13th October 2011 - Commtest Instruments have released Ascent 2011 Version 11.4.2.

General Notes
The 2011 release of Ascent software incorporates a number of enhancements that significantly improve performance. This release encompasses the following products:-

• Ascent (11.4.2) - Download
• OnlineManager (11.4.2)
• AscentWatcher (11.3.2)
• Ascent OPC (11.4.2)
• vbX firmware (11.2.10)
• vbOnline firmware (5.87.17)
• vbxManager (11.2.14) - Download

For full details of this release please see the following documentation.

	Ascent 2011 Release Notes
	Ascent 2011 Questions
	Ascent 2011 Upgrade Guide
	What's New - Ascent
	What's New - Instrument

For those users of the vbBalancer Instrument please see the following page for new firmware and software capabilities.

Registered users can download their update from commtest.com or contact us for assistance.

New features include:

• RPM and Linear Speed Support. The Ascent software is now more intuitive when configuring RPM-based and linear speed machines. Machine speed configuration has been moved from the schedule entry/parameter set panel to the Machine Editor in the navigator list and Point multipliers are now automatically applied by vbX instruments.
• Machine Assessment Report Update. Associations between Machine Assessment Report databases and Ascent databases have been streamlined and many Machine Assessment Report database keys are now stored within the primary Ascent database. The Ascent software's backup and restore systems now also include Machine Assessment Report databases.
• Automated Importing to and Exporting From Ascent. It is now possible to export a .vbz3 file from an Ascent database, and import a .vbz3 file into an Ascent database, using a standard DOS command line.
• Cumulative Pulse Count Schedule Entry. The Ascent software is now able to store 'pulse counts' from oil particle sensors as an ongoing 24 hour monitoring task.
• Process Variables. Numeric schedule entries indicating process states -- such as power output, speed or drive temperatures -- taken at approximately the same time as vibration measurements can now be compared, providing valuable insight into the underlying conditions that may have resulted in a particular vibration measurement. The Ascent software can now automatically display Average Value, Keypad, SDI (Serial Data Input) and OPC import measurements on spectrum and waveform vibration charts, together with an indication of the time differential between the acquisition of the vibration measurement and the process variable measurement.
• vbOnline Setup Report. The Ascent software now includes a vbOnline setup report that will display setup details of all vbOnline devices configured within a datafolder.
• vbX Memory State. When sending to, or receiving from, a vbX portable instrument the Ascent software now displays the instrument’s memory state (amount of internal flash memory used) on the Send and Receive panels.
• New Demodulation Bandwidths and Recommendations. To help users choose an appropriate bandwidth to use on their vbX (and vbOnline) instruments, new 'recommended' options have been added to the vbX instruments and the Ascent software.
• Waveform Crest Factor and True Peak to Peak. The Ascent software now displays averaged Crest Factor values (indicating levels of impacting within a bearing) and 'true' peak-to-peak amplitude levels (the difference between the highest and lowest peaks on a waveform) together with the recording’s overall power level on waveform charts.

Included with the Ascent 2011 software is the latest vbX instrument firmware revision: 11.2.3. This firmware upgrade adds the following features and improvements:

• Band Alarms Display. Alarm Bands configured in the Ascent software can now be compared to measurements taken during route collection in real time. Alerts are displayed on the instrument if these alarm thresholds are exceeded.
• Order Tracking. If Machine speed varies significantly while a recording is being taken, the resulting spectral peaks may appear as smeared bumps instead of sharp peaks. Subtle spectral features like early bearing defects may not be clear in the spectrum. The Order Tracking system prevents this 'smearing' by automatically adjusting the data sampling rate to obtain a constant number of samples per revolution of the Machine. Order tracking can only be applied to Spectrum, Waveform, Coast-down/Run-up and Orbit Plot measurements on vb6 and vb8 instruments.
• Memory State and Alerts. Instruments now display the percentage of instrument memory currently being utilized. If memory use is allowed to exceed 80% of the device’s 1 GB memory capacity, a warning will be displayed on the main menu advising operators to clear system memory.
• Date Format. Time can now be displayed on the instrument in either 12 or 24-hour formats.
• Long Time Waveform Time. When recording or charting long time waveforms, instruments have previously displayed only the number of 'blocks' recorded during the measurement (either above the measurement during recording or across the x axis when charted). They will now display the actual elapsed time of the measurement in conventional HH:MM:SS format.
• New 'Cross-hair' Cursor. Cursors now include a horizontal (x) amplitude marker centered on the frequency peak, thereby improving charting usability and improving the visibility of cursors as they are repositioned on charts.
• Short Pause to Review New Route Recordings. During route collection users can now pause between recordings in order to briefly view the measurement.
• Manually Emptying the Recycle Bin. Users are now able to manually empty the instrument recycle bin. Manually clearing this data may improve general instrument operating speeds under some circumstances.
• Instrument Region Now Displayed. The regional settings of instruments are now displayed in the Memory & System screen. This setting determines the languages that are supported by the instrument.
• New Demodulation Bandwidths for Low Speed Machines. vbX instruments now support Dmin values of 250 Hz to 10 kHz and 500 Hz to 10 kHz for conventional demodulation recordings, removing the need to reduce Dmax settings below 10 kHz.
• Percentage of Route Completed. When viewing folders, the percentage of routes completed is now displayed in the right-hand window.