Magnetic (Hall Effect) Sensor

[w6kd]

Hi;

Just stumbled onto your website...too bad for me as I was in Downers Grove for a couple weeks this summer and would have liked to visit you.

I have a question about the Hall Effect magnetic sensor board. I want to use a hall effect sensor to measure rudder pedal travel...I would attach a magnet onto the arm of one of the pedals and place the HE sensor near its throw. Is there anywhere I can see more info about the sensor in use on your board? For example, how does one design the mechanical layout so that the magnetic field will drive the HE sensor approximately through the full 0-5v range? Does the sensor null at half of its value at a neutral N-S flux density, and then move up/down based on presence of N or S flux polarity? Does output voltage vary linearly with flux density (in other words at the inverse of the square of the distance)?

If you could let me know what HE sensor is on the board, or lead me to a data sheet for it, it would help.

Cheers

Bob Scott
Santiago Chile

[phidgets]

Hi Bob,

The Hall effect sensor is brand new so we ourselves haven't had that much of a chance to play with it yet. I can tell you that yes, it does sit neutral in the center when no N or S are present and swing 50% to the oposing directions.

For more info on the sensor I'd recommend visiting the www.phidgets.com site and post in their forums or email them. A lot of your questions are over my head I apologize.

On a side note, I would think that there are far better ways to measure mechanical movement that a hall effect sensor. (IE: sliders or rotation knobs) The hall effect has very little range. Even a very strong magnet only registers within 1.5 inches. But that may work fine for your set up...

I hope this helps !

Matt