Monarch Instrument Nova-Strobe PBL User Manual

MONARCH INSTRUMENT

Instruction Manual

Nova-Strobe DBL

and

Nova-Strobe PBL

Deluxe and Phaser LED Stroboscopes

15 Columbia Drive

Amherst, NH 03031 USA

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Website: www.monarchinstrument.com

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 specifi 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 qualifi 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.

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 2002/96/EC 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.

Mo narch Inst rument’s Li mited Warra nty applie s. See www.
monarchinstrument.com for details.

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

1.1 Modes of Operation ...........................................................1

1.1.1 Internal Mode .................................................................. 2

1.1.2 External Mode ................................................................. 2

1.1.3 Charging Mode ...............................................................2

1.2 Brightness ..........................................................................3

1.2.1 Degree of Rotation Adjustment.....................................4

1.2.2 Pulse Duration Adjustment ...........................................4

2.0 PREPARATION FOR USE ......................................................5

2.1 Power ..................................................................................5

2.2 Input / Output Connections ............................................... 6

3.0 LED STROBE OPERATION ....................................................7

3.1 Adjusting the Flash Rate - RPM ...................................7

3.1.1 Using the Knob ............................................................... 7

3.1.2 Using the Keypad ........................................................... 7

3.1.3 Decade Adjustment ........................................................ 8

3.1.4 Multiply or Divide By 2 ................................................... 8

3.1.5 Fixed Increment N Adjustment......................................9

3.2 Adjusting the Flash Duration (Brightness) .................9

3.2.1 Flash Duration - Degrees ............................................... 9

3.2.2 Flash Duration - Microseconds ................................... 10

3.3 Display Units ...............................................................10

3.4 Tachometer Mode ........................................................10

3.5 Mode Selection ............................................................ 11

3.6 Memory ........................................................................ 11

3.7 Phase Delay .................................................................12

3.7.1 Internal Phase Delay ....................................................12

3.7.2 External Delay (PBL Model ONLY) .............................. 12

3.8 Menu .............................................................................13

3.8.1 Decimal Places .............................................................13

3.8.2 Backlight .......................................................................14

3.8.3 Input Pulse Edge ..........................................................14

3.8.4 Output Pulse Polarity ................................................... 14

3.8.5 Blanking ........................................................................15

4.0 USING THE STROBOSCOPE TO MEASURE RPM ............15

5.0 BATTERIES ...........................................................................17

5.1 Low Battery Indication ................................................ 18

5.2 Charging the Batteries ................................................ 18

5.3 External Power Supply / Charger (PBL Only) ...........19

5.4 Stroboscope Disposal ................................................19

6.0 SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................. 20

7.0 OPTIONS AND ACCESSORIES / SENSORS ...................... 22

1.0 OVERVIEW

The Nova-Strobe Deluxe DBL and Phaser PBL LED (Light Emitting Diode)
are rugged portable battery powered LED Stroboscopes used for inspection
and to stop motion to determine the speed of rotating objects. The units have
a pistol grip with lockable trigger switch and wrist strap for comfortable
hand held operation or they may be mounted on a tripod using the integral
¼ -20 UNC thread at the base of the handle. Although the DBL and PBL
are similar, the PBL has the additional ability to phase shift the image with
respect to an external signal and can animate the image in slow motion
rotation for inspection purposes. The PBL can also run continuously from
an external power supply.

The Deluxe and Phaser LED
Strobes have a two line backlit
alpha-numeric liquid crystal
display (LCD) and a 12 key keypad
enables the user to simply enter
data and control the operation
of the unit. The keys have dual
functions – the primary function is
shown by the black printing on the
blue background on the top half of
the key. The secondary function
is as a numeric keypad and the
numerics are shown against a
white background on the bottom
half of the key – 0 to 9, period and ENTER. The LCD display has several
icons which will be explained later in this manual.

Figure 1 LED Strobe

Control Panel

1.1 Modes of Operation

The stroboscope has two basic modes of operation – INTERNAL and
EXTERNAL.

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1.1.1 Internal Mode

The strobe is in the Internal Mode when nothing is plugged into
the input jack or when manually set using the INPUT button. In
the internal mode the strobe generates its own timing signals and
the users can enter the fl ash rate using several different methods
– see Section 3.1.

1.1.2 External Mode

In the External Input Mode the user can’t make any fl ash rate
adjustments with the knob. The fl ash rate is a function of the input
signal. This mode is used to synchronize the fl ash to an external
event (for example, from an optical sensor) to stop or freeze motion.
The fl ash will be triggered on the rising or falling edge (menu
selectable) of the external input pulse. The strobe is in the External
Input Mode whenever there is a plug in the input jack. When the
strobe is in the External Input Mode, EXT will be displayed.

When an external input is applied to the unit and the strobe is put
in the Tachometer Mode, the unit will read the signal from the
external input (sensor) and display the reading on the LCD display
without fl ashing the lamp. The strobe will not fl ash in the Tach
(Tachometer) Mode.

1.1.3 Charging Mode

The Charging Mode is when the strobe has the battery recharger
plugged into it. The strobe will continuously display the state of
the battery charge while being recharged.

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1.2 Brightness

GLOSSARY:
LED – Light Emitting Diode
msec – millisecond = 1/1,000 of a second
µsec – microsecond = 1/1,000,000 of a second
° = degree. One rotation = 360°

The strobe’s brightness depends on how wide the LED fl 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 fl ashes. All strobes work by giving short bursts of
light (the pulse width) at a rapid repetition rate (the fl 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 fl ashes once every 10 msec for a brief
moment, the user sees the fl ash at the same spot in the rotation of the
shaft and the persistence of the eye remembers this until the next fl ash
making the shaft appeared to be stopped. As the target is rotating there
is some movement evident during the strobe fl ash. The longer the fl ash
duration, the more obvious the rotation is and this increases the blur.

This blur can be calculated – if the shaft takes 10 msec to complete
one revolution and the strobe fl ash duration is 100 µsec (1/100 of a
millisecond), the shaft will turn:

(fl 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 fl 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

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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 fl ash pulse width and hence the
brightness and consequently the blur.

1.2.1 Degree of Rotation Adjustment

The fi rst method is to adjust the fl 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 fl ash rate increases or decreases. The
strobe automatically calculates how wide the pulse width should
be at different fl ash rates to keep the blur constant – the faster the
fl ash rate the narrower the pulse width. The pulse width equals:
(setting in degrees/360) x (1/fl ash rate in Hz).

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

1.2.2 Pulse Duration Adjustment

The second method is to adjust the fl ash pulse width to a fi xed
number of microseconds. Here the user sets the fl ash pulse width
in microseconds not degrees. As the fl ash rate increases the pulse

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width stays the same and the image will get brighter and more
blurred as the fl ash width remains constant*. The degree of rotation
visible changes to keep the pulse width of the fl 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 fl ash rate is
increased or decreased to maintain these limits at all times. For
example - at a fl ash rate of 600 fl ashes per minute 14° of blur
represents a fl ash pulse width of 3800 µsec. The Strobe will limit
this value to 3000 µsec or 10.8° of rotation (blur).

2.0 PREPARATION FOR USE

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.

2.1 Power

The LED Strobe is battery powered and has internal rechargeable
batteries. The unit should be charged before use (see Section 5.0).
The actual operating time of the stroboscope depends on the fl ash pulse
width. Narrower fl ash widths increase the operating time. Note that the
DBL strobe will not operate from the recharger supplied with the unit.
The PBL will run continuously from the supplied AC powered charger
(PSC-PBXU).

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. 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.

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