CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC First Quarter 2009 Vol. 20, Issue 1 Renewable Energy Applications p. 4 Remembering Bert Tanner p. 2 Repair and Calibration Department p. 3 Prewired Enclosures Simplify Installation p. 7 Campbell’s New Pressure Transducer p. 8 Campbellsci.com Gets a User Forum p. 8 Campbell Scientific Centro Caribe p. 11 Price List and Newsletter Changes p. 11 In Memoriam—Bert Tanner Paul Campbell, President Lab. Joining Campbell Scientific in Beginning in 2002, Bert was instru- President’s Message Message President’s 1978, he managed research and devel- mental in the measurement system opment projects as well as an effective commissioning for ChinaFLUX, an group of application engineers and extensive network measuring CO2 sales, marketing, and support staff. fluxes in various ecosystems in China. Bert’s life expressed integrity, loyalty In addition to his employment, Bert and leadership; these will be missed served on many professional commit- by his colleagues around the world. tees and boards. Among those at the Bert played a significant role in the top of his list are service as a director y dear customers and friends, growth, development, and diversity of on the Council on Agriculture Science Mwith feelings of sadness and Campbell Scientific. As vice president and Technology (CAST) and Fellow warm memories, I dedicate this mes- and director, he contributed to the of the American Society of Agronomy. sage to honor the life of Bertrand D. company’s international recognition Despite the rigors of his manage- Tanner, deceased 16 September 2008 for innovative instrumentation. Bert rial role in a dynamic company, Bert in Salt Lake City, Utah, from esopha- was noted by colleagues as one of managed to author and coauthor 15 geal cancer. For many of you, Bert was the few who insisted that theoretical chapters and academic papers. the face of the company. For many of models require experimental verifica- us, he was our heart and soul. tion. He had a sincere interest in the At the time of Bert’s death, the lines from Walt Whitman came to my “Oh Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship mind—“Oh Captain! My Captain! has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won…” our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we Bert’s work ranged from Forest Service careers of young scientists, and a keen sought is won . .” smoke-jumper in his early years to vice eye for talent at its early stages. Many president of Marketing and Customer environmental scientists acknowledge Bert will be missed, but he will not be Service at Campbell Scientific, Inc., his influence in their careers. forgotten. His passion for science, his for the last 28 years of his life. He quest for excellence, and his integrity spent time with the US Army Reserve, Bert led in the development of are values we are committed to carry University of Wisconsin Department automated weather stations, sonic on at Campbell Scientific. As we do of Geophysics, US Department of anemometers for measuring turbulent so, I am confident that our work and Navigational Oceanographics, and as transport in the atmosphere, eddy service will add to the legacy that Bert a research meteorologist with the US covariance systems, and tunable- was so much a part of in the field of Forest Service Central Sierra Snow diode-laser trace-gas-analysis systems. scientific endeavor. The Bertrand D. Tanner/Campbell Scientific Scholarship Fund at Utah State University has been established to honor his many contributions to environmental science. If you are so inclined, you may direct donations to: Bertrand D. Tanner/Campbell Scientific, Inc., Scholarship Fund, Utah State University, 1420 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-1420. Bert was a master’s graduate in biometeorol- ogy from Utah State University, and the scholarship fund will be used for graduate study in that field. 2 Campbell Update Vol. 20 Issue 1 Repair Department Department Spotlight Dennis Anderson, Director of Business Development t Campbell Scientific, we take rization) number that you can use for Apride in designing and manufac- returning the product. turing reliable measurement prod- ucts that can be counted on, even When a product comes in for repair in unforgiving environments. We or recalibration, our goal is to have it maintain this dedication to quality serviced, tested, and delivered to our while keeping a focus on value and shipping department in five days or economy. However, our products are less—though there can be seasonal not immune to every natural event, to variation. We are very conscientious accidents, or to the occasional com- about this. We find that most of the ponent failure and may need profes- time we meet this goal, and we meet sional repair. We also understand the weekly to discuss those that don’t make By comparing the before and after cali- role that recalibration has in keeping it. Sometimes we do have to wait for bration readings, you can