An elongated surgical manipulator apparatus and method of operating enables determination of the shape of a flexible portion of the elongated surgical manipulator andor the location of an arbitrary point thereon, as well as a measure of a contact force exerted on a distal portion of the manipulator. A clamp intermittently grips a portion of the web to advance the portion in the first direction at a second rate. At least one of the first and second parts of the capsule may include a substantially rigid connector portion with at least one inlet for connecting to the apparatus wherein the at least one inlet defines a first flow direction for a fluid to be introduced into the inlet which first flow direction extends more than about 45 degrees to the direction of extension of the capsule. The processor identifies a second location that is offset, by a predetermined distance in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the conveyor structure, from the first location. Labels in a second coset that includes mutually exclusive labels from the first coset are analyzed to select a label representing a signal level that is closest in proximity to the signal level represented by the data point containing the bit error than the other labels in the second coset. For each security classification used by an MLS system, a distinct source address is defined.