1. Check to see if the calculator has the program or application you need. Press PRGM, and the list of programs which have been loaded into the calculator are displayed. To choose a program, press the number to the left of the program, or arrow down to the desired program and press ENTER.

If you are using the TI83 Plus, some programs may be stored in ROM as applications. To display the applications, press APPS. Chose an application in the same way.

Some programs are very simple and only allow you to do a limited number of experiments. Group files and applications allow you more flexibility to decide what probes you want to use and what data you will collect.

2. If you do not find the program you need on your calculator, you will need to load it. There are several ways this can be done. The simplest way is to get it from another calculator using the short black link cable. Set the receiving calculator to 2^ND LINK, Receive and press ENTER to confirm. Set the sending calculator to 2^ND LINK, Send and chose what you want to send for. If you want to send a program, choose the number or arrow down to Prgm and press ENTER. Highlight the program(s) you wish to select, pressing ENTER for each one. ENTER acts as a toggle switch and will deselect a selected program. When all of the programs have been selected, arrow up to the top of the screen and use the right arrow to highlight TRANSMIT. Check to make sure the receiving calculator is "waiting" and press ENTER on the sending calculator. You will get a "sending" message, then "done". Press program to make sure the program has been transferred. Applications can be transmitted in the same way, but choosing Apps rather than Prgm.

If you don't have a calculator to transfer the program from, you will need to use your computer and the grey GRAPHLINK cable. One end of the GRAPHLINK cable inserts into a serial communications port in the back of your computer, the other into the small port at the bottom of the calculator. If you have already stored the programs on your computer, you can transfer them to your calculator by opening the TI GRAPHLINK software. Chose the path to locate the program files in the box on the right. The available programs will be displayed in the upper left box. As you highlight the program name and press ADD, the selected program is listed in the box on the lower left. When you have selected all the desired programs, check to make sure the Home Screen is displayed ion the calculator and choose OKAY.

If you do not already have the programs on your computer you can transfer them from the disk if you have a program disk, or you may download them for free from the internet site. Programs for the TI83 and TI83 Plus can be found at:

Applications for the TI83 Plus can be found at:

Directions for downloading are provided at the web sites.

3. Determine what type of data you will collect and which sensor(s) you will need.

4. Connect the CBL to the calculator using the long black link cable. Connect the sensor to the CBL. The ports on the CBL are labeled. Motion detectors and CBRs connect to the SONIC port. All other sensors connect to CH1, CH2, or CH3. You should use the lowest channel number available. You may need to use an adapter. The most common adapter is the CBL-DIN. You can determine which adapter, if any, is needed for your sensor by consulting the Vernier catalog; the extension on the order code refers to the adapter.

5. Using PRGM or APPS, select a program or application to run. When the name of the program appears on the screen, press ENTER to confirm. From here, the options menu and directions are displayed on the screen. Procedure at this point depends on the particular program.

I will outline the steps for collecting motion data using the PHYSICS data collection software.

From APPS, select PHYSICS and press ENTER. The name of the application is displayed.

Press ENTER to confirm.

From the Main Menu choose 1:SET UP PROBES.

At this point the calculator checks to see if you have a good connection with the CBL and the sensor. If you get a link error message, check to make sure the sensor is connected to the CBL, the cable from the calculator to the CBL is firmly seated at both ends, and the CBL is ON (you should see numbers displayed in the CBL window).

The next menu asks you to determine the number of probes. Choose 1:ONE.

Select the probe you are using 1:MOTION. This returns you to the MAIN MENU.

Choose 2:COLLECT DATA, 2:TIME GRAPH, time between seconds: "0.5" ENTER, number of samples "99".

The next display shows the sample time, number of samples, and experiment length; press ENTER.

The next screen gives you the option of keeping this setup or modifying it. Choose 1: Use setup.

If you have allowed sufficient time between samples, you will be asked if you want a live display or non-live display. If you choose 1:NON-LIVE DISPLAY the data will be graphed after it is all collected. If you choose 2:LIVE DISPLAY you will need to determine max and min Y values and a scale, because the data will be graphed as it is collected.

A message will be displayed "Press ENTER to begin collecting data"; press ENTER.

When all the data has been collected you will be told which data is stored in which list. You may want to make a note of this information. TIME IN L1 (list 1), DATA IN L4 (list 4).

When you press ENTER, the graph will be displayed. If you had chosen NON-LIVE DISPLAY, you would be asked if you want to see DISTANCE vs TIME, VELOCITY vs TIME, or ACCELERATION vs TIME. (NEXT gives you the option of repeating the sample.)

When you press ENTER again, you will be asked if you want to repeat the sample.

Choose 1:NO to return to the Main Menu. At this time you can decide whether to analyze the data, proceed to more tests, exit the program, etc.