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AP Sensing
DTS Configurator

User’s Guide
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 2
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Table of Contents

1 Getting Started ........................................................................... 7

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 8

Customer Support ...................................................................................................................... 9

Installation ............................................................................................................................... 10
Requirements ................................................................................................................................. 10
Installing DTS Configurator ............................................................................................................. 10
Setting up the DTS Configurator for autostart ............................................................................... 11

User Interface .......................................................................................................................... 12

File Explorer Pane ........................................................................................................................... 13
Properties Pane .............................................................................................................................. 15
Data Visualization Pane .................................................................................................................. 17
Instrument Pane ............................................................................................................................. 19
Menu Bar ........................................................................................................................................ 19
Tool Bar .......................................................................................................................................... 20
Status Bar ....................................................................................................................................... 21

Application Settings ................................................................................................................. 22

General Application Settings .......................................................................................................... 22
Measurement Window Settings..................................................................................................... 23
Auto Save Traces ............................................................................................................................ 24
Auto Save POSC .............................................................................................................................. 26
Auto Save Alarm Table ................................................................................................................... 27
User Settings................................................................................................................................... 28

2 Using the DTS Configurator ................................................... 29

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 30
File Management............................................................................................................................ 30

DTS Instrument ........................................................................................................................ 31

DTS Instrument Discovery .............................................................................................................. 31
Instrument Properties .................................................................................................................... 33
SD Card ........................................................................................................................................... 34
Calibrating Instrument Sensor........................................................................................................ 35
Log File ............................................................................................................................................ 38

Configurations ......................................................................................................................... 39
Creating a New Configuration ........................................................................................................ 39
Modifying a Configuration.............................................................................................................. 51

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 4

 Copying a Configuration ................................................................................................................. 52
Extracting a Configuration from a Trace ........................................................................................ 52
Downloading Configurations .......................................................................................................... 52

Sequences ................................................................................................................................ 55
Creating a New Sequence .............................................................................................................. 55
Adding Configurations to a Sequence ............................................................................................ 56
Dual-Ended Configuration within a Sequence ............................................................................... 56
Modifying Configuration within a Sequence .................................................................................. 58
Modifying a Sequence .................................................................................................................... 58
Copying a Sequence ....................................................................................................................... 59

Measurements ......................................................................................................................... 60
Starting a Single Measurement ...................................................................................................... 60
Starting a Sequence Measurement ................................................................................................ 61
Viewing a Running Measurement Trace ........................................................................................ 61

Traces ...................................................................................................................................... 63
Creating a New Trace ..................................................................................................................... 63
Viewing a Trace .............................................................................................................................. 63
Manual Saving of Multitrace Files .................................................................................................. 64
Unpack Multitrace Files .................................................................................................................. 65
Copying a Trace .............................................................................................................................. 65
Downloading Traces ....................................................................................................................... 66
Suppress Intermediate Traces ........................................................................................................ 67

Modbus ................................................................................................................................... 68
Configure the DTS ........................................................................................................................... 68
Overview of Holdings and Coils ...................................................................................................... 69
Available Commands ...................................................................................................................... 69
Using the Modbus Interface ........................................................................................................... 74

3 Users ......................................................................................... 75
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 76

Logging In................................................................................................................................. 77

Administering Users ................................................................................................................. 78

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 5

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 6
1 Getting Started

Introduction ................................................ 8
Customer Support.................................... 9
Installing DTS Configurator ...................... 10
User Interface ........................................... 12
Application Settings................................... 22

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 7

Introduction
DTS Configurator provides an easy-to-use graphical user interface for
the DTS instrument from a computer and can be used as the basic
application for handling configurations and traces.

It enables calibrating the sensor, creating configurations, creating

measurement sequences, starting measurements and saving and
viewing traces.

This guide assumes you are already familiar with your instrument’s
NOTE operation and parameters. For details on the DTS instrument refer to
the AP Sensing DTS User‘s Guide.

The DTS Configurator may only installed and used in

conjunction with this documentation.

Qualified Personnel

DTS instruments are frequently used to monitor temperature

levels in critical environments. Therefore the installation,
commissioning and operation of the system may only be
performed by qualified personnel. Qualified persons are defined
as persons who are qualified and authorized to install systems in
accordance with established safety practices and standards.

The instructions are intended for certified technicians or

engineers.

General knowledge of optical fibers, electrical safety, DTS

instruments and the application field is needed to understand
the operating instructions and to perform valid installations and
configurations.

Many applications (e.g. fire detection) require approved

parameter sets to ensure operation compliant to stated national
standards and instrument certifications. The use of any other
measurement or alarm parameter sets void the compliance to
these standards.

Legal Notices

We have reviewed the contents of this publication to ensure

consistency with the hardware and software described herein.
Since variance cannot be precluded entirely, we cannot
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 8
 guarantee full consistency. However, the information in this
publication is reviewed regularly and any necessary corrections
are included in subsequent editions.

It is our policy to constantly improve the design and

specifications. Accordingly, the details represented in this
manual cannot be regarded as final and binding.

Limitation of Use

DTS Configurator is mainly intended to configure and

commission a DTS instrument.

DTS Configurator may be also used to permanently visualize

alarm levels and temperatures of a connected DTS instrument.
This application is not certified by e.g. UL, VdS. Upon e.g. a
connection loss the information displayed by DTS Configurator
may not be current anymore and important alarm conditions may
not be reported.

Therefore every critical alarm, an instrument failure or a sensor

fiber break must be handed off to a suitable alarm panel / fire
panel via internal relay contacts. The proper wiring and alarm
handoff via these relays must be tested during instrument
commissioning.

Scheduled Functional Verification

As for any monitoring equipment scheduled functional

verifications are required – at least annual or as per local
regulations. During this functional verification the entire system
functionality and alarm handoff must be verified.

Customer Support
In case this DTS Configurator Guide doesn’t clarify specific questions
please contact support@apsensing.com or call +49 (7031) 309 6699.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 9

Installation

Requirements
DTS Configurator runs on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows
8 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems (32-bit and 64-bit).
Windows 95, 2000 ME and NT operating systems are not supported.

Software requirements:
• Microsoft NET Framework-Version 2.0 (only for
Windows XP)
• Adobe Reader
Available on
the DTS • Agilent IO Libraries Suite
Software & Agilent IO Libraries Suite is needed for communication with the
Manuals CD DTS device. It is downloadable from
http://www.agilent.com/find/iosuite

Minimum hardware requirements:

• Pentium III, 700 MHz

• 256 MB RAM
• 15 MB free disk space
• Ethernet or USB (refer to AP Sensing DTS User’s
Guide).
• Screen resolution min. 800 x 600, 96 dpi font size

Installing DTS Configurator

To install the DTS Configurator, insert the installation CD into your
CD- ROM drive and run SetupDTSConf.msi.

The installation wizard will guide you through the installation

procedure. Read the license agreement carefully before agreeing and
then follow the wizard to select the destination folder and complete
the installation.

After installation, there are no predefined users and the application will
NOTE work in the anonymous mode (no authentication is required). For
instructions on how to add users, refer to chapter “Users” on page 75.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 10

Setting up the DTS Configurator for autostart
For automatic start of the DTS configurator with Windows XP/ Vista/
Windows 7/ Windows 8 start-up (for example after power fail on the
computer),
• Create a DTS Configurator shortcut in the Windows “Startup”
folder for all users (right-click on Windows “Start”, select “Explore
all users”, go to the “Startup” folder and create the shortcut there).

• Configure Windows to start without login (press Windows-key + r,

enter “control userpasswords2“ and press Enter; uncheck
“Users must enter user name and password”). Warning: with this
setting the computer and its data can be accessed without login!

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 11

User Interface
Figure 1 Graphical User Interface

When you start the application the window for instrument discovery
opens first, where you need to perform instrument discovery (see
“DTS Instrument Discovery” on page 31).

The application window is divided into four main areas. On the left are
the File Explorer pane and on the right the Properties pane (if
selected). In the middle is the Data Visualization pane. The bottom
part of the window contains the Instrument pane. Refer to Figure 1 on
page 12.

