files.
To install the software:

1 Close any applications that are running including the MS Office Toolbar, screen
saver, and any antivirus software.
2 Insert the Pi Workshop CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
The Pi Workshop CD-ROM has a self-starting installer.
3 Click Pi Workshop Install to install Pi Workshop.
4 Follow the on-screen instructions.
When you have installed Pi Workshop, the Start • Programs • Pi Research menu shows
n Pi Tools
n Pi Server – looks after all communication between Pi Workshop and
Pi Sigma systems.
n Pi Workshop – Configuration tools for Pi Sigma systems.
The Pi Tools menu shows:
n File converter - This utility can be used to convert legacy format files
(*.dat, *.pid and *.pwds) into the Pi Data Set *.pds file format for use
in Pi Toolbox.
n Pi Archive – The Archive Manager looks after the setup database and auto-
matically starts when you start Pi Workshop.
n Pi Auto Update Server – notifies Pi Analysis when new data is present
n Pi Box Code Loader – a utility for loading application code into Pi Sigma
systems.
n Tebnet Setup – a debug utility for advanced users and Pi Research support
engineers.

Upgrading Pi Workshop
Before installing the software, log in to the local PC either as an administrator or using your
personal login so long as you have administrator rights to your local PC. The installation
process requires administrator rights to install some files.
Before installing an up-grade of Pi Workshop, you must uninstall the current version. The
installer software on the Pi Workshop CD-ROM scans the hard disk searching for existing
Getting Started
versions of Pi Workshop. If it finds a version of Pi Workshop, the Uninstall button appears
in the Pi Research Software Installation dialog box.
To install an upgrade:
1 Close any applications that are running including the MS Office Toolbar, screen
saver, and any antivirus software.
2 Insert the Pi Workshop CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
The Pi Workshop CD-ROM has a self-starting installer.
3 Click Pi Workshop Uninstall to uninstall Pi Workshop.
4 Select the Automatic option. This performs the uninstall of Pi Workshop.
After the uninstall has completed the Pi Research Software Installation dialog box
re-appears.
5 Click Pi Workshop Install to install Pi Workshop.
6 Follow the on-screen instructions.
Getting started 21
Units configuration
If a new CUSTOM.CAB (new default settings for your team) has not been included in the
upgrade, the Setup libraries in Pi World are not changed. However, the Units Configuration
(units for Wheel setup etc.) will default to Imperial units. If required, you can reset the Units
to your own default requirements.
To set the Units:

1 Choose Tools • Units Configuration. The Units Configuration dialog ox ap-
pears.
Units Configuration dialog box
2 Select an option from the Current unit class list.

3 Click OK.

You can edit units parameters listed in the text area of the dialog box.
To edit units parameters:

1 Click on the parameter you want to edit. The Edit Entry dialog box appears.
Getting Started
Edit Entry dialog box
2 Make the changes. Click OK.
Getting started 23
Network Interface Card
(NIC)
Note: You need only to follow this section if you are installing Pi Workshop on the PC
that will communicate with your Pi Sigma system (usually referred to as the Server PC).
To communicate with a Pi Sigma system you must have an Ethernet Network Interface
Card available that is not being used for any other network communication.
The installer scans the PC hardware configuration, and shows the Network Interface Cards
fitted in the PC, and suggests the Network Interface Card to which you can connect your
Pi Sigma system.
To install a Network Interface Card

1 Select a Network Interface Card that is shown as being free.
2 Click Install to setup the Network Interface Card for use with Pi Workshop and
Pi Sigma or click Cancel to skip this process and continue with the installa-
tion.

Setting DCOM properties
Distributed Communications (DCOM) allows applications to communicate and share infor-

mation locally and across a network. DCOM is used by Pi Workshop.
Getting Started
Setting DCOM
properties in
Windows XP
1 On the Taskbar click Start • Run • and type dcomcnfg. The DCOM configura-
tion application starts. The Component Services window appears.
Component Services window
2 Double click Component Services. The Computers folder appears.
Getting started 25
3 Double click the Computers folder. The My Computer icon appears.
4 Right click on the My Computer icon.

5 Choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The My Computer Properties dia-
log appears.
My Computer properties dialog
6 Click the Default Properties tab.

7 Enable Distributed COM on this Computer should be selected. If it is not
checked (✓), click in the check-box.
8 In the Default Authentication Level text box choose None from the list
9 Click OK. The dialog box closes.
Now ensure that the Default Authentication Level all the Pi applications are set to
Default.

1 Double click My Computer. A list of Folders appears.
Getting Started
2 Double click DCOM Config folder. A list of applications appears.
3 Right click on a Pi application. A properties dialog box for that application ap-
pears.
4 Set the Authentication Level on the General page of the dialog box to De-
fault.
6 Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 for all of the Pi applications in the list.
7 Close the window.
Getting started 27
Setting DCOM
properties in
Windows 2000
1 On the Taskbar click Start • Run • and type dcomcnfg. The Distributed COM
Configuration Properties dialog appears.
Distributed COM Configuration Properties dialog Applications page

Now ensure that the Default Authentication Level all the Pi applications are set to De-
fault.
2 Click on a Pi Application in the list. e.g. PiArchiveServer Class
3 Click Properties. The Properties page for that Pi Application Appears.
Getting Started
Properties page for PiArchiveServer Class
4 In the Authentication Level text box choose Default from the list.
5 Click OK. The page closes and the Distributed COM Configuration Properties
dialog Applications page re-appears.
6 Repeat steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 for the remaining Pi Applications.
Getting started 29
Now set the Default Property for the Applications.
7 Click the default Properties tab.
Default Properties page
8 Enable Distributed COM on this Computer should be selected. If it is not

checked (✓), click in the check-box.
9 In the Default Authentication Level text box choose None from the list.

Starting Pi Workshop
1 Choose Start • Programs • Pi Research • Pi Workshop. The Pi Workshop

Book default window appears.
Getting Started
Pi Workshop-Book default window
The window has no information as this is the first time you have run the software. You must
now select the default template which has the minimum requirements for your Pi Sigma
System.
2 Click Create a New Template or Workbook on the Getting Started - Pi Work-
shop window. The New dialog box appears.
The New window will display your default template which was created by Pi Research.
3 Click on the .pwt file. Your default template is loaded into the Pi Workshop
window, and Pi Server software is automatically started.
Getting started 31
Maximising the
Workspace
Status Bar
The status bar gives information about Pi Workshop commands. As you move the pointer
over command buttons and through menus, you’ll see a description of the command in the
status bar at the bottom of the screen.
You may find it useful to hide the status bar to increase the amount of available screen
Workspace.
To turn off the status bar:

1 Choose View • Status Bar… to hide or show the status bar.
Windows Taskbar
Windows has a taskbar usually at the bottom of the screen. The Taskbar is where you’ll
find the Start menu. The taskbar further consumes screen Workspace, and you may find
it useful to hide the taskbar.
To hide the Windows Taskbar:

1 Right-click on an empty piece of the Taskbar, but not on a button, and choose
Properties from the pop-up menu.
2 Check the Auto hide option and click Apply.
The Taskbar disappears from its position on the screen. You can now use this extra screen
Workspace for Pi Workshop by expanding the workbook to full screen. The Taskbar will
automatically pop up if you move the pointer to the edge of the screen where the Taskbar
last appeared.

Understanding the Pi Workshop Workspace
Pi Workshop has two working modes

n Unlocked
n Locked
Getting Started
Unlocked mode
In Unlocked mode, Pi Workshop lets you open and create cards and assemble controls
to perform specific function. In Unlocked mode, a collection of one or more cards is called
a template. A collection of one or more cards in unlocked mode is called a Workbook
Template.
Locked mode
Workbooks are collections of cards with various controls that let you view data from differ-
ent sources. The Controls on a card are associated with Data managers and Channels.
Only when a control has an associated Data Manager and channels is the control capable
of displaying or manipulating data.
A collection of one or more cards in Locked mode is called a Workbook. Workbooks are
created from unlocked templates.
Saving Templates and Workbooks

When you have Workbook that you want to use repeatedly, or Workbook Templates that
you want to save and share with other Pi Workshop users, you need to set where Work-
books and Templates are saved.
By default, the storage path for Workbook Templates is in the Templates folder in the Data
Directory C:\Pi World\Data Directory\Templates. The default storage path
for Workbooks is C:\Pi World\Data Directory\Workbooks.
If you want to create a new folder for your Workbook Templates or Workbooks, you’ll need
to go to Explorer and create a folder before you can use the Tools • File Locations… to
change the storage path.
Getting started 33
Workspace
Menu Bar
The Menu Bar gives

access to Pi Workshop
commands. Data Manager Pane
Each Data Manager looks
after data from a
particular source. Active
data managers appear at
the top of the pane. float
Cards and controls
associated with a Data
Manager show when the
Drag to float. Data
Data Manager is active. In
Manager Pane will
this Workbook there is a
only dock at
Watch Data Manager, a
left-hand edge of
Telemetry Data Manager,
the workspace
a Setup Data Manager,
and a Real Time Data
Manager.
Setup Data Manager
The Setup Data Manager

provides the tools to
configure a Pi Sigma
system. The Setup Data
Manager comprises
Applications that
configure specific parts of
the hardware system;
Maths Channels for
combining channel values
and Loom connections
that ‘map’ the electrical
connections of the
Cards
Cards are Pi Workshop’s

workspace. Cards are Pi Server
where controls can be Pi Server looks after the
arranged to show or communication between
interact with data Pi Workshop and Pi
associated with particular Sigma systems.
Data Managers. In this
Workbook there are four
cards with appropriate Status Bar
controls and ‘links’ to Data Gives information about

Managers. your current Pi Workshop
operation

Toolbars
Toolbars provide menu

commands at the click of
Channel Database
a button. The four toolbars
A list of all the channels are: N Standard
Getting Started
that have ever been ‘seen’ N Managers
by the system. The N Layout
dock
Channel Database can be N Controls N Server
repositioned to make Toolbars can be
more efficient use of repositioned to make
available screen more efficient use of
workspace. Dragging the available screen
pane into the work space workspace. Dragging a
makes it float; dragging to toolbar into the work
the edges of the screen space makes it float.
fixes the pane in position.
Drag to
float. Channel
Database will only
Channel Parameters
dock at right-hand
and bottom edges This area shows
of the workspace important information
about each channel
selected in the Channel
Archive Manager
The Archive Manager is

where Setups are stored.
Getting started 35
To save a Workbook Template:
1 Make sure that you are in Unlocked mode.
2 Choose File • Save or File • Save As….
To save a Workbook:
1 Make sure that you are in Locked mode .
2 Choose File • Save or File • Save As….
File extensions
■ Pi Workshop Workbook files have a .pww file extension
■ Pi Workshop Template files have a .pwt file extension.
Pi Workshop
fundamentals
Pi Workshop is built around four fundamental concepts:

■ Cards
■ Channels
■ Data Managers
■ Controls
Cards
A card is a Workspace on which you assemble Controls to perform different functions.
Cards define how information is displayed on-screen. Collections of cards in unlocked
mode are workbook templates. Collections of cards in locked mode are workbooks.
Channels
Channels are simply the handles for data from a particular source. For example the data
describing the speed of an engine is the RPM channel.
Data Managers
Data Managers are software modules that present data from a particular source in a format
suitable for use with Pi Workshop. For each data source there must be an appropriate
Data Manager, for example, to use data from a telemetry system you need the Telemetry
Data Manager.

Controls
Controls are pre-defined functions that you use to display and manipulate channels.
Controls are assembled onto cards in Unlocked mode and ‘locked’ into position in Locked
more.
Getting Started
Getting started 37
The Archive Manager
and Archive Assistant
Archive Manager
Archive
001
Archive
002
Archive
003
The Archive Manager

The Archive Manager is a separate application that is installed when you install Pi Work-
shop. The Archive Manager stores Archive files that you create using Pi Workshop Data
Managers.
Archives
An Archive is a database file that comprises
n the setup database
n Pi AutoCal database
n PC Private database
Archive

Setup database
The setup database comprises calibrations, channels, logging tables, telemetry setups,
dash configuration—everything from the Setup Data Manager and Setup Applications.
AutoCal Database
If you have installed Pi AutoCal then AutoCal data sets are stored in the AutoCal Data-
base.
Getting Started
PC Private Database
The PC Private Database is a compressed copy of the Setup and AutoCal database. PC
Private can be used by regulatory authorities to check for illegal control devices and code.
PC Private information is also included with datasets letting you analyse both logged data
and the setup information from which it was created.
The Archive Assistant

The Archive assistant is an application that works in parallel with the Archive Manager.
When a change is made to a Setup or AutoCal database, the Archive Manager analyses
the proposed changes, and calculates the impact of the new database on the Pi Sigma
system.
Pi Sigma systems are very flexible systems. You can easily change many of the parameters
that determine how the system will operate. Each time you make a change to a particular
part of the archive, the Archive Assistant analyses the proposed settings and compares
the result with the information it has about the capabilities of your Pi Sigma system. This
method has several benefits:
n because the Archive Assistant operates interactively you can immediately
see the results of the changes you make.
n the configuration is calculated by the PC, so it is virtually impossible to send
an inappropriate setup to a Pi Sigma system.
Getting started 39
Distributing the Archive Manager
The Archive Manager is a separate application that can be installed on any network ‘client
PC’. The network can be LAN (Local Area Network) or even a transatlantic ISDN.
To edit an Archive you use Pi Workshop to interact with an Archive Manager on a network
PC and access a Setup database. The changes that you make on the local machine are
processed by the Archive Assistant and stored by the Archive Manager on the client PC in
preparation for sending to a Pi Sigma system by a Server PC.
How many Archive Managers?

You can have as many Archive Managers in your system as you like.
More than one person making changes to an archive

Clearly on a network system more than one person can make changes to the setup data-
base and ultimately the Archive. The Archive Manager works on a ‘first-come-first‑served’
basis. One or more PCs may open the database and make changes. Changes to the
Archive are calculated by the Archive Assistant when the Save button is pressed. The last
press of the Save button will create the most up-to-date Setup database and Archive.

Sending your first setup to the car
Before you can send the default setup to the car you must ensure that the Pi Sigma Sys-
tem on the car is powered up and that the PC is connected to the download connector on
the car. Refer to the Pi Sigma System Hardware Reference supplied with your Pi Sigma
Getting Started
System for more information.
The Send button on the server toolbar window will be unavailable if your connection is not
correct and will be in colour if your connection is good. The Logger button traffic light will
go to green. Refer to the section Pi Server in this user guide for more information.
You have to select the default setup that Pi Research has created for you.
To send the default setup:

1 Click on the System tab in the Pi Server window.
2 Click on your default setup in the Available Systems window.
3 Click Apply…. The Active System name in the System Selection section
changes to the name of the setup you selected in step 2.
4 Click the Logger tab in the Pi Sever window.
5 Click Send on the Pi Server toolbar.
The default setup is sent to the car. The message section of Pi Server window will display
a number of messages while the setup is being sent. A message saying that the setup
has been loaded successfully will be displayed. A message will then say that Pi Server is
connected to your setup.
You can test the setup without driving the car. Make sure that the PC is connected to the
car.
To test the setup:

1 Click the Logger tab in the Pi Server window.
2 Click Start Logging. The text on the button changes to Stop Logging and the
Manual Override status changes to (ON).
3 After approximately 10 seconds click Stop Logging. The text on the but-
ton changes to Start Logging and the Manual Override status changes to
(OFF).
Getting started 41
The Pi Sigma system now has a dataset which you can offload onto your PC and which
can be analysed using the Pi Analysis PC software.
To offload the dataset:

1 Click the Logger tab on the Pi Server window.
2 Click Offload or click the Logger (Traffic light) button on the Pi Server tool-
bar.
The scroll bar in the Progress section of the window will indicate the progress of the offload.
The message window will display a number of messages during offload and will indicate
when offload has completed.

Channels
In Pi Workshop, channels are either real or logical. A real channel is a channel that
originates from a real sensor. A logical channel originates from an application such as a
closed-loop control system or from the result of a mathematical operation.
Getting Started
Channel Properties
A channel is a piece of data with a label and a set of properties. Channel properties define
a channel and it’s behaviour when used with other applications and controls.
n User name – a text label that can be changed.
n Tag Name – a unique name that cannot be changed, and enables applica-
tions that require the channel to find it in the channel database.
n Quantity – what the channel measures.
n Units – the units for the measured quantity; for example V, A, K, Pascals.
n DPs – the number of decimal places to which the channel is displayed.
n Autoscale – a parameter that forces graph scales to automatically adjust to
the maximum and minimum channel values.
n Colour – the colour of the channel when used in a display control.
n Maximum – the maximum channel value that will display.
n Minimum – the minimum channel value that will display.
n Alarm Max – the maximum value that the channel is likely to reach under
alarm conditions.
n Alarm Min – the minimum value that the channel is likely to reach under
alarm conditions.
n Tel Max – this channel property is no longer used.
n Tel Min – this channel property is no longer used.
n Origin – the zero value for the channel value between Maximum and Mini-
mum.
n Target – a value that a channel is forced to during calibration and zeroing.
n Hidden – hides the channel from the channel database.
Getting started 43
Output Units
By default, Pi Workshop applies SI units to output quantities, e.g. downloaded data.
Quantity SI units
length metres
volume m3
velocity m/s
temperature Kelvin
time seconds
angle radians
angular velocity radians/second
pressure Pascals
acceleration m–2
voltage Volts
current Amps
mass Kg
force Newton
torque Newton metre

The Global Channel
Database
Getting Started
GCDB Channel list GCDB Channel groups
The Global Channel Database

The Global Channel Database (GCDB) is a database of all the channels that Pi Workshop
has ever ‘seen’. Channels are added to the channel database when you:
n calibrate and attach sensors
n create math channels
n calibrate and attach actuators
n communicate with ECUs or other peripheral devices using data streams
n create a telltale, latch, or switch
About the channel database

The channel database comprises two panes. The upper pane is the Channel List and can
show individual channels or groups of channels. The lower pane is the Channel Properties,
and shows the properties of the channels selected in the Channel List.
Getting started 45
How channels appear in the Global Channel Database
The Global Channel Database shows channels differently according to their ‘context’. The
context of a channel indicates where it exists, and how it can be used. The context of a
channel is shown by different type styles in the Channel List.
Type style Example Context
normal Water Temp The channel is in the channel database and is

available in the current Data Manager.
greyed Water Temp The channel is in channel database but not avail-
able in the current Data Manager.
normal italic Water Temp The channel is in the channel database and avail-
able in current Data Manager but has Hidden
property checked. The channel can be seen if
Show All Channels is selected.
greyed italicWater Temp The channel is in the channel database and has Hidden
property checked but is not available in the current Data Manager. The channel can be
seen if Show All Channels is selected.
How does a channel become unavailable?

A channel becomes unavailable when its context changes. The Global Channel Database
shows every channel that it has ever seen but the channel may not be in the current Data
Manager. For example, if you are receiving Telemetry data and drag-and-drop Water Temp
onto a graph showing the Water Temp channel, but Water Temp is not in the received
Telemetry data stream, then the channel is unavailable in the current context.

Viewing the Global
Channel Database
To view the Global Channel Database:

1 Click the Toggle Channel Database button on the Managers toolbar or
choose View • Channel Database.
Getting Started
The Channel Database window appears docked to the right hand edge of the Work-
space.
You can re-position the Channel Database window by clicking on the name at the top of the
Channel Database window and dragging it to a new position in the Workspace.
Channel name filter
You can rapidly find a channel in the Channel Database window.
To find a channel using channel name filter:

1 Click in the list of channel names to make it active.
2 Type the first letter of the channel name.
This reduces the channel list to channels beginning with that letter.
3 Type the second letter of the channel name.
This reduces the channel list to channels beginning with the first and second letter.
4 Continue typing one letter at a time until the channel you want is displayed.
5 To go back one level press (Delete) or (Backspace).
6 To go back all the way press (Delete) or (Backspace) until Filter :<none> appears
on the information bar at the top of the channels list.
Getting started 47
Looking after your Pi Workshop files
When you installed Pi Workshop on your PC, two main folders were created. One folder
contains all the application files and the other folder contains all your library files.
The application files were installed in C:\Program Files\PiWorld\PiWorkshop, where

C: is the root of your PC. You should not touch any files in this folder.
The library files are installed in C:\PiWorld and its sub folders. When you make any
changes to your setup, the files are stored in one of these sub folders.
Backup copies
It is important that you make backup copies of C:\PiWorld directory so that if you delete
files in error or your computer develops a fault, you can recover your files.
C:\PiWorld should only be backed up or copied when local Archive Manager is not run-
ning.
When the Archive Manager is running an icon is shown in the System Tray section of the
desktop Taskbar.
To shutdown the Archive Manager:

1 Click on the Archive Manager icon on the Taskbar. The Archive Manager
dialog box appears.
2 Click Shut Down. The Archive Manager will close.

Setup
Setup
The Setup Organiser
The Setup Organiser is closely related to the Setup Data Manager and enables you to
manipulate and store Setup databases and sensor calibrations.
The setup manager enables you to:

n save individual setup applications
n save entire setups
n edit Math channels
n save entire loom configurations
n edit sensor calibrations
Show the Setup
Setup
Organiser
To show the Setup Organiser:

1 Click the Setup Organiser toggle button on the Managers Toolbar. (The
button is a toggle that shows or hides the Setup Organiser.) Or choose
View • Setup Organiser.
sig +ve
sig –ve
(0V) 3V
0V (Batt –ve)
The Setup Organiser window appear.
Setup Organiser window in Library mode
The Setup Organiser above is showing the localhost libraries that were created from
the Custom.Cab when you installed Pi Workshop. These are read only folders contain-
Setup 51
ing a standard set of Pi Sensors (complete with part numbers and calibrations) as well as
each component of the default setup.
There are a number of components that can be dragged into the Setup Organiser Applica-
tions (APPs) such as Telemetry and then archived.
Maths channels can be dragged into the Setup Organiser as well as Sensors. These will
contain the calibration, but will not contain the input or output name.
Looms, or sub looms can also be dragged into the Setup Organiser. The loom will retain
the input and output name as well as the calibration.
The Setup Organiser has two working modes that determine the information it shows:
Library mode and Setup mode.
Library mode
In Library mode the Setup Organiser shows components of setups. These can be sensors,
math channels and setup applications. Components that are greyed are read only items
and serve as templates for your own design.
Setup mode
In Setup mode the Setup Organiser shows complete setup database files that can be used
with a Setup Data Manager.
To change from Library mode to Setup mode:

1 Right-click on Libraries in the Setup Organiser and select Show Setups
from the pop-up menu.
To change from Setup mode to Library mode:

1 Right-click on Setups in the Setup Organiser and select Show Libraries
from the pop-up menu.

Using the Setup
Organiser
If Setup Organiser is as shown above, you will only be able to take information from the
Setup Organiser as the folders seen are Read Only. To write to a folder you must create
a new folder.
To create a new folder:

1 Right click on the connection localhost and select New Folder from the
pop-up menu. A New Folder is added to the Setup Organiser Window.
The New Folder must be named and information entered as required.
To name the new folder:

1 Right click on New Folder. Select Rename Folder from the pop-up menu.
Setup
The new folder pop-up menu options are relatively self-explanatory.
Import Sensor… will import a sensor from a *.ini file. This is the most useful way to
transfer calibrations on floppy discs etc. The *.ini file is limited to a size of 64K which
equates to 100 inputs and 100 outputs on one sensor.
A sensor can be dragged from a setup in Pi Workshop and saved in a read/write folder
for later use.
Setup 53
Note: If you want to copy a sensor into the library you must hold down the (Ctrl) key while
dragging, otherwise the sensor will be removed from the loom.
If a sensor is placed in this folder and right clicked, a list of options is displayed. If that sen-
sor is in a read only folder, it will grey out any re-writing options and display the following
window.
Setup Organiser window with a read only Sensors folder selected
This is a read only sensor and it is not possible to delete, rename or cut the sensor. As
the folder is read only, it is not possible to paste into the folder. The standard library that
supports Pi Workshop has a read only folder named Sensors. This contains a list of all
sensors in the Pi Range. These are required by Pi Workshop to prompt the user with a
list of sensors when adding a connector to the loom. The Sensors folder also has a sub-
directory structure containing the same list of sensors arranged in categories defining the
type of sensor, such as temperature, displacement, pressure etc.
Double clicking on a sensor will display the sensor information. In the case of the read only
Pi sensors all the fields will be greyed out, however a custom made sensor can be edited
in the library. This is especially useful for changing and checking calibrations.
The Export sensor… option shown in the pop-up menu in the above window will export
the selected sensor into a *.ini format file.

Connecting to another
user
The Setup Organiser is the main tool that is used for sharing information.
To connect to another user:

1 Right click on Libraries in the Setup Organiser window and select
New Connection…. The Archive Manager Machine dialog box appears.
2 Enter the name of the computer that holds the Archive Manager that you want
to connect to. The name can be either the PC name or the IP Address.
Setup
This Setup Organiser will display exactly the same setup as that below (localhost), but
it will be the information from another user.
Setup 55
Setup Organiser displaying ‘localhost’ library and ‘Another User’ library
The Another User library includes their read only library and their personal libraries.
WARNING: It is possible to delete their information, and for them to delete yours.
If Another User has a sensor or setup (e.g. logger setup) that you wish to use, the item
can be dragged straight onto your setup, or it can be dragged into your library.

To show Setups on another user:
1 In the Setup Organiser right click on Libraries and select Show Setups. This
will list your setups (localhost) and the Another User setups.
Setup
To create a setup identical to another but with a different name:
1 Right click on the setup you want to duplicate.
2 Select Create Duplicate… from the pop-up menu.
3 Enter a name for the duplicate setup.
Setup 57
To create a new setup:
1 Right click on ‘localhost’ and select New Setup… from the pop-up menu. The
Create a New Setup dialog box appears.
2 Enter a name for the new Setup, and then select the Setup you wish to base
the new Setup on.
If none is selected, <Clean Setup> will be automatically chosen.
<Clean Setup> has no looms, sensors and no configuration. It is a basic setup.
Default Setup is your default setup that was created by Pi Research.
The other options in the pop-up menu allow you to remove this connection, or change the
archive manager that this connection is pointing to.
Further functionality of the Setup Organiser can be found by right and left clicking on com-
ponents and folders.

Selecting a Setup
This section describes how to choose an existing setup or create a new setup.
To open a Setup Data

Manager
1 Click the Sigma Setup Data Manager button on the Managers Toolbar or
choose Insert Sigma Setup Data Manager.
Setup
An empty Setup Data Manager is displayed in the Data Manager pane.
The Setup Data Manager will try to connect to either the localhost (i.e. your computer)
or a remote machine (which ever Pi Workshop was last connected to.)
Setup 59
To select a Setup
1 Select <No Setup> and right click (or press (Shift) + (F10)). A pop-up menu ap-
pears.
2 Choose Select Setup…. If this is greyed out select Archive Manager… and
then select localhost. The Setup Manager appears.
3 Use the arrow keys or the mouse to select a Setup.

4 If none of these is required, click the New… button. The Create New Setup
dialog box appears.
5 Enter a name for the new Setup, and then select the Setup you wish to base
the new Setup on.
If none is selected, <Clean Setup> will be automatically chosen.
<Clean Setup> has no looms, sensors and no configuration. It is a basic setup.
Default Setup is your default setup that was created by Pi Research.

6 The Setup is ready to be edited.

Setting up Sigma Configuration
This section gives information on how to set the Sigma Configuration so that it matches
the Pi Sigma hardware setup. As Pi Sigma is such a flexible system, operating around a
network, Pi Workshop needs to know what Pi Sigma hardware it is setting up.
Tell Pi Workshop what

hardware you have
1 Click on the Toggle Data Manager button on the Managers Toolbar or choose
View • Data Manger Pane. The Data Manager Pane will appear.
2 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Sigma Configura-
tion. The Sigma Configuration window appears.
Setup
Sigma Configuration window
This is the basic setup that is the bare minimum required to send a setup to the MCU.
Setup 61
If you are setting up a Pi Sigma system with an SCU:
1 Right click on Setup and select ADD SCU from the pop-up menu. The Slave
Control Unit Properties dialog box appears.
2 Complete the dialog box.
During editing of the configuration, you must add the I/O cards that are in your Pi Sigma
MCU (or SCU).
To add I/O cards:

1 Right click on Logger and select Add IO card. The Add IO Card dialog box
appears.
Add IO Card dialog box
2 Name the card.

The first card should be the digital card which every Pi Sigma MCU has on the core card,
and should always be given the name Digital.
3 Select the type of card from the pulldown Type list.
The Digital card is listed as App Embedded 1 and is located in slot 0.
4 Enter a card slot number from the Card Slot Number list.
5 Click OK and a digital card will appear below the logger.

If this is expanded (click on the +), the groups of channels provided with this card are
displayed.
Setup
The rest of the I/O cards fitted in your system must be added.
4 Right click on Logger and select Add IO Card.
An MCU3 normally has three Selectronic cards fitted, so the process should be repeated
the required number of times as detailed in the table below.
I/O card name I/O Card type MCU card slot number
Selectronic 1 Selectronic 1
Setup 63
This will make the tree look as displayed below.
If other I/O card types are added, such as LVDT cards, they should be named accord-
ingly.
Note: If you have an MCU5 system you will have to repeat the process for the required
number of times to fill each card slot.

Setting the FSRs
Pi Sigma has a number of FSRs (Fixed Synchronous Requirements). These are channels
that are included in the Logger card and perform certain pre-defined functions. An example
of this is EngineSpeed. This is the channel that when associated with Start and Stop Log-
ging criteria, will allow the MCU to Log. Also, EngineSpeed is the channel that the MCU
uses to operate the shift lights.
Another example is Wheelspeed. This is needed to generate distance that is used in

V6 Analysis distance plots.
The FSRs are stored in the Logger Boxcode. Therefore, the setup must know what Box-
code will be used so that it can produce the suitable FSRs for that setup.
To select the Boxcode:

1 In the Sigma Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Sigma Con-
Setup
figuration. The Sigma Configuration window appears.
2 Right click on Logger and select Set Code Build.
If your PC has been connected to an MCU, a list of boxcodes will appear in the Application
Buildstamp dialog box.
Application Buildstamp dialog box
3 Select the boxcode that is in the MCU that the setup was been created for.
If your PC has never connected to an MCU it will not have uploaded the Buildstamp and
the associated list of FSRs.
Setup 65
You can import a Boxcode.
To import Boxcode:
2 Right click on Setup and select Codebuild Manager. The Codebuild Manager
dialog box appears.
Codebuild Manager dialog box
3 Click Import. The Open window appears.

4 Use the Open window to locate the *.fsr file you require. Click the Open
button.
To Export a Boxcode:
2 Right click on Setup and select Codebuild Manager. The Codebuild Manager
dialog box appears.
3 Select the boxcode from the BuildStamp list.
4 Click the Export button. The Save As window appears.
5 Use the Save As window to find a location to save the boxcode file.
The boxcode is stored as a *.fsr file and is relatively small so could be transported on
Floppy disks etc.
Once the FSRs are set up, and the Setup knows what MCUs and cards are included in the
hardware, you are ready to start creating a loom and adding sensors.

Selectronics I/O Card Setup
This section describes how to configure the Selectronics I/O card in Pi Workshop. The
Selectronics I/O card is one of several signal conditioning cards available for Pi Sigma
Systems.
Overview
The Selectronics I/O card has:

n six differential inputs and two single-ended inputs arranged in four pairs or
Groups
n four excitations which can be configured in the software
Setup
n eight excitation feedback ports, four measuring the actual excitation voltage
and four measuring the excitation current
Two of the Groups have grounds for high power use and the other two Groups have
grounds for low power use.
In addition to measuring just voltage, some of the channels can be configured to directly
interface with RTDs and current output sensors. The following tables summarise the input
functions of each channel in the groups.
Setup 67
Selectronic I/O card input functions
Group 1 - Inputs 1A and1B
Input Excite Excite options Type Mode Gain ADC ref Special
1A EXC1 0.5A unregulated BATT Differential Bipolar or 0–640 Bipolar Absolute None
OR Unipolar 0–8 Unipolar
5.0–10V regulated
1B EXC1 0.5A Unregulated BATT Single ended Unipolar 0–8 Unipolar None
OR
5.0–10V regulated
Group 2 - Inputs 2A an 2B
2A EXC2 5.0–10V regulated Differential Bipolar or 0–640 Bipolar Absolute/ RTD
Unipolar 0–8 Unipolar Ratiometric
2B EXC2 5.0–10V regulated Single ended Unipolar 0–8 Unipolar RTD
only
Group 3 – Inputs 3A and 3B
3A EXC3 5.0–10V regulated Differential Bipolar or 0–640 Bipolar Absolute/ None
3B EXC3 5.0–10V regulated Differential Bipolar or 0–640 Bipolar Current
Unipolar 0–8 Unipolar (0–20mA)
Group 4 - Inputs 4A and 4B
4A EXC4 5.0–10V regulated Differential Bipolar or 0–640 Bipolar Absolute/ None
4B EXC4 5.0–10V regulated Differential Bipolar or 0–640 Bipolar Current
Unipolar 0–8 Unipolar (0–20mA)
Explanation of the headings in the Selectronic I/O card input functions tables are given
below.

Input
The name of the channel. In Pi Workshop it will appear in the following format:
Input1A.02.03.16
where:
n Input1A refers to the channel
n .02 refers to the Node (02 is an MCU, 05 is an SCU)
n .03 refers to the Card number (0-5 where 0 is always the digital I/O card)
n .16 is a unique number assigned by Pi Workshop PC Software
Excite
The Excite output associated with that Group. This is loom dependant but normally EXC1
is for Group 1, EXC2 is for Group 2 and so on.
The programmable voltages work from 5V to 10V.
Setup
Usually when the engine is running this will be okay (because the alternator voltage will be
around 14 V,) however care must be taken when the car is on the pad when calibrating.
The EXC outputs are rated for a 120 ohms load. i.e. 100mA at 12V or 40mA at 5V.
Note: EXC1 has a 500mA unregulated option.
Type
Differential means that there is a signal –ve and a signal +ve. Single ended means that the
signal –ve is grounded on the card.
Generally, only low current sensors should be used with single ended inputs. These types
of input are suited to temperature or pressure sensor where absolute accuracy is not
imperative.
They are also useful for heavy current sensors. With heavy current sensors the signal
–ve is connected to the sensor GND at the sensor – this compensates for any ground
difference.
Setup 69
Mode
Unipolar means that the input can only measure positive signals.
Bipolar means that the input can measure both positive and negative signals.
Gain
Unipolar channels can be programmed by the user to have a gain from 0 to 8.
Bipolar channels can be programmed by the user to have a gain from 0 to 640.
ADC ref
There are two types of sensor available, absolute and ratiometric.
Absolute sensors are usually active sensors, such as accelerometers, which have an inter-
nal voltage reference or regulator and are unaffected by drift in the excitation voltage.
Ratiometric sensors, such as potentiometers or strain gauges, are affected by the excitation
voltage. If you double the excitation voltage, you double the signal voltage.
In ratiometric mode the Selectronics I/O card monitors the excitation voltage and compen-
sates for any drift. This is useful for strain gauges where the gains are high, and where the
excitation voltage can be increased (e.g. from 5V to 7V) to give more output.
In ratiometric mode the calibration is unchanged even when the excitation is increased. This
means that you can decrease the gain and improve the signal to noise ratio.
Special
Some inputs can accommodate special sensors e.g. RTDs and Current output type of
sensor. Selecting Current operation limits the possible configurations of a Group. If inputs
3B or 4B are set to current input, then inputs 3A or 4A must be bipolar. Ratiometric mode
is not available.

