2.1.2 Setting up the program (Ctrl F11)
When you first start MISTRO Shed you will need to check the program setup options to ensure they are correct for your particular situation. To access the program setup menu you need to press Ctrl F11. If someone has already been playing with your installation, you may need to select the Setup option from a menu, otherwise the setup screen will be launched immediately as shown below. The aim is to set your options and then use the F1 key to save them.
Data entry ID
You can choose to enter your data either by using the cow’s Herd Recording Number or Short Name.
MISTRO DB
This is the path to your MISTRO Farm database. MISTRO Farm is usually installed in C:\MISTRO\Farm and uses the database MISTROWin.MDB. If you are running your copy of MISTRO Farm on the same computer as MISTRO Shed and have followed the default installation this should be C:\MISTRO\Farm\MISTROWin.MDB. You will only need to change this setting if you are running MISTRO Shed in the dairy, but you are connecting to a computer in the house using a wireless network.
Draft DB
This is the path to your MISTRO Draft database. This is usually installed in C:\MISTRO\Farm and uses the name MISTRODraft.MDB. If you are running your copy of MISTRO Farm on the same computer as MISTRO Shed and have followed the default installation this should be C:\MISTRO\Farm\MISTRODraft.MDB. You will only need to change this setting if you are running MISTRO shed in the dairy, but you are connecting to a computer in the house using a wireless network. MISTRO Shed uses the draft database even if the MISTRO Draft system is not installed, so you must have a valid database name in this field.
Herd Mask
This is the number used to identify the herd you wish to use with MISTRO Shed. You may have multiple herds loaded in MISTRO Farm, but this is the herd you will enter data for using MISTRO Shed.
Rego number and Configuration
When you first install MISTRO Shed, the program will run as a demonstration restricting access to 50 cows. You can view what the program will look like when connected to the MISTRO Draft or MISTRO Rotary system using the configuration keys. When you have decided which module you wish to purchase, you will be allocated a registration number which is entered in the Rego number field. A valid registration number will then give you access to all cows in your herd, and will lock in the configuration of the program.
Touch screen
If you plan to use a touch screen, click on the touch screen prompt to select it with a tick.
Close gates when idle
If you wish to have your gates close and return to the straight ahead position after your draft session then check this box. The program will then automatically set the gates back to the straight ahead position when it has had no ear tags pass it for 5 minutes.
Cow side client screen
This box needs to be checked if the computer that the version of MISTRO Shed is running on is a client computer. This is used when running more than one computer in your network and is used for any computer which is not the server.
Swap left and right signal
If your draft gate is cross wired and left is drafting right, and right is drafting left you can check this box rather than having to re-wire your draft gate.
Days to draft fresh cows
Even when using MISTRO Shed, you should tell the program how many days you wish to keep freshly calved cows separate from the herd.
Treatment events
MISTRO Shed is designed to quickly and simply record treatment events in the shed. To do this, particular treatments can be linked to the function keys.
The treatment event boxes allow you to map particular treatment events to specific keys within the program. In the example above we have set AMPICLOXLC to operate on the F5 key, and ALAMYCIN on the F6 key. You can set additional treatment events in all of the boxes in this window.
Dry cow treatment
When drying off cows in MISTRO Shed, you have the option of recording that the cow was treated with dry cow. If you use the same dry cow preparation for most cows, set this drug in this box. That way you can dry off cows and treat them with one event, rather than having to enter a dry off event, and a dry cow treatment event for each cow.
F1 draft direction
You can choose to program your F1 key to only draft a specific way to minimize keystrokes. This would generally only be done with a 2 way drafting system.
Configuration options for the MISTRO Draft system.
(Only required if MISTRO Shed is connected to draft gates)
The remaining options on the setup screen are used to control the MISTRO Draft system. You do not need to change these settings if you do not have a draft gate connected.
Timeout refers to the time MISTRO will wait to send information to the gate before it gives up and says “Sorry, can’t talk to the gate”.
Gate 1/2 states are available in case the electrician wires the gates incorrectly and they think on is off and vice versa. Swapping these values will reverse the action of the two drafting gates.
Left G1, G2 are used to determine in which direction the two gates will be set when you nominate to send a cow to the left. Usually G1 will be true, and G2 will be false to have the left gate open and the right gate closed. However, if wiring is configured differently, you may need to swap values so that the gates work as expected when you tell a cow to go left.
Right G1, G2 are similar to Left G1 and G2 except they usually have opposite values. They configure how the gates will behave when the program says that a cow needs to go right.
Norm G1, G2 are similar to Left G1 and G2. They configure how the gates will behave when the program says that a cow needs to go straight ahead.
Close time and Close Pen are used when you are first getting set up. In some situations, you may have some cows with NLIS tags in their ears, and some cows without. Setting Close Pen to true, with a close time of 00008 will result in gates closing 8 seconds after an ear tag has been detected. In this situation, you could flag all your cows to be drafted left. Those that have an ear tag detected will be drafted left, and with the gate closing behind them, the cows without an ear tag will be drafted straight ahead. This is not fool proof, but over a couple of milkings will enable most cows without an ear tag to be drafted. In normal operation, the Close Pen flag should be set to false.
Ack required
Some gate controllers require an acknowledgment from MISTRO Shed that all is working OK. In most cases this flag should be set to true.
Panic.
When you hit the ESC key in MISTRO Shed, you have hit the Panic key. In this case, the drafting gates will move as instructed in this box, and stay there until you stop the panic.
Saving settings and testing gates.
Once you have made your selections, click the save and send params to gate key. This then sets the draft gate controller as specified. You can then test the movement of the gates by clicking the Left, Ahead and Right keys. When you click left, the gates should move so that cows draft left etc. If they don’t, change the settings for Left G1, G2 and try again.
