Frequently asked questions

See for a full overview the ‘What is new ‘ PDF on the download page of Coach 7.
Some important improvements are: a new data table that makes working with multiple runs easier, using drag-and-drop to make graphs, automatic interface and sensor recognition, many graphical updates and usability improvements. The software has seen a large update of its code base to make it future proof.

Whenever new functionality is added to Coach, or when enough bugs are fixed, a new minor version of Coach will be released. You can expect two or three updates per year, one of which will be likely prior to the start of the academic year.

Coach 7 works on computers with Windows 7 or newer and Apple computers with OS X 10.11 El Capitan or newer.

The Coach 7 app can be used on Chromebooks, but only if the Chromebook supports the use of Android and Android-apps. An extensive list of Chromebooks that (will) support Android is available here.

Coach and other CMA products are distributed to a wide international audience. The initiative to translate the software and support materials comes from our international dealers. When a version in a different language is completed, these versions becomes available online. As of version 7.7 Coach is available in Dutch, English, Chinese, Czech, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Slovak, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

You can find instructions to reset the Author key in the online Coach help (search for ‘Author Key’).

The default key is 0000 (four times zero), but this may have been changed by any other user with Author access.

Yes, OS X (10.10 or newer) is supported starting from Coach 7. Note that while the Windows and OS X versions are almost identical, with just a few minor differences.

For Chromebooks we offer a special Coach 7 Lite for Chromebook Android app. This app is limited and does not offer all functionalities of the apps for iPad and Android tablets. Download and read the document ‘Using Coach 7 Lite on Chromebook’ for an overview of the app’s features and limitations.

For Chromebooks, we offer a dedicated Coach 7 for Chromebook Android app. This app has limited functionality and does not include all the features available in the versions for iPads and Android tablets. Read the document Using Coach 7 on Chromebook to learn about the app’s features, limitations, settings, and required permissions.

Coach 7 Activities and Results are exchangeable between different platforms: Windows, OS X, iOS and Android. No matter what the mix of technology in the classroom or the school is, all users share the same user experience.

Older CoachLab II+ models (without a serial number, or with serial number SAG08XXXXX and SAG09XXXXX) are currently supported in Windows only.

All CMA sensors are supported in Coach, along with most Vernier Labquest sensors, with BT connectors. When buying sensors, make sure to match them with the interface you use.

The following CMA interfaces are supported:

• On Windows: WiLab, CLAB, €Lab, €Sense, €Motion, CoachLab II+ and VinciLab.
• On OS X:  WiLab, CLAB, €Lab, €Sense, CoachLab II+ and VinciLab.
• On iPad: WiLab (BlueTooth), VinciLab, wireless via Wi-Fi.
• On Android: WiLab, VinciLab, wireless via Wi-Fi, and €Lab, €Sense, CLAB, CoachLabII+ via a USB port (a Micro USB OTG-hub or cable is needed to connect an interface).
• On Chromebook: WiLab, VinciLab, wireless via Wi-Fi, when using CMA HID server also with USB connection: CoachLabII+ (after 2010), CLAB, €Lab, €Sense,

The CoachLab II interface (before 2008, with a serial port) and other old CMA interfaces are no longer supported.

Yes,  *.cma7 and *.cmr7 files are interchangeable between all supported operating systems.

Yes, most activities from Coach 6 can be opened directly in Coach 7, but not the other way around. There are a few cases where conversion is not possible, e.g. when a text contains an image. In these cases, the activity will have to be manually modified.

Coach 7 supports many common video formats and containers: mov, mp4, m4v, 3gp, 3g2, avi, wmv, asf, mpg, mpeg and m1v. In some cases videos cannot be imported, for example if they have been recorded with a smartphone. Please use a video conversion tool such as Any Video Converter to convert your video to a format suitable for Coach. You can find a short guide to perform the conversion here.

Any camera that records video at 15 frames per second (fps) or more should suffice. Almost all digital photo camera’s, video camera’s, (buit-in) webcams, high-speed camera’s and most smartphones with video functionality will work.

