 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| SOFTWARE DESIGN | HARDWARE DESIGN | HISTORY |
|
||
1988 In July 1988 the Blast Monitor (BMX) replaced a truck load of electronics with a box one person could carry easily. The interface to the laptop was an innovation providing waveform data storage directly to a disk, instead of reels of tape. This configuration served us well for many years, managing a broad range of sensors including geophones, accelerometers, low frequency (2Hz) microphones and static pressure transducers. Laptops evolved rapidly, with the hardware interface keeping the design team on the hop until we introduced a parallel port interface in 1994. |
1989 The (now dated) DOS BMX Menu was backed up by graphic analysis software and a plotting system that provided a configurable waveform printout. In 1989, the Quarry Monitor (QMX) took advantage of the laptop interface to provide ‘instantaneous’ waveform display. Our first ‘compliance’ monitor, the QMX was also the first to provide an interface to a database, and customisable Blast Reports. |
1993 The Micro Monitor (µMX) became the flagship of our monitoring fleet in 1993. The µMX repeated the functionality of the suitcase sized QMX in a box that fitted on an A4 page. The suitcase now contained all the accessories including the user manual and disks. The µMX evolved over the years, providing a broad range of functionalities, including Wirebreak and Trigger Synchronisation to support blast design and analysis well beyond the simple compliance model it started from. |
1993 The original software featured a Green & Gold menu and delivered an OS Menu on 3.5 inch disks. |
1995 A major emphasis for the µMX system was remote accessibility. This was first available in the PI or permanent installation – a metal box on a pole with microphone and antenna on top. The µMX PI also measured wind speed and direction, providing additional information to our compliance customers. |
1999 April 1999 saw delivery of the first Bridge Health Monitor (HMX). An ambitious development, it was an extension of the µMX into an 8-channel system including custom designed demountable strain gauge (DSG), foil strain gauge (FSG), and displacement transducer (DDT) signal conditioners. The HMX inherited the remote capabilities of the µMX as standard. |
1999 The HMX was upgraded and repackaged into a smaller case with a convenient colour coded cabling system and specially designed trunk cables and junction boxes. |
2000 An upgrade in software introduced the now familiar EasyLink Windows system we all know and love delivered to you on shiny CDs or from our Web Site. |
2003 The Advanced Texcel Monitor (ATM) was a similarly designed version of the µMX, combining all the features of the RPI, in a user-friendly packaging. Its capabilities were enhanced to include simple access to a range of HMX sensors for monitoring the structural effects of blast and vibration, and a new weatherproof alarm system ideally suited to construction site monitoring. The ATM used a colour-coded connector panel, large LCD panel and buttons in a specially designed weatherproof case. |
2004 The Compact Texcel Monitor (CTM) introduced a cost effective solution to the vibration and overpressure monitoring equation. Delivered in a lightweight backpack and capable of being mounted on top of a tripod with the microphone attached, it provided an innovative solution to bending down to read numbers or press buttons, without compromising any of the weatherproofing of the ATM. The CTM integrated seamlessly into the EasyLink Desktop Software and was operated with the familiar 6-button Texcel menu system – with only one significant change - ‘one button run’. |
2005 The ATM PI presented the ATM’s large LCD and user-friendly buttons in a permanent installation - in a smaller box. Significant improvements in battery maintenance (including longer life) and system status recording, simplified the management of the remote monitor. Other new features included 4MB memory standard, a new CDMA modem option and simple cable connections, which, with a removable simply packaged base, made calibration and maintenance a breeze. |
2005 The ATM Upgrade looked the same as the ATM, it worked the same as the ATM, but it inherited the improvements made with the CTM and ATM PI, including improved battery life, 4 MB memory, and ‘one button duty’. For the advanced user, faster sample rates, extended trigger range, and separately managed wire-break and trigger sync options improved the Advanced Texcel Monitor’s flexibility. For the construction industry an alarm timeout function made the flashing alarm and the SMS alarm more functional on the unattended construction site. |
2008 The GTM takes advantage of a powerful 32-bit microcontroller to significantly improve the capabilities of this compact monitor. With four times the memory, it allows for hundreds of waveforms and thousands of events to be recorded. The GTM has longer battery life – up to 2 weeks – that can be increased even further using duty timetables edited in T-Link, a new feature for our small monitors. The significantly increased processing power allows Threshold Triggered events and waveforms at the same time as continuous monitoring mode, and all event data (including Ground Vibration, Peak Vector Sum, Vibration Dose Value, and Zero Crossing Frequency) to be processed within the monitor without interrupting sampling. This allows the Vector Sum value to be recorded in Continuous events and be used as a trigger condition for a triaxial sensor. An armed LED gives visual indication of the monitor state. |
2008 The T-Link Software Suite –
Developed with the experience of supporting EasyLink for many years, the T-Link suite of software provides unparalleled simplicity of operation. Without sacrificing any of the depth of EasyLink’s functionality, T-Link provides full control of Configure, Retrieve and Report functions each from a single easy to follow window. The Custom Configure process is backed up with simple pre-defined Texcel Settings for common monitoring tasks. |
2008 The ETM is based on the same all-new platform as the GTM, but in the larger ATM-style case. It has even longer battery life, 16MB memory standard, plus all the extra features introduced with the GTM - particularly Vibration Dose Value, and Zero Crossing Frequency, and a new capability to record A-Weighted percentile sound levels in Continuous monitoring mode. It includes the features of the ATM, such as Duty and Modem timetables, Wire-Break trigger and Trigger Sync, flashing alarm and SMS reporting. Remote communications now operate with NextG and GSM modems. |
2008 The ETM-PI is based on the ETM, but housed in a rugged weatherproof enclosure similar to the ATM-PI. Along with the A-Weight sound level capability, for even greater versatility in environmental monitoring, the ETM-PI features an optional weather station acquiring temperature, wind speed and direction, air pressure, rainfall and relative humidity. |
||
