PASCO Capstone Release Notes

Release Notes for Capstone v2.7.0

This is a feature release of the PASCO Capstone software.

Improvements for v2.7.0

Support for the high speed mode of the Wireless Voltage sensor (PS-3211 r3).
Support for the high speed mode of the Wireless Current sensor (PS-3212 r3).
Support for the Wireless Air Quality device (PS-3226).
Support for the Melting Point Apparatus (PS-3239).
Support for the 850 Expansion Board (UI-5220).
The Hardware Panel will now handle the connection state of the 850 Expansion Board correctly.
The Melting Point Tool Panel has been added which allows the user to control the Melting Point Apparatus.
Added a field to the Sensor Properties dialog for the new Wireless Air Quality device to allow the user to enter the new coefficients when they replace the Ozone sensor in the device.
Added the “timed angle” choice to the movement type field of the Code block [set servo for].

Resolved Issues

Allow the software to set a continuous sample rate up to 20 kHz for the Wireless Voltage and Wireless Current sensors.
Removed the Position and Velocity measurements from the High Speed Stepper motor sensor that connects to the //control.Node. Those measurements depended on a particular wheel diameter and were therefore deemed unreliable in most cases.
Fixed the issue where many of the Blockly Code panel buttons were missing when the panel was sized at the default open width.
Updated the wheel diameter in the Code Library to match the correct wheel size for the PASCObot.
If you had a table with Time and a Measurement with data, and you created a calculation from the table, but then subsequently deleted the calculation from the Calculator tool panel, the data would disappear from the table. This bug has been eradicated.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.6.2

This is a hotfix maintenance release of the PASCO Capstone software.

Resolved issues in v2.6.2

Capstone was not correctly identifying multiple //control.Nodes with different attachments when opening a save experiment. This would cause all kinds of configuration issues and would require the user to reconfigure things which in turn caused the user to have to reconfigure Blockly blocks. This issue has now been fixed. Capstone will not correctly identify and match the connected //control.Nodes with what was configured in the saved file.
The calibration of the Material Testing System was causing problems with some people. To help enforce the correct steps, we have added the phrase “stop recording” to the instructions and disabled the Next button until recording has been stopped.
Capstone would crash if you cancelled a curve fit. We squashed that bug so it will never happen again.
Fixed an issue in firmware for the //control.Node where it would run out of memory and stop running an uploaded program.
Fixed an issue in firmware for the //control.Node where the [get time in ms] block would fail in uploaded code after some period of time.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.6.1

This is a hotfix maintenance release of the PASCO Capstone software.

Resolved Issues in v2.6.1

Fixed the issue with the in-app update failing to complete.
Fixed the issue where the command line to install with a license key stopped working.
Fixed the issue where a 550 connected via classic Bluetooth was not collecting data.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.6.0

This is a feature release of the PASCO Capstone software.

New Improvements in v2.6.0

This version of PASCO Capstone supports the new Wireless Light & Color Sensor.

Resolved issues in v2.6.0

Fixed an issue where many of our wireless sensors would not complete a firmware update over USB.
In rare cases, a calculation with a sensor measurement and a timer measurement as inputs could cause Capstone to lock up when the expression was edited. This will no longer happen.
The PeakAmp was using the last point of the previous run as the first point of the next run. We have eradicated this bug.
The area under the curve will now show properly when the graph is showing a sensor measurement vs. a timer.
Now when you turn off on of multiple curve fits, only that curve fit will be removed.
Fixed several crashes. One in particular that was causing the crash on exit of the program.
Fixed the issue where deleting a run while in playback mode, then undoing the deletion left the playback controls disabled.
- Calculations that included another calculation that was a simple constant value were not being re-evaluated on file open. This bug has been squashed.
In some cases, certain measurement names were not being qualified in code Blocks when they should have been.
Undoing the moving of a slope tool will now work correctly.
Extra curve fits no longer appear when you have multiple selections on a graph.
The area under the curve tool on the graph was not drawing the shaded area when data points were turned off.
Fixed that really annoying error where, in the data summery, when you click on a measurement it would be partially obscured.
When undoing the deletion of a run the graph would show multiple runs. This no longer occurs.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.5.2

This is a hotfix maintenance release of the software to fix some critical issues.

