Capstone Software Module

UCCS Physics Labs

Table of Contents

Capstone Interface 2
Video Links 3
Manual 4
FYI

FYI
Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a spacesuit damages
them.
The Capstone program

Open the Capstone program

• I have created customized Capstone files for each experiment.
• Open the lab folder located on the Desktop and open the folder/file for the
current week's experiment by double-clicking on the file to open the program
and load the file with one action. Ex. Desktop/PES 1160/Coulomb's
Law/Coulomb's Law.cap

DISPLAY BAR
TOOLS BAR

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 I can give you a lengthy written description about how to use the Capstone software, but I
have learned that when it comes to software seeing is better than reading. When I started here
there was no "YouTube" and now you can get information on just about anything in video
format. Instead of reading a lengthy written manual that will do you little good without sitting
down in front of a lab computer, I will post several videos that will hopefully be more useful to
you. This will also be faster, a 10 minute video is easier and more instructive than a 50 page
manual. However, if reading is the way you learn best I will also include a link to Pasco's
Capstone Users manual.
I will write specialized Capstone files for each lab experiment as needed so that you will
not have to worry about the setup of the sensors, timing or graphs. It is better to have this
knowledge just in case something goes wrong or you wish to change the data collection on your
own.

The Physics department has a site license that covers all lab computers and any student that is
currently enrolled in a physics lab course. Instructions on how to download a copy of the
Capstone software will be emailed to you at the beginning of the semester.

https://www.pasco.com/downloads/capstone/pasco-capstone-update/index.cfm

Videos
There are a lot of videos just on Capstone covering a myriad of topics, you do not need to
watch them all. Here are a few of the more useful ones that I found.

Capstone introductory video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uuEQfQ8hnU

850 interface setup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZfP_syCXgE

Useful windows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjIdOAXEty8

Capstone Workbook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2XTe76_s64

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 Capstone’s Video Archive (for even more videos):
https://www.pasco.com/resources/video?cid=UCYHaxowbwNkDNKB-
fnfeY8g&pid=PLx8Xm8sCiICM8FkLn_9J-IORZT_unDORB

Capstone User’s Manual

Just in case you are more old-school and need a hardcopy or need more in depth
explanations. Here is the entire manual. Get ready, It’s not small!

https://d2n0lz049icia2.cloudfront.net/product_document/PASCO-Capstone-User-Guide-2.0-
English.pdf

Final Notes
Capstone is a powerful software tool so feel free to play with the experiment files I give
you or create your own. I should not be the only one that gets to have fun with this software.
Just be careful to routinely save any data you need.

Do all your work in lab then “cut & paste” your data/graphs into your Report .DOCX file
(Microsoft Word file found on lab website).

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