Make more use of Intelligent Pressure Gauge features and functions

Most uses for pressure gauges are as a simple indicator, but if you want to carry out additional operations an intelligent gauge opens up a wealth of functionality that will help you expand it's use in a variety of monitoring setups.

Changing Pressure Units
The most requested feature for digital pressure gauges is the ability to change pressure units and most gauges provide this function. Not all gauges will convert every pressure unit though, it can vary from a choice of just bar/psi, to many more, so it is worth checking the spec first to make sure all the units that you need to convert are included.

Max/Min Values
You can't always be present to check the pressure of a process, so how do you know whether the pressure has risen or fallen while you were away? A maximum/minimum or peak/valley hold feature would give you some idea of what has happened between visual checks. This feature will continually monitor the pressure and update the memory with the highest and lowest reading reached.

Internal Data Storage
A step up from the max/min hold is a full data logging capability where you can manually or automatically set intervals for storing each pressure reading in a larger capacity memory. Some gauges will allow you to review the test results via the gauge's digital display or upload them via a computer interface for detailed analysis.

Linking to a Computer
A similar function is to provide a USB or RS232 interface for gauges which do not have sufficient internal memory for logging. This enables readings to be logged remotely from the gauge onto a computer, but you must maintain a live connection between the gauge and computer otherwise nothing will be recorded.

Reference Standard
Higher end pressure gauges incorporate displays with a high digit resolution and solid state high precision pressure sensors, which makes them useful for checking performance of other pressure measurement equipment. For example a dial gauge has very low resolution especially if the dial is small, so it is difficult to discern an error, but with a precise digital gauge there is plenty of digits to measure even the slightest error.

Switch and Signal Output
If external power is available at the intended location for the pressure gauge, you can consider using an output signal such as a switched voltage signal that triggers at values programmed via the front panel display. Alternatively you could also use a variable voltage or current signal for transmitting the pressure reading back to control instrumentation.

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