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Discussion: How Would You Roadtest the MagAlpha Angle Sensor Kit

rscasny

imageI usually provide the technical details and documentation on a roadtest page for people to look over at their leisure.

This material usually gives people ideas on how they would like to roadtest a product. But I think sometimes, it's good to actually talk about how one would roadtest a product, due to perhaps it's something new for many people, or it needs a little more background.

I think this angle sensor kit is one of those products.

When we decided to roadtest this kit, we initially provide the sensor and the communications board. But with only those things, the roadtester would have to mount the magnet and the sensor to the motor shaft. Seemed like heavy lifting, so the supplier came back with the kit that's on this page (right):

community.element14.com/.../mps_magnetic_angle_p

The sensor board is mounted to the end of the motor shaft already (as well as the magnet). The roadtester would need to hook it all up, connecto the Arduino board (not shown in the image at the right) and spin the motor.

But still, how do you actually test it.

More importantly, why is this sensor important to roadtest?

This clip from the sponsor's website pretty much explains it:

The ability to detect position or speed is a fundamental requirement in the control and monitoring of many mechanical systems. Slow speed position measurement in applications such as motorized actuators has historically used resistive potentiometers. In high-speed applications such as servo motors, optical encoders have typically been used. Though potentiometers are inexpensive, they suffer from the drawback of being a moving contact-based assembly, which brings the associated issues of mechanical contact wear and susceptibility to damage from external environmental factors including moisture and dirt ingress. Optical encoders offer high accuracy, but come at a higher price due to the complex nature of their construction. Engineers can solve this dilemma by using contactless rotary magnetic angle sensors that implement Hall-effect sensing.

This page goes into detail about the angle sensor, specifically about its SpinAxis technique: www.monolithicpower.com/.../introduction-to-the-magalpha-magnetic-angle-sensor-family

The kit we are providing to the roadtester is a motor control kit. But we would like to get roadtesters to take a closer look at the angle sensor. Run some tests, play with it, and give some feedback or thoughts about it.

So, that's my backgrounder.

What do you think?

How would you test the sensor?

Even if you don't have the time to take on this roadtest, I'd appreciate your input. It would benefit those members who are thinking about applying.

Thanks.

Randall Scasny
RoadTest Program Manager

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  • I am a hobbyist in the electronics field and have been trying to get into being a roadtester and even though I've already applied to quite a few of them I haven't been picked for one. So, I wanted to ask an honest question. What does a new person (on e14 and to Roadtests) with knowledge and electronic skills to solder on SMD components (from package sizes 1206, 0805, 0603, SOT23, LL34, sop8, all the way to the tiny 0402 as well as other little and big components/chips) need to do to be able to be picked for the available roadtesting projects? I mean I know that there are minimum requirements and that's not what I mean, I mean what will it take for someone like me, who isn't an electrical engineer and that wants to learn and help others to learn as well, to get picked for a roadtest? 

  • in reply to ajmorin369

    Hi Anthony,

    I won't dwell on the non-tech aspects, because there are some requirements which are not related to engineering, for instance reliability is something probably high on the list, because there's a handshake agreement/promise to do the review, because the manufacturers won't offer more review items for the program if reviewers are not reliable, and Randall and the rest of the element14 staff are best placed to comment on that, and how newcomers can demonstrate their reliability, but I can help from a technical perspective.

    From the technical perspective, it varies from one device to another, and you get the option to propose how you'll RoadTest/Review the item, which doesn't need soldering, coding, etc., if you don't want to initially. In fact many reviews items do not require soldering or coding or any onerous level of knowledge. Sometimes, by just reading up on the item you've been tasked to RoadTest, that is sufficient for you to become an expert on it, because others do not have the time to study it in depth, and they rely on you to write up your findings in simple language so they can quickly get up to speed on a product. If you can achieve that in a review, then from my perspective (others may feel different) I feel it's already a great review before even any soldering iron is switched on : ) For me I dislike reviews that launch into a complex discussion of the product without any overview or simple explanation of what it's all about, because I don't have the time to research everything, I (and I'm sure others) rely on people who write blogs/reviews etc., to do the distillation and write-up of the information, that so I can learn from them.

    Here's an example of a review that could be improved a lot (from my perspective, others may disagree): Infineon BLDC Shield   (I don't like to share a negative example, but if it helps others write a good review then some good has come out of it!).

