Monarch 6230-011 User manual

Instruction Manual

Nova-Strobe BBL

Basic Battery LED Stroboscope

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Safeguards

and

Precautions

1.

Read and follow all instructions in this manual carefully,
and retain this manual for future reference.

2.

Do not use this instrument in any manner inconsis­tent with these operating instructions or under any

conditions that exceed the environmental specications

stated.

3.

Certain strobe frequencies can trigger epileptic seizures
in those prone to that type of attack.

4.

Users should not stare directly at the light source.

5.

Prolonged exposure to the light can cause headaches
in some people.

6.

Objects viewed with this product may appear to be
stationary when in fact they are moving at high speeds.
Always keep a safe distance from moving machinery and
do no touch the target.

7.

There are no user serviceable parts in this instrument.

Refer service to a qualied technician.

8.

Do not allow liquids or metallic objects to enter the
ventilation holes on the stroboscope as this may cause
permanent damage and void the warranty.

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9.

Do not allow cables extending from unit to come into
contact with rotating machinery, as serious damage to the
equipment, or severe personal injury or death may occur
as a result.

10.

This instrument may not be safe for use in certain
hazardous environments, and serious personal injury or
death could occur as a result of improper use. Please refer
to your facility’s safety program for proper precautions.

11.

Nova-Strobe LED units contain Nickel Metal Hydride
batteries which must be disposed of in accordance with
Federal, State, & Local Regulations. Do not incinerate.
Batteries should be shipped to a reclamation facility for
recovery of the metal and plastic components as the prop­er method of waste management. Contact distributor for
appropriate product return procedures.

In order to comply with EU Directive 2012/19/EU on Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE):

This product may contain material which could be hazardous
to human health and the environment. DO NOT DISPOSE of
this product as unsorted municipal waste.
This product needs to be RECYCLED in accordance with
local regulations, contact your local authorities for more
information. This product may be returnable to your
distributor for recycling - contact the distributor for details

Monarch Instrument’s Limited Warranty applies.
See www.monarchinstrument.com for details.

.

Warranty Registration and Extended Warranty
coverage available online at
www.monarchinstrument.com.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 OVERVIEW ................................................................................... 1

1.1 LED Strobe Control Panel ....................................................1

2.0 GETTING STARTED..................................................................... 1

3.0 LED STROBE OPERATION ........................................................... 2

3.1 Adjusting the Flash Rate - RPM ......................................... 2

3.1.1 Multiply or Divide By 2 ............................................ 2

3.2 Adjusting the Flash Duration (Brightness) ....................... 2

3.2.1 Flash Duration - Degrees ........................................ 3

3.2.2 Flash Duration - Microseconds .............................. 3

3.3 Display Units ........................................................................ 3

4.0 BRIGHTNESS............................................................................... 4

4.1 Calculating Blur ................................................................... 4

4.2 Degree of Rotation Adjustment .........................................5

4.3 Pulse Duration Adjustment ................................................5

5.0 USING THE STROBOSCOPE TO MEASURE RPM ..................... 6

6.0 BATTERIES ........................................................................................ 7

6.1 Low Battery Indication ........................................................ 8

6.2 Charging the Batteries ........................................................ 8

6.3 Stroboscope Disposal ........................................................ 9

7.0 SPECIFICATIONS .......................................................................... 10

8.0 OPTIONS/ACCESORIES AND PARTS ...............................................11

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1.0 OVERVIEW

The Nova-Strobe Basic BBL LED
(Light Emitting Diode) is a rugged
portable battery powered LED
Stroboscopes used for inspection
and to stop motion to determine
the speed of rotating objects. The
unit has a pistol grip with lockable
trigger switch and wrist strap for
comfortable hand held operation or
it may be mounted on a tripod using
the integral ¼ -20 UNC thread at
the base of the handle.

