General Eastern Optica (Chilled Mirror Hygrometer)

[Anders Petersson]

I bought two Optica units on Ebay, for use as stable humidity reference sensors in the lab. Unfortunately neither of them work. Before I start tinkering, does anyone have experience with them?
Does anyone have a service manual, the embedded software or the pinout?

Nowadays they are marketed by Panametrics: https://www.bakerhughes.com/panametrics/process-analyzers/moisture-analyzers/chilled-mirror-analyzer

INTRO: A chilled mirror hygrometer measures the dewpoint by cooling down a mirror until condensation starts to occur. Common humidity sensors instead measure the Relative Humidity. This parameter can be calculated from dewpoint and temperature.

[Guido_P]

Hello Anders, I've got an OPTICA for the same purpose, too (puchased new from official european seller, it was not easy to obtain a unit).
By some times I'm looking for informations about OPTICA, but
Until now I didn't find nothing of useful.
About my experience with OPTICA I can say only this, I hope it is useful for you:
GENERAL EASTERN OPTICA cod. OP-A-I-0-A-A-4-0-0, (built 2018) version with WIN 98 display.
At start it boots WIN 98, then it stops, showing the message: jumping to 0X00224CB0
Instrument is rarely used, internal button battery was low, but replacing it the problem remains.
The same exact thing had happened about one year ago, it was sent to official european service center, it has been repaired but the origin of the problmem was not clear.

I've got an GE/PANAMETRIcS OPTISONDE, too. It is much cheaper and it perfoms exactely the same work of an OPTICA, apart interface and display.

Before sending my unit to service center I'm trying to understand how the PC inside OPTICA works and if I can solve the boot problem by myself, but by now I haven't found no useful informations.

On the web the only thing I found is this company that is offering repair for this model:
https://acmerevival.com/service-repair/ge-general-eastern-opd10ad200-ce-optica-chilled-mirror-hygrometer-1642976358/

Guido

[Anders Petersson]

For reference -- I could solve the problems with the two Optica units. They have a regular PC motherboard, hidden in the custom enclosure. Now I just need the pinout for the DB25 cable to the humidity sensor. The official reseller quoted me €700 for the cable alone!

I also emailed with Guido_P privately and I hope the information is enough for him to revive his unit too.

[Jerry Garsia]

Connection table of my cable

DB15 (Optica)      Round (D2)
9         А
1         В
13         С & R
11         D
5         E
6         F
4                 G
14         J
8         K
7         L
10         M
2         N
empty      P, H
12         S
15         T

I've got two optica. First one 2011 year with problems with internal GPU. No video signal, but with two more pci ports, so think it is possible to install external videocard. Second (2018) has the same problem as Guido's, tommorow will test all your recommendations
Also i have an optisonde (good condition) and two sensors: D2 & 1211H

[Anders Petersson]

Thanks Jerry, but the D2 sensor uses another cable, which is DB25-to-DB15. The round connector is used for some other sensors instead of DB15.

I attach a picture of the two ends the missing cable needs to mate with.
I've started reverse engineering the Optica to figure out the pin mapping, but I don't have much time for it at the moment.

[Jerry Garsia]

This cable is straight 1-1, 2-2...15-15. Unused pins are deleted

[sinhdn]

Hi everyone,
My OPTICA set (bought from 2019) also fails when starting to boot, Win 98 starts and appears the message "Jumping to 0x00224CB0" and stops, unable to continue working.
please help me if you know how to fix it
Thanks

[Anders Petersson]

Now I'm implementing a Python driver and GUI to interact with Optica.

I can read out data using HTTP GET as explained in the manual appendix G.2. But the manual doesn't explain how to change settings! It only lists the names of the commands (for example SetPacerOn) without explaining how to call them. The XML data mentions that "Set functions are not accessible with GET" so I guess these use HTTP PUT instead? Or POST or PATCH... And what URL and argument format? Does anyone know how to call the Set functions?

