Business Notes
(Issue 21, 2011)
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11-15-2011 ---
New PLC tutorial libraries and hardware trainers from ICA
Our favorite PLC trainer Doug Bell continues to add helpful training products to his Online Automation School site on www.interconnectingautomation.com. Now you can purchase low-cost CLICK PLC trainers to use in your own training program or in the CLICK PLC training section of ICA's online school. Through November 30th, orders receive free shipping on any of these low-cost trainers. You can also purchase custom-made PLC trainers, built to your specifications, in quantities of four or more, eligible for free imprinting of your brand logo. Visit the Web site to get a no-obligation quote.
Doug currently has educational incentives available. From now through December 31, 2011, registrants for any of Doug's regular scheduled regional courses (for 2011 or 2012) will receive the "PLC Logic and Principals" DVD set ($395 value) at no charge. Also, customers who register for one of Doug's online courses will receive a $100 discount on any regular scheduled in-person courses offered around the country.
Doug recently expanded his online tutorial libraries in the PLC and communications areas. "DirectSOFT and DirectLOGIC PLCs 101" is based on the wealth of knowledge Doug imparts in his face-to-face seminars. This in-depth look at DirectSOFT software and the DirectLOGIC PLC series offers more than 60 tutorials which run an average of eight minutes each. Topics include inputs, outputs, programming instructions and more. For students unfamiliar with PLC theory, note that this library includes all the videos from the "Intro to PLCs 101". The DirectLOGIC library is $39.95 for a 30-day unlimited access subscription.
With the new "Networking" library, Doug presents the basics of RS-232, RS422, RS485 and Ethernet communications. These on-demand videos discuss the often difficult-to-master features such as master \ slave, client \ server, IP Addresses and subnet masking. More than 17 segments are available, with unlimited access for 30 days with a paid subscription ($24.95).
Also new are 25 videos added to all CLICK PLC online libraries and courses. These additional videos cover: Event Drum Timed Drum Analog In Analog Out Shift Register Subroutines Copy instruction Other libraries available include Productivity3000 controller, C-more HMI, drives and motors, and data collection.
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11-15-2011 ---
FIRST Robotics student interns at NASA,
works on Mars Rover
Last year in Issue 17's Student Spotlight, we featured a Beverly Hills High School FIRST robotics team that was using the C-more touch panel as an interface to the robot. One of the driving forces on the team, Alex Kern, spent last summer in a dream internship (if you're a technofreak!) – testing code for NASA's next-generation Mars Rover, the Curiosity, whose mission deployment is set for late November 2011. Read how Alex spent his summer vacation in this article on the FIRST Web site at http://bit.ly/rgwhLP.
To read the original Automation Notebook article on Alex and his team, MorTorq, visit http://bit.ly/pSQoOE. And for more details on the Mars Rover Curiosity and its mission, and to check the countdown clock, go to: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ .
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