WHAT'S NEW:

LEE-DICKENS HAS BEEN AWARDED A GRANT FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BY THE EAST MIDLAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.

Lee-Dickens has been awarded a grant to continue to develop hardware and software.  More

LEE-DICKENS SECURES CONTRACT WITH AIRWAYS CORPORATION OF NEW ZEALAND

Airways Corporation of New Zealand place an order with Systems Division to upgrade the Ancillary Navaids Remote Control and Monitoring System being used throughout the whole of New Zealand.  More

LEE-DICKENS INSTRUMENTATION ACHIEVES SIL2 RATING

Lee-Dickens, the UK instrumentation manufacturer announce that its range of high quality trip amplifiers and signal converters have in most cases been assessed and awarded SIL2 rating (with a proof test interval of one year) by the independent safety integrity consultant - RM Consultants.  More

NEXT GENERATION REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT

Lee-Dickens Sitewatch MIDI Remote Terminal Units are intelligent microprocessor based devices for monitoring and controlling equipment at remote sites.  More

MULTI-CHANNEL ANALOGUE ADDER/SUBTRACTOR

Lee-Dickens are to manufacture a four channel analogue adder/subtractor for like-for-like replacement of products in existing applications. More

LEE-DICKENS BESPOKE DESIGN & MANUFACTURING FACILITY TO REPLACE OTHER MANUFACTURERS INSTRUMENTS THAT HAVE BECOME OBSOLETE

Replacing obsolete instruments on a large scale not only requires capital expenditure on the instruments themselves, but also time and money... More

LEE-DICKENS AND AERO-INFO TECHNOLOGIES (AIT) SIGN AGREEMENT TO WORK TOGETHER FOR CHINA NATIONAL WIDE RADAR & NAVIADS RCMS PROJECT

AIT is an affiliate of Air Traffic Management Bureau of CAAC.  More

ISOLATED FREQUENCY TO CURRENT/VOLTAGE CONVERTER

Instrumentation specialist Lee-Dickens, has released a frequency to current/voltage converter with built-in isolation and a universal DC power supply that enables legacy pulse emitting devices to communicate with new equipment requiring current or voltage inputs. More

LEE-DICKENS MANUFACTURES SALINOMETER FOR ROLLS-ROYCE

Instrumentation specialist Lee-Dickens, Northamptonshire, UK, announce that they have been chosen to design and manufacture a new Salinometer for Rolls-Royce plc for use in the next generation of Royal Navy Nuclear powered attack submarines, known as The Astute Class, being manufactured by BAE.  More

LEE-DICKENS LTD IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE OPENING OF THE LEE-DICKENS(CHINA) OFFICE IN BEIJING

The office is able to offer sales and technical support for the growing number of systems Lee-Dickens has in China and S E Asia via the highly trained and motivated staff located there. More

LEE-DICKENS WEB BUREAU SERVICE SUPPORTS LONDON HEATHROW TERMINAL 5 EXPANSION

Construction of Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport by BAA is a £4.2bn expansion of the busiest international airport in the world. Currently one of Europe's biggest construction programmes, Terminal 5 is a huge and complex project, with phase 1 alone consisting of 16 major interconnecting projects and 147 sub-projects. More

SUB-CONTRACTING SCOPE EXPANDED BY STATE-OF-ART SURFACE-MOUNT ASSEMBLY LINE

Lee-Dickens has installed a state of the art TWS Quadra surface-mount assembly line in their factory in Northamptonshire, enabling the company to expand greatly the type of sub-contract work it undertakes. More

RELATIVE HUMIDITY TRANSMITTER RECEIVES ATEX APPROVAL FOR DUSTY ATMOSPHERES

Lee-Dickens ATEX approved intrinsically safe relative humidity transmitters have now received full Baseefa certification for use in potentially explosive dusty environments. More

Sapura Technologies Sdn Bhd place an order with Systems Division to upgrade

Sapura Technologies Sdn Bhd place an order with Systems Division to upgrade the Navaids Remote Control and Monitoring System being used at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Sitewatch NT .  Timescales for the project are tight so work commences immediately.