There's also some Java program to interact with Optica. Does anyone have the Java program? It should be easy to eavesdrop how it sends commands to Optica.

[Jerry Garsia]

Anders? hello. Found time for testing my optica.

That's what i tried:

1. Your BIOS settings. No resut
2. Link optica's motherboard to another IDE HDD and installed windows 98. Everytthing is working. So the problem is not with BIOS or motherboard.
3. Made a mirror of sata ssd with acronis to another hdd and tried to boot with it. Disk is good, but the same problem "jump to...."

Another Optica has problems with internal GPU. Wait for similar motherboard.

After all attempts suppose that problem is in the internal PCI board of OPTICA because other components are working when they are alone

 

[Anders Petersson]

Hi Jerry
I see you did some good troubleshooting here. I doubt the problem is with the Optica PCI card as my instruments start even with the PCI card removed (and shows the proprietary Optica program). Did you set the BIOS "IDE Configuration" to "AHCI"? Did you try swapping parts between the units to make a single working Optica?

I'm afraid I can't help at a distance. I could offer you to ship it here and attempt repair, or I could buy parts from you as spare parts, but if you are indeed in Russia I don't know if it's even possible. PM me if interested.

For my part, I now have four Opticas that I refurbished. I soldered the necessary cables and bought membrane air pumps and tubing. I have two D-2 sensors and I'm checking how well they agree. Looking good so far.

My software works with Ethernet but as the units have problems keeping the network configuration I'm tempted to write a driver for the RS232 interface. I don't understand why the network configuration resets when I reboot. And I think a reboot is necessary for the settings to be applied. I got the settings to stick at one point but not any more. Next step will be to use a Raspberry Pi to log from one or from multiple ones.

[Jerry Garsia]

"Did you set the BIOS "IDE Configuration" to "AHCI"? Did you try swapping parts between the units to make a single working Optica?"

This step was a key. Optica resurrected after all manipulations. Thank you. Text "jumping to ...." still remains at every switching on, but later optica's software starts.
Another optica with GPU troubles waits for new motherboard

[Guido_P]

Hi Anders, you suggestion abut BIOS configuration solved my OPTICA start-up problem.
Thank you very much!
Guido

[ew2097]

Hey just figured I'd chime in with some potentially useful bits about these Optica units after having to troubleshoot a bunch at work over the last week.

- In every one of the units we have with a 4x40 LCD display, I have only seen this industrial microATX board from BCMcom:
https://www.bcmcom.com/admin/manual/RX815ELTmanual.pdf

- I've only started to get into the VGA models, but I've already seen them with two different boards thus far.
On a model with build date on march 2015 (last 4 digits of serial number is month and year), it has an Intel Atom mini-ITX board built by MSI:
https://www.bcmcom.com/admin/manual/MX525D_DC%20Users_Manual_V1.1.pdf
On a model with build date of November 2011, it uses the same RX815ELT microATX board as the 4x40 display models

- This is one of the latest iterations of the manual:
https://www.transcat.com/media/pdf/optica_usersmanual_revg_english.pdf

- The 4x40 models can still utilize a VGA display, you just have to plug one into the vga cable that's inside the chassis connected to the board's VGA port.

- If your 4x40 model doesn't make forward progress at boot (ie: black bar for rows 2 and 4 on the display), connect a vga monitor and see what it says during POST.  I found that our units would sit on POST with an error message after the CMOS battery had died, and it would also sometimes be waiting for floppy (drive A) activity.  Installing anew battery for the BIOS and disabling the floppy peripheral allowed the machine to boot properly, and once it gets into windows, the PCI card will activate the built-in display.

- Due to the transient nature of flash storage, I would advise making a clone/image of the boot drive just to have as backup.

- If your model has PS/2 ports for keyboard, you may have to cut back some of the rubber on the plug of your keyboard as the ports are moderately recessed in the chassis.