determine measurements accurate and reliable. paperwork to be submitted from a how often recalibration should occur. A group of 10 dependable individu- customer. Accessories not manufac- A sound approach is to recalibrate after als in our Repair Department work to tured directly by Campbell Scientific two years and then extend or reduce provide these important services. may need to be returned to the original the time interval based on the results of vendor, taking extra time. the recalibration. Many companies treat their repair and calibration departments as profit We have a skilled staff of technicians Campbell Scientific has recently centers. At Campbell Scientific, we dedicated to fixing products right. We partnered with a laboratory accredited view ours as an extension of our troubleshoot to the component and by the National Voluntary Laboratory commitment to producing qual- identify the exact source of a problem. Accreditation Program (NVLAP) to ity products. You have a significant In the event of a high component better serve those who require calibra- investment in our products and our failure rate, we communicate this infor- tion under ISO 17025. Allow at least intent is to service them at reasonable mation to Engineering so products can three extra weeks for this service. rates and get them back in the field as be redesigned. quickly as possible. When considering your recalibration Our products have a history of long- schedules, keep in mind that Decem- If you think you may need a repair, term field operation, and we provide ber, January, and February provide the first step is always to talk to one of repair for as long as we can get replace- an opportune time to prepare for the our application engineers. They have a ment parts. We still routinely service summer field season. An RMA number great deal of experience and knowledge 21X and CR10 dataloggers—products is also required for recalibrations, but and do an excellent job of verifying that were first released in the 1980s. you do not need to talk to an applica- if a repair is necessary or determin- tion engineer. ing which component in a system is In addition to repair, we view our faulty. This reduces cost and increases calibration services as an important If we can be of assistance contact us at efficiency for both you and us. When part of maintaining measurement (435) 750-9535 or visit our website at a problem is identified, we’ll issue you fidelity. Because analog measurement campbellsci.com/repair. an RMA (return merchandise autho- drift is influenced by the environ- ment, it is difficult to give an absolute Mission Statement guideline for recommended intervals Winter 2008 • Volume 19, Issue 1 of recalibration. Many units are still We, in the Repair Department, strive to respond Executive Editor Neal Israelsen within specifications after five or six promptly to the customer in order to meet their Managing Editor Lex Shakespear years if used in moderate conditions, needs and requests in a timely manner. We collect Assistant Editors Linda Worlton meaningful data and produce reports providing Patrick Burt while others are outside of specifica- feedback to continually enhance product and Anthony Bodily tions within a year or two of operating in extreme environments. design quality. www.campbellsci.com 3 Renewable Featured Application Featured Energy enewable resources account for Below we list typical monitoring ap- solar thermal, and concentrated Ronly a small percentage of the plications in four of the most com- solar power. energy the world consumes. The drive mon renewable-energy areas: wind, • Site-assessment systems quantify to reduce our dependence on fossil solar, hydropower, and geothermal. a site’s suitability for solar energy fuels and produce energy from more production. environmentally friendly sources has Wind • System-performance packages led to an increasing number of proj- Our systems are used in every stage of correlate incoming solar radiation ects to develop these resources. wind-power operations. with DC/AC output for manufactur- • Wind-assessment systems provide er-specification validation and The use of our dataloggers in renew- data to determine the suitability power-production maximization. able-energy applications is nothing of sites for wind power and the best • Comprehensive diagnostic kits new, but the recent surge of interest wind turbine to use. pinpoint system failures, provide in renewable resources has triggered • Turbine-performance systems alarm capabilities, and collect a corresponding increase in the need monitor power generated and valuable data for preventive for quality measurements. available wind to help verify manu- maintenance. facturers’ turbine specifications. Because of this increased activity, we • Wind-forecasting stations placed Hydropower recently created a new application- strategically provide local meteo- Dams require a more diverse set of engineering group dedicated to sup- rological data that can be combined measurements.