Selectronic I/O
card configuration
constraints
Although the Selectronic I/O card is highly configurable there are several limitations
imposed by setting up a particular channel in a certain way.
Constraint 1
Because each group (1, 2, 3, or 4) shares an excitation, sensors attached to input A and
input B of the same group must require the same excitation.
Constraint 2
You can mix and match gains with two exceptions:
n If one of the channels in a group has unity gain (i.e. 0 to 5 V, or +/- 2.5V)
Setup
then the other channel in the group must also be set with unity gain.
n For the single ended inputs, 1A and 2A they must both be either unipolar or
bipolar. Changing one automatically changes the other.
Constraint 3
Selecting Current operation limits the configurations possible in each group.
n If 3B or 4B are set to current input then 3A or 4A must be bipolar and Ratio-
metric mode is unavailable.
Setup 71
Excitation modes
The excitations can be set to be on or off depending on certain conditions.
Selectronics IO Card dialog box with Group 2 tab selected
The figure above also shows the different excitation modes (always on, battery good, and
so on.)
These are OR’ed together. This means that in the example above the excitation will be on
when the engine is running OR the car is moving OR the box is logging OR the PC com-
puter is plugged in OR any combination of these four.
Excitation Feedback
In addition to the input channels themselves there are 4 excite voltage and 4 excite current
ports. You do not have to configure them to work.
These ports can be used to indicate if a sensor is broken. They are named in Pi Workshop
in a similar way to the input channels themselves i.e. :
Voltage ADC 0 – 1.02.03.25
Current ADC 0 – 1.02.03.29
ADC 0 refers to EXC 1, .02 is the node, .03 is the card, and .29 is a unique identifying
number that Pi Workshop allocates.

Configuring Selectronic
I/O card
You select the settings on the Selectronic Cards by opening the Sigma Configuration. Refer
to the Selectronic I/O card input functions tables for information on the options available.
To configure a Selectronic I/O card:

1 Double click on Sigma Configuration in the Setup Data Manager. The Sigma
Configuration dialog box appears.
Setup
Sigma Configuration dialog box
2 Right click on the card and select Properties…. The Selectronic IO Card
properties box appears.
Setup 73
Selectronics IO Card properties box with I/O card tab selected
The Name text box displays the name of the card as it appears in the Sigma Configuration.
The Card Slot Number displays the card slot number in the MCU that the card occupies.
3 Click the tab for the Group you wish to configure.
Selectronics IO Card properties box with Group 1 tab selected
4 Select the power supply Type and Volts for the type of sensor you are us-
ing.
5 Set the Input range of the sensor.

The range should be set as closely as possible to the output range of the sensor.
Amplifier gain is set to achieve the input range specified. The ports are automatically nor-
malised, or scaled so that the raw data from the card will always be in Volts.
Selectronic Cards have special modes for particular sensors, e.g. RTD, Current Input.
Setup
Selectronic IO Card properties box with Group 2 tab selected
Ratiometric sensors (i.e. non active), e.g. a potentiometer, can be run in Ratiometric mode.
In this mode the excitation drift is corrected and very accurate readings can be taken.
Setup 75
Inputs – technical
description
All the inputs of the Selectronics I/O cards are all differential inputs internally. A differential
input measures the difference in voltage between two pins, sig +ve and sig –ve.
Differential inputs
If sig +ve is a higher voltage than sig –ve then the output is a positive measurement. For
example:
sig +ve
sig –ve
2V 5V
0V (Batt –ve)
Representation of a differential input
The output would read 3 volts, because the difference in voltage is 5 – 2 = 3.
Unipolar inputs
Unipolar means that the measurement range (say 5V) is only positive, so if sig +ve
was a lower voltage than sig –ve the output would be 0V. But in bipolar mode the
measurement range (say 5V) is split between positive and negative, giving a range of
–2.5V to +2.5V, so:

sig +ve
sig –ve
2V 1V
0V (Batt –ve)
Representation of a bipolar input
The output would read –1 volt, because the difference in voltage is 1 – 2 = –1.
Single ended inputs

In Pi Sigma the single ended channels are just differential channels with the sig –ve con-
nected to 0V inside the MCU.
Setup
sig +ve
sig –ve
(0V) 3V
0V (Batt –ve)
Representation of a single ended input
So in this case output would simply be 3V.
If you have any questions about these diagrams please contact Pi Research.
Note: Max range is confined by the power supply rails, which are +12V. So no signals
outside around +10 Volts (relative to the box supply –ve) can be measured.
Setup 77
Sensors and looms interface
Getting started
Setup
Pi Workshop window
In the above figure below the Apps folder lie two looms, one for math channels and one
for sensors and actuators.
Setup 79
n A Math Channel takes one or more channels as inputs, applies a formula
and outputs a channel.
n A Sensor takes one or more ports as inputs, applies a calibration and out-
puts a channel.
n An Actuator takes a channel as its input and outputs a port.
User levels
So that most of the complexity of looms is hidden from the average user, operations are
organised into three levels of difficulty. Day-to-day operations such as calibrating sensors
are classed Standard, so that any user may perform them. Operations which may break
the system, such as reorganising the loom and altering its configuration are classed Expert,
and are disabled from most users. An intermediate level, Advanced, caters for operations
of medium difficulty.
The user level, which is the highest level of operation available at a particular moment, is
set using the Pi User Level Selector tray application on the main Windows task Bar.
Pi Workshop Settings
Right-click on the icon to show a menu with the user levels. The current level is
checked (✓).
What are Connectors?
The loom is organised hierarchically as a tree of connectors. A connector is a branch point

of the loom. A connector may contain either a collection of connectors or a sensor. The
umbrella term sensor is used to refer to sensors, actuators and math channels. They are
all objects which have inputs, outputs and a calibration.
An example of creating connectors for the Front and Rear loom branches follows.

Creating a Connector
1 Right-click on the Pi Workshop Settings icon on the Windows task bar. The
Pi Workshop Settings pop-up menu appears.
2 Click the User Access Levels tab and select Expert.
Connector creation can break the loom, so it is forbidden for the Standard and Advanced
levels.
The Loom branch is labelled “Loom : <NC>” which means that no sub-looms or sensors
are connected to that point.
3 Right-click on Loom and select Attach Connector… from the pop-up menu.
The Attach Connector wizard appears.
Setup
Connector Wizard first page
Setup 81
4 Click Next>. The Summary dialog box appears.
Connector Wizard Summary page
5 In the Connector Name box name the new connector as Front .

6 Enter a description of its purpose in the Comment field.
7 Click Next>. The Edit dialog page appears.
Connector Wizard Edit page
This page is used to set the port configuration of the connector. For the time being, leave
the connector empty.
8 Click Finish and the new connector appears on the loom.
9 Repeat the process to add a Rear connector.

Setup
Data Manager pane
The connectors are shown with red crosses to indicate that they are broken. If you hover
the mouse over one of them some diagnostic text is shown:
The port list is blank for the time being, so ignore the message. The connectors are also
labelled <NC> as seen before at the loom top.
In this example a sensor to measure the front left wheel speed will be attached. This will
connect to a connector which branches off the Front loom, and is called FL Wheel 1.
10 Right-click on the Front loom. The Attach Connector Wizard appears.
11 Click Sensor… to create a connector for a particular sensor.
The Select A Template dialog box appears.
Setup 83
12 Select the FL Wheelspeed Sensor and click OK.
A connector is a means to connect a sensor to the loom. A sensor requires a number of
input ports of certain quantities, and ports meeting the sensor’s requirements must be
present on a connector for it to be compatible with that sensor. Select the relevant sensor
as a template. The connector wizard then examines the sensor and displays the list of port
types which it expects.
The name of the template sensor is shown on the Attach Connector Wizard. Make sure
that the correct one has been selected – once the Next> button has been clicked it will not
be possible to go back and select a different sensor.
13 Click Next>. Enter the connector name FL Wheel 1.
14 Click Next> again.
The wizard has determined that you need to select a port of quantity delta-time (∆t) and a
port of user type (u) to satisfy the sensor.
15 Double-click the first quantity in the list to select a port.

Setup
In this example FL Wheel 1 connector on the loom is wired up to port Digital 2.02.00.24.
16 Select port Digital 2.02.00.24. Click OK.
17 Select a port of user type to complete the list.
Setup 85
18 Click Finish to create the connector.
The connector is valid, so it is not shown with a cross. A dark green connector is shown
because the system is set up to show connectors with one time input and one user type
input in that colour.

Port Propagation
A physical loom connects sensors to the Pi Sigma system’s ports using a branching net-
work of wires. If the loom is cut at any point and a connector spliced in, the port to sensor
wiring appears on both sides of the break.
In the software version of the loom, the wires are represented by a trail of ports from a
sensor to the top of the loom. For instance, the connector which you have just created
uses port Digital 2.02.00.24. When this port was added to the connector, references to it
were copied up the loom to its root. In this way, the loom can be broken at any point and
reconnected correctly.
To see this port propagation:

1 Right-click on the Front connector and select Connector Properties….
In Expert mode, an Edit page is available.
Setup
This is the port configuration for the Front connector. Note that it is identical to the con-
figuration for FL Wheel 1. Also note that the port configuration is the correct one for a dark
green connector icon, hence Front has the same icon as FL Wheel 1.
Setup 87
Attaching a Sensor
This is a Standard User level operation.

1 Right-click on the FL Wheel 1 connector and select Attach Sensor…. The
Attach Sensor dialog box appears.
Sensors compatible with the connector are listed. Note that two different icons are shown
in the list. Those with dark green splashes are sensors explicitly compatible with the con-
nector. Those with grey splashes are generic and will take any list of ports. If one of those
is selected its port requirement becomes fixed at whatever the connector supplies.
2 Select FL Wheelspeed Sensor. The sensor properties dialog box appears
3 Enter a sensor name and comments. Click OK.
The connector icon changes to show that a sensor is present, and the label is now of the

form Connector Name : Sensor Name. Clicking the + icon by the connector will display
the sensor’s output channels.
Removing Sensors
Dragging a sensor from the loom to the library will remove it from the loom unless the (Ctrl)
key is held down, in which case the sensor is removed from the loom and a copy of the
sensor is placed in the library.
Selecting the sensor and pressing (Delete) or right-clicking and selecting Remove Sensor
will destroy the sensor without saving a copy.
Removing Sub-looms
Setup
Dragging a sub-loom to the library removes it from the loom and saves it in the library. A
connector is left in the loom marked <NC>. Selecting a connector with a sub-loom con-
nected and pressing (Delete) destroys the sub-loom.
Removing Connectors
In Expert mode, selecting an empty connector and pressing (Delete) or right-clicking and
selecting Remove Connector destroys that connector. Note that the ports used by the
connector, which have been propagated up the loom, remain on the connector’s parent.
Setup 89
Sensor Drag-and-drop
Sensors can be moved around, onto and off the loom by dragging and dropping, or by cut
and paste. The possible operations are listed here.
n Dragging a sensor from the library to an empty, compatible connector at-
taches a duplicate to that connector. On dropping, the sensor’s property
sheet is displayed.
n Dragging a sensor from the loom to the library removes it from the loom.
Hold the (Ctrl) key to place a copy in the library.
n Dragging a sensor from a connector to another compatible connector moves
it. Hold the (Ctrl) key to attach a copy. Note that the copy must have different
output channel names for the setup to be valid.
n Dragging a sensor from the library to an occupied, compatible connector with
the left button is not allowed. If the right mouse button is used in the opera-
tion, a context menu appears on dropping with three options; the dropped
sensor can be used to re-calibrate the sensor in situ, it can completely
replace the original, or the operation can be cancelled.
Compatible sensors
A sensor is compatible with a connector if the connector’s and the sensor’s port lists are
compatible. The port lists are compatible if the quantities and ordering match. So, if a
sensor requires an input port of voltage quantity and an input port of user type, it will only
match a connector which has two input ports, one of voltage quantity and one of user type,
in that order.
If a sensor and a connector are compatible, their icons will be a matching pair.
Some sensors such as the Full Generic Sensor have no fixed port requirement until they
have been attached to a connector. The icons for such sensors cannot indicate a compat-
ible connector type. However, they will be available in the Attach Sensor dialog box.

Loom Drag-and-drop
Sub-looms can be moved off and onto the loom by dragging and dropping, or by cut and
paste.
Dragging a sub-loom off a connector and onto the library removes it. Hold the (Ctrl) key to
place a copy in the library.
A sub-loom can be dragged from the library onto an empty, compatible connector. It can
be right-dragged onto an occupied, compatible connector with the result that a context
menu is displayed. The options are to replace the current loom with the dropped one, or
to cancel the operation.
Compatible sub-looms
A sub-loom is compatible with a connector if its port list is a subset of the connector’s. Ef-
fectively, this means that the sub-loom has to start off on that connector. If in the meantime
Setup
any ports have been removed from that connector, it will be incompatible.
Looms
The Loom is an hierarchical collection of connectors. Its purpose is to facilitate the connec-
tion of sensors and actuators to the system. Typically, it will be organised to represent the
structure of the wiring loom on the car.
The Maths Channels loom is an hierarchical collection of math channels, organised into
folders.
Setup 91
The Loom
The I/O cards in a Pi Sigma system produce raw channels known as input ports and con-
sume channels known as output ports. To ease the connection of sensors, ports are or-
ganised into groups such that all the ports required by a sensor are members of the group.
These groups are known as connectors. When a sensor is dropped onto a connector, all its
inputs are specified. Ports can exist on one connector only, so there cannot be conflicts.
Connectors are arranged hierarchically into functional groups known as sub-looms. For
instance, all the gearbox connectors may be grouped into a sub-loom. This permits the
replacement of related groups of sensors, such as when gearboxes are switched complete
with wiring.
Connectors connect either more connectors (and math folders) or one sensor or actuator.
A particular connector may be used in either role provided that it is compatible with the
sub-loom or sensor in question. Compatibility is discussed in earlier sections.
The ports contained by a connector are also present on that connector’s parent connector,
and so on up to the top of the loom. In this way, when a sub-loom is removed and replaced
its compatibility can be checked.

Ports, Port Addresses
and Quantities
A port is a channel produced by an I/O card. It is referenced using a port address, which
usually forms part of its name. For instance, Digital 3.05.00.28 refers to a port with ad-
dress 05.00.28. In this address, 05 is the Tebnet node ID, which refers to an SCU. The
port is produced by an I/O card with ID 00 residing on that node. This port has an index of
28 on that card.
In addition, ports are referred to as either input or output, with the direction relative to the
Pi Sigma system. Input ports are typically generated by (physical) sensors, and output ports
are used to drive (physical) actuators.
The value of a port is calibrated to a particular quantity. For instance, a port connected to
a thermocouple will measure the voltage output from the sensor, so its quantity is voltage.
The purpose of a sensor is to calibrate this port value to the required measurement, which
Setup
in this case means converting the voltage into a temperature.
Setup 93
Connector Operations
Once a connector has been attached to a loom it can be manipulated through its property
sheet. In Expert mode, right-click on a connector and select Connector Properties… from
the pop-up menu.
Connector properties summary page

Use this page to edit the connector name and comments. In Standard mode, this is the
only property page available ad its fields are read-only.
Connector Properties Summary page

Connector Properties Edit Page
This is the most important property page, used to change the port configuration of a con-
nector.
Setup
Connector Properties Edit page
Use Insert Input and Insert Output to add input and output ports respectively to the end
of the list. Remove ports by selecting them one at a time and pressing (Delete). Rearrange
ports either by selecting one and clicking Move Up or Move Down, or by dragging a port
in the list. The port order is important for determining compatibility with sensors. A sen-
sor with one voltage port and one time port, in that order, will connect to a connector with
type voltage, time but not one of type time, voltage.
When a loom is migrated from an earlier version of Pi Workshop, the ordering of the port
list on each connector is random. For it to be possible to move similar sensors around
the loom, the port list orders must be edited. For instance, if a wheelspeed sensor takes
a time, user type connector then all wheelspeed connectors must be set to port order
time, user type. After a migration, it is likely that some of the connectors will have the ports
reversed.
Setup 95
Moving ports
Ports can be moved from connector to connector using the edit page. To add a port to
a connector which is already in use elsewhere, click Insert Input or Insert Output and
check Show Ports Currently In Use. The ports which are currently in use have an icon
overlaid with a red slash. Select the desired port, click OK, then close the property sheet.
The port will be added to the connector and all its parents up the tree, then removed from
the branch that it used to occupy. If the port was used by a sensor in the other branch then
that sensor will be broken.
Looms page
This page is used to rearrange sub-looms and has purely aesthetic effect.
Connector Properties Looms page

Diagnostic page
This page gives information on why a connector is broken.
Setup
Connector Properties Diagnostic page
Key page
This page is a key to different connector images. Port lists are mapped to connector images
by the file CONNECTOR.INI and the mappings are shown here. Each quantity is prefixed
by an i for input or o for output. The entry for default is a special case, used where no
image is specified.
Connector Properties Key page
Setup 97
Locking
In Expert mode, connectors can be locked and unlocked. Locking a connector prevents
the connected sensor or sub loom from being removed. Also, the connector and sensor
properties will be read-only. Locking applies in all modes, but only Expert users can modify
the lock status.
To lock or unlock a connector, right-click and select Lock Connector. The Lock Branch
and Unlock Branch options lock or unlock all child connectors as well.
Loom Report
The loom report displays the connectors, sensors and (for Expert mode) ports in a selected
sub-loom. Right-click on a connector and select Loom Report.
If the Sensors Only box is checked only connectors with connected sensors or actuators
are shown. The report depth is the number of levels which the report should descend for
data.
Double-clicking an icon or connector name will display the connector properties sheet,
double-clicking a sensor name or channel name will display the sensor properties and
double-clicking a port will jump to the Electronic Configuration for that port.

Right-clicking the report displays a context menu.
Copy Selection will copy the selected report entries to the clipboard. Copy All copies the
whole report.
Loom Views
Once a loom structure has been created, it may be useful to view a list of connectors or
sensors, for ease of navigation.
Setup
Right-click on a connector and select View • Flat by Connector or View • Flat by Sensor.
The tree is flattened out to a single level, sorted either by connector name or sensor name
as selected. The selected connector remains selected after the switch, so once the right
connector has been found you can select it and switch back to tree view, with the same
sensor still selected.
Sensor and Loom

Migration
Any sensors or looms which are present from pre-2.15.16 versions of Pi Workshop when
a newer version of Pi Workshop is installed, will be upgraded to the new system. Nothing
in the read-only library will be migrated, but that library should be over-written by a new
version on installation anyway.
However, some situations arise where the migration process requires some help.
Setup 99
Math channels in the loom
It was previously possible, although discouraged, to place math channels in the loom. It
was even possible to select ports as inputs for the math channels and they would act as
sensors. These cases cause problems in the new loom.
To tell if you have an old math channel in the loom, double-click on it. If the resulting prop-
erty sheet has a tab labelled Transfer Function then it is using the new math channel user
interface. If the channel had no ports as inputs previously its Variables page will list some
input channels and it may be valid. Drag the channel to the math loom or create a math
folder in the loom and drag it into there.
If the math channel was being used as a sensor, its input ports will have been removed and
the Variables page will be empty. It will then be necessary to migrate the math channel
manually. Drag the math channel to the library, where it will appear with a math channel
icon. Right-click and select Migrate Sensor….
The sensor migration dialog box appears.
This old math channel should be a sensor, as it has a port as an input. Check
Migrate UI and select Sensor. Check the box in the port list by the port. It may be neces-
sary to select a quantity if the original one was invalid, and if there is more than one port it

may be necessary to rearrange the ports to fit the connector. Click OK to finish. The math
channel icon will be replaced with a sensor icon. Drag the sensor back to the loom.
Old sensors with incorrect quantities

If an old sensor existed in the loom with a port quantity set incorrectly, it will be flagged as
invalid after migration. For instance, if a wheelspeed sensor used a port with quantity time
but had it set as user type it will be broken. To fix such sensors, drag them to the library,
select Migrate Sensor… then select the suspect port and click Quantity…. Set the correct
quantity, OK the dialog boxes and drag the sensor back onto the loom.
Sensors and looms in the read-only library

The read-only library is just that, so its contents cannot be migrated. Of course, that library
should be over-written on install, but if this does not happen drag useful stuff to a normal
library folder. It will then be migrated.
Setup
Duplicate ports
If, at the point of migration, an old loom had ports used in more than one place, the new
loom will be broken. Basically, the port will have been removed from all the places it was
used before, apart from the lowest one down the loom, leaving a number of broken sensors.
It is no longer possible to use a port in more than one place on the loom.
Sensors with
Calibrations
Wheel Speed sensors are simple things with no calibration, but most sensors require a lit-
tle more setting up. In the following example you can create a strain gauge connector and
sensor on the Rear loom to demonstrate.
1 Go to Rear and attach a connector called RL Strain with a single voltage input
port.
2 Attach a sensor of type Single Input / Output Sensor.
3 On the Information page name your new sensor, then move to Channel
Info.
This page specifies the details of the output channel.
Setup 101
The output channel will be called RL Load, with quantity force and units Newtons.
Leave the data type field alone for the moment; It is for advanced users only and should
normally be set to F32.
4 Move on to the Calibration page.
The Calibration page is divided into three sections. At the top is a watch bar that shows
the current value of the raw input to the calibration. The option buttons to the left allow the
type of calibration to be selected and there is a drop-down list that selects which units the

calibration will assume the raw input to have. To the right of the page is the actual calibra-
tion.
The default calibration type for a sensor is a look-up table, as shown above. This consists
of a list of points and a method of ‘joining the dots’. This can be either a standard LUT type
(e.g. extrapolate) or a curve fit (linear or quadratic). If the car is present and the watch bar
is live then clicking on the Insert Point… button will sample the current value and allow
the matching calibrated value to be entered.
Setup
Switching to an equation calibration changes the dialog box as shown here. The equation
shown was automatically generated from the previous table and will produce the same
output (this even works with curve-fitting.) Clicking on either Variables … or Operators…
will open a context menu containing items that can be inserted into the equation. Hovering
over an item in the menu will show a description of that item and clicking on it will insert it
at the caret. To check the validity of the equation, press the Check button.
Setup 103
The final type of calibration is a gain/offset calibration. This allows the gain and offset (as
might be found on a data sheet) to be entered directly. The equivalent equation is shown
at the bottom (and will be used if you then switch to an equation calibration.) There are two
modifiers that alter how the gain is applied and when the offset is applied.
Once you have entered a calibration, go to the Watch page. Assuming that the car is con-
nected you should see two watch bars. The top one shows the current value of the raw
input and the bottom bar shows the value that is obtained by applying the calibration you
entered to the raw value.
Note: The calibrated value is calculated within the sensor dialog box and represents
what WILL be sent to the box the next time the setup is sent and not the current calibra-
tion that is on the box.

Linking a Sensor to an
Application
A number of applications that run on the MCU require a raw (un-calibrated) channel with
a fixed name. One example of this is the BeaconRaw channel that is used by the DRV
application. (However, do not use the following method for connecting a beacon, as it has
its own sensor.)
The majority of sensor dialog boxes will allow you to create one of these ‘internal channels’
from their raw inputs. Open the Strain sensor that we created in the last section. If you go to
the Application Link page you will find a list containing one row for each of the raw inputs
to your sensor (in this case there should only be one). The right-hand column contains a
description of the raw input that you can edit yourself. The left-hand column allows you to
enter the name of the channel that you want to generate. You can either type the name in
or select it from a list of suitable channels that are required by the applications on the box
but which are not yet being generated.
Setup
The Generic Application Link Sensor contains an Information page and an Application
Link page and should be used where you need to create a link to an application but do not
need a calibrated channel as well.
There are also two specific sensors for linking sensors to the DRV application. These are
the beacon sensor and the wheelspeed sensor (actually four – one for each wheel.) Each
of these has a watch page specific to their requirements.
Using a Channel in a
Calibration
There are a number of cases where it is necessary to use a channel in a calibration as well
as the raw input. One such case is a thermocouple that takes a cold-junction compensa-
tion channel. This section shows how to create a sensor that will deal with this scenario.
The method shown uses the Full Generic Sensor but there will eventually be a specific
thermocouple interface.
1 Attach a connector to the Front loom called FL Disc, with a single voltage input
port.
2 Attach a Full Generic Sensor to it.
This sensor is the most complicated there is as it can take both raw inputs and channels as
Setup 105
inputs to a calibration and can contain more than one calibrated output channel.
3 Name your sensor as FL Brake Temp. Go to the Variables page.
This shows all of the raw inputs and channels that can be used in the calibrations.
A variable is a label that is used to identify a particular input in a calibration but does not
change when the channel associated with it changes.
The Variables page is split into two sections. The top half of the page shows the variables
that are assigned to raw inputs. These assignments are fixed but you can change the units
(as used in calibrations) and give a description of the raw input which is also shown in the
Application Link page. The Properties… button opens a dialog box that gives a more
verbose description of the different properties of the raw input.
The bottom half of the page contains a list of the variables that have channels assigned to
them. Variables can be added and removed from the list (removing a variable will break
any calibration that uses it). You can also set the channel that is assigned to the variable
using a list of the channels that are present in the current setup. The units may be set as
with the raw inputs.

To deal with multiple calibrated channels, the interface for specifying the calibrated chan-
nel’s details and calibration is slightly different than for the Single Input / Output sensor
but it uses the same terminology.
Setup
The figure above shows the list of calibrated channels that the sensor generates
and the calibration for the currently selected channel. The channel list shows some
of the channels’ properties; click the Properties… button for more settings as well
as a description of their purposes. The properties are the same as those set in the
Channel Info page of the single I/O sensor.
At the bottom of the page is a section that resembles the Calibration page of the single I/O
sensor. It is in fact the same component with only one difference – the key variable. This
is in the place of the input units selector, which is handled for this sensor by the Variables
page. The key variable is the variable from which the calibrated channel will inherit the rate
at which it is calculated. For table and gain calibrations, which have one input each, this
specifies which raw input is used for the calibration.
Setup 107
The equation shown above uses both of the variables defined on the Variables page and
although the calibration is not actually a thermocouple calibration is demonstrates the
principle.
Note: When you hover over a variable in the Variables menu it will show a tooltip con-
taining the description of the variable (if present.)
Sensors
Earlier sections gave a brief overview of how to create and edit different types of sensor.
This covered the main sensors that will cover every eventuality but the creation of new
user interfaces for specific sensors is an ongoing project.
Raw Pcode Sensor

There are some calibrations that cannot be expressed easily within a user interface and
that do not need to be edited. One such sensor is a kulite that uses two lookup tables in
an equation calibration to generate its outputs.
To deal with complicated sensors such as these there is a user interface that only allows
the user to change the name of the calibrated channels and to create internal channels
from the raw inputs of the sensor.

Channel usage
It is often useful to be able to see where a channel is being used in the system. The looms
provide this information by having a context menu option on each channel in the loom that
opens a dialog box listing where each channel is used and a possible rate. This functionality
is also exposed through the sensor (and math channel) user interfaces. Switching to the
Channel Usage page will show where each calibrated channel that the sensor generates
is used.
Setup
Setup 109
Setting up a Sensor
The following section outlines the method required to setup a Sensor with a Pi Sigma
System.
Overview
This section assumes that the software Loom has already been configured. The Loom is a
logical representation of the real connectors and wiring on your car. Editing the loom itself
should be left to Pi Research.
The Pi Workshop system is designed to work with pre-defined sensors. The idea is that
when you plug an actual sensor into the car, you also plug a sensor into the software loom.
Pi Research provides software versions of all the standard Pi Research sensors in the read
only section of your library (see section Setup Organiser).
You can make your own sensors and store these in your library. As you proceed, the work
with the Pi Sigma system in setting up a sensor will get less and less because you will have
already stored your calibration for any 3rd party sensors you own.
The Sensors folder of the library

You can either drag pre-arranged sensors from the library or right click on a connector o
add a sensor.
drag
Dragging a pre-arranged sensor onto a connector on the Loom

Right clicking on a connector to attach a sensor
Setup
Attaching a pre-defined
sensor
There are individual documents explaining each specific sensor (for example wheelspeed,
beacon, K-type, 100 ohm RTD, Pi 300mm Potentiometer.) Sensors which you define your-
self (either based on a Pi Sensor, or made from a blank sensor – see below) are attached
in the same way.
There are just two steps to attaching a sensor:

n attach the sensor on to the connector on the loom;
n type in the name of the channel(s).
Attaching the Sensor - The Right Click Method

If the sensor exists in the Sensors folder on your library (or in the read only Pi Standard
Sensors folder _Sensors) just right click on the connector and select from the list of sen-
sors.
You must remove a sensor from a connector which is already there before you can attach
a new one.
Setup 111
To remove a sensor from a connector:
1 Right click on the sensor you want to remove. A pop-up menu appears.
2 Click Remove Sensor.
To attach a Sensor using right click:

1 Click on the Loom branch of in the Setup Data Manager. The branch ex-
pands.
2 Expand the branch on which yo want to add the sensor.
3 Right click on the connector. A pop-up menu appears.
Connector with popup menu displayed
4 Click Attach Sensor…. The Attach Sensor dialog box appears.
Attach Sensor dialog box

5 Double click on the sensor you want to attach, or select the sensor and click
the OK button. The sensor is attached to the connector on the loom.
The Attach Sensor dialog box looks in the Library for a folder called Sensors. If you use a
particular 3rd party sensor quite often, and you want it to be listed in this way (so that you
can add them by just right clicking on the connector,) you must save your sensor in the
Sensors folder inside the library.
To drag a sensor to the loom:

1 Click on the Loom branch of in the Setup Data Manager. The branch ex-
pands.
2 Expand the branch on which you want to add the sensor.
Setup
Loom branch expanded
3 Choose View • Setup Organiser or click Toggle Setup Organiser on the

Managers toolbar. The Setup Organiser dialog box appears.
Setup Organiser dialog box
4 Locate the folder containing the sensor you want to add.

5 Click on the sensor and drag it to the required connector on the expanded
loom. (See next two paragraphs for left drag or right drag options.)
Setup 113
If the connector is free (i.e. there isn’t a sensor on the connector already) left drag the
sensor from the library to the connector. (Left drag means select the sensor by pressing
and holding the left mouse button.)
If the connector is occupied then right drag the sensor onto the connector. This will reveal
a dialog box with the following options:
Replace and Cancel are self explanatory.
Re-Calibrate only works if the sensor is exactly the same type. It must have the same
number of outputs and they must have the same units.
Defining the output channel name(s):

1 Once you have attached the pre-defined sensor the Sensor Properties dialog
box appears. Type in the channel name.
Sensor Properties dialog box with Channel Info tab selected

Sensor Colour Coding
You can only attach a sensor which fits on that connector. For example a Beacon Sensor
will not work correctly on an analogue input. To help spot which sensors are compatible
with which connectors there is a colour coding scheme. It is possible to modify the colour
coding scheme but this should be left to Pi Research. There are three factors governing
the type of connector – how many inputs the connector has, what order this inputs are in,
and what quantity the inputs are.
To view the key to connector:

1 Click on + Loom in the Setup Data Manager. The branch expands.
2 Right click a connector. A pop-up menu appears.
3 Select Connector Properties…. The Connector Properties dialog box ap-
pears.
Setup
Connector Properties dialog box with Key tab selected
4 Click on the Key tab. The Key to Connectors window appears.
Setup 115
Typically, you will only see the following colours:
Colour Connector type
Blue Standard Analogue input (voltage)

Green Wheelspeed Input (time, user type)
Light Blue Three Analogue input connector (voltage, voltage, voltage)
The light blue connector will be present if you have a dedicated three axis accelerometer
connector.

Adding a new Sensor
1 Select the connector you want to add your new sensor to.
2 Right click and select Attach Sensor… from the pop-up menu. The Attach
Sensor dialog box appears.
3 Select Full Generic sensor. The Full Generic Sensor dialog box appears.
Information tab
1 Fill in the Information page.
If calibrations vary between different sensors of the same type, put the serial number of the
sensor as well as the name, for example :
Setup
Full Generic Sensor Properties box with Information tab selected
This will mean you can store the exact calibration for this sensor in the Library for re-use.
Setup 117
Application link
Adding a channel in this page will create a channel with the same units as the input with
a 1:1 calibration. It is usually used for satisfying sinks (a sink is a requirement that an ap-
plication has on the box.) It is not often used.
Variables tab
The variables page contains two sections. The top part is the raw connections and you can
only change the units. The quantity is fixed, the units you select are the actual units you
use in your calibration. So if you select milli-volts instead of volts the number you will use
in your calibration is 1000 times bigger.
The bottom section allows you to use other channels as part of your calibration. For exam-
ple, if you had a temperature sensor mounted next to a pressure sensor you might use the
temperature channel to compensate for any changes in the pressure calibration.
Full Generic Sensor Properties box with Variables tab selected

Calibration tab
Setup
Full Generic Sensor Properties box with Calibration tab selected
Enter your output channel name in the Channel text box in the Calibrated Channels section
of the properties box. You can have more than one output channel per math channel. The
calibration for each output channel is entered in the lower half of this tab.
The value of the Raw Input is displayed in the Raw Input section of the properties box. It
takes its scalings from the Global Channels Database (GCDB).
If you have more than one output channel, the equation section changes according to which
channel you have highlighted.
Please see the Writing a Math channel section for a description of entering an equation
and making a 1D look up table.
Setup 119
Zeroing sensors
This section gives information on zeroing sensors. In certain conditions you may find it is
useful to force a sensor calibration to zero when the sensor reaches a particular measure-
ment; for example, to set the static ride height of a damper.
Applying Offsets
Zeroing a sensor applies an offset to a channel. The Pi Sigma system on the car must be
powered up and connected to Pi Server.
To zero a sensor:
1 Right click on your setup in the Setup Data Manager and choose
Zero Sensors from the pop-up menu. The Zero Sensor dialog box appears.
Zero Sensor dialog box

2 Click the List or Groups tab and select a channel in List or Group and drag it
into the text box of the Zero Sensor dialog box.
To view all channels click at the bottom of the Zero Sensor dialog box.
To select a sequential block of channels, select your first channel, hold down (Shift) and
select your last channel. To cancel the selection, release (Shift) and select any channel.
To select a discontinuous block of channels, hold down (Ctrl) and select each channel. To
cancel the selection, select the channel once again.
To help find channels in the list type the first letter of the channel name. Only channels
starting with that letter will then be listed. To reduce the list even further, type the second
letter in the channel name and so on until only the channel you want is listed. To return to
the complete list of channels use the backspace key to cancel each letter typed.
3 Click Offset to Target. All channels in the text box will be zeroed.
Trget refers to the Target value that is entered for a channel in the Global Channels Da-
Setup
tabase.
Target value for channel FL Damper
Global Channels Database showing Target value for channel FL Damper
4 Click Close.
Setup 121
You can change the target value in the zero sensor dialog box.
To change the target value in the zero sensor dialog box:

1 Right click on a channel that you have dragged into the text box of the Zero
Sensor dialog box.
2 Click which appears. The Set target Value dialog box
appears.
Set Target Value dialog box
3 Enter a new Target value. Click OK.
Example of zeroing a sensor

An example of zeroing a sensor is shown in the section of a Zero Sensor dialog box
below. The FL Damper in the text area has a physical range of 0–75mm. Its current
static physical value is 37mm. The current Offset is –22, giving a calibrated value of 15.
A Target value of 25 is shown.
If Offset to Target is clicked, the Offset will change to –12 (25 – 37 = –12).
If Remove Offset is clicked the Value would be 37 (which is the actual physical value) and
the Offset would be 0.