- The first unit I found with the mini-ITX board has the "Jumping to 0x00224CB0" issue...  when the CMOS battery died, the bios reset the SATA mode to "IDE."  I installed a fresh battery and changed it back to AHCI.  Thanks to Anders and Jerry, I can confirm that although I still get the "jumping to..." error, the machine does indeed continue booting and the Optica software loads shortly afterward.

- the absolute ONLY other place I found any talk online regarding the Jumping error message was on a random dude's personal blog;
http://gopinaths.gitlab.io/post/running_usbport_tests_wince_cetk_cepc/
I'm sure the same page came up for everyone else who has also searched this error, but basically it sounds like it's more of an issue with the deployment of the windows image itself.  If you mash F8 during windows' boot on the Optica, you can get into the command prompt and fish around a bit; you'll see some of the same components that that blog mentions.  I haven't dug any deeper than that, and I may not bother now that i know the unit will just continue booting past the error message after I switched SATA to AHCI mode.

I don't know if any of this adds to the discussion or not, but hopefully it helps someone out there.

[Anders Petersson]

Thanks ew2097. This matches my experience too.
Nowadays Optica is sold by Panametrics, a branch of Baker Hughes. Panametrics issued a manual in April 2022, but it's exactly the same "Rev G" as in December 2015, only branded with the Panametrics logo. So it's safe to say this is the latest.

I have backed up the flash drive from one of my units. The elusive 'remote control' software mentioned in the manual is stored there. I could decompile the Java code and now it should be easy to recreate the undocumented API for changing Optica settings. I want to add this to my PC program since navigating the built-in interface of Optica is such a pain. And the settings don't stick for me anyway.

[dcmxx]

I also got a GE Optica from ebay for the same purposes (getting a RH/DP reference meter)

My unit also had the same problem. As i recall i also changed the resolution in the bios before the unit could boot correctly.

I also got a SIM-12H probe with the matching cable, that came from another unit.

Right now i'm trying to test the accuracy of the unit, but their measurements doesn't agrees with another chilled mirror meter (a Edgetech Dewprime II)
none of the meters are formally calibrated but the temperature meassurement of the probe in the Edgetech was adjusted against a calibrated sprt.
I'm looking if someone knows how to access the calibration parameters of the GE Optica.

There's a hidden menu accessed pushing the lower blue button and the number two on the main screen. This shows another screen with a password field and some comment fields, but i haven't progessed any further
   

[dcmxx]

By the way, I have the Edgetech Dewprime  manual if someone needs it

[Anders Petersson]

I'm looking if someone knows how to access the calibration parameters of the GE Optica.

I wondered about this too. The datasheet states somewhere that the sensors are interchangeable, and there's no digital comm with the sensor, so I think there's only the factory calibration.

I looked in the Java source code, and the user can set an offset for DP, temperature and pressure. And there's the general feature of user equations. But no mention of any other calibration.

Any adjustments are probably best done on a PC. I do the conversion from DP to RH on a Raspberry Pi anyway, using TMP117 for temperature as that is more accurate than the PRT of Optica.

There's a hidden menu accessed pushing the lower blue button and the number two on the main screen. This shows another screen with a password field and some comment fields, but i haven't progessed any further

No idea, sorry.

BTW: If someone has the software for GE Humilab Relative Humidity Generator, please let me know.

[ew2097]

And the settings don't stick for me anyway.

regarding this, we just sent a few units out to Panametrics for their calibration service, and one unit we had would keep reverting the data field that we had set to display Fahrenheit back to Celsius every time we restarted it.  It was that same unit I mentioned before about changing from IDE to AHCI to continue past that "jumping to" error.

Upon receipt of the calibrated units, I noticed they had commented about incorrect BIOS settings and the hard drive mode was set back to IDE.  I don't know what else they may have changed, as I neglected to catalog all the bios settings it had before we sent it out (whoops).    BUT there is a non-zero chance that this may be the reason the unit wasn't saving the changes we would make to the data fields since the Fahrenheit line now persists after powering off.  I will eventually be documenting these bios settings and I can share them if it might help.


