SysCheck2™—The First Intelligent Acoustic Sensor System
Measurement Challenges
Ensuring reliable and consistent data in each measurement setup can be challenging. Test and production engineers often experience issues relating to one or more of the following factors:
> Difficult to check the entire measurement chain
> Personnel with limited acoustical training in a production line setup
> Risk of human errors
> Time-consuming calibration/verification
> Hard-to-reach microphones
> Testing standards that need to be adhered to
Built-in Self-verification
SysCheck2-enabled microphones allow a remote-controlled, fast, and precise verification of the complete measurement chain. SysCheck2 integrates directly with an Audio Precision APx series analyzer and is also fully compatible with Siemens Simcenter Testlab Signature Acquisition software. Other data acquisition systems only require using a software development kit (SDK) from GRAS, which offers full functionality of all features. A SysCheck2-enabled system ensures a healthy measurement chain:
> End-to-end verification of the measurement signal chain without requiring an external calibrator or any physical intervention by the user.
> Monitoring of environmental data, including temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity at the point of use.
> Easy visual assessment of microphone health and/or location via RGB LEDs on the microphone preamplifier body.
Explore the Benefits
GRAS 246AE with SysCheck2 is a ½″ free-field microphone set and, as such, is optimized for all acoustic applications where the location of the main sound source is known and the microphone can be pointed directly at it ensuring 0° incidence. It is ideal for general acoustic testing and conforms with IEC 61094 WS2F and IEC 61672 Class 1.
246AE is a ½″ CCP microphone set, an improved version of GRAS 46AE—with the added SysCheck2 functionality. This makes it the first intelligent acoustic sensor system with built-in self-verification and environmental data.
> Remote-controlled verification of the entire measurement chain
> Rapid check of all channels with a single click
> Monitoring of environmental data (temperature, humidity and barometric pressure)
> No physical interaction with microphones required
> Plug n' Play with Audio Precision and Siemens platforms
> An intelligent microphone with self-test capability
> Detects variation in sensitivity greater than 0.3 dB
> Detects temperature change greater than 2 ºC / 3.6 ºF
> RGB LEDs to locate microphones easily
> CCP compatible - no need for expensive cabling
Main Applications of SysCheck2
SysCheck2 has been developed to add value to production line setups, where it can help reduce downtime as well as increase efficiency and data reliability. It is also essential for test setups when microphones are placed in dangerous or hard-to-reach locations as well as for distributed measurement setups where many microphones need to be validated in a short period of time.
Production Line Testing
SysCheck2 helps improve productivity.
A very important application area for the GRAS 246AE microphone sets is for End-of-Line testing. In particular, test setups using ear simulators/couplers and test fixtures/chambers would benefit from using SysCheck technology.
The SysCheck2 functionality of the microphones makes it possible to validate microphone calibrations with a single click. This means that operator requirements and the risk of human errors are significantly reduced.
Distributed Measurements
SysCheck2—Remote verification with a single click.
Another important application area for the GRAS 246AE microphone set is for validating the calibration of many microphones in ground arrays, for environmental surveillance or when microphones are hard to reach. Often, there is also a critical time requirement involved, meaning that certain measurement tests require that all microphones are validated shortly before the actual measurements, which can be very difficult in practice.
SysCheck2 functionality makes it possible to validate all the microphones with a single click and thereby reduce testing time as well as increase data reliability. SysCheck2 is particularly useful when microphones are placed in difficult or dangerous-to-reach locations, or when many microphones are spread out and need to be validated in a short period of time.
AUDIO PRECISION PLATFORM
In the first collaborative effort by the GRAS and Audio Precision engineering teams, APx500 version 7.0 enables an APx user to run SysCheck2 and receive a pass/fail indication for each connected SysCheck2-capable microphone, without the need for a calibrator or physical access to the microphone.
Full SysCheck2 functionality is ready for use out of the box when connected to APx500 v7.0 Measurement Software, in conjunction with an Audio Precision APx series analyzer with CCP and TEDS read/write capability or a non-CCP compatible analyzer and a GRAS 12BA, 12BB or 12BE power module.
From a microphone in a production test fixture to an array of microphones in an anechoic chamber, the combination of SysCheck2 and APx allows the user to verify the accuracy of the entire signal chain without physical access or the potential disruption of the test setup.
If you would like to learn more about SysCheck2 on the Audio Precision platform, click the button, below.
SIEMENS PLATFORM
Siemens Simcenter Testlab Signature Acquisition has integrated SysCheck2 for use with the GRAS 246AE microphone with a dedicated remote-check procedure, allowing it to smoothly check the validity of a calibration previously performed in the field. After initial calibration, the system enables a remote check to be performed in a dedicated tab. All 246AE SysCheck2 microphones present in the field can be checked simultaneously with a single click, and each microphone’s measured value is stored in that microphone’s TEDS as a reference value.
The combination of SysCheck2 and Simcenter Testlab Signature Acquisition enables you to verify your measurement chain prior to each measurement and target any flagged microphones for further investigation with up to 80% time savings compared to other chain verification methods.
If you would like to learn more about SysCheck2 the Siemens platform, click on the button, below.
OTHER SOFTWARE PLATFORMS
GRAS offers full functionality on other software platforms by way of providing a software development kit (SDK). This makes all features easily accessible with a TEDS-enabled CCP acquisition system, depending on your software platform. The SDK is available on the relevant GRAS microphone product pages.
If you want to know more about SysCheck2 on other platforms, click the button, below.
SysCheck2TM and APx500
In the first collaborative effort by the GRAS and Audio Precision engineering teams, full SysCheck2TM functionality is ready for use out of the box when connected to APx500 v7.0 Measurement Software.
Watch how SysCheck2TM and APx500 form the perfect test solution.
Check the Specifications
GRAS 246AE is an improved version of the existing GRAS 46AE ½” CCP microphone set, but with the added SysCheck2TM functionality.
Read the product specifications here:
