Author Archives: Sam Kirchner

PTC Thermistors vs. NTC Thermistors for Inrush Current

Prevent Inrush Current with PTC and NTC Thermistors PTC and NTC thermistors can provide inrush current protection in various equipment, machinery, and systems. Inrush current affects a wide range of products, from transformers to motors, and electronics from power supplies to inverters.  Inrush current becomes further complicated by systems that switch on and off quickly, such as welding equipment and HVAC systems. This post will give you a brief overview of … Continue Reading

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Temperature Sensors – Thermistors versus Thermocouples

Thermistors vs. Thermocouples Temperature sensors are important for everyday life, from working in industrial plants to preventing fires. Thermistors and thermocouples are two such temperature sensors. A thermistor is a thermally sensitive resistor that exhibits a continuous, small, incremental change in resistance correlated to temperature variations. Thermocouples reflect proportional changes in temperature through the varying voltage created between two dissimilar metals electrically bonded together. Both are good options for temperature … Continue Reading

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4 Most Common Types of Temperature Sensor

Temperature sensors range in accuracy and responsiveness Some applications, such as equipment used to create life-saving medications, require temperature sensors to be responsive and accurate for critical quality control; however, some applications, like the thermometer in your car, don’t require as accurate or responsive sensors. The four most common types of temperature sensors, ranging in responsiveness and accuracy from high to low are: Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) Thermistors Resistance Temperature … Continue Reading

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How To Limit DC Motor Inrush Current

DC Motor Inrush Current

Choosing An Inrush Current Limiter To Preserve Your DC Motor So, what does an Inrush Current Limiter have to do with DC motor inrush? More than you may think. DC motor inrush is the maximum, instantaneous input current drawn by the DC motor when first turned on and it is important to know how to limit the inrush current to prevent possible damage to the motor. A DC motor converts … Continue Reading

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5 Thermistor Sensor Considerations When Selecting An NTC Thermistor

when you need to employ a temperature sensor, there are many things to consider to ensure that you get the right component. We've listed the top five which are the temperature range, required accuracy, stability, packaging, and noise immunity. NTC thermistors are often the best and cost effective solution.

These 5 thermistor sensor considerations will make selecting the right NTC thermistor easy Selecting a thermistor temperature sensor can be confusing, and you have a lot of options to choose from. You don’t want to risk equipment failure or circuit breaker short-outs. So, how do you make the right selection without sacrificing performance and giving up quality? See what the 5 thermistor sensor considerations are all about to find out!   … Continue Reading

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Thermistor Temperature Sensor Blog Archive

Thermistor Sensor Blog Archive The thermistor sensor blog archive contains articles relating to temperature measurement, compensation, and control.

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Inrush Current Blog Archive

Inrush Current Blog Archive The inrush current blog archive contains articles relating to inrush current, it’s causes, cures, and prevention. Inrush Current Limiting  

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Thermal Time Constant and NTC Thermistors: A Practical Study

Thermal time constant graph

The Relationship between Thermal Time Constant and Temperature Sensors In this article, we’ll break down the relationship between the thermal time constant and NTC thermistors. We’ll also cover the importance of selecting the right thermistor with characteristics that will produce the correct thermal time constant for your application. Further down in this article, we demonstrate one way to measure thermal time constant; running two tests, then present the results. What is Thermal … Continue Reading

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Calculate Inrush Current in Three Steps

An Inrush Current Limiter (ICL) can protect electrical equipment from overheating when switched on because of inrush current. And, because inrush current equals the maximum instantaneous surge of incoming current from a power source, it can be as much as 2 to 3 times the steady state current of the attached device. Inrush Current Calculators are the best way to measure the resistance versus temperature curve to get the right Inrush Current Limiter. … Continue Reading

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Toroidal Transformer Inrush Current Issues Got You Down? We’ve Got the Answer

What You Need to Know About Toroidal Transformer Inrush Current Toroidal Transformer Inrush Current can cause some serious damage if not appropriately managed. Inrush current can cause circuit breakers to trip and fuses to blow. Additionally, it can cause a complete failure of the transformer itself. And if that weren’t enough to give you a headache, excessive inrush current can also limit the total number of devices which can be … Continue Reading

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NTC Thermistors Used In Tesla Hyperloop Pod

Award-Winning Hyperloop Pod Uses NTC Thermistors A team of engineers use NTC thermistors in their design for a high-speed transportation pod.  The thermistors accurately sense temperatures and create a map of the application’s heat. Teslarati recently conducted an interview with members of the Badgerloop team, 3rd-place winners of SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod design competition in January.  The Hyperloop is Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s “fifth mode” of transportation where passengers in a … Continue Reading

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ACCU-CURVE™ Series of Interchangeable Thermistors

We are excited to announce that we are now offering ACCU-CURVE™ series thermistors. These are a new series of interchangeable thermistors used for temperature sensing, control, and compensation. They are best suited for applications that require a high degree of measurement accuracy over a wide temperature range. Common applications include medical, industrial, and automotive. Read the full press release here. Why choose the ACCU-CURVE™ series? The ACCU-CURVE™ series offers faster … Continue Reading

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NTC Disc Thermistors Available at Rhopoint

NTC Radial Leaded Thermistors used in Temperature Compensation Applications

We have exciting news! U.K.- based Rhopoint Components now carries our series of NTC disc thermistors acquired from Measurement Specialties (formerly RTI electronics). These components deliver high stability and maximum sensitivity for temperature measurement, compensation, and control. You can read the full press release here. NTC Disc Thermistor Applications NTC disc thermistors offer extreme precision and temperature measurement for various applications. They are used in a wide range of industries including aerospace, military, appliance, medical, and automotive. … Continue Reading

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Transformer Inrush Current: Limiting a 40VA Transformer

Have you ever turned on a transformer and heard a loud humming sound? What about having a blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker? These signs can all indicate transformer inrush current. Transformer inrush current describes a spike in current that occurs when you initially turn on your transformer. This spike can be up to 10 times higher than normal current. Why does inrush current occur? It can happen because large transformers demand a huge amount of … Continue Reading

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