Automation Nation

So, my father recently bought a Samsung TV and home theatre system. Samsung was advertising their system as a very simple plug n' play setup. They also were advertising their Anynet+ communication protocol. This feature would be great, if it actually worked.

Anynet+ is supposed to allow all of your Samsung device's to communicate with each other via this communication protocol. But, what happens when you hook up a device that does not have a Samsung logo on it? Well, basically nothing.

I was trying to hook up his cable box and the Samsung Blu-ray player via HDMI cables. Well, guess what? If I do not turn the Anynet settings off, I cannot get the AV reciever to recognize the signal from the cable box. So, I turn off Anynet, and proceed to get everything configured. I must add, the folks at Best Buy were very helpful throughout this process. They gave me the idea to turn off the Anynet settings.

Well, everything is working, right? Not so much. Just when I thought I had the whole thing dialed in, I switched the input on the reciever to DVD. Works great. Switch back to Sat/Cable and I have no signal. Now, if I cycle the power on the cable box, it pops right up.

At this point, I have given up trying to figure it out myself. So, I call in the big guns, Samsung Level 2 tech support. What a joke. They have no clue. They had no idea what was going on and needed to contact a product specialist. They said they would call me back within 2 hours, and they did, only to tell me they have no known solutions for my problem and would further investigate. I have not heard anything back from them.

I am returning the Samsung AV receiver for a Yamaha AV receiver and Definitive speakers.

Two lessons I have learned from this:

Don't but chaep AV systems cause they sound like crap and,

Samsung Anynet+ = Epic Fail

Any thoughts on this?

It's high tide in the world of Energy Management Solutions. With everything changing in the way we view our energy needs, and the focus on renewable energy, we are surfing our way in to the market place with our cutting edge products.

Take the Panasonic KW series for example, The KW series is the solution for maintenance and control in applications involving energy saving and environmental protection. It supports 4 types of dedicated CT sensors to cover a wide measurement range. Its basic functions have been expanded for easier operation: Instantaneous electric power display, voltage and current display, built-in hour meter functions, and more.

Why bother with traditional AC Digital Panel meters or DC Digital Panel meters when you can have it all.

It is available on our website. Click Here.
                    

Carlo Gavazzi is also catching the wave! The Carlo Gavazzi EM26 Energy Analyzer Performs extended consumption analysis while also keeping electrical parameters under control.

                   
FInd it here on our website.

The EM26 is a three-phase energy analyzer with built-in configuration joystick and LCD data displaying; particularly indicated for active and reactive energy metering and for cost allocation.

The meter can be provided with digital outputs that can be used for pulse proportional to the active and reactive energy being measured or for alarm outputs, or for remote control.

The nature of our voltage mains has changed greatly in the last 10 years. With the proliferation of non-linear loads such as inverters, power converters, switch-mode power supplies, and computers, there is a growing concern for the quality of our power sources.

Problems often arise which can cause equipment failure or shutdown resulting in significant costs and loss of production. Power quality problems can result in failure of compensation capacitors, tripping of fuses, over-heating of transformers and motors, failures of electronic equipment, and high neutral currents.

Energy costs are becoming a significant expense in most processes. With increased energy unit costs, decreased generating capacity, and the environmental concerns with the burning of fossil fuels, it is important that companies reduce their electrical consumption.

At Marshall Wolf Automation, with our Extended Vendor Network offer a broad range of power quality meters and transducers which give early warning of power quality problems - allowing preventative action to be taken before a major failure results. Most of our products offer relay outputs that can be used to immediately shut down a piece of equipment if a certain threshold is reached. Another option is to connect to your PLC or PC control system to provide plant wide monitoring of power quality using 4-20 mA current signals or via RS485 or Ethernet communications.

Marshall Wolf Automation also offer a number of software products for monitoring of a network of meters and transducers. This allows at-a-glance viewing of your complete power system.

Check out all of our Energy Management Solutions and Custom Control Panels on our website.

We are very happy to extend our offerings from Chint. For many years we have offered to you the likes of Idec, Carlo Gavazzi, Panasonic, AC Tech, Lenze, Kebco, Pepperl & Fuchs and now Chint. You may be asking yourself, who is Chint?

Chint is currently the leading player in the low-voltage electrical industries in China. Its sales turnover was 2.4 billion US dollars by the end of 2006. In 2006, Chint ranked 15th in the list of top 100 companies released by Forbes.

Chint has a product line that covers circuit breakers, contactors, pushbuttons, switches, transformers, relays, capacitors, motor starters etc. I would like to focus on a few of the offerings that we currently have.

Chint LED Pilot/Indicator Lights 22mm thru-hole mounting:
You can buy these on our webpage for under $4.


I have been using these in all of our custom control panels for over a year now. First of all, they are about half the cost of others. And second, they are just as good if not better than other offerings.

Chint NC1 Series Contactors:
9 Amp contactors start at $7.95. 


Again, we use these in our custom control panels. Why? Because, an AB equivalent will cost you double or triple what the Chint will. But will it perform the same? Short Answer: Yes. You will only find minor differences in the ratings between the two. If you do not have a hard spec, these make great replacement components.

Chint NC2 Series AC Manual Motor Starter/Protector:
You can buy them here for $18.50.



This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Chint's full product line. As you can see, they have a great product at phenomenal pricing. Give us a call if you would like to know more.

Marshall Wolf Automation Inc. has been providing their customers with value added services for many years. From simple component modification, to fully integrated systems, we have got you covered. We are also in the process of bringing our own custom control systems to market at more than reasonable pricing. We can also offer energy management solutions.


We design full "turn-key" control panels:


We were recently contacted by a local company to revamp all of their furnace control panels. We went in and evaluated the situation, they wanted us to rebuild the current systems they had. Well, we were able to build brand new enclosures for less than the competition's rebuild pricing.

We now have a dozen of these custom control panels running in some of the harshest conditions, with no problems to date. 

We also offer enclosed high performance ac drives, modified industrial stack lights, car washing systems maintenance, and much much more. 

If you are in need of engineering help, or just need someone to assemble and wire your systems, we have got you covered.
 

Please contact us at systems@wolfautomation.com or (847)-658-8130 for more info.
We are ready to help.