Magnetic sensors tutorial

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By Gareth Branwyn
Posted 2009/03/03 @ 9:17 am
Category Electronics

Subscriber John Schuch writes:

Threads on the MAKE forums often touch on hall effect sensors for measuring current, position, speed, etc. I just got this link in an email this morning and think it’s pretty cool. Gotta love free technical training.

This is a sponsored tutorial on Digikey, sponsored by Honeywell, and promoting Honeywell’s line of magnetic sensors, but there’s still good info here. And the narrator sounds vaguely like Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck, if Joe Buck were a deep geek.

Magnetic Sensors

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6 Responses to Magnetic sensors tutorial

Sean on March 3rd, 2009 at 2:13 pm said:

Thanks for the heads up, just caused me to modify an order I was making to get the sensor I needed. That was timely!

So, the circuit now includes one unipolar for switching and one analog to sense the level of magnetic field.

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Mike Miller on March 3rd, 2009 at 2:25 pm said:

John Schuch’s link to Honeywell’s magnetic sensor introduction prompted me to take a closer look at the digikey site. Turns out that they have a large series of useful “Product Training Modules” at http://digikey.com/PTM/PTMMaster.page?site=us&lang=en , including one on Honeywell humidity sensors – just what I’ve been thinking I need to look for. Thanks for the tip!

Mike

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Mike on March 4th, 2009 at 1:56 am said:

I can find very little further information about circuits involving magnetoresistors online.

What kind of range can you possibly get out of them? As in, how far away could you potentially sense, say, a rare earth magnet?

Also, could one be wired to give a varying voltage rather than resistance?

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Mike on March 4th, 2009 at 1:58 am said:

I can’t find much information about Magnetoresistors online.

What sort of range can you get with them? As in, how far away could one potentially sense say an average rare earth magnet?

Also, could you get them to output a varying voltage rather than resistance?

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Jaclyn on January 21st, 2010 at 6:16 pm said:

Can I make a magnetic sensor hook up to something and stop it from pulling something like a trigger?

Can I make one from house hold items?

How can I make one that has a range of 6-12 inches?

And how can I make one with instructions that are simple?

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Jaclyn on January 21st, 2010 at 6:20 pm said:

Hey the one that is up there ^ can you reply by march 10, 2010 |

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