Is the DATS V3 Windows 11 stable?

[tomzarbo]

Hey guys.
I have DATS V2. My new laptop which is running 11 just doesn't work correctly with it. When I try to measure caps, inductors, and resistors the readings are off. I want to say as much as 20% or so off.

It still works okay on my older laptop running Windows 10. I was able to get accurate readings with that setup, but that's not my 'Speaker' or 'Youtube' laptop, and I'd like to have one laptop be able to do it all. The new one is a Lenovo Ideapad, pretty basic smallish laptop. It's got 20 gigs of ram and a modest 4-core processor with a half TB of SS HD. I've messed with volume settings and it's all doing the same thing. Anything else I should check or twiddle with?

Thanks if you have any thoughts,
TomZ

[a4eaudio]

Hi Tom, I have Windows 11 and DATS v3 and it seems to be fine, BUT I've never compared it to DATS v2. I've measured several Dayton drivers and they have measured close to mfg specs so I have assumed all is good. I do have a DATS v2 so will try to compare it with DATS v3 using Windows 11 this weekend and let you know what I find.

[Chris Roemer]

Hey Tom, I know you messed w/the volumes, but did you make sure the audio is set to "stereo".
Win "updates" seem to kick me back to "mono", typically.

[tomzarbo]

Hi Tom, I have Windows 11 and DATS v3 and it seems to be fine, BUT I've never compared it to DATS v2. I've measured several Dayton drivers and they have measured close to mfg specs so I have assumed all is good. I do have a DATS v2 so will try to compare it with DATS v3 using Windows 11 this weekend and let you know what I find.

Thank you for doing that. Would you have any resistors, caps or coils to check while you're at it? I think that may show any anomalies more prominently as most components these days are really close to spec. If not, that's fine, I really appreciate the help. Thanks!

Hey Tom, I know you messed w/the volumes, but did you make sure the audio is set to "stereo".
Win "updates" seem to kick me back to "mono", typically.

I'm sure I did, but I'll double check that again. I may have just 'thought' I did.

TomZ

[a4eaudio]

I've never tested components with DATS but I do have plenty so yes I'll do that.

[a4eaudio]

Tom,

I have Windows 11 on my personal laptop (see snip below for details). I have DATS v3 software and hardware. I still have V2 sitting on a shelf.

I started by using the V2 hardware with the V3 software that I have installed. I was way off on the first resistor and it turns out the leads for the V2 hardware is way different than V3. I recalibrated everything and got started. I measured a smaller and larger resistor, a small and large capacitor, a small and large iron core inductor and a small and large air core inductor. I was really hoping something was off, because my 1% resistors were over 5% off. Same with all of the caps and coils.

I closed DATS, hooked up the V3 hardware and re-opened the V3 software. All components measured close to mfg specs.

I went to download the V2 software but it is no longer available at the Dayton Audio website, although you can request it with proof of license. Luckily I have the software CD and an external CD drive, because none of my computers have CD drives anymore. Installed DATS V2 software and plugged back in V2 hardware. All components measured close to mfg specs.

The only think I can think of...did you happen to download V3 hardware when you installed on the new computer?


Note: DATS says it can measure inductors from 0.05mH to 100mH but V3 failed to recognized the 0.05mH inductor with either hardware, but DATS V2 did recognize it and measure it accurately.

[tomzarbo]

Hey, thanks A4E for doing all that! That will help not only me, but anyone else who may have an issue between V2 and V3, or just wants to see how accurate each is.

It looks like V2 and V3 are pretty close. I did update at some point but not to V3, the newest version.
I'll try and mess with my V2 software to see if I can get it working better on W11.

Thank you again for doing that, it's really helpful.
TomZ

[alexb]

I downloaded Windows 11 a few weeks ago. I got my Dats out and hooked it up. I now can't use it, the gives me exceeds the limits on test leads, and I checked a 6.6ohm resistor and I previously tested a year ago and gave me over 10000 ohms resultant. I did have version 2 and updated version 3 and still gave me bogus results. It gave me message that, check hardware. What do I do now?

[John L. Murphy]

Hey guys.
I have DATS V2. My new laptop which is running 11 just doesn't work correctly with it. When I try to measure caps, inductors, and resistors the readings are off. I want to say as much as 20% or so off.

Hi Tom,

In the thread title you asked: "Is the DATS V3 Windows 11 stable?" As the designer of DATS (hardware and software) I can assure you that DATS V3 is fully compatible with Windows 11.