The problem is likely due to the type of video that is being imported. Please use a video conversion tool such as Any Video Converter to convert your video to a format suitable for Coach (e.g. from mp4 to avi). You can find a short guide to perform the conversion here.

MacOS includes built-in protection for apps downloaded from the internet. Since you download Coach 7 from our website, you’ll need to confirm that you trust the software after installing it. To do this, open a Finder window and navigate to the Applications folder. Right-click on the Coach 7 icon and select Open (or hold the Command key and click Open). You’ll be asked to confirm that you trust the program, and Coach 7 will then launch. This step only needs to be done once.

Alternatively, you can go to System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General, and allow the Coach 7 app there.

Here you will find the explanation from Apple.

To use some of our older interfaces (like CoachLabII+ from before 2010) with Windows and Mac computers, you must make sure some low level drivers are installed. You can find them on the respective Coach 7 download page for your system.

Mac:
Download the most recent low level driver here (scroll down). This driver must also be approved in the system preferences.

Windows:
A. Installing CMA certificates:

1. Download: https://cma-science.nl/support/cmapublic.zip
2. Decompress somewhere on your system (for example c:\)
3. Run a command prompt as administrator:
   Type cmd in the system search window – you will get command prompt as options, right click on it and choose Run as Administrator.
4. If you are not already on it in the prompt, go to the c drive:
   C:
5. Go into the folder with the CMAPublic files:
   cd c:\CMAPublic
6. Install the certificate by typing:
   install

B. Install Coach 7 Low Level Drivers:
Download » Coach 7 (MAC, WINDOWS) | CMA (cma-science.nl).

Usually you need the x64 version.

Connect CoachLab II+. It should now be recognised by Coach and be ready for use.

The Windows Coach 7.4 installation has been modified to not reset the Author key to the default value after update. This means that a file, which contains this Author key, will not be overwritten during Coach Installation. Unfortunately for installation of the newest version of Coach on some systems a direct upgrade (installation when an version of Coach older dan 7.4 is installed) does not work correctly. In such situation, the file is deleted and not replaced by the new one, and you get an error message Cannot read Author key file. It may be missing or corrupt. There are two ways to solve this problem:
1. First uninstall the older version of Coach and after that install the new Coach 7.4, or
2. Run “Program and Features” repair.

This message appears when there is a program e.g. antivirus program, which blocks access to the User’s Documents folder. To solve this problem give Coach 7 access to this folder.

Coach 7 has the following system requirements:

For Windows

• Windows 7 or newer;
• Pentium 4 / 2,4 GHz processor or newer;
• 300 MB hard disk space;
• 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended).

For Mac

• OS X 10.11 El Capitan or newer;
• 300 MB hard disk space;
• 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended).

More information about Coach 7 can be found in the installation guide and the dedicated Coach 7 page.

Coach can be installed safely to a shared network location, and users can start the application by opening the executable from there. At first launch, Coach will copy several configuration files to the user’s local data (e.g. CoachLocal.ini to AppData\Local\CMA\Coach7). You can edit Coach.ini from the installation folder to modify the paths to several important locations, such as the license file. See the Installation Guide for more information.

You can add multiple options to an MSI-installer. Consult the software Installation guide for more details. Use the options LICENSENAME and LICENSECODE to set these parameters for the entire installation process. When installing to a network location for shared access, the location of the license file can be fixed by modifying Coach.ini. It is still necessary to run Coach once after installation to generate the license files in the default location.

With chromebooks, this does not work unfortunately

Make sure you do the following:

1. Download and install the CMA certificate.
2. Update the root certificates of Microsoft and VeriSign. This is usually not necessary if you use a fully updated version of Windows.

Please consult the Installation guide to troubleshoot any installation related problems. Follow the installation steps carefully. Use the ‘Ask a question’ form if the installation problems persist.

Starting from version Coach 7.4, a license check is carried out once a year, in October.
The first time you run Coach 7.4 or higher after October 1, the license is checked via an internet connection.

