New YouTube Video Series from United Electronic Industries

Author - Laura Biddiscombe 

Now United Electronic Industries (UEI) has made it even easier to stay up-to-date with what they are up to, with regular vNews updates on their YouTube channel.

Each video will feature form factor and deployment options, applications, programming, screencasts, product releases, and hands-on demos. The new YouTube video series starts with a solutions overview, and will continue with updates in applications and programming.

Not only that, the new QuickTakes series features brief, fun, "selfie-style" how-tos and application demonstrations by UEI engineers — sure to inspire your thinking about application possibilities.

Here are the first QuickTakes in the series:

• How to control an aircraft throttle using UEI RVDT synchro board and display results via web browser
• How to take vibration measurements using the UEI spectrum analyzer and the ICP/IEPE board from UEI
• Real-time control using embedded Linux and a UEI programmable automation controller

For more information about products and solutions from UEI please contact Sarsen Technology by email - info@sarsen.net or give us a call on +44 1672 511166.

The Big Sarsen Question - Why Are Our Processes So Important?

Process. The death knell of creativity and spontaneity. 

Or is it?

It’s easy to balk against the idea of following processes, because frankly, some processes can be a pain in the neck.
Some processes command that you go through several steps to achieve a result. Some can be repetitive or time-consuming. Some don’t allow you to deal with a particular situation as quickly as you possibly can, or in the best interests of your customer.

In all these cases there is a temptation to act ‘outside the box’, to simply fix the problem in the easiest way possible. But process doesn’t need to be inflexible— changes can occur in what the customer wants or needs, in new tools being integrated, such as databases or reporting facilities, or in what you are selling and how you want to sell it.

However, processes are hugely important to the smooth running of any business. Without them our day to day tasks would be chaotic. And although one part of a process may seem like a waste of time to you, that little part may be of huge importance to someone else further down the line.

There are a huge number of benefits to having a good set of procedures -

• Processes save time – by developing a certain amount of repetitive elements you tend to remember the routine.
• Processes reduce errors – by allowing you to consistently improve small packets of work, or even automating parts of it.
• Processes make it easy to hand off work to others – by creating a roadmap and instructions for others to follow. The task may need to be performed by different people at different times, and unless the individual steps are documented, there is every chance that Jo will perform the task differently to Jim, who in turn will do it differently from you. It can also encourage teamwork, by allowing your colleagues to help you if you're busy.

So I guess the answer to the question is simple.

Processes here at Sarsen are super important, because they are the link between what we do and how we do it. And we want to do it well.
Our processes mean our customers know they can expect the same level of service and support from every single member of our team. They help us to standardise our day to day operation as much as possible, improve our services, and achieve greater understanding and co-operation amongst our staff.

But who doesn't want to bend the rules once in a while....

It's Medical March!

So we've had Green January and Financial February.... Now it's Medical March! We'll be bringing you all the coolest tech available from Sarsen, as well as application stories and innovations from this market sector.

Pretty exciting stuff I know!

Many of our manufacturers have products that are specifically designed with medical applications in mind. There are many factors that designers need to take into consideration when designing an embedded system for medical use, and one of the most important is long term availability. Once a product is designed in, and has undergone rigorous testing and approval processes, it could be in production or need support for upwards of 10 years.

 

VersaLogic Corp design a range of embedded computer products with guaranteed long term availability, as well as offering product life-cycle management to help eliminate product redesigns.

The Falcon EPU module from VersaLogic is an extremely small and rugged embedded computer, which been engineered and tested to meet the Medical industrys evolving requirements to develop smaller, lighter, and lower power embedded systems while adhering to stringent regulatory standards.

It's one of the smallest boards on the market, around the size of a credit card, and it's less than 1" thick so it is a great option for space constrained high reliability applications in the medical sector.

VL-EPU-2610 'Falcon' from VersaLogic

For more information get in touch with the sales team here at Sarsen. You can call the office on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email - info@sarsen.net.

Something lovely in the post this week!

As a reflection of the Sarsen Teams’ hard work in promoting their 5 newest boards VersaLogic have gifted us some delicious Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir. Their Pinot noir bottlings are frequently awarded "Outstanding" scores from the Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate critics, so I’m sure it will pass the taste test with our educated palates!

