Sarsen Technology Christmas Bake Off - The Results!

Once again the Sarsen Technology team has been putting their artistic and creative skills to the test, this time with the Christmas staple, the chocolate Yule Log. Baking experience varies throughout the team, but everyone had a go and the results were quite spectacular.

We asked our friends at Sema4 to judge, and they assured us they were well versed in extreme cake eating, which was great news as there were 5 completely different offerings to taste.

Christos - Chocolate salami with cognac and dark chocolate
Lynn - Chocolate log with peppermint cream and gingerbread figures
Laura - Chocolate log with spiced rum and ginger buttercream
Nigel - Chocolate log with glace fruits and chocolate ganache icing
Angela - Well, we'll come to Angela later.

L-R: Lynn, Christos, Nigel & Laura (bottom)

Judged by James and Tony from Sema4, (or Mary and Paul as we like to call them) who took their roles very seriously, there were 3 awards to be won. Master of Flavours, for the person who made the most delicious cake, Expert Cake Decorator, for they who made their log look the most beautiful, and the Overall Winner, given to the person who combined both good looks and taste.

Our expert judges - Tony and James from Sema4

There was some debate between the judges about which log deserved the Master of Flavours accolade, it was a close call for Laura's boozy spiced rum filling but in the end Christos was victorious, with his traditional Greek Mosaiko, or chocolate salami. Filled with delicious biscuits and twice as much cognac as the recipe demanded, Christos knew he was on to a winner before the judging even started.

Lynn's beautifully decorated log, complete with holly and gingerbread animals took the Expert Cake Decorator award. The time and effort put into the finished cake was clear to see and the prize was well deserved.

Considering Nigel has never really baked before, his log was really tasty, even if Tony thought the icing looked like it was moving!!

Now, the Overall Winner was initially awarded to Angela, based on how beautifully put together and delicious her chocolate log was. I'm sure you'd agree, it would normally be a very worthy winner.

Angela's beautiful cake!

Then the bombshell was dropped that the cake we'd been admiring was actually bought whole, from a shop. Not lovingly baked and decorated by hand as everyone else's was. You can imagine our horror when this was revealed, and so unfortunately the whole thing had to be disqualified. In Angela's defence she did blame her daughter for putting the idea in her head and she was very busy so it's not entirely her fault.

This left the door open for Laura to swoop in and take the Overall Winner title, with the cake that was actually James' favourite from the beginning.

Thank you very much to James and Tony for their expertise today, and for (almost) everyone for putting in such a wonderful effort.

Merry Christmas to all!

A Walk Down Christmas Memory Lane...

There are only 13 sleeps to Santa, and here at Sarsen we do like to celebrate Christmas. This year we have a beautiful tree from Val and the lovely elves at Nature at Work, and Angela has planned a cracker (get it!?) of a Christmas do.

We've done a lot of different things over the last 17 years, from fancy dress parties to burlesque nights, extraordinary gastronomic experiences to cosy pub lunches. There are always plenty of photos/evidence to remember them by and there's normally a silly hat or two involved!

 This year we are taking a trip to Salisbury Plain to see the Great Bustards, which have been reintroduced back into the wild thanks to the hard work of The Great Bustard Group.

We'll be ready for a good feed after spending time in the bird hide, so we're stopping off for a festive feast at The Red Lion in East Chisenbury where all the Secret Santa fun and games will commence!

If you have any photos of your Christmas parties we'd love to see them! Ours will be posted here next Friday for your festive viewing pleasure :)

Best wishes to all friends and colleagues, old and new (especially to those who managed to avoid being in any photos!!).
Thanks for the memories!
Team Sarsen

Conflict Minerals - Our Policy

Conflict minerals are minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, and which are sold or traded by armed groups. This has for some years been a particular problem in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

There are four conflict minerals which are generally defined as cassiterite (tin), coltan (tantalum), wolframite (tungsten) and gold, or derivatives of these minerals. Sometimes these minerals are referred to as the ‘three Ts’ - tin, tantalum and tungsten (and gold).

On an annual basis, we request that the manufacturers we represent provide details of their Conflict Minerals Policy and the procedures they follow to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Conflict Minerals Final Rule documented in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Conflict Minerals Policy for each of the manufacturers we represent is available upon request.