Section of a Zero Sensor dialog box showing example of Zeroing a sensor
Setup
To remove an offset:
1 Right click on your setup in the Setup Data Manager and choose
Zero Sensors from the pop-up menu. The Zero Sensor dialog box appears.
2 Use the List or Groups tab and select a channel in List or Group and drag it
into the text box of the Zero Sensor dialog box.
Note: Channels may already be shown in the text box. Delete channels from the text box
that you do not want to remove the offsets from.
3 Click Remove Offset. All the channels in the text box will have the offsets
removed.
4 Click Close.
Setup 123
You can view a log the sensors that you have applied offsets to i this session.
To view the offset log:

1 Click View Log. The View Offset Log dialog box appears.
View Offset Log dialog box
2 Click Close to close the View Offset Log dialog box.

Setting up a Wheelspeed
The following section outlines the method required to setup a Wheelspeed Sensor with a
Pi Sigma System.
Tell the MCU that you

want to measure Speed
When a sensor is plugged into a loom, the MCU needs to know where the sensor will be
powered from and where it can expect the signal to come from. This means that you need
to configure the Pi Sigma System.
Setup
To configure a Wheelspeed:
1 Double click on Sigma Configuration in the Setup Data Manager Apps
branch. The Sigma Configuration window appears
2 Double click on MCU. The branch expands.

3 Right-click on the Digital card. Select Properties… from the pop-up menu.
The Embedded IO Card Properties dialog box appears
Setup 125
Embedded IO Card properties dialog box with Group 2 tab selected
Once you are in the properties of the digital card, you should go to the group and chan-
nel of the wheelspeed sensor (easily identified from the loom drawing) and set the digital
channel to be a Speed channel.
4 Set the Excitation volts, Threshold and Hysteresis options.
The values shown are those that have been successfully used for active wheelspeed sen-
sors. See below for values for passive wheelspeed sensors.
Note: The Excitation On has been set to Always as wheelspeed sensors are relatively
low current sensors and it is important that they are activated when the car is not logging
so that they will detect movement.
Passive wheelspeed sensors

Passive wheelspeed sensors should work with the settings below:
n Excitation always ON
n Excitation Voltage 3.0V
n Threshold 73%
n Hysteresis 5%

However, some may work correctly at high speeds but will not work at low speeds. If you
experience this problem with a passive wheelspeed sensor then you can increase the
threshold setting in small steps up to 80%.
5 Click on Calculator… and check that the settings used are acceptable.
Calculator dialog box
Setup
The input settings displayed on the Calculator dialog box above are taken from the previous
figure (but can be edited in this screen).
Assuming values are entered by the user:

1 Enter Tyre diameter and Pulses per revolution. These values should repli-
cate the values that will be entered in the Wheel Setup. (See Wheel Setup in
the Miscellaneous Application section.
2 The Expected max. speed is an estimation of the car top speed, providing a
resolution at this top speed.
The most important information provided here is the minimum speed that can be measured.
In the above example, 12.8 m.p.h. would be acceptable for a car travelling at up to 200
m.p.h. However, if only one pulse per revolution is used, this value would be 128 m.p.h.,
which would clearly be unacceptable. Therefore, a slower clock rate should be used to
decrease the minimum measured speed.
Having accepted and saved these properties, the system is setup to receive a wheelspeed
input on the MCU, Digital IO Card, Group 2, Input A. This should agree with the loom
that you have purchased.
Setup 127
Setting up the Loom to
receive the Sensor
Before a sensor can be dragged onto the loom, a connector must be attached incorporating
the inputs created from the configuration.
Unlock the loom:

1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch right click on Loom and then on Un-
lock Loom.
Once the loom is unlocked you should navigate to the sub loom you want the connector
to be attached.
To create a new sub loom if required:

1 Right click on section of loom you want new section to be attached to and
select Attach Connector…
A useful hint is to try to create an electronic version of the physical loom to aid software-
hardware compatibility. As the wheelspeeds are essential channels, it is common practice
to include them in a sub loom called Core System Channels so that they are not easily
deleted.
2 Having created this sub loom, right click on it and select Attach Connector…
The Attach Connector Wizard appears.
Attach Connector Wizard
3 Click Sensor… and select the appropriate wheelspeed sensor template from
the list.

The example uses FL Wheelspeed sensor.
Attach connector dialog box
4 Click OK.
5 Click Next. The Summary dialog box appears.
Setup
Summary dialog box
6 Enter a connector name associated with the sensor to be connected. The com-
ment is optional, but is useful for reference purposes.
7 Select Next. The Edit dialog box appears.
8 Select the inputs to be used for the wheelspeed channels.
The digital I/O card on the Logger has 9 inputs, however only 4 are suitable for wheel
speeds (Groups 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B). The inputs shown are those that are both suitable
for the required type of input and available (i.e. set up in the Sigma Configuration and not
used elsewhere on the loom). The list shown is from a system that has an MCU, Logger
card and a digital card.
Setup 129
The digital inputs are labelled Digital 0.02.00.16 through to Digital 8.02.00.40. The name
describes the type of input (e.g. Digital). The first number defines the input number, the
table below shows how the Input Name references the channel name in Pi Workshop.
Input Name Pi Workshop Channel Name
Digital 0.02.00.16 Digital 1A

Digital 1.02.00.20 Digital 1B
Digital 8.02.00.40 Digital 4C
The second number is the node that the card is on (02 is MCU, 05 is SCU), the third number
is the slot (0 is the embedded digital) and the final number is specific to that port.
Note that input Digital 8.02.00.40 (Digital 4C) cannot be configured in Pi Workshop. It can
only be used as a low speed digital input, such as a switch.
Having made Digital 2B a speed input, the system has provided the additional port Digital 3
Count.02.00.30. This is a counter that will count each pulse and is used for measuring
distance. The standard Digital input will measure the time between pulses.
To calculate distance and speed the Wheel speed sensor has two inputs. One counts the
number of pulses received denoted by a u and the other calculates the time between pulses
shown with a ∆t. With this information, together with the number of triggers on the wheel
and the diameter of each wheel, the Logger can calculate speed and distance. In the Edit
dialog box simply double click where prompted and select from the list of inputs available
(See Example below for a step by step guide).
Example
Providing Digital 2B has been configured to be a speed input the channel names Digital
3.02.00.28 and Digital 3 Count.02.00.30 should be in the Global Channel Database.

In the Edit dialog box:
1 Double click on ∆t and select Digital 3.02.00.28 from the list. Click OK.
2 Double click on u and select Digital 3 Count.02.00.30 from the lit. Click OK.
Edit dialog box
Setup
Once both the ports have been selected the Edit dialog box appears as shown in the figure
below.
Edit dialog box showing selected ports
3 Click Finish. The connector labelled FL Wheelspeed Connector will be added

to the loom.
This connector will be associated with a Wheelspeed Sensor and will therefore only allow
a Wheelspeed sensor to be attached to it. So the next step is to add a wheelspeed sensor
from the Setup Organiser.
Setup 131
Attaching a Sensor to
the Port
The final stage is to attach a sensor to the connector. This will provide a sensor that the
system can use to provide speeds and distances. Pi Workshop uses the drag and drop
principle to attach sensors.
1 Click the Toggle Setup Organiser icon as shown below.
The Setup Organiser window appears.

2 From the read only list of _Sensors (in grey folder) drag a Wheelspeed Sensor
onto the Wheelspeed connector on the loom.
In the example the FL Wheelspeed is used. The mouse pointer will change to an arrow with
a small + sign if the sensor is compatible with the connector. If the sensor is not compatible
the pointer will be a . See the figure below.

Once the sensor has been successfully dropped onto the connector the following screen
will appear.
The Sensor Name should be changed to match the type of sensor that you want this to be,
e.g. Wheelspeed sensor. You can then add a longer comment to describe specifics of the
Setup
sensor, such as sensor excitation, part numbers etc.
In total there are six wheelspeed sink channels, meaning that the logger can use them for
calculations. Not all the channels are required, however at least one of the front wheel-
speed channels must be configured so that the logger can calculate distance and determine
whether the car is moving. The sinks are named SpeedRaw with the prefix FL, FR, RL or
RR and DistRaw with the prefix FL or FR.
The DistRaw channels are used to measure distance from the front wheels. Distance is
not measured for the rear wheels, so there is no RL or RR prefix for DistRaw. However,
a useful way to check wheelspeed functionality without running the car is to create two
channels called RLDistRaw and RRDistRaw to count the pulses on the rear wheels. As
the box does not need these channels, they will work like a normal sensor in that they must
be used (e.g. logged) before they can be watched with a Watch manager.
When the wheelspeed sensors are added the associated sink channels are attached to the
loom. For instance, if a FL Wheelspeed Sensor is added, the channel FLSpeedRaw and
FLDistRaw will be added to the loom.
3 Finally click OK. The sensor and channels are added to the setup.
This process will need to be repeated for each wheelspeed sensor on the car.
Setup 133
The loom should now include the front left wheelspeed channels as shown below.
The Logger uses the channel FLSpeedRaw and the diameter of the Front Left wheel (see
Wheel Setup in the Miscellaneous Application section) to calculate the channel FLSpeed,
which is the actual speed of the Front Left wheel.

Setting up a Beacon
The following section outlines the method required to set up a Beacon with a Pi Sigma
System. If your loom has already been setup please turn to Attaching a Beacon sensor to
the port.

want a Beacon input
When a component is plugged into a loom, the MCU needs to know where the component
will be powered from and where it can expect the signal to come from. This means that you
need to configure your Pi Sigma System.
Setup
To configure the Pi Sigma System for a beacon input:
2 Expand the tree to reveal the Digital card.

3 Right click on Digital and select Properties… The Embedded IO card dialog
box appears.
Setup 135
4 Click the tab for the Group and channel of the Beacon (it is normal to use
Group 3A).
5 Select Split Beacon in the relevant Channel Function: box
6 Set the Excitation to 12.0 Volts.
7 Select the Excitation On option to Always.
The next figure shows the setup. This shows digital port 3A (Digital number 4) prepared to
receive a Beacon pulse.
Embedded IO Card properties box

Setting up the loom to
receive the Beacon
Before a sensor can be dragged onto the loom, the ports created from the configuration
must be attached to the electronic loom.
The first step is to unlock the Loom.
To unlock the Loom:

1 In the Apps branch of the Setup Data Manager right click on Loom. De-select
Unlock Loom.
Once the loom is unlocked, navigate to the section of the loom you want the sensor to be
attached to. As the Beacon is an essential channel, it is common practice to include it as
part of a large connector called Core System Channels so that it is not easily deleted.
Setup
If Core System Channels connector does not exist in the loom:
1 Right click on the section of the loom where you wish to position the beacon.
2 Select the Attach Connector… The Attach Connector wizard appears.
3 Name the loom Core System Channels.
hardware compatibility.
Setup 137
To attach the connector to the loom:
1 Right click on Core System Channels and select Attach Connector… The
Attach Connector wizard appears.
Attach Connector wizard
2 Click Sensor… The Select a Template Sensor window appears.
Select a Template Sensor window
3 Select Beacon from the list displayed and click OK.

This will use the beacon sensor as a template for this new connector.
4 Click Next. The Summary dialog box appears.

Summary dialog box
5 Enter a name for the new connector, such as Beacon and any comment you
wish to be associated with the connector.
6 Click Next>. The Edit dialog box appears.
Setup
The ports shown in the Edit dialog box are those required by the template sensor. The Edit
dialog box below shows that a beacon sensor needs only a single user type input, denoted
by the u suffix.
Edit dialog box
7 Double click on the entry and the list of available ports will be displayed.
Note: Because the connector is based on a beacon sensor, the list of ports only contains
compatible inputs, i.e. Digital inputs. If ports have already been attached elsewhere in
the loom they will not show on this list.
8 Click OK.
The selected port will be used as the beacon input once the sensor is attached.
Setup 139
Attaching a Beacon
Sensor to the Port
The final stage is to attach a Beacon Sensor to the port. This will provide a sensor that the
system can use to provide Beacon information. This is done by dragging a beacon sensor
from the default _Sensors library onto the new beacon connector in the loom.
1 Click the Setup Organiser icon on the Managers Toolbar.
The Setup Organiser window appears

2 Expand the _Sensor folder, and drag the Beacon sensor from the list onto the
new connector named Beacon.
After dragging the sensor onto the connector the Beacon information window appears.
3 Change the name of the sensor if you wish, although the default name, Bea-
con is probably suitable. You can also add a longer comment to describe
specifics of the sensor, such as sensor excitation, part numbers etc.
4 Click OK.
The sensor will be installed into the loom giving the loom the following structure.
BeaconRaw is a sink channel and is automatically assigned to the Beacon sensor.

Setting up a Fuel Input
The following section outlines the method required to setup the Fuel channels with a
Pi Sigma System. Fuel channels often come from an ECU, however, if you use a fuel flow
meter refer to the section Setting up a Fuel Flow Meter.
Tell the MCU which

channel measures Fuel
Used
When Pi Sigma has a channel that increments as fuel is used, it can provide the user with
a number of channels which are coded into the logger code. These are channels such as
Setup
LapFuelEconomy, RaceFuelEconomy, Fuel Used, TankFuel and RaceFuel.
To enable all of these channels to operate, the system must satisfy the sink FuelCount.
When it has a value of FuelCount, it will automatically provide all of the other channels. As
such, FuelCount is a Core System Channel.
Because the FuelCount channel is a Core System Channel and generated using a maths
channel, Pi recommend that it is incorporated in a Maths Channel Folder named Pi Internal
on the Core System Channels branch of the Loom in the Setup Data Manager.
To create a FuelCount channel:

1 Select the Setup Data Manager and click the + icon on Loom folder. The
folder expands.
2 Click the + icon on Core System Channels icon. The folder expands.
3 Right click on the Pi Internal folder and select the Attach Math Channel…
option. The Attach Maths Channel dialog box appears.
Setup 141
Attach Maths Channel dialog box
4 Double click on Single Math Channel (Equation). The Single Math Channel
(Equation) dialog box appears.
Single Math Channel (Equation) dialog box with Channel Info tab selected
5 Click the Channel Info tab. Name the channel FuelCount.

The name FuelCount should then be recognised by Pi Workshop, whereupon it will be au-
tomatically underlined and the Quantity should change to reflect the settings of the channel.
If this doesn’t happen, it’s probably because your PC hasn’t been connected to a car so it
doesn’t have any FSR information. This will not cause any problems, just ensure that the
quantity is volume and the data type is an F32. The units can be any unit of volume, just
check that they are correct for the calibration. For example, if the Fuel channel increments
for every 0.1 litres then the units must be in litres.
6 Click the Information tab.

In the Information page you can change the name of the maths channel to something which
reflects its functionality. You can then add a longer comment to describe specifics of the
sensor, such as the channels that it will provide the user etc.
7 Click the Variables tab.
This is where the inputs to the maths channels are added and displayed. Because you are
using a Single Maths Channel you only need to add one input variable.
Setup
Single Math Channel (Equation) dialog box with Variables tab selected
8 Click Add. The Variable Properties dialog box appears.
Setup 143
Variable Properties dialog box
9 Name the variable. In the above example the variable has been named fuel.
This is how it will appear in the calibration section of the math’s channel.
10 Select the channel which increments as fuel is used e.g. Fuel Used from the
list in the Input Channel text box. This is the input variable.
This channel may be from an ECU or could easily be from a digital fuel flow meter. Refer to
the section Setting up a Fuel Flow Meter for information on setting up a fuel flow meter.
11 In the Description section of the dialog box enter your own description for the
channel.
Once the input has been specified, the calibration needs to be applied.
12 Click the Transfer Function tab and enter the calibration in the space
available.

The example below has the calibration:
FuelCount = fuel
10
Where fuel is an alias name for the input fuel channel. This may be generated by the ECU
and in this case represents each 0.1 litre used by the engine. i.e., if fuel = 10, the engine
has used 1 litre. FuelCount is the output channel name with litres as the units.
The Variables… and Operators… buttons may be used to select from a list of inputs and
maths operators respectively.
13 Click Check to test whether the equation is valid.
Setup
Single Math Channel (Equation) dialog box with Variables tab selected
Because the Fuel information is needed on the dash, the output FuelCount needs to be
generated on the MCU.
14 Click the Fixed option in the Rate section of the dialog box and select a rate
at which the channel is calculated in the MCU.
For example, if 5Hz is selected the channel will be calculated 5 times per second.
Setup 145
If the channel is configured as a Fixed Rate channel, then it is generated on the MCU at
the rate specified.
If the Key Variable option is selected, the channel is generated by the PC either on of-
fload, or over telemetry. The channel is then generated at the rate of the Variable you have
chosen.
15 Click OK. All of the Pi Workshop fuel channels will function.
These include:
Pi Workshop channel name Channel function
FuelUsed Total amount of fuel used

LapFuelEconomy Fuel economy for the last lap
LapFuelUsed Fuel used on each lap
FuelDifference Difference between the expected fuel use and the
actual fuel use
RaceFuel Volume of fuel currently in the race
RaceFuelEconomy Fuel economy since last fuel reset
TankFuel Volume of fuel currently in the fuel tank

Setting up a Fuel Flow Meter
The following section outlines the method required to set up a Fuel Flow input with a
Pi Sigma System using the output from a fuel flow meter instead of an ECU.

want to measure Fuel
Flow
When a sensor is plugged into a loom, the MCU needs to know where the sensor will be
powered from and where it can expect the signal to come from. This means that you need
to configure the Pi Sigma System.
Setup
To configure the MCU:
figuration. The Sigma Configuration dialog box appears.
2 Navigate to the Digital card on the MCU that you are plugging the fuel flow
meter into.
Setup 147
3 Expand the tree to reveal the Digital card.
4 Right click on the Digital card. Select Properties… The Embedded IO Card
properties dialog box appears.
5 Click the tab for the group and channel of the fuel flow sensor you are going to
setup (easily identified from the loom drawing). Set the digital to be a Speed.
6 Set the excitation voltage, threshold and hysteresis values. Click OK.
The values shown in the following figure have been successfully used during testing.
Embedded IO Card properties dialog box with Group 1 tab selected
Having accepted and saved these properties, the system has been setup to receive a
Fuel Flow input on the MCU, Digital IO Card, Group 1, Input A. This should agree with the
loom that you have.

receive the Fuel Flow
Sensor
Before a sensor can be dragged onto the loom, a connector must be attached incorporating
the inputs created from the configuration.
The first step is to ensure that the Loom is unlocked.
To unlock the Loom:

1 Right click on the Loom icon. De-select Lock Loom.
2 Once the loom is unlocked navigate to the sub loom you want the connector
to be attached.
Setup
Create a new sub loom if required.
To create a new sub Loom:

select Attach Connector…
hardware compatibility. Since Fuel Flow sensors are popular digital channels, it has be-
come common practice to include them in a sub loom called Core System Channels so
that they are not easily deleted.
Setup 149
Having created this sub loom you must attach a connector to it.
To attach a Connector:
1 Right click on the sub loom and elect Attach Connector… The Attach Con-
nector Wizard appears.
Attach Connector Wizard
2 Click Sensor… and select a FL Wheelspeed sensor template from the list. This
sensor template can be used a it operates with a similar principle to a fuel flow
meter.
Select a Template Sensor list

3 Click OK.
4 Click Next>. Enter a connector name associated with the sensor to be con-
nected. The comment is optional, but is very handy for reference purposes.
Setup
Attach Connector Summary dialog box
5 Click Next>. The Edit Dialog box appears.
Attach Connector Edit dialog box
Setup 151
To complete the setup follow the Example below.
MCU digital IO card

The MCU digital IO card on the MCU has 9 inputs, however only 5 are suitable for fuel flow
meters (Groups 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, and 3B). The inputs shown are those that are both
suitable for the required type of input and available (i.e. set up in the Sigma Configuration
and not used elsewhere on the loom). The list shown in the next table is from a system that
has an MCU, Logger card and a digital card.
The digital inputs are labelled Digital 0.02.00.16 through to Digital 8.02.00.40. The
Input Name describes the type of input (e.g. Digital). The first number defines the input
number, the table below shows how the Input Name references the channel name in
Pi Workshop.

Note that input Digital 8.02.00.40 cannot be configured in Pi Workshop, it can only be used
as a low speed digital input, such as a switch.
Having made Digital 1A a fuel flow input, the system has provided the additional port Digital
0 Count.02.00.16. This is a counter that will count each pulse and is used for measuring
fuel count. The standard Digital input will measure the time between pulses.

To calculate flow the Fuel Flow meter has two inputs. One counts the number of pulses
received denoted by a u and the other calculates the time between pulses shown with a ∆t.
With this information, the Logger can calculate the fuel flow (typically in Gallons or lbs.). In
the Edit dialogue box simply double click where prompted and select from the list of inputs
available. (See Example below for a step by step guide.)
Example
Providing Digital 1A has been configured to be a fuel flow input the channel names Dig-
ital 0.02.00.16 and Digital 0 Count.02.00.18 should be in the Global Channel Database.
In the Attach Connector Edit dialog box:

1 Double click on the ∆t and select Digital 0.02.00.16 from the list. Click OK.
2 Double click on the u and select Digital 0 Count.02.00.18 from the list.
Click OK.
Setup
If the channel is hidden in the Channel Database it will be necessary to select the Show
Hidden Ports option.
Attach Connector Edit dialog box before digital channels have been selected
Setup 153
When both the ports have been selected the Edit dialog box will appear as shown below.
Attach Connector Edit dialog box after digital channels have been selected
3 Click Finish. The connector labelled Fuel Meter will be added to the Loom.
This connector will be associated with a Fuel Flow sensor and will therefore only allow a
Fuel Flow sensor to be attached to it. The next step is to add a Fuel Flow sensor from the
Setup Organiser.

Attaching a Sensor to
the Fuel Flow Port
The final stage is to attach a sensor to the connector. Pi Workshop uses the drag and drop
principle to attach sensors.
To attach a sensor to the connector:

1 In the Setup Data Manager right click on the Flow Meter connector. Select
Attach Sensor… from the pop-up menu. The Attach Sensor dialog box
appears with a list of compatible sensors.
Setup
Attach Sensor dialog box
2 Drag a Full Generic Sensor on to the Flow Meter connector on the loom.
The mouse pointer will change to an arrow with a small + sign if the sensor is compatible
with the connector. If the sensor is not compatible the pointer will be a .
Once the sensor has been successfully dropped onto the connector the properties dialog
box appears.
Setup 155
Full Generic Sensor properties Information page
3 Name the sensor. The name should match the type of sensor that you want
this to be, e.g. Fuel Flow Meter.
You can then add a longer comment to describe specifics of the sensor, such as sensor
excitation, part numbers etc.
4 Click the Variables tab. The Variables page appears.
Two variables will appear on the Variables page of the sensor setup. Variable x is based
on the time between pulses, while variable x1 is based on the pulse count.

Setup
Full Generic Sensor properties Variables page
5 Enter a Description for each variable.

Fuel Flow Meters often have a specific calibration based on an Average K Factor and the
density of the fuel used.
6 Click the Calibrations tab. The Calibrations page appears.
7 To enter an equation calibration select the Equation option.
Enter the equation in the Calibration text area.
You can directly type in the equation or click the Variables or Operators button and select
from the lists displayed.
9 Click Check to check that the equation has no errors.
Setup 157
The Properties Calibrations page below shows the calibration for a typical fuel flow meter
used with Race Gasoline.
Full Generic Sensor Properties Calibrations page

The Channel Name Fuel Used will provide the amount of fuel used (total Gallons or Lbs
or litres). The calibration shown can be broken down as follows :
(X1/7640.14)/6.324
Where :
X1 is the number of pulses from the flow meter
7640.14 is the Average K Factor taken from the Flow Meter Calibration
Sheet (Pulses/Lb)
6.324 is the density of the gasoline used in the meter calibration (Gal/Lb)
Fuel Used is the output (Gals) (or litres if the calibration is in litres).
10 Finally click OK. The fuel flow meter sensor and channels will be added to the
setup.
This process will need to be repeated for each fuel flow sensor on the car.
If the Flow Rate (Lbs/hr; Gal/Min) is desired, create a math channel that takes the deriva-
Setup
tive of the flow.
To use logger coded channels such as LapFuelEconomy, RaceFuelEconomy, Fuel Used,

TankFuel and RaceFuel the system must satisfy the sink FuelCount. When the system
has a value of FuelCount, it will automatically provide all of the other channels. As such,
FuelCount is a Core System Channel.
Refer to the previous section Setting up a Fuel Input for information how to sink the channel
Fuel Used to the Core Systems Channel FuelCount.
Setup 159
Setting up a Serial Stream
The following section outlines the method required to setup a serial stream with a Pi Sigma
System.
Tell the MCU what

Stream you want
1 In the Apps branch of the Setup Data Manager double click on the ECU Setup
icon. The ECU Setup dialog box appears.
The ECU Setup dialog box
This ECU Setup dialog box will list up to three serial steams.

2 To add a new stream click Add… The Open window appears.
Open window
3 Navigate around your network and select the required *.str file. The stream
Setup
appears in the ECU Setup dialog box.
ECU Setup dialog box with a serial stream selected
Alternately, the stream can be dragged onto the ECU Setup dialog box from a library in
the Setup Organiser.
4 Click Save. The stream is now in the setup.
The system does not know where to expect this stream to come from. Therefore you must
go into Sigma Configuration to specify into which serial port the stream is arriving.
Setup 161
Setting up the Serial
Stream input
You must go into Sigma Configuration to specify into which serial port the stream is ar-
riving.
1 In the Apps branch of the Setup Data Manager double click on Sigma Con-
figuration. The Sigma Configuration dialog box appears.
2 Right click on Logger.

3 Select Serial Setup from the pop-up menu. The Serial Setup dialog box ap-
pears.
Serial Setup dialog box
Setup
4 Click the tab for the port that the stream is connected to (stated in the loom
diagram) and select the stream. The figure in brackets is the Baud Rate.
Once this is selected, the serial port must be setup to receive the stream.
5 Configure the port using the Baud Rate, Stop Bits Data Length and Parity
text boxes.
Stop Bits, Data Length and Parity should be set to those stated in the serial stream speci-
fication (the default values of 1, 8 and None are normally correct). The Baud Rate must be
set to the correct value.
6 Click OK. The Serial Setup dialog box closes.
7 Click Save. The Sigma Configuration dialog box closes. The configuration and
the serial stream are entered in the setup.
Setup 163
Setting up GearNumber
The following section outlines the method required to setup the GearNumber channel with
a Pi Sigma System
Tell the MCU which

Channel measures Gear
Pi Sigma needs to know what channel measures Gear so that it can use this channel to
display GearNumber on the dash and also to facilitate the use of the shift lights which are
gear dependant.
This is a typical case of using a sink channel. Some engine manufacturers may call the
channel Gear, others Gang or Gear Position. Therefore you need to input whatever chan-
nel measures the Gear position, and output a channel GearNumber which Pi Sigma is
expecting.
If the channel given is in terms of a position, such as mm or degrees then it is recom-

mended that you use a Single Math Channel with a sample and hold table calibration.
However if the Gear channel from the ECU is already the correct gear number, then it is
more suited to a Single Math Channel with a unity equation calibration.
If the gear position is measured using a potentiometer and the voltage is connected directly
to the Pi Sigma system then the calibration is done when the sensor is set up on the loom
in Pi Workshop and a Math Channel is not required.

Calibrating GearNumber
from an ECU Channel
Because the GearNumber channel is a Core Systems Channel and generated using a
maths channel, Pi recommend that it is incorporated in a Maths Channel Folder named Pi
Internal on the Core System Channels branch of the Loom.
To create a GearNumber channel:

1 Select the Setup Data Manager and click the + icon on Loom folder. The
folder expands.
2 Click the + icon on Core System Channels icon. The folder expands.
Setup
3 Right click on the Pi Internal folder ad select Attach Math Channel… The
Attach Maths Channel dialog box appears.
4 Select Singe Math Channel (Equation). The Gear Number Maths Channel
dialog box appears.
Setup 165
Maths Channel dialog box with Channel Info tab selected
5 Click the Channel Info tab, and name the channel GearNumber. This is the
output channel.
The name should be recognised by Pi Workshop, whereupon it will be automatically un-
derlined and the Quantity, Units and Data Type should change to reflect the settings of the
channel. If this doesn’t happen, it’s probably because the PC hasn’t been connected to the
Car so it doesn’t have any FSR information. This will not cause any problems, just ensure
that the quantity is User Type and the data type is an S32. The unit box will be greyed out
because the channel has a User Type quantity.
6 Click the Information tab and change the name of the maths channel to some-
thing which reflects its functionality.
You can also add a longer comment to describe specifics of the sensor, such as the chan-
nels that it will provide the user etc.

7 Click the Variables tab.
Setup
Maths Channel dialog box with Variables tab selected
using a Single Maths Channel you only need to add ne input variable.
8 Click Add… The Variable Properties dialog box appears.
Setup 167
Variable Properties box
9 Name the variable. e.g. gear.

This is how it will appear in the calibration section of the math channel.
10 Select a channel from the list in the Input Channel section of the dialog box.
In the above figure the ECU channel GBoxPos has been selected as the input variable. The
quantity has automatically been set to user type because the channel name GboxPos was
recognized by Pi Workshop. The unit box is empty because the quantity is user type.
11 Enter you own description of the input variable.

To apply the calibration:

1 Select the Transfer Function tab.
2 Enter the calibration in the Equation for text area.
Setup
Maths Channel dialog box with Transfer Function tab selected
If the channel from the ECU is already the correct gear number then the calibration should
be unity.
3 Use the Variables… and Operators… buttons to select from a list of inputs
and maths operators respectively.
4 Click Check… to check that the equation is valid.
If the channel is configured as a Fixed Rate channel, it is generated in the MCU at the
rate specified. If the Key Variable option is selected, the channel is generated by the PC
either on offload, or over telemetry. The channel is then generated at the rate of the Vari-
able you have chosen.
Setup 169
Because the Gear Number information is needed on the dash, the output, GearNumber
needs to be generated on the MCU.
5 Click the Fixed option and select 100Hz. The channel will be calculated 100
times per second.
If the gear channel is a position such as barrel position given by the ECU then the easiest
way to calibrate the GearNumber channel is to use a Single Math Channel with a sample
and hold table calibration.
To do this follow that same steps as above for the Equation calibration except the Transfer
Function and variable section of the setup are on the Transfer Function tab as shown
below:
Single Math Channel dialog box with Transfer Function selected
1 Select an Input Channel from the list in the Input Channel text box.
The example above uses the channel GboxPos which is measured in degrees. The table
should display both the names of the Input and Output channels.
2 Enter the gear position value that corresponds to each gear number.
Remember that the gear number will be held until the next threshold is reached. For ex-
ample, in the above table a GboxPos of 0.0 -11.99 degrees will be equal to GearNumber
0 (i.e. neutral) and a GboxPos of 12.0 - 23.99 will be GearNumber 1 (i.e. 1st).

Calibrating GearNumber
from a direct input via a
Sensor
If the gear position is measured using a potentiometer and is connected directly to the Pi
Sigma system then the calibration is done in the sensor setup on the loom in Pi Workshop
and a Math Channel is not required.
Create a sensor on the loom which accepts a suitable input from the gear position sensor
and create an output channel named GearPosition.
For more information see the section Attaching a sensor.
Setup
Setup 171
Setting up EngineSpeed
The following section outlines the method required to set up the EngineSpeed channel
with a Pi Sigma System.
Tell the MCU which

channel measures
engine RPM
When Pi Sigma has a channel that it recognises as RPM it will use this channel to start
and stop logging and to operate display shift lights. To enable these channels to operate,
the system must satisfy the sink EngineSpeed.
Because the EngineSpeed channel is a Core System Channel and generated using a maths
channel, Pi recommend that it is incorporated in a Maths Channel Folder named Pi Internal
on the Core System Channels branch of the Loom in the Setup Data Manager.
To create an EngineSpeed channel:

1 In the Setup Data Manager click n Loom. The folder expands.
2 Click Core System Channels. The folder expands.
3 Right click on the Pi Internal folder and select the Attach Math Channel…
from the pop-up menu. The Attach Maths Channel dialog box appears.

4 Double click on Single Math Channel (Equation). The Single Math Channel
(Equation) dialog box appears.
Setup
Single Math Channel (Equation) dialog box with Channel Info page selected
5 Click the Channel Info tab. Name the channel EngineSpeed.

The name EngineSpeed should then be recognised by Pi Workshop, whereupon it will be
automatically underlined and the Quantity will change to reflect the settings of the chan-
nel.
6 Click the Information tab.
In the Information page you can change the name of the maths channel to something which
reflects its functionality. You can then add a longer comment to describe specifics of the
sensor, such as the channels that it will provide the user etc.
Setup 173
Single Math Channel (Equation) dialog box with Information page selected
7 Click to the Variables tab.

using a Single Maths Channel you only need to add one input variable.
Single Math Channel (Equation) dialog box with Variables page selected
8 Click the Add button. The Variable Properties dialog box appears.

Setup
9 Name the variable.

In the above example the variable has been named rpm. This is how it will appear in the
calibration section of the math’s channel.
10 Select the channel which represents the engine speed e.g. RPM from the list
in the Input Channel text box. This is the input variable.
This channel may be from an ECU or could be from a digital channel.
11 In the Description section of the dialog box enter your own description for the
channel.
12 Click the Transfer Function tab and enter the calibration in the space avail-
able. The example below has the calibration:
EngineSpeed = rpm
Where rpm is an alias name for the input RPM channel.
Setup 175
13 Use the Variables… and Operators… buttons to select from a list of inputs
and maths operators respectively.
14 Click Check to test whether the equation is valid.
Single Math Channel (Equation) dialog box with Variables page selected
Because the RPM information is needed on the dash, the output EngineSpeed needs to
be generated on the MCU.
15 Click the Fixed option in the Rate section of the dialog box and select a rate
at which the channel is calculated in the MCU.
For example, if 5Hz is selected the channel will be calculated 5 times per second.
If the channel is configured as a Fixed Rate channel, then it is generated on the MCU at
the rate specified.
If the Key Variable option is selected, the channel is generated by the PC either on of-
fload, or over telemetry. The channel is then generated at the rate of the Variable you have
chosen.
16 Click OK. The Pi Workshop engine speed channels will function.

