Question

I heard that the memory chip used in TEDS-capable transducers will not be available much longer. How will this affect the sensors I buy from Endevco?

Answer

The memory chip DS2430, used in many TEDS-capable smart transducers for more than a decade, has been discontinued by its manufacturer and will be replaced by the DS2431.

Endevco has planned for this important change. Our newest line of general purpose, TEDS-capable accelerometers already use the new chip (models 41A, 42A, 43A and 45A). Earlier models (e.g. 752A series) will continue to be built with the older chip until stock is exhausted. When it becomes necessary to change over any model from the DS2430 to the DS2431, it will be evident to the customer because we will change the model number at the same time. We will NOT switch chips in an existing model number.

To avoid potential confusion, Endevco lists the DS2431 on the datasheet of any new models that use the new chip. Because earlier models will not be switched to the new chip, datasheets will not change.

Although the DS2431 chip is the replacement for the DS2430 chip, the protocol for reading/writing data to the newer chip is different. Our discussions with major data acquisition (DAQ) manufacturers indicated they have also planned for this important change, designing systems to first query the chip to determine which is present and then to utilize the correct protocol. In most cases, we and they believe the chip (new or old) will be invisible to the user, and this is confirmed by our own in-house testing with third-party DAQ equipment.

For older DAQ systems and those developed in-house, this may not be the case. In these instances, it will be necessary to reference Endevco's product datasheets to determine which chip is being used.

REMEMBER
DS2431 Written on the data sheet of new models.
DS4230 Not written on the data sheet of earlier models.
When the chip changes, the model number will too.