Dear Reader,
We're gearing up for that strange and interesting time of year. Soon we will be awash in ghosts, goblins, zombies and all manner of creepy crawly things. Whether you have kids of your own or live in a neighborhood with school-age children it's sure to be an exciting time.
Naturally at BEI Sensors, we're all about the "Treats" rather than the "Tricks". That's why we have one of the lowest warranty return rates in the business and we maintain a full-time applications support department. We also have an on-site repair group so we can service what we sell, even if it's 30 years old! So keep us in mind at Halloween; we promise there are no vampires hiding in the bushes and when you ring our doorbell, we'll show up with a basket of treats. Now what could be better than that? |
| Speaking of Scary |
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 We are continually challenged by our customers to bend and tweak our technologies to solve new and interesting problems. One example is shown in the picture at left. This item shows a stack of four single turn potentiometers with a switch at the end and multiple taps for a custom non-linear output.
Scary, isn't it? This product is based on the 3" diameter model 1822 precision potentiometer. It is used in a commercial aircraft installation for control. If we can do this product for that application, just think of what we can do for you.
Whether you're designing the next laser-powered digital pumpkin carver or a realistic zombie-rising-from-the-grave lawn ornament, to see a more detailed specification sheet for this model family click on the picture to download a PDF. |
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| The Digital Revolution |
| With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, we have lost one of the world's great visionaries and leaders. We all experienced Jobs' brilliance in his ability to make complex technologies available to us all - and with an irresistible style.
It's hard to think of a time when computers didn't dominate our world,
but
even today's ubiquitous computing engines
had their own humble beginnings. Most
engineers will variously attribute the invention
of the modern computer to von Neumann, Turing,
or Babbage, depending on who you ask.
But you might be surprised to find out that
the first person to actually build a truly
digital machine was named John Atanasoff a
physics professor at Iowa State.
Born of Bulgarian parents, his creation was the first that incorporated four fundamental characteristics shared by our modern computers: it used the binary system; it contain regenerative data storage; it used logic circuits to construct programs; and it used electronic components to carry data - and he did it in the time period between 1939-1942.
I won't spoil the story, but suffice it to say, this attribution to Mr. Atanasoff was embroiled in controversy and it wasn't until 1973 in a Minneapolis court that he finally got his due. To read more of this intriguing bit of history and the biography of this incredibly bright inventor, click on his picture, above.
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| Can You Solve It? |
Sometimes the solution to a problem is so obvious that it gets overlooked. Now don't be too quick to judge this one. I got notice from our repair department that they were seeing a lot of encoders coming in with bent pins on the connectors and other signs of connector damage from this one customer. Often times when we see this, the encoder is in a high traffic area where heavy equipment is involved. The customer indicated that was not the case. What could be going on?
A. The encoder was installed on a motor that was part of a moving transport carriage. The carriage had custom receptacles on it depending on what was being carried and it was not unusual for operators to manually change out the receptacles several times throughout the day due to different set-ups. This operation required standing and/or climbing on the side of the carriage during the changeout. Unfortunately the encoder was installed so that the cable connector assembly was routed toward the top side of the motor and the whole motor assembly was located in the perfect spot to act as step for the operator.
It turns out that it was a simple matter to rotate the encoder mounting to ensure that the encoder connector was pointing down rather than up. The cable was now routed below the stepping point and the problem was solved. |
| Shine On |
It's not unusual at this time of year for us to think about the moon. After all, the full moon activates werewolves and what's more startling than the silhouette of a witch astride her broomstick backlit by the full moon? Even though this year's Halloween event does not include a full moon, it is still an object of fascination for us earth-bound mortals.
If you want to find out about "all things lunar" click on the picture above to read some interesting facts and figures about the moon. If you like, you can even buy a slice of our celestial neighbor (though good luck in developing your plot.) This site contains a lot of fun facts about the Moon as well as some pretty cool looking animations and video. So click and enjoy. One note of caution, though - if you happen to be a werewolf, I'd recommend that you wait until you get home to check it out. |
THANK YOU
It's always a pleasure to be able to share the season with our readership. I hope you found this month's newsletter to be interesting and informative. Call us anytime if we can help with your sensor needs.
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| Spotlight |
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It Flies Through the Air
Well, at least the data flies through the air. Check out our Swiftcomm wireless interface. It's designed to carry two encoder channels in quadrature plus an index up to 100m line-of-sight in an industrial environment. We've just updated our brochure. Click on the picture and order your copy now.
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