To select which panes you want to see open the View menu and
select the appropriate panes.

All described areas can be resized, moved and customized. To move a

pane, double-click its title bar and the pane will detach from the
window and you can move it to a place of your choice. To put the pane
into its original position double-click its title bar again.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 12

File Explorer Pane
Figure 2 File Explorer Pane

File Explorer pane contains the list of configurations, sequences and

measurement trace files.

Naming of entries

• Each new entry is marked with * until saved

• When an entry is saved it receives...\prefix.
• When a saved entry is modified it receives * next to the name
until it is saved again.
Editing options are available in the context menu for each list entry.
To access the context menu right-click an entry.

Configuration context menu contains:

• Edit; opens the Configuration Editor dialog box. For more

information see chapter ”Configuration“ on page 39.

• Clone; creates a copy of the selected configuration. The name of

the copy is marked with C and the number of clone, created for
the selected configuration, e.g. C1-configuration_name.

• Start Measurement; starts a measurement for the selected

configuration.

• Other actions: Rename, Save and Close.

Sequence context menu contains:

• Edit; opens the Sequence Editor dialog box. For more

information see chapter ”Sequences “ on page 55.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 13

 • Clone; creates a copy of the selected sequence. The name of the
copy is marked with C and the number of clone, created for the
selected sequence, e.g. C1-sequence_name.

• Start Measurement; starts a measurement for the selected

sequence.

• Other actions: Rename, Save and Close.

Sequence/Configuration context menu contains:

• Edit; opens the Configuration Editor dialog box. For more

information see chapter “Configurations” on page 39.

• Remove; removes the selected configuration from the sequence.

• Other actions: Rename

Measurement context menu contains:

• Visible; If ticked, the trace is visible in the Data Visualization

pane.

• Markers; for a complete measurement only All or Off can be

selected. Temperature and Loss entries can have different
markers selected (e.g. one red and the other blue).

• Show graph; opens the graph of the selected trace in the Data
Visualization pane.

• Export to Excel; Exports trace information into Excel file.

The export into Excel file is possible only when at least one trace is
NOTE available. The Excel file is limited to 16.000 traces in a single file. If
more than 16.000 traces are present, only the newest 16.000 traces
are exported.

• Extract Configuration; extracts the configuration from the trace

file and displays it in the list of configurations.

• Clone; creates a copy of the selected trace. The name of the

copy is marked with C and the number of clone, created for the
selected trace, e.g. C1-trace_name.

• Other actions: Stop Measurement, Rename, Save and Close.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 14

 Measurement/Temperature and Measurement/Loss context menus
contain:

• Visible; if ticked, the trace is visible in the Data Visualization

pane.

• Markers; select any of the available markers to make them

visible or invisible in the Data Visualization pane. You can select
two different colors of markers, one for Temperature, the other for
Loss.

• Show graph; opens the graph of the selected trace in the Data
Visualization pane.

When two or more traces overlay one another, selecting a trace in

NOTE the File Explorer Pane will bring the selected trace forward and make
it visible in the graph.

Properties Pane
Figure 3 Properties Pane

Properties pane displays information about files, measurements,

sensors and alarms.
• General section displays general data of the selected trace file,
e.g. trace name and name of the configuration file.
• Measurement section displays measurement data for the
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 15
 selected configuration or for the configuration of the selected
trace.
• Repetition section displays if the hibernation mode was enabled
for the configuration of the selected trace (for configurations
this section is part of the measurement section).
• Sensor section displays sensor and sensor section information
for the selected configuration or for the configuration of the
selected trace. To view section information select the section
entry and click the button next to it.
• Alarms section displays data about alarm settings in the selected
trace file. To view zones or fire classes information select the
Zones or Fire Classes entry and click the button next to it.
• Trace section displays the timestamp of the selected trace (will
not be shown for configurations).

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 16

Data Visualization Pane
Figure 4 Data Visualization Pane

Data Visualization pane displays different windows:

• The visualization pane is named after the trace of the

measurement that is currently in progress and displays the
actual temperature and loss data as well as alarm and zone
information (if available).
• Temperature Trace graph - showing finished or opened
measurement results.
• Loss Trace graph - showing finished or opened
measurement results.

Temperature Status Pane

Temperature Status pane displays information about measured

temperatures occurring during the measurement process.

Loss Status Pane

Loss Status pane displays information about measured fiber losses.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 17

 Alarm and Zone Status Panes
Figure 5 Alarm and Zone Status Pane

NOTE Alarm and Zone Status panes display information about fires, active
alarms and zones in which the fires occurred.

Alarm and Zone Status panes are available when check marked
above the temperature trace.

In the Alarms list the biggest temperature events that occurred in the
selected configuration are listed. The direction of the biggest
temperature events is also given. The number of the biggest
temperature events to be displayed is set in Program -> Options ->
Measurement Window.

Zone Status list displays either all zones or only zones with alarms (if
only Zones with Alarms is checked). Zones and parameters are
coded with colors:

red, in case the parameter raised a new alarm,

orange, in case the parameter raised an alarm since the last

reset but is currently without a raised alarm,

yellow, in case of a zone affected by a fiber break (data may

be partially or completely unavailable),

white, if none of the parameters raised an alarm.

The column ”StdDev“ shows the noise of the temperature trace within
the zone. It’s value is defined according to “Temperature resolution”
(please see User’s Guide for further information).

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 18

Instrument Pane
Figure 6 Instrument Pane (with 20 and 44 relays)

Instrument pane displays information about the active instrument,

active outputs and fiber breaks.

• Instrument section displays data about the active instrument

(e.g. default instrument, connection type, instrument status,
number of measurements during the measurement process)
and connection status. If connection fails the instrument
handles the device connection automatically.

The next sections are available only when alarm handling for selected
NOTE configuration is enabled, otherwise the More button is disabled. This
part can be shown with the More button or hidden with the Less
button respectively.

• Active Outputs section displays list of outputs. Outputs marked

with orange color have been activated since the last alarm reset.
Outputs marked with red color are activated at the moment.
• Fiber Breaks section displays information if fiber breaks occurred
on a sensor or not.
• Reset Alarms button clears all alarms from all zones.

Menu Bar
Figure 7 Menu Bar

The Menu Bar provides mouse driven access to many high level
functions related to DTS measurements, along with administrative
functions, application settings and help.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 19

 Menu Bar contains the following menus:

• File - Standard Windows file operations (Open, Save, Close...)

and application exit.

• Edit - Access to configuration, sequence and trace settings,

export of traces into an excel file, unpack multitrace files, extract
configuration from trace.

• View - Used for selecting toolbars, for opening File Explorer,

Properties and Instrument pane, for opening graph comparison of
temperatures and losses, for centering markers and for auto scale
the X & Y axis.

• Instrument - Instrument settings, instrument discovery, starting

and stopping of measurement for the selected configuration or
sequence, access to downloading of configurations and traces,
access to the log file.

• Settings - User management (login/logout), language settings,

and application settings.

• Window - various window arrangements. Useful when viewing

more than one measurement trace graph.

• Help - Application Help and information.

Tool Bar
Figure 8 Tool Bar

The Tool Bar consists of three option groups and offers shortcuts to
operations mentioned in the Menu Bar chapter.
• File Menu Actions - Create New, Open, Save and Close.

• Measurement Menu Actions - Start Measurement, Stop

Measurement and DTS Discovery.

• Settings Menu Actions - Login, Options, Show Help, Center

Markers and Auto Scale.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 20

Status Bar
Figure 9 Status Bar

The Status Bar consists of three groups and offers information about
selected items, users and alarms.

• File explorer selection - Shows information about the selected

item in the file explorer pane. For running measurements it shows
name of the trace file, number of already saved traces, type of the
configuration’s save mode, as well as date and time of the last
performed measurement.

• User information - name of the user that is logged in.

• Alarm - if alarm notifications are set on and an alarm occurs the

alarm speaker icon is visible in the right corner of the status bar.
Alarms can be muted by clicking the speaker icon.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 21

Application Settings
You can customize the DTS Configurator settings. To change
application settings, select Options in the Settings menu. The
Program Options dialog box opens, where you can set or
change the settings.