TRIP AMPLIFIERS ARE SMALLER AND CHEAPER

Lee-Dickens has added two DIN-rail mounted trip amplifiers to its Beta range of products at a size and cost that improves on anything else currently available.  More

Remote Control and Monitoring System for the Navaids at the Royal Malaysian Air Force 

Remote Control and Monitoring System for the Navaids at the Royal Malaysian Air Force Base, Butterworth, successfully signed off and handed over.

Lee-Dickens' Systems Division continues to enhance its range of Remote

With so many people now connected to the Internet, Lee-Dickens has extended its range of Web based RCMS and Telemetry Products to allow users to view their plant data, schematics and data trends using their favourite browser. More

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

Lee-Dickens has extended its next-generation Beta range of signal conditioning equipment to include two new signal converters - BD320 and BM320 - which provide two independent current or voltage outputs from a single input. More

QUICK-LEE DOES IT @ www.lee-dickens.biz

Lee-Dickens, the Northamptonshire-based instrumentation company, has unveiled a brand new web site providing end users, OEMS, designers and maintenance staff in industry with comprehensive on-line information about process...More

LEVEL ACQUISITION EXTENDS INSTRUMENTATION RANGE

Northamptonshire-based Lee-Dickens has acquired two families of conductivity and capacitance level probes from ABB Automation Ltd. More

LEE-DICKENS HAS BEEN AWARDED A GRANT FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BY THE EAST MIDLAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
January 2008

Lee-Dickens has undertaken research and development work on both software and hardware for a new generation of RTUs and our top end software “Sitewatch™". The new generation of products combine the latest technologies and international open-standard protocols. Lee-Dickens will continue to target “mission critical” and safety critical applications both at home and abroad. The new developments have resulted in very cost effective and environmentally friendly products and systems which will be a significant advantage in our existing markets in China and the ASEAN group of countries.

LEE-DICKENS SECURES CONTRACT WITH AIRWAYS CORPORATION OF NEW ZEALAND  
10th December 2007

Airways Corporation of New Zealand place an order with Systems Division to upgrade the Ancillary Navaids Remote Control and Monitoring System being used throughout the whole of New Zealand.  The project will be using the new Midi-8R (rack-mounted variant) RTUs, plus a number of our Maxi RTUs, utilising TCP/IP, GSM and PSTN communications.  The system comprises over 100 units spread throughout the entire country and will monitor a vast majority of the country's Navigational Aid Sites.  Production has begun and the initial roll-out programme begins early in 2008.

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Lee-Dickens, the UK instrumentation manufacturer announce that its range of high quality trip amplifiers and signal converters have in most cases been assessed and awarded SIL2 rating (with a proof test interval of one year) by the independent safety integrity consultant - RM Consultants.

The continuing drive to improve the performance, reliability and standardisation of safety systems led to the IEC61508 standard `Functional Safety of electrical/ electronic/programmable electronic safety related systems', which defines safety integrity levels (SIL) as measures of the safety of a given process.

The Lee-Dickens range including BD100, BD120, BM100, BM120, BD300, BM303, BM916, BD320 and BM320 products feature `excellent circuit design' that enables them to achieve the SIL2 classification where some comparable products on the market only manage SIL1. In addition the Lee-Dickens products are all non processor based, which is especially important to industries such as oil and gas, nuclear power generation and steel.

These same industries are also now demanding that instrumentation being implemented into new installations achieve a rating of at least SIL2 or preferably higher. Signal converters currently on the market largely fail to meet these demands, so the Lee-Dickens range become increasingly desirable especially as they remain price competitive.

The BD100/BM100 are single level trip amplifiers and the BD120/BM120 are dual level trip amplifiers, each from a single process signal input. The BD300/BM303 are isolating signal converters, which will convert a range of process signals into standard transmission voltage or current signals. The BD320/BM320 are also isolating signal converters, which convert process signals into two independently isolated current or voltage outputs. Finally the BM916 is a low input impedance isolating signal converter suitable for conversion of a mA signal into an isolated current or voltage output where minimal input loop resistance is important.