No, all Coach 7 updates are included in the license and available for download on the Coach 7 download page.

Coach 7 has three types of licenses:

• a Desktop License (covering Windows and MacOS),
• a Tablet License (for Android, iOS and Chromebooks),
• ‘BYOD’-License (Bring Your Own Device) – combining the former two.

All of them cover all the school users – teachers and students alike.

By standing on a label of an axis, until it gets a frame, and then left-click. Then you have the possibility to put more variables in the graph.

Deep in the manual, you will also find instructions.

When choosing a sensor from the sensor library you can use the checkboxes on the right to filter the sensors by manufacturer.

You can also add new sensors and calibrations when you use the Calibrate or Create a Sensor tools.

No. Using the Meter display tool can let you keep track of the current magnitude of the signal, while running a measurement lets you display a graph to examine the signal’s time variability.

No, this is not possible. However, you can obtain more data points through interpolation. Use the option Process/Analyze > Smooth for this and choose ‘Spline’ combined with ‘Replace data’.

Every interface has a maximum number of data points that can be collected. If this maximum is reached, the measurement stops automatically, even if a longer measurement time was set.
The maximum is 16.380 points for CoachLab II, 32.760 points for older models of CoachLab II+, and 500.000 points for the newest CoachLab II+ models with updated firmware (and Coach 6.3 or newer). The number of data points that can be collected at sampling frequencies higher than 10 kHz is also limited. In this case, the internal data buffer of the interface cannot be emptied quickly enough and the measurement will stop once the buffer is full. For CoachLab II+ this corresponds to a maximum of 32.760 data points.

To gather more data points than the allowed maximum, the option Repeat from the Measurement settings can be used.

First check the measurement settings to verify that the correct time and unit have been entered. It is also possible that the length of the time-axis in a diagram is shorter than the measurement time. This makes the measurement look shorter than it actually is. Use the option ‘Zoom to fit’ to show the entire data range.

This is possible with the Simulate option. Here the value of a model parameter can be changed without having to edit the model continuously. To open the simulation window, right click in the Model window and choose “Simulate”.

When multiple events are required, it is usually more convenient to use the “Pulse” function. To use several events with the pulse function you need to introduce an auxiliary variable. Double click the variable and click on Formula and select ‘Use condition’. After that you can define your formula using the Pulse option.

Coach 7 Activities and Results are exchangable between different platforms: Windows, OS X and Android. No matter what the mix of technology is in the classroom or the school, all users share the same user experience.

Android: most tablets with Android 5, 6 and 7, with a minimum of 1 GB memory and an ARM-processor. The performance of the app is strongly dependent on the hardware of the tablet. For ease of use we recommend a tablet of 9″ or larger.
iPad: all iPads with iOS 8 or higher are supported. This prevents Coach from running on the first generation iPad (2010) only. We recommend the use of an iPad with at least 1 GB of internal memory (all models since 2012). We do not recommend the use of an iPad Mini due to the limited screen size.

In Coach 7 for tablet version 7.1 the layout screen is locked by default. To unlock it:
– Open an Activity/Result.
– Tap the Menu icon located at the right side of the Activity toolbar and select Display > Locked Layout.
Now you will be able to create new panes, to resize panes and to switch the content of the panes.

You can share/upload Coach Activities made in Coach on tablet.

Method 1: via Activity/Result list
Activities and Results created on tablet are stored in the User folder.
– Open the User folder: tap the Open icon and tap User.
– Long tap an Activity or Result name until menu with options Open, Share, Delete and Cancel appears.
– Select Share and select the way you want to share the file.

Method 2: via menu in an Activity/Result 

– Open an existing Activity/Result or create a new Activity/Result.
– Tap the Menu icon in the Activity toolbar and select File > Share.
– Select the way you want to share the file.

iOS: tap the attachment, a cma7 or cmr7 file, and select Copy to Coach 7.  Coach 7 App starts and opens the activity. The Activity will be saved in the Coach 7 User, in the folder called Inbox.
Android: tap the attachment, a cma7 or cmr7 file, Coach 7 App starts and opens the activity. You can also save the file into Device Storage > Download.

