Pasco Science Workshop^TM

The Motion Sensor

BHS -> Staff -> Mr. Stanbrough ->Pasco Interface Notes-> this page

1. This dialog opens when you drag the digital plug icon to digital channel 1 in the Setup Window. Select "Motion Sensor".
   This dialog asks you to calibrate the motion sensor and set the pulse trigger rate. If the distance measurements that you will make aren't critical, you can just press "OK".
   This is how the Setup Window will look when the motion sensor is successfully installed.

   Plug the yellow plug into Digital Channel 1, and the black plug into Digital Channel 2.
2. Drag the digital plug icon ( ) to the picture of Digital Channel 1().
3. A dialog will open in which you should select "Motion Sensor". 
4. A second dialog will open which asks you to calibrate the motion sensor. If the measurements that you will be taking are not critical (just making graphs of your motion, for instance), you can just press "OK". Otherwise:
5. Place an object in front of the motion sensor, and carefully measure the distance from the motion sensor to the object. Enter this value in the "Calibration Distance" field. (Note: if your measured distance is wildly different from the "Current Distance" shown in the dialog, something is wrong. Perhaps the motion detector isn't really pointed at the object you think it is. Check it out.) When you press the "Calibrate" button, notice that the speed of sound value is updated.
6. You can adjust the trigger rate to correspond to the distance range you will be using. This adjusts the number of pulses per second that the motion detector produces. (Note: The "Max. Distance" and "Min. Distance" values will be somewhat smaller if you select "Near" on the switch on the top of the motion sensor.)