SIL Ratings
Safety integrity levels refer specifically to the probability of failure on demand (PFD) - or to what extent the end user can expect his process to perform safely, and in the case of failure, fail in a safe manner. By selecting devices that are rated for use within a desired SIL environment, end users can optimise their processes for risk.  Back to top

Lee-Dickens Sitewatch MIDI Remote Terminal Units are intelligent microprocessor based devices for monitoring and controlling equipment at remote sites. The Sitewatch MIDI- 8 from Lee-Dickens represents the next generation of class leading RTU's used primarily as part of a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) or a telemetry system.

The MIDI-8 uses the same distinctive IP65 rated moulded enclosure as the previous model, but the use of the latest compact surface mount technology and RoSH components has freed up space for a number of additional features. These features include a broad range of interchangeable networking communication options including PSTN (fixed line modem), GSM and LAN Ethernet communications. The unit also has a transient to transmitter logic (TTL) interface that enables off the shelf modems to be used. This means a GSM or Ethernet modem can be easily swapped should it fail or the communications method need to be changed. The modems and radio transceivers are powered from the RTU itself and supported by standby batteries should mains power fail.

As well as increased networking options, additional I/O has been added. The Sitewatch MIDI 8 has 8 optically isolated digital inputs, 8 differentially selected analogue inputs and a further 3 digital outputs fitted as standard. The digital input capacity can be increased to 16 or 4 pulse inputs can be added by fitting a small expansion board. Digital and analogue inputs are configured by on-board links to provide a two wire interconnection to site equipment. A 24 VDC 250mA supply is available to power external analogue transducers.

Each Sitewatch MIDI- 8 has two serial data ports, one of which is configured for the Master Station communications interface and a second that can be used for local interrogation, connection to other RTUs via a Local Area Network or for interfacing to other intelligent site equipment.

All field connections are made to plug-in screw terminals on the input/output board. A four line by 20 character LCD and 16 key keypad can be fitted for local operator display and interrogation. The channel names to be displayed in the RTU can be specified by the user and can therefore be in any language to suit the operator.

The Sitewatch MIDI- 8 has a built in data logging facility for all inputs and outputs and a real time clock used to time and date stamp the logs. The baseline operational software (boot software) is held in non-volatile EPROM memory with application programs and critical site configuration data held in Flash ROM. Logged data is held in battery backed CMOS static RAM.  Back to top

Lee-Dickens recognise that the current product serving the market has become ever harder to source and feel they are perfectly positioned to produce a cost effective replacement product for the many hundreds of existing applications in the nuclear, steel and utilities industries.

The BD940 is a signal converter that will add or subtract between two and four scaleable input mA or Voltage signals and one internal scaleable constant. The BD940 then converts the resultant into an isolated standard transmission voltage or current signal.

Each channel can be added to or subtracted from the equation by means of links, now located behind the easily accessible front panel (the only major improvement to the original product) and each channel has a scaling potentiometer for overall gain control. Setting up the scaling for each channel is affected by reference to an internal voltage brought out to the external terminals.

The BD940 can be supplied with either a 115 or 230 AC power supply. A 9-30 DC option is also available (model number BM940). The unit has an operating temperature range of -20 to +60 degreesC and works in humidity up to 95%.

The Lee-Dickens manufacturing centre in Northamptonshire is able to produce this high quality, but now niche product at a reasonable cost. The BD940 enables end users to replace current equipment and extend the life of the plant without having to buy new racks or spend vast amounts of time and money rewiring. Furthermore, replacing like-for-like products in specialist applications will remove the requirement for re-training and may negate the requirement for submitting a new safety case.Back to top

Replacing obsolete instruments on a large scale not only requires capital expenditure on the instruments themselves, but also time and money for the re-wiring of the panels to accommodate any new shapes and mounting formats of instruments with the same functionality. Lee-Dickens can look into designing a new instrument with the same specification, size, look and feel as the original and that can be supported for a further 15 to 20 years.