Yes you can; how to do it may differ for different cloud services.
iCloud: Tap a cma7 or cmr7 file, tap the Download button and select Copy to Coach 7.  Coach 7 App starts and opens the activity.
Dropbox: Tap a cma7 or cmr7 file, tap the Menu icon, select Export and Select Open In … then select Copy to Coach 7.  Coach 7 App starts and opens the activity.
GoogleDrive: Go to My Files or Google Drive, tap a cma7 or cmr7 file, Coach 7 App starts and opens the activity (notice that Coach 7 App has to be closed first otherwise you may get an error).

Yes you can download activities from websites and open them directly in Coach, for example activities offered on the CMA website (see Teaching Resources page).
iOS: tap the link to cma7 or cmr7 file, tap Open in “Coach 7”. Coach 7 App starts and opens the activity.
Android: tap the link to cma7 or cmr7 file, the activity will be copied into the Device Storage > Download folder. Go to My Files App and tap the downloaded activity, Coach 7 App starts and opens the activity.
You can also copy the file into Documents > Coach 7 then the file will be visible in the User folder of Coach 7 App.

Note: for some browsers it can happen that a Coach Activity is interpreted as txt file instead of cma7 or cmr7 file. This is not a problem as Coach 7 App can open such file with extension txt. Touch the downloaded txt file and select Open with Coach 7 or copy the file to the User folder of Coach 7. When the coach activity file with txt extension will be opened via Open icon in Coach App then it will modify its extension back to cma7 or cmr7.

To limit the size of  Coach 7 Apps the CMA Projects are not included in Coach anymore. These projects can be downloaded now via the Download button available in the Main Toolbar after opening Coach. After this button is pressed Coach makes contact with the CMA website and checks which language projects are available on the CMA website.
Tap the language to select the CMA projects to be downloaded and tap the Download icon.
Depending on your Internet connection downloading of files can take some time.

Coach 7 Apps have a multilingual user interface and offer many languages. To switch the language of the Coach user interface:
– Start Coach 7 App.
– Tap the Login icon and login as Student or Author user.
– Tap the Menu icon (located at the right site of the Main Toolbar) and select Options > Switch Language then select the desired language from the list.
– Stop Coach 7.
– Start Coach 7 again, the user interface will be displayed in the selected language.

Coach 7 – this App is meant for owners of a Coach 7 Tablet Site License. The App can be downloaded for free but to be able to use it you need a valid Tablet Site License code (not the desktop license code). Contact CMA or your local dealer to purchase the Coach 7 Tablet License for your school or institution. The latest version 7.1 of this App offers Data Video and Modeling features of Coach 7.
Coach 7 Modeler – this App can be purchased in App stores (price Euro 9.99) and offers Modeling features of Coach 7.
Coach 7 Modeler and Video – this App can be purchased in App stores (price Euro 12.99) and offers Data Video and Modeling features of Coach 7.

CMA is always open to your comments, please email them to info@cma-science.nl. It is our goal to make Coach fit your needs as well as possible.

CMA is always open to your suggestions. They can be sent by email to info@cma-science.nl. We continuously strive to make our products match your needs.

It may be necessary to update the firmware of an interface from time to time. CMA occasionally releases improved firmware versions to improve an interface’s interaction with the computer, a tablet or one or more sensors. To update an interface, it needs to be connected to a desktop or laptop and Coach 7 needs to be started.

For some interfaces Coach 7 is able to automatically detect if an update is available. You will receive a notice about a possible update when initialising the interface for a measurement activity. Simply agree to update the interface and Coach 7 will perform the update. After a few moments the interface is ready and you can continue with the measurement.

Other interfaces need to be updated manually. Start Coach 7 in Author mode and select “Tools” in the menu at the top of the screen. Select “Firmware update”. A new window will open. Select the interface that is connected to the computer that you want to update and select the most recent firmware version. Perform the update and then continue as planned.

