Jason builds a plane

pressure sensor testing part 2

4/5/2021

0 Comments

 
My pressure sensors finally arrived!  I'm stoked to experiment with these models as I believe they have the measurement resolution and electrical specs for my Arduino fuel gauge solution.

First up, unboxing and evaluation.  First thing out of the box I was really surprised at how large they are.  It didn't have any physical measurements on the ordering page, but I had the mistaken impression from the pictures online they would be somewhat smaller and lighter, similar to the 10psi sensor I ordered initially.  the new one is larger, a bit heavier (not unreasonably so) and doesn't come with an integrated cable:
Picture

They will still fit my application space, but I'll probably need to consider some sort of mounting bracket to secure it with the fuel line.  Overall build quality seems real good.  Two sensors, exact same spec, just like I ordered - 1.5psi, 1/4 inch NPT thread connection, 0.5V to 4.5V output:
Picture

Looking closer at the electrical connection end, standard cable compression sleeve entry and what appears to be a small screw holding the cap on the top:
Picture
Picture

Backing out the screw I thought would allow the cap to come off to reveal the electrical connections inside.....
Picture

........but the cap is actually a full 4 prong indexed plug on it's own - the machine screw secures the cap/connector to the sensor body.  I like that in the design!
Picture

Another nice design detail is the rubber gasket on the bottom of the connector, protecting the joint with the sensor.
Picture

The terminal block pops out of the cap to reveal good quality screw terminals which are numbered to co-incide with the pin outs on the lable of the sensor.  #1 for 5V+, #2 for sensor circuit ground and #3 for output signal.  There is a 4th terminal with a electrical ground symbol - I suspect this is for sensor body ground, but I'll need to test to be sure: 
Picture

I do know I need a better and more scientific set up for true testing and calibration, but here's what I did tonight to try it out.  I used the same poly tube and connections as I did the for 10psi sensor tested previously.  I slowly added water to the tube (in the upright position) and monitored the sensor connected to the Arduino micro-controller.  Using the same Arduino script as before, it is clear to me this sensor is not only much better suited range wise to what I need (1.5 psi vs 10psi), it also seems the output signal is much more stable.  I suspect this output stability is part build quality and part correct range specific, but I'm happy where this experiment and my related theory is headed.  The photo doesn't capture the graphed output on the laptop, sorry.  I'll try and get some screen captures when my test method/system improves.
Picture

Still much testing to prove the effectiveness of this method for measuring fuel tank quantity to come.  This is another example of stuff I'm learning on this journey :)
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    New here? Try starting at:

    blog #1

    Author

    Husband, father and 911 dispatcher.  Long time pilot with a licence that burns a hole in my pocket where my student loan money used to be.  First time aircraft builder. Looking to fly my own airplane.

    Categories

    All
    Airframe
    Airport
    Avionics
    Decisions
    Engine
    Interior
    Keep Looking
    Mentor
    Milestone
    Mission
    Motivation
    Paperwork
    Philosophy
    Priorities
    Scrounging
    Tools
    Ultralights
    Welcome Aboard
    Workshop

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    RSS Feed

    build log

    Item Hours
    Engine 39
    Tail 151
    Wings 726.5
    Fuselage 239
    Interior 5
    Controls 11.5
    Avionics 27
    Other 66
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.