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We would like to wish you a peaceful holiday season and a prosperous new year in 2002.Amalgamated Instrument Co Pty Ltd will close at the end of trading on Friday, December 21st 2001 and reopen on Monday, January 7th 2002. |
May I appeal for some interesting applications or "war stories" please. We are asked about products for many and varied applications and I am sure we would all like to hear about the creative uses the AIC products are put to.
We have sent this newsletter to people who have asked to receive it through the request form on our website or whose e-mail addresses we have received as a result of the registration of our CD-ROM or other sales inquiries.
If you do not wish to receive any further issues of the AIC newsletter, please let us know and we will remove you from the subscriber list. Please send an e-mail to maillist@aicpl.com.au and include "Remove" in the subject line. I will respond with an acknowledgement e-mail and remove you from the list.
Perhaps you know of colleagues who would like to receive our newsletter. Please send an e-mail to maillist@aicpl.com.au and include their e-mail address.
Peter Rienits
Editor
| Question I want to use the power supply in the PM4 Panel meter to power my 4-20mA transducer. Can I do that? Answer Yes, with a couple of restrictions. The PM4 range of panel meters offer an unregulated 18VDC transmitter supply on AC powered instruments only. The current is limited to 20mA maximum . Many of the PM4 range have an option of an isolated 24VDC (±12VDC) supply. This, too, is limited to 20mA maximum current. |
| Question What is the maximum length for the cable on a pH electrode? Answer We recommend a maximum of 10m. Because of the very low level voltage generated by the pH electrode and the high impedance, the cabling is prone to picking up electrical noise. AIC uses special high quality cable with a special "anti-microphonic" layer to minimise this interference. If it is necessary to run longer cables, we suggest the use of a unity gain amplifier. AIC offers such an amplifier - Model Number: PHAMP-A30-BRK-1 or PHAMP-A30-ENC-2 (amplifier in IP65 field mount enclosure). |
| Question My pH meter shows a reading of 7 all the time. I've tried recalibration but nothing seems to work! Answer A constant reading of 7 is indicative of a short circuit across the electrode or the connections to the instrumentation. One possibility is that the "anti-microphonic" layer in the electrode cable is shorting to the centre conductor. Please refer to our Application Note - Electrode Cable - for details on terminating the cable on a pH or ORP (Redox) electrode. |
| Question I want to connect up more than one load cell in parallel to my panel mount weight indicator. Are there any problems? Answer You must be aware of some restrictions. Firstly, the excitation voltage from the instrumentation needs to be set at 5VDC. Secondly, the impedance of the loadcell combination must not be below 75 Ohms. Most load cells are 350 Ohm impedance but they must be carefully checked and the combination carefully calculated. |
| Question I cannot scale the low and high outputs on the analog retransmission of my PM4 Panel Meter! Answer Several of the PM4 range offer a Proportional/Integral (PI) control option for the analog retransmission where this option is installed. In the function table there is a function called "rec ctrl". This controls the mode of the analog retransmission operation. If it is set to "on", the analog retransmission is in PI mode and the instrument will not show the functions to set the high and low retransmission values. If "rec ctrl" is set to "off", the functions for high and low are available and the functions for PI control are suppressed. Put the instrument into "CAL" mode, enter "FUNC" mode then scroll through to "rec ctrl". Make sure it is set to "off". Press the "F" key to accept the change then leave "FUNC" mode. Reenter "FUNC" mode and the high and low setting functions will be available. |
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The KPSI range of submersible transducers is design for maximum toughness with responsiveness and accuracy. AIC carries several "stock" pressure ranges and others are available to order. The wetted materials are 316 Stainless Steel with the diaphragm welded to the body. This construction offers superb performance in all but the harshest of conditions. The output of the transducer is an analog 4-20mA signal and it requires a 9-20VDC loop voltage. This means that these transducers are compatible with AIC's range of displays and would not require a separate power supply. Optional accessories include surge/lightning protection and different nose caps. |
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A submersible pressure transducer needs to have a vent to the open air. This is usually by way of a vent tube in the cable. There is the problem of moisture entering this vent and damaging the sensing element. KPSI approaches this problem by supplying a replaceable desiccant cartridge with each transducer. This cartridge, filled with silica gel, absorbs any moisture before it reaches the sensing element. The gel changes colour when it has absorbed as much moisture as it can and provides a prompt to replace the cartridge. There may be situations where the cartridge cannot be easily accessed. For these situations, because of remote locations ot tight installations, KPSI have a aneroid bellows pressure compensator as an option. This bellows is installed in place of the desiccant cartridge. The bellows seals the vent tube from the entry of moisture but still allows changes in outside air pressure to be transmitted to the sensing element. |
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A brochure on the KPSI range of transducers is available
here A brochure on the options for the KPSI transducer range is available here |
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