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Archive for February, 2012

PostHeaderIcon Info on oscilloscope

The oscilloscope or the cathode ray oscilloscope as it was called as, is an instrument for displaying a continuously varying parameter, like the voltage, against the time. In most of the cases the vertical axis denotes the voltage and the horizontal axis the time. But it can also be suitably calibrated to denote other variables instead of just voltage. The output of the instrument is a wave form which exactly tells us how the parameter changes with respect to time. It can also be used for comparing two signals with time as reference.

Earlier versions of it used a cathode ray tube, but nowadays LCD or LED panels are used for displaying the waveform. The signal whose waveform is to be displayed is connected to the scope, and the signals are amplified in it and displayed as a wave. Several controls are provided like the horizontal and vertical control, which are used to adjust the time scaling and the amplification of the signals. Other controls for focus and intensity of the beam are also provided.

The instrument finds application in many fields of science and is one of the commonly used lab equipments. The concept of the working is used in the machine called as the electrocardiogram, which displays the waveform of the heart beat of a person. Most of the oscilloscopes are vey compact and portable and can easily rest on the top of a table.

There are many kinds of the instrument that are available now. Some of them are – Dual Beam, Analogue Storage, Digital, Mixed Signal and the hand held scopes. Dual beam has the capacity to display two signals simultaneously. The analogue storage instrument has the capability to make the waveform to stay in display for a longer time than usual. This it does by storing the image in its memory and retaining it on the screen till it can be erased. This is useful for scrutinizing any odd waveform pattern. Digital instruments, as the name itself suggests, make use of binary digit to store the information. For this purpose it equipped with an “analogue to digital converter” or the ADC. The main advantage of the digital instrument is the capacity to display high frequency waveforms and to retain the data forever with causing any damage to it.

Scopes are now available that can take analogue, digital and RF signals as input. Specific advances in this field have made it possible to have a hand held version that can be used in field works.

 

PostHeaderIcon About Stealth Cam

Cameras are equipment designed to capture images from real life and store them. The latest cameras do not use any photographic films for storing – instead they use digital technology to store the images in the digital form. For ordinary applications, a normal camera is sufficient, but if you are a wild life photographer what you require is a stealth cam or a stealth camera. Main idea is to capture the images without being observed and without the need of human presence at the spot.

Stealth cam is also called as trail camera as it is mostly used in the forest for capturing the images of the wild life. It comes with an onboard LCD screen for seeing the images in the field of view. All the cameras are designed for taking stills and moving images. If you are interested in taking still images, there is a provision in the camera by which you can have multiple exposures. That is you can capture many images in quick succession by using burst mode technology. You can set it so that, as soon as any movement is sensed by the PIR, the camera is activated. Photos are taken in your absence and without risking injury to yourself, from an attack by the animal.

All the Stealth cams are fitted with a PIR or passive infrared sensor. When heat source moves in front of a sensor, it gets activated signaling the camera to shoot the picture. If set correctly some cams can shoot up to 8 pictures in quick time. The size of the cam is not too big – it is just 6 “X 9” and can be comfortably carried during scouting operation. If you are worried that your equipment may be damaged by animal attack the equipment come with protective a casing which prevents damages. For example some come with a “bear safe security box”. Some also come with the option of audio recording, if you need it. Since the images you take are stamped with the date, time and in most cases with the moon phases also, keeping tags of your photos is very easy. Clarity of pictures is also not an issue as it uses high resolution cameras. Not only is that, shooting in the dark which is vital for any photographer, achieved by the infra red emitters which have a sufficient flash range.

No wonder it is the best equipment that is used for wild life photographing.