Mallory Sonalert Products, Inc. Technical Articles & Guides (4.2)


	The Buzz, a technical newsletter from Mallory Sonalert Products, Inc. is published and e-mailed approximately 4-5 times per year. In each issue, Mallory engineers address specific technical issues, answer technical questions, and communicate useful information regarding the application of Sonalert audible signals and other board-level audible devices such as transducers, indicators and sirens. This issue of The Buzz is dedicated to the use of audible signals in the transportation industry. The transportation market is a broad, diverse and fast growing market. In it's broadest definition, it includes applications ranging from golf carts to automobiles to railroad cars to 747s - and everything in between. And they all use audible signals.
	"Planes Trains & Automobiles"
	Yes, it's the title of Steve Martin's 1987 hit movie, but it could also describe the range of applications for Mallory Sonalert^®audible signals used in the transportation industry. As the title suggests, let's start with the aircraft industry. In commercial helicopters, Sonalert audible signals are used as "door open" alarms and for various engine function/malfunction signals, such as low oil pressure and high temperature warnings. In 747 "jumbo jets" there are no fewer than 13 separate applications for Sonalert audible signals. These include signals for "wheels down and locked", fire alarms, hydraulic pressure warnings, engine over- temperature alerts, crew cabin wake-up signals, and "overspeed" alarms. Overspeed alarms are activated when the aircraft exceeds a predetermined maximum speed. (Because of these alarms, continually pushing the overspeed limit is known in pilot jargon as "riding the horn".) Moving from the world of jumbo jets to the world of land-based vehicles, here are some other interesting applications for Mallory's audible signal products:
	Railroad Cars - Sonalert audible signals are used to annunciate the opening and closing of the doors on passenger cars throughout the nation's railway industry. It is, in fact, a requirement of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) that every door opening/closing be announced with an audible signal.
	Golf Carts - Surprisingly, golf cart back-up signals turned out to be one of the more challenging applications for Mallory engineers. The signal needs to be loud enough to warn a person standing behind a backing cart, but quiet enough not to bother a putter on a nearby green. Also, because golf carts are typically hosed down at night, the unit needs to be waterproof and needs to resist corrosion from sulfuric acid fumes emanating from the nearby battery. When presented with these challenges, Mallory engineers developed a completely new design that met these requirements.
	Agricultural Vehicles - Several years ago, a leading agricultural tractor manufacturer asked Mallory to develop a signal with a special delay circuit and pulsing sequence that would initially sound an alarm when the driver got off the seat, pulse for 10 seconds, then shut off. This Sonalert model also features a "pigtail" wiring harness connector.
	Long-Haul Trucks - Excessive engine temperature and low oil pressure can be critical - and expensive - problems for the diesel engines of long-haul trucks. Sonalert audible signals are used in the cabs of these trucks to warn drivers of the impending shutdown of their engines for either of these conditions.
	Mallory's Dan O'Brien to Speak at IUV Technology Conference
	Mallory Sonalert Products Sales Engineer Dan O'Brien will deliver a presentation on the use of audible signals in industrial vehicles at the Industrial & Utility Vehicle Technology Conference, to be held October 6-7 at the Marriott Denver Tech Center in Denver, Colorado. If you are interested in attending this event, please click on the Conference Registration link on this page.
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