Section 11.  Glossary 
 
 
Term: sample rate 
The rate at which measurements are made by the CR800.    The measurement 
sample rate is of interest when considering the effect of time skew, or how 
close in time are a series of measurements, or how close a time stamp on a 
measurement is to the true time the phenomenon being measured occurred.   
A 'maximum sample rate' is the rate at which a measurement can repeatedly 
be made by a single CRBasic instruction. 
Sample rate is how often an instrument reports a result at its output; 
frequency response is how well an instrument responds to fast fluctuations on 
its input. By way of example, sampling a large gage thermocouple at 1 kHz 
will give a high sample rate but does not ensure the measurement has a high 
frequency response. A fine-wire thermocouple, which changes output quickly 
with changes in temperature, is more likely to have a high frequency 
response. 
 
Term: scan interval 
The time interval between initiating each execution of a given Scan() of a 
CRBasic program.    If the Scan() Interval is evenly divisible into 24 hours 
(86,400 seconds), it is synchronized with the 24 hour clock, so that the 
program is executed at midnight and every Scan() Interval thereafter. The 
program is executed for the first time at the first occurrence of the Scan() 
Interval after compilation. If the Scan() Interval does not divide evenly into 
24 hours, execution will start on the first even second after compilation. 
 
Term: scan time 
When time functions are run inside the Scan() / NextScan construct, time 
stamps are based on when the scan was started according to the CR800 clock.   
Resolution of scan time is equal to the length of the scan.    See system time
 (p. 
517).
 
 
Term: SDI-12 
Serial Data Interface at 1200 baud.    Communication protocol for transferring 
data between the CR800 and SDI-12 compatible smart sensors. 
 
Term: SDM 
Synchronous Device for Measurement.  A processor-based peripheral device 
or sensor that communicates with the CR800 via hardwire over a short 
distance using a protocol proprietary to Campbell Scientific. 
 
Term: Seebeck effect 
Induces microvolt level thermal electromotive forces (EMF) across junctions 
of dissimilar metals in the presence of temperature gradients. This is the