Setting up a Tachometer
This section outlines the method required to setup a Tacho with a Pi Sigma System. Note
that if an ECU is used it is likely that RPM will come from the ECU stream.

want a Tacho input
When a component is plugged into a loom, the MCU needs to know where the component
will be powered from and where it can expect the signal to come from. This means that you
need to configure your Pi Sigma System.
Setup
To configure the Pi Sigma System:
1 In the Setup Data Manager App branch double click on Sigma Configuration.
The Sigma Configuration window appears.
2 Navigate to the Digital card on the MCU that you are plugging RPM input
into.
3 Right click on Digital and select Properties… from the pop-up menu.
Setup 177
4 Click the tab for the Group and Channel for the Tacho input.
For this example Group 3B will be used.
Embedded IO card properties box with Group 3 page selected
5 Set the Channel Function to Shaft.

6 Set the Excitation to 12.0 Volts.
7 Select Always from the Excitation On options.

8 Click Calculator… to establish resolution and minimum measurable value. The
Calculator dialog box appears.
Calculator dialog box
Setup
9 Adjust the values to ensure that the resolution and the minimum measurable
value are acceptable.
For an 8 Cylinder Engine, 4 Pulses to Average should be used.
10 Click OK.
The MCU is ready to receive a tacho input.
Setup 179
receive the Tacho
Before a sensor can be dragged onto the loom, the ports created from the configuration
must be attached to the electronic loom. The first step is to unlock the loom.
To unlock the Loom:

1 In the Setup Data Manager right click on Loom. Uncheck Unlock Loom.
2 Navigate to the sub-loom you want the sensor to be attached to.
You can create a new ‘sub-loom’ if required. A useful hint is to try to create an electronic
version of the physical loom to aid software-hardware compatibility. As the RPM is an es-
sential channel, it has become common practice to include it in a loom called Core System
Channels so that it is not easily deleted.
To create a new sub-loom if required:

select Attach Connector… The Attach Connector wizard appears.
Attach Connector wizard
2 Click Sensor… and select the RPM sensor template from the list.

Select a Template Sensor list
3 Click OK.
Setup
4 Select Next> to proceed to the next stage.
Summary dialog box
4 Enter a connector name associated with the sensor to be connected.

The comment is optional, but is very handy for reference purposes.
5 Select Next> to continue to the next step.
This will prompt the user to choose the inputs to be used for the RPM channel.
Setup 181
The Digital IO card on the Logger has nine inputs, however only five are suitable for RPM
inputs (Groups 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3B). The inputs shown are those that are both suitable
for the required type of input and available (i.e. setup in the Sigma Configuration and not
used elsewhere on the loom). The list shown is from a system that has an MCU, Logger
card and a digital card.
The digital inputs are labelled Digital 0.02.00.16 through to Digital 8.02.00.40. The name
describes the type of input (e.g. Digital). The first number defines the input number. The ta-
ble below shows how the Input Name references the Channel Name in Pi Workshop.

Note that input Digital 8.02.00.40 cannot be configured in Pi Workshop. It can only be used
as a low speed digital input, such as a switch.
Having made Digital 3B a RPM input, the system has provided the additional port Dig-
ital 5 Count.02.00.16. This is a counter that will count each pulse. The standard Digital
input will measure the time between pulses.
Each digital input has two inputs. One counts the number of pulses received denoted by a u
and the other calculates the time between pulses shown with a ∆t. With this information, the
Logger can calculate the RPM. In the Edit dialog box simply double click where prompted
and select from the list of inputs available (See Example below for a step by step guide).

Example
Providing Digital 3B has been configured to be a RPM input the channel names Dig-
ital 5.02.00.36 and Digital 5 Count.02.00.38 should be in the Global Channel Database.
In the ‘Edit’ dialogue box:

1 Double click on the ∆ t and select Digital 5.02.00.36 from the list. Click
OK.2 Double click on the u and select Digital 5 Count.02.00.38 from the
list. Click OK.
Setup
Edit dialog box
Setup 183
Once both the ports have been selected the Edit dialog box will appear as shown in the
next figure.
Edit dialog box after selecting channels
3 Click Finish.
The connector labelled RPM will be added to the loom.
This connector will be associated with an RPM sensor and will therefore only allow an
RPM sensor to be attached to it. So the next step is to add an RPM sensor from the Setup
Organiser.

Attaching a Sensor
The final stage is to attach a sensor to the connector. This will provide a sensor that the
system can use to provide speeds and distances and start and stop logging.
To attach a RPM sensor to the loom:

1 On the Managers toolbar click Toggle Setup Organiser.
The Setup Organiser window appears.

2 From the read only list of Pi Sensors (in grey folder) drag the RPM sensor onto
the RPM connector on the loom.
Setup
The mouse pointer will change to an arrow with a small + sign if the sensor is compatible
with the connector. If the sensor is not compatible the pointer will be a .
Dragging RPM sensor from the Setup Organiser to the Setup Data Manager
Setup 185
Once the sensor has ben successfully dropped onto the connector the sensor Properties
dialog box appears.
Sensor Properties dialog box Information page
3 Enter a name for the sensor. Change the name to match the type of sensor
that you want this to be. e.g. RPM.
4 In the Comments text box you can add a longer comment to describe specifics
of the sensor, such as sensor excitation, part numbers etc.

When the RPM sensor is added to the Loom, the associated sink channels (RPM and
EngineSpeed) are attached to the Loom.
Variables
5 Click the Variables tab
Two variables will appear on the Variables page of the sensor properties dialog box.
variable x is based on the time between pulses, while x1 is based on the pulse count.
Setup
Sensor Properties dialog box Variables page
Setup 187
Calibrations
6 Click the Calibrations tab.
7 Select the Equation option for the Calibration. Enter the calibration equation
in the text box.
You can use the Variables and Operators buttons and select from the lists to enter them
into the equation or just type the equation directly into the text box.
8 Click Check to test the status of the equation.
The figure below describes the calibration for a typical RPM sensor on a 8 cylinder en-
gine.
Sensor Properties dialog box Calibrations page
9 Click OK. The sensor and channels will added to the setup.

Miscellaneous Application
This section contains the information about Outing Information, Cornering, Logging
Triggers, Beacons, Wheel Setup, Track and Fuel, Fuel Capacity, Effective Boost, and
Qualifying Mode.
Outing Information
To enter Outing Information:

1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Miscellaneous. The
Miscellaneous dialog box appears.
Setup
Miscellaneous dialog box with Outing Information tab selected
2 Enter a driver name in the Driver box.

3 Enter the session number in the Session text box.
4 Click Outing and Lap. The Send Outing/Lap to Car dialog box appears.
Setup 189
Send Outing/Lap to Car dialog box
5 Enter an Outing and a Lap.

6 Click Send. The Outing number and Lap number are sent to the car.
Note: The car must be connected and the Pi Server application must be running. This
sends ONLY the Outing number and the Lap number to the car. It DOES NOT send the
full setup to the car.
7 Enter any comments in the Short Comment and Long Comment text box-
es.
8 Check as required Get outing Information from PC Private. This refers to
the offload path and outing information, which is stored in the MCU.
PC Private refers to the information stored in the MCU, not on your computer. If this is
checked then Pi Workshop will use the offload path and attach the comments that were sent
to the MCU. If a directory is being used that doesn’t exist, Pi Workshop will create it.
If you wish to use the information shown on your computer, for example if you have
changed the comments during the session then uncheck this and your specified path and
comments will be used.
9 Set the drive and directory you want then offload data to be stored in the Log-
ger Offload text area. Use the Browse… button to find the location.
10 Click Save.

Cornering
This is the threshold that Pi Workshop will use for determining corners in map making and
displaying corner exit speeds.
To enter cornering information:

Setup
Miscellaneous dialog box with Cornering page selected
2 Click the Cornering tab.

3 Enter a G value.
4 Click Save.
Setup 191
Logging Triggers
Logging Triggers are conditions which have to be met before logging starts and when it
stops. Use this page of the Miscellaneous dialog box to set the conditions which will start
and stop logging on the MCU.
To enter Logging Triggers information:

Miscellaneous dialog box with Logging Triggers tab selected
2 Click the Logging Triggers tab.

3 In the Moving section enter values for the Start Guard Time and Stop Guard
Time and Speed Threshold.
4 In the Logging section enter values for the Start and Stop.
In the above figure the Moving criteria are: Speed Threshold is set to 32 kph, Start Guard
Time is set 1.5 seconds and Stop Guard Time is set to 10 seconds.
The Logging criteria are: Engine Speed Start is set to 1500 rpm, Engine Speed Stop is
set to 50 rpm Guard Start time is 1 second and Guard Stop time is 4 seconds.

For the system to start logging the vehicle needs to be moving at >=32 kph for 1.5 seconds
and/or Engine speed to be >= 1500 rpm for 1 second.
For the system to stop logging both conditions (Moving and Logging) must to be met
i.e. the vehicle speed must be below 32 kph for 10 seconds and Engine Speed below
50 rpm for 4 seconds.
Setup
Setup 193
Beacons
Beacons are infrared devices placed at the track side which are used for lap counting, lap
timing, telemetry transmission and end-of-lap indication. Beacon information is also used
to divide logged data into laps.
To set Beacons:
2 Click the Beacons tab.
Miscellaneous dialog box with Beacons tab selected
3 Enter the beacon codes you are using.

End-of-lap and Split beacon code should be set to different codes, and the beacon transmit-
ters must be switched to either lap or split.
4 Set Mask Times if there is a possibility that other teams have beacons using
the same codes on the circuit.
The Mask times control how long the system looks for a valid beacon and reduces the
chances of a false beacon from beacons other than your own.

5 Check (✓) the End-of-lap box to trigger an end of lap beacon when the vehicle
stops. (Pit stops etc.)
6 Click Save.
One minute beacon:

1 Check (✓) this box to insert a beacon in logged data every 60 seconds.
This divides the logged data into 60-second laps, which is useful if there are no beacons
at an event, e.g. a rally stage.
Setup
Setup 195
Wheel Setup
Pi Sigma uses pulses from triggers fitted to the wheel to measure vehicle speed, calculate
distance for graphical analysis and map making.
To set Wheel Setup options:

2 Click the Wheel Setup tab. The Wheel Setup page appears.
Miscellaneous dialog box with Wheel Setup tab selected
Note: When opened for the first time the Wheelspeed page is too small to display all the
‘Car Speed is’ fields. You must re-size the page to display all the fields. The new page
size is saved when the Template or Workbook is saved.
3 Enter the tyre diameters and total number of triggers on each wheel.

4 Select which wheelspeed input is used to derive Car Speed.
The options are listed in the next table.
Car Speed is Option Description
Front Left Use only Front Left wheelspeed.

Right Use only Front Right wheelspeed.
Both Use both, with further options of Maximum,
Average or Minimum.
Maximum Use maximum value of Front Left and Front Right
wheelspeeds.
Average Use average value of Front Left and Front Right
wheelspeeds.
Minimum Use minimum value of Front Left or Front Right
wheelspeeds.
Setup
Rear Left Use only Rear Left wheelspeed.
Right Use only Rear Right wheelspeed.
Both Use both, with further options of Maximum,
Average or Minimum.
Maximum Use maximum value of Rear Left or Rear Right
wheelspeeds.
Average Use average value of Rear Left or Rear Right
wheelspeeds.
Minimum Use minimum value of Rear Left or Rear Right
wheelspeeds.
Front and Rear Maximum Use the maximum value of the Front and Rear.
Average Use the average value of Front and Rear.
Minimum Use the minimum value of Front and Rear.
Front Primary Use the Front settings unless the Front wheelspeeds
are zero, then use the Rear settings.
Rear Primary Use the Rear settings unless the Rear wheelspeeds
are zero, then use the Front settings.
Advanced Advanced These settings control when the change over
between front and rear wheelspeeds will occur.
5 Click Save.
Setup 197
Track and Fuel
Track and fuel information is used to calculate average speed and fuel consumption.
To set Track and Fuel:

2 Click the Track and Fuel tab.
Miscellaneous dialog box with Track and Fuel tab selected
3 Enter the track Name and Official Length.

4 Select a Fuel Prediction option.
Decide if you wish to use the Official Length (as input by you) or the Measured Distance,
which will be derived from the information, gathered from Wheel Setup.
5 Complete the Expected Number of Laps text box.
6 Click Save.

Fuel Capacity
Fuel Capacity information is used to calculate fuel consumption and fuel prediction.
To set Fuel Capacity:

2 Click the Fuel Capacity tab.
Setup
Miscellaneous dialog box with Fuel Capacity tab selected
3 Select a Fuel Count Source option. (ECU or Volume sensor).

Preset Fuel is the total amount of fuel allowed for the race.
4 Select a Preset Fuel option. (Count Up from zero to Preset Value or Count
Down to zero from Preset Value).
5 Enter the Preset Value.
Tank Fuel is the car’s fuel tank capacity.
6 Select a Tank Fuel option. (Count Up from zero to Total Capacity or Count
Down to zero from Total Capacity).
7 Enter the Total Capacity.
8 Click Save.
Setup 199
Effective Boost
The boost pressure on a turbocharged engine changes rapidly according to throttle position
and downshifting. It is important to know how much of the available boost you are using,
and if you are losing boost pressure.
Pi Research provides two boost channels as part of an ECU Serial Stream:

n Dash Boost. This is boost pressure sampled at a slow rate and suited for the
driver’s display.
n Effective Boost. This is the sum of Active boost pressure over an entire lap.
Active boost pressure is boost pressure above a threshold value that you
set.
To set Effective Boost:

2 Click the Effective Boost tab.
Miscellaneous dialog box with Effective Boost tab selected

The Active Conditions Threshold is the value of boost pressure above which it is recorded
as active boost. Active Conditions Guard Time is the time boost pressure has to have risen
above the Threshold value for active boost to be recorded. When boost drops to the active
condition threshold for the Guard Time, an average value for boost will be recorded.
3 Set the Active Conditions Threshold and Guard Time values.
The Inactive Conditions Threshold is the value of boost pressure below which active pres-
sure is not recorded. Inactive Conditions Guard Time is the time boost pressure has to have
fallen below the Threshold value for active boost not to be recorded.
4 Set the Inactive Conditions Threshold and Guard Time values.
5 Click Save.
Setup
Setup 201
Qualifying Mode
Qualifying mode lets you instantly assess performance by comparing performance on the
current lap against a datum lap stored by Pi Sigma. Qualifying data can be entered manu-
ally or imported from an Qualifying Mode file.
To set Qualifying Mode:

2 Click the Qualifying Mode tab.
Miscellaneous dialog box with Qualifying Mode tab selected
3 Select an Operating Mode.

To disable Qualifying Mode select Disabled. Distance based lets you enter qualifying
mode information as a distance and time pair. Split beacon based lets you enter qualifying
mode information as a split beacon code and time pair.
4 Select a Learning Mode.

To add rows to the table:
1 Select either Distance based or Split beacon based operating mode.
2 Click on a row and press (Return).
3 For each row add either distance and time pairs (Distance based) or code and
time pairs (Split beacon based).
Incorrect pairs, for example where the distance exceeds the lap length, are ignored.
To delete rows from the table:

1 Click on a row and click Delete.
To import qualifying mode files:

Qualifying Mode files have a .qm file extension. The files are generated using Pi Analy-
sis.
1 Click Import…
Setup
2 Locate a suitable Qualifying Mode file.
A suitable file would be from the same track as the one you are currently at.
Setup 203
Modifying the Logging Table
This section explains how to change an existing logging rate, add a channel to the logger
and add a new logger.
Changing an existing
Logging Rate
To change an existing Logging Rate:

1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Logger. The Logger
dialog box appears.
2 Click the Continuous or Fastest tab. Use the scroll bar or type the first letter
of the channel to find it.
Logger setup table
Shown above are the two basic loggers – Continuous (every lap) and Fastest.
3 Right click on the channel and select a rate (from 1 to 1000 Hz) from the list.
To change more than one channel at a time select them with left click and (Ctrl) and then
right click.
4 Click Save and close the window.

Adding a channel to a
logger
The following refers to adding a channel for which the sensor has already been set up. If
you need to set up a new sensor and channel please refer to section Setting up a Sen-
sor.
The two loggers (Continuous and Fastest) shown are totally independent and need to
be set up individually. Channels added to the Continuous logger will not automatically be
added to the Fastest logger. Every channel you want to log in Fastest needs to be added
separately but the process is the same.
The channels can be dragged and dropped directly from the Global Channel Database.
If this is not displayed click the (Toggle Channel Database) button on the Managers
toolbar.
1 Select the logger in which you want to add the channel (Continuous or Fast-
Setup
est).
2 To add a channel, left click on it in the Global Channel Database channel list
and drag it into the logger.
If you have left the Drop rate set to default the channel will have a rate matching the set-
tings defined when the sensor was originally configured.
What is the Drop Rate?
Drop Rate text box
Drop Rate is the rate that will be attached to a new channel being added to the Logger. The
default rate will be different for each channel, which will have been defined in the settings
for the relevant sensor.
You can select a rate from the pull down menu and that will apply to each channel being
dragged from the Global Channel Database channel list into the logger. For example, if
you had set the Drop Rate to 100Hz and then dragged a channel into the logger the rate
would be set to 100Hz.
Setup 205
Drop Rate can also be used to change the logging rate of several channels.
To change the logging rate of several channels using Drop Rate:

1 In the Drop Rate text box select the rate you wish to use.
2 Now select the channels you wish to apply it to. Left click on the channels to
change whilst holding down (Ctrl).
Continuous Logger table with a number of channels selected
3 Press (Space-bar). All of the selected channels will be changed. The rates
change and you return to the top of the logging table.
Continuous Logger table showing selected channels logging rates changed to 50 Hz

To create a new Logger
In Pi Workshop it is possible to create several burst loggers. The triggers for the burst start
and stop are defined by events.
To take an example – On some circuits a quick lap may rest very heavily on having a good
car setup through one particular corner, so you may wish to look at some parameters for
that section at faster rates. In this case the trigger to start burst logging could be lap dis-
tance or a split beacon. i.e. start logging at 480ft and end at 600ft.
You have the option of setting separate start and stop triggers or you could use the Event
clear function. Event (Corner 2) being Lap Distance = 480ft and Event clear conditions
(Corner 2 Exit) = 600ft.
To add a new logger:

Setup
dialog box appears.
Logger dialog box
2 Right click anywhere on this window. Select Loggers from the pop-up menu.
3 Select New Logger. The Logger Properties dialog box appears.
Setup 207
Logger Properties dialog box
4 Give the logger a name e.g. Corner 2.

5 Select a Logging Mode option.
Start-stop will allow you to specify both conditions. Single Trigger will use an Event to
trigger logging and the Burst time will dictate when it stops.
To set burst logging time:

1 Select the Burst button. The Burst Logging dialog box appears.
Burst Logging dialog box
2 Set the number of bursts required in the Number box.

This determines how many times you wish the burst logger to trigger during the outing.
3 Set the Burst Duration.
4 Set the Keep Criterion.
Example
Setup
Logger Properties dialog box
In the above figure the Logging Mode is set to Single Trigger. The Event Corner 2 will
trigger the logger with a burst duration of 2 seconds. Ten bursts will be logged during the
outing, retaining the newest laps.
Burst logging dialog showing setting for the above example
Setup 209
Logging Inventory
The Logging Inventory provides you with a summary of the Logger settings in the form of
a table. You can use the Logging Inventory dialog box to make changes to the channels
logged and logging rates. You can also copy the contents of the table and then paste the
information into a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet.
To open the Logging Inventory dialog box:

1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Logger Inventory.
The Logger Inventory dialog box appears.
The Logger Inventory dialog box
Hidden Channels
To display Hidden Channels click Show Hidden Channels.
Channels used
To display only Used channels click Show used channels only.

Channel name filter
To quickly find a channel in the table, enter the first letter of the channel name in the Filter
text box. Only channel names that start with that letter are then displayed in the table.
To show all the channels again, delete the letter from the Filter text box.
To change an existing Logging Rate:

1 Click in the appropriate cell of the table. A list button appears in the cell
2 Click the button. A list appears in the cell.
Setup
Section of Logger Inventory dialog box showing list
3 Choose the new rate from the list.

If you make an error, click Undo. The Logging Rate returns to the previous value.
4 Click Save.
The new logging rate will affect the total logging time available. The Continuous logging
time area of the Logger Inventory dialog box will change to show the new logging time.
To add a channel to the Logger:

1 Click in the appropriate cell of the table. A list button appears in the cell
2 Click the button. A list appears in the cell.
Section of Logger Inventory dialog box showing list
3 Choose the logging rate from the list.
Setup 211
If you make an error, click Undo. The Logging Rate returns to the previous value.
4 Click Save.
The additional channel will affect the total logging time available. The Continuous logging
time area of the Logger Inventory dialog box will change to show the new logging time.
Copy Table
You can copy the table to the Clipboard. The contents of the Clipboard can then be pasted
into a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet.
1 Click Copy Table. The contents of the table are copied into the Clipboard.
Offload Directories
You can use the Logger Inventory dialog box to change the Offload Directories.
2 Click the Miscellaneous tab. The Miscellaneous page appears.
Logger Inventory dialog box Miscellaneous page

3 Click on the appropriate Data Source in the Offload Directories pane.
4 Click Browse. The Browse for Folder dialog box appears.
The Browse for Folder dialog box
5 Use the Browse for Folder dialog box to find and then select a different Offload
Setup
Directory.
6 Click OK.
Driver name
You can use the Logger Inventory dialog box to change the name of the driver that has
been set in the Setup Manager Miscellaneous Application.
1 Enter a name in the Driver text box.
2 Click Save. The new Driver name replaces the previous Driver name.
Session number
You can use the Logger Inventory dialog box to change Session number that has been set
in the Setup Manager Miscellaneous Application.
1 Enter a new Session Number in the text box.
2 Click Save. The new Session Number is replaced.
Setup 213
Logger warning messages
You can use the Logger Inventory dialog box to read any warning messages that might
have been generated by the Logger.
2 Click the Logger tab. The Logger page appears.
The Logger Inventory dialog box Logger page
Any warning messages that have been generated are displayed in the Logger model
warnings pane.

Setting up Telltales
The following section gives the information required to set up Telltales with a Pi Sigma
System.
Open the Telltales

Application
Telltales are channels that are created from the maximum and minimum values from other
channels. Telltales channels provide useful comparisons between channels and an easy
indication of the trend of a channel without actually having to constantly monitor each value
coming across in telemetry or downloaded in a dataset.
Setup
To set Telltale information:
1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Telltales. The Tell-
tales window appears.
Telltales window
The setup in the above window has no telltales but includes the four columns that summa-
rise the telltale functionality. The Output Channel is the name of the channel created that
will provide the max. or min. of the Input Channel. The Reset Event is the event (standard
Setup 215
or user configured) that will reset the telltale. Min./Max specifies whether the minimum or
maximum of the Input Channel will be displayed.
2 Right click inside the window.
3 Select New Telltale from the pop-up menu. The Telltale Properties dialog box
appears.
Telltales Properties dialog box
The Output Channel Name is the name that will appear in the setup channel list. It is useful
to always begin these channel names with Max or Min. as this will allow easy filtering to
select all of the telltales.
4 Name the output channel in the Output Channel Name text box.
The Output Channel Value is either a Maximum or a Minimum.
5 Select Maximum or Minimum in the Value text box.
The Input Channel is a channel from the setup that will be latched
6 Select an Input Channel from the list in Input Channel Name box.
The rate is the frequency at which that channel will be polled.
7 Select a rate from the list in the Rate box.
The Telltale Reset Event is the event at which the latched value will be discarded and the
latch will begin again. If the telltale is a maximum, the telltale will effectively reset to nega-
tive infinity whereas if the telltale is a minimum, the telltale will reset to infinity.
8 Select a Telltale Reset Event from the list.
The RPM Qualifying level will discard all values that occur whilst the rpm is below the
defined level.

9 Enter an RPM Qualifying Level.
The telltale shown will produce a channel called Max Lap Speed which is a maximum of
the channel Speed (referencing Speed at 20Hz) which will reset every Lap. RPM has no
bearing on this telltale.
10 Click the Save button. The Telltales window will change to display a summary
of the Telltale channel.
Setup
Telltales Properties window showing a telltale channel summary
A second telltale could be added by right clicking and selecting New Telltale. This telltale
could be setup as shown in the example below.
Setup 217
Telltales Properties dialog box for telltale channel Min Fuel Pressure
This is a channel Min Fuel Pressure which is a minimum of fuel pressure referencing Fuel
Pressure every 2 milliseconds. As this telltale resets on Logging disabled it will latch to a
minimum that it will hold until the unit stops logging. The RPM Qualifying Level forces the
telltale to ignore any values of Fuel Pressure that occur when RPM is lower than 12000.
Note: The rate of 500Hz means that a large amount of bandwidth will be used to proc-
ess this telltale. Unless specifically required, the rates should be kept as low as possible,
normally comparable to the rate at which the input channel will be logged.
The setting up of the above telltale will present the telltale window as shown.

Telltales window showing telltale channel summaries
Setup
Once the window is saved the Output Channels will appear in the Global Channel Database
list allowing them to be logged, used on the dash, sent in telemetry etc.
Setup 219
To edit a Telltale
1 In the Setup Data Manager App branch double click on Telltales. The Telltales
window appears.
2 Select the telltale to edit, or double click on the telltale.
3 Select Edit Telltale from the pop-up menu.
To delete a Telltale
1 In the Setup Data Manager App branch double click on Telltales. The Telltales
window appears.
2 Select the telltale to edit, or double click on the telltale.
3 Select Delete Telltale from the pop-up menu.

Events
Overview
Events are defined points in time that occur given a set of conditions. Events can be used
to indicate the end-of-lap (the end-of-lap beacon is an event), trigger alarms on the dash
or in telemetry transmission, and to start and stop logging. Events can be either Critical
events or non-critical events. Throughout the time that the vehicle is running any event that
occurs will be stored in the Event log
Critical events
Critical events are defined in the logging application and must occur for the system to oper-
Setup
ate correctly. Critical Events are
n Car halt
n Drive out
n End-of-lap
n End-of-lap beacon
n Logging disabled
n Logging enabled
n Split beacon
n System restart
Setup 221
Non-critical Events
Non-critical events are defined using the Events Application and are based upon channels
and a set of conditions.
These events, which can be viewed in Pi Analysis software, are marked by small blue
crosses in the data.
Pi Analysis graph showing End of Lap beacons events

Event storage
As default a maximum of 250 critical Events and 750 non-critical Events can be stored in
the Event Logger. You can increase the number of Events that are logged.
To increase the number of Events that are logged:

dialog box appears.
2 Right click anywhere on this window. Select Loggers from the pop-up menu.
Setup
Logger dialog box showing Loggers pop-up menu
3 Select Event Logger Setup. The Event Logging dialog box appears.
Event Logging dialog box
Setup 223
4 Enter a size for the amount of memory in which to store the additional
Events.
Note: You can store 1000 Events in 60 kilobytes of memory.
When the Event Logger is full of non-critical events, only critical Events are logged.
An Event can be used to trigger an alarm on the Dash or in telemetry and to start or stop a
burst logger. For more information see section Modifying the logging table.
To view Critical Events:

1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Dash. The Dash
dialog box appears.
2 Click the Alarms tab. The Alarms page appears.
3 Select a Type from the list.
4 Click Trigger.
5 Click in the Events box. A list of Events appears.
Dash dialog box Alarms page showing the list of Events

The Event log shows all of the Events that occur during one run and is stored in the offload
directory as a text file, which can then be viewed in Microsoft Excel™.
Each Event is identified by a code which can be found in event.ini , stored in the
Pi World\Data Directory\Event Definitions.
Setup
Setup 225
Display Alarms
An Event can be used to display an Alarm on the dash. You must choose which Event will
cause an Alarm to trigger.
To set up a new Event

and Alarm
To set up an Event:
1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click Events. The Events
window appears.
Events window
2 Right click in the text area of the Events window and select New Event… from
the pop-up menu. The Event Setup Properties dialog box appears.

Setup
Event Setup Properties dialog box
3 Name the Event.

4 From the Channel list select the channel which will trigger the Event.
e.g. RPM.
5 Set the Condition and Threshold. – e.g. RPM >(greater than) 9000.
6 An Event can be set to Auto Clear by setting the relevant conditions.
To configure this refer to Auto clearing Events and Alarms.
7 Click Advanced. The Advanced Settings dialog box appears.
Setup 227
You use the Advanced Settings dialog box to adjust RPM Qualify level, Guard Time and
Retrigger Delay.
Advanced Setting dialog box
Advance settings parameters
Parameter Description
RPM Qualifying Level An RPM qualified Event ensures that the Event is created
only when RPM is above the Qualifying Level.
Guard Time How long a channel must meet the Event conditions before
triggering an Event. In the above dialog box it is set to zero
so it will trigger immediately.
Retrigger Delay Prevents multiple Events being recorded in the Event log.
If set to 0 it produces one Event each time the threshold is
crossed. If a value other than 0 is used, this is the frequency
at which the system looks to see if the Event is occurring.
Disable While Stationary The Event will not be generated whilst the car is stationary
as determined by the Moving Conditions.
Drive Out Reset Enable Resets the threshold for the Event generator.

An example of an Event named Overrev is shown below.
The associated Channel is RPM
Conditions which will trigger the Event >= greater than or equal to
threshold set
Threshold 9800
Rate 20Hz
Adjustment 50 rpm
Setup
Event Setup Properties dialog box for Event named Overrev
Setup 229
It is likely that the driver would want this Event and related alarm to auto cancel, therefore
not requiring any manual acknowledgement. See Auto clearing Events ad Alarms.
Events window showing the Overrev event selected
The Overrev Event will now be stored in the Event Log should it occur.

Setting a Dash Alarm
To use an Event as an Alarm it must be added to the Dash Alarms.
To set up a Dash Alarm:

dialog box appears.
2 Click the Alarms tab.
Setup
Dash dialog box with Alarms page selected
3 Select a Dash from the Type list.

The layout of the Alarms page changes with the type of dash selected. The above dialog
box shows the type as Pi Compact Dash. When you use a Pi Compact Dash the Alarm
lights are displayed on an Alarm Light satellite module and the Alarm Message is displayed
on the Pi Compact Dash. The page layout is the same as the above if Pi Satellites is se-
lected as THE type. The page layout when Pi Steering Wheel is selected shows the Alarm
light section of a Pi Steering Wheel Dash.
Setup 231
You can select an Event that will trigger the alarm.
4 Click Trigger.
5 Select an Event from the list that will trigger the alarm.
6 Check (✓) Alarm Enabled to enable the alarm.
7 Enter the Message that the driver will see when the alarm is triggered.
You can also enter a Long Message which will be displayed on a Pi Steering Wheel Dash
Message Centre (this long message is limited to 24 characters in length). You may want to
set up alarms that can be shown on a Pi Steering Wheel Dash for the driver and can also
be shown on a Pi Compact Dash that has been set up for the car mechanics.
8 Check (✓) Flash Message to flash the message on the dash.
9 Click on a dash alarm light (or combination of lights) which will light when the
alarm is triggered.
You must now select the channel that the alarm applies.
10 Click Channel. The Trigger options are replaced by Channel options.
11 Select the Channel to which the alarm applies.
For example an End of lap beacon Event could trigger an Alarm that displays Fuel used or
a Split beacon event could trigger the display of the channel Segment Difference.
12 Check (✓) Flash Units to flash the units of the channel when under alarm
conditions.
13 Select an Appended Text to display either °C or °F for temperature chan-
nels.
14 In the Decimal Places box set the precision with which the channel is dis-
played in the display field.

You can set the Alarm to cancel when a specified Event occurs.
15 Click Cancel. The Cancel options appear.
Setup
Dash dialog box Alarms page with Cancel options selected
16 Check (✓) Enabled.

17 Select an Event from the list.
18 Set a Minimum alarm duration.
This value sets the minimum time that an alarm will occur. For example, if you set this value
to be 10 seconds and the alarm event only lasts for 8 seconds, the alarm will continue for
the full 10 seconds set. If however, the alarm event lasts for 15 seconds, then it will remain
for the 15 seconds.
19 If you want the driver to be able to cancel the alarm check (✓) Allow driver to
cancel the alarm.
20 Click Save.
Setup 233
Editing existing Alarms
The following steps outline the basic principles of Alarm setups and relate to changing the
details for an Event and Alarm that already exists (i.e. one already set up by your Support
Engineer). If you need to create a new Event and Alarm please refer to section To set up
a new Event and Alarm.
I want to change the oil pressure Alarm to <=30psi

Oil pressure dropping below 30 would trigger an Event which would have an Alarm attached
to it. Every Event which occurs will be stored in the Event Log.
To change an existing alarm:

1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Events. The Events
dialog box appears.
Events dialog box
2 Double click on the Event you wish to change. The Event Setup Properties
dialog box appears.
3 Make the changes required.
4 Click Save.

Example of an Event
In the example shown below the Event Name Oil P Low refers to the Oil Pressure
channel dropping to a value of less than 30 psi. The channel will be checked at a Rate
of 10 Hz (10 times a second). The 5 psi set in the Adjustment box means that once
acknowledged by the driver, the event won’t retrigger unless the Oil Pressure drops to
25 psi (0 – 5 = 25).
Setup
Oil Pressure has to be below 30 psi for 0.5 second (Guard Time) to be recognised as an
Event, and it won’t Retrigger in the EventLog for 10 seconds. These options are set in the
Advanced dialog box.
Setup 235
To change Advanced options:
1 Click Advanced on the Event Setup Properties dialog box. The Advanced
Settings dialog box appears.
Advanced Settings dialog box
2 Change the required thresholds. Click OK. You will return to the Events
window.
For information on the Advance setting parameters refer to the table Advance Settings
parameters in section To setup a new Event and Alarm.
3 Click Save and close the Event Setup Properties dialog box.
If you want an Event to clear automatically refer to section Auto clearing Events and
Alarms.

For the driver to be informed on the dash that the Event has occurred, the Event must have
an Alarm attached.
To check that the Event is attached to an Alarm:

dialog box appears.
3 Select a Type from the list.
4 Click List. A list of Alarms appears.
Setup
Dash dialog box Alarms page showing the list of alarms set
5 Click on an Alarm in the List. The Trigger and Channel options for that alarm
will be available when Trigger or Channel are clicked.
The List forms the basis of Alarm priorities. If two Alarms occur at the same time, the one
highest on the list will be displayed. When the higher priority alarm has been cleared, the
next highest will be displayed, provided that the Alarm conditions still exist.
Setup 237
6 Edit the alarm as required.
7 Click Save to save the changes, or click Undo to return to the previous set-
tings.
The Message is what you want to appear on the Dash. In the above dialog box, the mes-
sage is Oil T. The Lights section refers to the LED on the dash that you want to light when
the Alarm occurs. The Channel and Units have already been defined as you are modifying
an existing Event Alarm and you probably won’t need to change anything here.

