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Getting Your Lab Equipment Back up and Running

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Steps to take with test equipment that has been idle to ensure accurate measurements.

June 9, 2020 - Vista, California - Axiom Test Equipment, an electronic test equipment rental and sales company has published a new blog post entitled "Getting Your Lab Equipment Back up and Running" that offers steps or precautions that should be taken with instruments that have been idle for some time, which is not unusual during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that they can provide the most accurate measurements possible as you get back to work.

Since many of us have been working only from home, projects requiring test equipment have been delayed and the instruments in your lab have been left idle for a couple of months. Can those instruments be expected to deliver the same levels of performance and accuracy as soon as they are turned on? Axiom Test Equipment's latest blog post delves into why it is best to take some quick and easy precautionary steps to find out if your equipment is indeed within operating specifications and therefore going to deliver accurate measurements.

For most companies, test equipment represents a significant investment. Taking some time upfront to perform preventative checks on your lab equipment is an efficient way to make sure your work down the line is as accurate as possible.

Getting Your Lab Equipment Back up and Running

 

Fluke TI45FT-20 IR Flexcam Thermal Imager

Getting Ready to Start Those Tests

Electronic test equipment is designed to deliver meaningful data concerning a device under test (DUT), and most users assume they are achieving excellent accuracy when they power up their instruments. But what if the test instruments have been sitting on a shelf for some time (not unusual during this time of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic)? Can those instruments be expected to deliver the same levels of performance as instruments that are powered for use day after day and perform regular measurement routines? Or should test instruments that are being returned to regular use after considerable "downtime" be prepared in any way for handling a regular workload once again? This blog post offers steps or precautions that should be taken with instruments that have been idle to ensure that they can provide the most accurate measurements possible.

 Warm-up Time

Some instruments, such as digital multimeters (DMMs), are designed for general-purpose, portable use and meant to be turned on and off as needed. There is no "warm-up" time required. Similarly, portable analysis instruments such as spectrum analyzers and digital storage oscilloscopes (DSOs) are designed to be used shortly after being powered up and under a wide range of operating conditions, such as operating temperature and relative humidity (RH). The same is not true, however, for benchtop test instruments, such as signal or waveform generators or vector network analyzers (VNAs) running on AC power. They provide the most consistent performance after a certain amount of warm-up time and once reaching a certain ambient temperature, surrounded by a nominal environmental temperature of about +25°C or room temperature. The warm-up time may be only one-half to one hour or even an amount of time specified in the owner's manual. But without suitable warm-up time, a benchtop test instrument may not provide the accuracy or repeatability specified in the owner's manual.

Read entire "Getting Your Lab Equipment Back up And Running" article.

Rent or buy quality test equipment from Axiom Test Equipment - your source for electronic test and measurement equipment. Axiom Test Equipment rents, sells, repairs and accepts trade-in of test equipment to support your test & measurement needs. If you would like help selecting any type of test equipment for your project, contact Axiom Test Equipment's sales department at sales@axiomtest.com, call 760-806-6600, or browse Axiom Test Equipment's inventory online at www.axiomtest.com.

About Axiom Test Equipment

Get Exactly What You Need. Rent - Buy - Repair - Trade-In

Established in 2005, Axiom Test Equipment strives to continually improve itself and offer the best value for its customers. We offer our customers several practical, efficient and cost effective solutions for their business or projects' test equipment needs. Whether you need to rent & buy test equipment, repair test equipment, sell or trade equipment, we are committed to providing superior customer service and high quality electronic test equipment.

At Axiom Test Equipment we provide several services. We rent electronic test and measurement equipment. We also sell test equipment. If you have a piece of malfunctioning or broken test equipment we also have an in-house repair lab. For anyone seeking a way to offload their surplus or obsolete equipment, we offer a trade-in program or we can buy the equipment from you.

We stock a comprehensive inventory of equipment and can use our extensive network to find you those hard to get items. We believe in getting equipment to you quickly and at a competitive price.

Contacts

Axiom Test Equipment

2610 Commerce Way 

Vista, CA  92081

Phone: (760) 806-6600

Web: www.axiomtest.com

Posted June 10, 2020