Thanks to VersaLogic for our lovely wine!

A Little Bit of History
Established in 1987, Domaine Drouhin Oregon is owned by famed Burgundy producer, Maison Joseph Drouhin. Hand-crafted by fourth generation winemaker, Veronique Drouhin-Boss, the distinctive Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of Domaine Drouhin are prized for their elegance, balance and finesse, as well as their ability to age. Ninety acres of the 225-acre estate are now planted, with over 3100 vines per acre.

VersaLogic manufacture a range of rugged industrial computers, designed for embedded applications across a variety of markets.
The latest boards cover the complete form factor range available from VersaLogic.
Tiger – VL-EPM-24 – PC/104 with Intel Atom Z5xx processor
Iguana – VL-EPIC-25 – EPIC with Intel Atom D525 or D425 processor
Copperhead – VL-EBX-41 – EBX with Intel Core i7 processor (quad or dual core)
Newt – VL-EPIC-17 – EPIC with Vortex86DX processor
Falcon – VL-EPU-2610 – EPU, based on COM Express Mini, with Atom E6*0T processor

For more information please give us a call on +44 1672 511166 or drop us an email.

Sarsen Gearing Up for UEI Visit Next Week!

On a scale from 1 to Rebecca Black, how excited are you that it's Friday??

We are especially excited, as we have Rick Van Nostrand from United Electronic Industries over next week and we're taking him to see some of our most interesting customers.

UEI is a versatile product line, with application possibilities ranging from automotive testing to power plant monitoring, all the way through to ULV control and vehicle simulators. This means we get to speak to a wide variety of companies, and get involved in some truly diverse projects!

With some brand new opportunities to discuss, and new people to meet, next week is going to be a busy one. If you have an application that you think would benefit from learning a little more about the UEI range of data acquisition and logging products please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email.

Have a great weekend!

Putting the spotlight on Danville Signal Processing

Danville Signal Processing, Inc. was founded in 1998 to manufacture products for the communication, audio, military and instrumentation markets using digital signal processing (DSP) technology as their core technology base. Sarsen Technology has represented Danville in the UK for over 10 years.

Solutions include:

• COTS DSP Boards and I/O Modules
• Embedded PCB assemblies
• DSP and FPGA combination solutions
• Standalone products
• Rack mount systems
• Custom board solutions

The dspblok family of products combine an Analog Devices SHARC DSP with the supporting circuits necessary to implement a powerful DSP Function Module.

Danville Signal's dspstak™ Engines are available for the latest Analog Devices SHARC® family processors. These modules generally consist of a DSP Processor, memory, power supplies and standard digital I/O such as RS-232 and USB.

The dsprak™ high performance audio platform is a semi-custom solution for OEMs. The basic 1U system supports 2 to 8 analog and digital inputs and 8 analog and digital outputs. Additional motherboards can be stacked to create larger systems with up to 32 channels.

Danville have also have gathered a number of DSP resources, ADI data sheets and application notes, DSP-related web sites and online tutorials to assist you in your DSP applications. They will continue to add information and resources to their website, to assist developers in gaining the DSP knowledge necessary to make their designs better, faster and more reliable.

Their goal is to become a repository of SHARC Related Resources and Reference Material for the DSP Developer. If you have a DSP trick, SHARC-related Article or Web Site that you'd like to add to Danville's reference library, please contact us and we will be happy to add it to the collection.

If you have any questions about Danville, or any of our other product lines, please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email.

The Twelve Days of Christmas. Sarsen Style.

Today is the twelfth of the twelfth of the twelfth. So we're carrying on the theme and bringing you the Twelve Days of Christmas, in our own special way.

(Feel free to join in....)

On the first day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

A BittWare Anemone

On the second day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the third day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the fourth day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the fifth day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the sixth day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Six RACKtangle chassis

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

Well done guys, half way through....

On the seventh day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Seven Half-length Stratix V boards,

Six RACKtangle chassis

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the eighth day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Eight Amazon Streamstors,

Seven Half-length Stratix V boards,

Six RACKtangle chassis

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the ninth day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Nine Tech Source Condors

Eight Amazon Streamstors,

Seven Half-length Stratix V boards,

Six RACKtangle chassis

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the tenth day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Ten General Standards boards,

Nine Tech Source Condors

Eight Amazon Streamstors,

Seven Half-length Stratix V boards,

Six RACKtangle chassis

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

Nearly there, keep going!

