A miniature, infrared pressure telemetry system

A miniature, single-channel, infrared telemetry system designed for making base pressure measurements on a wind tunnel model has been developed for the 13-inch magnetic suspension and balance system (MSBS) at Langley Research Center. The system consists of a transmitter installed in the wind tunnel model and a receiver station located outside of the test section. The onboard transmitter package includes a miniature pressure transducer, a signal conditioning circuit, and IR LED and a hearing-aid battery package. The IR LED, which is mounted flush with the model's surface, serves as the transmitter. The system is automatically activated in a magnetic field and has low power requirements. The system has been successfully employed to make low speed base pressure measurements at the 13-inch MSBS. The battery powered telemetry transmitter has a demonstrated one-hour operating life and an overall precision of better than 1/2 percent full scale.