conference review, ISLAR / Sensors Expo
david allen
ISLAR (International Symposium on Laboratory Automation and
Robotics)conference in Boston, MA
There were many interesting presentations and discussion groups at the
conference. while most centered around high throughput screening, a
number were concerned with using Visual Basic/Easylab and applying new
technology.
Zymark presented few new features this year. Perhaps the biggest news
is the revision of the Zymark Operating System to 2.5. IT'S GREAT.
exactly what we've been asking about for the last 3 years. windows
based, interactive editing, tree type branching through program
modules, full DDE compliant, a decent scheduler (not interactive, but
still useful), multiple dictionaries open at once, cut and paste from
_different_ dictionaries, runs as a native application under Win'95
and WinNT (16 bit except for security parts under NT which must be 32
bit). This single upgrade should increase productivity of program
writing by at least a factor of 3. it's definitely a must have.
Sensor Expo in Phila., PA
Sensors Expo was held in Philadelphia 10/22-24/96. while most of the
vendors exhibiting had component level products and were oriented to
plant applications, several have products that might be useful in the
lab. most impressive were the network based data acquisition
products. these are A/D converters that connect to a variety of
networks (including ethernet), have their own network address (could
be accessed over the internet if needed) and come with drivers that
make interfacing very simple. Basically, these products will allow
ANY analog or digital signal to be accessed over a network by almost
any data acquisition system. the signal could come from a
chromatograph, temperature probe, balance, light sensor, or any other
system that can be recorded.
da
Copyright, Dr. D.R. Allen, D.Chem., 1996. Microsoft Network is
prohibited from redistributing this work in any form, in whole or
in part. License to distribute this post is available to Microsoft
for $1,000. Appearance constitutes an agreement to these
terms. Please send notices of violation to Postm...@microsoft.com
and all...@pt.cyanamid.com
Jim Trocki
> make interfacing very simple. Basically, these products will allow
> ANY analog or digital signal to be accessed over a network by almost
> any data acquisition system. the signal could come from a
> chromatograph, temperature probe, balance, light sensor, or any other
> system that can be recorded.
What is the size of one of these ADCs, what is the cost, and where can
I get more information on them? We might have several uses for such an
item. This sounds like it might be the all-in-one package we might
need to do some remote monitoring of things like temperature in
network hub closets, etc.
Jim Trocki
david allen
In article <slrn573r42....@rudie.pt.cyanamid.com>,
they're 1.3" X 1.1" crossection and 6.7" long with a 2' pigtail terminating
in the appropriate connector. there's a serial connector and status LED's on
the end with the pigtail and a terminal block on the other end. I think the
salesman said around $600 ea, depending on options like RAM and resolution of
the ADC. they're made by Keithley and called SmartLink modules. Keithley's
phone is 216-248-6168 and they have a website at www.keithley.com.
I have a flyer if you want to see one. G214 or ext 3206.
If you have access to a serial port (232 or 485), DGH has some small A/D pucks
that are about 1/2 the price. they don't have an ethernet interface (coming
in '97), but I've used them before and they're real easy to work with.