More than 7000 unmanned aerial vehicles have been used in two Middle-East wars, and newer, smaller, and better ones are being designed and built every day. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. built the Altair UAV for NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for climate and environmental research programs.Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are relative newcomers…

Yokogawa Corporation of America announces the sales release of the next step in retractable fittings, the Model PR10. The PR10 was developed to address the changing needs from the process industry, for retractable sensor assemblies that offer a flexible approach for online applications, where the sensor must be removed safely without interrupting the process. The…

San Juan Capistrano, CA – Meggitt Sensing Systems has launched the Endevco® model 35A, the world’s smallest ISOTRON® (IEPE-type) triaxial accelerometer with integral electronics, designed for high-precision vibration measurements in three orthogonal axes on very small objects. Offering a low impedance output, shear mode construction and weighing just 1.1 grams without cable, the adhesive mounted…

San Juan Capistrano, CA – Meggitt Sensing Systems has announced the global market introduction of the Endevco® model 7268C, a miniature triaxial piezoresistive accelerometer designed for high-reliability measurement of short duration shock across three axes and in three orthogonal directions. Housed within a package size measuring just 12.7 x 10.7 x 13.7 mm (0.5 x…

Pennsauken, NJ – Macro Sensors announces the release of EAZY-CAL™, the most user-friendly LVDT signal conditioner currently on the market. Employing a virtually effortless fingertip calibration routine, the EAZY-CAL signal conditioner saves time and money by eliminating the repetitive null and span potentiometer adjustments associated with conventional analog based signal conditioners. Using two easily accessible…

Pennsauken, NJ – Macro Sensors has designed a series of high temperature and rugged LVDT linear position sensors that can be used in various military and defense applications such as fuel / oil level monitoring, load leveling of artillery platforms and controlling flight surfaces of airplanes and rudder positions of aircraft carriers, tankers, ships as…

Micro-Machined silicon reduces the lead times needed to manufacture custom pressure sensors. Several different transduction methods can be used to convert pressure to a practical, measurable electrical signal. Most modern devices depend on the change in resistance of a metal foil or a semiconductor under a load. A signal-conditioning circuit converts the resistance change to…

Sherborne Sensors has announced the AccuStar® electronic clinometer, designed to provide precision angular measurements within applications where a high degree of accuracy is required. The unique design of the AccuStar® incorporates a capacitance-based sensor without moving parts. When rotated about its sensitive axis, this sensor provides a fundamentally linear variation in capacitance, which is electronically…

Photovoltaic devices will have reached grid parity when they can produce electricity at the same cost or less than that of coal and gas-fired plants, and some researchers seek the rewards of success with as much fervor as the gold-rush miners of ’49. The photoelectric effect, which is the principle of operation of modern solar…

If you are not sure how accurate your digital multimeter measurement is, find its accuracy specifications in the instruction manual, and then read this to get the rest of the story. The accuracy of an electronic measurement defines how close the indicated value is to the true value of the measured signal. Analog meters usually…

Laptop computer designers, audio amplifier makers, and power supply manufacturers can keep their products cooler by following these fundamental heat-sink design equations for natural convection and forced-air cooling. Power transistors and modules, many power-supply regulator assemblies, and high-current diodes typically generate more heat than their own mass can safely dissipate. For this reason, power devices…

By John R. Gyorki, Editorial Director Analyze the RTD’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to the application before making a selection.  The application ultimately determines the RTD’s specifications. Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD) typically operate within a broad temperature range of -200°C to +850°C, are fairly linear, and have excellent long-term stability. Unlike thermocouples, cold junction compensation…

Temperature sensor applications usually fall into one of three general categories; monitoring, control, or circuit compensation, and four sensor types; thermocouples, thermistors, resistance-temperature detectors (RTD), and semiconductor temperature sensors. When selecting a sensor, some key characteristics to consider include temperature range, accuracy, response time, minimal temperature effect on the measured object, and the type of…