News - 2000

Veriteq heads to International Space Station

November 10, 2000 - Veriteq has announced that NASA will be using Veriteq data loggers for the "Materials on the International Space Station Experiment" (MISSE) and that Veriteq is now a NASA industry partner.

The Veriteq products used so far for the MISSE are the SP-1000-1S and the SP-1400-4SX precision temperature data loggers. Factors that were important in the selection of the products were time-base accuracy, long battery and memory life, fast thermal response time, vibration and G-force resilience, and vacuum survivability. An additional factor was an ability to handle the wide temperature swings experienced in space, particularly as the space station moves from direct sun exposure to being in the earth's shadow.

NASA applications of the equipment so far have involved the integration of data logging capability into other NASA measurement instrumentation and for precision temperature measurement in externally mounted Passive Experiment Containers (PECs). Each PEC consists of various sample trays, carousels, and plates as well as an atomic-oxygen pinhole camera. These containers will be attached to selected locations on the space station and exposed to designated orientations for periods up to three years.

MISSE is a cooperative effort with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Boeing, NASA Langley Research Center, and a number of other leaders in the aerospace community. The project's purpose is to test the effects of the space environment around the ISS on different materials over extended periods of time.

Veriteq's New Test Equipment Speeds Humidity Calibrations

May 17, 2000 - Veriteq announced today it has taken delivery of a new precision humidity generator that will allow it to increase the speed, accuracy, and flexibility of its relative humidity data logger production calibration and re-calibration services.

The new $50,000 calibration system is a "Two-Pressure" Humidity Generator, a self-contained system capable of producing atmospheres of known humidity using the fundamental, NIST-proven two-pressure principle.

"The new humidity generator is a very significant addition to our calibration lab", says Kevin Bull, Veriteq's President. "With it we'll be able to perform faster custom humidity calibrations of our data logger products that precisely match what our customers need." Bull adds that the new system eliminates the lengthy setup time between calibration runs and allows completely flexible and automated control of temperature and humidity parameters.

A key feature of the new system is the exceptional level of accuracy it offers, says Willie Boetzkes, Veriteq's Calibration Manager. The two-pressure system is considered a primary standard by NIST, the highest classification of humidity calibration equipment recognized. "The system offers excellent humidity and temperature stability and the two-pressure method eliminates the errors normally associated with water vapor and temperature measurements", says Boetzkes. This characteristic helps explain why the system can offer an accuracy of 0.5% RH over a wide range of 10 to 98% RH and 0 to 70 Degrees C.

The new Humidity Generator system was supplied to Veriteq by Thunder Scientific of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Thermocouple Loggers offer High Precision at Low Temperatures

May 11, 2000 - Veriteq has released a new version of its popular SP-1700 series thermocouple data loggers that offers increased accuracy and resolution for low and mid-temperature applications.

The new SP-1700-N series narrow range data loggers feature a 4 microvolt input resolution that can monitor temperature environments from -200 to 240 Deg. C. with a measurement precision of 0.2 degrees. The new loggers are available in three models: the SP-1700-20N that allows a single thermocouple input, the SP-1700-30N that allows two thermocouple probe connections and the SP-1700-50N that allows four thermocouple inputs.

The SP-1700-N models have an input signal range of -7.2 to 8.8 millivolts that is compatible with the most popular thermocouple types. The tighter measurement range contrasts with the standard wide range Veriteq SP-1700 models (W-series) that cover a broader range from -4.6 to 55.4 millivolts.

"The new narrow range models allow customers to accurately monitor very low temperature environments using a standard type K thermocouple", says Rick Schellenberg, Veriteq's marketing manager. "It also allows them to monitor ambient temperatures with a much greater level of precision." Schellenberg adds that the new models were added primarily to address the needs of its pharmaceutical customers who typically require high accuracy monitoring of critical products in dry ice environments.

Veriteq SP-1700 Thermocouple data loggers are compatible with type J, K, S, T, E and R thermocouples and include fully automatic cold junction temperature compensation. The units also offer 10-year battery life and multi-year memory capacity. For more, see Spectrum 1700 Thermocouple Data Logger

Veriteq Introduces Validation-Compliant Monitoring System

March 3, 2000 - Veriteq Introduces Validation-Compliant Monitoring System - see the full story here.

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