On the eleventh day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Eleven Iguanas,

Ten General Standards boards,

Nine Tech Source Condors

Eight Amazon Streamstors,

Seven Half-length Stratix V boards,

Six RACKtangle chassis

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone

On the twelfth day of Christmas,

Sarsen sent to me

Twelve Trenton Backplanes,

Eleven Iguanas,

Ten General Standards boards,

Nine Tech Source Condors

Eight Amazon Streamstors,

Seven Half-length Stratix V boards,

Six RACKtangle chassis

Five Copperheads,

Four dspBloks

Three Cisco Routers,

Two UEI Cubes

And a BittWare Anemone!

Hurrah! Next up, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.......

Sarsen Technology Manufacturer Profile - Tech Source, Inc.

Established in 1987, Tech Source has been a pioneer in high performance computer graphics hardware solutions for 25 years.

The company has evolved over the years, now serving several markets that include Air Traffic Control/Management (ATC/ATM), avionics, military and embedded systems with several COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) and custom products.
The product range includes graphics, imaging and video capture boards, H.264 encoders and high compression video recorders.

From designing graphics processing units (GPUs) and high compression encoders to FPGA targeted special graphics/imaging algorithms the company has a broad range of knowledge and offers product customizations and new product delivery in a matter of months.

Tech Source XMC and PMC graphics products can be used with most Single Board Computers (SBCs) in various form factors such as VME, CPCI, and ATCA that are most often found in military and defense applications.

The Tech Source Condor series of embedded products for Mil/Aero applications consists of high performance COTS XMC or VPX form factor graphics and video solutions. Air or rugged conduction cooled variants offer Open GL/3D, H.264, video windowing plus GPGPU capabilities. Linux, Windows and RTOS drivers are supported. A key product is the Condor 3000x which is based on the AMD Radeon 6760 GPU and offers exceptional performance with immersive desktop-level 3D graphics and outstanding multimedia features.

For more information on Tech Source or any of our other manufacturers please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or email us.

www.sarsen.net

Military Simulator Technology from UEI

When someone says “Simulator” most people immediately think “Flight Simulator”.

However, simulators are now also used to train ‘drivers’ on fire trucks, tanks, military ground vehicles and even conventional and nuclear power plants. Military trainers in particular are basing much of their driver training on very complex and realistic simulators.

The simulator can provide a realistic experience of driving a tank, personnel carrier, or MRAP in a convoy at night while under attack. These are very real conditions that are very difficult to train for in actual vehicles. The combination of small footprint and real-time update speed make the United Electronic Industries (UEI) RACKtangle an ideal ground vehicle simulator solution.

Interestingly, UEI’s wide selection of I/O capabilities is often more critical in ground simulators than flight. In addition to the standard analog and digital I/O, most military ground simulators also require a combination of serial, CAN, ARINC-429 and/or MIL-STD-1553. UEI offer support for all these functions through their range of boards and chassis.

The UEI RACKtangle I/O chassis has been selected by FlightSafety International as the computer-based I/O hardware for future flight simulators. The UEI system provides the interface between the controlling computers and the simulator’s various systems including Avionics Instrument Control (AIC), Control Loading and Motion (CLM) and Flight Deck I/O (FDK). In PowerDNA mode the system can be almost arbitrarily large - UEI have been used on military aircraft flight simulators requiring greater than 7000 I/O points!!

For more information on how UEI can work in your simulator application, please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email with your requirements.

SUMIT - I/O Expansion Module Development Made Easier....

Stackable Unified Module Interconnect Technology (SUMIT ™) is a stackable, form-factor independent expansion format that includes both high and low speed bus signals. The SUMIT spec is targeted for products using state-of-the-art serial buses and legacy chipset expansion buses all in the same form factor.

The specification is an I/O-centric approach, which defines the connector and stacking method, but it doesn’t address the specific location requirements for the connectors on any specific form factor boards. Only the location (placement) of one connector relative to the other is specified, to ensure proper routing of signals that are passed from one connector to another as they continue up the stack.