General Application Settings

Select Applications where you can set the general application
settings. Refer to Table 1 on page 22.

Table 1 Application Settings

Option Description
.\ “.\” indicates the folder where the
program is installed.

Always use This option enables you to select

the default destination folder for
all configuration, sequence, trace
and log files.

Last used folder All files will be stored into the last
used folder which is displayed
here.

Layout This option saves your application

layout settings.

Show login on app. This option controls whether the

start Login dialog box opens when the
application is started. You can set
the time interval after which it
automatically closes.

Open sync time dialog When a time difference between

on app. start if a time PC and instrument is found, a
difference found dialog window appears where
between PC and you can automatically
instrument synchronize the time settings.

On application start When you start the application

automatically connect the default instrument will be
to DTS selected automatically.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 22

 Disable Splash Screen Disables the splash screen
during application start.

Units

You can set the view to US customary units or metric units.

Select temperature and distance units that will be used
throughout the interface: meters or feet and degrees Celsius or
Fahrenheit.

Select the axis on which you would like the data to display in
graphs. If you select the x-axis the graph will be displayed
along the x-axis. If you select the y-axis, the graph will be
displayed along the y-axis.

X-distance means that the x-axis is the distance axis and the y-
NOTE axis is the loss or temperature axis. Y-depth means the
distance from the DTS instrument is shown on the negative y-
axis and the x-axis is used for temperature and loss.

Sounds

You can set the alarm and their sounds:

• Alarm
• Error in instrument
• Error in application

Select which sounds you would like to hear when an error or

alarm occurs. For each of the alarms you can select a sound
file by clicking the browse button and selecting a file. All
Windows Media Player formats are supported.

When an alarm is set a speaker symbol is shown in the right

corner of the main application window status bar. Click it to
mute it.

Measurement Window Settings

Select Measurement Window where you can set default
viewing settings.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 23

 Table 2 Measurement Window Settings

Option Description
Single / Multitrace Either display one trace per
measurement window window or multiple traces in
one window.

Alarm panel height Select the maximum number of

rows that will be displayed in the
alarm table.

Display Select which data should be

automatically visible when you
start a measurement.
Disable “Show Intermediate traces”
to surpress the intermediate traces.

Auto-Scaling Define the percentage of the

margin above and below the graph.

Zone status table Select which columns should be

columns displayed in the Zone Status
table.

Auto Save Traces

Figure 10 Auto Save Trace Settings

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 24

 Select Auto Save Traces to choose the settings for saving
traces. Refer to Table 3 on page 25.

Table 3 Auto Save Trace Settings

Option Description
Enable Enable or disable auto save. All
trace files will be stored into the
specified folder with the filename
prefix which is a combination of
the configuration name and a
prefix defined in the Filename
prefix setting.
NOTE:
Depending on the measurement
settings, enabling auto save may
consume a large portion of disk
space.

Create Multitrace files This option allows you to save

multiple traces in a single trace
file which is useful for post
processing. If the option is not
selected, each trace will be saved
in a separate file.

Enabling auto save option

together with create multitrace
files, could result in very large
trace files and could slow down
the application.

Use Binary Format This option lets you save traces in a

binary format, which uses less
space than the ASCII format. If the
option is not selected, the traces
are saved as comma separated.

Limit by Size This option limits the size of the

created Multitrace file. Once the
size limit is reached a new file will
be created.

Automatically export to Automatically extracts Multitrace

Excel files to *.csv files which will be
saved in the same directory. Only
Multitrace files which are limited in
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 25
 size can be exported to Excel
automatically.

Trace File Prefix Define the prefix which will be

added automatically to the trace file
of a configuration.

Trace File Extension Define the extension of a trace

file. By default it is “.tra”.

Auto Save POSC

POSC (WITSML) is an industry data standard. This file format
is used in the Oil & Gas industry.

Select Trace / POSC to set the POSC settings. Refer to Table

4 on page 26.

Table 4 POSC Settings

Option Description

Predefined All POSC files will be saved

(in application options) in the predefined folder in
the Application Settings.

Select Folder Saves the POSC files in a further

user defined folder.

Temperature Unit It can be selected if the user

wants temperature unit in
Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Distance Unit It can be selected if the

user wants distance unit in
meter or feet.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 26

Auto Save Alarm Table
Table 5 Auto Save Alarm Table

Option Description

Enable Enables or disable auto

save alarm table. A *.csv
file will be created with all
zone information.

Create Daily / Weekly / Create an alarm table daily, weekly

Monthly or monthly.

Limited by Size Limits the maximum size of the

alarm table. After exceeding the
limit a new file will be created.

Destination Folder Saves the alarm table in the

predefined folder (defined
under Application) or in a
further user defined folder.

Zone File Prefix Define the prefix which will

automatically be added to the zone
file.

Zone File Extension Define the extension of a zone

file. By default it is “.tra”.

Figure 11 Auto Save Zones Window

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 27

User Settings
For instructions on how to set the user settings, refer to
chapter ”Users“ on page 75.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 28

 2 Using the DTS Configurator

Introduction ........................................... 30
DTS Instrument ..................................... 31
Configuration ..........................................39
Sequences ............................................ 55
Measurements ....................................... 60
Traces ................................................... 63
Modbus .................................................. 68

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 29

Introduction
DTS Configurator enables management of measurement
configurations and reviewing measurement traces.

In addition, it provides a user interface to the connected DTS

instruments. You can set instrument specific data, calibrate the
sensor, start and stop measurements, save results (traces)
and manage the connected instrument.

Some actions require user authentication and you should log in

NOTE to be able to perform them (for example, starting and stopping
measurements, configuring the DTS instrument). For more
information about user authentication, refer to chapter “Users”
on page 75.

File Management
DTS Configurator provides a common file management system
for managing configurations, sequences and traces. You can
add new files, open existing ones and modify them, copy and
save them.

You can also open multiple files and close them one by one
(using the Close option in the File menu) or all at once (using
the Close All option in the File menu).

The same principle applies for saving the files. You can use the
Save option in the File menu to save the currently selected file,
or Save All to save all open files.

The destination folder for new and copied files is defined under
NOTE Settings -> Options menu in the Program Options dialog box
under Application -> Default Folder.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 30

DTS Instrument
Managing the DTS instrument involves the following:

• ”DTS Instrument Discovery” on page 31

• “Instrument Properties” on page 33
• “SD Card“ on page 34
• ”Calibrating Instrument Sensor“ on page 35
• ”Log File” on page 38

DTS Instrument Discovery

If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before
NOTE you can find and add an instrument.

DTS Configurator enables you to find and add available DTS

instruments. You can also connect to the global VISA database,
which contains the instruments previously discovered using the
Agilent Connection Expert.

The application retains information on all discovered

NOTE instruments, but connects to only one instrument at a time.

To perform DTS instrument discovery, follow the procedure

below:

1. In the Instrument menu click Discovery. The DTS dialog

box opens.
1. find an instrument in two ways:

ick Quick Find to list all instruments, which were

already discovered by Agilent Connection Expert.
Instruments are listed in a tree. Each instrument can
have up to 4 different entries, one for each type of
connection.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 31

 Figure 12 DTS Instrument Discovery - Quick Find

ick Find DTS to search for a new instrument. The

Find DTS dialog box opens, where you can search for
the instrument by hostname, IP or VISA address.
Select the appropriate option and enter the required
information. When searching by hostname or IP
address, you can also specify advanced search
options.

Figure 13 Finding Specific Instrument

2. default instrument and click OK. Therefor select the

instrument connection in the tree and click on Set as
default
A user can remove an instrument by selecting it and clicking the
Remove button. If the removed instrument was set as default
instrument, the user must select another default instrument
before.

An instrument can be connected in more than one way (e.g. via

LAN and USB). Such instrument is listed twice in the list of

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 32

 instruments. The two insertions can be differentiated by the
data in the VISA address column.

Instrument Properties

Figure 14 Instrument Properties

If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before

NOTE you can modify the instrument properties.

