Panel mounted audio jack addition.

A new 3.5mm 4-Pole Panel Mount Audio Jack has been added to Cliff Electronics' popular range of FeedThrough (FT) connectors for applications such as audio, communications equipment and audio visual (AV) systems. They provide through panel female-to-female connectivity, allowing standard off-the-shelf cables to be used for external and internal wiring. These FeedThrough connectors offer users a better build outcome with clean, serviceable and neater cable routing.

The new Audio Jack connectors are panel mounting, passthrough keystone couplers with tin-plated copper alloy contacts for Tip, Ring, Ring & Sleeve (TRRS), for Stereo and microphone / control. Key features include:

• Female to Female FeedThrough connectivity.
• Plug connection from both sides – no internal wiring.
• Stereo with microphone control.
• Available in standard XLR , SLIM and DualSLIM frames.
• Front or rear mounting.
• Plastic or metal frame
• Secure panel flange with M3 or countersunk fixings

The new FeedThrough connectors may be rear mounted providing a near flush face for compact boxes or front mounted with flush, quick swap countersunk fixing screws.

Their growing range of FeedThrough connectors now offers analogue, digital and optical connectivity in formats including SMA and RP-SMA, BNC (50 or 75 ohm), MMC, DisplayPort, HDMI, Optical fibre (FC, LC Duplex, SC Simplex, ST BFOC, TOSLINK and US Conec MTP® brand MPO), RCA phono, RJ45 ethernet (UTP or FTP) in Cat6, Cat6a or Cat5e, USB 2, USB 3 and USB-C.

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@proactivefleet #CliffElectronics #PAuto #Electronic #TandM

Many coloured sockets.

Industry standard jack sockets for audio, musical instruments, communications, data and instrumentation

A wide range of 2-pole/mono 3.5mm female jack sockets in a number of colour choices for ease of identification on control panels are offered by Cliff Electronics .

Dan Walker, General Sales Manager of Cliff Electronics, commented, “3.5mm mono jack sockets have a large number of applications in a very wide number of markets. Colour coding provides a simple and fast means for system installers and end users to make the correct connection without difficulty.”

Cliff 3.5mm mono jack sockets have single-pole spring terminals which provide simple, fast and reliable connection for a wide range of applications in the music industry, for amplifiers, sound systems and instruments such as electric guitars and keyboards, and are also found in domestic hi-fi for connecting headphones, headsets and smaller loudspeakers. Industrial applications include telecom, communications systems and nurse call systems as well as instrumentation.

Available in black, red, blue, grey, green, white, they also feature a plug actuated on/off switch. The 3.5mm jack sockets may be PCB or panel mounted with the option of using a recess plate for rugged or portable equipment.

Cliff Electronics can supply jack sockets in a wide range of sizes, DC power connectors, terminal binding posts, test connectors and leads, optical jacks, leads and waterproof connectors.

#CliffElectronic #PAuto #Connectors

Measuring stylus tracking force.

Demonstrating its continuing role as a technological innovator, Rega will soon be launching a new accessory – a weighing scale that precisely measures stylus tracking force. With tone arm set-up critical to sound performance as well as stylus and record condition, their new Atlas Tracking Force Scale will confirm tone arm adjustment to 1/100th of a gram with a working range of 3.5 to 5 gm in a simple in-situ process. As an integral component for the scale, Rega chose the Zemic Q70 series miniature load cell, supplied and fully supported in the Britain by Variohm EuroSensor.

Having identified that an accurate way to measure tracking force was desirable for the high-end audio market, Rega set out to design a scale that would be affordable and be able to be offered alongside the majority of its turntable range.

Rega design engineer, Ashton Wagner explains how the project developed, "We looked for a load cell with an accuracy to one hundredth of a gram that would fully maintain that accuracy over its lifetime; we needed excellent durability and a scale that would not require calibration by the user." 

Budget constraints were also fully considered at the outset, "To meet our target costs the use of premium digital and analogue electronics were off the table. A microcontroller with an embedded commodity ADC was chosen which meant, that to achieve the accuracy we desired, we would have to use a high gain amplification circuit with little room for adjustment. We needed a gauge that would maintain consistent performance under variance in temperature, age, stress, and from gauge to gauge as well – after technical support from Variohm and thorough testing we thus chose the Zemic Q70 series load cell."

The Q70 series miniature load sensor is available in five range options from 0 to 20 gm, up to 200 gm and is well proven in hand-held scale applications. Its semiconductor strain gauge sensing element provides a 0.05% accuracy class and an output sensitivity of 0.5 +/- 0.15 mV/V for excitation from 2 to 5 V DC supply. Its high overload capability and compensated temperature range of -10⁰C to ~+40⁰C ensures consistency in measurement and high reliability for normal ambient temperature conditions.

Rega’s Atlas Tracking Force Scale packages the Q70 miniture load sensor in an attractive case that fits the contour of the record deck’s platen. The battery operated scale has a simple on/off button and a three segment digital display.