Resolved issues in v2.5.2

Made a change in the firmware for the Wireless Light Sensor that will enhance the battery life of that product.
Fixed a crash when updating firmware on a sensor. The crash was most prominent on MacOS 13 (Ventura) but could occur on any platform.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.5.1

This is a hotfix maintenance release of the software to fix some critical issues.

Resolved issues in v2.5.1

Fixed the crash trying to capture Video on Windows, 64-bit.
Fixed the issue with connecting a classic Bluetooth device to Mac OS v12 (Monterey). This includes the 550 Interface, the SPARKlink Air, Airlink2, Polarimeter, and the Spectrometer.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.5.0

This is a feature release of the software.

New Improvements in 2.5.0

Made some improvements to the Geiger Counter tool panel.
- Added the ability to turn the beeping off in the software.
- Added the ability to sample for one interval and then automatically stop.
Added a user preference for the Geiger Counter beeping.
Added a Total Count measurement to the sensor that keeps a running total of counts from the start of sampling.
Added an Interval Count measurement to the sensor that keeps a running total of counts since the last sampling interval, then resets to zero for the next interval.

Resolved Issues in 2.5.0

Data collected from wireless sensors and exported could not be imported again. This bug has been fixed.
Fixed an issue where the //control.Node Grow Light would flash blue after Blockly Code finished executing.
When you used the Delete All Blocks action in the Code window, but chose No, the blocks were deleted anyway. This bug has been thoroughly squashed.
If you completely removed a //control.Node sensor from an experiment (using the Hardware Control panel), it was still showing up in the Code window in blocks and in the Manage upload selector field. This has been fixed.
Several crashes from customers who have reported them through the new crash reporting mechanism have been fixed.
Fixed the issue where when opening a PCBX file from a newer version of Capstone, the warning dialog would be displayed twice. Once is quite enough.
In some circumstances, the zero sensor Code block was not executing. Fixed so it will now always execute reliably.
Fixed the Amp meter in Circuits so it now shows 0 amps when a path is opened.
The “Simulated Data” string for the volt and amp meters in the Circuits display no longer rotates with the component.
In the Calculator, it is no longer allowed to assign values to π or e as those are well known constant values.
Measurement names in exported data with UTF-8 characters will now display correctly when opened in Excel.
Pasting text from a Google Doc into the Text display will now work correctly.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.4.1

This is a maintenance release of of the software to support new hardware.

New Hardware Support in 2.4.1

This version of Capstone provides support for Wireless Geiger Counter.
This version of Capstone provides support for the //control.Node and all its accessories:
- High-speed Stepper Motor
- Low-speed Stepper Motor
- Servo Motor
- Continuous Rotation Server Motor
- Greenhouse Sensor
- Power Output Board
- Rangefinder
- Line Follower

Issues Resolved for 2.4.1

Fixed a crash related to user calculations.
Fixed a crash on the Mac related to drawing the icons in toolbars.
Fixed a crash when trying to open an old DataStudio (.ds) file.
Occasionally Capstone would crash when deleting a data set. We've eradicated that pesky bug.
Capstone should no longer crash when you zero a sensor from the Properties dialog.
Fixed a random crash with a wireless sensor disconnecting.
Another random crash should no longer bother you. This one occurred when starting a new experiment.
Fixed a crash that could occur occasionally when closing an experiment that had video analysis in it.
Fixed a random crash related to run color and symbol selection.
Fixed an issue with Capstone creating extremely large experiment files (file size) when using a Timing Mode.
There was an issue with the new multiple active selections on a graph, where if you had more than 2 curve fits, they were not being applied to the correct runs. This bug has been squashed.
Data is now correctly selected on a graph when a quick calc is applied to the Y axis.
Fixed the issue with importing Spectrometry files into Capstone. They will now import with all the data.
Fixed an annoying little issue in Blockly Code where if you had 2 sensors of the same type, say 2 Force Sensors, and put two [zero sensor] blocks in the workspace, one for each Force Sensor, then the next time you opened that file without any sensors attached, and you then connected one Force Sensor, both blocks now referenced the one sensor.
Oops, we were unintentionally deleting a curve fit when a selection was deleted. We don't do that anymore.
After working with selections and curve fits in a graph for a while, you could get into a situation where you would get an extra curve fit line showing up. This should no longer happen.
With the new multiple active selections on a graph feature, curve fits were not being displayed when switching runs on the graph.
You should now be able to export the journal on a Mac again.
In the Monitoring Weather Quick Start file, some of the measurements were missing. They are now there.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.4.0