Figure 1 LED Strobe Control Panel

1.1 LED Strobe Control Panel

The Basic LED Strobe has a two- line alpha-numeric liquid crystal display
(LCD) and a 4 key keypad that enables the user to control the operation of
the unit. Most of the icons in the LCD display are not used.

2.0 GETTING STARTED

The Stroboscope may be hand held or mounted on a tripod or other user
supplied bracket using the ¼-20 UNC bushing at the base of the handle.

The LED Strobe is battery powered and has internal rechargeable batteries.
The unit should be charged before use (see section 6.0). The actual operating

time of the stroboscope depends on the ash pulse width. Narrower ash

widths increase the operating time. Note that the BBL strobe will not operate
from the recharger supplied with the unit.

To turn on the stroboscope, depress and hold the trigger. The trigger may
be locked in position using the side locking button. To lock the stroboscope
on, depress the trigger as far as it will go and then press the locking button.

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Once the locking button is set you may release the trigger and the trigger

will be held in place. To unlock the stroboscope, simply depress the trigger
and then release.

NOTE: Unit must power down completely (OFF will be displayed and

then disappear) before unit will power on again. This is normal
operation. Wait 2 seconds before turning the unit back on again.

3.0 LED STROBE OPERATION

3.1 Adjusting the Flash Rate - RPM

The ash rate can be adjusted by turning the knob on the side of the unit –
counter clockwise to increase the ash rate and clockwise to decrease the
ash rate. The knob is rate sensitive, the faster you turn the knob the greater
the change in ash rate. The smallest adjustment is to add or subtract one
from the least signicant (right most) digit on the display.

3.1.1 Multiply or Divide By 2

The strobe ash rate can be instantly doubled (x2) or halved

(÷2) by pressing the x2 and ÷2 buttons shown right. This

is useful in determining actual rotational speed. Refer to

the section on speed measurement – Section 4.0. Note that

if doubling or halving the ash rate will cause the strobe
to exceed its capability, the display will show OVER or
UNDER respectively and the ash rate will remain at the current
ash value.

3.2 Adjusting the Flash Duration (Brightness)

The ash duration, the width of the LED ash, can be adjusted by the user
to be a preset number of degrees of rotation (DEGS) or a xed with in

microseconds (uSEC). The result is a more or less bright image at the expense

of less or more image blur. Read the section on Brightness - Section 4.0.

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3.2.1 Flash Duration - Degrees

To view or adjust the ash duration press the BRIGHT button

shown on the right. The display will show the current ash

duration in degrees of rotation – note that there are 360°
in a complete rotation. The degrees shown is

the amount of rotation visible during the ash. The

higher the degrees the brighter the image and the
more apparent the blur. Use the knob to increase

or decrease the ash duration in degrees of rotation. Adjusting the

degrees will cause this to be the controlling parameter for pulse width.

As the ash rate increases or decreases the strobe will adjust the ash

duration to keep it at the preset number of degrees provided this does

not exceed the strobe specications. Press any key other than BRIGHT
to exit or press BRIGHT again to go to MICROSECOND adjustment.

3.2.2 Flash Duration - Microseconds

To view or adjust the ash duration in microseconds press

the BRIGHT button again after viewing degrees or press
the BRIGHT button twice from normal operation. The

display will show the current ash duration in

microseconds (uSECS) – this may be calculated
from phase degrees set above. Use the knob
to increase or decrease the flash duration in
microseconds. Adjusting the microseconds will cause this to be the

controlling parameter for pulse width. As the ash rate increases or
decreases the strobe will keep the ash duration at the preset width in
microseconds provided this does not exceed the strobe specications.
Press the BRIGHT button to exit the ash duration adjustment.

.

DEGS



uSECS

3.3 Display Units

The display can show the ash rate in revolutions per minute
(RPM) or per second (RPS or Hertz). To switch between display

modes press the DISPlay button shown right. The display units

will toggle at each press (RPM < > RPS).

