URSA Hardware (URSA and URSA-SC)
Fortunately, there are no specific troubles to report with regard to the URSA device itself. I've had one running almost constantly on my desk for nearly two years with no problems or difficulties. As of February 2002, the URSA-SC (designed to work also with the eV Products SPEAR CZT detector) has been 100% finalized. The major change was to add a miniature toggle switch to the face of the URSA to direct which detector input is being used.

If you have any specific applications that might require something different than the standard versions, please contact me! Some of the alterations we've made at little or no additional cost have been: adding 5V and ±12V outputs to run a detector preamp; altering the URSA to accept positive pulses; and adding an additional connector to the front panel and splitting the signal and high voltage.

URSA MCA Software (for Windows)
Software remains a work in progress... The most recent version is 1.1.0.17, compiled 26 March 2003. Download it here as a zipped file (906 KB, it'll fit on a floppy), then extract "URSA MCA.exe" to the URSA directory to replace the existing file of the same name. The default location is c:\program files\URSA. (If you don't have it already, get WinZip here.) Note that this is not a complete installation package; you must already have URSA MCA installed on your computer for this file to do anything.

Notes for Version 1.1.0.17
This version tracks the date and time that sample acquisitions were started and stopped, and adds this information to ROI and Peak-based analysis reports as well as storing it in the spectrum file.  Also added a "Brief ROI Report" under the "Job" menu, that displays only acquition start and stop times, the URSA and detector identification information, total acquisition time, and the gross cpm for each ROI.  Also fixed a bug where--under some circumstances--an error was returned stating that efficiency files could not be created.

Notes for Version 1.1.0.16
This version fixes a bug that incorrectly displayed the Gross ROI cpm in the ROI Analysis report.

Notes for Version 1.1.0.15
This version fixes a bug that made it difficult to save ROI files and efficiency calibrations in certain circumstances.

Notes for Version 1.1.0.14
This version adds some support for Windows XP, as well as fixing another little bug that caused an incorrect MDA calculation (I think I have it now...).

Notes for Version 1.1.0.12
Primary change in this version are a few tweaks for better overall behavior, and a better calculation for MDA when performing ROI-based quantitative analysis.  MDA will not be calculated unless a background spectrum is loaded.

Notes for Versions 1.1.0.5 and 1.1.0.11
This represents a major upgrade to URSA MCA. Most immediately visible change is that a "minimum expected count rate" should be entered via the Hardware Panel. You will also be prompted to enter this parameter when adding a new detector. To figure out the best value to use for this, set it to some relatively low value such as 100 cpm, then collect a background spectrum for at least 60 seconds. Round the count rate down to the nearest thousand (e.g., if the background is 2,874 cpm, use 2000 as the minimum expected count rate). This will ensure that your screen is refreshed at the proper rate and data collection will be at the most efficient.

Another major change (visually speaking) is the addition of grids and axis scaling labels. Enable them using the View|Grid Display Settings menu item. There are also several items added under the Job menu item. This is the area where I put miscellaneous functions requested by URSA users that may have some interest to the URSA-using population at large. I've also added manual and automatic fine gain adjustment and a baseline offset to the Hardware Panel.

URSA Library Editing Software (for Windows)
The library editor is now a stand-alone application, which can either be called by URSA MCA or run by itself.  Updated to version 1.0.0.5 as of 28 October 2002 to repair a bug that make it difficult to add isotopes to either the beginning or ending of the (alphabetical) list.  Download LibEdit here as a zipped file (358 KB) and extract it to the URSA directory.

URSA Offline Software (for Windows)
URSA Offline has been updated to match URSA MCA version 1.1.0.16.  Download it here as a zipped file (756 KB) and extract it to the URSA directory.

And of course, there are a thousand other minor tweaks/repairs/enhancements to all of the other functions too numerous to mention. Depending on how old your version of URSA MCA, you may need to re-do your ROI files and efficiency calibrations. As always, let me know if you run into any difficulties.

The URSA User's Manual has not yet been updated to the current version (I'm working on it!), but you can download below.

MCAce Software (for Windows CE devices such as the Compaq iPAQ and HP Jornada)
This software was finally released in February of 2002. No bugs have been reported yet. Personally, I think it's a pretty slick piece of software. 
 

Download the URSA Users' Manual here. 

• Zipped Microsoft Word document 

(3.6 MB file, a smaller file--downloads faster than PDF version)
• Acrobat file 

(5.6 MB file--be patient, this is a large file; you'll need the Adobe Reader to view PDF files. 
Download a free copy here.

Click here to visit the new URSA-II pages!