To open the Instrument Properties window, go to Instrument

and Discovery. In the DTS window select the instrument and
click the Properties button. If the DTS Configurator is already
connected to the instrument, go to Instrument and Properties.
In this window you can:

• See general instrument data (General)

• Set communication between instrument host and network
domain (Communication)
• (optional) Select the Modbus Holding Register File and
Modbus Coil Register File
• (optional) Test inputs and outputs (Electrical In/Out) and set
operation mode (active open / active closed)
• (optional) Check the SD Card speed
• Restart the network or reboot the instrument

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 33

 SD Card
For instruments which have a SD card slot (not available for
N438XA and N4387B instruments) the following window (see
Figure 15 on page 34) is available under Instrument,
Properties and SD Card. The user can test the speed of the
inserted SD card and verify if the SD card is suitable to save
trace files automatically.

Figure 15 SD Card Properties

• Traces are automatically saved to the SD card.

But they cannot be saved for measurements that are shorter
than 30 seconds.
Once the SD card is full, no further traces are saved.
• Test whether your SD card is fast enough to save the traces
reliably. This test takes approximately 10 seconds.
• On the SD card, they are stored in a directory
/data/yyyymmdd/
where yyyymmdd is the year, month and day, for example
20110117 for the 17th of January, 2011.
• Each new measurement each day has its own directory.
Where there is more than one measurement on a day, a five
digit number is appended to the directory name (( _00001,
_00002, and so on).
• There is one data file for each sequence entry. All the traces
are appended to each file (as in “Create Multitrace files”).
The traces are stored as binary files, named after the
configuration and appended with channel and configuration
number, as well as the “StartingMeasurementTime”.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 34

 To configure the DTS Configurator to automatically re-connect
NOTE to the DTS instrument after power fail on the computer, please
see section Application Settings on page 22.

Calibrating Instrument Sensor

Sensor calibration data is part of a configuration and can be
obtained using the Sensor Calibration Wizard. The Wizard
guides you through the steps of the calibration procedure and
helps you determine the sensor calibration values (gain, offset
and attenuation ratio).

To calibrate the sensor perform the following steps:

1. From the File Explorer pane select a configuration and

right-click it.

2. Click Edit and in the Configuration Editor window select

Sensor.

3. Click Calibration Wizard button to open the wizard. On

the first page all steps that follow are listed.

Figure 16 Sensor Calibration Wizard

Configurations included in the sequence and marked as dual-

NOTE ended can only be calibrated with dual ended traces or with a
new measurement from the sensor calibration wizard.
Otherwise calibrations can be performed only with single-
ended traces.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 35

 Click on Next to continue.

Figure 17 Selecting Data Source

4. On the Selecting data source page there are two

possibilities to get reference traces:

• If you selected run a measurement you need to

define measurement time and click Start. The
measurement will start.

• If you selected one or two trace files the traces are

displayed in the Confirm Selected Traces window.
Click on Next to continue.

5. In the Set end of fiber section or finish calibration window

do one or all of the following steps in the same order as
described below:
• Move the cursor to select the end of the first fiber
section or
• Click Set Length button to correct the refractive
index, set accurate length, or set the scaling factor.
Confirm with Enter and click Next.

To move between Set Refractive Index and Set Section End

NOTE fields use Back and Next button.

• Click Set Temp to choose calibration type and to

set the attenuation ratio, temperature gain and
temperature offset.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 36

 • You can choose between Gain and Offset
Calibration, only Offset Calibration or Two Point
Calibration. Click Next.

• The selected section is displayed in the Set

Attenuation Ratio window. With black cursors select
region 1, with green cursors select region 2. To
calculate the attenuation ratio select which region
to include and click Calculate and Next.

NOTE You can insert the attenuation ratio manually.

• On the Set the Actual Temperature page click

Calculate to get the measured temperatures in the
selected regions (can be modified by the user with
moving the black and green cursor) and then insert
the actual temperatures that occur in the selected
regions. Click Next to get the calculated Gain,
Offset and Attenuation ratio results and click Next to
confirm.

• Once a fiber section is added you can finish

calibration by clicking the Finish button, create a
new sensor section by clicking the Add button or
change the data of the last section. You can add
and calibrate up to 16 sections.

You can change only the last calibration section in order to keep
NOTE section junctures untouched. To change the first section you
must delete all the following sections first.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 37

 Figure 18 Set end of fiber section or finish calibration

6. When you click Finish, the changes are saved into the
configuration for which you created the calibration. The
changes are visible in the Configuration dialog box (Edit ->
Configuration -> Sensor).

Log File
The Log file contains information about all actions that
happened on an instrument. It will be automatically saved in
the predefined folder. Please refer to General Application
Settings on page 22.

To view the log file select Read Log File in the Instrument
NOTE menu. A new window with contents of the log file will open. If
you already have a log file open and you open another log file
from the Instrument menu, the old log file will close and the new
will open.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 38

Configurations
Managing measurement configurations involves the following:

• ”Creating a New Configuration” on page 39

• ”Modifying a Configuration” on page 51
• ”Copying a Configuration” on page 52
• ”Extracting a Configuration from a Trace” on page 52
• “Downloading Configurations” on page 52

Creating a New Configuration

To create a new configuration, follow the procedure below:

1. In the File menu click New and select Configuration. A

new configuration item is added in the File Explorer.
2. The configuration Editor box opens automatically. But you
can also select the new configuration and then in the Edit
menu click Configuration. The Configuration Editor dialog
box opens. The window opens also if you double-click the
configuration or right-click it and select Edit.
3. Select Measurement and specify the required settings.
Refer to Table 6 on page 39.

Table 6 The Configuration Measurement Settings

Option Description
File Name Name of the configuration file - can
only be changed in the File
Explorer by right-click on the
configuration and choosing
rename.

Name Configuration name which is the

same as the file name and cannot
be edited.

POSC Export Enable or disable POSC export to a

folder, predefined in the application
settings. If POSC export is enabled
two additional fields appear, Well
UID and Wellbore UID, which are
exported into the XML file.

Comment Additional description or comments

(up to 79 characters).

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 39

 Channel Number of the channel (optical
output).
(dual ended = odd channels)

Start [m] Start distance of measurement

results.

Span [m] The length between start and stop

distance, calculated from both
values.

Stop [m] End distance of measurement

results.

Measurement Time [s] Duration of the measurement in

seconds.

Intermediate Update The intermediate trace update time

Time [s] in seconds.

Update Time [s] Time after which a new

measurement begins.

Sampling Interval [m] The distance between samples in

the measurement result trace.

Spatial Resolution[m] Spatial resolution setting for the

instrument.

Repeat Repeat mode of the measurement

- either continuous, until the
instrument's internal trace buffer is
full or a specified number.

Repeat Value Number of measurement

repetitions (only in “value” mode).

Hibernation Enable Enables power saving mode if

difference between Update Time
and Measurement Time is
sufficiently long.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 40

 Figure 19 Configuration Measurement Settings

4. Select Sensor and specify the settings as required. Refer

to Table 7 on page 41.

Table 7 Configuration Sensor Settings

Option Description

Start Point Offset Reset the “0” Point to the beginning

of the monitored object.

Temperature Offset The temperature offset from the

measured object, e.g. if there is a
constant temperature delta
between fiber and the object.

Sensor Sections Sensor calibration sections as

determined in the calibration
process. You can edit section
settings manually by double-
clicking the entry in the
Temperature Calibration Data list.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 41

 Figure 20 Configuration Sensor Settings

5. To modify the section settings, double-click the entry in the

list. The Sensor Section dialog box opens, where you can
specify the section options as required. Refer to Table 8
on page 42.

Table 8 Section Settings

Option Description
Span The length of the section, e.g.
between two connectors or splices.

Refractive Index The refractive index of the fiber

Scaling Factor If a fiber is wound (for example,

around a power cable), the fiber
length and the cable length are
different. The DTS measures the
length of the fiber, which does not
correspond to the position on the
power cable. The scaling factor is
the ratio between the cable length
and the fiber length (for example,
0.8). Using the scaling factor, the
traces are displayed by the length
along the cable. If the fiber is laid
straight (along the cable in this
example), the scaling factor is 1.

