Quote: (Originally Posted by
reefrat)
And the secondary analogue handset, when your checking that is it a PITA to select all the sensors separately?
Lastly, the proprietary sensors- is this an issue as opposed to most other units on the the market that use the more commonly available Teledyne units and can others be used in the unlikely event that something ever happens to SMI?
Teledyne sensors will work just fine. Nothing special about the SM stuff other than the fact that SM would like you to buy them.
The analog secondary WILL fail after you drop it. They work *just fine* and are well proven (being a copy of the Mark-15/CCR-1000 scheme) but they *will* break when dropped at their own cable length to the deck. Trust me on this. There are digital alternatives available from SARTEK and COLKAN. Either would be preferable. Change the battery once a year and forget about them. Analog needles are obsolete.
With all due respect to a prior respondant, there is *no* value in watching the needle "jump rate" as the sensor is selected, again with all due respect that shows a lack of understanding of how a jeweled meter movement functions. All you are seeing is the mechanical aspect of the meter movement *itself*, IE the strength of the spring that returns the needle to zero when voltage is removed. The rate of the needle moving back to the measured position is again simply a mechanical spring function of the meter movement and has no bearing on cell viability. None, zero, zippo, nada, got it? If anyone was told otherwise by the OEM, it's a matter of simple salesmanship. Just ain't so. Not the first time that people promote what they happen to have on hand as a "design feature".....
Opinion? The Prism is little more than a "serial manufactured homebuilt" with construction material selection and methods that are, err..... well let's say that I would be able to make a more robust rig in my garage. Electronics are simple and reliable, but there are other choices out there......
Dave Sutton