Sarsen Technology has obtained information from our suppliers concerning the origin of the metals that are used in the manufacture of the products we supply and support. Based upon information provided by our suppliers, Sarsen Technology does not knowingly use metals derived from the Conflict Region. If we discover the use of minerals produced in facilities that are considered “non-conflict free”, in any product we procure, Sarsen Technology will take the appropriate action to transition product to be “conflict free”.

Mineral	Image	Description	Major Uses
Cassiterite		Ore from which tin is extracted	Plating and solders for joining pipes and electronic circuits
Coltan (Columbite-tantalite)		Ore from which tantalum is extracted	Electrical components (including those used in mobile phones, computers, videogame consoles), aircraft and surgical components
Gold		Rare metal found in a native (pure) form and obtained as a by-product of other mining operations	Jewellery, electronic, communications and aerospace equipment
Wolframite		Ore from which tungsten is extracted	Metal wires, electrodes and contacts in lighting, electronic, electrical, heating and welding applications

For more information please visit the guidance pages on the UK Government website - www.gov.uk

How VersaLogic's Rugged Computers are Being Used in Security and Surveillance Applications

VersaLogic designs products for use by OEMs in a variety of market applications. Anywhere that the need for superb quality and high-performance embedded computing exists, VersaLogic can provide an effective and robust solution.

More: VersaLogic

Protecting lives and property are at the heart of every security application. And VersaLogic embedded computers are designed into some of the most sophisticated and high profile security equipment used today.

Caught on Camera
A leading supplier of security and surveillance cameras is using VersaLogic single board computers in their ultra-long-range laser illumination cameras. These high performance surveillance systems are protecting airports, borders, ports, waterways and nuclear power plants around the world.

Designed to be rugged and highly reliable, the systems are employed by both the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense. Unlike conventional night vision technologies that rely on moonlight, laser illumination cameras use continuous wave laser illumination, electro-optics and image processing to provide clear pictures in zero light or full daylight.

Using the high performance processing power of the VersaLogic SBC, the surveillance system is capable of producing gray scale video in which words and numbers are legible from a range of up to 3000 meters. The system also provides visibility through rain and other inclement weather. Designed to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations, VersaLogic SBCs are capable of operating smoothly under the harshest environmental conditions.

VersaLogic SBCs for Security Applications

Bengal	Fox	Blackbird
PCIe/104 OneBank format Intel Atom E38xx processor Dual gigabit Ethernet DDR3L RAM (up to 8 GB) USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports Visit Bengal Webpage	PC/104-Plus format DMP Vortex DX2 processor (933 MHz) Dual Fast Ethernet Serial I/O (4 ports) Visit Fox Webpage	COM Express Basic form factor Intel Skylake i7 or i5 processors Dual gigabit Ethernet Onboard TPM chip Visit Blackbird Webpage

Protecting lives and property are at the heart of every security application. And VersaLogic embedded computers are designed into some of the most sophisticated and high profile security equipment used today.

• Rugged solutions for operation in harsh, mobile, and/or remote environments
• SBCs with extensive on-board I/O capabilities help to minimise system size, power, complexity, and expense
• Ultra-high reliability COTS – industry leading manufacturing quality and screening programs
• IoT Ready embedded CPU and processing modules
• Customised boards in quantities as low as 100 units
• Extensive lifecycle support - guaranteed 5-year off-the-shelf availability and formal programs for 10+ year extensions
• US-based manufacturing and support

Every VersaLogic product is designed from the ground up for high reliability, manufactured and tested to the highest quality standards, and backed by world-class service, 5 year warranty, and a 5+ year production life guarantee.

Have You Got The Skills We Need?

WANTED: Sales Engineer / Business Development Manager
SKILLS REQUIRED: 
• Effective written and verbal communications skills
• The desire to take your career to the next stage and flourish in an SME environment
• Degree in Electronic Engineering, Physics, Computer Science or a related field
• FPGA and/or ARM CPU architecture experience an advantage
• The ability to work effectively as part of a small team
• The ability to build long-term and effective relationships with clients quickly
• Strong, proven analytical and problem-solving skills
• Resilience and tenacity
• Energy and drive
• Independent and creative
• A full driving licence
FULL JOB SPEC: Download pdf

Sarsen Technology is a leading distributor of embedded hardware and software solutions, and is proud to be a part of the exciting and diverse technology industry in the UK.

We are looking for a motivated and adaptable Sales Engineer or Business Development Manager to join our friendly team based in Marlborough, UK.

