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Frequently Asked Questions
Software

Software


Q. How often do I have to save my data?

The input data for the program is automatically saved in a data base as it is entered. For the calculations however, a text file in a specific format is required. This is achieved by selecting SAVE or SAVE AS and in fact, the data must be saved in this way before the calculations are performed. In theory then there is no need to SAVE your data until you wish to do the calculations, because even if someone pulls the plug, the data will be in your project data-base.

Murphy's 39th law however states that, if you are assured nothing will ever go wrong it will go wrong; so on a large job it is a good idea to SAVE your data in a text file every so often as a back up to the data base. If the data base is somehow corrupted you can then open the saved project and this will load the text file into the data base (.mdb file)

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Q. Why can't I get the printout working in VIEW?

The results for the program are produced in an ASCII text file ready for printing. Fonts that provide proportional spacing therefore will distort the printout. To overcome this we would need to completely redesign the output so that it can be fed into something like CRYSTAL REPORTS - a possible future enhancement, although there are some limitations with this.

When printing the results as well as selecting an appropriate font style, an appropriate point size also has to be selected, otherwise the results may wrap around each line. A further consideration is the size of the margin you select.

The fonts that are available to you under VIEW depend on the fonts you have loaded under WINDOWS on your machine. It is therefore a matter of trial and error to obtain the right combination on the particular machine on which you are running the program.

Once you have found a suitable combination, this can be saved for future viewing or printing, by clicking Save Configuration on the Menu Bar. The number of lines per page can now be set under System in the Configuration Menu on the Main Screen.

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Q. Why can't I see all of the forms on the screen?

The program runs with a minimum 600X800 (SVGA) screen resolution. VGA screens (480x640) can’t display the whole form. You also need to have the text size set to small fonts in your WINDOWS Settings.

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Q. How do you use the program to analyze a hydrant system?

In analyzing fire hydrant systems, most approving authorities require a minimum pressure for a specified flow at each hydrant.

To analyze a given system, first the most remote hydrant is entered as a sprinkler (or nozzle) so that a k factor and flow can be entered. This fixes both the flow and pressure at this hydrant. The required k factor is calculated from:
 

k = Q/(P)1/2
 

where Q and P are the appropriate values of flow and pressure at the most remote hydrant.

With the most remote hydrant entered as a k factor, each additional operating hydrant is entered as a reference point with a fixed discharge. Calculate Input/Flow Pressure (FDESPT) is selected under Other Parameters on the Project Screen and the program will then calculate the required pressure at the input point and the resultant pressure at each of the other hydrants.

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Q. How do you use the program to analyze systems with more than 150 sprinklers?

To model large systems with more than 150 operating sprinklers, a section of the system remote from the input point that can be isolated by a single connecting pipe must be analyzed first with FDESPT on. The node at the end of this connecting pipe is the input pipe for this run. This can be repeated for any other groups of pipes that can be isolated.

Once the flow and pressure at these connecting point nodes are determined, each of these sections of the system are modeled as single sprinklers with a k factor calculated from the flow and pressure listed in the results of the initial runs and the minimum flow as the flow calculated in these initial runs. By using these k factors, the actual flow and pressure at these points will be determined when the whole system is run.

Finally, the flow at all sprinklers in each section can be determined by re-running the initial runs, but this time without FDESPT and with the input pressure as listed in the results for the whole system at each “input” node.

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Q. I am unable to install SPRINK-1000 on my PC because the msdataobj.dll file does not self register.

The following error messages are flashed to screen: "the following file did not self register

• c:\windows\system\msdataobj.dll"; "run time error 429 - ActiveX component cannot create object"

Following this message, it allows you to complete the installation. After rebooting the computer, if you try to start the program by clicking the icon on the desktop, the program displays the following message: "unauthorized user for this version".
 

The msdataobj.dll does not register if this dll is already on the computer where you are installing SPRINK1000. Problem is if we don't include this dll on the installation disk, then SPRINK1000 won't run if the computer doesn't have this dll. One of WINDOWS idiosyncrasies. This message can simply be ignored.

The last thing that the installation program does is run the program START2.EXE to copy the START.KEY file from the CD. For some reason (on some machines only) this does not work; we suspect it has something to do with the tie up between
the way the machine is configured for WINDOWS and InstallShield.

The solution is to manually copy the START.KEY file from the CD to the SRPINK12 directory. After this, clicking the icon should bring up the normal panel for the unlocking string.

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Q. I receive a "not authorized" program error when I try to access SPRINK1000 for the first time.

The "unauthorized" program error occurs when the START.KEY file is not copied onto the hard drive during the installation process.

There are two ways to correct this problem. First, copy the START.KEY file from the installation CD to the SPRINK1000 folder. This should correct the “not authorized” error. If this does not work you will need to uninstall and then re-install SPRINK1000.

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