ptguru's podcast

Sometimes we have a measurement that is not as simple as we wish it were. In today's PodCast, we discuss this conundrum and some ways to tackle the problem.

Testing and calibration are alive and well in our Amazon fueled retail world of today. Want to sell a product on Amazon, find out about what they are going to require before you do.

With the holiday season upon us, it seemed like the perfect time of year to answer the question, why am I cold? You have the thermostat set at 68 or 70ºF and yet you are freezing. Here's a hint, it has to do with the energy in the air, which has more to do with it than just temperature.

Turkey, in a calibration PodCast? Yep, it is that time of year and time to share a little measurement science about the big ol' bird we all love to feast on.

Had a fun little PID tuning event this week, so I figured I'd share my experience with everyone.

IR temperature guns are being used everywhere today, and for a good reason. They are inexpensive and eliminate errors associated with measuring surfaces. Unfortunately, they also introduce errors that need to be understood by the end user to ensure quality measurements.

The field of metrology, like all scientific fields, is loaded with constants. These are important to be aware of, and it is also to be aware that constants aren't always, so, well, constant.

Calibration jobs are out there everywhere. The problem is that we don't have near enough folks to fill the positions that are available. If you're interested in all of the things we talk about and your not a technician, this just might be the podcast for you!!

Math is pure and beautiful. Statistics is a branch of math that can be a little fuzzy but are completely necessary to understand measurement concepts. The study of statistics is a core competency of measurement science, and nothing irks me then why the fine folks out there in journalism get a hold of numbers and find ways to try to make sure you don't sleep at night.

With the transition to the ISO calibration standard 17025 moving to its newest revision, how will customers of calibration services be impacted? 

Sometimes we don't have the budget to buy the newest calibration toy for a given situation and we need to improvise. I want you to get creative when the need arises, and today I give you a couple of suggestions about how to do exactly that. 

I know this one might sound crazy, but why do we pronounce the "meter" in the word thermometer differently than we do in the word multimeter? Well, it's all about the "O."

Recently, I purchased some RTDs for a project only to receive them in bags marked thermocouples. So many people use the term thermocouple when they mean temperature probe, and this can lead to a lot of confusion for us control type folks.

Everywhere I turn I see more and more calibration happening. It's a function of our modern world of outsourcing and suppliers and it is not going away. In fact, it just seems to be growing at an exponential pace. How did it evolve this way, and why?

On a recent trip to Alexandria, VA is really managed to have my eyes opened to the amazing amount of testing that happens out there in ISO 17025 world. I've always thought of the standard as one that revolves around calibration, but there is so much more.