Examples of instrument formats already covered include:
DIN rail mounting
Rack mounting card I
SEP rack sockets

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LEE-DICKENS AND AERO-INFO TECHNOLOGIES (AIT) SIGN AGREEMENT TO WORK TOGETHER FOR CHINA NATIONAL WIDE RADAR & NAVIADS RCMS PROJECT

AIT is an affiliate of Air Traffic Management Bureau of CAAC. The China National Wide Radar & Navaids RCMS project will include more than 40 airport contracts

Lee-Dickens will be using their experience with RCMS to extract and transport data from the airport Navaids equipment to AIT's database system.

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The BM200 can be configured for use with a wide variety of transducers that produce a pulse or sine wave output. The unit converts the input signal into an industry standard isolated mA current or voltage output. Because the BM200 produces an isolated output, it enables frequency-to-current/voltage-conversion without the worry of earth loop problems.

The BM200 is ideal for use with proximity sensors for non-contact speed measurement or monitoring the speed of rotating machinery such as turbine flow meters that give an analogue measurement of flow rate.

The unit can be used in conjunction with a Lee-Dickens BM100/BM120 trip amplifier to give alarm, control or shutdown facilities at preset levels of speed.

The BM200 incorporates both a sensitivity adjustment (a potentiometer located behind the fascia of the instrument).and a reference voltage to allow a variety of sensor types.

The DIN rail mountable BM200 has either 2 or 3 wire inputs and accepts an input frequency range of between 0 and 20KHz. It has a universal DC power supply of between 8 and 30 Volts. The unit operates in a temperature range of 0 to 45 degrees C. Back to top

Instrumentation specialist Lee-Dickens, Northamptonshire, UK, announce that they have been chosen to design and manufacture a new Salinometer for Rolls-Royce plc for use in the next generation of Royal Navy Nuclear powered attack submarines, known as The Astute Class, being manufactured by BAE.

Rolls-Royce has selected Lee-Dickens, to design and manufacture a new onboard Salinometer to test the quality of water used as primary coolant for a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) power plant. An onboard Salinometer is necessary as water may be taken on board anywhere in the world and an extremely accurate and reliable measurement is essential to ensure the absence of elements in the water.

The new Salinometer has been designed with the same size footprint as the previous model to satisfy any retrofit requirement. The new product is also backwardly compatible with the original termination block, but the rest of the product has been updated to comply with the latest Naval Engineering Standard NES 501, Def Stan 59-41 EMC (below decks) and NES 1004 for submarine environments, including respective shock and vibration levels.

The Salinometer consists of a purpose-built ruggedised housing containing the Panel Electronic Circuit (PEC), which is designed and manufactured by Lee-Dickens. A Crompton meter on the front provides a visual ph reading. There are a number test buttons including a basic circuit test and an alarm test. The alarm would activate if the ph level ever exceeded a pre-set value. Because there are long periods between usage there is an internal heater to prevent condensation.

As part of the design Lee-Dickens is to produce a new external sensor that sits in the pipeline. The sensor is extremely sensitive making measurements in units of micro siemens and therefore it is very important to be able to clean and maintain the probe. For this reason there was a need to gain easy access to the probe. Lee-Dickens therefore incorporated into the design a special mechanical device that allows the probe to be extracted from the pipe but at the same time still manages to maintain a sealed pipe with up to 15-bar pressure.

Lee-Dickens has initially manufactured three Salinometers with the first tested by Rolls-Royce in the fourth quarter of 2004.

"Lee-Dickens has been sourcing and constructing military equipments for many years including the capability to undertake mechanical design and manufacturing. This is perfect for the Salinometer project, which requires a purpose built PCB and a new sensor probe design. Lee-Dickens is also a GS3001 and ISO 9000 approved supplier, essential for a contract such as this." said Gyles Dickens, Divisional Director Lee-Dickens. Back to top

2005-09-01

The office is able to offer sales and technical support for the growing number of systems Lee-Dickens has in China and S E Asia via the highly trained and motivated staff located there.

