Many sensors arrive as nothing more
than a
mysterious shaped object with a couple of leads hanging out. Even to
the initiated it can be a daunting task to connect this up to
a system
and derive any meaningful data from it. Often the sensor has no or
rudimentary intregral electronics and may have an output of only a
millivolt or so. Subject to serious interference in this condition it
is likely to require an electronic interface design to
minimise
such effects.
More often than not the interface will need to be analogue,
the design
of which will need to be robust in the expected environment. This will
have a range of operating temperature and be subjected to various
pressures, contaminants, vibration and shock.
Digital design although often more tolerant of some of the
environmental effects, has its own set of problems. The nature of the
interface can range from a direct connection to a microcontroller to
the
provision of a frequency output.