The €Lab interface is only powered through USB, which places a limitation to the maximum power consumption. This may also be dependent on the computer the interface is connected to. Some sensors need more power (for example the Force sensor or the CO2 sensor) and when such a sensor is connected to €Lab and the USB port does not provide enough power, then the sensor may not work properly or may not be automatically recognised by the Coach software. First select the sensor manually from the Coach Sensor Library and check if this solves the problem.

Wireless measurements are possible with:

1. VinciLab via WiFi as well with computers as with tablets.
2. WiLab via Bluetooth with tablets.

CLAB can be used as a standalone data-logger. The experimental setup is prepared using the Coach software on a computer or the E-CON application on a CASIO Graphic Calculator and uploaded to CLAB. The measured data are stored in the CLAB memory and can be downloaded into a computer or a calculator after the measurement is finished.

There appears to be a problem with some (newer) sensors where the EEPROM cannot be read properly by the CLAB. A solution for this hardware problem is yet unknown. At the moment we advise you to manually select unrecognized sensors from the sensor library.

If the steps follow each other too quickly, stuttering may occur as soon as the syringe is pressed. This problem appears sometimes when the command Titrate(…;Fast) is used. For a slow titration (Titrate(…;Slow)) the step motor burette should function properly. If fast titration is required, try to increase the waiting time between the steps (only possible in Author mode):

1. Start the Coach activity ‘Acid-base titration with CMA burette’, or comparable.
2. In the Program window, just below its title bar, drag the window edge down to open the procedure editor.
3. Increase the value of the variable WaitingTime (for instance into 0.005).
4. Drag the edge back to close the editor window and retry the activity.

If the ‘Titrate’ command makes the step motor moves backwards while the ‘BackMotor’ command makes it move forward: Exchange the wires connected to the outputs A1 and B1 of CoachLab II+.

This can be due to the motor itself or to the type of syringe. Check the following:

• If the power adapter of your CoachLab II/II+ has a voltage switch, make sure it is set to 12 Volts
• For an older type of titrator: the syringe deforms when it is pushed too hard into the titrator and clamps the piston. The syringe should be placed loosely inside the titrator.
• For a newer type of titrator: use the supplied syringe as it has less friction.
• Sometimes the spindle is fitted very tightly to the housing of the motor, as it causes extra friction during the motion. Try to create more space between the spindle and the housing (ca. 1-2 mm spacing) using an Allen key.

Mounting Vincilab is possible with the helper application: Mount Vincilab. VinciLab is added as a drive in Windows which lets you exchange files easily.

Windows 10
Mounting VinciLab sometimes doesn’t work (Coach Version <7.7). The following solution .

It is possible that “insecure” network login is forbidden on your system, preventing Vincilab from mounting.
You can change that setting in Windows 10 Pro, the option to change does not appear in Windows Home. (update to Coach 7.7 or higher)

Look for insecure guest logon  in Group Policies :

In the system search window: type in cmd,
Click right on Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator
Run “gpedit.msc“.
In the Local Group Policy Editor window follow the path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > Lanman Workstation

Right click “Enable insecure guest logon” Select Edit. Select Ok.

Try to mount Vincilab again. (Restarting the PC may help.)

On Mac.
Connect the Vincilab with a USB cable.

Open a finder menu. Use cmd+K
Copy the following command into the search box:

smb://169.254.200.1/My Files

An explorer window should now open.

To fix this problem two registry settings must be adapted/added. Note only administrators have the rights for these 2 keys. This can be done:

Automatically: by running MoLabVinciLabFix. Download the file here and run on your computer.

or

Manually:

1. Start menu at left-bottom: “Windows System” -> right click on “Command Prompt”,  mouse over “More” and select “Run as administrator”.
   Or
   In the search box type “cmd” on the “Command Prompt” that appears in the list above you can right click and select “Run as administrator”.
2. Copy and paste these 2 commands to run them:

REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RapiMgr /v SvcHostSplitDisable /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WcesComm /v SvcHostSplitDisable /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

3. Reboot the pc.

See also https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/9cab3e8e-6cc4-48e4-8ed9-d595bc83f04b/windows-mobile-device-centre?forum=win10itproapps for more information.