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4.0 BRIGHTNESS

The strobe’s brightness depends on how wide the LED ash pulse is; the wider

the pulse, the brighter the visual output from the LEDs. Since the strobe is
primarily used on reciprocating or rotating targets there is a downside to the

wider ashes. All strobes work by giving short bursts of light (the pulse width)
at a rapid repetition rate (the ash rate). Strobes rely on the persistence of the

human eye (the ability to remember and image) and its response to bright

light to give an apparent stop motion image. Imagine a shaft rotating at 6000
RPM or one rotation every 1/ 100 of a second (10 msec). If the strobe ashes
once every 10 msec for a brief moment, the user sees the ash at the same

spot in the rotation of the shaft and the persistence of the eye remembers this

until the next ash making the shaft appeared to be stopped. As the target is
rotating there is some movement evident during the strobe ash. The longer
the ash duration, the more obvious the rotation is and this increases the blur.

4.1 Calculating Blur

Blur can be calculated – if the shaft takes 10 msec to complete one revolution

and the strobe ash duration is 100 µsec (1/100 of a millisecond), the
shaft will turn:

(ash duration/time per rotation) x 360°, which is (.0001/.01) x 360 = 3.6°.

So you will see the shaft move 3.6°. As the ash pulse widens you will

see greater degrees of rotation which results in more blur and a brighter
perceived illumination (the LEDs are on longer so the average light the

eyes see is greater). The trade-off is blur versus brightness. One also has

to take into account tangential velocity (rotational speed) – the further away
the rotating point is from the center axis the faster the tangential velocity
and the worse the blur appears to be – it is always the same number of
degrees of rotation but the physical length of the blur gets bigger as the
point moves faster. The strobe adjusts the width of the pulse automatically
to keep the degree of rotation visible constant.

There are two methods of adjusting the ash pulse width and hence the

brightness and consequently the blur.

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4.2 Degree of Rotation Adjustment

The rst method is to adjust the ash pulse width for degree of rotation
visible (blur). The user can set this from 0.2 to 14 degrees out of 360. The

higher the setting the brighter the strobe appears to be but the more blurred

the target is. Optimal setting to stop motion is 1.8 to 3.6°. The number
of degrees is a proportional amount and remains constant as the ash rate

increases or decreases. The strobe automatically calculates how wide the

pulse width should be at different ash rates to keep the blur constant – the
faster the ash rate the narrower the pulse width. The pulse width equals:
(setting in degrees/360) x (1/ash rate in Hz).

Thus the blur remains constant no matter what the ash rate*.

4.3 Pulse Duration Adjustment

The second method is to adjust the ash pulse width to a xed number of
microseconds. Here the user sets the ash pulse width in microseconds
not degrees. As the ash rate increases the pulse width stays the same and
the image will get brighter and more blurred as the ash width remains
constant*. The degree of rotation visible changes to keep the pulse width
of the ash constant*.

*Note: There are two limits maintained by the strobe – the pulse can
never be greater than 3000 µs nor can it exceed 14° of rotation. The strobe
automatically adjusts these values as the ash rate is increased or decreased
to maintain these limits at all times. For example - at a ash rate of 600
ashes per minute 14° of blur represents a ash pulse width of 3800 µsec.
The Strobe will limit this value to 3000 µsec or 10.8° of rotation (blur).

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5.0 USING THE STROBOSCOPE
TO MEASURE RPM

The primary use for a stroboscope is to stop motion for diagnostic inspection

purposes. However the stroboscope can be used to measure speed (in RPM/
RPS). In order to do this several factors need to be considered. First, the

object being measured should be visible for all 360° of rotation (e.g. The end
of a shaft). Second, the object should have some unique part on it, like a

bolt, key way or imperfection to use as a reference point. If the object being

viewed is perfectly symmetrical, then the user needs to mark the object with
a piece of tape or paint in a single location to be used as a reference point.
Look only at the reference point.

