A test was conducted at a gun range located at 14750 Skyline Blvd, Los Gatos, CA 95033, to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting gunfire locations using three GRS units that are not connected by wires. Algorithms of time stamped signal processing were applied to the acquired data, and it was shown that the detection accuracy could be within 1 meter. This test exemplifies the application of GPS time stamping technology.
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Overview
The technology described in this article was successfully used in the Ground Recorder System to achieve a very high measurement of dynamic range for a recent NASA project. This technology is now integrated into the CoCo-80X portable hardware platform by Crystal Instruments.
Click to read: NASA is 'learning to listen to the X-59' by simulating sonic thumps with fighter jets (Image credit: NASA/Carla Thomas)
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We recently republished a classic white paper about dynamic signal analysis.
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I recently created a new PPT to explain how GPS time stamping technology can help conduct dynamic signal measurements for both indoor and outdoor applications. Download a copy.
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After observing all the current projects that CI is working on for NASA, it is evident to me that NASA is seeking groundbreaking ideas that generate benefits for their testing applications. Our commitment to continuous innovation in hardware design, software implementation, and signal processing algorithms allows CI to produce groundbreaking progress in test and measurement instrument technology every day.
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We are pleased to announce that Crystal Instruments has recently acquired Quality Test Services (QTS), an environmental test lab in Huntington Beach, California. QTS was initially founded by Eric Gerlach in early 2006. Prior to QTS, Eric spent many years within the aerospace industry working as a technical lead at Qualmark. Under Eric’s leadership, QTS became a well-known test lab in southern California serving various customers with high-tech environmental testing needs. Jeff Gerlach, Eric’s son, will succeed his father within the business and continue to run the lab as the test lab manager.
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This month, as part of a routine ISO 9001 audit process, we made a slight revision to Crystal Instruments’ “scope of business" statement. It now states:
The design, production, sales and servicing of hardware and software for machine vibration monitoring, dynamic measurement and environmental testing.
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The Ethernet based network structure of Crystal Instruments Spider Systems provides the maximum flexibility and scalability for the configuration of test and measurement instruments in the lab environment. With the implementation of IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP), the same Ethernet connection used for data transmission also provides time clock synchronization. This advanced technology is applied to CI Spider systems, ensuring the possibility of nearly any topology of device and computer connections. In theory, the user will be able to access the test instruments on the network at any time and any distance, with electrical physical limitations as their only limit.
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In the next few days, we will launch the largest software release in Crystal Instruments’ company history: the EDM 7.0 software release. After spending over 10 months in development, including major software restructuring, bug fixes and feature enhancements, we are proud to unveil a grand new look for our EDM software.
In EDM 7.0, users can now run multiple EDM applications in parallel on the same computer. For example, while one EDM instance is activated to run a 64 channel Spider controller, another EDM instance can run in dynamic analyzer mode to acquire real-time data using the Spider-20, while a third instance can be activated to conduct post analysis. Running multiple instances of EDM on one PC will allow users to conduct sophisticated tests with greater efficiency.
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In 2011, many of us read a startling news report of an experiment conducted by CERN claiming that neutrinos appeared to be traveling faster than the speed of light.
The collaboration of the experiment, called OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tracking Apparatus), made headlines with its claim that a beam of neutrinos made the 730-kilometre journey from CERN, Europe's particle-physics lab near Geneva in Switzerland, to the Gran Sasso National Laboratory near L'Aquila, Italy, faster than the speed of light by about 60 nanoseconds. The result defied Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity, which states this cannot happen.
Read MoreI’ve always wondered why some instruments in the market set their hardware input range to 10 V. Perhaps the hardware designer for these instruments possessed ten fingers and chose 10 V out of convenience. I can imagine their bosses eagerly approving the use of 10 V as well, because they too have ten fingers!
Read MoreI recently received a returned CoCo-80 unit from a customer located in India. This customer decided to upgrade their unit to the newer CoCo-80X model. The returned CoCo-80 unit was manufactured and shipped in 2007. This particular unit that was returned to us was the 26th CoCo-80 unit that Crystal Instruments produced.
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