This role is key to the next stage of the development of Sarsen Technology. We are looking for someone with the ambition, skills and drive to work towards a significant leadership role within a well-established technology SME.

The new role is due to business growth across a number of the markets we operate in. In order to support our growth we need to add exceptional people to our fantastic team. We are looking for a dynamic and socially confident Engineer who is able to demonstrate a positive attitude to clients, suppliers and the rest of the Sarsen team.

If you have any questions or would like to apply please send your CV and covering letter to:
Nigel Norman
Managing Director
Sarsen Technology Limited
Tel: 01672 511166
Email: nigel.norman@sarsen.net

In Case You Missed It... DSEI 2017

Sarsen Technology exhibited in the dedicated Security Zone at DSEI 2017, showcasing the some of the worlds highest-performance computing hardware from some of our international manufacturers..

We were joined by Ken Sheth and Tony Barbieri from EIZO Rugged Solutions who were running a very cool interactive GPGPU CUDA demo, based on the new Condor GR3 3U VPX single board computer.

Kerry Howell and Gary Harris from VersaLogic were also with us on the stand and introduced their brand new Ethernet over Fibre mini PCIe module which was very popular. VersaLogic's family of rugged, embedded computers were on display, including a special focus on the modules with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), including the new Raven and Liger boards.

If you stopped by the stand you would have seen a number of 1553 and ARINC boards from Alta Data and a wide range of rugged SBCs from Extreme Engineering, including the XPedite8150 COM Express Module based on the Intel Atom E3800 'Bay Trail' series of processors. We also had a lot of interest in the PCIe boards from BittWare, featuring both Xilinx UltraScale and Intel Arria 10 and Stratix V FPGAs.

If you didn't make it to DSEI this year but you'd like some more info on the technology we were talking about at the event please get in touch - info@sarsen.net

 

DSEI 2017 - EIZO Rugged Solutions Tyton VS2 H.265 Video Encoder Showcase: Stand N7-185

DSEI 2017

28 days to go - are you visiting DSEI 2017? If you are we'd like to invite you to the Sarsen Technology stand, N7-185, where we will be showcasing the some of the worlds highest-performance computing hardware designed for wide range of security sectors, from UAVs and electronic countermeasures to surveillance cameras, secure storage and deep packet inspection.

We are very pleased to be welcoming our partners from EIZO Rugged Solutions, who are pioneers in high performance computer graphics hardware solutions for niche markets. Their Condor XMC/VPX video capture products offer high resolution video capture, both in raw and H.264 formats. AMD and NVIDIA GPUs supporting OpenCL and CUDA are available for GPGPU applications.


Tyton VS2 Rugged H.265 Video Encoding and Streaming Solution

Tyton VS2 from EIZO Rugged Solutions is a powerful H.265 (HEVC) / H.264 (AVC) video encoding and streaming solution that has been designed to serve video transmission needs in extreme field environments. Tyton VS2 is non-intrusive and yet feature rich, offering bypass video outputs, low latency encoding and low power consumption.

Visit Tyton VS2 Product Page

The rugged, standalone Tyton VS2 is capable of capturing two 3G-SDI, HD-SDI or SD-SDI video inputs simultaneously and encoding them using the highly versatile video encoding standard H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC), as well as the newly adopted H.265 (HEVC) standard. It can create multiple encoded video streams per input (input is split and encoded separately with unique settings per encode.


Features

Rugged Stand-Alone Solution	Multiple Encoded Streams per Input (8x Dynamic Encoding Cores)
H.265 (HEVC) / H.264 (AVC) Video Encoding and Streaming	Customisable Design Even at Low Volumes
Two 3G-SDI Video Inputs (other video formats possible on per customer basis)	Stereo Audio Input w/ AAC Audio Encoding
Two Bypass SDI Video Outputs	Low Power & Low Latency
1GB Ethernet Output (All encoded streams sent over same Ethernet port)	Small Compact Form Factor
SNMP based control API (for easy integration into existing user applications)	Rugged Design for Vibration, Shock, Humidity (MIL-STD-810G & IP67)
Web Server Configuration App for easy configuration of device	-45°C to 85°C Operating Temperature
CoT & KLV Metadata Insertion	Ideal for Rugged Applications: Including Avionics, Defense, ISR and Command & Control
Long Term Product Availability	Tyton VS2 Datasheet

For more information please get in touch with the Sarsen Technology team - info@sarsen.net