Signal Generator Tests Charge Amplifier Gain, Frequency Response
Testing Charge Amplifier Gain and Frequency Response with a Signal Generator Aviation/Aerospace, Industrial, Power Generation, Research & Development Charge Amplifier Gain and Frequency Response Testing Amplitude (Acceleration, Vibration, Pressure) Description [Application Note 40518] Piezoelectric transducers produce small electrical charges in response to pressure. Their sensitivity, ruggedness, and stability at high temperatures make them an essential building block of many accelerometers and pressure sensors. Applications include turbine vibration measurement (accelerometers) and combustion dynamics monitoring (pressure sensors). Typically, the high-impedance charge output produced by a piezoelectric transducer must be conditioned and amplified [...]
Radar Altimeter
Radar Altimeter Customer Case In this RADAR application the customer has pulses coming in at 1660 Hz. For every pulse they need to capture 500 samples which, at that rate, will amount to 1.7 Megs of data every second. The experiment will be running for at least a few minutes. They would then like to log all the captured data to the PC host memory. The final requirement is for the system to be on the PCI bus. By having the system on the PCI bus, the customer can stream the data directly to the PC's memory, which is [...]
Ultra High-Speed Radar
Ultra High-Speed Radar Customer Case This application requires the acquisition of very fast analog signals at relatively slow sample rates for a long period of time. In other words, the input bandwidth requirement is very high (1 GHz), but the sampling rate needs to be no more than 5 or 6 MSPS. The most important requirement is that the acquisition must go on, without any breaks, for many hours. The customer does not need very high dynamic range. In fact, a 4-bit A/D converter will be sufficient. The customer has already identified a 4-bit A/D chip from TRW which [...]
Signal Generator Simulates Gas Turbine Speed Signals
Signal Generator Simulates Gas Turbine Speed Signals Aviation, Power Generation Simulation of Speed Signals Amplitude, Displacement Description [Application Note 61318] Gas turbine engines are complex machines comprised of two rotating sections, generally referred to as the low pressure compressor (N1) and the high pressure compressor (N2). These turbine sections feature separate shafts that produce unique tachometer signals. Gas turbine engines have multiple rotating sections generally referred to as the low pressure compressor (N1) and the high pressure compressor (N2). These turbine sections have separate shafts that produce unique tach [...]
Radar Rackmount System for Large Record Lengths
Radar Rackmount System for Large Record Lengths Customer Case The customer needs to acquire data from his radar system at a sampling rate of 1.5 MSPS for two channels (I & Q). At the moment, this data must be acquired for at least 10 seconds, but the record length may increase by almost 100 times in the future. This equipment needs to be installed in a rackmounted environment, so the host computer must have rackmount capability. An integrated monitor is also important as it eliminates the need to purchase a rack-mounted monitor. Keyboard and mouse must also be rackmountable. [...]
Capacitance Probes Measure Gaps in Rotating Environments
Capacitance Probes Measure Gaps in Rotating Environments Textiles, Industrial Optimizing Performance of Rotating Cylinders Gap Description [Application Note 72518] Sensor environments are not always ideal. Across the various Gap sensor applications conditions may vary drastically. Some setups may have requirements of miniaturization, and others of wireless signal propagation. In rotating environments where cables cannot go, often there is a need for both. Problem Traditional sensing solutions can’t be used in environments requiring wireless propagation such as inside a rotating body. In these situations, the size and power requirements restrict the [...]
Interfacing to Offset IF Radar Altimeter
Interfacing to Offset IF Radar Altimeter Customer Case The customer is using an offset IF radar to map forest terrain density. The equipment will be mounted in an aircraft, which will also be carrying a Global Positioning System (GPS) for reference. The plane will fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet. A 512 ns radar pulse will be sent out and a return pulse will be received about 20 uS later, from which 10,000 samples will be acquired. After the pulse is received, there will be a relatively long re-arm time of about 250 to 300 uS for the [...]
Monitor Roller Gaps and Parallelism
Monitor Roller Gaps and Parallelism Industrial Printing, Calendering, Crushing Gap Easy Roller Gap Measurement Ensures Calendering Success Many roll-to-roll finishing processes typically use a calender, or series of hard pressure rollers, to deliver smooth, high-quality products of plastic, textile, or paper (Fig 1). Ensuring a consistent material thickness, however, depends on the ability to monitor, and maintain, a precise gap between rollers. This application note describes a quick and easy means for roller gap measurement. Figure 1: Calender Rollers where consistent gap across the rollers are vital [...]
MicroTrak 4 Over a LAN for Ethernet Signaling
MicroTrak 4 Over a LAN for Ethernet Signaling Semiconductor, Research & Development 3D IC Construction Distance, Positioning, Displacement Description The MicroTrak 4, which is a USB device, can also be used over a LAN or even CAT 5e/6/7 wiring with additional hardware to convert the USB sensor to Ethernet signaling. The devices required to run over the LAN or direct CAT wire are Icron USB 2.0 Ranger 2301GE-LAN extender system. The MicroTtrak 4 basic software then runs on the host computer.  The LAN does not have to be dedicated; it can [...]
Trigger Out Modification for CP500 Class Boards
Trigger Out Modification for CP500 Class Boards Customer Case Many A/D applications including Ultrasonics, Radar, Lidar, Hard Disk testing and CCD capture require maximal synchronicity between a trigger and the sampling clock. GaGe Case Solution GaGe now offers the TRIGGER OUT option as a means of synchronizing systems to the sampling clock on GaGe's CP500-class of A/D and scope cards, including CS8500, CS12100 and CS1250. The need for synchronicity can be understood by considering a typical ultrasonic pulse-echo system. An ultrasonic pulser-receiver generates ultrasonic pulses from a transducer which, microseconds later, receives echo signals reflected from a test specimen. [...]




