Top 10 Measurement Expert Posts in 2017

2017 is drawing to a close, and we at the Measurement Expert blog appreciate the time you’ve spent with us this year. You visited this blog more than 165,000 times this year, with more than 19,000 views on the most popular post. So, thanks for coming by!

The numbers tell us what you, our readers, want to read about. So let’s take a look at your favorite topics from this past year.

Ladies and gentlemen, here are your Top 10 Measurement Expert posts in 2017:

1. 1. The Art of the Stilling Well: For both contact and non-contact methods of liquid level measurement, surface disruption can cause problems. Stilling wells are a great way to dampen disruptions, and provide a clean target surface for an accurate measurement.

1. 1. 4 Critical Tips For Eliminating Electrical Noise: Electrical noise, also known as electromagnetic interference, can destroy a clean signal from your measurement instrumentation (such as level sensors and pressure transducers). Protecting your sensors from electrical noise is a top priority. Luckily, this is a fairly simple task in most cases.

1. 1. Radar and Ultrasonic Sensors: There is a tendency, at least in the industrial media, to put Ultrasonic and Radar level measurement technology in the same hat. Even though many people use the terms interchangeably, the two technologies are quite different. So, at the risk of sounding a bit nit-picky, we feel that defining the differences is important, as it affects how sensors are selected and applied.

1. 1. What is a Strapping Chart? When volume is a concern, your tank might just come with a strapping chart. This chart tells you what volume you have at what levels. For example, at 5 inches, you may have 5 gallons, and at 8.5 inches, you might have 10 gallons.

1. 1. The Easiest Way To Setup & Install Cable Suspended Float Switches: Controlling pumps with your standard cable suspended float switch is honestly a pain in the neck. You’ll need at least two of them to get the job done, with a controller that handles all the logic. You have to tie them to some conduit to keep them from getting tangled. And the failure rate isn’t that great either.

1. 1. Ultrasonic Sensors: Range Vs Frequency: Ultrasonic sensors are pretty cool. Transducers send and receive waves, measurements magically get spit out by the sensor, and nothing had to touch anything, right? You can choose sensors based on range, or type of transducer, or even safety ratings. Most sensors declare their range and frequency together, which seems kind of odd. Why is the range of an ultrasonic sensor tied to its frequency? For the answer, we turn again to our old friend, high school physics.

1. 1. Normally Open vs Normally Closed: Deciding whether your float switch needs to be normally open or normally closed for pump control can be a little confusing. So we would like to clear things up. When we say normally open or normally closed, we are referring to an electrical circuit. An open circuit is incomplete, meaning that the electric current is unable to complete the loop due to a gap. A closed circuit is complete with no gaps, enabling the current to travel through the whole loop.

1. 1. Modbus RTU vs Modbus TCP/IP: The specific way data is packaged and transmitted is known as a communication protocol. Fieldbus is a type of communication protocol that allows networking industrial devices, such as pressure transducers and level sensors to a PLC. Modbus is a popular fieldbus that allows a lot of data to be transferred, and supports two-way communication for remote operation (such as device programming and set-up).

1. 1. How To Use A Multimeter To Troubleshoot Your Sensor: You’re having problems with the signal from your sensor. Maybe it only works occasionally, maybe there’s too much noise to establish a strong connection, or maybe you just don’t know what is wrong. Grab your multimeter, and let’s see what we can figure out. What’s that? You’re not sure what a multimeter is, or how to use it? Let’s take a quick look then. After all, we’ve got a sensor to troubleshoot.

And, the most popular Measurement Expert post in 2017:

1. What’s the difference between regulated and unregulated power supplies? In a general sense, a power supply is any device that supplies energy (power!) to an electrical circuit. Taken this way, batteries are power supplies for flashlights and power plants are power supplies for the electrical grid. But that’s not usually what we have in mind when we talk about power supplies. Usually, we use “power supply” to indicate a circuit or a device that adapts available power to the specific needs of one device or a set of similar devices.

Thanks for reading, everyone!