Auto clearing Events and Alarms
In some cases the driver may prefer not to have to acknowledge Dash Alarms manually
but still need to know that an event has occurred.
Event Clear
The Event Clear facility combined with a Retrigger Delay prevents multiple events being
recorded in the Event log.
Example of use of Event Clear

During Safety Car laps the engine temperatures may rise. If you had set up an Event for
Setup
Coolant Temperature above 100 °C at a rate of 20 Hz (twenty times a second) with no
retrigger delay and it remained above that threshold for 5 seconds, it would appear 100
times in the Event Log (20 times 5 seconds). This would use many Events.
If the retrigger delay was set to 5 seconds this wouldn’t happen. The Event would not be
looked at by the system for another 5 seconds. If it has dropped below 100 °C the Coolant
OK Event would occur once only.
Setup 239
To set up Auto Clear:
1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Events. The Events
window appears.
2 Double click on the relevant event. The Event Setup Properties dialog box
appears.
3 Check (✓) Event Clear.

4 Enter the Name of the clear Event you want to use. The Channel used in the
Clear Event will be displayed in the Channel box.
Note: The event must have been created before you can use the name.
5 Select a Condition that the Channel must meet to clear the event.
6 Select a Threshold value of the Channel to which the Condition is applied to
clear the Event.
In the above dialog box the Event Coolant T High will clear when Coolant Temp drops
below 100 °C.

To set a Retrigger Delay:
1 Click the Advanced button on the Event Setup Properties dialog box. The
Advanced Settings dialog box appears.
Advanced Settings dialog box
Setup
2 Enter a Retrigger Delay time in the text box.
3 Click OK.
Setup 241
Setting up a Dash
Pi Sigma systems can display channels and alarms on a range of Pi Dashes. The range
comprises the Pi Compact Dash, the Pi Steering Wheel Dash, Pi Omega Dash and
Pi Satellite modules. The Satellite modules are a Gear/Shift light module, an Alarm
module, and up to two Numeric display modules.
It is possible to use the complete range of Pi Dashes in one setup. For example, you could
create a setup for a Pi Steering Wheel Dash, selecting the channels and alarms that the
driver would need.
You could also create a setup for a Pi Compact Dash with Pi Satellites which would show
the channels and alarms that a mechanic would need.
Dashes can be set up to show different text according to the status of the system. This
section explains how to set up each area of a Dash and the satellite modules.
You will already have a default Dash display layout, which has been set up by
Pi Research.
You use the Dash Application to configure the display Items, Alarms and shift lights.

Pi Compact Dash
The Pi Compact Dash has five fields which can be used to display channel information.
Three of the fields are 7-segment characters and two are alphanumeric characters (also
known as star-burst characters).
Associated with each field are a set of annunciators, which indicate the units used in the
field.
field 1 field 2 field 3
BAR FUEL BAR FUEL

BOOST PSI KPH MPH OIL PSI annunciator
Setup
field 4 field 5
Oil Water
ALARM Lap Time
alphanumeric alarm annunciator 7-segment
Pi Compact Dash display fields
Setup 243
Pi Compact Dash and
Pi Satellite Modules
A Pi Compact Dash can have Satellite modules attached as cost options. The Satellite
modules are one Gear/Shift light module, one Alarm module, and two Numeric display
modules.
Gear/Shift light module

The Gear/Shift light module has a single 7-segment LED display and five coloured LEDs
(two green, two yellow and one red). The Gear/Shift light module will display gear number
and shift lights. For information on setting up gear shift lights refer to the section Gear shift
lights.
Alarm module
The Alarm module has four extra bright coloured LEDs; red, yellow, green and blue. The
Alarm module will display alarm light information. For more information refer to section
Setting up a new Alarm.
Numeric display module

The Numeric display module has five 7-segment numeric LED displays. The Numeric
display module can display five digits for a positive number or a minus sign and four digits
for a negative number.

Pi Compact Dash set up
To set up a Pi Compact Dash:

dialog box appears.
Setup
Dash dialog box Numerics page with Pi Compact Dash selected
2 Select Pi Compact Dash from the Type list.
Setup 245
Pi Compact Dash display fields
On a Pi Compact Dash there are five available display fields. All five fields are available
on three separate pages (Race, Start and Practice) and are used for displaying fixed text,
channel information or lap time.
3 Select a Page (Race, Start or Practice) from the list in the Page box.
Setting annunciators:
Annunciators are used to display fixed text labels on the dash e.g. FUEL, BOOST, MPH
4 Select an annunciator by clicking on the annunciator text. The text will appear
on the dash if it is in CAPITALS.
To display channel information:
5 Click on the relevant field button.
6 Click Display.
Section of Dash dialog box with Display button selected
7 Select Channel from the list in the Format box.

8 Select a Channel from the list in the Channel box, or drag a channel from the
Channel Database.
If the channel selected is a temperature channel the Append list becomes available. Select
the required abbreviation from the list in the Append box.
9 Enter the number of decimal places in the DP box.
10 Select the required units from the Units list.
11 Click Save.

To display Fixed Text:
1 Click on the relevant display field button.
2 Select Fixed Text from the list in the Format box. The Dash dialog box chang-
es.
3 Enter the Text to be displayed.
4 Check (✓) Flashing to flash the text in the display field.
5 Click Save.
To display Timing information:
2 Select Timing from the list in the Format box. The Dash dialog box changes.
3 Select a Channel from the list in the Channel box.
Ideally this should be a timing channel e.g. Lap Time.
4 Select a Format option. (SSS.HH, SS.HH or M.SS.HH).
5 Click Save.
Setup
Display field actions
In addition to displaying information each display field can also perform certain actions
based on a set of conditions. You select these options in the Actio on… section of the
Dash dialog box.
Section of Dash dialog box with Action button selected
Setup 247
Page options
Each dash field can be configured to behave in different ways when the page is
changed.
Page options
Alarm options
This option displays any of the information when an Alarm is triggered. Each field can be
set up to behave differently. – i.e. One field could show the Alarm message (descriptor
text), another the channel value, and the third showing the units text. All of the other fields
could be set to go blank when Alarm details are displayed.
Alarm options

Offload options
For when the system is offloading select what you wish to be displayed. Set one field up
to display OFFLD and the others to be blank.
Offload options
Lap adjust options
Setup
If you are in a situation where a race will end before the official number of laps have been
completed, or will exceed the official number of laps, you can use the display to adjust the
lap counter and change the overall race distance. The system can then recalculate fuel
consumption based on the new race distance.
Lap adjust options
Setup 249
Tank fill options
You could set this option so that Tank Fill displays FILL.
Tank Fill options
Fuel reset options

You could set these this option so that Fuel Reset displays FUEL.
Fuel Reset options

Pi Compact Dash gear
shift lights
If you are using a Pi Compact Dash you can set patterns of LEDs on a Gear/Shift light
satellite to light at selected RPM values. A Gear/Shift light satellite has five LEDs that can
be illuminated in any combination. You can set a maximum of eight different patterns for
each of the three display pages. The output of the system channel named GearNumber
will light the 7-segment gear number LED. Refer to section Setting up Gear Number.
To set LED patterns for a Pi Compact Dash:

dialog box appears.
2 Click on the Gear Change tab.
3 Select Pi Compact Dash from the Type list.
Setup
Dash dialog box Gear Change page for a Pi Compact dash
Setup 251
4 Select a Page (Race, Start, or Practice) from the list in the Mode box.
5 Set the number of Gears that you have.
Setting the number of gears automatically changes the number of rows in the pattern table.
You can set a minimum of one and a maximum of eight gears.
6 Select a Shift Points option (Relative or Absolute).
If you select Relative, you must enter RPM values that are relative to the Redline value.
See the example below. If you select Absolute you must enter the actual RPM values at
which the shift lights change.
7 Starting with the highest RPM value at Pattern 8 to the lowest RPM value at
Pattern 1, for each gear double click a cell in the table and enter the RPM value
for the pattern you want to show.
8 Click on the LEDs that will light according to the RPM values.
9 If you want to apply the settings from the current page to all three pages (Race,
Start, and Practice) click Apply To All Pages.
If you want the settings for each page to be different, don’t click Apply To All Pages. You
will then have to set up each Page in turn.

Example of relative shift points
In the example below, for each gear Pattern 1 will display when the RPM is 1000 below
the redline value i.e. 4000 RPM for 1st Gear, 5000 RPM for 2nd Gear, 7000 RPM for 3rd
Gear etc.
Pattern 2 will display when the RPM is 500 below the redline value, Pattern 3 will display
when RPM is 200 below redline value, Pattern 4 will display when RPM is 100 below redline
value and Pattern 5 will display when RPM is redline value.
Setup
Section of Gear Change page showing Shift Points option set to Relative
Example of absolute shift points

The actual RPM values for each shift point have been entered in the table.
Section of Gear Change page showing Shift Points option set to Absolute
Setup 253
Pi Steering Wheel Dash
set up
There are two 5-digit 7-segment LED numerical display fields on the Pi Steering Wheel
dash. In addition to the two display fields, information can also be displayed in the
24-character Message Centre. It is also possible to use two 5-digit 7-segment LED numeri-
cal display Pi Satellite modules.
The Pi Steering Wheel dash also has alarm lights, shift lights, and a 7-segment LED gear
number display.
To set up a Pi Steering Wheel Dash:

dialog box appears.
2 On the Numerics page select Pi Steering Wheel Dash from the Type list.
Dash dialog box showing the Numerics page with Pi Steering Wheel Dash selected

Note: In the above dialog box the Pi Satellite modules numbered 2 and 3 are cost op-
tions.
3 Select a page (Race, Start or Practice) from the list in the Page box.
On a Steering Wheel Dash the display fields are available on three separate pages (Race,
Start and Practice) and are used for displaying fixed text, channel information or lap time.

6 Click Display.
Setup

Channel Database.
11 Click Save.
Setup 255
To display fixed text:
es.
5 Click Save.
To display timing information:
Channel Database.
5 Click Save.

based on a set of conditions. You select these options in the Action on… section of the
Dash dialog box.

Page options
changed.
Page options
Setup
Alarm options
This option displays any of the information when an alarm is triggered. Each field can be set
up to behave differently. – i.e. One field could show the alarm message (descriptor text),
another the channel value, and the third showing the units text. All of the other field could
be set to go blank when alarm details are displayed.
Alarm options
Setup 257
Offload options
to display OFFLD and the others to be blank.
Offload options
Lap adjust options

completed, or will exceed the official number of laps, you can use the display to adjust
the lap counter and change the overall race distance. The system can the recalculate fuel
Lap adjust options

Tank fill options
Tank Fill options
Fuel reset options

Setup
Fuel Reset options
Setup 259
Gear Shift Lights
You can set patterns of LEDs on the dash to illuminate at certain RPM values. Each pat-
tern comprises two sets of five LEDs that can be illuminated in any combination. You can
set a maximum of eight different patterns for each of the three display pages. The output
of system channel named GearNumber will light the 7-segment gear number LED. Refer
to Setting up Gear Number.
To set LED patterns for a Pi Steering Wheel Dash:

dialog box appears.
3 Select Pi Steering Wheel Dash from the Type list.
Dash dialog box Pi Steering Wheel dash Gear Change page

You can set a minimum of one and a maximum of eight gears.
Setup
Setup 261
In the example below, for each gear Pattern 1 will display when the RPM is 1000 below
Gear etc.


Message Centre
The Message Centre can display six separate items (including text and channels) using a
total of 24 characters.
To set up the Message Centre:

dialog box appears.
2 Click the Message Centre tab.
Setup
Dash dialog box with Message Centre tab selected
3 Select a Page from the list (Race, Start, or Practice).
Setup 263
You normally use a mixture of fixed text and channel values to display on the Message
Centre.
To set fixed text:

1 Click New.
2 Click Display.
3 Select Fixed Text from the list in Format.
Dash dialog box with Fixed Text format selected
4 Enter the text to be displayed in the Text box.

The number of spaces and characters remaining available in the Message Centre is shown
in the Available: area of the dialog box. The text entered in the above figure was actually
WJF (where F is a (Space)). The spacing of the items needs to be carefully planned. A
decimal point uses a character, so 99.99 would use 5 characters.

To set up a channel:
1 Select Channel in the Format box of the Dash dialog box.
Dash dialog box with Channel format selected
2 Select a channel in the Channel list or drag a channel from the Channel
Setup
Database on to a section of the Message Centre.
3 Define the number of decimal places and the field width required.
In the above dialog box channel WJ would return a value such as 68.56 (five characters,
a field width of 5.)
Example of setting up a Message Centre display

A (Space) in the example below only is indicated by
Fixed Fixed Fixed

Text Text Text
WJ)#####)F)#####)BSP) ###
Channel Channel Channel
value value value
Example of how a Message Centre display is set up
Message Centre display for the above message
Setup 265
You can move Fixed Text entries and Channels to a different position on the Message
Centre.
To move text entries or channels on the Message Centre:
1 Click on the text entry or channel on the Message Centre you want to move.
2 Click to move the item to the left, or to move the item to the right.
A button will only be available if you can move the entry in the direction indicated.
You can remove items from the Message Centre.

To remove items from the Message Centre:
1 Click on the text entry or channel on the Message Centre you want to re-
move.
2 Click Remove.
You can select items on the Message Centre.

To select items on the Message Centre:
1 Click on a text entry or channel on the Message Centre.
2 Click Prev or Next to move along the Message Centre.
A button will only be available if you can move in the direction indicated.

You can list the entries used on the Message Centre.
To show a list of entries on the Message Centre:
1 Click List.
Setup
Dash dialog box Message Centre page showing a completed setup
Setup 267
Message Centre Display field actions
Dash dialog box.
Message Centre Page options

changed.
Page options

Message Centre Alarm options
set up to behave differently. – i.e. One field could show the alarm message (descriptor text),
another the channel value, and the third showing the units text. All of the other fields could
Alarm options
Setup
Message Centre Offload options
to display Offloading and the others to be blank.
Offload options
Setup 269
Message Centre Lap adjust options
lap counter and change the overall race distance The system can then recalculate fuel
Lap adjust options
Message Centre Tank fill options

Tank Fill options

Message Centre Fuel reset options
You could set these this option so that Fuel Reset displays Fuel Reset.
Fuel Reset options
Setup
Setup 271
Pi Omega Dash set up
The Omega dash has four 7-segment LED numerical display fields, (one central single
character for Gear Number, and three 5-character), one 14-segment LED alpha-numerical
Message Centre display field and one bar graph display field (for RPM/gearshift). The dash
also includes a backlight colour alarm feature and four integrated buttons.
Display Options
In addition to the above display fields you can connect a Pi Omega Dash Shift/alarm mod-
ule, two 5-digit 7-segment LED numerical display Pi Satellite modules and a Pi Satellite
Alarm light module.

To set up a Pi Omega Dash:
1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Dash. The Dash page
appears.
2 Select Pi Omega Dash from the Type list.
Setup
Numerics page with Pi Omega Dash selected
Setup 273
Pi Omega Dash display fields
On a Pi Omega Dash there are five available display fields. All of the display fields are
available on three separate pages (Race, Start and Practice) and are used for displaying
fixed text, channel information or lap time.
3 Select a Page (Race, Start or Practice) from the list in the Page box.
Setting the RPM Bargraph display field
4 Click on the bargraph. The Numerics page changes to show the RPM Bargraph
area.
RPM Bargraph area
5 Choose a value from the list in the Max RPM Scaling for the maximum RPM
level for the bargraph.
The Scale below the bargraph changes to reflect the RPM value chosen.
6 Click Save to save the changes, or click Undo to return to the previous set-
tings..
Setting annunciators:
Annunciators are used to display fixed text labels on the dash e.g. FUEL, BOOST, MPH
7 Select an annunciator by clicking on the annunciator text. The text will appear
on the dash if it is in CAPITALS.

8 Click on the relevant field button.
9 Click Display.
Setup
Channel Database.
14 Click Save to save the setup, or click Undo to return to the previous settings.
To display Fixed Text:
es.
Setup 275
To display Timing information:
3 Select a Channel from the list in the Channel box.
To set up Pi Satellite modules
1 Click on the required satellite and choose the channel and options as detailed
above
2 Click Save to save the setup, or click Undo to return to the previous settings..

Dash dialog box.
Section of Dash dialog box with Action on button selected

Page options
changed.
Page options
Alarm options
Setup
set up to behave differently. – e.g. one field could show the Alarm message (descriptor
text), another the channel value, and the third showing the units text. All of the other fields
could be set to go blank when Alarm details are displayed.
Alarm options
Setup 277
Offload options
For when the system is offloading you can select what you wish to be displayed. Set one
field up to display OFFLD and the others to be blank.
Offload options
Lap adjust options

lap counter and change the overall race distance. The system can then recalculate fuel
Lap adjust options

Tank fill options
Tank Fill options
Fuel reset options

Setup
Fuel Reset options
Gear Number display field

The output of System Channel named GearNumber will light the 7-segment gear number
LED. Refer to Setting up GearNumber.
Setup 279
Pi Omega Dash shift/
alarm module
If you are using a Pi Omega Dash Shift/alarm module, you can set patterns for the LEDs
to light at selected RPM values. The shift light module has seven LEDs (4 green, 2 yellow
and one red), for the shift light function and a single red LED as the alarm light. You can
set a maximum of eight different patterns for each of the three display pages.
To set LED patterns for a Pi Omega Dash Shift/alarm module:

dialog box appears.
Gear Change page for a Pi Omega Dash
You can set a minimum of one and a maximum of nine gears.

Setup
In the example below, for each gear, Pattern 1 will display when the RPM is 1000 below
Gear etc.
Setup 281

Pi Omega Dash
Message Centre
The Message Centre can display six separate items (including text and channels) using a
total of 14 characters.
To set up the Message Centre:

dialog box appears.
2 Click the Message Centre tab.
Setup
Dash dialog box with Message Centre tab selected
3 Select a Page from the list (Race, Start, or Practice).
Setup 283
You normally use a mixture of Fixed Text and Channel values to display on the Message
Centre.
To set Message Centre Fixed Text:
1 Click New.
2 Click Display.
3 Select Fixed Text from the list in Format.
Dash dialog box with Fixed Text format selected
4 Enter the text to be displayed in the Text box.

The number of spaces and characters remaining available in the Message Centre is shown
in the Available: area of the dialog box. The text entered in the above figure was actually
WJF (where F is a (Space)). The spacing of the items needs to be carefully planned. A
decimal point uses a character, so 99.99 would use 5 characters.
5 To make the Message flash check (✓) Flashing.

To set up a Message Centre Channel:
1 Select Channel in the Format box of the Dash dialog box.
Dash dialog box with Channel format selected
2 Select a channel in the Channel list or drag a channel from the Channel
Setup
Database on to a section of the Message Centre.
3 Define the number of decimal places and the field width required.
In the above dialog box channel WJ would return a value such as 68.56 (five characters,
a field width of 5.)
Example of setting up a Message Centre display

A (Space) in the example below only is indicated by F.
Example of how a Message Centre display is set up
Message Centre display for the above message
Setup 285
You can move Fixed Text entries and Channels to a different position on the Message
Centre.
To move Message Centre text entries or channels on the Message Centre:
1 Click on the text entry or channel on the Message Centre you want to move.
2 Click to move the item to the left, or to move the item to the right.
A button will only be available if you can move the entry in the direction indicated.
You can remove items from the Message Centre.

To remove items from the Message Centre:
1 Click on the text entry or channel on the Message Centre you want to re-
move.
2 Click Remove.
You can select items on the Message Centre.

To select items on the Message Centre:
1 Click on a text entry or channel on the Message Centre.
2 Click Prev or Next to move along the Message Centre.
A button will only be available if you can move in the direction indicated.

You can list the entries used on the Message Centre.
To show a list of entries on the Message Centre:

1 Click List.
Setup
Message Centre page showing a List
Setup 287
Message Centre Display field actions
Dash dialog box.
Message Centre Page options

changed.
Page options

Message Centre Alarm options
set up to behave differently. – i.e. one field could show the alarm message (descriptor text),
another the channel value, and the third showing the units text. All of the other fields could
Alarm options
Setup
Message Centre Offload options
to display Offloading and the others to be blank.
Offload options
Setup 289
Message Centre Lap adjust options
lap counter and change the overall race distance The system can then recalculate fuel
Lap adjust options
Message Centre Tank fill options

Tank Fill options

Message Centre Fuel reset options
You could set these this option so that Fuel Reset displays Fuel Reset.
Fuel Reset options
The FUEL option activates the Fuel Reset Command.
Setup
You can configure up to four different pages of information to display on the dash. Each
page can be one of three types: Pit, Race or Lap. The pages are scrolled using the buttons
on the sides of the dash, which can be configured using the settings on the Miscellaneous
page of the Setup.
5 Click a Page tab.
The display fields change colour as the mouse cursor passes over them and the channel
drop down list associated with a display field is highlighted.
6 Select the channel drop down list which is corresponds to the display field you
want to configure.
7 Choose the channel that you wish to display in the field from the drop down
list.
You can use the button and choose from the list which appears or type the first letter of
the channel name. If you have several channel names with the same first letter keep typing
the letter until the channel you want is selected in the channel box.
8 Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each of the display fields on a Page.
9 Set a page display option (Pit, Race or Lap) by checking the appropriate
checkbox.
If you set a page to be both a Pit and a Race page, then the page will display all the
time.
Setup 291
If you choose just the Race page display option, the page will only be displayed when the
Dash Race Page Threshold speed (on the Miscellaneous page) has been exceeded.
If you choose the Lap page display option, the page is only displayed when a valid End-
of-Lap beacon code is detected. The selected channels in the page are displayed for 10
seconds and then the display returns to the previous page display.
10 Configure the other available Pages as required.

Setting up Pi Omega dash alarms
Using the Alarms page you can set up to twenty different alarms.
After you have completed setting up alarms you must click Save to save the changes, or
click Undo to return to the previous settings.
To set up Pi Omega dash alarms:

Setup
Pi Omega dash Alarms page
2 Click New.
Setup 293
3 Click Trigger and choose an Event from the list in the Events box which will
trigger the Alarm.
Choosing an Event from the Events list
If you set up a relevant Alarms option in the Action On area of the Message Centre page
you can choose which channel to display when the alarm is triggered.
4 Click Channels. Choose a channel to display in the Message Centre when the
alarm is triggered.
Choosing a channel to display in the Message Centre

You can choose an Event that will automatically cancel the alarm when the specified
parameters have been reached.
5 Click Cancel and choose an Event from the list in the Events box.
6 To allow the alarm to be cancelled automatically when the chosen Event

occurs check (✓) Enabled.
Setup
To allow the alarm to be cancelled using the Red button on the Pi Omega dash check (✓)
Allow driver to cancel the alarm.
Alarm backlight
The Pi Omega dash has an option to change the backlight colour to red when an Alarm is
triggered. To select this option click the light gray coloured ALARM BACKLIGHT annuncia-
tor. The annunciator is active when it is black. To de-activate the annuciator click ALARM
BACKLIGHT and the colour reverts to light gray.
When the Alarm is cancelled (either manually or automatically) the backlight reverts to the
default colour.
Alarm annunciator
In addition to changing the background colour when an alarm is triggered you can also choose
to display the word ALARM on the dash. Click the light gray word annunciator ALARM to
activate. The annunciator is active when it is black.
To de-activate the annuciator click ALARM and the colour reverts to light gray.
Setup 295
Pi Omega dash Shift/alarm light LED module
You can attach an optional shift/alarm LED module to the Pi Omega dash and choose to
set the alarm light when an alarm has been triggered.
To activate the Shift/alarm light LED module alarm light LED

Click the alarm LED to activate the alarm light when an alarm is triggered.
Click the alarm LED to activate
The LED changes to red when selected.
To de activate the Shift/alarm light LED module alarm light

Click the LED when it is red to de-activate the alarm light.
Satellite alarm module

You can connect an optional Satellite alarm module to the Pi Omega dash. You can then
choose to activate an LED (or LEDs) when an alarm is triggered.
To activate LEDs on a Satellite alarm module

Click an LED to activate that LED when an alarm is triggered.
Click an LED to activate it
Save the Pi Omega dash setup

When you have finished the setting up the Pi Omega dash click Save to save the setup.

Switch Application
This section outlines the Switch Application and Switch to CAN boxes.
Overview
The Switch Application is analogous to a patch board. It maps real life switch inputs to bits
in a channel. The idea is that you create an output channel, e.g. DisplaySwitch and you
select which physical switch inputs affect which bits of your output channel.
Switch inputs in Pi Sigma are not directly wired to the MCU or SCU. Instead they are con-
verted to a CAN serial stream and read by a CAN serial port on the MCU. This removes
any limitation on the number of switches possible.
Switch to CAN box Switch Application

? 1
SW1 ? 0
SW2 ? 1
CAN (Id1) ? 0
SW3 1 0 DisplaySwitch
0 0
SW4 1 0
0 0
000000000101
????0101???? ? 0
? 0
? 0
? 0
Representation of switch inputs mapped to an output channel
The figure above shows a Switch to CAN box (on the left) accepting 4 switch inputs. These
switch inputs are sent via CAN and are decoded by the Switch Application which creates
the appropriate mapping for an output channel. The channel in the figure above is named
DisplaySwitch.

Switch to CAN boxes
You use a Switch to CAN box to transform the switch inputs to a CAN message. In this way
you can daisy chain CAN boxes together to attach as many switch inputs as you like (up
to 14 CAN units on one can input). Each CAN box has a unique identity. You need to tell
the Pi Sigma System which CAN boxes are on the vehicle. The standard Switch to CAN
box has a CAN ID of 1.
If you add another Switch to CAN box it must have a different ID. Pi Research can change
the CAN ID of CAN boxes (note you will probably need an adapter loom, available from
Pi Research.)
The Pi Steering Wheel Dash has a CAN interface built in. The CAN ID of this interface can
be changed by Pi Research.
The Slave Control Unit Properties dialog box (shown below) is the properties box of the
SCU (or MCU if MCU is selected), both of which can accept a CAN input.
Setup
To tell Pi Workshop the CAN box IDs:
2 Select SCU (or MCU).
3 Right click in the window and select Properties… from the pop-up menu. The
Properties dialog box appears.
Slave Control Unit Properties dialog box
Setup 298
4 Click the CAN Setup tab. Select the IDs of the CAN boxes fitted to the vehi-
cle.
The Switch to CAN box only has access to four switches. The CAN interface built into the
Steering Wheel Dash can accept up to 12 switch inputs.
Switches float high and are grounded by the switch, therefore the usual state of a switch
input (i.e. not pressed) is TRUE (or 1) whilst the pressed state is FALSE (or 0.) You can
invert this in the Switch Application if required. Using the Switch Application
To open the Switch Application:

1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double click on Switch. The Switch
dialog box appears.
Switch dialog box
You can have several output channels made up from the state of any Switch (from any
CAN box).
The Rate specifies the rate at which the output channel selected (in this case there is only
one) is generated, and therefore is the maximum rate at which it can be consumed.

The Switch dialog box above shows the mapping for default database channel named
DisplaySwitch. It is zoomed in below.
Channel bit Switch to CAN CAN message Whether the

number box ID bit bit is inverted
Switch dialog box zoomed to show mapping of channel DisplaySwitch
This means that the state of bit 0 of the channel DisplaySwitch will be the inverted state
of the sixth bit of the CAN message from the Switch to CAN box ID 1, situated on Node
0x05 (i.e. an SCU). This is shown in the figure at the start of this section.
Setup
Adding an Output
Channel
To add an Output Channel:

1 Right click on the left hand panel of the Switch dialog box.
2 Select New Channel from the pop-up menu. The New Switch dialog box ap-
pears.
3 Name the new switch and select a rate.
4 Click OK. The new switch name is displayed in the Switch dialog box.
5 Right click on the new name and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
6 Complete the properties dialog box as required.
Setup 300
Editing the Mapping
To edit the Mapping:

1 Highlight the output channel in the Switch dialog box.
2 Double click on the bit. The Switch Properties dialog box appears.
Switch Properties dialog box
This lets you select which bit from which CAN message should be used to control the
required bit of the output channel. In the Switch Properties dialog box shown above, the
Output bit, bit 0 of a channel named DisplaySwitch is mapped to the inverted bit 6 of the
CAN message ID 1 from Node 0x05.
Source
Switch Properties dialog box showing the Source list
The Source List allows you to select from either fixed values (0 or 1) or the bits from one
of the Switch to CAN boxes attached to the system.
Output channel named DisplaySwitch

In the example above an output channel called DisplaySwitch was created. This is a chan-
nel which the Dash Application uses to facilitate the standard Pi switch functions, Page
change, Alarm cancel, and Fuel functions.

Validity
The output of the Switch Application is a U32. The first 16 bits can be set up by the Switch
Application. The last 16 bits refer to the validity of the channel.
Bit 16 is TRUE if Bit 0 is VALID, it is FALSE if the bit is invalid, and so on.
This is useful for critical applications, which can check the validity of the switch to see if
the CAN stream is OK. If the CAN stream is disconnected for more than 200 ms then all
bits from that Switch to CAN box are marked invalid (you can easily check this in code by
ANDing the upper and lower 16 bits.)
Setup
Setup 302
Telemetry Application
The following section outlines the method required to set up the Telemetry Application
with a Pi Sigma System. The telemetry setup of a Pi Sigma system is very critical. If set
incorrectly, End-of-lap telemetry will overfill Continuous telemetry and the user will be left
with no telemetry.
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Telemetry Sources and Telemetry Streams

Telemetry Sources take channel data and Events and create Data Streams. Data Streams
are sent to the serial communication ports of Pi Sigma systems for connection to a telem-
etry system.
The Telemetry Application generates up to four different Data Streams that comprise data
from any combination of the sixteen Telemetry Data Sources and four Event Sources.
Setup 303
Channels and Telemetry Data Sources
A Telemetry Data Source is a collection of channels that can be combined into a Serial
Stream for transmission by a telemetry system. A maximum of 16 Telemetry Data Sources
are supported.
Events and Event Sources

An Event Source is a collection of Events that can be combined into a Serial Stream for
transmission by a telemetry system. A maximum of four different Event Sources are sup-
ported.
Telemetry Serial Streams

A Telemetry Serial Stream is a serial stream of data that is a combination of channel
and Event data from a combination of Telemetry Data Sources and Event Sources.
A maximum of four different serial streams can be defined.
Types of telemetry
Telemetry data is categorised as either End-of-Lap or Continuous and is generated by the

Telemetry Source. The Trigger Mode determines the transmission points and the telemetry
data category.
Telemetry Sources have three Trigger Modes

n Start-Stop – used to create end-of lap telemetry
n Fixed-Length Run – for localised telemetry data transmission
n Continuous – for continuous telemetry data transmission
The Default template is supplied with two pre-configured Telemetry Sources: continuous
and end-of-lap; and a single Event Source.

Setting up telemetry
This section shows how to set up a telemetry stream with Pi Sigma system.
To set up telemetry:
1 In the Setup Data Manager Apps branch double double-click on Telemetry.
The Telemetry dialog box appears.
Setup
Telemetry When dialog box with Continuous Telemetry Source selected
The When page shows Telemetry Sources and Event Sources.
To set the Continuous Telemetry Options on the When page :

1 Click the Continuous Telemetry Source.
2 Select the Continuous Trigger Mode option.
3 If Start-Stop is required, select Start-Stop ad set the Start and Stop events.
4 Click on the Advanced… button. The Data Engine Advanced Properties dialog
box appears.
Setup 305
Data Engine Advanced Properties dialog box
5 Select the Automatic Message Size option and click OK. The Data Engine
Advanced Properties dialog box closes.
This uses the list of channels in the Telemetry table, plus the rates at which they are sent,
and calculates the amount of data sent in each packet.
Each channel in the Data Source Setup has a Rate (Hz) at which it is added to the Te-
lemetry Data stream. The higher the Rate the more channel data is sent at the expense
of overall bandwidth. Bandwidth is determined by the transmission capability or baud rate
of the telemetry system.
Message Size
The Message Size affects how data is received. A long message has a greater chance of
corruption by interference and noise.
A shorter Message Size increases the chances of the telemetry system receiving a com-
plete telemetry message in areas of poor reception. However, a smaller Message Size
increases message repeats and reduces overall bandwidth.

Pi Sigma stream optimization
When configuring a continuous Pi Sigma telemetry stream, it is possible to optimise the
configuration of the stream to significantly enhance coverage levels. Where maximisation
of coverage is required, the following procedure is recommended.
1 Only send the minimum acceptable group of channels required.
2 Reduce each channel’s send rates to the minimum acceptable. It is worth
considering that the Pi Workshop Watch Cards are refreshed at 5Hz, hence
any highly transient channels sent purely to be watched in Pi Workshop need
not be sent at more than 5Hz. When a highly transient channel is logged via
telemetry, or its value history is watched in Pi Workshop (e.g. as a time/dis-
tance plot), it may be appropriate to send the channel via telemetry at more
than 5Hz.
3 Assuming that the percentage of the stream used is now less than the maxi-
mum for the radio, open the Data Engine Advanced Properties and select
Setup
Manual Message Size. Reduce the manual message size incrementally until
the stream usage equals the maximum for the radio.
The reason that the continuous stream usage should be maximised is because the trans-
mitting radio will cease to remain in its transmitting mode after a certain time period has
expired. If the continuous stream percentage is not maximised, pauses will exist between
packets sent by a Pi Sigma MCU.
Baud rates and bandwidth
baud bandwidth (bytes per second) 80% bandwidth

300 30 24
600 60 48
1200 120 96
2400 240 192
4800 480 384
9600 960 768
19200 1920 1536
38400 3840 3072
57600 5760 4608
115200 11520 9216
230400 23040 18432
460800 46080 36864
The rule is send lots of channels at low rates or less channels at higher rates.
Setup 307
Setting the End of Lap Telemetry Options on the When page:
1 Click on End of Lap. The When page changes to show the End of Lap op-
tions.
Telemetry When window with End-of-Lap Telemetry Source selected
2 Select Fixed-Length Run option as the Trigger Mode.

3 Select End of Lap as the Start Trigger.
4 Set the Run Duration to 0.001 seconds.
5 Click the Advanced… button and select Automatic Message Size.

Setting the Events Telemetry Options on the When page:
1 Click on Event Engine. The When page changes to show the Telemetry Event
Source Properties options.
Setup
Telemetry Event Source When page
Setup 309
To set the What page options:
1 Click the What tab. The What page appears.
Telemetry What dialog box with Continuous Telemetry Source selected
To set Continuous Telemetry Options on the What page:

1 Click Continuous in the Telemetry Sources window.
This is the page in which channels are dragged to include them in the Continuous
stream.
2 To add a channel to the list, select the channel name in the Global Channel
Database and drag it into the Data Source Setup window.
The example above shows that LapFuelEconomy will be transmitted at 2Hz whilst LapTime
and LapNumber will be transmitted at 5Hz.
With this setup the MCU will transmit 68 bytes/second. To validate this, a 9600 baud radio
will transmit 960 bytes/second.

