Pico Automotive Newsletter

September 2022

Pico at Automechanika 2022

Philip Rutt, Pico’s Automotive Distribution Support Manager, is one of the individuals that has just come back from attending the Automechanika 2022 event in Frankfurt. Speaking on the event, he said the following:

“It was a great experience; 78,000 people were in attendance! Automechanika is such a great opportunity to get out there and meet our customers, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)."

We were delighted to launch a variety of new products at the Automechanika event; keep reading to find out more about our new Off-Highway Kit, PicoBNC+ Optical Sensor Kit, and IEPE Signal Conditioner. 

If you missed out on Automechanika, you can check out our Events page to find out about our other upcoming appearances, including Mechanex 2022.

Product launch: Off-Highway Kit

At Automechanika Frankfurt 2022, we were excited to launch a set of new off-highway kits for Heavy-Duty vehicles and Off-Highway (HD-OH) equipment testing built around a dedicated PicoScope oscilloscope.

Created for fault diagnosis on trucks, tractors, forklifts, boats, combine harvesters, excavators, and more, the off-highway kits contain a modified PS4425A PicoScope having additional protection to better withstand off-highway conditions. The scope is fully supported by Pico Technology’s class-leading, and free, PicoScope 7 Automotive software. The included accessories help users quickly connect and easily carry out non-intrusive and non-invasive measurements on a wide variety of systems and components found in these vehicles.

For further details, or to buy an Off-Highway Kit, you can check out the full press release and product page on our website.

Product launch: PicoBNC+® Optical Sensor Kit

Pico Technology has launched its new PQ316 PicoBNC+® Optical Sensor Kit, featuring the TA497 PicoBNC+ optical sensor. The new optical sensor kit provides users with a convenient means to capture rotational speed reference signals for Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) balancing applications with all the ease-of-use benefits provided by Pico Technology’s PicoBNC+ smart interface technology.

Pico Technology’s NVH kits reveal vibrations related to engine (RPM), propshaft, and road speed that can be caused by imbalance of rotating components, or other factors. The PQ316 PicoBNC+ optical kit can be partnered with an NVH kit and a PicoBNC+ Automotive PicoScope to help users detect propshaft (drive shaft) vibrations; in these cases, it can be much faster and less expensive to rebalance the propshaft while it is on the vehicle rather than to remove and replace it. The PQ316 PicoBNC+ optical sensor kit can also support speed measurement of other rotating items.

For further details, or to buy a PicoBNC+® Optical Sensor Kit, you can check out the full press release and product page on our website.

Product launch: IEPE Signal Conditioner

At Automechanika Frankfurt 2022, Pico Technology launched its new TA487 IEPE signal conditioner for BNC-interfaced oscilloscopes. The TA487 IEPE signal conditioner is a simple adaptor that allows any PicoScope to measure and capture signals from a large selection of piezo-electric IEPE sensors.

Integrated Electronics Piezo-Electric (IEPE) is the technical standard for piezo-electric sensors that include built-in active conversion to boost the high-impedance signal through long lengths of cable with minimal noise. IEPE sensors, such as acceleration, force and pressure transducers, are widely used across a variety of industries, including automotive.

Using the TA487 is as simple as connecting an IEPE sensor and the included USB cable into the TA487, and then attaching the TA487 to a PicoScope or any BNC oscilloscope to capture data from the piezo-electric sensor. The TA487 provides a safe constant current power source to the sensor, allowing it to work over long cable lengths while still providing a good signal to noise ratio.

For more information or for details on how to order, check out the press release and product page for the IEPE Signal Conditioner on our website.

Introduction to PicoScope