Attenuation Ratio This is a property of the fiber,

which specifies the difference in
absorption of the two Raman
signals (Stokes and anti- Stokes)
along the fiber. The wrong value
causes a slope in the temperature
trace. A typical value is 0.25
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 42
 db/km.

Gain Adjusts measured temperature

differences to ensure that a
temperature change over time or
distance is displayed accurately.
The correct gain ensures, for
example, that a temperature step
of 20.00°C (over distance) is
displayed as 20.00°C.
The default value of 1 is sufficient
for most applications.

Offset Corrects the offset of a sensor

section, for example caused by a
connector or by different fiber
characteristics of a section.

The following parameters are only visible for N44XX and

N438XB instruments

DMAGain The DMAGain is a corrective

scaling factor for the DMA
correction (default value: 0.0 dB).
The differential mode attenuation
(DMA), which occurs only at
some fibers, could cause an
exponential temperature decay at
the beginning of a section.
Note: For dual-ended
measurements these values
apply for the odd channel.

DMADecay Is needed in addition to the

DMAGain. DMADecay specifies
the decay constant of the DMA
correction (default value: 0.0
dB/km).
Note: For dual-ended
measurements these values
apply for the odd channel.

DMAGain (Reverse) Only visible when dual-ended

measurement is check marked.
Same as DMAGain, but for the
even channel.

DMADecay (Reverse) Only visible when dual-ended

measurement is check marked.
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 43
 Same as DMADecay, but for the
even channel.

When dual-end measurement is check marked and the

configuration is already part of a sequence, the configuration
NOTE will be automatically marked as dual-ended within the
sequence editor (refer to chapter Dual-Ended Configuration
within a Sequence on page 56).

Figure 21 Section Settings

To get assistance in the sensor calibration click on the

NOTE calibration wizard button. For more information please refer to
the chapter Calibrating Instrument Sensor on page 35.

6. Select Alarm and specify the settings as required. Refer to

Table 9 on page 44.

Table 9 Configuration Alarm Settings

Option Description

Enable Alarm Handling Flag to activate or deactivate

alarms

Point to Return Destination where the fiber

changes the direction back to the
instrument. Only used to calculate
the direction of the biggest fire.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 44

 Confirmation Cycles Number of alarm criteria repetitions
before an alarm is raised

Reset Inputs Through the selected inputs the

alarms can be reset.
Note: In a sequence, the last
configuration defines which inputs
are active for alarm resetting. Be
sure to have Alarm Handling
enabled in the last configuration to
enable alarm resetting.

Figure 22 Configuration Alarm Settings

7. Select Alarm / Zones and specify the settings as required.

8. Click Add and the Alarm Zone Editor window opens.

Specify the settings in this window as required. Refer to
Table 10 on page 45.

Table 10 Configuration Alarm Zone Settings

Option Description
Name The name of the zone.

Start The zone start.

Span The length of the zone, calculated

from zone start and zone end. A
zone must be at least 2 m.
Alarm Zones with Span = 0 are
ignored when running a
measurement.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 45

 Stop The zone end.

Zone Type Only as note. Zone types can be

customized by <Edit List>.

Maximum Check Checking of maximum temperature

at any point in the zone area is
either enabled (on) or disabled
(off).

Maximum Value Maximum temperature that can be

reached at any point of the zone
before raising an alarm. The value
is given in actual degrees (either C
or F).

Minimum Check Checking of minimum temperature

at any point in the zone area is
either enabled (on) or disabled
(off).

Minimum Value Minimum temperature that can be

reached at any point of the zone
before raising an alarm. The value
is given in actual degrees (either
C).

Positive Check Checking of maximum positive

difference of temperature to zone
average before raising an alarm is
either enabled (on) or disabled
(off).

Positive Difference Maximum positive difference in

Celsius of one point compared to
the zone average before raising an
alarm.

Negative Check Checking of maximum negative

difference of temperature to zone
average before raising an alarm is
either enabled (on) or disabled
(off).

Negative Difference Maximum negative difference in

Celsius of one point to the zone
average before raising an alarm.

Gradient 1/2/3 Check Checking of the Gradient 1, 2, 3 is

either enabled (on) or disabled
(off).

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 46

 Gradient 1/2/3 The temperature can rise or fall for
Temperature the defined number of Kelvin in a
specified time before raising an
alarm.

Gradient 1/2/3 Time The temperature can rise or fall for

the defined number of Kelvin in a
specified time before raising an
alarm.

Outputs The outputs that will be notified

about an alarm in the defined zone.

FiberBreak Outputs The outputs that will be notified in

case of a fiber break in or near the
selected zone. The first output is
marked by default, same as
system fault.

Figure 23 Alarm Zone Settings

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 47

 A fiber break can be detected only in an alarm zone where at
NOTE least one condition is checked; if it is required to detect a fiber
break outside of the monitored area of interest you can set up a
zone throughout the entire fiber length with e.g. the minimum
check enabled and the minimum value set to -273.15°C (will
never raise an alarm).

To repair a fiber break, you need to stop the measurement.

When you restart the measurement, it automatically clears the
fault status and switches off the LED.

The zone span must be greater than 2 m and equal to or

NOTE greater than twice the sampling interval.

Zone span ≥ max(2 m, 2 x sampling interval)

9. Click OK to save the settings.

10. Select a zone from the table and click Clone to create
another zone with the same characteristics.

11. To modify the zone settings, double-click an entry and

specify the settings in the Alarm Zone Editor window. Refer
to Table 10 on page 45.

12. To delete a zone, select the zone from the list and click
Remove.

13. To change the order of zones select a zone and move it by

clicking the arrows below the list.

14. Select Alarm / Fire Classes and specify the settings as

required. Refer to Table 11 on page 48.

Table 11 Configuration Fire Class Settings

Option Description
Fire Class Definition Classes of fire where the fire sizes
and the outputs that must be
notified in case of individual fire
class are defined.

15. To modify the fire class settings, double-click an entry in

the list. The Fire Class Collection Editor window opens.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 48

 Specify properties of the selected fire class. Refer to Table
12 on page 49.

Table 12 Fire Class Settings

Option Description
Size The size of the fire

Outputs The output that is going to be

notified in case of a fire of defined
size.

Figure 24 Fire Class Settings

16. Select Multi Sensor Board (optional) to choose between

different settings of the analog inputs of the Multi Sensor
Board, if available. Refer to Table 13 on page 51.
For detailed information about the Multi Sensor Board
please refer to the Multi Sensor Board User Guide.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 49

 Figure 25 Multi Sensor Board Settings

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 50

 Table 13 Multi Sensor Board Settings

Option Description
Temperature Inputs 4 different PT100/1000 temp-
erature inputs can be enabled.
Enter start and stop
(m) of the sensor cable reference
position. Either for the simple data
logging or for calibration purpose
(therefore “use for calibration” must
be enabled).

Analog Voltage Inputs If enabled, gain, offset and the unit

can be defined for each input
separately. The value recorded in
the trace file is gain*value+offset.
The unit can be used to refer to the
physical measured values.

Analog Current Inputs If enabled, gain, offset and the unit

can be defined for each input
separately. Refer to the analog
voltage inputs.

Digital Inputs
The digital input status will be
logged if enabled.

17. Click OK to save all configuration settings.

Modifying a Configuration
To modify an existing configuration double-click the
configuration or select it and then in the Edit menu click
Configuration. The Configuration Editor dialog box opens,
where you can modify the measurement, sensor, alarm and
Multi Sensor Board settings. Refer to chapter „Creating a New
Configuration“ on page 39.
The configuration files have the .cfg extension.
NOTE After changing the configuration attributes in the Configuration
Editor dialog box, save your changes.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 51

Copying a Configuration
To copy a configuration select the configuration you want to
copy and perform one of the following:

• In the File menu select Save As. Specify a new name

for the copy and click OK. The configuration is saved to
the disk and renamed in the File Explorer pane. The
original configuration is still stored on the disk.

• In the Edit menu select Clone Configuration. This

option creates an exact copy of the currently selected
configuration file with C and the number of copy before
the filename.

Extracting a Configuration from a Trace

Trace files also contain the information about the configuration
with which a measurement was initiated.

