Blogs
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 [...]
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. [...]
Monitoring Critical Variables
Monitoring Critical Variables Customer Case The customer wanted a quick visual inspection of many readings of slow varying parameters. Readings of pressure, temperature and voltages had to be compared with reference values and the differences had to be displayed in analog fashion in the form of a simple visual display. A Go/No Go decision had to be reached almost instantly. GaGe Case Solution The solution suggested by a major electronics company was to multiplex the differences 32 readings a channel for two channels, this gives a total of 72 reading in one display. The zero line is the no [...]
Electrical Cable Testing
Electrical Cable Testing Customer Case The customer needs to test, certify, and troubleshoot electrical cable that is used on-board Navy ships. They must test and isolate for cross-talk signal distortion as well as other signal anomalies that occur in the 100 - 1000 kHz frequency range. Signal simulation is also required, and the customer would prefer to not do any software programming. GaGe Case Solution A high-resolution digitizer in conjunction with an analog signal generator will fulfill the hardware requirements. The CompuScope 1602 provides 16-bit vertical resolution and sample rates of up to 10 MS/s with the optional 10 [...]
Hopkinson Bar Testing (Stress Pulse Reaction Testing)
Hopkinson Bar Testing (Stress Pulse Reaction Testing) Customer Case This customer is involved in testing materials for how they react to stress pulses. The idea is to introduce a stress pulse into the Material Under Test (MUT) and monitor it as it travels through the material. This method of material characterization is also known as "Hopkinson Bar" testing. Multiple sensors pick up the reaction of the material and provide outputs which need to be digitized. These outputs are transient signals of approximately 2 Volts and have a rise time of approximately 600 nanoseconds. The resulting system must be programmable [...]
Vibration Test Equipment Instrument Grade Chassis
Vibration Test Equipment Instrument Grade Chassis Customer Case The customer is in the business of building Vibration Test equipment for semiconductor, automotive and aerospace industries. Their product is currently housed in Industrial Grade PCs which they integrate themselves. They currently purchase the chassis from an off-shore company. Their major problem is product differentiation: their product looks like "just another PC" and, therefore, cannot command a better price point. They also presently have to ship a separate monitor, as one is not integrated in the chassis. They want to upgrade the chassis to one of better quality, with a more [...]
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Customer Case This customer manufactures non-destructive test equipment which allows customers such as steel mills to test the quality of their end-products. Presently, the ultrasound frequencies being used are centered at either 5 MHz, 10 MHz or 15 MHz. The worst case analog bandwidth requirement in this case is 35 MHz. In order to set up their equipment properly, the customer presently views the return signal (including the flaw) on an analog oscilloscope with a sweep time of either 50 us or 100 us (providing approximately 5 to 10 inches of depth in a metal). The [...]
Acoustic Micro-Imaging
Acoustic Micro-Imaging Customer Case The customer is a leader in the field of acoustic micro-imaging. They use pulse ultrasound to image non-human materials. The ultrasound frequency used is between 100 and 200 MHz, as the materials they study can handle these frequencies (one cannot normally use such high frequencies with human tissue). The customer's PRF (Pulse Repeat Frequency) is approximately 4 KHz, with a PRI (Pulse Repeat Interval) of 250 ms. They need to capture approximately 2 ms (1,000 points) of data for each pulse. The customer wants scope emulation software to allow verification of board operation without having [...]
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Scanning Inspection
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Scanning Inspection Customer Case The customer is testing interior of pipes with time-resolved fluorescence, a Photo Multiplier Tube (PMT), a transducer with 8 MHz BandWidth and an integration chamber. They are searching for rare events and the scan width is approximately 3.5 inches. Multiple Record: 350 scans x 3 Kpts. GaGe Case Solution We recommended 5X-10X over sampling - therefore CompuScope 14100, CompuScope 12100, or even the 8-bit CS8500 may be sufficient. For a CS8500 Single Record example, say, at the single-channel sampling-rate of 50 MS/s, a 3000 point (i.e. 3 KS) acquisition would take about [...]
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of Concrete Structures
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of Concrete Structures Customer Case Our customer needs to perform Non Destructive Testing (NDT) to test concrete. The testing method involves using a special hammer mounted with a geophone, which serves as a transducer. They strike the concrete structure with the hammer and record the results for analysis. A definitive echo in the signal will be appear should there be a crack or a weak point in the concrete. GaGe Case Solution The customer was looking for a low-cost board that would be able to sample at 20 MHz or more, so we recommended the CompuScope [...]