Firmware 4.30 Released November 2004

1.

Added ability to detect faulty sensors

2.

Extended battery life

3. #

Added support for displacement, velocity and current sensors

4. #

Increased Fmax display from 20 kHz to 40 kHz

5. #

Increased memory size from 8192 KB to 32 MB

Firmware 4.40 Released October 2005

6. #

Added ability to record long time waveforms (effective spectral lines = 160 000)

7. #

Added support for 1 mV/amp current sensors

Firmware 5.50 Released January 2006

8.

Improved data collection time on routes via adaptive settling algorithm and continuously powered sensors

9.

Increased FFT lines and waveform samples for dual channel and tachometer triggered measurements

10. #

Increased spectral lines from 3200 to 6400

11. #

Increased waveform resolution from 8192 to 16 384 samples

12.

Improved demodulation bandpass filters

13.

Added ability to turn backlight off after timeout to improve battery life

1. Sensor detection

The vb instrument can detect broken or faulty sensors/cables and will display a message informing you that the sensor is short circuited or not connected (sensor detection applies to channel 1 only).

2. Extended battery life

Power consumption has been reduced by 100 mA resulting in 2 to 3 extra hours of battery life between re-charges.

3. Added support for displacement, velocity and current sensors (vb3000 only)

The vb instrument now supports the use of displacement sensors, velocity and current sensors in addition to accelerometers. The instrument will also warn you if you accidentally select the wrong sensor for the type of measurement you are trying to take e.g. the instrument will not let you measure acceleration using a current sensor.

4. Increased Fmax display from 20 kHz to 40 kHz (vb3000 only)

The vb instrument can now display an Fmax of up to 40 kHz (the previous Fmax limit was 20 kHz).

5. Increased memory size from 8192 KB to 32 MB

vb memory size has been increased to 32 MB allowing you to store up to 11 000 spectra at 800 line resolution (the previous limit was 8000 spectra at 400 line resolution).

6. Added ability to record long time waveforms (effective spectral lines: 160 000) (vb3000 only)

Long time waveforms allow you to take a continuous recording over a very long time period (up to 18 hours), making it particularly useful for capturing transients.

8. Improved data collection time on routes via adaptive settling algorithm and continuously powered sensors

The adaptive settling algorithm in the instrument recognizes when the level of settling is sufficient for the first recording so it can begin promptly without any arbitrary delay. While the first recording is being taken the integrators continue to settle, so by the time any following recordings are requested at the same location the instrument is likely to be able to start recording subsequent data immediately. The resulting time savings can be several seconds per measurement location, which adds up to a considerable amount of time over a busy 500-point day.

The processor and sensor now remain powered up in a low power mode following each recording. This means that recordings can usually begin almost the moment the sensor is firmly in place, with minimal delay before the following recordings. In the extreme example of a 100 Hz displacement recording the time saving exceeds 10 secs.

9. Increased FFT lines and waveform samples for dual channel and tachometer triggered measurements

Previously, when taking measurements using a tachometer, the number of spectral lines being gathered would reduce by half e.g. a 3200 line maximum recording would reduce to 1600 lines maximum. This restriction has been removed.

The number of FFT lines and waveform samples that can be gathered during dual channel simultaneous measuring has doubled for the vb2000 and quadrupled for the vb3000.

These values have increased to:

• Maximum of 1600 spectral lines for the vb2000 (3200 for vb3000)

• Maximum of 4096 time waveform samples for the vb2000 (8192 for vb3000)

10. Increased spectral lines from 3200 to 6400 (vb3000 only)

The vb3000 instrument can now record and display 6400 lines of FFT data. This leads to considerable zooming improvements in the instrument and in the software, which allows you to see more detail.