MC_Stimulus II ReadMe

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 3.2.1?

New feature: Manual trigger start and stop on each connected channel separately.

New feature: Import of stimulation files without header.

New ASCII Import Format Type 6: Direct import of MC_Rack ASCII export files.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 3.1.1?

New feature in Trigger Settings Menu: Extended Multi File Mode. For stimulus generators with Digital IN/OUT connector only (STG 4004 and STG 4008).

You can download up to 256 stimulus patterns in advance and select among them. You can use one of these stimulus patterns at a time of your choice with a digital signal.

This setup includes a firmware upgrade for all STG's of the 4000 series.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 3.0.0?

Software for Stimulus Generators of the 2000 and 4000 series.

For 4000 series: Stimulation mode (current or voltage) is exclusively software controlled.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.4.6?

This setup includes a firmware upgrade for all STG's of the 2000 series.

Faster import of ASCII data.

Minor bugfixes in graphical display.

Gating trigger function can be enabled in the Trigger Settings menu.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.4.5?

The STG 2000 series can now be controlled by a gating trigger. Channels associated with a Trigger input will be active as long as the condition of that Trigger is 1 (HIGH) and switched off as soon as the condition becomes 0 (LOW). Gating trigger function can be enabled in the Trigger Settings menu.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.4.4?

There is now a Sweep Count for all triggers at the bottom of the main window.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.4?

System Requirements

Software: One of the following Windows operating systems is required: 2000 or XP (English and German versions supported). Other language versions may lead to software errors. Please make sure that you are logged on with full administrator rights during the installation.

Hardware: USB 1.1 port

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.4.1?

There is now a continuous mode for all trigger channels. It can be enabled in the main window or under the "Trigger Settings" menue.
Setting Continuous Mode to 'On' disables the "Trigger Settings" repeats entries and sets all triggers to indefinite repeat. After changing the mode, the signal has to be downloaded again for the mode change to take effect.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.2?

The new MC_Stimulus II version 2.2 makes changes of stimulus intensities, which are part of the scientist's daily's work, as easy and fast as turning a knob, while still giving the user the flexibility of programming complex pulse protocols on up to 8 separate output channels in parallel.

• Sliders for fast and easy adjustment of the stimulus intensity level on-the-fly, without stopping the stimulation and without any reprogramming of the stimulus protocol: Simply drag the slider with the mouse for adjusting the stimulus intensity in the range of 0-200 percent of the programmed stimulus amplitudes. This feature is especially convenient for testing out thresholds that evoke a biological response. Stimulus intensities can be selected independently for each output channel, or the same factor can be selected for all channels at once. Changes are transmitted automatically to the stimulus generator after releasing the slider. The WYSIWYG display is updated automatically as well.

• Operating MC_Stimulus II without administrator rights is now fully supported.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.1.4?

• Demo files for typical applications included in the program setup. Please see the Examples folder in the MC_Stimulus II program directory.
• DLL and documentation included in the program setup, for integrating the STG controls into custom programs. Please see the separate documentation in the Documentation folder in the MC_Stimulus II program directory.

Even more user-friendly interface:

• Entered values that are not supported by the resolution of the STG are automatically changed to valid values. Cells with changed values will be highlighted in yellow.
• Improved worksheet design: Single pulses (amplitude and duration) are visually grouped in the grid by vertical black lines between the columns. (Please note that this feature is available only when setting up a new file; it is not applied to old files.)

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.1.3.0?

New ASCII Export feature:

• You can export the pulse protocols in the standard ASCII file format. For instance, you can load the ASCII file into your custom text or spreadsheet editor, modify it, and reimport it into MC_Stimulus.

What's New in MC_Stimulus II Version 2.1.2.0?

New Auto Sync feature:

• The Auto Sync feature is intended for making the work with MC_Stimulus II more efficient and user friendly. It is especially recommended for controlling the MEA1060-BC amplifier with superior stimulus artifact suppression, but will be useful also for other applications. Digital Sync Out (TTL) pulses that are synchronous to stimulus pulses on selected output channels are generated automatically by the Auto Sync. If you change the stimulus protocol, the corresponding Auto Sync pulses are updated automatically as well.

Improved trigger settings:

• Permutation of Sync Out outputs: As an alternative to the default settings, that is, Sync Out 1 is active when trigger 1 is active, and so on, you can now assign the Sync Out output that will be active when a trigger input is active. You can, for example, assign the same trigger input to multiple trigger outputs.
• New expert options: You can now choose the action that will be taken when one of the channels that are assigned to the respective trigger input is still active. Either the stimulus protocols on the triggered channels are stopped or restarted; or the trigger event is ignored.

Improved batch mode:

• You can now choose an autorepeat option for the batch mode, that is, the batch is restarted with the first file after the last file in the batch has been finished.

Please see the MC_Stimulus II Help for a detailed description of the new features.

New Features of the STG 2000 Series and MC_Stimulus II (compared to 1000 series and MC_Stimulus)

New Hardware Features

• Download of stimulus files to STG — 100 times faster than before! USB interface instead of serial port
• 16 times more memory and an optimized internal memory management for long-time stimulation
• 4 digital trigger inputs — output channels can be triggered independently
• 4 digital trigger outputs
• New Streaming mode for continuous streaming of stimulus protocols from the computer to the STG
• STG controls (DLL) can be integrated into custom programs based on Matlab, Labview, or C/C++

New Software Features

• Multi-File triggering mode
• Auto Sync for autocreating TTL pulses synchronous to stimulus pulses for synchronizing other devices, for example the data acquisition or a MEA1060-BC amplifier
• ASCII Import: Two new ASCII import formats — you can now import ramp and sine waveforms as well as rectangular waveforms.
• You can toggle between a decimal time scale in seconds (down to µs) and a time of day scale (milliseconds, seconds, minutes, and hours).