To set End Of Lap Telemetry (EOL) Options on the What page:
1 Click End of Lap in the Telemetry Sources window.
This is the page in which channels are dragged to include them in the EOL stream
2 To add a channel to the list, select the channel name in the Global Channel
Database and drag it into the Data Source Setup window.
Setup
Telemetry What dialog box with End-of-Lap Telemetry Source selected
In this page the rate is effectively ignored because the system will just send a snapshot
value.
Setup 311
To set Event Engine Telemetry Options on the What page:
1 Click Event Engine in the Telemetry Sources dialog box.
This is the page in which Events are selected to include them in the Event Telemetry
stream.
Telemetry What dialog box with Event Engine Source selected

To add Events to the Telemetry Event engine:
1 Click the Add Event button. The Add Event dialog box appears.
Add Events dialog box
Setup
2 Select the Events you want to add. Click OK.
Setup 313
To set the Where to page options:
1 Click the Where to tab. The Where to page appears.
Telemetry window with Where to tab selected
2 The Baud Rate should be set to match the hardware radio that is being
used.
3 If telemetry logging is to be used, check (✓) the Logging Enable option.
4 Set the Storage path where the telemetry data will be stored.

Telemetry Sources (Priority Order)
For each stream you can combine any of the defined End-Of-Lap or Continuous Telemetry
Data Sources and Event Sources. The priority determines the order of the data in the serial
stream. Higher priority engines introduce their channels before lower priority engines. Use
the Up and Dn buttons to promote or demote Telemetry Sources.
To set Telemetry Sources Priority Order:
Note: End of Lap source is top priority. If any of the other settings need to be changed, it
is wise to check the setup first to ensure that telemetry is not detrimentally affected.
1 Select the source you want to change and click the Up button or the Dn button
to move the chosen source up or down the list.
To check the Continuous Options:
Setup
1 Click Continuous in the Telemetry Sources (priority order) window.
When Continuous is highlighted, the settings should be set to those shown in the previous
figure.
Note: The text at the bottom of the window indicates how much of the stream is being
used. It is wise to keep this below 80%.
Setup 315
To check the End Of Lap Options:
1 Click End of Lap in the Telemetry Sources (priority order) window.
The Telemetry Source Settings shown below should be used for the EOL stream.
Telemetry dialog box Where to page with End of Lap Telemetry Source selected

To check the Event Engine Options:
1 Click Event Engine in the Telemetry Sources (priority order) dialog box.
Setup
Telemetry dialog box Where to page with Event Engine Source selected
Setup 317
Tell the MCU which
Serial Port to use
The next step is to set up the configuration to send the telemetry information through the
correct Serial Port on the MCU.
To select a Serial setup for the Telemetry stream:

tion. The Pi Sigma Configuration dialog box appears.
Pi Sigma Configuration dialog box with pop-up menu displayed
2 Right click on Logger.

3 Select Serial Setup… from the pop-up menu. The Serial Setup dialog box
appears.
Serial Setup dialog box
Setup
4 Click the tab for the Serial Port you are using for your telemetry.
The Telemetry Stream is usually sent through Port 2B.
5 Select RS232/TTL in/out from the list in the Config box.
6 Select Realtime Telemetry (9600) from the list in the Output box.
7 Select None from the list in the Input window.
8 Set the Baud Rate to 9600, the Stop Bits to 1 and the Data Length to 8.
9 Click OK.
Setup 319
Writing a Math Channel
This section shows how to write a Math Channel or Calibration.
Overview
One of the powerful features of the Pi Sigma system is its Math Channel capability. You
can write Math Channels with any number of inputs and outputs.
Math Channels that use only one input are called Simple. Math channels that use more
than one input are called Complex (a mathematical term meaning composed of more than
one.)
Setup
Math Channels are usually an equation, relating the output channel to one or more vari-
ables. You assign channels available on the box to variables used in your equation. For
example:
y = 3x+17.4 where y is the output, and the variable x is an input channel.
Setup 321
Adding a Math Channel
To start you must add a blank Math Channel.
To add a blank Math Channel:

1 In the Setup Data Manager right click on the Maths Channels section.
2 Click Attach Math Channel… from the pop-up menu. The Attach Math Chan-
nel dialog box appears.
Attach Math Channels dialog box
3 Select the type of Math Channel you want to add.

There are three types of Math Channel:
n The Group Math Channel (Equation) allows several equation-type Math
channels to be edited in the same dialog box.
n The Single Math Channel (Equation) can have multiple input channels but
generates a single output channel with an equation calibration.
n The Single Math Channel (Table) takes one input channel, applies a
transfer function specified as a look-up table and generates a single output
channel.
The Group Math Channel is used in this section as an example.
4 The Properties dialog box for the Math Channel appears.
5 Click the Information tab and enter a name for the Math Channel in the Name
section.
This is the name that will be displayed in the Math Channel branch of the Setup Data
Manager.

Setup
Math Channel properties dialog box with Information tab selected
6 Type a description of the Math Channel in the Comments section.

This description will remind you what this Math Channel actually does. It will be displayed
as a tool tip when you float the mouse over this Math Channel in Pi Workshop.
Setup 323
Define the inputs to be used as variables in your equation:
1 Click the Variables tab on the Math Channel properties dialog box. This page
holds all of the input information.
Math Channel properties dialog box with Variables tab selected
2 Click Add… to add a new variable. The Variable Properties dialog box
appears.

Setup
You must now decide which channel you wish to assign to this variable.
Adding a variable:
1 Name the Variable. (You might decide to have something more meaningful
than the default name x).
2 Select an Input Channel from the drop down box.
3 Select the Units which you want to use in this channel.
Pi Sigma understands the difference between different units and will automatically scale
the channel. So if you want your equation in inHg you would just select it here.
4 Enter a Description. This is mainly used to remind you what this input does
in the equation.
5 Continue adding all the inputs you need for your Math Channel.
Setup 325
They will be listed like this :
Math Channel properties dialog box showing Input Channels

Define the outputs
You must now define the equation (or transfer function – which is a control engineering term
meaning the ‘ratio of the output versus the input in terms of the Laplace operator S’).
1 Click the Transfer Function tab.
Setup
Math Channel Properties dialog box with Transfer Functions tab selected
2 Type the output channel name in the Channel block in the Channel area of
the Generated Channels section.
3 Select a Rate option.
Setup 327
If the Fixed Rate option is selected the channel is generated on the MCU at the rate speci-
fied. If the Key Variable option is selected, the channel is generated by the PC either on
offload, or over telemetry. The channel is then generated at the rate of the Variable you
have chosen.
You can have more than one output if you want. Each output channel has its own calibra-
tion.
4 Set the Quantity in the Quantity block in the Channel area of the Generated
Channels section.
5 Set the units in which you are calibrating your output in the Unit block in the
Channel area of the Generated Channels section.
Pi Sigma will then understand what units you have calibrated the output(s) in and can scale
the channel correctly if you want to view the channel in different units.
6 Enter the Equation in the Equation text box.
7 Click Check to validate the equation.
Example equation
The equation text box above is for the output channel Brake Balance. If you added more
than one output channel then the equation box above will change to reflect the output chan-
nel equation you are editing – this depends on which channel is highlighted.
Inserting variables into an equation:

The variable you define can be inserted into the equation (so you don’t have to remember
them).
1 Click Variables… Select the variable from the list displayed. Alternatively you
can type the variable name.

Inserting an operator
An operator (for example plus or a minus) can be inserted.
1 Click Operators… Select an operator from the menu displayed. Alternatively
you can type it in.
Floating the mouse over each operator gives a tool tip to explain how to use each one.
More detailed operator behaviour (including precedence and precision) is available in the
Math channels operators and functions section.
Channel usage
This page gives a description of where in the system this Math Channel is being used.
1 Click the Channel Usage tab.
Setup
Math Channel Properties dialog box with Channel Usage tab selected
Setup 329
Look Up Table
You can make a look up table instead of an equation as a Math Channel.

1 In the Setup Data Manager right click on the Maths Channels branch.
A pop-up menu appears.
2 Click Attach Math Channel… The Attach Maths Channel dialog ox appears.
3 Select Single Math Channel (Table). The Single Math Channel (Table) dialog
box appears.
Single Math Channel (Table) dialog box
Everything is similar to before, except you can only do one-dimensional look up table at
the moment, so the UI dialog box is simplified and only includes one input and one output
channel.

Once you have defined your output channel (in the tab called Channel Info) you select
your input channel from the drop down box. Specify the units you want to use, and type
in the values.
Use the (tab) key to add extra elements in the table.
Note: You can cut and paste from Microsoft Excel™.
Types of fit
There are several different fits available to your tabulated values. These are Sample and
Hold, Interpolate, and Extrapolate. You select these from the Type pull down box at the
bottom right of the dialog box.
Setup
Sample and hold Interpolate Extrapolate
Types of fit
Setup 331
Organising math channels
Math channels may be arranged into folders of related items. Use Hierarchical Folders to
Organise Your Math Channels
The New Folder option allows you to arrange your Math channels so that they easier to
maintain, and it looks better than one long list. You can make your folders first and add
Math channels to each folder, or you can drag the Math channels into different folders
afterwards. Just like files in Windows™ Explorer.
To create a new maths channel folder:

1 Right-click on the Maths Channels loom or on a Maths folder. Select New
Folder.
2 Math channels can be dragged into the folder and new ones created in the
folder.
Math channels and the sensor Loom

Say that a Math Channel exists which calculates wheelspeed from a gearbox input shaft
speed. Such a channel will depend on gear ratio, and hence on a particular gearbox. These
channels can be stored in the loom so that they are replaced with the gearbox sub-loom.
To create such channels:

1 Right-click on the Pi Workshop Settings icon on the windows task bar. Select
the Expert option.
2 In the Setup Data Manager Loom branch right-click on a connector.
3 Select New Maths Folder.
4 Name the new folder.
Use the new folder as if it was part of the Maths Channels loom.

Registers
Overview
Pi Workshop and Pi Sigma allow manipulation of channel outputs directly by using ‘regis-
ters’ stored in memory.
Registers may be used via the equation entry area of a channel (Math Channels or Sen-
sors). Each channel has a maximum of seven registers associated with it, numbered a0
through to a6. All registers are set to zero whenever the logger is ‘reset’. For example
this could be when a setup is sent to the MCU or when the MCU is power cycled; i.e. the
contents of the registers are not ‘reset’ every time the channel is calculated.
Setup
Maths Channels are calculated on the box using the base rate of the channel. e.g. if the
channel is transmitted on telemetry at 100Hz then the channel is calculated every 10mS.
Setup 333
Example - a simple filter
If, for example, a channel has a particularly noisy or fast changing value and a control
system is trying to use this channel then it is possible to apply an averaging filter to the
output of a channel. For the purposes of this example a rolling filter is used but more
complex filters could be fashioned. The following expression is used in the equation area
of the channel;
a4 (@a3) ; a3 (@a2) ; a2 (@a1) ; a1 (@a0) ; a0 (x) ; (@a4 + @a3

+ @a2 + @a1 + @a0) / 5
Semi colons are used to define particular actions.
The operating system in Pi Sigma will perform each of the actions sequentially as it reads
the equation from left to right.
The ‘@’ symbol loosely translates to a ‘get the contents out of’, type operation.
The first function ‘a4 (@a3)’ translates to ‘load register a4 with the contents of register
a3’.
Although contained in the middle of this expression, the most important action is ‘a0 (x)’,
which translates to ‘load register a0 with an instantaneous sample of channel x’. i.e. the
main channel ‘x’ is loaded into register a0. This sample then subsequently passes through
each register until ‘over written’ in register a4.
Finally the contents of the registers are summed and then divided by the number of reg-
isters to obtain an average value. The average value is the result of the channel that the
system uses.
It can be seen that a change in the value of ‘x’ will propagate from a0 through to a4 on
each pass through by the rate task. So, if the channel is calculated at 100Hz then the filter
response will be similar to a 20Hz roll off but with a time (phase) delay of about 4mS, which
incidentally, may affect dynamic data analysis.

Example - a counter
resetting at the Beacon
In the next example a counter is used which ramps up in value until a beacon is seen
whereupon it resets and starts to count over again.
a1 ( ( @a1 + 1 ) * ! ( c - @a2 ) ) ; a2 ( c ) ; @a1

In the Variables tab of the Math equation the channel ‘LapNumber’ has been assigned a
variable name of ‘c’, which is then used in this expression.
The first operation not only performs the count but also ‘tests’ to see if the lap number has
changed.
To perform this test the variable ‘c’ is compared to the contents of register a2. Depend-
ing upon the answer to this test the count is ‘reset’ (actually multiplied by 0 which has the
same effect).
Setup
Similarly another math comparison not equal ‘!=’ may be used which may be easier to
visualise.
The second expression loads the value of lap counter to register a2 ready for the next
time.
The final expression says to get the contents of register a1 and use this as the output.
(Incidentally it is not necessary to put the @a1 at the end of the statement as this can be
recognised anywhere in the expression.)
This channel will have the effect of counting up until a change in lap time is observed
whereupon the counter is reset to zero. This channel may have use in the calculation of
coverage for telemetry or for a rolling lap time for example.
Setup 335
Example - last Beacon
code seen channel
This channel will capture the last valid code that the beacon input has seen. The following
expression is used in an equation;
a3(c); a2( (@a2 * (@a3 >65000)) + (@a3 * (@a3 < 65000)) ); @a2
The variable ‘c’ is defined as BeaconRaw for use in the equation.
How it Works
Step 1
a3(c); translates to ‘load a3 with the value of ‘c’.
This is because c is referred to twice in the equation and it is important that the value does
not change during the evaluation.
Step 2
a2( (@a2 * (@a3 >65000)) + (@a3 * (@a3 < 65000)) ); translates to ‘if a3
is over 65000, then load a2 with a2’ (i.e. keep the same value) plus ‘if a3 is under 65000,
then load a2 with a3’ (i.e. the value of the variable c, BeaconRaw).
Step 3
@a2; translates to ‘set the maths channel output value to a2’.

Example - a Beacon
counter
This is a monotonic count of all beacons seen since the last logger reset. It could be easily
modified to give just the number of EOL’s or the number of Splits. The following expression
is used in an equation:
a4( ( @a4+(@a4!=0) ) * (@a4<100) ); a1( @a1 + (@a4 == 2) ); a4(

@a4 + ( (@a4 == 0) * (c<65000) ) ); @a1
How it Works
One way of thinking about this is as a ‘state engine’ with 101 states.
a4 holds the state (between 0 and 100)
a1 holds the beacon count
Setup
state operation
0 do nothing, if BeaconRaw = a valid code (in this case < 65000) increment
a4
1 increment a4, if a4 is greater than 100 force a4 to 0
2 increment a1, increment a4, if a4 is greater than 100 force a4 to 0
..
100 increment a4, if a4 is greater than 100 force a4 to 0
101 increment a4, if a4 is greater than 100 force a4 to 0 (which in this state is
true so we return to state 0 i.e. a4 is only incremented when a4 is non zero,
or when a4 is zero AND BeaconRaw is a valid code)
Step 1
a4( ( @a4+(@a4!=0) ) * (@a4<100) ); translates to ‘if a4 is greater than 100
then load a4 with 0’.
Alternatively this could be expressed as; a 4 ( ! ( @ a 4 > 1 0 0 ) ) because

( @a4+(@a4!=0) ) * (@a4<100) is a rather roundabout way of doing it (this says if
a4 is less than 100 load a4 with a4, else load with 0).
Step 2
a1( @a1 + (@a4 == 2) ); translates to ‘if a4 is equal to 2, increment a1 (Beacon-
Count)’
Setup 337
Step 3
a4( @a4 + ( (@a4 == 0) * (c<65000) ) ); translates to ‘If a4 is 0 and Bea-
conRaw is a valid beacon code increment a4’. This is the “trigger”.
Step 4
@a1; Set maths channel value equal to a1 (BeaconCount).
Potential problems with

registers
Starting with a zero value

Particular problems may be introduced at start up as the contents of all registers are zero.
i.e. it is not possible to pre-load a register with a starting value. If this is a problem then a
‘choose’ qualification could be used. For example;
a1 ( ( choose ( @a1, @a1 , x ) + x ) / 2 )

This expression will test the value of a1 to see if it is zero. If it is then it will use the variable
x in its place for the purposes of the calculation. This test is performed with every pass but
it will be highly unlikely for the register to be zero at any other time than at start up. The
complete expression merely filters the variable x by adding it one previous sample and
then dividing by two.
Overflowing registers
Similar caution should be exercised if the contents of the registers are likely to overflow.
The size of registers are doubled and so overflow will be unlikely.
Sampling on different nodes may give different answers

Because the same channel is calculated on every node on which it is used, and because
the nodes do not all start at e same moment, cumulative channels on different nodes might
give different answers.
Sampling the same channel more than once within a channel

Anything you use as an input to an equation can cause a problem if it is sampled twice – the

underlying value from TebNet might change in between the two reads if the source rate
does not equal the calculation rate. e.g. a0 = x ; a1 = x ; does a0 equal a1? Not
necessarily, but a2 = x; a1 = a2; a0 = a2 ; now a0 does equal a1.
Channels which only contain registers

If the equation definition for a channel only contains references to registers then the logger
will not regard this as an equation to be calculated. The trick to get around this is to make
some reference to a channel within the expression – hence the use of a constant type
channel in the counter example.
Setup
Setup 339
Math Channels Operators and Functions
This section describes the types of Math operations you can do in a Math Channel.
Note: Pi Sigma will return a value of zero for any valid math function that cannot be
evaluated.
Operators
The following table defines the operators that are supported in precedence order.
Operator Usage Description
Unary associate right to left

- -x unary negation
! !x logical negation: if x is not zero result is zero, else 1
~ ~x bitwise not: inverts every bit in x cast as a 32 bit integer
Multiplicative associate left to right
* x*y returns the product of x and y
/ x/y returns the dividend of x and y. If y = 0, then returns
zero.
Additive associate left to right
+ x+y calculates the sum of x and y
- x-y calculates the difference of x and y
Shift operators associate left to right
<< x << n shifts x cast as a 32 bit integer left n bits
>> x >> n shifts x cast as a 32 bit signed integer right n bits, sign
extending the result
Comparisons associate left to right
> x>y returns 1 if x > y else 0
>= x >= y returns 1 if x >= y else 0
<= x <= y returns 1 if x <= y else 0
< x<y returns 1 if x < y else 0

Equality
== x == y returns 1 if x equal y else 0
!= x != y returns 1 if x not equal y else 0
Bitwise associate left to right
& x&y Casts x and y to a 32 bit integer, and then bitwise AND’s
the two results.
| x|y Casts x and y to a 32 bit integer, and then bitwise OR’s
the two values.
Logical associate left to right
&& x && y returns 1 if both x and y are non zero else zero
^^ x ^^ y returns 0 if x and y are both non zero or zero, else 1
|| x || y returns 1 if either x or y are non zero else 0
Setup
Functions
The following table defines the functions which are supported.
rand Random value 0..1

Transcendental
acos acos(x) The acos function returns the arccosine of x in the
range 0 to p radians. If x is less than –1 or greater
than 1, acos returns an indefinite (same as a quiet
NaN).
asin asin(x) The asin function returns the arcsine of x in the
range –p/2 to p/2 radians. If x is less than –1 or
greater than 1, asin returns an indefinite (same as a
quiet NaN).
atan atan(x) atan returns the arctangent of x. If x is 0, atan
returns 0. atan returns a value in the range –p/2 to
p/2 radians.
Setup 341
atan2 atan2(x,y) atan2 returns the arctangent of y/x. If both

parameters of atan2 are 0, the function returns 0.
atan2 returns a value in the range –p to p radians,
using the signs of both parameters to determine the
quadrant of the return value.
sin sin(x) sin returns the sine of x. If x is greater than or equal
x in radians to 263, or less than or equal to –263, a loss of
significance in the result occurs.
cos cos(x) as sine but calculates the cosine x in radians
tan tan(x) tan returns the tangent of x. If x is greater than or
x in radians equal to 263, or less than or equal to –263, a loss of
significance in the result occurs, in which case the
function generates a _TLOSS error and returns an
indefinite (same as a quiet NaN).
sinh sinh(x) sinh returns the hyperbolic sine of x. If the result is
x in radians too large, sinh returns ±HUGE_VAL.
cosh cosh(x) as sinhx in radians
tanh tanh(x) tanh returns the hyperbolic tangent of x
x in radians
exp exp(x) The exp function returns the exponential value of
the floating-point parameter, x, if successful. On
overflow, the function returns INF (infinite) and on
underflow, exp returns 0.
hypot hypot(x,y) hypot returns the length of the hypotenuse of the
triang specified by x and y if successful or INF
(infinity) on overflow.
log log(x) The log functions return the natural logarithm of x if
successful. If x <= 0, returns 0.
log10 log10(x) The log functions return the logarithm base 10 of x if
successful. If x <= 0, returns 0.

pow pow(x,y) returns x to the power of y, except when:

(x=0 and y<=0) or (x<=0 and y is not integral) in
which case 0 is returned.
sqrt sqrt(x) The sqrt function returns the square-root of x. If x is
negative, sqrt returns 0.
Conversions
ceil ceil(x) The ceil function returns a double value

representing the smallest integer that is greater than
or equal to x.
floor floor(x) The floor function returns a double value
Setup
representing the largest integer that is less than or
equal to x.
fabs fabs(x) returns the absolute value of x.
fmod fmod(x/y) fmod returns the floating-point remainder of x / y. If
the value of y is 0.0, fmod returns 0.
min min(x,y) returns the lesser of x and y
max max(x,y) returns the greater of x and y
shr shr(x,n) converts x to a 32 bit unsigned integer, and shifts
the bits right n bits, shifting in zeroes in the high
order bits
choose choose(c,x,y) if (c is 1) returns x otherwise returns y
s8 s8(x) returns x casts to a signed byte
u8 u8(x) returns x cast to an unsigned byte
s16 s16(x) returns x cast to a signed word
u16 u16(x) returns x cast to an unsigned word
s32 s32(x) returns x cast to a signed word
u32 u32(x) returns x cast to an unsigned dword
Setup 343
Types
All operations are performed on 8 byte (64 bit) IEEE floating point values. When a cast
operator is used, the value is cast to the type specified, and then stored back into an 8 byte
IEEE float.
Constants
Constants are entered in standard notation. The exception is that if you want to enter a
number such as 1.3e-4, you must enclose it in single quotes, as ‘1.3e-4’.
Channels
Channels are entered into the equation by typing their name. If a channel includes spaces,
you must enclose it in single quotes. You can also drag and drop channels into the equation
editor, and quotes will be added as appropriate.

Real Time Data Manager
Introduction
The Real Time Data Manager provides a source of both Watch channel data from the
current System connected to the Pi Server application running on the Watch Server PC,
and Real Time Telemetry data from configured telemetry server PCs. The Real Time Data
Manager communicates over the network using Multicast IP protocols. This is illustrated
in the overview figure below. Pi Server will only broadcast the data when it receives data
from the telemetry system or from the Watch channels system.
Network server or hub

Telemetry
Setup
PC running Pi Server PC running Pi Workshop
Watch Requests Watch Requests

Global
Information Stream Information Stream Channels Controls
Database
Data Stream Data Stream
Watch channels
PC running Pi Workshop
Watch Requests
Global
Information Stream Channels Controls
Database
Data Stream
Real Time Data Manager overview
Before the Real Time Data Manager can be used the network must be configured for use
with Multicast IP by your Network administrator.
Setup 345
Real Time Data
Manager operation
The Real Time Data Manager uses a number of streams passed over the network be-
tween the Pi Server PC and a number of PCs, each running a Real Time Data Manager
in Pi Workshop.
Information Stream
The Information Stream from Pi Server contains only information on channels it can broad-
cast. It does not contain any data. The Information Stream is decoded by Pi Workshop and
the channels are shown in the Global Channels Database (GCDB).
Watch Requests
A Watch Request from Pi Workshop informs Pi Server that a particular channel will used
by a Control. The Watch Request is generated when a channel is dragged from the GCDB
onto the Control.
Data Stream
The Data Stream contains only data for those channels which have a Watch Request.

To set up a Real Time
Data Manager
To set up Pi Workshop Real Time Data Manager:

1 Click the Real Time Data Manager button on the Managers Toolbar.
A Real Time Data Manger is displayed in the Data Manager pane.
To connect the Pi Workshop Real Time Data Manager:
Setup
1 Right click on the Real Time Data Manager. Choose Connect from the pop-up
menu.
This will establish a connection to all configured server machines. Any errors during this
process will be displayed in the status tab and the status Circle will go red.
To set the Pi Workshop Real Time Data Manager Properties:

1 Right click on the Real Time Data Manager. Choose Properties from the pop-
up menu.
The Real Time Data Manager Properties dialog consists of four property pages: General,
Status, Hardware Setup and Track Map.
Setup 347
General page
Real Time Data Manager General page
Use the Name field to set the name of the Data Manager.
The Description field is a read only field that provides a brief description of the type of data
provided by the Real Time Data Manager.
The Watch Server Machine field is a combo box used to select the one and only Watch
server machine. A list of the most recently used machines shown.
The Telemetry Server Machine field is a read only edit box. It displays the name of the
telemetry server if only one is configured. If more than one telemetry server is configured
then this field will display <Multiple>.
Click the Config button to open the Additional Telemetry Servers dialog box.

Additional Telemetry Servers Dialog box
This dialog is used to manage the telemetry servers. The Add, Edit and Delete buttons
add, edit, and delete Telemetry servers from the lis. Only one entry can be selected at any
one time.
Telemetry Server Configuration dialog box
Setup
The Disk Cache Location field is read/write edit box that is used to set the directory for
the real time data manager disk cache. The ‘Browse’ button activates a browse dialog to
allow the user to browse to the desired disk cache location.
Setup 349
Status page
The Status page is used to determine the current state of the Real Time Data Manager.
Real Time Data Manager Status page
The Data Manager field is a read only field that shows the current state of the Real Time
Data Manager.
The Last Reported Error field is a read only field that describes the last error that was
encountered.

Hardware Configuration page
This Hardware Configuration page is used to configure he hardware settings for the real
time data manager.
Setup
Real Time Data Manager Hardware Configuration page
The IP Address and Port fields are read/write edit boxes. They are used to configure the
information stream and port that the desired server machine is to broadcast on. These
values can be obtained from the Real Time Broadcast group in the Telemetry tab of the
server application running on the desired server machine.
The Network Adapter field is a combo box that displays the IP Addresses of all network
cards in the system that have bindings to TCP/IP. It is used to select the network card to
communicate with server. This option is only configurable if multiple network cards exist on
the real time data manager machine and have TCP/IP bindings. If no network card exists
on the machine <None> will be displayed. If one network card exists on the machine it will
be selected by default and the combo box will be greyed out.
The Network Hops field is used to configure the time to live for packets sent from the real
time data manager to the desired server machine. It basically tells the packets how many
sub nets to try before giving up and being destroyed.
Setup 351
Track Map page
Real Time Data Manager Track Map page
This page is used to set the real time data managers’ associated track map. The config-
ured map is employed when using the Map Display Control in Pi Workshop. The Attach
to selected control option will connect the real time data manager to all currently selected
controls in workshop.
The Remove option will close and delete the Real Time Data Manager.
The Hot Link ID displays the current Hot Link ID for the Real Time Data Manager
GCDB Pane Available Channel List

The Available Channel List, which resides in the GCDB pane, will be populated with the
superset of channels available from the Watch Server PC and all currently configured Te-
lemetry Server PCs. The list will be identical to the existing available channel list.

Real Time Data
Manager states
The Real Time Data Manager has five possible states, each represented by a different
colour circle.
State Circle colour Meaning
Disconnected Grey The Real Time Data Manager is idle.

Connecting Black The Real Time Data Manager is attempting to
connect to the Server machine/s configured in
the General property page.
Connected Yellow The Real Time Data Manager has established a
connection to the configured server machine(s)
configured in the General property page. Upon
entering this state the list of available channels will
Setup
be populated.
Receiving Data Green The Real Time Data Manager has received event or
channel data from the server. A timeout of five
seconds operates in this state, so that if no data is
received within this period the state is set back to
Connected.
Broken Red The Real Time Data Manager has encountered a
problem. In this state the Status page will display
text which provides a brief description of the most
recent error.
Setup 353
Setup
Setup 354
Controls
Controls
Introduction to Controls
You use Controls in Pi Workshop to display and manipulate data. These controls (for ex-
ample a histogram bar graph) are dropped onto cards, and stored in a book called a Work-
book. A control can display data from a variety of sources. These data sources are called
Data Managers, for example the Telemetry Data Manager, or the Watch Data Manager.
The idea is that you arrange controls on different cards corresponding to different areas of
interest – for example Chassis Watch or Engine Telemetry.
This section explains the functionality of each control.
Controls
The figure above shows a typical card with several different types of controls. Some of the
controls show <No Data> or No Data Manager; this is because the controls have not been
Controls 357
linked to a Data Manager – the card shown above is one of the default templates supplied
by Pi Research when you first install Pi Workshop. You must select the Data Manager you
wish to link the control to, and then drag a channel from the list of channels in the Global
Channels Database on to the control. If the Global Channels Database list is empty then
you can click the magnifying glass to see all of the channels.

Toolbars
Pi Workshop has a number of toolbars available which can be displayed or hidden. The
Controls toolbar is one of these toolbars.
To view the Controls toolbar:

1 Choose View • Toolbars… The Toolbars dialog box appear.
Toolbars dialog box
2 Check (✓) the Controls option. Click OK.

The Controls toolbar appears.
Controls
Controls Available
Controls are available from the Controls toolbar. The controls are organised into two
groups: General, and Graphing. If you have AutoCal installed you will have a third group
called Instrumentation – these are special controls for doing active control. To use a control
click an icon on a toolbar and drag it onto a card.
Controls 359
General Controls
Toolbar
To view the General Controls Toolbar:

1 Choose View • Toolbars… The Toolbars dialog box appears.
2 Select (✓) the Controls option. Click OK. The Controls toolbar appears.
3 Select General from the list in the text box.
The next table details the controls on each of the buttons on the General Controls tool-
bar.
General Controls toolbar buttons
Control General Controls Toolbar button
Tabular Lap Report Control

Events Control
Hot Link Control
Channel Display Control
Text Control
Graphic Control
Dial and Knob Control
Button Control
Slider and Thermometer Control
Bit Indicator

Graphing Controls
Toolbar
To view the Graphing Controls Toolbar:

1 Choose View • Toolbars… The Toolbars dialog box appears.
2 Check (✓) the Controls option. Click OK. The Controls toolbar appears.
3 Select Graphing from the list in the text box.
The next table details the controls on each of the buttons on the Graphing Controls tool-
bar.
Graphing Controls toolbar buttons
Control Graphing Toolbar button
20 Second Chart Recorder

Autoscaling X-Y Graph
Autoscaling Time Graph
Controls
Autoscaling Distance Graph
10-bin Histogram
Telemetry Map
Controls 361
General Controls:
Tabular Lap Report
Control
The Tabular Lap Report Control (TLR) gives a summary of selected channel values every
lap. You must send the channel LapNumber in the End-of-lap (EOL) telemetry for the lap
number field to be updated.
To create a Tabular lap report:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Tabular Lap Report control onto a card.
The Tabular Lap Report control appears.
Tabular Lap Report (after channels have been added)
2 Drag the required channels from the Global Channels Database into the con-
trol. The Select the statistic to calculate dialog box appears.
Select the statistic to calculate dialog box
3 Select one of statistic options displayed. Click OK.

Each option corresponds to a different function at the end-of-lap as detailed in the next
table.
Option Meaning
Maximum max channel value per lap calculated by the PC

Minimum min channel value per lap calculated by the PC
Mean mean channel value from start of outing updated every lap
Initial channel value at start of lap
Final channel value at end of lap
Change difference between the start of lap and end of lap value
End-of-Lap the channel value sent over the EOL telemetry from the car
You can select the number of laps to display.
To select number of laps to display:

1 Place the cursor inside the control and right click. The Tabular Lap Report
Control Properties dialog ox appears.
Controls
Tabular Lap Report Control Properties dialog box
2 Enter the number of laps to display in the Number of Columns box.

3 Click OK.
Controls 363
You can change the properties of the font used in the Tabular Lap Report.
To change the font properties:

1 Place the cursor inside the control and right click.
2 Select Properties… from the pop-up menu. The Tabular Lap Report Control
3 Click the Fonts tab.
4 Make the changes. Click the Apply button to see the effect of the options
chosen.
5 Click OK.
You can change the colours used in a Tabular Lap report.
To change the colours used:

1 Place the cursor inside the control and right click.
2 Select Properties… from the pop-up menu. The Tabular Lap Report Control
3 Click the Colours tab.
4 Select a Property Name from the list.
ForeColor refers to the colour of the text in the control. BackColor refers to the back-
ground colour in the control.
5 Select a colour from the colour palette or select a System Color from the
list.
You can copy the contents of a Tabular Lap Report and then paste them into a Microsoft
Excel spreadsheet. This feature allows you to save data acquired in the Tabular Lap Re-
port.
To copy from a Tabular Lap Report:

1 In the Tabular Lap Report select the channel(s) to copy.
To copy a sequential number of channels press and hold (Ctrl) and drag the mouse over the
channels. To copy a non-sequential number of channels press and hold the (Ctrl) key and
click on the channels you want.
2 Right click and select Copy or press (Ctrl) + C.
The selected channels will be copied to the Windows™ clipboard and can be pasted into
the Microsoft Excel™ application.

General Controls:
Events Control
The Events Control is a tool for monitoring events occurring on the MCU via telemetry.
The control references the .evt files in the events directory in C:\PiWorld\DataDirectory to
look up a description. If the event is not listed (for example a user event like an oil pressure
alarm) then the Events Control will just display the event number.
To create an Events Control:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Events control onto a card. The Events
control appears.
Controls
Events control window
You must specify the events to be sent over telemetry using the Telemetry Application –
see the Telemetry Application section.
Controls 365
General Controls: Hot
Link Control
The Hot Link Control is a special control which allows scripts to be run within Pi Work-
shop. You have to write scripts in a special language, and each hot link control executes
a pre-written script. Every card and control has it’s own hot link identifier which is used
to access a control from within any script you write. Contact Pi Research for details of the
scripting language.
To create a Hot Link:

1 On the General toolbar drag the Hot Link button onto a card. The Hot Link
control appears.
Hot Link control
After creating the Hot Link control you can change its properties.

To change the Hot Link Control properties:
1 Right click on the Hot Link control and select Properties… The Hot Link Con-
trol Properties dialog box appears.
Hot Link Control Properties dialog box
2 Name the Link in the Name box.

You can apply an image to the Hot Link control.
3 Check (✓) the Image on the button option.
Controls
4 Select an Image Type (bitmap or icon).
5 Enter the image path and file name in the Image box or use the Browse button
to locate the image file.
6 Enter a description of the Hot Link in the Comment box.
To change the font properties:

1 Right click on the Hot Link control and select Properties… The Hot Link Con-
trol Properties dialog box appears.
3 Click the Fonts tab.
4 Make the changes. Click the Apply button to see the effect of the options
chosen.
5 Click OK.
Controls 367
You can edit the script that the Hot Link will run when it’s button is pressed. You have to
write scripts in a special language, and each hot link control executes a pre-written script.
Contact Pi Research for details of the scripting language.
To edit the Hot Link script:

1 Right click on the Hot Link control and select Edit Script… The Hot Link Script
Editor window appears.
Hot Link Script Editor window

General Controls:
Channel Display Control
The Channel Display Control is used for displaying channel values.
To create a Channel Display Control:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Channel Display Control onto a card.
2 Drag the channel to be displayed into the control from the Global Channel
Database. See below where Seed has been dragged in.
Channel Display Control after Speed channel has been dragged in from the GCDB
Controls
To remove and show the Channel Display Control header:
1 Right click in the control and select the Show Header option from the pop-up
menu.
This is a toggle option. Selecting the option changes it to the other state.
Note: The colour of the channel text is set in the Global Channel Database.
Controls 369
You can change the properties of a Channel Display Control.
To change the properties of a Channel Display Control:

1 Right click in the control and select Properties… The Channel Display Control
Channel Display Control Properties dialog box
To remove and show the Channel Display Control header:

2 Click the General tab and select the Show Header option.
This is a toggle option. Selecting the option changes it to the other state.