To contact Lee-Dickens (China):

Rm601 Building A
Huating Garden
Beisihuan Zhong Rd
Chaoyang District,
Beijing 
100029

Tel: +86 108 284 1206
Email: quatre.zhang@lee-dickens.co.uk

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2005-04-27

LEE-DICKENS WEB BUREAU SERVICE SUPPORTS LONDON HEATHROW TERMINAL 5 EXPANSION
Remote inventory management and supply chain logistics keeps construction on schedule 27th April 2005

Construction of Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport by BAA is a £4.2bn expansion of the busiest international airport in the world. Currently one of Europe's biggest construction programmes, Terminal 5 is a huge and complex project, with phase 1 alone consisting of 16 major interconnecting projects and 147 sub-projects.

Helping to keep this huge construction project on schedule are Lee-Dickens Sitewatch Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) used as part of a remote inventory management and supply chain logistics system to ensure the estimated 1.5 million m3 of cement necessary for the project is continuously available.

The Terminal 5 programme extends far beyond the construction of just a terminal building. It also includes a total of 60 aircraft stands, two satellite buildings (one in phase 2), a 4,000 space multi storey car park, a new control tower, the diversion of two rivers and an airport perimeter road, and over 13km of bored tunnel, including extensions to the Heathrow Express and Piccadilly Line underground services. Just over 3000 construction workers are currently employed on the project.

A construction programme of this scale presents many engineering challenges, made ever more complex by being next to a busy airfield. One of the most vital logistical challenges to overcome to ensure the project runs to schedule is the timely availability of ordinary portland cement (OPC) and pulverised fuel ash (PFA) at the construction site.

Delivery of raw materials arrives at a rate of around 1000 tonnes of OPC and PFA a day, the equivalent of 35 lorries a day (peaking at 1400 tonnes of OPC/PFA or 45 lorry loads per day). With such large requirements BAA have installed 18 silos onsite to store the cement and PFA. This ensures that both are constantly available, thereby preventing any build downtime.

In order to co-ordinate and direct the delivering of cement and PFA to the site, Laing O'Rourke and AMEC, the principal civil contractors on the T5 project, are employing three Lee-Dickens' Sitewatch Midi Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) to monitor in real time the levels of cement and PFA in silos.

The Lee-Dickens Sitewatch RTU's use existing load cell sensors mounted on each of the silo's stanchions to measure the current level in the tank and from that calculate the quantity of fill space available. This fill space determines where the delivery vehicles should be directed to on the site and that no areas will be allowed to run out of product.

The silos are positioned in three separate groups (Batchers) with a Sitewatch RTU sending fill space information from either 4 or 6 silos back to a master station computer via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The real-time level data is then updated to a series of web pages every 15 minutes allowing the BAA site managers to best direct and control the delivery traffic and the product usage.

In addition to the RTU hardware, Lee-Dickens' Systems Division is also providing BAA/Laing O'Rourke/AMEC with a `Bureau Service' that takes care of the operation and maintenance aspects of the telemetry central master station. This involves the design, configuration and maintenance of the password protected HTML web pages that display product usage rates and recent history.

"There are a number of ways in which the information can be made available to the customer including, XML files, Email, Voice Mail, WAP Pages and SMS." Said Tony Meadows, System's Division Director, Lee-Dickens.

"HTML has proved to be particularly popular with BAA, Laing O'Rourke and AMEC as both real time and historical data can be viewed with a standard Internet browser, subject to account permissions. This gives the construction logistics managers the ability to view levels of any silo at anytime, anywhere on or off site."

"We put the task of measuring the silo fill space into the hands of Lee-Dickens who provide the data back to us on our own set of private web pages. The data acquisition and online presentation of this data via their Bureau Service, allows us to focus on our core business and not concern ourselves with the day to day running of a remote data gathering system. This is the most cost effective way for us to manage our cement and PFA supply chain and leaves us time to concentrate on our customers." Steve Honeybone, Bulk Material & logistic Centre Manager, BAA. Back to top

Lee-Dickens has installed a state of the art TWS Quadra surface-mount assembly line in their factory in Northamptonshire, enabling the company to expand greatly the type of sub-contract work it undertakes.