VinciLab runs a version of Coach that was specifically developed for VinciLab (Linux). This is a version that is not related to the version for Windows (Coach 6) or the version for Windows and Mac (Coach 7).
It is, however, possible to use VinciLab with Coach 7 as well for computers as for mobile devices. When connecting VinciLab to a computer using USB or WiFi, Coach 7 will detect VinciLab and initiate it as an interface. In this way, you can do measurements In Coach 7 on PC or Mac using VinciLab.

Whenever updates for VinciLab become available, these will be distributed via our update servers. VinciLab needs to be connected to the internet and the update needs to be initiated manually. This can be done in the “Settings” app on VinciLab.

There can be a couple of reasons why Coach fails to communicate with VinciLab:

• The VinciLab driver is not installed correctly on your computer. After a successful installation, VinciLab should be visible in the Windows Device Manager under Network adapters. If the driver wasn’t successfully installed, it can be installed manually in Device Manager by specifying the USB VinciLab driver setup files. Details of this procedure can be found in the VinciLab Users’ Guide.
• The USB cable is not connected correctly. You have to connect the provided USB cable correctly and use the USB connector that is meant for communication, and not the USB connector meant for additional powering.
• A computer firewall may cause communication problems (via USB or Wi-Fi). Make sure that the Coach executable (Coach32.exe in Coach 6, Coach7.exe in Coach 7) has permission to use the ip-address of VinciLab, and ports 22 and 1111 – 1116 are opened. If connected through USB, the VinciLab gets an ip-address in the range 169.254.200.1 – 169.254.200.255. For a wireless connection, the address depends on your network configuration. Please note that when using the USB cable, it may take a while before VinciLab gets its final ip-address.
• Some anti-virus programs can block communication between Coach and VinciLab. Give Coach permission for such communication.

In general: if an attempt to connect VinciLab in Coach fails and you change the hardware settings in Coach, restart VinciLab and try again to connect.

Perform the checks given in the document or shown in the video to fix your problems.

There is a hotfix available for Windows 7, Vista Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, and a separate hotfix for Windows XP.
After installation of the hotfix use the Device Manager to uninstall the VinciLab driver while VinciLab remains connected to the computer via the USB cable. Then disconnect the USB cable from the computer and connect it again to use the new Microsoft RNDIS driver.

The transportation method is decided in agreement with the buyer.

If articles are in stock, your delivery is made ready for shipment within 1 week after we receive your payment. If an ordered item is not in stock, it is placed in backorder. Backorders are sent for delivery as soon as they are available (and will be invoiced separately). International shipment may take up to several weeks, and CMA cannot guarantee a delivery date.

We accept payment by bank transfer and by PayPal.

Depending on your location, we will add appropriate shipping costs to your order.

Your order must be paid in advance via bank transfer. After receiving your online order, CMA will send you a proforma invoice. Your product will be shipped as soon as CMA receives your payment.

Outside of the warranty period, CMA repairs selected interfaces and offers a special rate for sensor replacement. It is recommended to first contact your local dealer and report your problem, before you contact us directly. In many situations we can help to solve the problem, saving you shipping and repair costs.

Please check your package and contents on receipt.

Verify that all your ordered products are present and are functioning properly. If you find any mistakes or problems contact CMA within 2 weeks. Claims for damage during shipment must be made within 24 hours from the receipt of goods.

If you ordered CMA products from one of our dealers – contact them instead.

Most CMA products carry a 24-months limited warranty. During this period, we will repair or replace the item if there is a material defect or defects due to poor workmanship. This warranty does not cover damage to the product caused by abuse or improper use. In case of doubt, please contact CMA.
The purchase invoice (or copy thereof) serves as warranty proof.