    The reason is, he launches into the review, titled Infineon BLDC Shield, without even stating what BLDC means. Even if you'd studied engineering at a university for 4+ years, you would likely come out of it without knowing what BLDC means. Secondly, he wasted time creating videos that were pointless, they do not even show a BLDC motor (technically they do, but they are not being controlled as such from the equipment he is RoadTesting. The code he wrote doesn't seem all that interesting either. Instead, it would have been nice to learn about what the performance of the board he was reviewing was (e.g. how much voltage and current can it support for driving motors), and an explanation of BLDC as mentioned, and what it is used for. No code or videos would be needed for that. Of course, good code or good videos are great too. And thirdly, he didn't stand by his review because someone asked him a question in the comments of the review, and he didn't answer, so to me that's unreliability. On the other hand, maybe he didn't realize someone asked him a question, because the site does have some notification issues.


    Anyway, back to this particular RoadTest for the MPS magnetic sensor, it is for a device that doesn't need soldering, and can be used as-is. However, some reviewers might get their soldering iron out and connect to a microcontroller like Arduino or Pi Pico perhaps, because a lot of boards/devices use standard connections/interfaces, and you'll soon start to recognize those, even if you've not studied engineering.
    At a board-level, and between boards, often the popular interfaces are called I2C and SPI. By looking at the datasheet of the device, it will indicate which one, and in this case, the MPS sensor board offers SPI, however it's not essential to use that interface if you're not currently unfamiliar with it. For those that do want to do a bit of coding, the support information is actually really good - the manufacturer (MPS) has gone to the extent of writing a complete guide. 

    Most electronics nowadays involves some programming, and something like Pi Pico, or Arduino, are great for helping pick up some knowledge in that area. Another option is to install Python on your PC, and try some exercises on that. Eventially, you'll get to a stage where you will feel comfortable connecting electronics to such devices, and controlling them through software.

    For a newcomer, I reckon these RoadTests listed below would have been good opportunities, these were in the recent past 6 months or so, but eventually other similar ones may appear. None of these required any programming, or circuit construction:

    Fundamentals with Multicomp Multimeter + Accessories
    METCAL GT120-HP-T6 Soldering Station
    AIM-TTI Bench Power Supply
    Fundamentals with Multicomp: Show Us How To Solder

    This current MPS magnetic sensor RoadTest might suit a newcomer, or you could hold out for one you feel more confident about. Plenty of RoadTest reviews are about the hardware or software, and not necessarily connected to anything else. As mentioned sometimes it's just great for someone to investigate use-cases, provide helpful information and explain in their review why a product may be of interest. That was the case with the Fundamentals with Multicomp: Show Us How To Solder RoadTest, where at a high level all the reviewers needed to do was switch on the device, let it heat up and try to solder a couple of parts, it didn't even need to be a functioning circuit. For my review (I was one of the reviewers for that one), I didn't completely solder a functioning circuit either, since I felt it wasn't core to the review, and (for me) it felt more important to show some solder joints instead of the rest of the circuit.

    So, in summary, there are lots of RoadTests where the technical knowledge isn't onerous, because the reviewer becomes the expert through just trying the product out and reading up on it, and in part things like the reviewer's reliability and a desire to stick with it are extremely important too. Also, everyone is friendly here and would help if you got stuck.

  • in reply to shabaz

    Hello again Shabaz, thank you so much for spending some of your time to respond my question. I greatly appreciate your response because you gave me lots of different things that I may not have considered before and gave me some information that I knew already but from a different perspective. I have definitely gained knowledge that hopefully will help me in being selected for a roadtest in the future.

  • in reply to ajmorin369

    No problem at all! I was thinking, another thing to do meanwhile could be to write any short blog, it will get you familiar with the editor menu/toolbar that is used for blogs and reviews, and you'll be able to insert photos etc. It could be on any tech topic, or tech related news you've heard, or any problem you want to solve, or anything to be honest. For example, I was going to write a paragraph or two today about a power cut in my area, and how I couldn't tell if things were damaged, for instance, since some faults may reveal themselves later. Any blog you write could be used as an example in your RoadTest applications, of material you've written. Not saying it will definitely help, but I suspect it will because it proves you're committing time and reporting stuff just as if it were a review, and that can be more important that prior technical knowledge in a specific area.

  • in reply to shabaz

    I think it would be fair to say, the level of community participation has an impact on the application. Your suggestion of a blog post is one such example.  This would be especially true for first-timers. You need to establish a presence for the committee to get to know you. If I was on the committee and the application was my introduction that is a pretty tough call to say yes I will go with an unknown. 

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  • in reply to shabaz

    I think it would be fair to say, the level of community participation has an impact on the application. Your suggestion of a blog post is one such example.  This would be especially true for first-timers. You need to establish a presence for the committee to get to know you. If I was on the committee and the application was my introduction that is a pretty tough call to say yes I will go with an unknown. 

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