The new surface-mount machine will complement the through-hole capability currently offered by Lee-Dickens, allowing the Company to address subcontracting and contracts that require a mix and match of surface-mount and through-hole assembly jobs, particularly those requiring smaller batch build.

"Lee-Dickens have been flying the flag for Great Britain by competing fiercely with Far East electronics assembly companies for a number of years. By offering design, test and assembly to ISO 9000 standard we can compete for a wide range of electronic subcontracting jobs. The new surface-mount line gives us the unusual advantage of being able to undertake both through-hole and surface-mount and we believe it will help us increase our business still further. Not many companies can offer this service so we are filling a gap in the subcontracting market," said Gyles Dickens, Divisional Director Lee-Dickens.

Lee-Dickens has undertaken subcontracting design, manufacturing, assembly and test jobs for over 20 years, with a special focus on plated through-hole assembly and wiring. The emergence of surface-mount as the preferred method of assembly has eroded the through-hole market but there is still a genuine need for that type of work especially by the military, albeit on smaller batches.

Supplied by Blundells of Coventry, Lee Dickens has invested around £50,000 on the assembly line, which consists of a laser-centring pick and place machine with 120 feeders, a semi-automatic screen printer, and a convection reflow oven. The TWS Quadra laser machine has a real time placement rate of 3500 components per hour and will place a wide variety of SMDs down to 5mm pitch.

Lee-Dickens has already taken orders for jobs requiring both assembly methods and regard the investment in the new machine to be an instant success. Back to top

18th March 2005

Lee-Dickens ATEX approved intrinsically safe relative humidity transmitters have now received full Baseefa certification for use in potentially explosive dusty environments.

The HP140IS and HP150IS, are duct and wall mounting relative humidity transmitters aimed at potentially hazardous or explosive applications in industries such as gas, petrochemical, or bulk solids. Both products are approved to Ex II 1GD EEx ia IIC T4 for use in Zone 20 conditions. Certificate number Baseefa 03ATEX0101X/1.

The probes, which use a capacitive sensor, operate as two wire transmitters and produce a 4 to 20mA output proportional to 0 to 100% relative humidity, with accuracy <±2.0% for 0 to 95% relative humidity. The sensor is suitable for use in operating temperatures from -10 to +100°C and the electronics from -10 to +70°C

The HP140IS probe and flange are constructed of stainless steel and come fitted as standard with a sintered bronze guard. The HP150IS has a plastic cage as standard and each probe comes with mating connector.

Power supply voltage and interface from the safe area to the transmitter is via approved barriers available from Lee-Dickens

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Instrumentation specialist Lee-Dickens, has released its first ever range of ATEX approved intrinsically safe relative humidity transmitters, believed to be the only products of their type on the market.

The HP140IS and HP150IS are duct and wall mounting relative humidity transmitters aimed at potentially hazardous or explosive applications in industries such as gas, petrochemical, or bulk solids. Both products are approved to EEx iia IIC T4 Tamb = 70°C for use in Zone 0 conditions. Certificate number Baseefa03ATEX0101X.

The probes, which use a capacitive sensor, operate as two wire transmitters and produce a 4 to 20mA output proportional to 0 to 100% relative humidity, with accuracy <±2.0% for 0 to 95% relative humidity. The sensor is suitable for use in operating temperatures from -10 to +100°C and the electronics from -10 to +70°C.

The HP140IS probe and flange are constructed of stainless steel and come fitted as standard with a sintered bronze guard. The HP150IS has a plastic cage as standard and each probe comes with mating connector.

Power supply voltage and interface from the safe area to the transmitter is via approved barriers available from Lee-Dickens.

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2003-09-15

Sapura Technologies Sdn Bhd place an order with Systems Division to upgrade the Navaids Remote Control and Monitoring System being used at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Sitewatch NT .  Timescales for the project are tight so work commences immediately.  Back to top

Lee-Dickens has added two DIN-rail mounted trip amplifiers to its Beta range of products at a size and cost that improves on anything else currently available. BD100 and BD120 are single and dual level trip amplifiers respectively. They are extremely versatile and are suitable for a vast array of applications ranging from over-temperature monitoring on generators; to pressure or level switching a 4-20mA signal from a transmitter; to producing a digital signal for an alarm panel.

