Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!uunet!haven.umd.edu!darwin.sura.net!udel!sbcs.sunysb.edu!shane
From: shane@cs.sunysb.edu (Shane Bouslough)
Subject: Re: Dinsmore Compass
Message-ID: <1993Apr6.002756.16222@sbcs.sunysb.edu>
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Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1993 00:27:56 GMT
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ryan@agnus.mcs.mu.edu wrote:

: Does anyone have any experience with the electronic compass
: from Dinsmore Instruments (Flint, Michigan?).  Its not a flux
: gate type of thing, but just indicates 1 of 8 directions- useful
: for some applications.  Thanks for any info!

Actually, I think it might be a flux-gate compass. Their info says
"a sub-miniature rotor jewel suspended in combination with solid-
state Hall-effect IC's" I'm evaluating one right now. It has 4 outputs
for the 4 major directions.  You get 8 outputs by looking for pairs such
as NE.

The problem I have with it is it sometimes misses a direction even
if the motion is slow and steady. You might go from N to E and
miss NE. Or from N to where E should be, but then you back off a bit
and get NE. It might be my fault though, because I'm running it at
5V... specs say 5V to 20V, but 8V to 12V "recommended".

If you have any specific questions, send me some email.

	Dinsmore Instruments Corp.
	1814 Remell Street
	Flint, MI 48503
	313-744-1330

	Sensor #1490, $12 single unit
	Sensor #1525 (analog version), $35 single unit

: Ryan Brooks             root@agnus.mcs.mu.edu

-Shane

--
Shane Bouslough        |   \/                   | shane@sbcs.sunysb.edu
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