@RegaResearch @Variohm #Audio

Module for audio & vibration test

The PCI-9527 combines 24-bit signal acquisition and >100 dB range to provide
unparalleled price/performance ratio

Adlink Technology has released the PCI-9527, their first 24-bit high-resolution dynamic signal acquisition module specifically designed for audio testing, acoustic measurement, and vibration analysis applications. The PCI-9527 features two 24-bit simultaneous sampling analog input channels with a sampling rate up to 432 KS/s, two analog output channels with an update rate up to 216 KS/s, and one external digital trigger I/O connector.

The PCI-9527 also features a high dynamic input range (>100 dB), flexible input range from ±40 V to ±0.316 V, and analog inputs that support software-configurable features for AC or DC coupling and integrated electronic piezoelectric (IEPE) sensors to interface with an accelerometer sensor and microphone. Combining it all, the PCI-9527 offers the flexibility  needed to create a wide variety of automated test systems.

“The PCI-9527 dynamic signal acquisition module offers an excellent price/performance ratio for system integrators involved with audio testing, vibration analysis, acoustic measurements, machine condition monitoring, signal semiconductor testing, dynamic balance testing, and vibration calibration,” noted Louis Hsu, product manager at AdLink.

“For example, the PCI-9527 can be utilized in production testing for TVs, MP3 players, or other multimedia devices where high-quality sound needs to be guaranteed. The audio digitizer PCI-9527 can also be implemented in monitoring systems for mission-critical machinery, such as turbines in a power plant. Defects in the metal components of such turbines would generate abnormal sounds and vibration under operation, which would require high-dynamic range audio equipment to detect.”

The PCI-9527 includes drivers and SDK support for mainstream Windows operating systems as well as third-party application including LabVIEW®. They also provides Dynamic Signal Assistant APP Utility, an easy-to-use application for system integrators to perform validation and reduce overall design cycle time.

Rotary encoders

New options for pro-audio and industrial control

Foremost Electronics have announced the availability of the MERP12 range of rotary encoders. This new series of encoders has been designed to replace traditional rotary potentiometers in a wide range of applications and have the added benefit of being illuminated. The new range will interest designers currently working on broadcast and professional audio equipment in addition to next generation building automation systems and test and measurement instruments. Rotary encoders offer significant operational benefits when controlling “soft” menu functions.

Alan Cook, Managing Director of Foremost Electronics comments, “This new family of illuminated rotary encoders is particularly suited to broadcast and professional audio applications where ambient lighting may be low and different coloured illumination can add to ease of use and reduce costly operational errors. This can also be a great benefit in industrial applications. Rotary encoders are rapidly replacing conventional analogue potentiometers as demand increases for additional functionality in digital control of signals and menus.”

MERP 12 encoders feature an LED illuminated actuator which can be single or multi-coloured and can be specified with or without a pushbutton action.

The encoder switch contacts are rated at 5VDC @ 10mA, have a typical lifetime of 30,000 operations, an operating temperature range of –40 to +85°C and may be single hole or PCB mounted.

Foremost Electronics is renowned for the supply of high quality Emech products for design into applications that demand reliable, trouble-free solutions.

Digital audio

Digital audio test capabilities enhanced
NI AudioMASTER 6.1 Adds Support for SPDIF Digital Audio Generation

National Instruments has announced new high-performance software and hardware additions to the NI AudioMASTER suite. The comprehensive set of analogue and digital audio validation and production test software and hardware deliver an exhaustive automated test solution with a performance level previously found only in high-end audio analysers. The latest software addition, AudioMASTER 6.1, combined with an NI 7813R reconfigurable I/O device and the new NI CB-2181 digital audio I/O accessory, gives users an easy-to-use, software-defined test solution to generate and analyse SPDIF digital audio for testing consumer and professional audio devices.

“NI AudioMASTER 6.1 showcases the continued investment by National Instruments to create high-performance, flexible test solutions for audio devices including media players, headphones, microphones and loudspeakers,” said Kurt Veggeberg, Business Development Manager for Audio Test Products at National Instruments. “AudioMASTER integrates with the NI test platform, including NI LabVIEW, NI TestStand and PXI and PCI modular instruments, so engineers can build a complete software-defined test system.”

The software features an expansive set of audio measurements using single and multiple tones, amplitude and frequency sweeps and step response analysis. The software directly integrates into NI TestStand test management software, which simplifies the development of automated audio tests and measurements by providing an interactive, configuration-based setup for audio measurements, limits evaluation and system calibration.

For analogue audio tests, AudioMASTER 6.1 can use either PCI- or PXI-based dynamic signal acquisition (DSA) devices including an NI 4461 with two inputs and two outputs or an NI 4462 with four inputs. The DSA devices provide 24 bits of resolution at up to 204.8 kS/s sample rates. For digital audio tests, AudioMASTER 6.1 combines the NI 7813R reconfigurable I/O device with the NI CB-2181, which features one input and one output, to support XLR, BNC or optical connections. The user can connect up to four CB-2181 digital audio accessories to a single NI 7813R device to provide a total of four inputs and four outputs for digital audio measurements, which greatly simplifies the test fixture required for multidevice testing.