The new modules are 30% cheaper than existing modules, and, measuring just 98.5 x 77.5 x 24mm, they are much smaller too. A wide range of process inputs can be handled, including thermocouples, RTDs and potentiometers, plus DC current and voltages.

The output of the BD100 is a single pole change over relay capable of switching 2A. The trip action can be arranged so that the alarm condition can be above (High Trip) or below (Low Trip) the set point. The relay can either normally be energised to de-energise in the alarm condition (Fail-Safe), or normally de-energised to energise in the Alarm condition (Non-Fail-Safe). BD100 can optionally be supplied with a second single pole contact. BD120 has two 2A relay outputs as standard. Both models are mains powered.

Lee Dickens BD range of modular instruments also includes many types of signal conditioning and processing functions. They are ideal for use in applications where signals need to be changed, processed or transmitted and often find use during commissioning and maintenance work. Engineered in compact packages they represent the most cost-effective and value-for-money product offerings available today.

Picture: A picture called BD100-120.jpg is available in high resolution colour format from www.ggh.co.uk/clients.htm

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2003-08-29

Remote Control and Monitoring System for the Navaids at the Royal Malaysian Air Force Base, Butterworth, successfully signed off and handed over. Back to top

2003-02-17

Lee-Dickens' Systems Division continues to enhance its range of Remote Control and Monitoring Systems (RCMS) and Telemetry Products.  GPRS Technology has enabled real time control and monitoring of wide area networks, and Lee-Dickens’ GPRS based solutions are being accepted world wide in a range of applications.

See your Plant and Silo Data on the Web using a standard browser such as Internet Explorer

With so many people now connected to the Internet, Lee-Dickens has extended its range of Web based RCMS and Telemetry Products to allow users to view their plant data, schematics and data trends using their favourite browser.

With the introduction of our SMS and email service, data can now also be viewed using your Mobile Phone and email reader – see below.

Plant Alarms By Email and SMS

Our “Sitewatch Messenger” application is being used by customers operating 24/7 types businesses. Coupled to our Sitewatch NT or Sitewatch 2000 products, Sitewatch Messenger automatically sends notification of selected alarms and events by Email, SMS, XML and HTTPS as required.

In a similar way, we are now able to offer Status and Alarm Reporting directly to mobile phones using the SMS service.

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Lee-Dickens has extended its next-generation Beta range of signal conditioning equipment to include two new signal converters - BD320 and BM320 - which provide two independent current or voltage outputs from a single input.

Placing them apart from the majority of the competition is that either of the outputs can be a current or voltage in any mV or mA range - for example 1 x 4-20mA and 1 x 0-10V. Most similar devices output two mA signals OR two mV signals. Inputs can be any of the common mV or mA types.

Also distinguishing the BD320 and BM320 is the ability to handle AC current and AC voltage inputs. AC input ranges can be up to 5A or up to 250V respectively.

Two outputs from one input is useful when differing sets of equipment must be driven by one signal, for example when a local indicator is needed for the operator and a telemetry system has to transmit the same signal to a control centre located long distances away. BM320 and BD320 are expected to find application in many sectors of industry, including water and gas distribution, chemical plants, factories, pumping stations and similar.

BM320 requires a low-voltage AC or DC supply while BD320 operates from 115/220 VAC. The Beta range - a 'second generation' design for Lee-Dickens, and following in the proven footsteps of its famous Alpha range - was launched in 2001 offering superior performance in a lower cost package. Cost savings of up to 30% result from the use of advanced technology components, which also provide enhanced reliability and accuracy.