1. Log into the CMA webshop with your credentials.
2. Select the desired product and quantity and click ‘Order’.
3. Once you have selected all products, go to you cart using the link ‘Cart/Checkout’.
4. You will see the list of your ordered products. You can still make changes to quantities or remove products. The order is updated by clicking ‘Recalculate’. Click ‘Next’.
5. Check the shipping address and press ‘Next’. Please note that we do not ship to PO boxes.
6. The next screen provides information on payment. If you agree, press ‘Next’.
7. The overview page displays all the information about your order. Please indicate that you have read the CMA Terms and Conditions and complete your order with the ‘Confirm Order’ button.
8. You will receive a confirmation mail, followed by a final order confirmation with additional information about product availability or delivery.
9. This final confirmation can be then checked for the correct delivery address, contact names etc. Within 24 hours the order can be changed if needed.

Currently it is not possible to request a quotation in the CMA online store directly. To request a quotation please send an email to CMA international@cma-science.nl.

You can browse the CMA online store in different ways: via Subject Areas followed by an educational sector/subject or via Category followed by a product type. If you know the CMA product number or name you can find it via the Search option.

Before you place an order, please check if your country has a local CMA dealer. If so, contact them for any purchases as CMA does not deliver directly to these countries. If not, first create a store account for the online CMA webshop. We do not share any of the information you provide with any other company, other than what is required to complete your orders. (i.e. delivery information to the courier). After receiving an on-line order CMA confirms the order by sending an order confirmation, which includes the shipping cost. The customer can check this order confirmation and modify it if needed. After the order confirmation has been accepted CMA will send a pro-forma invoice. Payment has to be done in advance, based on the pro-forma invoice. The products will be shipped as soon as the payment is received.
When ordering Coach software products you will receive a license letter with your license information and the installation code. The installation files can be downloaded from the CMA website.

If you lost your password for the online store, use the ‘Forgot your password?’ link to get your password reset.

The balance needs a low-level driver. You can find one for your computer on (https://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm).

With some older €Motion sensors, they are no longer properly recognised via USB. The solution is to download and install drivers from the website, after which the €Motion will be recognised again.

The blood pressure sensor BT17i (or 0377i) is a relatively complicated sensor for which the generation of a relevant graph is difficult to automate. This is because the procedure requires manual selection of relevant datapoints for each measurement. When using this sensor, please take note of the following:

• The procedure for creating a envelope curve is extensively described in the sensors’s User Guide. Read the guide carefully and follow the described steps.
• An example result in which the necessary processing steps have been carried out can be downloaded here. With this example, you know how the data is supposed to look.
• You can also access the instructions in the lesson materials provided here in our library of Teaching Resources.

There are a few tips that make the selection of relevant datapoints easier. In general, more datapoints means that the analysis can be done more accurately. You may, however, already achieve acceptable results using as little as 30 datapoints. Please take note of the following:

• Make sure the measurement takes no longer than 40 to 60 seconds. This can be achieved by tweaking the pressure release valve to allow the cuff to deflate faster.
• First select the interval in which you want to select the datapoints. This can be done by choosing “Range” instead of “Point-to-point” in the “Select/Remove Data” window. This considerably reduces the amount of points, making it easier to select relevant datapoints.
• Maximize the selection screen by setting the window to full size using the icon in the top right corner of the window. The selection of points is easier when using a large window.

If you succeeded in selecting relevant datapoints and performing other processing steps, but did not get a envelope curve, please take note of the following:

• It is possible that the range for p_trend was too small. The best results are acquired with a 40 – 140 mmHg range. When a smaller interval is used, part of the curve may be lost. Select datapoints over the entire interval. Especially the datapoints at 40 and 140 mmHg are important for the envelope curve.
• The smoothing for p_pulse or p_trend may be wrong. In this case, the envelope curve is plotted over the entire range, but the actual envelope shape is not visible. This may be caused by insufficient/incomplete datapoint in one of the two measurements (either p_pulse or p_trend), for example when the selected points are in a smaller range or not distributed over the entire range. It is good practice to always select the accompanying local minimum (p_trend) for every local maximum (p_pulse).

If a force is exerted on the sensor larger than the maximally allowed force (> 80 N), the internal mechanism will lose its elasticity. The sensor will no longer function properly afterwards and will have to be replaced.