Channels can have Alarm thresholds set in the Global Channels Database. The colour of
the channel text under normal conditions is set in the Global Channel Database. However
you can change the colour of text if the channel alarms. You can set both the colour of
the text and the colour of the back ground that the text is displayed against if a channel
alarms.
To set the Alarm Colours:

2 Click the General tab. Click Foreground and select a colour for the channel
text.
3 Click Background and select a colour that the text will be displayed against.
In addition to changing the colour of text if a channel you have dragged into the Channel
Display Control reaches its alarm conditions you can also enable an Alarm Window to ap-
pear. Each Channel Display Control has its own associated Alarm window.
To enable an Alarm window:

Controls
2 Click the General tab and check (✓) the Enable option in the Alarm window
area of the page.
3 In the Name area enter a name for the Alarms window when it appears.
Alarm window
Controls 371
An Alarm Window displays Alarms in the order that they were triggered. i.e. the latest Alarm
is at the top of the list in the Alarms window.
If an Alarm window appears you have the options listed in the next table.
Option Result
Acknowledge The selected Alarm is removed from the Alarm window. If the
Alarm exceeds the Alarm thresholds set it will be triggered again.
Select All Selects all the alarms in the Alarm window.
Ignore The Alarm is ignored. If the threshold values are reached
again the alarm will not be triggered.
You can change the font used in the Channel Display Control.
To change the font used in the Channel Display Control:

2 Click the Fonts tab. The Fonts page appears.
3 Select the font options for all the text used in the Channel Display Control.
4 Click the Apply button to see the effect of the options chosen.
5 When you have chosen the options you want click OK.
You can change the colours in a Channel Display Control.
To change the colours in a Channel Display Control:

2 Click the Colours tab. The Colours page appears.
3 Select the colour options for the control.
4 Click the Apply button to see the effect of the options chosen.
5 When you have chosen the options you want click the OK button.
Note: The colour of the channel text is set in the Global Channel Database. However you
can change the colour of text if the channel alarms.

Channel properties are set in the Global Channel Database. Any changes made to the
properties of a channel in the Global Channels Database are copied to all areas that use
the channel. However you can locally override the Threshold Alarm properties of a channel
in a Channel Display Control.
Note: The local channel Threshold Alarm override properties are saved with the Work-
book, not the GCDB. If you don’t want the local override properties saved, don’t save the
Workbook when you close it.
To change the Threshold Alarm properties for a channel:

1 Double click on the channel in the Channel Display Control. The Threshold
Alarm dialog box for that channel appears.
Controls
Threshold Alarm dialog box for a channel
2 Select the Threshold Alarms Maximum and Threshold Alarms Minimum

options.
3 If you selected a Local Override option, enter a value in the relevant Thresh-
old box.
The options are listed in the next table.
Controls 373
Option Result
Ignored If the channel exceeds alarm thresholds it is ignored.

Alarm Enabled Must be selected to enable the alarm.
Local Override Locally override the Alarm Max and Alarm Min threshold
values set in the Global Channels Database.
Threshold Enter Alarm Max and Alarm Min threshold values to be
used in the control.
The options chosen only affect the channel in that control. The Alarm Max and Alarm Min
values in the Global Channels Database are not changed. If the channel is used in other
controls, the Threshold values will not be changed in those control.

General Controls: Text
Control
To create a Text Control:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Text Control onto a card.
2 Double click on the control to add text.
You can change text attributes in the Text Control.
To change Text Control attributes:

1 Select the control and right click. The Text Control dialog box appears.
2 Select the tab for the attribute you wish to change and select the option.
Controls
Text Control Properties dialog box
Controls 375
General Controls:
Graphic Control
You can display a bitmapped (.bmp) or an icon (.ico) graphic on a card.
To create a Graphic Control:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Graphic Control onto a card.
2 Right click on the control and select Properties… from the pop-up menu. The
GraphicControl Properties dialog box appears.
Graphic Control Properties dialog box
3 Select Bitmap or Icon in the Type box.

4 Type the file path and name in the Image box or use the Browse button to find
and select the graphic file to display in the control.
Note: The control only stores a path to the bitmap – so if you move the location of the
bitmap then the control will not find it and will be blank.
5 Click OK.

General Controls: Knob
Control
The Dial and Knob Control is one of the three National Instrument™ controls included with
Pi Workshop. They all follow a similar format, and are very configurable.
To create a Knob Control:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Knob Control onto a card.
2 Double click on the control. The CWKnob Control (National Instruments)
3 Configure the control as required.
The following sections detail the options available to configure the control.
Controls
Controls 377
Knob Control Style tab
1 Click the Style tab to select the type of knob for the control.
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box showing some Styles

Knob Control Numeric tab
1 Select the numeric tab to specify the configuration of numeric information
displayed on the control.
this sets the colour

of the knob

of the background
this sets the font for all

text on the control

of the caption
this caption is displayed

above the control
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box – Numeric tab selected
Knob Control Scale option

This sets the maximum and minimum values that can be displayed on the control.
Controls
The invert option changes the numbering from anticlockwise (normal) to clockwise (in-
verted.)
The Log option makes the scale logarithmic.
Knob Control Values

This specifies whether the control shows discrete values (i.e. whole numbers) or a continu-
ously changing value.
Controls 379
Knob Control Arc angles (degrees)
Imagine a circle with 0 and 360 at the very top where the numbers increment clockwise.
0
270 90
180
Arc angle specifies the arc you want, cut from the circle you have just imagined, starting at
the Start angle and weeping anticlockwise to the End angle.
For example:
0 degrees = 360 degrees !

Knob Control Pointer tab
You use this page to organise pointers. You can have as many pointers on your knob con-
trol as you like. Each pointer an perform a different function (defined by the mode.)
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box – Pointer tab selected
Knob Control Mode options
Controls
Mode option Function
Control This mode is designed for active control applications,

where the user needs to change parameters in AutoCal –
this is disabled under most applications
Indicator In this mode the pointer reflects the value of the channel
(either from Watch card or Telemetry card)
Maximum In this mode the pointer displays the maximum value seen
Minimum the pointer displays the minimum value seen
Mean the pointer displays the arithmetic mean of the channel
Controls 381
Fill Style
This allows you to add a band of colour either in front or following the pointer.
The dial on the left shows Fill to Minimum.

The middle dial shows Fill to Maximum.
The dial on the right shows two pointers, both set to Fill to Minimum.
Note: The second pointer appears behind the first pointer. This is the rule for new point-
ers added. The first is on top, and subsequent additions are placed underneath. This
order can be changed in the Advanced tab.
Style
There are three different pointer styles :
■ None – in this case there is no pointer (although a fill option -described
above - will still be visible.)
■ 3D – the figures above show the 3D style.
■ Thin – this is just a line.
Value
This is the start value of a control pointer.

Combining these settings – An Example.
Setting a danger zone :
The control above has two pointers, the first is Pointer-1and is an indicator (see the set-
tings in the next dialog box.)
Controls
Controls 383
The second, Pointer-2 defines the danger region. As you can see in the following dialog
box the Style is set to None and the Fill is ill to Maximum. It’s Mode is Control and it’s
Value is 6.05143.
Or it could be a minimum, or a mixture of both.

Tics tab
The ticks are the little lines or graduations on the scale.
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box – Ticks tab selected
Labels
Labels are the numbers themselves e.g. 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 as shown in the next figure.
Controls
Example of labels on a control.
Controls 385
Tick Spacing
The ticks are the little lines or graduations on the scale. You can leave the number of ticks
automatic or you can specify the number of ticks manually. The dialog box is a little mislead-
ing, because the Major means the number of major “spaces” over the whole range whilst
the Minor means the number of spaces per major division.
Example of Tick spacing options:
Tick spacing options
As you can see in the next figure, specifying 3 in the Minor box of the Tick spacing options
gives 3 spaces per Major division (or 2 minor ticks.)
Example of tick spacing with 3 specified in the Minor box

Tick arks
You can have ticks inside and out, and you can change the colours.
Tick marks options
ticks outside
ticks inside
Control displaying ticks inside and ticks outside
Format tab
Controls
This page specifies the format for the numeric display within the controls.
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box – Format tab selected
Controls 387
Format string
Include text by appending the Format string with text wrapped in quotes. See the example
below.
Example of Format string wrapped in quotes
Contents of the above example Format string displayed on a control
Images tab
The images page allows you to change the way some of the images within the control are
displayed. It allows you to set bitmaps (.bmp files) for some of the Images that make up
a control.
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box – Images tab selected

Images
The button allows you to load a bitmap file (.bmp) into the image.
Animation
The Animation section allows you to further influence the appearance of these images.
Blink: makes the image flash on and off.
Animate: This splits the image into a matrix, each section of the matrix is
shown one after the other.
The Rows and Columns allow you to specify how the image is divided up into sections. If
you set the number of columns to 2 and the number of rows to 2 you will split the bitmap into
4 sections. Animating these will show top row from left to right and then the next row from
left to right. When all rows have been shown the animation starts from the beginning.
For example using the following image file, split into 4 sections (2 rows and 2 column.)
Controls
Example bit map
Controls 389
Selecting the following options will animate the bit map.
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box – Images tab selected
In the above dialog box the bimap has been loaded as the background. The effect is shown
in the next figure.
Example of a control with an animated bitmapped loaded

Advanced tab
The Advanced page lets you change the order of all the parts that make up the control.
CWKnob Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box – Advanced tab selected
Parts
The Parts section shows the Z-order of the control; it refers to a 3 dimensional plot,
Z-Y and Z. In the above figure you can see that the Background is at the very bottom of
Controls
the list; this means that it will be drawn first and all the other parts will be layered on top
of it. Parts can be moved up and down the list using the Up and Down arrow buttons on
the dialog box.
Auto size and position

The Auto size and position option lets you move the parts around and make them larger
or smaller.
Controls 391
General Controls:
Button Control
The Button Control is used to indicate an On or Off state. The threshold is halfway between
the maximum and minimum values set (lower is OFF, higher is ON.)
To create a Button Control:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Button Control onto a card.
2 Right click on the control. The CWButton Control (National Instruments)
CWButton Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box - Style tab selected
The following sections give information on the options available for a button control.
Style tab
The Style page contains a set of buttons to choose from, including a picture button at the
bottom left hand corner. The picture button allows you to put a bitmap for the ON and the
OFF state.

Button tab
This page allows you to change the colour of the button style you have chosen, as well as
the caption and the text displayed in each state.
CWButton Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box - Button tab selected
Below is an example of an LED button with the settings above.
Controls
Button showing the On text Button showing the Off text
Controls 393
Images tab
The Images page is where you can specify a background image.
CWButton Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box - Images tab selected
If you have chosen the picture button, this is where you specify a bitmap for the ON and
OFF stat.
To specify a bitmap for the OFF state:

1 Click the Advanced tab and select the OFF state.
CWButton Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box - Advanced tab selected

You can now load a bitmap for the OFF state.
2 Click the Images tab.
3 Select Image in the Images list.
4 Click the button and select Load… from the pop-up menu.
The Open window appears.
5 Locate the .bmp file for the image and click Open
6 Repeat this process for the ON state.
Controls
Controls 395
General Controls: Slider
and Thermometer
Control
The Slider and Thermometer Control is similar to the Knob and Dial control except the
styles.
To create a Slider Control:

1 On the General control toolbar drag the Slider Control onto a card.
2 Right click on the control. The CWSlide Control properties dialog box ap-
pears.
CWSlide Control (National Instruments) Properties dialog box
Refer to the General Controls: Knob Control for a description of the other pages e.g. For-
mat, Images etc.

General Controls: Bit
Indicator
The Bit Indicator provides a binary representation of a channel. It is useful when a chan-
nel is used to represent different modes (from an ECU perhaps) and each bit represents
a mode.
To create a Bit Indicator control:

1 On the General Control toolbar drag the Bit Indicator control onto a card.
You can reshape a Bit Indicator control by resizing it.
To resize the Bit Indicator control:

1 Click on the control. Sizing handles appear on the each side of the control.
2 Select on of the handles and drag the control to the shape you require.
Controls
You can further affect the layout by changing options in the Layout tab.
Controls 397
Layout tab
Bit Indicator Properties box with Layout tab selected
You can remove the header or make your own.
The Style options affect the control in the following ways.
Label location
This puts the label (e.g. bit0) in a different location. Note that the ON/OFF text (specified in
the Bits tab) is not displayed when the Label location is inside. Here are some examples
Above Left Inside

Bit Order
The Bit Order changes the order of the bits within the control.
Across Down
Border Style
The Border Style affects how the whole control merges with the background card.
Style Effect
None
Raised
Controls
Sunken
Etched
Bumped
Controls 399
Item Border
The Item Border option controls the lines between bits (below shows this option un-
checked.)
Bits tab
From the Bits tab you can change the ON and OFF text, the ON and OFF colour, the label
(under the heading name) and whether the bit is enabled or not (in the case when you
aren’t using 32 bits.)

You can highlight more than one bit at a time to set some of the parameters.
Bit Indicators Properties dialog box
Controls
Several bits selected
Controls 401
Using the Bit Indicator:
An example
A popular way to use the bit indicator control is to display the gear number.
Lets say you have a channel called Gear – this could be sent from an ECU or perhaps it’s
a zero-order hold calibration (stepped) of a drum pot. Gear is a number from 0 to 6 repre-
senting 6 forward gears 1 through 6, and neutral, 0.
The first thing to do is convert the Gear channel into a channel suitable for the Bit Indicator
Control. You need to think in binary for this:
Bit 0 is 1 in decimal (20)
So make a table maths channel, input = Gear and output = Gear Indicator where 0=0,
1=2, 2=4, 3=8, 4=16 ad so on.
Math Channel (Table) dialog box with Transfer Function tab selected

Then you can send this channel over telemetry and then set up the Bit Indicator control to
display the gear number.
Controls
Controls 403
Graphing Controls:
20-Second Char
Recorder
The 20-Second Chart Recorder is a general purpose chart, with time on the x-axis, and one
or more channels of your choice on the y-axis. The default scale for the time is 20 seconds,
but this can be changed if you wish.
The graph above shows speed versus time
You can resize the title and the chart area using the mouse.
To resize the 20-Second Chart Recorder:

1 Click in the control. Sizing handles appear on each side and corner of the
control.
2 Drag the relevant sizing handle in the direction required.

To add channels to the control:
1 Click on the appropriate data manager (Telemetry, Watch or Sigma Setup) and
drag channels from the Global Channels Database.
Title tab
The Title page lets you change the title text, title Font and font Colour.
Controls
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Title tab selected
Controls 405
Graph tab
This page relates to the chart itself (i.e. the grey area where the line are drawn.)
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Graph tab selected
Mode
Tile: means that the graph is split into sections, and each section shows a
channel (similar to the tile option in Pi Analysis).
Overlay: means the channels are laid over the top of one another.
Data Retention
This sets the amount of information the control will store. You should set this to Manual and
specify the same length of time as the x-axis (in this case 20 seconds.) Setting the Data
Retention to Infinite will allow you to expand the graph at a later time during the session
and see earlier data – but you must use care because the PC will run out of resources if
left too long.

Style
You can change the Back Colour of the chart (where the lines are drawn) here, for exam-
ple it has been changed to white:
Indent Frame changes how the chart area blends into the control itself. The figure above
and to the left is not indented, whilst the figure above and to the right is indented.
Controls
Controls 407
Trace tab
In this page you can change the Type and Colour of the line.
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Trace tab selected
1 Click Colour to change the line colour.

2 Select the trace (you can add more traces by dragging more channels from the
Global Channel Database.)
3 Click on the options you want.
4 Click OK.
Deleting a channel from the chart:

1 Click on the Delete option and click Apply.

X-Axis tab
This page allows you to set the parameters of the X-axis.
2D Graph Properties dialog box - X-Axis tab selected
Controls
Draw
Draw specifies if the x-axis is drawn on the top, bottom or both sides of the chart.
X-axis at top of chart
X-axis at bottom of chart
Controls 409
Range
Setting Effect
Scrolling Using this mode you can either link to retention (advised)
or set a smaller x-axis then the retention you have
specified (this is only really for specialist applications.)
Manual In manual mode you can set fixed limits – this is not
advised when the x-axis is time.
Tick Range
This sets the number of graduations on the x-axis.

Y-Axis tab
This page allows you to set the parameters for the Y-axis.
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Y-Axis tab selected
Range
Controls
When set to Expanding the Y-axis autoscales, or you can select the Manual option to
set a scale.
Tick Spacing
The Tick Spacing option is described in the X-Axis section.
Draw
The Draw Option is described in the X-Axis section.
Controls 411
Grid tab
This page sets the grid options for the chart.
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Grid tab selected
An example of the automatic grid settings selected in the above dialog box is shown in the
next figure.
Example graph grid with automatic settings selected

2D Graph Properties dialog box - Grid tab selected
An example of the manual grid settings selected in the above dialog box is shown in the
next figure.
Controls
Example graph grid with manual settings selected
Controls 413
Cursor tab
This page allows you to update the values in the bottom left-hand side of the chart.
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Cursor tab selected
You can change the font size (the figure below shows the font at 14 pt rather than the
default of 6 pt.)

Background tab
The background page allows you to adjust the colour of the area between the chart and
the edge of the control.
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Background tab selected
Controls
2D Graph with coloured background and Frame Indent checked
Controls 415
You can also adjust how the control blends with the card using the Indent Frame option.
2D Graph Properties dialog box - Background tab selected
The figure below shows Frame Indent unchecked.
2D Graph with coloured background an Frame Indent un-ticked

Graphing Controls:
Autoscaling X-Y Graph
The Autoscaling X-Y Graph is the same as the 20 second chart recorder, except that the
X-axis does not have to be time. It can be any channel you want.
Autoscaling X-Y graph
Controls
A good idea is to put RPM as the x-axis for this control. Then you can put parameters that
vary with engine RPM versus RPM to see if they are reacting properly.
Adding a channel to the X axis.

The first channel you drag on to the chart will be automatically be placed on the X AND Y
axis (so if left like that you would get a straight line.)
Adding a channel to the Y axis.

Subsequent channels will be added to the Y axis only.
Note : Delete channels you don’t want on the Y-axis (including the first channel you add-
ed) using the same process as for deleting channels in the 20 Second Chart Recorder.
Controls 417
Graphing Controls:
10-Bin Histogram
The 10-bin Histogram can have as many bins as you like. All the tabs work as for the
20-second chart recorder with the exception of the Bin tab.
2D Graph Properties dialog box with Bin tab selected
The 10-Bin histogram shows the relative amount of time a channel has spent between
a certain range. You can set the number of bins yourself, and you can set the range for
each bin.

10-bin histogram control
This is especially useful for keeping track of how long an engine has run in a particular RPM
band during a long race. You can then decide whether you can run at a lower or higher
gear to preserve engine life.
Controls
Controls 419
Graphing Controls:
Telemetry Map
You can display a track map created in Pi Analysis software. To create a track map refer
to the Mapping Section of the Pi Analysis User Guide.
To display a Telemetry Map:

1 Click and drag the Telemetry Map button onto a card. An empty Telemetry
Map control appears on the card.
You select the Telemetry Map to display using Telemetry Data Manager Setup dialog
box.
To select a telemetry map:

1 Right click on the Telemetry Data Manager and select Properties…
The Telemetry Data Manager Setup dialog box appears.
Telemetry Data Manager Setup dialog box

2 Click the Track Map tab.
3 Click the Browse button. The Open Map dialog box appears.
Controls
Open Map dialog box
4 Locate a track map file in the Look in text area. A preview of the map will ap-
pear.
5 Select the map you want. The map is loaded into the Map control.
Controls 421
To set the Telemetry Map properties:
1 Right click on the Telemetry Map control. The Telemetry Map Properties
dialog box appears.
Telemetry Map Properties dialog box
2 Set the properties as required.

To use the Telemetry Map you must send Distance in both Continuous and EOL telem-
etry. To activate the Map you must drag the Telemetry Data Manager task bar across the
control.
Refer to the section Telemetry Application for information on how to setup telemetry.

Activating controls
To display data in a control you have created you must tell Pi Workshop where to get the
data.
To activate a control:
1 Click on the relevant Data Manager task bar (Watch Data Manager or Telem-
etry Data Manager) and drag the mouse across the control.
The shape of the mouse cursor indicates if the control and Data Manager have been cor-
rectly linked.
Correctly linked
Controls
Unable to link to the control
Deleting controls
You can delete a control.
To delete a control:
1 Select the control to delete. To select several controls at once hold the (Shift)
and select the controls you want to delete.
2 Choose Edit • Delete Control(s) or press (Ctrl) + (Del).
Controls 423
Sizing a control
You can change the size of a control.
To change the size of a control:

1 Click the control. A border and a number of sizing handles appear on the con-
trol.
2 Click a sizing handle. The cursor changes to a double headed arrow.
3 Drag the arrow.
The direction of the arrow heads indicates the directions which you can drag.
Positioning a control
You can change the position of a control on a card.
To change the position of a control:

1 Click the control. A border and a number of sizing handles appear on the con-
trol.
2 Click a border. A double cross appears below the cursor.
3 Drag the control to the new position.

Pi Server
Server
Pi Server Application
Pi Server is the PC application that communicates with the Pi Sigma MCU on the car.
Using this application you can send a setup to the car, download logged data and receive
telemetry data. The following section explains each area of Pi Server and shows how to
set up the Server Application.
The Server application has five pages that each show different communication-related
information.
Debug page
The Debug page shows communication messages as communication takes place between
Pi Sigma MCU and Pi Workshop.
System page
The System page gives information about the setup files that are available, and the ability
to connect to Archive Managers on other network PCs.
Details page
The Details page shows information that the Pi Sigma system sends to your PC. This
includes versions of code that are included in the cards in the MCU. Used by Pi Research
Support engineers.
Telemetry page
The Telemetry page is where you select the communication port of your PC to which you
Server
have a telemetry receiver connected. The telemetry page lets you set baud rates, and the
download path for telemetry data.
Logger page
The Logger page lets you manually start and stop the logging, manually force a download
or set download automatically whenever you connect to the Pi Sigma system using the
download connector.
Pi Server 427
Starting Pi Server
If the Workbook or Template that you are opening requires Pi Server, then Pi Server will
be started automatically when you start Pi Workshop, but you can run Pi Server without
starting Pi Workshop.
To start Pi Server:
1 Choose Start • Pi Research • Pi Server. The Pi Server window appears.
If Pi Server is already running behind the current application, click the Pi Server button on
the Windows taskbar to bring Pi Server to the front. The Debug page is the default page.
The colour of the

traffic light indicates
the connection
Pi Server Debug page

Message Port window
The Message Port (annotated 1 in the above figure) window displays the ID of the message
service assigned to communicate with the PC. If there is no entry in this window then the
PC is not communicating with the car.
Car Port window

The Car Port window (annotated 2 in the above figure) displays the ID of the car connected
to Server. If there is no entry in this window then there is no car connected to the PC.
Traffic Light Logger button
A red traffic light indicates that there is currently no Pi Sigma MCU connected to the
PC via the download cable. This state could be due to a number of factors:
n the download cable is not plugged in
n the Pi Sigma system is not switched on
n there is no software loaded onto the logger card
n the software on the logger is not running, i.e. the logger could be in boot
mode
n the download cable is damaged.
n the Network card cable adapter is damaged (if applicable).
n the Pit detect circuit is not functioning correctly, maybe due to an incorrect
pinout.
n the Network card in the PC is not working or configured incorrectly.
A green traffic light indicates that there is a communication link between the Pi Sigma
MCU and the PC via the download cable.
Server
Note: This only indicates that there is a comms link and doesn’t check that the logger
code is compatible with the version of Pi Workshop being used. It also doesn’t check any
custom application code that maybe loaded on the Control card. This should be taken
into consideration if problems are encountered sending setups or downloading data from
the MCU.
Accompanying the green traffic light should be a number of additional messages on the
Debug page, indicating that the computer is communicating with the Pi Sigma MCU.
Pi Server 429
Selecting and sending a
Setup to the car
Once a connection has been established with the car, Pi Server needs to know what Setup
to send to the car.
To select and send a Setup:

1 Click on the System tab in the Pi Server window. The System page appears.
1 5
2 6
4 The Send button is in

colour when the car is
connected and in grey
when disconnected
Pi Server System page
Active System name

The Active System (annotated 1 in the Pi Server System page figure) shows the name of
the Setup that will be sent to the car if the Send button is pressed.

Archive Manager Host Name
The Archive Manager Host Name (annotated 2 in the Pi Server System page figure) is the
computer where all the Setup information is stored. For instance it is possible to have all
the Setup data on one computer and change the Setup from another. This option is only
viable when using a network of computers. If you are operating from just one PC the host
name should be localhost.
Available Systems window

The list of available systems (annotated 3 in the Pi Server System page figure) displays
the names of all the Setups stored on the selected archive manager. To change the Active
System, select a new Setup name in the list and click Apply. The Active System name
should change to the same as the new Setup.
FIA Offload Directory

The FIA Offload Directory (annotated 4 in the Pi Server System page figure) is a path on
the Server PC where the application software running on the MCU can be off-loaded for
inspection. This is only used in F1 but may be used in other forms of motorsport where
active control is widely used.
Sync Setup before send

The Sync Setup before send option (annotated 5 in the Pi Server System page figure)
checks the build stamp of all boxcode used in the Setup prior to it being sent to the car. The
build stamp is basically the date that the software was created. If the option is selected and
any of the build stamps in the Setup differ from what is actually on the car, the Setup will
be automatically updated to the required boxcode. If the option is not selected, the Setup
Server
cannot be sent until the user manually updates the build stamps in the Setup to match what
is on the car. It is recommended that the option be selected, as it will save the user time
changing build stamps manually.
Pi Server 431
Enable Remote Send
The Enable Remote Send option (annotated 5 in the Pi Server System page figure) allows
the Send button in the PI Workshop Server toolbar to send a Setup to the car when
Pi Server is connected to the car. In Pi Workshop choose View • Toolbars… • Server to
show the Server toolbar.
Create Setup from car if not found in archive manager

The Create Setup from car if not found in archive manager option (annotated 6 in the
Pi Server System page figure) will create a Setup in the archive manager from the Setup
on the car when Pi Server is connected to the car.
Disable Automatic Event Display

When checked this will disable the display of Events on the Details page.
Server Message window

The Server Message window (annotated 7 in the Pi Server System page figure) displays all
the messages associated with communicating with the Pi Sigma system. Some messages
have a prefix, denoting where the message was generated. The two tables in this section
explain the prefixes and all the messages that may be generated along with their meaning
and what to do if there is an error.
Send button
This button sends the active setup to the car. The Send button is grey when the car
is disconnected and in colour when connected.

Setting up Pi Server to
receive Telemetry
To receive telemetry with the Pi Sigma system you will need to set up some options in
Pi Server.
To setup Pi Server to receive telemetry:

1 Click on the Telemetry tab in the Pi Server window. The Telemetry page ap-
pears.
6
4
Server
Pi Server Telemetry page
Pi Server 433
Serial Port
The Telemetry receiver sends the data to the computer via a PC serial port. The speed at
which you can send data is determined by the radio system being used. The serial port
section (annotated 1 in the above figure) in Pi Server is associated with the Real Time
radio telemetry.
To setup a serial port on the PC:
Pi Server Telemetry page - Serial Port setup section
1 Select a serial port on your computer which is going to be connected to the

telemetry radio receiver. If you are using a laptop, this will most probably be
COM 1.
2 From the next drop down menu select the Baud Rate at which the data is being
sent by the telemetry radio.
3 Check (✓) the Enabled option.
4 Click the Apply button.
If you are prompted with the following warning message, it means that another program
is already using the COM port. Close any software that may be using the COM port and
click the Apply button again.
Pi Server warning message

Real Time Broadcast
The Real Time Broadcast section (annotated 2 in the Pi Server Telemetry page) works in
conjunction with Real Time Data Managers in Pi Workshop, and the Realtime functionality
in Pi Toolbox. This section shows the Multicast IP addresses for the multicast streams.
Pi Server uses the Information Stream to advertise that it is alive and broadcasting data, the
Data Stream to broadcast the telemetry and watch data, and the Watch Stream to respond
to watch channel requests by the Clients.
In addition, the Client (Pi Workshop or Pi Toolbox) accesses a file in the Data Directory of
the Server machine to understand how to decode the Data Stream. This file will usually
be found in C:\PiWorld\Data Directory\PiRtSetup. Pi Server will automati-
cally share this directory and give it the shared name $RTSETUP. The $ sign signifies to
Windows that this is a hidden share.
CAUTION: The following Real Time Broadcast configuration information should

only be used by your Network administrator. Incorrect settings will prevent com-
munication between Pi Workshop Real Time Data Managers and Pi Server or
prevent your network from operating correctly.
To change the Real Time Broadcast configuration:

1 Click Configuration. The Real Time Broadcast Configuration dialog
appears.
Server
Real Time Broadcast Configuration dialog
Pi Server 435
Ports
It is recommended that you choose a port number over 4000 for the streams, for example
4567. It is recommended that you choose the same port number for all three streams and
that this is the same for any Server on the network.
Choosing an IP Address.
You should have a different IP Address for each stream. As discussed below, the Informa-
tion Stream should be the same for all servers on the network, but the Data Stream and
Watch Stream should be unique (different to each other and the Information Stream and
to the IP Addresses set on a different Server computer.)
There is a specially allocated set of IP Addresses for Multicast use. The allocated band
is 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. However many of these IP Addresses are used by the
Network itself, for example Router to Router communication, Microsoft Network Services
and so on, or reserved for the Internet.
It is recommended that you select an IP Address in the following range:
239.1.x.x where x can be between 1 and 254.
Pi Server should default to 239.1.1.1, 239.1.1.2 and 239.1.1.3 for the Information Stream,
Data Stream and Watch Stream respectively.
Note: Using addresses outside these recommended ranges can cause problems on your
network. This range is reserved for use on a private LAN.
For example you might set up two telemetry servers as follows:
Server_A
Information Stream 239.1.1.1 Port 4567
Data Stream 239.1.1.2 Port 4567
Watch Stream 239.1.1.3 Port 4567
Server_B
Information Stream 239.1.1.1 Port 4567
Data Stream 239.1.1.4 Port 4567
Watch Stream 239.1.1.5 Port 4567

Note: Your Network Administrator may have to configure routers or switches to allow the
transport of Multicast packets.
Information Stream
It is recommended that this IP address be the same for all Pi Server applications running
on the network.
Data Stream
Pi Server broadcasts all its data on the Data Stream. It is recommended that this IP address
be different for all Pi Server applications on the network.
Watch Requests Stream

Real Time Data Manager clients send all Watch requests to the Pi Server using the Watch
Requests Stream. It is recommended that this IP address be different for all Pi Server ap-
plications on the network.
Network Adapter
This is the IP address of the network card that you use to connect to the network over which
you wish to broadcast the Watch and Telemetry data. You will be given a choice of only
those network cards with a TCP/IP binding.
Decode Directory
This is where the Pi Server places the decode files used by the Clients to decode the Data
Stream. To change this directory click Browse and choose a new directory.
Server
Network Hops
This sets the number of sub-nets that packets broadcast from the Pi Server can pass
through. The sub-nets include items such as network servers and Firewalls etc. This should
be set the same on the Server and Client.
Note: The Network Hops is also decremented if the packet waits in a Server for over one
second.
Pi Server 437
Disable High Data Rate
Applies to Pi dB Telemetry. When this option is chosen it prevents Pi dB telemetry data
from swamping the Real Time Broadcast system.
Telemetry Key Cache
Each Setup has a telemetry key. This key allows the telemetry system to only decode
telemetry from a Setup with that key. If you send a new Setup to the car, a new telemetry
key is generated.
The Telemetry Key Cache (annotated 3 in the Pi Server Telemetry page figure) setting
determines how many telemetry keys are remembered.
If the number of keys generated exceeds the value set in the cache, the oldest key is de-
leted from the cache to allow the new key to be remembered.
Telemetry diagnostics
The Diagnostics section (annotated 4 in Pi Server Telemetry page figure) can be used to
test that the Telemetry link is working. The PC needs to be connected to the car, via the
download cable.
To test the telemetry system:

1 Click the Test Link button.
A message box reading Telemetry test message received is displayed for each
telemetry stream received by the Server. If no message boxes are displayed, then there
is a problem with telemetry.

Pi Digital Broadcast
Telemetry Setup
Pi Digital Broadcast Telemetry is a telemetry system that transmits the data as a digital
signal instead of an analogue signal. This improves coverage and error correction and also
improves the data rates available. The base station is connected to the Host PC via TCP
IP using an Ethernet cable and network card. The base station decodes the digital data
stream and generates an output in a DCOM format that Pi Server can access. The base
station is capable of receiving data from two cars (Car 1 & Car 2) simultaneously and there
are 4 streams of data per car: Real Time A, Real Time B, Dump A and Dump B.
The Real Time streams are usually transmitted continuously and generally have a lower
bandwidth than the Dump streams. The A and B suffixes are intended to distinguish be-
tween the Engine channels and Chassis channels. This method enables the Engine Manu-
facturer to receive a separate telemetry stream from the Race Team/Chassis Engineers.
The Dump streams are high bandwidth streams transmitted over a microwave link at the
end of each lap. Channels broadcast in this way can be sampled at a much higher rate.
The Pi dB Setup section is annotated 5 in the Pi Server Telemetry page figure.
To set up Pi dB telemetry:
1 Select a Host Name to which the Pi dB telemetry base station is connected.
Server
Pi Server Telemetry page - Pi dB Telemetry Setup dialog
The settings in the above figure show how to configure the Pi dB Telemetry if the base
station is connected to the local PC. This is reflected by the Host Name being localhost.
Pi Server 439
If the Pi dB telemetry base station is connected to a different PC on the network then the
name of this PC should be entered in the Host Name section.
2 Check (✓) the Streams options which are to be received by Pi Server.
The Streams section in the above figure section shows that streams Real Time A and Dump
A are to be received by the Server.
3 Select which data stream (Car 1 or Car 2) to use in the System box.
4 Check (✓) the Enabled box and then click the Apply button.