Picture: A picture called BM-BD320.jpg (right) is available in high resolution colour format from www.ggh.co.uk/clients.htm  Back to top

Lee-Dickens, the Northamptonshire-based instrumentation company, has unveiled a brand new web site providing end users, OEMS, designers and maintenance staff in industry with comprehensive on-line information about process instrumentation such as signal conditioners, RH, temperature, pressure and load sensors, and digital indicators. A special feature of the site is the new QUICK-LEE service, by which visitors can purchase a selected range of 'off-the-shelf' products for delivery within 24 hours, using a company or personal credit card for payment.

www.lee-dickens.biz is an entirely revamped Company web site with one of the new .biz web domain addresses. "This is to reflect our new approach to on-line supply," said Gyles Dickens, Sales and Marketing Director. "Many of our process instruments are used to solve unforeseen automation problems which by their nature need an 'urgent' response. By going on-line we are aiming to make products available more quickly than ever - hence the QUICK-LEE title. Whenever possible, overnight mail delivery will be offered, and special deliveries will be implemented on request."

www.lee-dickens.biz lists every current Lee-Dickens product, together with information about them all including overview descriptions and pdf download sheets with detailed specifications. The site is therefore a rich source of information which can be used for designing and engineering solutions in the field. Those products that are not available for purchase from the site at present can be quoted separately using an on-line form.

The site also contains full information about the Company and the SCADA and Telemetry products offered by Lee-Dickens' Systems Division.

Products available for purchase on-line include:

• Sensors:
  • The HP range of hand held and fixed installation (wall and duct mounting) Relative Humidity, Dewpoint and Temperature meters, probes, sensors and transmitters.
  • A range of pressure sensors and transmitters
• Digital indicators:
  • A range of mains and low voltage powered 3½ and 4 digit digital process indicators
• Signal Conditioning Equipment
  • 'AlphaMINI', 'AlphaDIN', 'TempTrans', 'Alphabet Blocks' & 'QC Series' Bulkhead or DIN rail mounting instruments or eurocard, including trip amplifiers, signal amplifiers, converters, isolators, integrators, linearisers, square root extractors, power supplies, controllers, temperature transmitters, maths functions, frequency to current/voltage etc.

As experience grows Lee-Dickens will extend on-line purchases to other products in the catalogue.  Back to top

Northamptonshire-based Lee-Dickens has acquired two families of conductivity and capacitance level probes from ABB Automation Ltd.

Series 80 and Series 81 families originated with the Fielden company in 1978 and are used in applications ranging from solids handling to process control and from bore holes to tank farms. The two ranges were acquired by ABB Automation via the Foster Cambridge and Kent companies. Lee-Dickens has purchased all stock, goodwill and current order books. Manufacturing and test facilities have been transferred to Lee-Dickens' Desborough site.

Existing orders are now being met from Desborough and new orders are already being accepted so there will be no interruption to business, says Gyles Dickens, Sales and Marketing Director of Lee-Dickens. "We are pleased to have acquired these ranges because they add significantly to our portfolio and are a perfect complement to our other process products, which cover temperature, pressure and load instrumentation as well as signal conditioning. Series 80/81 are both well known in many industries for their dependability, robustness and cost-effectiveness. They offer considerable customisation potential in terms of materials, lengths, sizes, etc and we believe we are in an ideal position to support and grow that kind of market. We anticipate that the acquisition will add considerably to our turnover and secure further UK manufacturing jobs."

Lee-Dickens will support all existing customers and are now actively promoting both ranges. ABB is providing background support for Lee-Dickens during the transition period.

New investment is promised to enhance the performance and capability of many models. "Customers can be assured we will support continued production and indeed investment in the Series 80/81 technologies," said Dickens. "We are also planning some developments that should provide increased benefits for users and stimulate new applications. 'Smart' interfaces are top of this list."

Series 80 is capacitance-based level technology. The familiar Tektor range of switches and the Telstor range of transmitters are available in rod, rope, brush and flexible forms for applications as diverse as solids level measurement and tank farm level measurements. The conductivity-based Series 81 switches - better known as NoFlote - can be used in a variety of applications ranging from water, sewage and dilute acids in tanks. The NoFlote technology also suits borehole measurements.  Back to top