Chapter 5 _________________________________________________________ Theory of Operation 
 
VAISALA _______________________________________________________________________ 111 
Calculations 
The FS11 software calculates the extinction coefficient from the samples 
by separating the signals coming from droplets and other scattering 
media. The extinction coefficient is calculated separately for droplets and 
other scattering media, and these are summed using weights. MOR is 
calculated from the summed extinction coefficient with the following 
known formula of the 5% contrast ratio: 
MOR = - ln0.05 / σ = 3 / σ 
where σ is the extinction coefficient. 
Internal Monitoring 
Extensive built-in tests are included in the FS11 operation. Various 
voltages are measured, and corresponding alarm and warning limits are 
checked. 
The FS11 sensor generates a warning if some monitored value does not 
meet the criteria for optimal operation, but the measurement results are 
still reliable. For example, slightly contaminated windows or aging 
transmitter LEDs generate warnings. If a critical hardware failure is 
detected, the sensor indicates an alarm and the corresponding data is set 
as missing (/////). 
Built-in tests include contamination monitoring, signal monitoring, 
hardware monitoring, and memory tests. The results of the monitoring 
are displayed in the status message. 
FS11 Status Messages 
The status messages display the results of the built-in test system. A short 
status check message shows a quick report of the system status. The short 
status message is requested with command STATUS CHECK: 
0> status check 
FS11 SYSTEM STATUS: OK 
 
Measurement unit: OK 
Current Events: 
NONE. 
Interface unit: OK 
Current Events: 
Conf2:VIS+ALS measurement 
Background luminance sensor: OK 
Current Events: 
NONE.