Capstone v2.4.0 is a feature release of the software.

New Features in 2.4.0

This version of Capstone now comes in a 64-bit build for Windows. The 64-bit version is recommended for all 64-bit Windows operating systems.
This version of Capstone drops support for Windows 7 and will no longer install on that platform.
This version of Capstone drops support for Mac OS 10.12 and will no longer install on that platform.
Added the ability to simulate voltage and amperage data in Circuits to support a full simulation mode.
Added Analytics to track feature usage. There is an opt out/in dialog on first run.
Added a crash reporting tool to help improve the stability of our software.
In Blockly there is a new block that will allow the Blockly programmer to read a User Entered Data set into a Blockly list structure.
In Blockly, the [sleep] block now has a unit selector to allow the Blockly programmer to set the sleep duration in either milliseconds (ms) or seconds (s).
Implemented the ability to have multiple active selections on a single measurement and run in a graph. This will allow graph tools to remain active and visible in multiple selections. This feature will allow a user to find the intersection of two linear fits using the coordinate tool.
We have introduced a code library to the Blockly environment that will allow a Blockly programmer to import helper functions and example code. The library buttons respond certain sensors being connected. Currently, there is only library code for the //code.Node sensor. Connect a //code.Node sensor to enable the buttons and import library code for that sensor.
Added support for the new Wireless Force and Wireless Force 2D platforms.

Issues Resolved for 2.4.0

Fixed the issue where you could not click the Finish button on the calibration wizard when calibrating a PASPORT Optical Dissolved Oxygen sensor.
Fixed an issue with opening an experiment that has more than one selection on a measurement/run. All tools that were on when save will now be restored to all selections.
With the introduction of the 64-bit version of Capstone, the issue with opening a file with a very large number of data points and crashing is now fixed. The fix requires use of the 64-bit version of the software.
When an experiment with data collected from a PASPORT Rotary Motion sensor via a Wireless Air Link was opened with the sensor attached with a Wireless Air Link, then the Air Link is disconnected, the data in the graph would disappear. We took care of this bug.
The mouse cursor on a graph with data now changes to a pointer arrow when hovering over a data point.
Fixed the error where the review screen of the calibration wizard used to show a unit of mV for the pH Sensor.
Fixed the remote logging time estimate for the Soil Moisture Sensor.
Fixed a rare but nasty little issue where an experiment file could be completely deleted when saving.
Capstone would become very slow to respond under certain conditions with a graph that had data outside the visible graph area. This bug has been squashed.
Fixed an issue with remote logging where, if you had logged the maximum amount of data that could be stored on the device, Capstone would not retrieve the data.
In some cases, collecting multiple runs from the Wireless O2 sensor could cause the sensor to go into a bad state. This will no longer occur at all.
Occasionally, when using the [set waveform to ] block, the waveform field and drop-down list would be blank. This bug has been eradicated.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.3.1

Capstone v2.3.1 is a hotfix maintenance release to fix a critical issue.

Issue resolved for v2.3.1

Fixed the issue where workbooks were not showing MathML equations.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.3.0

Capstone v2.3.0 is a minor release to support new hardware. It also includes several feature improvements and a good number of bug fixes.

