Instructions on use of Lab Pro with TI-84 calculator and accelerometer
1. Locate and obtain a Lab Pro, an accelerometer, a TI-84 calculator, and a TI-84 to Lab Pro cable
2. Insert 4 AA batteries into the Lab Pro. After a few seconds, the Lab Pro should beep in response.
If it doesn’t, the batteries might be dead; try different batteries.
3. Place Lab Pro and calculator into cradle (comes in Lab Pro box). Use cable to connect calculator
and Lab Pro (ports are on top of calculator, bottom of Lab Pro). Connect the three
accelerometer cables to the Lab Pro ports labeled CH 1, CH 2 and CH 3. The cables coming off
the accelerometer are labeled by axis, pay some attention to this (i.e., connect x to CH 1, y to CH
2, z to CH 3, or something like this).
4. Turn on the calculator. Press the APPS button, and then go down to DataMate.
5. Once DataMate starts up, press 1 to enter SETUP to calibrate the accelerometer. To zero the
readings (i.e., the current accelerations are zero), press 3 to select ZERO, then press 4 to select
ALL CHANNELS, then when the accelerometer is motionless, press ENTER. You should then
return to the main menu, and the readings should be near zero.
6. To change the sampling number and rate, from the main menu, press 1 for SETUP. Then use the
arrow keys to go down to MODE: TIME GRAPH-3.6. Select this by pressing enter. Then press 2
for TIME GRAPH. You will then see the current settings. Press 2 for CHANGE TIME SETTINGS to
change these values. When you’re done, keep pressing 1 for OK until you’re back at the main
menu.
7. To begin collecting data, press 2 for START. After a few seconds (while the calculator is
sampling), you’ll see the data plotted on a pair of axes. To exit to the main menu, press ENTER.
To view the plotted data again from the main menu, press 3 for GRAPH.
8. After you’re done with the Lab Pro, don’t forget to remove the batteries.
Instructions on transferring data from calculator to Lab Pro
1. Quit the DataMate application by pressing 6 for QUIT in the main menu. Unplug the TI
calculator from the Lab Pro, and then plug the calculator into the computer using the light gray
cable labeled CALCULATOR INTERFACE. You’ll see text telling you which variables contain what
data. Take note of these so that you can import the variables corresponding to the data that
you’re interested in.
2. Start up the Logger Pro application on the computer. You’ll find it in Start > All Programs >
Vernier Software > Logger Pro 3.3
3. When Logger Pro has started up, go to File > Import From > TI Device… . In the dialog that comes
up, choose TI-GRAPH LINK™-USB in the combo box, then press “Scan for Device”. After a
moment, a number of list variables should come up in a list box. Choose the variables with data
in them that you are interested in, and press OK. You’re data should now be in Logger Pro, and
if you chose at least 2 variables, you should see a graph.