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Possible ultrasonic range extension? — Parallax Forums

Possible ultrasonic range extension?

kelvin jameskelvin james Posts: 531
edited 2008-08-10 00:59 in General Discussion
This is just an observation at this point, so anyone that is interested may want to pursue it. I have one those $20 ultrasonic measuring units bought from the building store. Cool thing about it, is it has a long distance range it can be switched to. Standard range is up to 30 ft. and LD is up to 60 ft. I have tested it, and the LD range works good, although there are errors on objects that are too close. I popped it open to have a look at the circuit, and the LD switch trace looks like it passes though another diode, which is bridged with the first.

If anyone knows how this is accomplished, it would be interesting to know. It operates the same in both modes, sends out 5 pings on both. Anyway, i figured there may be a way to extend the range on the ping sensor with some additional hardware. A 60 ft. range would be a plus to have for outdoor use.

An additional note, the sensor is a single transducer, rather than the transmitter / receiver like the ping, if that makes a difference.

Comments

  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2008-08-09 23:02
    On another thread (fairly old by now) there was a discussion about hacking a laser range finder used in construction. These units are cheap, but it seemed that the guys on the thread hit a dead wall... I don't know about ultrasonics, but if you can get yours to work reliably at 60 ft then please let the rest of us know. The closest thing to that is the Devantech red module that can do about 8 m (~25 ft), and it's priced a horrible $80.
  • kelvin jameskelvin james Posts: 531
    edited 2008-08-10 00:59
    It was moi that started the laser hack thing, and now that i have a some additional testing equipment, i will be looking at it shortly. I have no aim to hack the ultrasonic unit or develop a product from it, i just found it interesting for the extended range. This is just a consumer product for distance measuring with a lcd readout. I will do some research on the circuits involved. I am hoping for a few dollars in parts and some coding, this technology could be added as external hardware to exsisting sensors, but have no idea at this point. Even if i do find a solution, the range finding will have to be switched from short range to long range and back, so it could get tricky.

    Post Edited (kelvin james) : 8/10/2008 1:15:57 AM GMT
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