A SUMIT stack is designed to be processor independent, as it focuses on bus and interconnect technology rather than any single processor or DSP architecture. Two connectors are used on each module, SUMIT A and SUMIT B. These connectors carry multiple high-speed serial PCIe and USB 2.0 buses and include Low Pin Count (LPC), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), and SMBus/I2C for legacy requirements. While the optional SUMIT B connector carries mostly PCIe interfaces, the SUMIT A connector carries a single x1 PCIe and four USB 2.0 buses, as well as the legacy interfaces.

With no hardware configuration needed to route multiple interfaces, SUMIT gives designers a solution for creating embedded expansion modules that require high-speed interfaces as well as legacy support.

VersaLogic's EBX, EPIC and PC/104 SUMIT platforms are combined with an optional ISA connector to support legacy PC/104 expansion modules. The signals available on VersaLogic's CPU boards include PCI Express lanes, low speed signals such as LPC and SPI, and legacy USB and ISA signals. VersaLogic currently offer 3 SBCs featuring optional SUMIT expansion –

• Komodo - A dual core SBC on a SUMIT-EPIC™ platform. The Komodo features a very high performance Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and high performance integrated video.


• Ocelot - An Intel Atom™ based embedded computer in a SUMIT-104 format. The Ocelot uses an industrial temperature Atom version to provide high performance (1.6 GHz) at very low power (7 Watts). The Ocelot, at only 90 mm x 96 mm, is compatible with most SUMIT and PC/104 expansion boards, and is available in both standard (0º to +60ºC) and extended (-40º to +85ºC) temperature versions.


• 'Brand New' Copperhead - The Copperhead is a high-performance embedded computer powered by a 3rd Generation Intel Core i7 processor. Based on the industry-standard EBX format, the Copperhead is available in either quad- or dual-core models (17 to 45W power dissipation). It features several heat management configurations and offers options for I/O interfaces and interface connectors.

VersaLogic Komodo

For more information please give us a call on +44 1672 511166 or drop me an email and we'll answer any questions you might have.

.

Whats new? Intel Core i7 and Freescale based Embedded SBCs from Extreme Engineering!

In the last 3 months, Extreme Engineering has released a host of brand new boards. From COMe to VPX, they offer solutions for a variety of applications.
 
The XPand6104 is a natural convection cooled small form factor system supporting the XPedite7450 Intel® Core™ i7 processor rugged COM Express module. An Ethernet port, two serial ports, a USB port, graphics port, and a SATA port from the XPedite7450 are brought out to standard commercial connectors on the front panel.

XPand6104

The XCalibur4440 is a high-performance, 6U VPX, multiprocessing, single board computer that is ideal for ruggedized systems requiring high bandwidth processing and low power consumption. Supporting 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7 processors and 3rd generation Intel Core i7 processors the XCalibur4440 delivers enhanced performance and efficiency for today's network information processing and embedded computing applications.

XCalibur4440

The XPedite5650 is a ruggedized COM Express mini module (55 mm x 84 mm) that supports an enhanced Type 10 pinout. With four PowerPC e500mc cores running at up to 1.5 GHz, the P2041 delivers enhanced performance and efficiency for today's network information processing and other embedded computing applications. There are plenty of I/O ports, including one copper Gigabit Ethernet port, a single x2 PCIe port, two x1 PCIe ports, two USB 2.0 ports and two SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports.

XPedite5650

The XCalibur4402 is a high-performance, 6U CompactPCI, multiprocessing, single board computer, supporting Supports 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7 processors and 3rd generation Intel Core i7 processors. The XCalibur4402 provides up to 16 GB of DDR3-1600 ECC SDRAM in two channels, two PrPMC/PrXMC slots, 32 MB of NOR flash, and up to 128 GB of NAND flash. 

XCalibur4402

X-ES offers the widest range of commercial and ruggedized 3rd Gen Intel Core i7 processor solutions for embedded applications. As the UK distributor for X-ES we can help with any questions you may have.

Please give us a call on +44 1672 511166 to discuss your application, or email us!

Tech Source in New Deal with RunTime, A Sarsen Facelift, and a Birthday!

