Lancaster, PA.--July, 1997. Datcon Instrument Company is now offering a full complement of patented Smart Instrument^® features and accessories for its major product lines. Smart Instruments^® provide a variety of ways to monitor critical parameters such as fuel, temperature, pressure and battery levels. Depending on which Smart Instrument^® is selected, the system will display a visual alert, trigger an audible warning, or trigger a switch which will initiate a rapid engine shutdown. As a result, Smart Instruments^® eliminate the need for costly sender/switch combinations, detection modules, extra wiring and connectors. Sensing electronics (sender, switches and LED warning lights) are logically integrated into the actual gauge which in turn raises the value of the gauge. Moreover, detection circuitry is matched to the instrument for improved accuracy, thereby eliminating the gauge as a potential source of variation.

Three types--Series 2000, Series 2001 and Series 2002--are available to address the needs of a wide range of customers. Each series steps up to an increasing level of function, thus giving the customer a way to tie each product into a natural "option-up" strategy for their vehicles or machines.

SERIES 2000

Series 2000 (Datcon's original Smart Instrument^®) monitors temperature, pressure, fuel and voltage levels. A visual alert is triggered by high temperature, low pressure, low fuel and low or high voltage based on a predetermined factory-calibrated set point. An alert is displayed through a red or amber ultra-bright long-lasting LED located in the upper center of the gauge face.

SERIES 2001

Series 2001 provides an additional output switch to drive an external audible alarm in addition to its LED alert function. This switch is rated at 2 amps and functions as a normally open with switch-to-ground. Switching is accomplished through rugged power MOSFET transistors and will operate reliably in a temperature range of -40°C to +85°C. LEDs are located on either on the left side or right side of the gauge depending on which version is selected.

SERIES 2002

Series 2002 steps up to another function--engine shutdown--in addition to a standard visual alert. The "ALERT" LED, located on the left side of the gauge face,

provides a visual warning to the operator (like Series 2000 and 2001) and when temperature or pressure levels reach a certain potentially dangerous level, the system will trigger a shutdown. "SHUTDOWN" mode is indicated by a second LED located on the right side of the gauge. Series 2002 oil pressure gauges operate in the range of 0-80 psi and 0-100 psi at 12 volts nominal. Indicator lights are set to either 13 psi (at 177ohms ) for "ALERT" and 8 psi (at 198ohms) for "SHUTDOWN", or 15 psi (at 174ohms ) for "ALERT" and 10 psi (at 198ohms ) for "SHUTDOWN", respectively. Water temperature gauges operate in the range of 100-240°F or 100-280°F. Indicator lights are set to either 200°F (at 53ohms ) for "ALERT" and 240°F (at 40ohms ) for "SHUTDOWN", or 220°F (at 78ohms ) for "ALERT" and 240°F (at 57ohms ) for "SHUTDOWN", respectively. All switches are rated at 2 amps.

If the customer's vehicle/engine does not include a built-in delay feature to compensate for low pressure on start-up (which of course would trigger a premature shutdown), Datcon is now offering an optional delay timer/relay. Rated at 8 to 18 VDC, this delay timer/relay operates reliably in a temperature range of -30°C to +75°C. The relay's mechanical life is rated at 10 million operations and its electrical life is 100,000 operations under normal loads. The delay for input #1 (alert) is 15 seconds with a 2-amp capacity (sink). The delay for input #2 (shutdown) is also 15 seconds with a 30-amp capacity. Relay contact resistance is rated at 300mv (at 10A).

The Series 2002 is factory-calibrated to prevent tampering. However, units can be adjusted by the customer/user as required. In this way, a single unit could be configured to accommodate numerous applications, thereby reducing inventory and associated carrying costs.

Datcon is a QS-9000, ISO 9001-registered, full-service supplier of vehicle instrumentation and monitoring systems including gauges, meters and matching sensors, as well as instrument clusters, displays and controllers. We are a vertically integrated, global company headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

"Datcon", an acronym for "Dimensional And Time CONtrol", traces its roots to the original Hamilton Watch Company and, as such, we have a long history of providing high quality, high performance products to our valued customers.

Contact: sales@datcon.com