Improvements in v2.3.0

Added support for the Water Quality Attachment to the Wireless Colorimeter.
Added support for the Wireless EKG Sensor.
Added support for the Wireless Soil Moisture sensor.
The Capstone Help has been updated and is now available online through the Help menu in Capstone and through the browser at URL: https://www.pasco.com/help/capstone/index.html
Improved the usage of the Data Appearance in the Graph. Data appearance is now applied only to the selected data or it can now be setup before a run is taken.
Added a waveform block in Code to set the waveform of a signal generator.
Added the ability to Export and Import Code for sharing and code reuse.
Added notes blocks in Code to annotate your code.
Added a “clear all” option to the [set array LED] block in Code to just turn off all the lights in the //code.Node array.
We now hide Hardware specific blocks until the Hardware to which they apply is connected. This reduces clutter in the Hardware tab of the Code window.
Data files exported as Tab delimited now have an extension of “.tsv”.
The default data export format is now CSV (Comma Separated Values).

Resolved issues for v2.3.0

The Position measurement is now visible by default on the PS-2120(A) Rotary Motion Sensor.
The data point context tools were running off the edge of the screen when you clicked on a point near the edge of the graph. They no longer do that.
Fixed an issue where when you pasted data values into a UED in a table (from Excel or something like it), and you have a calculation that operates on the UED, any graph using that calculation was not being updated.
Sometimes the Area tool was returning 0.00 when using a selection on a portion of the data in the graph. This now works correctly all the time.
When you cancelled the creation of a Code Output in the Code window, it would leave an unnamed object. We squashed that bug.
A calculation that was operating on two video analysis measurements would return incorrect data after being refreshed. It now returns the correct results.
Fixed an issue where a calculation using a Model Range could return the same result for every value in the range.
Fixed a problem with the graph rearrange button not behaving correctly during a save and open.
The graph legend now behaves correctly when you undo changing measurements on the Y axis.
The Frame Rate and Frame Size properties now actually match the camera’s capabilities.
The graph legend was being hidden by the second Y axis on the right side of the graph. Finally fixed this one.
Fixed some issues that occurred when changing the camera’s Frame Size property to a high resolution.
Fixed a nasty little bug where sometimes data in a selection rectangle on the graph was not really selected.
The multi-coordinates graph tool is no longer partially obscured when you pin the graph toolbar.
We removed an unintentional back door to creating a second plot area in the Scope display.
Turns out you could change a measurement name to no name (empty string) and you could have more than one measurement set to no name. Well, you can’t do that anymore.
We have now prevented the user from doing funky things that don’t make sense when they start recording on the Welcome Screen.
When you take a snapshot of data on the Histogram display, the flyover text on the Undo button now correctly states, “Undo Create Histogram Snapshot”.
The initial graph scale is now set to a default scale based on the measurement selected.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.2.2

Capstone v2.2.2 is a hotfix release to fix some critical issues.

Resolved issues for v2.2.2

This release fixes the issue where when you double click on an experiment file to open it in the app, it would try to run the installer and fail. It now opens the app and the experiment properly.
The data for the Angle Measurement on the Polarimeter now goes the right direction. And the data will automatically be zeroed on power-up.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.2.1

Capstone v2.2.1 is a hotfix for MacOS only.

Resolved issue for 2.2.1:

Fixed an issue with the Mac installer where some user files may be deleted during the installation of Capstone.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.2.0

Capstone v2.2.0 is a minor release and includes FREE upgrades for existing Capstone users.

New Features in 2.2.0:

Support for the Smart Cart Motor
Support for the Code Node Cart
Support for the Wireless Polarimeter
Capstone now adapts to high resolution screens for a better UI experience.
Blockly can now be run without requiring a sensor to be connected.
If code in Blockly is referencing a sensor that is not connected it will now warn the user when they try to execute the Blockly code.
Blockly will now allow User Calculations, User-Entered Data Measurements and Video Analysis Measurements in the [value of ] block.