If the speed of rotation is within the range of the stroboscope, start at a
higher ash rate and adjust the ash rate down. At some point you will stop

the motion with only a single reference point of the object in view. Note that

at a ash rate twice the actual speed of the image you will see two images

(reference points). As you approach the correct speed you may see three,

four or more images at harmonics of the actual speed. The rst SINGLE
image you see is the true speed. To conrm the true speed, note the reading

and adjust the stroboscope to exactly half this reading, or just press the ÷2
button. You should again see a single image (which may be phase shifted

with respect to the rst image seen).

For example, when viewing a shaft with a single key way you will see one
stationary image of the key way at the actual speed and at 1/2,1/3,1/4, etc, of

the actual speed. You will see 2 images of the key way at 2 times the actual

speed, 3 key way at 3 times, etc. The FPM equals the shafts Revolutions Per

Minute (RPM) at the highest ash rate that gives only one stationary image
of the key way.

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Stopped Image 1/4 times 1/2 times 1 time 2 times 3 times 4 times

Start at the highest ash rate and adjust the ash rate down. You will encounter

Flash Rate (FPM) 1000 1500 3000 6000 9000 12000

Actual RPM

Example: Object rotating at 3000 RPM

If the speed is outside the full scale range of the stroboscope (500,000 FPM),

it can be measured using the method of harmonics and multipoint calculation.

multiple images so be aware of these. Note the ash rate of the rst SINGLE
image you encounter, call this speed “A”. Continue decreasing the ash rate
until you encounter a second SINGLE image. Note this speed as “B”. Continue
decreasing the speed until you reach a third SINGLE image at speed “C”.

For a two point calculation the actual speed is given by:

RPM = AB/(A-B)

For a three point calculation:

RPM = 2XY(X+Y)/(X-Y)

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where

X = (A-B) and Y = (B-C)

In instances when you can shut down the device and install a piece of reective
tape, then an optical tachometer is easier to use for RPM measurement.

Stroboscopes must be used when you can’t shut down the device. The
human eye is not easily tricked into seeing a stopped image by a stroboscope

when the ash rate is slower than 300 FPM. Therefore, stroboscopes are just
about impossible to use below 300 FPM for inspection or to measure RPM.

6.0 BATTERIES

The Nova-Strobe LED is tted with rechargeable NiMH (Nickel Metal
Hydride) batteries. These batteries contain fewer toxic metals than NiCd
(Nickel Cadmium) and are currently classied “environmentally friendly”.
They also have 30% more capacity than NiCd batteries of the same size.

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Like NiCds, NiMH batteries are prone to self-discharge - 10 to 15% of
charge is lost in the rst 24 hours then continues at a rate of 0.5 to 1% per
day. For maximum performance, charge the batteries just prior to use.

When not in use, the batteries should be charged at least every three months,
otherwise the battery capacity will be reduced or the batteries may become
unusable.

Charge the batteries before use and allow 3-5 cycles of charging and

discharging for batteries to reach full capacity.

The enclosure contains control electronics to properly and safely charge the
batteries. Never remove the batteries from the enclosure and attempt to charge
externally. Always use the recharger supplied (PSC-2U).

6.1 Low Battery Indication

When the batteries are charged, there will be no battery icon indication.
When the batteries are low, the Low Battery icon will blink in the display. The
strobe may still be used for a short time.

Low Battery Icon =

The strobe has a protection feature that prevents the strobe from operating if
the battery voltage is too low. This condition is indicated by no ash
and the display shows “LO BAT”. At this time the batteries must be

recharged. Remember to release the trigger switch.

Outline blinking (very little time left)

6.2 Charging the Batteries

The unit may be recharged at any time. You do not need to wait until the
low battery condition is indicated.

To charge the strobe with the recharger:

1. Release the trigger so the strobe is off.

2. Plug the recharger cable into the recharger socket (located below the
display panel behind the handle).

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3. Plug the recharger into an AC mains wall outlet (115/230 Vac).

CAUTION: Use of rechargers other than the one

When the recharger plug is inserted into the recharger jack, the strobe will
go into the Charging Mode. Make sure the trigger switch is not depressed.
The BBL strobe will not do anything else when charging (e.g. it will not

ash and the buttons have no function).

