Additional Matrix Installation Information from Jim Norton

Jim Norton is a Graco Regional Manager and has developed the following process for installing a Matrix 3 system, in addition to what you find in the Matrix instruction manual.

1. Perform an RF test at the site to determine the location of the transceivers. Don’t forget the area where the TLMs and PACs will be installed.

2. Determine which computer will be the server and which computers will be clients as well as transceiver clients. The server should have 2Gig of RAM available and the clients should have at least 1 Gig of RAM available. If the computers are using Vista, then the RAM requirement is doubled. It’s better if you use the computer name, rather than the IP address.

3. One person can be putting together and installing the meters while someone else is installing the software, first on the server then the clients. For the server use the “Typical” installation and for the clients use the “Custom” software installation. Accept the defaults when prompted. A transceiver does not need to be installed at the server. The network ID remains the same for the customer. Network ID #1 is the default. The transceiver ID is automatically assigned by the pc; make sure that the transceiver ID is associated with the correct devices. Primary clients will need to be identified and loaded into the software. A primary client is one that will be able to access the setup feature of the software to make changes or access reports. This can actually be done later if you want.

4. Once the software is installed, you can load the user information, fluids, tanks, TLM, PACs and meter profiles into the server software.

5. Next, register the meters to the appropriate transceiver. Go to the meter and get into the setup screen at the meter. Select register and change the Network and Transceiver IDs to the appropriate numbers. In the bottom right hand corner of this screen is a unique numeric code. Write down this number and identify it by location and product. This is important! Remember to flip the small switch on the transceiver to 422 if you are using the RS422 cable or leave it to USB if you are only using the USB cable to connect to the transceiver. You should only see a green light on at the transceiver. If you see a red and green light then the switch is set wrong.

6. At the server select a meter profile and click on the “Link” button. A window will appear which will list all of the codes of the meters that have been registered. Select the proper code for that specific meter and click on the OK button. This, in effect, programs the meter profile to the meter. All you will need to do is wake up the meter and the programming happens automatically.

7. Register the TLMs and PACs per the instructions.

8. Perform test dispenses to assure accurate programming.

A couple of things to be aware of: Firewalls may be present in the network that blocks the Matrix communication between computers. Your IT person should be present when installing Matrix.
The Matrix Service Engine (MSE) and Matrix Database reside only on the server. The clients will be the Transceiver Server hosts. Follow the network information found in the instruction manual.

The networking feature is much easier than with Matrix 2. The IT person shouldn’t have trouble with this portion. The ports that Matrix uses are defaulted to 20000- 20006 and can be modified if they conflict with other software. Firewall exceptions can be added for the appropriate ports.

NOTE: If you see the meter display “No Signal” when you are performing a test dispense or programming the meters, it means that RF isn’t present. The meter might be registered to a different transceiver. If the meter displays “No PC Signal” this means that the PC network is not responding quickly enough. This usually is due to not enough RAM in either the server or the clients connected to a transceiver or maybe the network setup is wrong within Matrix.