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Introduction
The Watson Industries Vertical Reference represents a significant advancement in inertial sensor
technology. It is a highly accurate and rugged device with many advantages over other types of
angular rate and incline-sensing devices. This manual describes operation of the Watson Industries
Vertical Reference and also provides useful application information to the system designer.
Product Description
The Watson Industries Vertical Reference (ADS) is an entirely solid-state sensor that provides
exceptional rejection from the adverse effects of inertia and short-term lateral accelerations. It does
this through the use of both a pendulous vertical reference and an angular rate sensor that is
integrated to provide additional information on angular position. It can be a functional replacement
for mechanical gyros which are often more expensive and which cannot provide the reliability of a
solid-state sensor. Theory of operation is described with more detail on page 4. Size and pinouts
are described on pages 5-6. Specifications are shown on page 5.
The Watson Vertical References provide for two types of analog output voltages. One is
proportional to angular rate and the other is proportional to angular displacement. Full-scale
analog outputs produce an output of ±10 volts dependent upon the direction of angular position or
rotation. During rotation, positive voltage output occurs in the direction of the rotational arrow on
the case. At horizontal and zero angular rotation rate, both outputs for displacement and rotation
rate are near zero. A dual power supply, providing a regulated ±15 Volts DC, is required to operate
the unit.
Special options in power supply, output voltage, scale calibration, and special packaging are
available as custom units. Pricing and delivery information on custom units is available by
contacting the factory.
Installation
Orientation:
The base plate of the unit is to be mounted on top of a horizontal surface with rotation stickers
aligned with the attitude angles to be measured. The ADS drawing is located in Figure 2. The
ADS is a rugged device and will withstand harsh environments. However, due attention needs to be
paid to the nature of the sensor and its prime function, which is to measure attitude and motion.
Mounting:
The unit has four 0.15" diameter mounting holes for using 6-32 screws. A mounting plate is
provided for a flat surface mount. The unit may be adhesively mounted at any of its surfaces. If
high shock loads are expected, greater than 100G or repeated shocks greater than 20G, the
appropriate shock mounting should be used to prevent damage. Vibration environments would also
require shock mounts or vibration isolation.
Environment:
Avoid mounting sites that are subject to significant temperature variation over the duration of the
test. Temperature variation will induce significant rate sensor bias drift, which will reflect in poor
attitude accuracy.
Watson Industries, Inc.
ADS-C232-1A Rev G 04/24/2023
3
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