When all you settings are as you require, press the F1 key to save the settings.
Data entry ID
You can choose to enter your data either by using the cow’s Herd Recording Number or Short Name.
MISTRO DB
This is the path to your MISTRO Farm database. MISTRO Farm is usually installed in C:\MISTRO\Farm and uses the database MISTROWin.MDB. If you are running your copy of MISTRO Farm on the same computer as MISTRO Shed and have followed the default installation this should be C:\MISTRO\Farm\MISTROWin.MDB. You will only need to change this setting if you are running MISTRO Shed in the dairy, but you are connecting to a computer in the house using a wireless network.
Draft DB
This is the path to your MISTRO Draft database. This is usually installed in C:\MISTRO\Farm and uses the name MISTRODraft.MDB. If you are running your copy of MISTRO Farm on the same computer as MISTRO Shed and have followed the default installation this should be C:\MISTRO\Farm\MISTRODraft.MDB. You will only need to change this setting if you are running MISTRO shed in the dairy, but you are connecting to a computer in the house using a wireless network. MISTRO Shed uses the draft database even if the MISTRO Draft system is not installed, so you must have a valid database name in this field.
Herd Mask
This is the number used to identify the herd you wish to use with MISTRO Shed. You may have multiple herds loaded in MISTRO Farm, but this is the herd you will enter data for using MISTRO Shed.
Rego number and Configuration
When you first install MISTRO Shed, the program will run as a demonstration restricting access to 50 cows. You can view what the program will look like when connected to the MISTRO Draft or MISTRO Rotary system using the configuration keys. When you have decided which module you wish to purchase, you will be allocated a registration number which is entered in the Rego number field. A valid registration number will then give you access to all cows in your herd, and will lock in the configuration of the program.
Touch screen
If you plan to use a touch screen, click on the touch screen prompt to select it with a tick.
Close gates when idle
If you wish to have your gates close and return to the straight ahead position after your draft session then check this box. The program will then automatically set the gates back to the straight ahead position when it has had no ear tags pass it for 5 minutes.
Cow side client screen
This box needs to be checked if the computer that the version of MISTRO Shed is running on is a client computer. This is used when running more than one computer in your network and is used for any computer which is not the server.
Swap left and right signal
If your draft gate is cross wired and left is drafting right, and right is drafting left you can check this box rather than having to re-wire your draft gate.
Days to draft fresh cows
Even when using MISTRO Shed, you should tell the program how many days you wish to keep freshly calved cows separate from the herd.
Treatment events
MISTRO Shed is designed to quickly and simply record treatment events in the shed. To do this, particular treatments can be linked to the function keys.
The treatment event boxes allow you to map particular treatment events to specific keys within the program. In the example above we have set AMPICLOXLC to operate on the F5 key, and ALAMYCIN on the F6 key. You can set additional treatment events in all of the boxes in this window.
Dry cow treatment
When drying off cows in MISTRO Shed, you have the option of recording that the cow was treated with dry cow. If you use the same dry cow preparation for most cows, set this drug in this box. That way you can dry off cows and treat them with one event, rather than having to enter a dry off event, and a dry cow treatment event for each cow.
F1 draft direction
You can choose to program your F1 key to only draft a specific way to minimize keystrokes. This would generally only be done with a 2 way drafting system.
Configuration options for the MISTRO Draft system.
(Only required if MISTRO Shed is connected to draft gates)
The remaining options on the setup screen are used to control the MISTRO Draft system. You do not need to change these settings if you do not have a draft gate connected.
Timeout refers to the time MISTRO will wait to send information to the gate before it gives up and says “Sorry, can’t talk to the gate”.
Gate 1/2 states are available in case the electrician wires the gates incorrectly and they think on is off and vice versa. Swapping these values will reverse the action of the two drafting gates.
Left G1, G2 are used to determine in which direction the two gates will be set when you nominate to send a cow to the left. Usually G1 will be true, and G2 will be false to have the left gate open and the right gate closed. However, if wiring is configured differently, you may need to swap values so that the gates work as expected when you tell a cow to go left.
Right G1, G2 are similar to Left G1 and G2 except they usually have opposite values. They configure how the gates will behave when the program says that a cow needs to go right.
Norm G1, G2 are similar to Left G1 and G2. They configure how the gates will behave when the program says that a cow needs to go straight ahead.
Close time and Close Pen are used when you are first getting set up. In some situations, you may have some cows with NLIS tags in their ears, and some cows without. Setting Close Pen to true, with a close time of 00008 will result in gates closing 8 seconds after an ear tag has been detected. In this situation, you could flag all your cows to be drafted left. Those that have an ear tag detected will be drafted left, and with the gate closing behind them, the cows without an ear tag will be drafted straight ahead. This is not fool proof, but over a couple of milkings will enable most cows without an ear tag to be drafted. In normal operation, the Close Pen flag should be set to false.
Ack required
Some gate controllers require an acknowledgment from MISTRO Shed that all is working OK. In most cases this flag should be set to true.
Panic.
When you hit the ESC key in MISTRO Shed, you have hit the Panic key. In this case, the drafting gates will move as instructed in this box, and stay there until you stop the panic.
Saving settings and testing gates.
Once you have made your selections, click the save and send params to gate key. This then sets the draft gate controller as specified. You can then test the movement of the gates by clicking the Left, Ahead and Right keys. When you click left, the gates should move so that cows draft left etc. If they don’t, change the settings for Left G1, G2 and try again.
When all you settings are as you require, press the F1 key to save the settings.