Also, it's very frustrating that end-users were locked out of the service/calibration options on these units, as it guarantees a revenue stream for GE/BH or any other calibration houses.  We have the means to do in-house calibration with traceable standards, and it would save us a lot of time and hassle to be able to do it ourselves.  The Optica models with the 4x40 segment display lets you access the calibration menu ONCE for every fresh power-on session; you can navigate down to the bottom of the settings menu and get into it, go through all the RTD points for building its internal reference table, adjust Vout zero and span, etc... but it wont save any of it, and once you exit the calibration menu, it's inaccessible until a full powercycle.

There's a hidden menu accessed pushing the lower blue button and the number two on the main screen. This shows another screen with a password field and some comment fields, but i haven't progessed any further

I didn't even know about the VGA optica's hidden menu, and it seems you can only access it via the front-panel keys; I've got a USB keyboard plugged in for slightly better navigation but holding that lower blue button and pressing "2" on the keyboard does nothing.  That blue button is the Left arrow when you're in the menu, but holding Left and 2 on the keyboard also does nothing.  To be honest, I dont even know if that hides any kind of calibration settings in the first place.   Where/how did you discover this menu?

The later Optisonde models (non windows based) allow you to adjust Vout trim/span as a user setting, so that's nice but they still bury calibration stuff behind a password menu.  It's only four characters, 0000 - 9999, so you could technically brute force it, but who has the time and patience for that?

The datasheet states somewhere that the sensors are interchangeable...

The sensors do seem to be interchangeable... older GE 1200 series readouts used to come with a table of resistance values for a range of temperatures specifically matched to a given sensor and you'd have to enter those into the readout, but these optica and optisonde models have had consistent results whether we're using 1211H, 1111H, or SIM-12H.  Maybe the variance in PRT units from one sensor to the next is negligible...
It's still important to adjust the set-screw for the balance circuit whenever you pair a sensor with a readout... the manual explains the process, but the short version is:
- take the lid off the sensor
- set the readout to "Heat" mode and let it heat up for a couple minutes (temp will read anywhere from low-100s to nearly 200 degF)
- clean the mirror with a cotton swab and non-solvent cleaner (isopropyl is fine), then wipe with a dry swab (it's just easier to do this when the mirror is warm rather than cool)
- cover the mirror cavity to prevent light affecting the optics
- adjust the set screw until the vertical balance bar on the display has one segment filled (on the VGA models, it's just the bottom quarter inch, on the 4x40 models I believe it's just one out of the 10 possible segments)
(- on Optisonde units, you line up a checkered square behind a solid square in the center of the balance bar)

After that, let it cool back down for a minute, run a pacer cycle, and you should be good to go...

[dcmxx]

This is the hidden screen. If anyone has the password please let us know. I found the hidden screen just messing with the instrument, but i haven't had time to continue.

I was using a SIM12H sensor, now I got a 1211H that i will try soon, maybe the SIM12H was kind of bad

I also have the problem that the config files doesnt show or the data logging files, even if they exist.

[Anders Petersson]

Checking the hard drive contents, there's no password menu in the Java web applet.
I do see mentions of 'password' in NK.BIN (both in ASCII and UTF-8) but I'm not curious enough to attempt to disassemble and figure out what the code does.

I still have the ambition to figure out the web API to change settings some day. That should enable complete remote control and ditching the clunky embedded user interface.

[ew2097]

Anders Petersson:  I have cataloged the bios settings from the unit we received back from outside calibration, and coincidentally just had another unit in our facility with a dead CMOS battery.  When I replaced the battery in that other unit, it suffered the same issue with not retaining changes to the settings (we use Fahrenheit and it repeatedly reset back to Celsius at every restart or power cycle).  After comparing the bios settings between these two units, I see that some of the other default settings need to be changed.

for one thing, AHCI mode is not the solution, it needs to stay on IDE mode, but some of the other non-default settings are what allow the units to boot past the "jumping to" message and also save the settings.