The DTS Configurator enables you to extract a configuration

from a trace. This option creates a new Configuration file
based on settings contained in a Trace file.

To extract a configuration, open the trace you want to use and in

the Edit menu select Extract Configuration or right-click on
the trace in the File Explorer and select Extract
Configuration.

Downloading Configurations
The application also enables you to download configurations
from the DTS instrument. To download a configuration follow
the procedure below:

1. In the Instrument menu select Download and

Configurations. The Download Configurations dialog box
opens.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 52

 Figure 26 Download Configurations

2. Click Download Configurations to start downloading

configurations. You can monitor the download progress
and each downloaded configuration is added to the
Configuration List.

Invalid configurations will not be downloaded.

NOTE

Figure 27 Save Downloaded Configurations

3. You can save downloaded configurations. Select the

configurations you want to save by clicking the
corresponding check-boxes.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 53

 4. Select the destination folder. You can save configurations
to the default (predefined) folder, or select a different
folder.

5. In the Filename Prefix, enter the prefix for the filenames.

You can also leave this field empty. All configurations are
saved under the filename consisting of the prefix you
entered and their original name.

6. Click Save Selected to save the configurations.

To exit the Download Configuration dialog box, click Close.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 54

 Sequences
A sequence is a group of configurations that are a part of the
same measurement process. When a sequence measurement
is started measurements of all configurations in the list are
triggered in the same order as the configurations are listed in
the sequence.

Managing sequences involves the following:

• ”Creating a New Sequence “ on page 55

• ”Adding Configurations to a Sequence“ on page 56
• ”Dual-Ended Configuration within a Sequence“
on page 56
• ”Modifying Configuration within a Sequence“
on page 58
• ”Modifying a Sequence“ on page 58
• ”Copying a Sequence“ on page 59

Creating a New Sequence

To create a new sequence of configurations, follow the
procedure below:

1. In the File menu click New and select Sequence. A new

sequence item is added in the File Explorer.

2. Select the new sequence and then in the Edit menu click
Sequence. The Sequence Editor dialog box opens. The
window opens also if you double-click the sequence or
right-click it and select Edit.

3. Select General and specify the required settings. Refer to

Table 14 on page 55.

Table 14 The Sequence Settings

Option Description
Repeat Repeat mode of the sequence
measurement. Each measurement
cycle starts with the first
configuration and ends with the last
configuration in the sequence.

4. Select Files and specify the configuration files that will be

a part of the new sequence. Refer to Table 15 on page
56.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 55

 Configurations in a sequence must set to Repeat Value = 1,
NOTE while the whole sequence can be executed with Repeat Value
= Continue.

For all configurations within a sequence, the values for

Measurement Time, Intermediate Update Time, Sampling
Interval and Spatial Resolution must be identical.

The update time must be at least the sum of all measurement

times of the single configurations.

Table 15 The Sequence Files

Option Description
Files The list of configuration files that
are included into the sequence
(see “Adding Configurations to a
Sequence” on page 56).

Adding Configurations to a Sequence

To add a configuration to a sequence:

1. Open the File Explorer pane.

2. Click on a configuration and drag the configuration into a

sequence. You can put up to 24 configurations into a
sequence, depending on your system options.

Each added sequence receives a name prefix C1. If you add

NOTE the same configuration twice the second added configuration
will be renamed with prefix C2, C3, etc.

Dual-Ended Configuration within a Sequence

One sequence can contain up to 24 configurations or up to 12
dual-ended configurations. To define whether a configuration
is dual-ended or not:

1. Double-click a sequence

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 56

 2. Select Files and check the Dual ended check box for the
configuration which should measure in dual-end mode.
The configuration has to be defined for an odd channel.

When dual ended is check marked, the configuration will be

NOTE automatically marked as dual-ended measurement for the
calibration within the configuration editor (refer to chapter
Creating a New Configurationon on page 39).

Possible combinations of configurations are:

• Up to 24 single-ended configurations
• Several dual-end and single-end configurations, e.g. up to
12 single-end and 6 dual-end configuration
• Up to 12 dual-ended configurations

Figure 28 Dual-Ended Configurations

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 57

 Modifying Configuration within a Sequence

In the Sequence Editor window you can also edit

configurations or remove them from a sequence. To modify a
configuration:

1. Double-click a sequence.

2. Select Files and click Edit or double-click on the

configuration entry of the sequence in the File Explorer.
See „Modifying a Configuration“ on page 51 for more
details.

3. Click OK to save the changes.

4. When you change a configuration within a sequence you

do not save the actual configuration, therefor you need to
save the sequence.

5. To rename a configuration within the sequence select the

configuration, click the name of the configuration and
insert new name.

6. To change the order of configurations click and drag a

configuration into the desired position.

You can drag the configuration from a sequence into the

NOTE Configurations folder where its name receives a prefix C1.

Modifying a Sequence
To modify an existing sequence double-click on it in the File
Explorer or select it and click then in the Edit menu Sequence.
The Sequence Editor dialog box opens, where you can modify
the settings. Refer to chapter “Creating a New Sequence” on
page 55.

NOTE The configuration files have the .seq extension.

After changing the sequence attributes in the Sequence Editor

dialog box, save your changes.
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 58
 Copying a Sequence
To copy a sequence select the sequence you want to copy
and perform one of the following:

• In the File menu select Save As. Specify a new name for
the copy and click OK. The sequence is saved to the disk
and renamed in the File Explorer pane. The original
sequence is still stored on the disk.
or
• In the Edit menu select Clone Sequence. This option
creates an exact copy of the currently selected sequence
file.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 59

Measurements
Managing measurements involves the following:

• ”Starting a Single Measurement “ on page 60

• ”Starting a Sequence Measurement “ on page 61
• ”Viewing a Running Measurement Trace “ on page 61

Starting a Single Measurement

You can start a single measurement with new or existing
configurations.
If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before
NOTE you can start a measurement.

To start a single measurement perform the following steps:

1. Create a new configuration or select an existing

configuration.

2. In the Instrument menu click Start Measurement.

A measurement can be started only if the default DTS

NOTE instrument is specified. Refer to chapter “DTS Instrument
Discovery” on page 31. If the measurement parameters are
inconsistent or invalid for the available instrument you will
receive an error message.

When a measurement starts, a new item appears under Traces

in the File Explorer pane, indicating a running measurement.

Once the application is started it begins to record the actual

traces of a running measurement. The running measurement
must be started previously by any user.

To stop the measurement click Stop Measurement in the

Instrument menu.

When connected to the particular DTS instrument, all running

measurements are monitored and visualized. In the following
scenarios a new running trace is automatically created and the
visualization begins as soon as the next trace data arrive:

1. The DTS Instrument is measuring and the DTS

Configurator has just been started.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 60

 2. The DTS Configurator is running and someone starts a
measurement from another connection to the DTS
instrument (DTS instruments support more than one
LAN connection, i.e. connection types).

Starting a Sequence Measurement

You can start a sequence measurement with new or existing
configurations.

If user authorization mode is set, you must be logged in before

NOTE you can start a measurement.

To start a sequence measurement perform the following steps:

1. Create a new sequence or select an existing sequence

(see ”Creating a New Sequence” on page 55).

2. In the Instrument menu click Start Measurement. For

each configuration of the sequence a trace graph will
be displayed in the Data Visualization pane.

Viewing a Running Measurement Trace

While a measurement is in progress, you can view the running
measurement trace and the measurement status.

In the Instrument pane you can track the progress of the

measurement. The number of created traces and the status of
the measurement are displayed.

Figure 29 Measurement Data in the Instrument pane

The Data Visualization pane enables you to:

• Zoom in and out

• Pan the view
• Save pictures
• Send the graph to the printer

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 61

 These options are available in the graph context menu. To
access the context menu right-click in the graph area.

To zoom in on a specific part of the graph, click with the left

mouse button and drag a rectangle in the area you want to
view. To view markers on the zoomed-in part of the graph click
the Center Markers icon in the toolbar. The markers will be
visible on the graph only if the graph contains at least two
sample points.

Figure 30 Zooming In

The temperature and the loss data will be saved in the trace
files.