When charging, the strobe will indicate CHRGE in the bottom of the

display. The recharger will fast charge the batteries for about 4-5 hours and

then trickle charge the batteries.

Allow the recharger to charge the batteries until the display shows DONE

for peak battery life performance. If the batteries are not charged to 100%

regularly, the batteries will lose capacity.

supplied (PSC-2U) will damage the
stroboscope and void the warranty.

6.3 Stroboscope Disposal

Prior to disposing of the battery-powered strobe, the user must
remove the Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries. To do this, remove
the LED assembly first. This will expose four (4) screws that

must be removed so the reflector housing can be dismantled.
There are four (4) additional screws in the case half opposite the
input and output jacks that must be removed. The case halves
can now be separated, exposing the batteries. Unplug the
batteries from the circuit board. The batteries should be sent to a
recycling center or returned to the factory. The rest of the parts
may now be disposed of.

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7.0 SPECIFICATIONS

Flash Range 30 - 500,000 FPM (Flashes Per Minute), 0.5 to 8333.33 Hz
Flash Rate Accuracy 0.01% of setting or ± last digit
Flash Rate Resolution 0.01 to 1 FPM (menu selectable), 0.1 FPM resolution above

Display Update Rate Instantaneous
Time Base Ultra Stable Crystal Oscillator
Display LCD display with 6 numeric 0.506 inch [12.85 mm] high digits

Indicators Battery level
Knob Adjustment Digital Rotary switch with 36 detents per revolution;

Input Power Battery powered: Internal Rechargeable Batteries Vdc
Light Output Average: 3000 Lumens @6000 FPM 12” from lens
Flash Duration Adjustable 0.5 to 3000 microseconds or 0.2 to 14 degrees of

Run Time 12 hours typical at 6000 FPM, and 2.8° pulse width with fully

Charge Time 4-5 hours typical with supplied recharger
Weight 1.875 lbs [0.8505 kg] including batteries
Safety This product is designed to be safe for indoor use under the

Operating Temperature 32-104 ºF [0-40 °C]

Humidity

Compliance:

Energy Efciency

9,999.99 FPM, 1 FPM resolution above 99,999.9

and 5 alphanumeric 0.282 inch [7.17 mm] high digits

velocity sensitive

rotation (auto adjust with ash rate)

charged batteries

following conditions (per IEC61010-1).

Maximum relative humidity 80% for temperature up to 88 °F
[31 °C] decreasing linearly to 50% relative humidity at 104 °F
[40 °C]

CE compliant. Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2014/35/EU

Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMC) 2014/30/EU

Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive

2011/65/EU

This product complies with the U.S. Department of Energy’s
energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal
Regulations 10 CFR 430.32(z) and is registered in the DoE
CCMS database.

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8.0 OPTIONS/ACCESORIES AND PARTS

Options/Accessories:

SPC-1

6280-041

CC-7

6280-038

CC-12

6280-049

Protective
Rubber

Splash proof protective vinyl cover for battery powered strobes ONLY.

Latching carrying case for strobe with provision for accessories
(included with B

Deluxe water-tight latching carrying case for strobe with provision for

accessories (included with PBL Kit).

Protective rubber boot for all Nova-Strobe Series strobes that fits over
reector housing to protect strobe.

Cover

6280-048

Replacement Parts:

PSC-2U

6280-022

Internal
Battery
Pack

6280-046

Universal Recharger

Model PSC-2U

6280-022

Universal recharger, 115/230 Vac with USA, U.K., AUS, Euro
Adapter Plugs for battery operated Nova-Strobes.

Rechargeable NiMH battery pack for all Nova Strobe models: BBX,
DBX, PBX, VBX, BBL, DBL, PBL models.

BL Kit).

Internal Battery Pack for
Nova-Strobe Xenon and

LED Series Strobes

6280-046

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