Yes, this is normal behavior. The sensor uses a Hall-element which always gives a sinusoidal signal with an amplitude of approximately 2,5 mT on top of the measured signal. This is called “1/f noise”.

This may be caused by several factors:

• The test subject is moving during the measurement. Let the test subject sit in a chair relaxed, with their arm lying at their side or on a table when data are being collected.
• The used sampling frequency may influence the amount of detected noise. A sampling frequency of 50 Hz is high enough to measure an ECG signal but there will be not much noise detected. A sampling frequency of 200 Hz detects a lot more noise.
• The sensor can also be used to measure electrical signals of contracted muscles. To obtain a nice ECG signal, it is necessary that the muscles of the arms (and also other muscles) are as relaxed as possible.
• For the older CMA ECG set, the electrodes are connected to the amplifier via 4 mm wires. Two parallel wires act as an antenna and catch noise from the power grid. Wrap the wires around each other a few times to get rid of this noise.

A possible cause for this phenomenon is a measurement frequency that is too high. The sampling frequency used in experiments with a motion detector is limited by the speed of sound in air (about 340 m/s): if a distance of 10 m is measured, the sound pulse takes about 59 ms to travel from the motion detector to an object and back. This means that if a sample frequency of more than 17 Hz is used, a new sound pulse is emitted before the previous one is received, leading to erratic readings. The maximal frequency is also limited by the conditions of the experiment. Typical sampling frequencies are: 1 m range – 40 Hz. 2 m to 6 m range – 25 Hz and 6 m to 10 m range – 10 Hz.

The sensor makes use of an electrochemical cell to determine the oxygen concentration. This cell will deteriorate over time, which limits the shelf-life of the sensor to 2 or 3 years. The sensor needs to be replaced after this period.

Yes, CMA supplies a CO2 to O2 Tee coupling piece (art. No. 07661) which fits the sampling bottle to which the two gas sensors can be connected.

When the sensor is collecting data, the intensity of its IR source is modulated (the sensor takes a reading about every 3 s). If the sampling frequency is set to a higher value, the CO2 readings will have some fluctuations (between readings taken when the IR source is on and the readings taken when the IR source is off).

The CO2 sensor can be calibrated using the calibration button on the sensor box. This button sets the reading of the sensor to a value around 400 ppm CO2 (the theoretical CO2 concentration value in fresh air).

• Place the 250 mL sampling bottle delivered with your sensor in the air outside long enough to ensure that its content is replaced with fresh air.
• While still outdoors, insert the sensor with the rubber stopper into the bottle. You can now take the bottle and the sensor to the location where the measurements will be performed.
• Connect the CO2 sensor to an interface and let the sensor warm up by collecting data for at least 5 minutes.
• When the readings stabilize use a paper clip or a ballpoint to press down the calibration button. After about 30 seconds, the reading should stabilize at a value around 400 ppm.

From a teacher we got a tip for checking the accuracy of the spirometer. The calibration can be controlled with two drain tubes of known content, pressed into each other and closed off. One tube section is filled with water, the other remains empty. Connect the spirometer to the empty tube at the closed side (spirometer 0378i or BT82i). Start a measurement and slide the empty tube into the water-filled tube section. The trapped air escapes through the spirometer. Because the volume of this air is known, the calibration of the spirometer can be established. Make sure that no water gets into the spirometer.

A spirometer measures the rate of air flow in liters per second. The total volume of air that has moved through the spirometer can be calculated by integrating the air flow rate as a function of time. Use the function Analyze/Process > Integral for this.
When the air flow data is converted to volume you may find an upward or downward trend in the volume data. You may apply a drift correction to the collected data in one of the following ways:

• before you start your measurement set the signal measured by the sensor to zero by right clicking the sensor icon on the screen panel and choosing ‘Set to zero’, or
• correct the data after the measurement is finished: determine a straight line through the drift by using the Function fit option and then use a formula to subtract the drift data from the measured sensor data