There are two types of traces:

• Intermediate trace is a trace that occurs during the

measurement and is marked with black color. This
measurement is not saved, it is displayed only as
intermediate information. The interval for intermediate
traces is set in the Configuration settings, under
Measurement -> Intermediate Update Time (see “Creating
a New Configuration” on page 39).

• Measurement trace is a final trace, displayed when a

measurement cycle is finished. This measurement is
marked with the same color as the icon next to the
measurement in the file explorer. The interval for
measurement trace is set in the Configuration settings,
under Measurement -> Measurement Time (s).

When a measurement finishes, you can save the measured

results in the trace file. Select the finished trace in the
Measurements tree (File Explorer) and in the File menu click
Save.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 62

Traces
Managing measurements involves the following:

• ”Creating a New Trace“ on page 63

• ”Viewing a Trace“ on page 63
• ”Manual Saving of Multitrace“ on page 64
• ”Unpack Multitrace Files” on page 65
• ”Copying a Trace” on page 65
• “Downloading Traces“ on page 66
• ”Suppress Intermediate Traces“ on page 67

Creating a New Trace

A new trace will be automatically created with each new
measurement. When a measurement starts, a new trace item
is added in the Measurement tree in the File Explorer pane.
The newly created trace automatically inherits the
configuration settings with which the measurement was
started.

Viewing a Trace
When a measurement is finished you can view the temperature
or loss graph of the traces. In contrast to the running
measurement trace (see chapter “Viewing a Running
Measurement Trace” on page 61) they both show results of a
finished measurement.

To view a trace of a measurement:

1. Open a saved trace by clicking the Open icon or select a

finished trace in the File menu.

2. In the File menu right-click a trace and select Show

Graph. The measurement graph will open in the Data
Visualization pane.

In case of non-valid data detection in a trace file, such value is

NOTE represented with zero value in the graph.

3. To view another trace of a measurement, repeat the above

with another trace. Both graphs are now visible in the Data
Visualization pane. You can simultaneously view multiple
graphs.
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 63
 If more than one graph window is open and you selected a full
NOTE page view (by maximizing a graph window) select another
open window by pressing ctrl + tab key.

Opening different graphs at the same time enables comparison

of the results.

You can zoom in on a part of the chart by clicking and

dragging the mouse over the area you want to magnify.

Editing options are available in the context menu. To access the

context menu, right-click the chart. The menu contains the
following actions: AutoScale, Zoom, Undo Zoom, Print, Copy,
Save and Properties.

Manual Saving of Multitrace Files

Manual saving of Multitrace files is possible only when the
following conditions are met:

• In Settings -> Options go to Auto Save Traces and leave the

Create Multitrace File check box unchecked.

• In Settings -> Options go to Auto Save Traces and leave the

Enable check box unchecked.

To save multiple traces:

1. When a measurement is finished, click the Save button

and Save Multiple Traces window appears.

Figure 31 Save Multiple Traces

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 64

 2. Define the document prefix and select the folder or leave
default folder, according to which data the traces should
be saved.
3. Click Save to save the Multitrace file.

Unpack Multitrace Files

Multirace files can be unpacked to single trace files. Therefore
go to Edit and Unpack Multitrace Files.

Select the Multitrace file and choose the destination folder, the
filename prefix and the destination format of the single trace
files.

Click Unpack and the multitrace file is unpacked into single

trace files. You can then load these into the DTS Configurator
again, either in ASCII or binary format.

Figure 32 Unpack Multitrace Files Window

Copying a Trace
To copy a trace, open the trace you want to copy and perform
one of the following:

• In the File menu select Save As. Specify a new name for
the copy and click OK. The trace is saved to the disk and
renamed in the File Explorer pane.

• In the Edit menu select Clone Trace. This option creates

an exact copy of the currently selected trace file.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 65

Downloading Traces
The application also enables you to download measurement
traces from the DTS instrument. To download a trace follow
the procedure below:

1. In the Instrument menu select Download and Traces. The

Download Traces dialog box opens.
Figure 33 Download Traces

2. Click Download Traces to start downloading traces.

You can monitor the download progress and each
downloaded trace is added to the Trace List.
Figure 34 Save Downloaded Traces

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 66

 3. You can save downloaded traces:

a) Select the traces you want to save by clicking

the corresponding check-boxes.

b) Select the destination folder. You can save

traces to default (predefined) folder, or select a
different folder.

c) In the Filename Prefix enter the prefix for the

filenames. You can also leave this field empty.
All traces are saved under the filename,
consisting of the prefix you entered and their
original name.

d) Click Save Selected to save the traces.

4. To exit the Download Traces dialog box, click Close.

Suppress Intermediate Traces

When the measurement time is very long, for example when
monitoring power cables, you have a smaller intermediate
update time and get the results (intermediate traces) before
the first measurement cycle is finished. Usually and inherently,
the intermediate trace is not as precise as the trace after the
first cycle. You can change and suppress the intermediate
traces by configuring the following settings:

1. Under Settings -> Options go to Measurement Window.

2. Uncheck ”Show intermediate traces”.

3. Click OK.

Now the intermediate trace update is suppressed and you get

the next, precise final trace when the running measurement
cycle is finished.

Example:

The measurement time is 600 seconds, intermediate update

time is set to 30 seconds. With this configuration the trace
graph you get will be updated after 600 seconds.

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Modbus
Using Modbus involves the following:

• ”Configure the DTS“ on page 68

• ”Overview of Holdings and Coils“ on page 69
• “Available Commands“ on page 69
• ”Using the Modbus Interface“ on page 74

Optionally the DTS can be equipped with an integrated Modbus

TCP slave interface, which provides data that can be polled
with an appropriate Modbus master system. The category
“Modbus” is visible in the instrument settings, if the instrument
is equipped with the Modbus option.

Configure the DTS

You need two files to configure the Modbus interface: the
RegisterHolding.csv to parameterize the register holdings and
the RegisterCoil.csv for the coils.

To configure the Modbus interface, select a

RegisterHolding.csv and a RegisterCoil.csv by clicking on the
“...”-buttons to browse for the files. Click “Configure
Instrument” to download the configuration files to the DTS. This
may take a few seconds.
Figure 35 Configure the DTS

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 68

Overview of Holdings and Coils
The holdings and coils in the DTS’ Modbus interface are divided
into different units. A 4-channel DTS comes with four virtual
units, a 12- channel DTS has 12 units. The available register
holdings and coils per unit depends on the number of
channels:

Table 16 Available holdings and coils

Channels Units Holdings per Coils per

unit unit
1-4 4 16.384 3.000
8 8 8.192 1.500
12 12 5.461 1.000
24 24 2.730 500

The register holdings can contain integer values from -32768 to

32767 and represent - among other things - measured
temperatures and time stamps.

The coils in the Modbus protocol contain boolean values, either

0 or 1. The default value is 0, which means that no alarm was
triggered. It changes to 1 if there is an alarm (or fiber break) in
the particular zone.

To get default files please contact support@apsensing.com. You

NOTE can customize the files as you need, but be careful and save a
backup before changing anything. Please refer to the overview
about the default parameterization of the register holdings and
coils.

Available Commands
The following commands are available in the internal Modbus
configuration:

RegisterHoldings.csv

• TempMax100, TempMin100, TempAverage100

Exports the maximum, minimum and average per zone,
multiplied by 100; a value of 3261 means 32,61 oC.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 69

 Example:
1; 2008; TempMax100; 2; 9
This exports the maximum temperature in zone 9 of the
second sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 2008.

• TempMax10, TempMin10, TempAverage10

Exports the same, but multiplied by 10; a value of 422
means 42.2°C.

Example:
1; 1603; TempAverage10; 0; 3
This exports the average temperature in zone 3 of a single
configuration measurement into unit 1, holding register
1603.

• TraceTemp100, TraceTemp10
Exports measured temperature of a single measurement
point; a measured span of 8000 m at a defined sampling
interval of 0.5 m results in up to 16000 possible values.

Example:
3; 1010; TraceTemp100; 2; 9
This exports the measured temperature of the 9th
measurement point of the second sequence entry into unit
3, holding register 1010.