Today is Tims' birthday.  

No, we aren't going to mention ages! Happy birthday Tim.

This week Tech Source have announced their new partnership with RunTime Computing Solutions to accelerate GPGPU (general purpose graphics processing unit) development on its Condor 3000 XMC video graphics cards. This will make it much easier for customers using Tech Source boards to develop high performance GPGPU applications in the OpenCL world. For more info please contact us.

The Sarsen Technology LinkedIn page has had a bit of a facelift. Follow our page to keep up to date with new products and news from the team.

 

Remember Remember.......

Sandwiched in between the festivities of Hallowe'en and Christmas is Bonfire Night. A time to remember the Gunpowder plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes was caught guarding explosives hidden under the House of Lords, in an attempt to assassinate King James I of England.

Fireworks date back to 7th century China, where they were invented. Also known as ‘Explosive Pyrotechnics’, fireworks are actually designed not to explode. To give a good visual show the ingredients need to burn slowly, in order to produce the colours and sparkles found in today’s displays. You learn something new every day! 

But don't forget, while that Youtube video of the guy shooting fireworks from various parts of his body is really funny, fireworks are dangerous, so be safe this weekend.

While the boss is away......

The boss has gone away, and left us to fend for ourselves for a week. 

Time to sit back, watch some virals on YouTube, drink copious amounts of tea and generally relax. 
Right?

Wrong.

It’s easy to feel a bit inattentive when the boss is away, but we don't have time to put our feet up - this week is another busy one for Sarsen. We have quotes to send out, customers to visit and new enquiries to follow up. It’s also a good time to start looking at 2013, with marketing plans to be drawn up, and exhibitions schedules to look at. 
 

And speaking of exhibitions, the next one on the Sarsen calendar is the Advanced Engineering UK Show on 7th /8th November at the NEC in Birmingham. Tim Norris will be representing Sarsen Technology at the show, if you would like to meet up with him to discuss a new project, or one of our products in particular, please drop us a line.

Oh. And FYI, there are only 8 weekends left before Christmas!!

Automotive Test and Measurement from Sarsen Technology Ltd

Automotive Testing.

It’s a pretty broad spectrum, covering everything from prototyping through to stress measurement, dynamometer testing and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) data logging.

With the UK Automotive industry enjoying a resurgence over the last year, it’s more important than ever to provide customers with the latest, most reliable technology for all their testing needs.

Here at Sarsen, we represent a number of US based manufacturers with a host of products designed with the Automotive Test and Measurement industry in mind.

United Electronic Industries (UEI) is a leader in the PC/Ethernet data acquisition and control, Data Logger/Recorder and Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) and Modbus TCP markets. Their Cube and RACKtangle chassis can be configured in 5 different ways, to maximise potential usage. They will function as I/O slaves under control of a host PC, may be run as fully standalone data loggers or embedded controllers, or can be run as a hybrid, running applications locally, but taking direction from, or sharing data with a host PC on the network.

Deployment options –

• Ethernet I/O – PowerDNA
• HIL
• ULV control
• VME replacement
• Embedded control – UEIPAC
• Dynamometer control
• Prototype/production test
• Battery testing
• Data logger – UELogger
• NVH
• CAN/ECU logging
• Vehicle Health monitoring
• Simulink I/O – UEISIM
• Model verification
• Rapid prototyping
• HIL testing
• Modbus TCP I/O – UEIModbus
• Controller modernization
• Production test
• PLC Augmentation

VersaLogic Corp has recently released the Falcon EPU - a complete embedded computer in an extremely small/rugged format. The Falcon runs on an Intel Atom E6x0T processor, giving 1.6 GHz performance with low power consumption. 
Roughly the size of a credit card and less than one inch thick, the Falcon is designed to withstand extreme temperature, impact, and vibration. A wide input voltage range of 8 to 17 volts (12V typ.) simplifies system power supply requirements, meaning it is fully compatible with 12V automotive applications. The Falcon is a great choice for all kinds of requirements -  

Rugged HMI and Control 
Robotic Systems

Mobile Fixed Function 

Security / Surveillance 

Predictive Maintenance

 

 

 

If you would like any more info, please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or email us - info@sarsen.net