Cambridge Z88 Infomate Software

Infomate is a data capture program for the Cambridge Z88.  Developed by the Engineering Development Group at the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF)

t was used routinely by MAF to collect data from experimental trials of all types.

It turns the Z88 into a portable data logger which is an ideal platform because of its light weight, full keyboard and use of AA batteries as a power source.

Infomate allows data of all types to be recorded anywhere and subsequently transferred to another computer for more extensive numerical analysis.  Although originally developed for recording data in Agricultural and Horticultural experiments, the package can be used to record data related to subjects as diverse as passenger movements in airports, or keeping track of competitors in mountain bike races.

The rationale of Infomate is that it puts all the power and flexibility of portable computer systems in the hands of the person collecting the data by allowing that person to tailor the Informate environment to their requirement.

Informate can record data by direct connection to measuring devices using RS232 for example, or it can be programmed in a stand alone mode as a data logger by connecting the Z88 to an A/D convertor.

Data recording is defined by the user to collect the data in the way needed – all the necessary prompts and data checks can be specified so that the data set can be checked as it is collected – by writing a series of instructions describing how this is to be done (a “Schema”) – change the Schema in PipeDream and recompile to test your changes as necessary.

Complicated data capture sequences can be accommodated by breaking them down into simpler steps and writing a suite of Schemas to do the job.

Includes:

-          128K ROM with the Informate application,

-          A4 manual with a large tutorial,

-          3.5” floppy disk (DOS format) with a library of Schema files (also printed out on A4)

Requires minimum 128K RAM in Slot 1.

Includes PCLink II and RangerLink applications.