8.2 Master channels and Virtual Point channels

Setting channels as Masters

When importing a DIRAC project, in the data importer you can decide whether the channels should be automatically set as Masters. You can disregard this option and set master channels manually.

To manually set the master channels, you have to:

1. Open the Channel Mapping card.
2. Select the desired channels on the left and drag them to the right side.

If this step is performed correctly, the channels will turn green. Numbers will also appear in the Mapped to column.

Next, one must define the channel type for each of the Master Channels. The channel type is set by right-clicking on one (or several) of them, clicking on Set Channel Type and selecting the correct type. The different types of channels are explained in the table in 8.3 Mapping channels. If DIRAC is used for the FRF tests, these channel types can already be set in the DIRAC file and imported directly into SOURCE.

Master channels’ position and direction can also be edited. The channel card can be toggled to edit mode in which channels can be edited simply by typing with the keyboard.

Setting the channel type

It is necessary that each channel is set to the right type to perform the analyses correctly. You can find the different channel types in the table in 8.3 Mapping channels.

To change the channel type you have to:

1. Select the channel(s) you want to change.
2. Right-click and select Set Channel Type.
3. Select the correct type.

Editing channels position and direction

If needed, you can edit the position and direction of the channels in SOURCE.

To change position and/or direction you have to:

1. Open the Channels card.
2. Click on the toggle to go to Edit mode.
3. Double click on the field you want to edit and type the correct information.
4. Press Enter to save.
5. Exit the Edit mode.

Virtual Points and Virtual Point channels

• Master Channels can belong to Virtual Points. This is indicated by the groupings in the edit mode.
• The Virtual Point Properties can be inspected and changed in the Virtual Point card.
• The channels which belong to a Virtual Point can be physical measurement channels (e.g., sensor channels), or channels that belong to a Virtual Point DoF (e.g., from a Force-VP FRF). This is indicated by the VP symbol in the channel type.

Creating Virtual Points

The Virtual Point information is used for creating operational consistency plots and for Direct Blocked Force TPA.

To create Virtual Points in SOURCE you have to:

1. Go to the Master Channel Edit mode.
2. Select the channels that belong to the Virtual Point.
3. Right-click and select Create a Virtual Point.

Assigning Channels to Virtual Points

After creating a Virtual Point in SOURCe, you must assign channels to it.

To assign channels to a Virtual Point you have to follow the next steps:

1. Go to the Master Channel Edit mode.
2. Select the channels that you want to assign to the Virtual Point.
3. Drag & drop them into the group of the Virtual Point.