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Looks like it's back to school time for a lot of
kids and families. There's nothing quite like
the air of excitement that comes from the
beginning of the school year. It's time to fill up
the old noggin' with some new ideas.
Speaking of new ideas - this month's
newsletter is full of things to make you think.
Read, enjoy and stretch your mind. It's never
too late to learn a few new tricks.
Underground Operations
Mining safety has been in the news recently
along with references to the Mine Safety and
Health Administration (MSHA). This
organization was founded 25 years ago under
the US Department of labor and performs
routine mine inspections to make sure they are
in compliance with safety standards.
In addition, they provide guidance to mine
operators about best practices and provide
technical support and certifications that ensure
equipment will operate safely in mining
environments.
MSHA's efforts have contributed to reducing
the incidence of annual mine fatalities by a
factor of five since they have been in
existence. At BEI we are happy to note that
our
H38 encoder has passed the rigorous testing
requirements of the MSHA.
To our knowledge, the H38 is the only MSHA
certified optical encoder in the world that is
rated for use in those difficult environments.
Should you have need of rotary feedback in
mining or other similar hazardous areas, it's
good to know you can count on BEI products
to help get you there safely.
MSHA H38 Encoder . . .
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Movie Smarts |
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Almost everyone likes the movies and
especially summer blockbusters. Just for a
little mental challenge, I've
collected a series of quotes from a very
popular movie which was released within the
last 10 years. See if you can guess, from
these quotes alone, what the name of the
movie is -- then click the link below to check
your answer.
"I love waking up in the morning not knowing
where I'm gonna go or who I'm gonna meet."
"I feel as if I'm in a room screaming and no one
even looks up."
"What do you mean, "No I won't"? Don't
presume to tell me what I will and will not do,
you don't know me!"
Check your movie
IQ. . . »
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Can You Solve This? |
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OK, get your thinking caps out because this
one took us a while to decipher. This
particular puzzler was related to the operation
of an absolute encoder with a parallel natural
binary output.
The customer was complaining of "crazy"
outputs from his encoder. All seemed to work
fine occasionally, but then the output values
would become nonsense. We asked the usual
questions about correct voltage, output
terminations on the data lines, clean contacts,
mechanical
installation and all seemed correct.
We got a break, though when we got the
answers to two key questions: What cable
length are you using and how are you
terminating the control lines. What did we
learn?
Answer: The control lines (those that select
direction of rotation, latching or other
variables) were unterminated and the cable
bundle was almost 100 feet long. Unlike Gray
code, with a
natural binary output it is possible for multiple
data
lines to simultaneously change state. This can
send a voltage spike along the length of the
cable. Such a spike can crosstalk into the
control lines causing them to interpret this
as a command to change direction of rotation,
resulting in an erroneous state. By advising
the customer to terminate the control lines to
the correct state (either HI or LO) it eliminated
the problem.
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Vroom vroom |
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What is it about exotic cars that gets our
pulses pounding? Maybe it's the thought of
getting
behind the wheel, or perhaps it's all that high
level
engineering in a sleek package.
No matter what it is - here's a link to a
collection of some of the world's rarest and
most unusual cars. Some are noted for their
luxuriousness and others for their
performance. But they are all noteworthy for
their price tags!
Of course there are Lamborghini, Porsche,
and Corvette -- but you'll also find more
unusual names like Koenigsegg, Pagani, and
Panoz.
So click the link, below and feel free to
browse. Just be sure to bring your checkbook
in case you find something you just can't live
without.
Hot cars . . . »
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Thanks for Reading |
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Hope you enjoyed the little automotive side trip
and thanks for taking the time to read this
month's newsletter.
If we can provide you with applications
assistance, please give us a call. We
can be reached at 1- 800-ENCODER or send
a reply to my email address. We'd be happy
to help.
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