Telemetry logging
It is possible to log the Telemetry data received from any of the telemetry sources outlined
above. If the telemetry streams are configured by Pi Workshop to enable logging, then
when Master logging enable for all streams in the Telemetry Logging box (annotated
6 in Pi Server Telemetry page figure) is checked, the telemetry data will be written to a
Version 6 dataset file in the PC directory specified in Pi Workshop. This data can then be
displayed in Pi Analysis, in the same way off-loaded data is analysed.
The Version 6 dataset file is divided into laps. The Pi Sigma system must detect a valid
end-of-lap beacon to enable the dataset to be divided at the correct point. If the end-of-lap
beacon is not detected then laps in the dataset will be too long.
The Flush Dataset every mins option allows you effectively enter end-of-lap beacons into
the dataset at the time specified in the mins box.
Server
Pi Server 441
Pi Server Logger page
The Logger page lets you manually start and stop logging, manually force a download
or set download automatically whenever you connect to the Pi Sigma system using the
download connector.
To send a Setup:
1 Click on the System tab in the Pi Server window. The System page appears.
2 Select the setup you want to send from the list in the Available Systems box.
3 Click Apply. The Active System name changes to show the name of the Setup
you have selected.
4 Click on the Logger tab (or click the Traffic Light Logger button) on the
Pi Server toolbar. The Logger page appears.
3
2
1 4
5
Pi Server Logger page
5 Click Send on the Pi Server toolbar.

The selected setup is sent to the car. The Server Message window (annotated 6 in the
above figure) will display a number of messages while the setup is being sent. A message
saying that the setup has been loaded successfully will be displayed. A message will then
say that Pi Server is connected to your setup.
You can test the setup without driving the car. Make sure that the PC is connected to the
car.
To test the setup:

1 Click the Logger tab in the Pi Server window.
2 Click Start Logging. The text on the button changes to Stop Logging and the
Manual Override status changes to (ON).
3 After approximately 10 seconds click Stop Logging. The text on the but-
ton changes to Start Logging and the Manual Override status changes to
(OFF).
The Pi Sigma now has a dataset which you can offload onto your PC and which can be
analysed using the Pi Analysis PC software.
To offload the dataset:

1 Click the Logger tab on the Pi Server window.
2 Click Offload or click the Logger (Traffic light) button on the Pi Server tool-
bar.
The scroll bar in the Progress section of the Logger page will indicate the progress of the
offload. The message window will display a number of messages during offload and will
indicate when offload has completed.
Server
Automatic offload
When Automatic offload (annotated 3 in the above figure) is selected, download automati-
cally occurs whenever the Pi Sigma System connected contains new data and is not cur-
rently logging.
Send Outing\Lap To Car

When clicked, Send Outing\Lap To Car (annotated 4 in the above figure) the Send Out-
ing\Lap dialog box appears. You can enter new Outing and Lap numbers and then send
them to the Pi Sigma system. This option ONLY sends Outing and Lap information to the
Pi Sigma system.
Pi Server 443
Pi Server Details page
The Details page shows information that the Pi Sigma system sends to your P. This in-
cludes versions of code that are included in the cards in the MCU.
Details page
Summary pane
When Pi Server is connected to the Pi Sigma System, the Summary pane (annotated 1 in
the figure above) displays information on the Applications running on the System.
If you select an entry in the Summary pane, the Selected Detail pane (annotated 2 in the
figure above) displays detailed information about the selected entry.
Events pane
The Events pane (annotated 3 in the figure above) lists Events that occur whilst Pi Server
is connected to the Pi Sigma System.

Pi Server message
prefixes
Message Prefix Meaning Function

CP CARPORT Talks to the car with messages via units.
BU BASE UNIT Basic communications functionality
BUC BASE UNIT CONNECT Connection functionality
OU OFFLOAD UNIT Functionality for reading data from the car
WU WATCH UNIT Deals with requests for watching data
RFU READ FILE UNIT Reads files from the car
WFU WRITE FILE UNIT Writes Operating System (OS) files to the car
WDU WRITE DATASET UNIT Writes datasets to the car
RU RESET UNIT Deletes files and resets the car
MOU MANUAL OVERRIDE UNIT Handles manual logging and telemetry
SCU SEND COMMAND UNIT Simple commands (logger reset, telemetry
test)
CSU CAR STATUS UNIT Assesses car status - i.e. if it has logged data
or the engine is running
PMU PRIVATE MESSAGE UNIT Messages from applications other than Pi
Workshop e.g. Autocal
OM OFFLOAD MACHINE Handles the logger offload
OC OFFLOAD CONVERTER Converts logged data to V6 format
COS COSWORTH MICROWAVE Handles Cosworth Microwave data
INPUT
TD TELEMETRY DECODER Sorts out telemetry packets
Server
TC TELEMETRY CONVERTER Converts telemetry data to V6 format
TLOG TELEMETRY LOGGER Saves telemetry data to disk
SN SIXNET Handles network communications between
the PC and the Logger
Pi Server 445
Messages generated by
Pi Server
Server Message Meaning Message type Solution

Sending Setup Server is starting to send Diagnostic – N/a
the setup to the car No error
Send Setup Server has finished Diagnostic – N/a
Complete sending the setup tables No error
to the car
Connected to Car Server is connected to Diagnostic – N/a
<setup > an MCU with a setup No error
called <Setup>
Resetting node The System is being Diagnostic – N/a
<number> reset, usually before and No Error
after a send setup. The
number indicates which
part of the system is
being reset.
Failed to send setup There has been an error Setup Error Check that the setup is correct for the
sending the setup. System.
Check that the car is still connected.
Check that the car still has power.
Check that the network cable is OK.
Check that the Logger code is the right
build stamp.
Check that all other nodes such as SCU &
ACU are still connected and working.
CP: Updating The selected setup in Setup Error Server will automatically update the
FSRs... server has different buildstamps in the Workshop setup. This
boxcode buildstamps to will be saved automatically in the Archive
the box setup Manager.
CP: ERROR - Failed to get archive PC Error The file required by the archive manager is
Failed to get folder folder for the selected missing. Ensure that you have not deleted
for setup <setup id> setup any files from the PiWorld Data Directory.
If you are using a remote archive manager
ensure that it is switched on and is visible
on the network.

CP: ERROR - There is no logger card Sigma The Logger card (master tick generator)
Cannot send or master tick detail Hardware has disappeared from TEBNET, check that
(incomplete Error the box is not resetting. This can be due
hardware details) to faulty SRAM/FRAM Cards resetting the
box. This can also be due to incorrect box
code.
CP: Cannot send Busy doing something Diagnostic – Simply wait until Server finishes its current
setup due to a else e.g. FIA offload No Error task, then try to send setup again.
conflicting process
Server Message Meaning Message Solution
type
CP: ERROR - failed Could not write the Offload Error Check that the offload directory exists. If
to save file <file offloaded data to disk the destination is a remote server, check
name> that the network is operating correctly.
CP: ERROR - failed Out of unit slots Comms Error The car port communicates with the Car
to add unit with units. This error occurs if the system
has run out of units when trying to send a
message. The car port is basically being
overloaded and you should wait before
repeating the process that caused the error.
CP: Error: Received Car port got an unknown
unexpected unit notification.
notification (type)
CP: ERROR - Could not write the FSR Setup Error Check that the PC running the archive
Current FSRs list into the archive manager is operating correctly. If the PC is
update failed on a network, check that the network is OK.
CP: ERROR bad Invalid FSR offload Setup Error Check that the FSR is correct. May require
Server
FSR offload context the boxcode to be reloaded.
CP: FSR <node id> A new FSR has been Diagnostic – Each time Pi Server connects to the car,
<FSR id> offloaded No Error it checks the buildstamps of the box code
(FSR). This message means that the box
code has changed since Pi Server last saw
the car.
CP: ERROR FSR Failed to write an FSR to Setup Error Check that the PC running the archive
update failed the archive manager is operating correctly. If the PC is
on a network, check that the network is OK.
Pi Server 447
CP: Connected The setup on the box is Diagnostic – Pi Server does not have a Setup named
to unknown setup not in the archive No Error <setup name> in its Archive Manager.
<setup name> Tick ‘Create setup from car if not found
in archive manager’ option in the System
page of Pi Server and reconnect to car,
OR select a setup (make it active) and then
send that setup to the car.
CP: Connected car There is no setup in he Diagnostic – The box that Pi Server is connected to has
has no setup box so Pi Server could No Error no setup or the setup is invalid. For the
not read the file PC box to function just send a valid setup to
Private from box. This the box. If this occurs after trying to send
file stores all the setup a setup, there was an error during the send
information. process. Try and send the setup again.
BU: ERROR - failed Could not send message Comms Error Check that Pi Server is still connected to
to send status req the car. Ensure that there is a car port and
<msg id> a message port. If not try a power cycle.
BUC: ERROR - Usually means the Comms Error Repeat the action that caused the error. If
failed to create message port has dis- this happens again, restart Pi Server.
connection appeared
OU: ERROR - failed Offload unit failed to Comms Error Repeat the action that caused the error. If
to send message send a message this happens again, restart Pi Server.
type
WU: ERROR - bad The box did not accept a Setup/ Bad setup on one of the Tebnet nodes.
ACK node <node watch setup Comms Error This could be due to an SCU not resetting.
id> setup
WU: ERROR - Could not send a watch Setup/ Could not send the setup for a node on
failed to send setup setup Comms Error Tebnet. Probably due to the node not
for node <node id> existing. Check the power to SCUs. Check
that the box code in SCUs and Application
cards is still running.
WU: ERROR - Could not send a watch Could not send a watch request to a node
failed to send request on Tebnet. Probably due to the node not
request for node existing. Check the power to SCUs. Check
<node id> that the box code in SCUs and Application
cards is still running.

Error: Detail cannot Unknown detail type
be decoded... received followed by raw
data
RFU: ERROR - Bad The offloaded file had a Read Error The offloaded data was corrupted. Try
checksum bad checksum offloading the data again.
WFU: ERROR Failed to write the PC Write Error The logger failed to write the PC Private file
- failed to save Private file to memory to memory. The Logger needs this file to
archive copy of PC decode the telemetry key. Check the setup
Private and send setup again.
WFU: ERROR - bad ACK fail or garbage Write Error
ACK
WFU: ERROR - bad Received an unknown Write Error
reply (<message message type
id>)
WDU: Warning Application dataset Write The dataset associated with <app
- <app name> has been sent but was Warning name> was empty. This could be a user
dataset is empty empty application, which needs a valid dataset to
function (i.e. sent from Autocal). However
it may not be essential to the setup and is
only a warning. The logger will still function
as normal but the application may not work.
If the application requires a valid dataset,
then the user will have to send one via
Autocal.
WDU: Warning - There is an application Write If the application doesn’t require a dataset,
No <app name> running on the box Warning this warning can be ignored. However if a
dataset which has no dataset dataset is essential for the application to
function then one must be sent to the box
Server
via Autocal.
RU: ERROR - failed Failed send message to
to send disable disable sync tebnet
node <node id>
SCU: ERROR - Failed to send status
failed to send status message
type
Pi Server 449
SN: ERROR - Sixnet driver is not Sixnet Error The Pi Sigma Network Protocol has not
Invalid binding working on PC been bound correctly to the network card
handle in the PC. Check that the network card
is functioning correctly. Check that the Pi
Detect circuitry is working in the download
cable. Check the download cable.
SN: ERROR - Sixnet driver is not Sixnet Error The Pi Sigma Network Protocol has not
Failed to open working on PC been bound correctly to the network card
binding in the PC. Check that the network card
is functioning correctly. Check that the Pi
Detect circuitry is working in the download
cable. Check the download cable.
SN: OB - bad driver Sixnet driver is not Sixnet Error Check network connections, check Sixnet
handle working and other protocols are bound correctly to
the network card.
SN: Partner Found The driver has detected Diagnostic – Pi Server has established a connection with
the car No Error the car and everything is OK.
SN: Partner Gone The driver has lost the Diagnostic – The car has been disconnected from Pi
car No Error Server. This is usually due to the download
OR cable being unplugged
Possibly a However if not it could be due to the
. Comms Error following:
It could be a problem with the PC network
card
The download cable may be been
damaged.
The comms chip in the Logger may be
damaged.
The Pit detect circuitry may have developed
a problem
SN: lock msg port The message port is
locked in place against
partner gone
SN: unlock msg port “The message port will “
go when partner goes
SN: ERROR - sent Result notification from Sixnet Error
message mismatch driver does not match
message sent

OC: Cannot open Converter could not Data The convert button takes an .mdb file
database open mdb containing Conversion containing logged data and converts it
logged data Error to a .dat V6 dataset. Check that the file
you tried to convert actually exists, also
check that the network is OK if the file is on
another PC.
Create..connection Offload machine failed Comms error
failed to create connection to
box
OM: Cannot start - “Carport in om and “
wrong car port message do not match
OM: Staying alive Logger keep alive
message
OM: Bad ack <ack ACK fail or garbage
id>, <ack type>
OM: ERROR - Could not read outing Setup Error The DRV setup table is generated by the
Failed to read DRV info from Derived Data Miscellaneous App in workshop. Check
archive (DRV) setup table in that the outing information is valid. Send
archive manager setup again.
OM: ERROR - There is no PC Private Setup Error There is not a valid setup on the box. Send
Cannot start (no box available a valid setup to the box before trying to do
setup) anything else.
OM: ERROR - Failed to allocate a Offload error Check connection with the box.
Cannot start (no box message queue to talk
queue) to the box
OM: Warning - Failed to get outing info Offload Failed to read the DRV PCP file (Derived
Failed to read DRV from PC Private warning data file). This maybe because you are
Server
PCP offloading with a different PC than the one
which sent the setup.
OM: ERROR - Failed to create threads Offload error The offload has failed. Try restarting server
Cannot start (no to do offload and attempt to offload again. May also
threads) be worth trying power cycling the car and
restarting the PC.
COS: ERROR - Could not read the Cosworth Check that the Cosworth microwave
failed to get data file Cosworth datafile path Microwave telemetry software is running correctly.
path from the ini file Telemetry Check that the path to the cosworth ini file
Error is correct.
Pi Server 451
COS: ERROR - Could not read the Cosworth Check that the Cosworth microwave
failed to get read read count from the Microwave telemetry software is running correctly.
count Cosworth.ini file Telemetry Check that the path to the Cosworth.ini file
Error is correct.
TLOG: Failed to Telemetry logger could Telemetry Check that the offload path is valid. If it is
open data file not open mdb to put Logging Error on a remote PC, check that the network is
data in operating correctly.

Index
Index Archive Manager 55,39 Alarm Min 43
distributing 48 Autoscale 43
edit an Archive 38 Colour 43
Symbols
how many? 38 Decimal Places (DPs) 43
to shutdown 38 Hidden 43
create 397 Archives 38 Maximum 43
Layout page 398 Pi AutoCal Database 185,119 Minimum 43
resize 397 Setup database 113 Origin 43
Bit Order 399 Attaching a Sensor 330 Quantity 43
Border Style 399 Autoscaling X-Y Graph 417 Tag Name 43
Item Border 400 adding a channel Target 43
Label location 398 to the X axis 417 Tel Max 43
10-bin Histogram 415 to the Y axis 417 Tel Min 43
20-second Chart Recorder 414 Units 43
Background 416
B User name 43
Cursor 408 Channels 43
Beacon
Indent Frame 406 Channel Usage 109
attach beacon to a port 140
Deleting a channel 406 Choosing an IP Address 436
Digital I/O card
Graph 406 Codebuild Manager 66
channel 136
Data Retention 407 Component Services window 25
setting the loom to receive a beacon 137
Mode 405 Configuration window 318
set up 135
Style 408 Connector Operations 95
Mask Times 194
Title 409 Connector Properties 115
Minute beacon 195
Trace 409 Edit Page 95
Split Beacon 136
X-Axis 410 re-arrange ports
Beacon input
Draw 410 Move Down 80
Configure the Pi Sigma System 135
Range 411 Move Up 88
BeaconRaw channel 105
Tick Range 411 Summary Page 88
Beacons 194
Y-Axis 412 Connectors 88
Bit Indicator Control 397
Draw 411 Attach a sensor 81
Buildstamp 431
Grid 411 explicitly compatible 90
Button Control 393
generic 91
Button page 392
A Attach Connector wizard 83
create 394
Absolute sensors 70 Compatible Sensors 91
Images page 392
Activating controls 423 Compatible Sub-Looms 83
Adding sensors 66 create a connector 87
C
Add I/O Card 62 Loom Drag-And-Drop 90
Calibrated Channels 119 port list 89
LVDT Card 64
CAN message 298,300,301
Index
Additional Telemetry Servers Dialog Port Propagation 89
CAN serial port 297 removing connectors 89
box 349
Channel Display Control 369 removing sensors 90
Alarm Window 371
Channel Properties 43 removing sub-looms 91
Applying offsets 120
Alarm Max 43 sensor as a template 22
Archive Assistant 38
Index 455
sensor drag-and-drop 66 Data Stream 436,437 Ethernet Network Interface 221
sub-looms 357 DCOM Events 236
Controls 423 setting properties advanced options 227
activate a control 424 Windows 2000 96 Auto Clear 227
change the position of a control 424 Windows XP 129 condition 221
change the size of a control 359 dcomcnfg 130 critical events 239
Controls toolbars 359 Decode Directory 437 Event Clear 221
General 359 Default Setup 130 event storage 227
Graphing 137 send the Default Setup 130 event trigger 222
General controls Deleting controls 423 non-critical events 221
Bit Indicator Control 392 Diagnostic Page 126 Overview 239
Button Control 369 Digital Broadcast Telemetry 439 retrigger delay 231
Channel Display Control 365 Chassis channels 439 setting a dash alarm 232
Events Control 376 Dump A data 439 alarm trigger event 226
Graphic Control 366 Dump B data 439 set up a new event 227
Hot Link Control 377 Engine channels 439 threshold value 224
Knob Control 396 Real Time A data 439 view critical events 281
Slider Control 362 Real Time B data 439 Events Control
Tabular Lap Report 375 Digital I/O card 126 create 365
Text Control 141 Digital 2B 126 Example of relative shift points 198
Graphing controls Input Name 115
10-bin Histogram 404 Pi Workshop Channel Name 129 F
20-Second Chart Recorder 417 setting excitation voltage 288
FIA Offload Directory 431
Autoscaling X-Y Graph 420 Disable High Data Rate 438
Fixed Rate channel 146
Telemetry Map 423
Fixed Synchronous Requirements 65
to delete a control 360 E Logger card
Controls Toolbar
ECU Channel channels 65
General controls 165
Fuel Used 144 Logger card channel
Graphing controls 172
RPM 175 EngineSpeed 142
Core System Channels 141
ECU Serial Stream 200 Fixed Synchronous Requirements
attach math channel 165
ECU Setup 161 (FSR) 133
create a GearNumber channel 191
Effective Boost 200 FLDistRaw 133
Active Conditions Guard Time 201 FLSpeedRaw 199,142
D Active Conditions Threshold 201 Fuel Capacity 199
Dash Application 242 Inactive Conditions Guard Time 201 Fuel Consumption 141
Dash Boost 200 Inactive Conditions Threshold 201 FuelCount 199
Dash Setup Enable Remote Send 432 Fuel Count Source 147
Lap page 292 EngineSpeed 172 Fuel Flow meter 148
page display option 291 Equation Fuel Flow sensor 198
Pit page 291 calibration 103 Fuel Prediction 159
Pit, Race or Lap pages 291 check button 103 Fuel Used 107
Race page 292 example of an equation 328 Full Generic Sensor 105

G Values 379 create 377
Tabular Lap Report Format 387
gain/offset calibration 104
number of laps to display 363 Images 388
Gear channel 164
Text Control 375 Animate 389
GearNumber channel 164
Generated Channels section 47 Numeric 379
Gear Number display field 279
Generic Application Link Sensor 105 Arc angles 380
General Controls
Global Channel Database 45 Scale 379
Button Control 393
Channel List 46 Values 379
Images 394
channel name filter 46 Pointer 381
Channel Display Control 369
Channel Properties 124 Fill Style 382
Alarm colours 371
how channels appear 47 Mode options 381
Alarm thresholds 371
Graphic Control 376 Style 382
change properties 370
Value 382
change the colours 372
change the font 372 H Properties 377
Style 378
create 369 Hierarchical Folders 332
Ticks 385
enable an Alarm Window 371 Hot Link Control
Labels 385
Show Header 370 properties 367
Tick Marks 387
Threshold Alarm properties 373 script 368
Tick Spacing 386
Hot Link Control 366
create 366 I
Knob Control L
Information Stream 346,436,437
Advanced 391 Lap page 291
input ports 92
Arc angles 380 left drag 113
Insert Input 95
Auto size and position 391 Library files
Insert Output 95
Format 387 Backup copies 55
Installed software
Images 388 localhost 98
Pi Server 20
images animation 389 Locking 98
Pi Workshop 20
Labels 385 lock a branch 98
Tebnet Setup 62
Mode options 381 lock a connector 98
I/O card port 93
Numeric 379 unlock a branch 98
Parts 391 unlock a connector 62
J
Pointer 381 Logger 62
Pointer Fill Style 382 add I/O card 65
Pointer Style 382 K Logger Inventory
pointer value 382 Key Page 97 Driver name
Scale 379 Key to Connector 115 change 140
setting a danger zone 383 key variable 107 Session number
Style 378 Knob Control 377 change 98
Index
Tick Marks 387 Advanced 391 Logging conditions
Ticks 385 Auto size and position 391 Engine Speed Start 192
Tick Spacing 386 Parts 391 Logging criteria 210
Index 457
Logging Inventory 211 extrapolate fit 103 Windows XP 18
add a channel to the Logger 211 linear fit 103 Organising Math Channels 332
change an existing Logging Rate 211 quadratic fit 103 Output ports 92
Channel name filter 212 Math Channel (Equation) 103 Output Units 44
Copy Table 91 operators 340
Hidden Channels operator types 344 P
to display 214 organising Math Channels 332
page display option 291
Logger warning messages 96 registers 333
PC Private Database 39
Offload Directories channels which only contain regis-
Pi Analysis 222
change directory 99 ters 339
distance plots 39
only used channels overflowing registers 338
Pi AutoCal Database 65
to display 210 sampling on different nodes 338
Pi Compact dash 246
Logging start and stop sampling the same channel 338
7-segment characters 243
Logging Triggers 192 starting with a zero value 338
alphanumeric characters 243
Logging Tables Sample and Hold fit 331
annunciators 243,246,274
burst logging Sensors with calibrations 101
Display field actions 247,276
burst duration 209 Single Math Channel (Equation) 143,322
display fields 246,274
Keep Criterion 208 Variable Properties 144
Gear shift lights 251
burst logging time 206 Single Math Channel (Table) 322,330
number of Gears 252,280
channels logging rates 204 Transfer Function 107,327
Shift Points option 252,280
continuous (every lap) 207 variable 106
set up 245
create a new logger 205 Variable 325
Alarm options 248,277
Drop Rate 204 Math Channel branch 322
display Channel information 246,275
Fastest 207 Math Channel Folder 95
display fields 246,274
Logger Properties 209 Microsoft Excel™ 364
display Fixed Text 247,275
Logging Mode 192 Modify logging table
display Timing information 247,276
existing logging rate 192
Lap adjust options 249,278
M Offload options 249,278
Math Channel 80 N Page change options 248,277
and the Sensor Loom 332 Network Adapter 437 Page - Race, Start, Practice 246,274
calibration page 102 Network Hops 437 setting annunciators 246
Channels used 344 Network Interface Card Tank fill options 250,279
Channel Usage 329 Installing an NIC 196 Pi Omega dash
constants 344 alarms
default calibration type O cancel alarms
look-up table 103 red button 295
Official Length 198
extrapolate fit 331 Alarms page 293
Offload the dataset 42,443
functions 341 Example of absolute shift points 282
progress section 42,443
Group Math Channel (Equation) 322 Example of relative shift points 281
One Minute beacon 195
inserting an operator 329 Message Centre
Open the Logging Inventory dialog box 210
in the Loom 104 Alarms 294
Operating systems 18
look up table 103,330 Display field actions 288
Windows 2000 18

Fixed Text 284 Events pane 36 Display field options
set up a Channel 285 Selected Detail 444 Alarm options 271
Message Centre display Summary pane 444 Fuel Reset options 270
Example 285 Disable Automatic Event Display 432 Lap adjust options 269
set up FIA Offload Directory 431 Offload options 268
alarms 272,293 Logger page 427,442 Page options 270
alarm annunciator 295 send a Setup 442 Tank Fill options 33
alarm backlight 295 Message Port 429 Gear shift lights 257
channels to disply 294 message prefixes 445 LED patterns 259
new alarm 293 messages generated by 446 number of gears 258
Satellite alarm module 296 select a Setup 430 Shift Points option 258
Shift/alarm light LED module 296 send a Setup 430 Message Centre 257
trigger event 294 send button 432 display field actions 259
cancel alarm 295 Send Outing\Lap To Car 443 example of a message 260
allow driver to 295 Server Message Window 432 list the items 260
display channel informa- setting to receive telemetry 433 move text entries 261
tion 246,255,275 Sync Setup before send 431 remove items 261
display fields 274 System page 427 select items 254
Display Options 272 Telemetry to set Fixed Text 268
Gear Number display field 279 PC serial port 434 to set up a Channel 265
Max RPM Scaling 274 Telemetry page 427 numerical display fields 267
Message Centre 283 Digital Broadcast Telemetry 439 page 266
Display field actions 288 Serial Port setup 434 Practice 266
to set fixed text 284 Telemetry logging 441 Race 266
RPM Bargraph display 274 To set up Pi dB telemetry 439 Start 264
setting annunciators 246,274 to start Pi Server 428 set up 265
shift/alarm module 280 Traffic Light button 429 to display Fixed Text 254
to display field ac- Pi Server Application 427 to display timing information 255
tions 247,256,268,276,288 Pi Server window Pi Steering wheel dash setup
Pi Satellite modules message section 36,443 Message Centre 255
Alarm module 244 Pi Sigma MCU Pi Tools 255
Gear/Shift lights 242,244 core card Pit page 254
Pi Sensors 36 digital 146 Pi Workshop 256
Pi Server 427 Pi Standard Sensors folder 111 Book default window 256
Active System 430 Pi Steering wheel dash 146 library files 199
Archive Manager Host Name 431 display channel information 146 read only folder
Automatic offload 443 Display field actions 146 Sensors 291
Available Systems 431 Alarm options 146
Index
Car Port 429 Fuel Reset options 146,254
Create Setup from car 432 Lap adjust options 146
Debug page 427 Offload options 254
Details page 427,444 Page options 255
Details Page Tank Fill options 256,283
Index 459
Q States 353 Sensor connections
Broken 353 ADC ref 25
Qualifying Mode 202
Connected 353 absolute sensors 25
distance based 203
Connecting 353 ratiometric 70
importing files 203
Disconnected 347 Excite 70
Learning Mode 202
Receiving Data 347 Gain 70
Operating Mode 202
to connect 346 Bipolar 69
split beacon based 203
to set up 348 Unipolar 70
Watch Requests 95 Input 70
R
Watch Server Machine 116 Mode 70
Race page 291 Rearrange ports 116 Bipolar 69
Ratiometric sensors 70 Re-Calibrate 114 Unipolar 70
Raw Pcode Sensor 108 right drag 113 Special 70
raw (un-calibrated) channel 105 Type 70
Real Time Broadcast
S Differential input 70
Choosing network Ports 436 Single ended 69
Saving Templates and Workbooks 33
Data Stream 437 Sensor Name 110
SCU 62
Decode Directory 437 Sensors 108
Add an SCU 62
Disable High Data Rate 438 Sensors folder 110
Select a Template Sensor 138
Information Stream 437 Serial stream 69
Selecting and sending a setup to the
IP Addresses Server toolbar
car 430
recommended 436 Send button 69
Selecting a Setup 59
Network Adapter 437 Setting DCOM properties in Windows XP 13
<No Setup> 60
Network Hops 437 dcomcnfg 39
to select a Setup 60
to change configuration 435 Setting up telemetry 41
Selectronic I/O card 67
Watch Requests Stream 437 check the End of Lap options 316
amplifier gain 75
Real Time Data Manager 346 check the Event Engine options 317
configuration constraints 71
Data Stream 345 Data Source Setup 319
current input special mode 75
Information Stream 347 End of Lap telemetry 306
differential inputs 76
Multicast IP 348 Message size 308
excitation modes 72
Properties 349 Baud Rates and Bandwidth 306
Group 74
Additional Telemetry Servers dialog serial port setup 318
input functions 73
box 347 Telemetry Sources (priority order) 315
Input range 74
Disk Cache Location 348 the What page
power supply Type 74
General 351 Continuous telemetry options 32
RTD special mode 75
General page 347 Event Engine telemetry options 312
single ended inputs 77
Hardware Configuration page 347 options 313
unipolar inputs 76
Hardware Setup 350 the When page
volts 74
Status 347 Automatic Message Size 32
Sending your first setup to the car 41
Status page 347 Continuous telemetry options 306
Send Outing\Lap To Car 443
to set up 352 Continuous Telemetry Source 305
Sensor and Loom Migration 99
Track Map 353 Continuous Trigger Mode 305
Sensor Colour Coding 115
Track Map page 353

Data Engine Advanced Proper- Sigma Configuration 192 Telemetry Source 41
ties 305 Serial Setup 138 Telemetry Streams 215
End of Lap telemetry options 305 Sixnet and Windows XP 424 Telemetry diagnostics 438,441
End of Lap Trigger Mode options 308 Sizing a control 396 Telemetry Key Cache 438
Events telemetry options 308 Slider Control 396 Telemetry logging 441
the Where to page Start Logging Telemetry Map 215
options 314 Manual Override 443 Telemetry Source
Setup database 316 Status Bar 298 Trigger Modes 215
Setup Data Manager 52 turn off the 298 Continuous 420
Applications 52 Steering wheel dash 298 Fixed-Length Run 304
Looms 52 sub-loom 297 Start-Stop 304
Maths Channels 61 Summary dialog box 297 Telemetry Sources
Sigma Configuration 52 Switch Application priority order 315
Telemetry 59 CAN serial stream 300 Telltales 216
button 62 Editing the Mapping 300 Input Channel 317
Loom Application output channel Min/Max 215
Attach connector 137 add an output channel 302 Output Channel 216
Unlock Loom 137 output channels 297 polling rate 38
Miscellaneous validity 298 Reset Event 45
Outing Information, Session 189 Telltale Properties 169
Outing Information 189 T test the setup 198,443
driver name 189 Text Control 198
Tabular Lap Report
Sigma Configuration The Archive Manager 196
copy 364
I/O cards 56 The Global Channel Database 196
create 362
window 53 Toolbars
number of laps to display 363
to open Setup Data Manager 53 Controls toolbar 196
statistic to calculate 362
Setup Organiser 57 General Controls toolbar 286
Tank Fuel 303
Another User 52 To select items on the message centre 287
Telemetry
create a new folder 52 To show a list of entries on the message
continuous 422
folder options 53 centre 359
Diagnostics 438
Create Duplicate 53 Track and Fuel 360
Test Link button 438
Library mode 52
EOL 422
Looms 57
Telemetry Application 303 U
read only 51
Baud Rate 314 Units configuration 22
read only folder 51
Continuous Telemetry 303 edit units parameters 23
Setup mode 61
End-of-lap Telemetry 320 to set the Units 22
Show Setups 95
Event Sources 304 User Levels 80
start the Setup Organiser 112
Serial Setup 319 Advanced 80
Index
toolbar
Serial Stream 303 Expert 80
toggle button 163
serial port 319 Standard 80
Show Ports Currently In Use 96
Telemetry Data Source 304 Using a channel in a calibration 105
Telemetry Serial Stream 303
Index 461
V X
View Flat
by Connector 99 Y
by Sensor 99
Z
W
Zero a sensor 120
Watch page 104
Zeroing sensors 120
Watch Requests 346
applying offsets 120
Watch Requests Stream 437
Offset to Target 121
Watch Server Machine 348
remove an offset 123
Watch Stream 436
Remove Offset button 123
Wheel Setup 196
Target value 122
Car Speed 197
View Log 124
Front and Rear options 197
View Offset Log 124
Front options 197
Front Primary option 197
Rear options 197
Rear Primary option 197
options 196
Wheelspeed 32
diameter of the FL wheel 125
Wheelspeed channels
FLSpeed 32
Wheelspeed connector 134
Wheelspeed Sensor 132
wheelspeed sink channels 125
Wheelspeed setup
active wheelspeed sensor 32
calculator 126
passive wheelspeed sensor 127
Wheelspeed sink channel
DistRaw 34
SpeedRaw 133
Windows Taskbar 133
hide the 36
Auto hide option 36

Contact information
For more information about Pi products and details of worldwide authorised agents, please
contact:
Pi Research
Brookfield Motorsports Centre
Twentypence Road
Cottenham
CAMBRIDGE
UK Customer Support Tel +44 (0) 1954
253600
CB24 8PS Fax +44 (0) 1954 253601
Pi Research, Inc.
8250 Haverstick
Suite #275
Indianapolis
IN 46240 Tel +1 (317) 259-8900
USA Fax +1 (317) 259-0137
Index
www.piresearch.com
Index 464

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Part Number: 29P-071167-8E

Refers to Pi Workshop version 8.4.44

© Pi Research, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

Pi and the Pi logo are trademarks of Pi Group Limited

Pi Research is part of the Pi Group Limited

2 Pi Workshop User Guide

Setting DCOM properties....................................................... 25

Understanding the Pi Workshop Workspace........................ 33

Sending your first setup to the car....................................... 41

Looking after your Pi Workshop files.................................... 48

Selectronics I/O Card Setup.................................................. 67

Sensors and looms interface................................................ 79

4 Pi Workshop User Guide

Setting up a Sensor ............................................................ 110

Zeroing sensors................................................................... 120

Setting up a Wheelspeed ................................................... 125

Setting up a Beacon ........................................................... 135

Setting up a Fuel Input........................................................ 141

Setting up a Fuel Flow Meter.............................................. 147

Setting up a Serial Stream ................................................. 160

Setting up EngineSpeed...................................................... 172

Miscellaneous Application.................................................. 189

Modifying the Logging Table............................................... 204

Setting up Telltales ............................................................ 215

6 Pi Workshop User Guide

Editing existing Alarms....................................................... 234

Auto clearing Events and Alarms....................................... 239

Setting up a Dash................................................................ 242

Switch Application.............................................................. 297

Telemetry Application......................................................... 303

Writing a Math Channel....................................................... 321

Real Time Data Manager..................................................... 345

Introduction to Controls...................................................... 357

8 Pi Workshop User Guide

Pi Server Application........................................................... 427

Contact information............................................................ 464

Default templates and Setup database

10 Pi Workshop User Guide

For use on a single PC:

‘Server PC’ printer

n a PC with an 800MHz (or faster) processor.

For use on a network of computers:

Pi Workshop communicates with your Pi Sigma system using a high-speed Ethernet

Network Interface Cards (NICs) and the Server PC

Choosing a Network Interface Card

12 Pi Workshop User Guide

Sixnet is a transport protocol that Pi Workshop uses to communicate with a Pi Sigma

Choosing a Network Interface Card

It covers the following:

The Pi Workshop package contains the following items:

Distributed Communications (DCOM)

18 Pi Workshop User Guide

Networking and Remote Access

If you intend to use Pi Workshop on a network

To install the software:

20 Pi Workshop User Guide

To set the Units:

Units Configuration dialog box