Pico Technology

1.  New Educational Product — Magnetic Induction Kit

One of the most popular science experiments on our web site looks at magnetic induction. We are pleased to announce that we now sell a complete kit of apparatus and instructions to carry out investigations into Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction.

The kit works with all our oscilloscope products and also the DrDAQ data logger. It comes complete with cable, magnet and instructions and is priced at £34.95 GBP (approx $58 USD, €50 EUR).

More information can be found on the Pico education website .

2.  Linux Programming Course Uses DrDAQ

iCanProgram Inc. offer several online Linux programming courses.No fee is required for taking part, instead they ask for a donation to your local cancer research charity.

A new course is now available based around the DrDAQ data logger. If you are interested in developing your Linux programming skills you can find more details at: www.icanprogram.com

3.  Three Peaks Challenge — Update

Congratulations to the climbers and drivers from Pico who took part in the "Three Peaks Challenge". This involved climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales all within 24hrs.

The mountains and their heights are Snowdon (3560ft / 1085m), Ben Nevis (4406 ft / 1343m) and Scarfell Pike (3162ft / 964m).

Five of the climbers completed the challenge within the 24 hours allowed, the fastest time being 18 hours and nine minutes. Sponsorship is still being collected, but they have already raised a considerable sum for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.

4.  Technical Tip — Measuring Secondary Ignition Waveforms

A number of automotive users have asked about optimising the oscilloscope settings for measuring secondary ignition waveforms and in particular ensuring that peak kV is measured correctly.

Ignition waveforms can be difficult to capture as the event occurs over a relatively long period of time, yet contains a spike (plug kV) of very short duration. This combination requires both a high sampling rate and a large buffer memory.

The first step is to ensure you are using PicoScope R5.09.4 or later (in PicoScope select Help | About to check the release number). If you need to upgrade, this can be done free of charge from the web site. Downloading the standard version of PicoScope will not remove the automotive features from the automotive software.

Most users will start from the Automotive drop down menu - this gives an acceptable waveform in most cases. If however you lengthen the timebase to view multiple ignition waveforms, then the peak kV spikes may not be displayed reliably. This problem can be solved by increasing the number of samples captured. To do this select Setting | Options and click on the "Advanced" button. Next change the maximum number of samples to 32,000 for the ADC-212/3. Click on OK twice to complete the changes.

To save the settings for future use, either select File | Save Settings, or save a reference waveform using File | Save As.

5.  New Science Experiments

Our library of science experiments for data loggers and oscilloscopes continues to grow.

"Experiments with a Thermoelectric Generator" is a new physics experiment that demonstrates how heat energy can be transformed into electrical energy.

6.  Exhibitions and Training Dates

We have started compiling a list of exhibitions, seminars and training days which will feature our products. This will be expanded in the coming months as we add in information supplied by our distributors.

15th - 16th October 2003
Automotive Training Course - Leeds, UK

29th October - 2nd November 2003
Industry 2003 - Athens, Greece

4th - 7th November 2003
AAPEX (Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo) - Las Vegas, USA

14th - 17th November 2003
Electronika 2003 - Athens, Greece
Pico will be represented on the Advantech Stand (A-51)

7.  Employment Opportunities

Pico Technology currently have a vacancy for the following position:-

• Technical Author

More information can be found in the employment section.

8.  Latest Software Releases

As soon as we release new software, it is made available for FREE download from our web site. To check which version you are using, start the software (PicoScope, PicoLog or EnviroMon) and select HELP | ABOUT.

The current releases are:

• PicoScope R5.09-6 (16bit: R5.09-5)
• PicoLog R5.09-6 (16bit: R5.09-5)
• EnviroMon R5.09-6 (16bit: R5.09-5)
• Drivers R5.09-6

To download the latest software please visit the software downloads page

(Note : the above web page also contains a link to our 'what's new' page which describes recent changes and additions to the software).

9.  Back Issues of this Newsletter

Back issues of this newsletter are now available online at http://www.picotech.com/maillist.html

10.  Subscribe / unsubscribe information

This e-mail list is an 'opt in' mailing list. Names are only added by request. Pico Technology will not pass your name on to any third party.

• To join Email mailing list send an email to mailist@picotech.co.uk with 'join mail list' as subject
• To leave Email mailing list send an email to mailist@picotech.co.uk with 'leave mail list' as subject
• Recommend this newsletter to a friend

Contact details

Pico Technology Limited
The Mill House
Cambridge Street
St Neots
PE19 1QB
UK

< Newsletter archive