Note: There are two different hardware versions of the VGA optica units...
earlier models used a motherboard with PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports in the rear corner next to the ethernet port which have been covered up by an adhesive plastic panel; these units have a BCM WhizPro bios.
Later models use a newer motherboard with USB ports stacked under the ethernet port in the middle of the rear of the unit; these units have an American Megatrends bios.

These bios settings are for the later model without PS/2 ports.  The USB ports are blocked by a small metal shroud that is spot-welded in three spaces inside the chassis of the unit.  If you open the unit and carefully shimmy a relatively robust flat-head screwdriver between the chassis and each welded tab of the shroud, you can pop the welds with some force and save yourself the hassle of taking the whole motherboard out... you may need to remove the PCI card, though.

These were the settings that were different from the default on our unit from outside calibration:
32Bit Data Transfer: Enabled
PCI IDE BusMaster: Enabled
LAN Option ROM: Enabled (likely irrelevant, but was enabled on the unit received from cal)
Serial Port3 IRQ: IRQ11
Serial Port4 IRQ: IRQ11
Serial Port5 IRQ: IRQ5
Serial Port6 IRQ: IRQ5 (for whatever reason, these pairs of serial port entries in the bios need to have conflicting IRQ values)

You could also set the "Flat Panel Type" to 1024x 768 18-bit instead of 1366, this will ensure POST and BIOS don't try to display off the screens

Hopefully any of this is useful.

Code: [Select]

Primary IDE Master
Type:                            Auto
LBA/Large Mode:                  Auto
Block (Multi-Sector Transfer):   Auto
PIO Mode:                        Auto
DMA Mode:                        Auto
S.M.A.R.T.:                      Auto
32Bit Data Transfer:             Enabled


IDE Configuration
Configure SATA as:   IDE
PCI IDE BusMaster:   Enabled


Quick Boot: Enabled
Full Screen Logo Display:  Disabled
Bootup Num-Lock:           On
Wait For 'F1' If Error:    Enabled


Configure advanced CPU Settings
Max CPUID Value Limit:            Disabled
Execute-Disable Bit Capability:   Enabled
Hyper Threading Technology:       Enabled


USB Functions:        8 USB Ports
USB 2.0 Controller:   Enabled
Legacy USB Support:   Enabled
Audio Controller:     Enabled
  GbE LAN Boot:       Disabled
LAN Option ROM:       Enabled


Serial Port1 Address:        3F8
    Serial Port1 Mode:       RS232
  Serial Port1 IRQ:          IRQ4
Serial Port2 Address:        2F8
   Serial Port2 IRQ:         IRQ3
Serial Port3 Address:        3E8
   Serial Port3 IRQ:         IRQ11
Serial Port4 Address:        2E8
   Serial Port4 IRQ:         IRQ11
Serial Port5 Address:        2F0
   Serial Port5 IRQ:         IRQ5
Serial Port6 Address:        2E0
   Serial Port6 IRQ:         IRQ5
Parallel Port Address:       Disabled
Watch Dog:                   Disabled


GPO1 Data:    Low
GPO2 Data:    Low
GPO3 Data:    Low
GPO4 Data:    Low


DVMT Mode Select:           DVMT Mode
  DVMT/FIXED Memory:        256MB
Boot Display Device:        CRT + LVDS/DVI
Flat Panel Type:            1024x 768 18-bit
Output LVDS Format:         18 bit
Initate Graphic Adapter:    PCI/IGD


ACPI Aware O/S:              Yes
Suspend mode:                Auto
Restore on AC Power Loss:    Power On

Advanced Resume Event Controls:    all disabled