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Test & Measurement
World named Tidal Engineering's
VersaTenn V touch panel control system one of the best new
test and measurement products of 2000. One of only 12 products
selected for the magazine's annual "Best in Test" honors, the
VersaTenn V is an environmental chamber controller powered by
the Rabbit 2000™ microprocessor.
"This is our second 'Best in Test' award in three years,"
says Craig Borax, engineering manager of Tidal Engineering.
"And we're proud to say that Rabbit Semiconductor has played a
big part of our success in both cases!"
Developed for Tenney Environmental, makers of environmental
test chambers, the VersaTenn V employs the Rabbit 2000 in its
input/output controller--called the Olympic Processor. The
VersaTenn V plays a crucial role in the environmental testing
of advanced electronic products. In controlling critical test
parameters and then managing the resulting data, the VersaTenn
V helps design engineers meet tight product-development
cycles.
Tidal chose the Rabbit 2000 because the main goal for the
controller was to off-load most of the input and output,
something the Rabbit could do efficiently and cost
effectively. This, combined with the Rabbit's powerful and
expandable characteristics, made the Rabbit "a dream come
true," says Borax.
"Initially, we were researching other approaches, but then
Rabbit Semiconductor launched the Rabbit 2000," says Borax.
"We were thrilled. The timing was incredible because we were
about to commit to another approach that was less than
optimal. The Rabbit 2000 is perfect--it exceeded all of our
requirements for usability, performance, features, and
cost."
The Dynamic CŪ software development system was another
selling point for Tidal. "We love the Rabbit 2000's powerful
Dynamic C development environment, and it's free with the
development kit," says Borax. "What more could we ask
for?"
The VersaTenn V is a truly "connected" device, with
Ethernet, IEEE 488, RS-232, and RS-485 interfaces making it
easy to move test data around the lab, around the factory, and
even around the world. Such advanced communication
capabilities are essential for building the "Global Factory"
of the future.
The VersaTenn V controller offers a host of features
previously unavailable in environmental chambers,
including:
- Ethernet and Web-based remote control and monitoring
- Built-in data acquisition (up to 64 channels)
- Windows CE-based touch screen supporting multiple
languages
- Powerful online setup Wizards
About Tidal Engineering
Based in Randolph, New
Jersey, Tidal Engineering designs and manufactures embedded
hardware and software for test and measurement and data
acquisition products. Tidal also provides engineering
services, custom electronic product development, and turnkey
distributed data acquisition and control systems.
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The VersaTenn V
Environmental
Chamber
Controller
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The Rabbit 2000 is
perfect--it exceeded all of our requirements for
usability, performance, features, and cost.
— Craig Borax, Engineering
Manager |
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