Resolved issue for 2.2.0

The Mac release is once again notarized so installations will go smoothly once again.
Fixed the dreaded hang at 55% during a file open.
Fixed a crash on the Mac when choosing the Manual Entry tile.
There was an issue with the Photogate Timing data being aligned properly. This issue has been fixed.
The Display menu is no longer completely disabled when a workbook page is locked. Now only certain items in the menu are disabled when the page is locked.
The Welcome screen tiles no longer prompt you to save the experiment when all you did was open the Hardware Setup to connect a sensor or something.
Fixed an issue where sometimes a file that was opened and had a User Calculation in it could cause Capstone to become unresponsive.
Fixed the issue on Mac where you couldn’t re-save an experiment that had Journal snapshots.
Fixed a crash when running on the upcoming Big Sur MacOS when connecting to a wireless sensor.
Blockly was ignoring the fact that the user had changed the Measurement name type to be displayed. It is now paying attention.
Fixed a few minor issues with wireless sensor name qualification.
The Wireless Accelerometer/Altimeter will now sample at 5kHz when the user selects that sample rate.
When you had a large number of runs, the run selector in the Graph would just extend off the screen. It now creates a second column to continue displaying new runs.
The Graph legend now adds a scroll bar when there are a large number of runs.
Fixed a couple of crashes involving the Material Testing System.
Fixed a display issue in Russian where some menu items were overlapping each other.
Made a few fixes to our circuit emulation.
The new Welcome screen now honors that page shape preference when it is changed.
If you change the sampling mode such that it caused the sample rate maximum to be reduced (like with a sound, voltage sensor and others), the sample rate was not being changed in the Experiment Control bar. We squashed that bug good.
Fixed the issue where when you select a sampling mode that allows a higher maximum sample rate (sound, voltage, etc.), the up arrow on the sample rate selector was still disabled.
Changing the Time units on the X axis now properly changes the scale of all the plot areas in a multi-plot graph.
The sample rate control is now disabled if a timing device is connected.
Added the word Ambient to the Wireless Light Sensor. It now reads Wireless Ambient Light Sensor.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.1.1

Capstone v2.1.1 is a Windows only hotfix. This version fixes the problem introduced into v2.1.0 which caused the program to fail to run on Windows 7SP1 and Windows 8.1. If you are on Windows 10 or Mac, you do not need this new release.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.1.0

Capstone v2.1.0 is a minor release and includes FREE upgrades for existing Capstone users.

New Features in 2.1.0:

The Blockly programming environment has been updated with new blocks that support the //code.Node.
The new Wireless Sound Sensor is now fully supported.
Wireless sensors are now qualified with the 6-digit sensor ID when more than one sensor or measurement
of the same name are connected.
Improved the Blockly code startup so it no longer needs an initial sleep block before getting data from a sensor using the [value of ] block.
Added a progress dialog to data export for large amounts of data.
When opening an SPKLAB in Capstone, the Blockly code is now opened in addition to the data.
In the Circuits display, when dragging a new component from the palette, if you drop it too close to another component in the workspace, the new component no longer disappears, it is not just kicked off to the side so it can be moved into place.