Users can expect DATS measurements to be accurate within about 1% as confirmed by a4eaudio in his measurements shown above. Thank you a4eaudio for posting your test results. So, Tom, if you are getting measurements anywhere near 20% error there is definitely something wrong with your system. Hopefully your V2 hardware is OK and this is just a matter of Windows sound setup. A screenshot of a resistor measurement would help confirm the issue.

The first thing that I would suggest you check is the level of the test signal. It could be that your measurements are contaminated by noise due to a low signal level. This would be revealed by a “fuzzy” impedance plot as opposed to a smooth line.

Here is the procedure for setting up Windows 11 for DATS:

From the Windows 11 Control Panel Open the Sound control panel
At the Playback tab and open Properties for the USB AUDIO CODEC (Speakers)


At the Enhancements tab: disable all enhancements
At the Advanced tab: set the audio to 16 bits, 44,100 Hz.
At the Spatial sound tab: Set Spatial sound to Off. Close the Speakers Properties dialog.


Switch to the Recording tab at the Sound Control Panel and open Line Properties for the USB AUDIO CODEC (Line)


At the Listen tab make sure “Listen to this device “ is NOT selected.
At the Levels tab set the input level to maximum (100).



At the Advanced tab: set the audio to: 2channel, 16 bit, 44100 Hz.


Close the Line Properties and Sound dialogs.
Your Windows settings should now be optimized for DATS. Perform the 1k and shorted leads calibrations and try measuring a few different resistors to check the accuracy of your measurement.
Tom, please let us know if this resolves your issue.

Best Regards,
John

[John L. Murphy]

I downloaded Windows 11 a few weeks ago. I got my Dats out and hooked it up. I now can't use it, the gives me exceeds the limits on test leads, and I checked a 6.6ohm resistor and I previously tested a year ago and gave me over 10000 ohms resultant. I did have version 2 and updated version 3 and still gave me bogus results. It gave me message that, check hardware. What do I do now?

Hi Alex,

Make sure to adjust your Privacy settings to allow apps to use your microphone. You may not have any audio input from DATS.

To change your mic privacy settings, go to:
Start Button -> Settings -> Privacy -> Microphone
Make sure that: "Allow apps to access your Microphone" is switched "On".

I hope this gets you going. If not, review your Windows sound settings as I described above for Tom.

Regards,
John

[tomzarbo]

Thanks for the chiming in John,

Here are the results with DATS V2 after performing the changes you listed above:

30 ohm resistor ..................................measured 29.724 ohms
10 uF cap ...........................................measure d 9.96 uF
1 mH lamine core inductor .................measured 1.11 mH
.8 mH air core inductor ......................measured .90 mH

I also tried to test a few different drivers for specs, and that seems to be working now as well.

I still seem to be getting different (for me) plot lines on the impedance test with the 1k resistor (I'm used to them being straight lines), but it seems to be measuring okay even so.



It looks like your suggestions have done the trick. At least for me on my system V2 does in fact seem to work with Windows 11.
Thank you so much John and PE for responding.

TomZ

[John L. Murphy]

Thanks for the chiming in John,

Here are the results with DATS V2 after performing the changes you listed above:
<snip>
I still seem to be getting different (for me) plot lines on the impedance test with the 1k resistor (I'm used to them being straight lines), but it seems to be measuring okay even so.
<snip>

Tom,

I'm glad to see that you are getting good measurements with your DATS V2 running under Windows 11.

The rolled off response would seem to indicate that the older hardware version (DATS V1/WT3) is selected at the Preferences setting (under the Edit menu). If you set it to DATS V2 I expect you will once again see a flat line response for resistor measurements.The image below shows the the preferences setting:

Best Regards,
John

[Shawn_K]

I couldn't get DATS V2 to work with Windows 11; so, I bought the DATS V3 and received it today and I can't get it working. I tried all the settings and I can't get the lead to calibrate or the 1k resistor to measure correctly.

Shawn

[John L. Murphy]

The problem may be with the microphone privacy settings which are enabled with Windows 11. You must now give your audio apps explicit permission to use Microphones including many USB audio devices.
To change your mic privacy settings, go to:
Start Button -> Settings -> Privacy & security -> Microphone
Make sure that: "Let apps access your microphone" is switched "On".



I hope this helps.

Regards,
John