Engineers from Raytheon Co. needed power supply testers for the U.S. Navy Mk 48 Advanced Capability torpedo, better known as ADCAP. Raytheon specialists say the torpedo`s power supply arguably is the most important element of the ADCAP`s effectiveness, so they believe power supply testers are important in the torpedo`s design.
Raytheon experts found their solution in the Model 625 AC-DC power supply tester from Autotest Co. of San Antonio. Engineers from Autotest have provided test equipment for the ADCAP`s power supplies since 1987. Autotest specialists also were part of a major ADCAP upgrade in 1991 when the torpedo`s designers combined two existing power supplies.
"In order to accommodate the quality checking of this new power supply arrangement, we had to modify the existing test system," says Gary Kohl, senior staff engineer for Raytheon. The original designer of the ADCAP guidance system was Hughes Electronics of Fullerton, Calif., which recently became part of Raytheon.
"Autotest was able to quickly come up with the necessary changes in the software, controls, and connectors to handle the testing of the new power supplies," Kohl says. "This saved our staff the time and hassle of doing the work ourselves. It also demonstrated the flexibility of these testers."
Autotest`s most recent product announcement is the UPT 1000 uninterruptable power supply tester, which company designers intend for testing new smart UPS products. - J.K.
For more information, contact Autotest by phone at 210-661-8661, by fax at 210-661-3624, by post at 5347 Dietrich Road, San Antonio, Texas, 78219-2997, or on the World Wide Web at http://www. autotest.com/.