Resolved issue for v2.1.0

We have now fixed that nasty bug with the Smart Ballistic Cart Accessory when trying to set the launch position to zero. You can now set the position to zero and back the Smart Cart up on the track so it will now fire at the point you started at instead of firing immediately.
We now set the default duty cycle to 50% on older Capstone experiment files that did not previously have that setting.
The Show All x-axes setting was out of sync with the behavior, they now match up.
Certain actions that were taken prior to clicking on one of the new entry tiles or a quick start file were not saved. The user is now prompted to save those changes before the new action is initiated.
The Slope tool now handles unitless measurements properly when creating the resulting unit.
If you saved an experiment with an FFT with the settings to both normalize and stack the data, then tried to open it again, Capstone would crash. We squashed that bug.
In the Bar Meter, the measurement selector button would no longer display the selected measurement after switching between horizontal and vertical layout. This is now fixed.
In the experiment control bar when setting the sample rate to long duration, after setting the rate to 12.00 h (hours) then next rate was 24.00 d (days). This has now been fixed to show 1.00 d.
Fixed an issue where a Slope tool was not being saved if the run it was attached to was not shown on the graph.
If you turned on the Count statistic in the graph, then switched from visual to tabular stats, then clicked Undo to return back to visual stats, the Count statistic was not shown. The Count now shows as a visual statistic now when you click that Undo.
The Ballistic Cart tool no longer interferes with Blockly code.
Fixed a crash when a wireless sensor was turned off while the Remote Logging Configuration dialog was open.
In the Circuit Emulator, when an uncharged capacitor was added to circuit such that the capacitor was in a short circuit path, the circuit used to show electrons flowing. This bug has been fixed and short-circuited capacitors only show electron flow if they are charged first, then the electrons slow and stop. No electrons show if the capacitor starts with no charge.
Fixed an issue with the tabular form of the stats where moving the stats box around could not be undone.
Checking or unchecking a measurement or run in the Export Data Preview dialog would lockup Capstone if there was a large amount of data. This no longer occurs.
In some cases, if you deleted a visual statistic, undoing would not restore the statistic. This has been fixed.
Undoing the deletion of a run with a Coordinate or Delta tool now restores the tool properly connected to the data points.
Deleting the last run did not delete the attached Coordinate tool. It now deletes it properly.
If you moved the only Y axis to the right side of a graph, saved the experiment and reopened it, you would get a spurious new axis on the left side in addition to the valid axis on the right side. The spurious new axis now no longer appears.
Fixed an issue where changing the Time unit on the X axis of a graph with multiple plot areas only changed one of the plot areas.
The run symbol selector in the properties of a User Entered Data measurement was showing the same symbol in all the dropdown list items. It now properly shows the different symbols that can be selected.
Fixed the default scaling of the graph when you select a measurement on an axis.
Fixed the issue where you had to press the Cancel button first in the Calibration Tool before you could calibrate the Magnetic Field Sensor.
The new Derivative Span setting in the Recording Conditions dialog was not being saved. It is now saved so when you open an experiment it is still set properly.
Fixed an issue where cancelling out of a calibration could cause the sensor to be shown twice in the Hardware Setup panel.
Fixed a crash that could occur by changing timing modes after taking a run of data.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.0.1.1

This version of Capstone extends the trial period to 180 days.

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v2.0.0.44

Capstone 2.0 is a major release and FREE upgrade for existing Capstone users. The major new features include;

New Circuit display which enables students to simulate electrical circuits and model directly with modular circuits and connected voltage and current sensors.
New Blockly programming environment has been integrated into Capstone. Custom blocks allow students to interact with all PASCO sensors and output devices such as the Signal Generator or a Smart Fan Accessory. Create text or numeric data in Blockly and display it on the screen.
Updated graph analysis tools to streamline interaction and make data analysis easier.
New startup view enabling students to quickly get started using Capstone. There are three startup views including the classic template view that can be changed through preferences.

Additional Improvements Include:

Remote logging delayed start until power button is pressed on wireless sensors
Wireless Acceleration/Altimeter sensor also supports start and stop conditions during remote logging.
Adjust the duty cycle for a square wave in the Signal Generator for the 850 and 550 interfaces.
When a palette in the workbook is closed, there is now an ellipses button that can be clicked to reopen that palette.
The following new hardware is now supported
- Wireless Diffraction Scanner
- Wireless AC/DC Module
- Wireless Sound Sensor
- Smart Ballistic Cart Accessory
- Smart Cart Vector Display
Various Bug fixes

Release Notes for PASCO Capstone v1.13.4

This is a maintenance release of the PASCO Capstone software.

Resolved Issues for v1.13.4

Fixed an issue where MacOS versions from HighSierra (v10.13) and earlier suddenly could no longer see any device connected via USB.
Fixed an issue where a 550 could show up as a USB Link in the hardware setup panel.
The application will no longer crash on MacOS Mojave when you try to access the onboard camera.