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Because of Z-World's BL1700 SBC, I can offer clients a control and
measurement solution that takes up far less space at a price that is more reasonable. |
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| Craig Mason, owner, Control & Measurement Co. |
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| Floating Bomb Squad |
| Product: BL1700 Omega |
Captain Hale gives orders to sail on. The double-hull oil tanker continues on its course to
New York, but unknowingly, the captain is sailing a bomb right into the port. There is a small
leak that is creating a volatile amount of combustible gas, and just as they reach the pier, KABOOM!
What a tragedy! But fortunately, it is a tragedy that rarely occurs because of new-aged monitoring
systems designed to detect the volatile gases that can turn oil riggers into floating bombs. There
are many tools available to assist crews in monitoring the level of dangerous gases in the hulls,
some are hand held and require a person to manually check each tank, and some are remote and a
bit more sophisticated, but can be rather large, and very expensive.
Now, there is a solution that is small, and remote and available at a much lower price-point.
This solution is offered by Control & Measurement Co., and is made possible because of a small,
single-board computer developed by Z-World.
"Other manufacturers offer similar products, but they are twice the price," says Craig Mason,
owner of Control & Measurement. "Because of Z-World's BL1700 SBC, I can offer clients a control
and measurement solution that takes up far less space at a price that is more reasonable. I can
build a product that performs the same functions in a cabinet that is 12 x 12 rather than a floor
to ceiling cabinet that is 3ft wide and 2ft deep."
"One may think that this is not the place to be making budget cuts," adds Mason. "But the BL1700
is so reliable, I haven't had one fail yet!"
Control & Measurement chose to use the BL1700 series of SBCs because of the price, size
and the available serial ports and 8 analog input channels. Each of these aspects made it possible
for Control & Measurement to deliver the products that the maritime industry was waiting for.
Z-World's BL1700 offers multiple features in a C-programmable single-board computer. Modular
digital, analog and serial I/O sections allow custom manufacturing possibilities making it ideal
for the solutions offered by Control & Measurement.
This SBC comes standard with 16 protected inputs and 16 high-current outputs. The 32 digital
I/O lines can be configured at the factory as either inputs or outputs, in groups of eight lines,
allowing non-standard digital I/O configurations by custom order. The inputs may be pulled up
or down. Ten analog inputs feed into a 2543 A/D converter. Eight of the analog inputs have op-amps
for signal conditioning. A 2.5V precision reference supports the A/D chip and the op-amps.
And finally, the BL1700 has connections for up to three FWT (field wiring terminal) modules.
These allow Control & Measurement to provide solutions that make rugged connections to a single-board
computer, have quick-release mass termination, or have optically isolated inputs.
For more information on Control and Measurement, or other Z-World Certified Partners who can assist
you, and help you to bring your application to an affordable reality, please call 610.566.5139 or visit
http://www.zworld.com/partners/,
For more information on Z-World's BL1700 Series of SBCs, please visit http://www.zworld.com.
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