• FireDetected
Ask the instrument if there is a temperature event.
Response: 0 if there is no temperature event, 1 if there is a
temperature event. Maximum 10 independent alarm
events of separate zones or of the same zone, which are
sorted by the size of the event. The status alarm in
Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example:
1; 1010; FireDetected; 1; 1
This exports an alarm (return value 1) in case of a
temperature event (regardless which zone) of the first
sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 1010. The last
number (1) indicates the number of the fire detection
resource (max. 10).

• FireDirection
Get the direction in which the temperature event is moving.
Response: 1 if the temperature event is moving away from
the DTS. 0 if the temperature event is stationary, -1 if the
temperature event is moving toward to the DTS. Maximum
10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the
same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 70

 Example:
1; 1011; FireDirection; 1; 2
This exports the direction of the second largest
temperature event (regardless which zone) of the first
sequence entry into unit 1, holding register 1011.

• FirePosition
Get the position of the temperature event (center) in
meters from the sensor start position. Maximum 10
independent alarm events of separate zones or of the
same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The
status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example:
1; 1012; FirePosition; 1; 3
This exports the position of the third largest temperature
event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry
into unit 1, holding register 1012.

• FireSizeAbsolute
Get the size of the temperature event in meters. Maximum
10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the
same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The
status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example:
1; 1013; FireSizeAbsolute; 1; 2
This exports the size of the second largest temperature
event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry
into unit 1, holding register 1013.

• FireSizeClass
Get the specified size class of a temperature event.
Maximum 10 independent alarm events of separate zones
or of the same zone, which are sorted by the size of the
event. The status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example:
1; 1014; FireSizeClass; 1; 1
This exports the size class of the largest temperature
event (regardless which zone) of the first sequence entry
into unit 1, holding register 1014.

• FireTempMax10
Exports the maximum temperature of an alarm event
multiplied by 10; a value of 326 means 32,6 oC. Maximum
10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the
same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The
status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 71

 Example:
1; 1603; FireTempMax10; 0; 3
This exports the maximum temperature of the third largest
temperature event (regardless which zone) of a single
configuration measurement into unit 1, holding register
1603.

• FireTempMin10
Exports the minimum temperature of an alarm event
multiplied by 10; a value of 158 means 15,8 oC. Maximum
10 independent alarm events of separate zones or of the
same zone, which are sorted by the size of the event. The
status alarm in Modbus TCP is non-latching.

Example:
1; 1604; FireTempMin10; 0; 2
This exports the minimum temperature of the second
largest temperature event (regardless which zone) of a
single configuration measurement into unit 1, holding
register 1604.

• TraceLow, TraceValue, TraceHigh

With these commands you can export the measurement
index, the number of finished measurement cycles in low
and high byte; after 6 measurement cycles TraceLow
contains 6 and TraceValue contains 1536 (256 times 6).

Example:
2; 5021; TraceLow; 1; 0
This exports the measurement index of the first sequence
entry into unit 2, holding register 5021.

• Value
You can define constants to determine certain regions in
the register holdings.

Example:
1; 1000; Value; -1; 1111
This sets holding register 1000 of unit 1 to the value 1111.

• Year, MonthDay, Hour, MinuteSecond

These commands present the timestamp of when the last
measurement cycle was completed; MonthDay and
MinuteSecond present the value in high and low byte; 521
in ”MonthDay“ results in 9th of February (521/145 = 2
remainder 9)

Example:
4; 900; MinuteSecond; 4; -1
This shows the timestamp in minutes and seconds of
when the fourth sequence entry was measured the last
time in unit 4, holding register 900.
AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 72
 • DistanceOfFirstItem; LengthOfTrace;
NumberOfDataPoints
If the measurement span starts at 20 meters,
”DistanceOfFirstItem“ will show 20; ”LengthOfTrace“
shows the lengths of measured span and
”NumberOfDataPoints“ is the number of measurement
points in the measured span.

Example:
1; 5001; LengthOfTrace; 2; 0
This exports into holding register 5001 of unit 1 the
measured distance of the second sequence entry.

• OpticTemp10, RefCoilTemp10
These are reference temperatures within the DTS

Example:
3; 1; RefCoilTemp10; 0; -1
This exports the measured temperature of the reference
coil within the DTS into holding 1 of unit 3.

RegisterCoil.csv

• Alarm, FiberBreak, SystemStatus, AlarmAccu

Exports a value of 0 or 1, depending on whether an alarm
or fiber break was triggered. The AlarmAccu shows the
status of the zone accumulated and needs to be manually
reset like the Alarm LED.

Example:
1; 2090; FiberBreak; 3; 90
This shows, in coil 2090 of unit 1, if there is a fiber break in
zone 90 of third sequence entry.

• DTSMeasurementRunning
Exports a value of 0 if the connected DTS is currently not
measuring; 1 if there is a measurement running.

Example:
1; 592; DTSMeasurementRunning; -1; -1
This shows, in coil 592 of unit 1, if a measurement is
running.

• DTSConditionErrors
If the DTS has an internal error status (not when fire alarm
or fiber break occurs) this command exports 1

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 73

 Example:
1; 593; DTSConditionErrors; -1; -1
This shows, in coil 59 of unit 1, if the DTS has an internal
error.
.
• PointAlarm; PointAlarmAccu
Exports a value of 0 or 1, depending on whether an alarm
or fiber break was triggered at the sample point. The
PointAlarmAccu shows the status of the sample point
accumulated and needs to be manually reset like the
Alarm LED

Example:
1; 2090; PointAlarm; 3; 90
This shows, in coil 2090 of unit 1, if there is a fiber break at
the sample point 90 of the third sequence entry.

Using the Modbus Interface

To read the register types you need an appropriate Modbus
master system. Set the desired IP address of the DTS in the
communication settings. Connect the Modbus master via
ethernet to the DTS; the Modbus protocol uses port 502.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 74

 3 Users

Introduction ..................................... 76
Logging In ....................................... 77
Administering Users ........................ 78

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 75

Introduction
DTS Configurator features a multi-user management and login
system.

The purpose of this feature is to provide a secure environment

for instrument discovery, instrument modification and for
starting or stopping the measurements. Only registered users
(users with a user name and password) have access to these
functionalities.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 76

Logging In
The application can run in two modes:

• Anonymous mode
• User authorization mode

When you first install the application, there are no predefined

users and the application will work in the anonymous mode (no
authentication is required).

As soon as the first user is configured, the application starts

working in user authorization mode and authorization is
required.

If you want to switch from user authentication mode back to

NOTE anonymous mode, you have to delete all configured users.

In the user authorization mode you need to log in to perform

the following actions:

• Start a measurement
• Stop a measurement
• Configure a DTS instrument (perform DTS discovery, set
instrument settings)

To log in, perform the following procedure:

1. In the Settings menu, select Login to open the Login

dialog box or click the Login icon on the toolbar.

2. Enter your username and password and click OK.

If the Auto logout after x minutes checkbox is enabled, you will

NOTE be automatically logged out when the specified time in minutes
elapses.

Figure 36 Login Dialog Box

Tip: If you are not logged in and want to start or stop a

measurement, or configure the DTS instrument, the Login
dialog box opens automatically.

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 77

Administering Users
All registered users can add, modify and delete other users.

For user administration perform the following:

1. In the Settings menu select Options to open the Program

Options dialog box.

2. Select Users from the tree.

This dialog box enables you to:

• Add users
Enter a new username and password, and reenter the
password in the Confirm Password field. Click Add to save
this user.

• Modify users
You can only change the user password. In the list double-
click the user you want to modify or insert user name in
the Username field, enter a new password and confirm
password. Click Update.

• Delete users
In the list select the user you want to delete and click
Delete.

Figure 37 User Administration

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 78

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 79
 © AP Sensing GmbH
11th Edition, February 2014

AP Sensing GmbH
Herrenberger Str. 130
71034 Boeblingen, Germany
Tel: + 49 7031 309 6610
Fax: + 49 7031 309 6611
support@apsensing.com
www. apsensing.com

AP Sensing - DTS Configurator User Guide 80