Mantracourt launches a unique wireless, telemetry sensor system for hazardous areas

Exeter, UK, 7 March 2017: Mantracourt, a leader in high performance measurement electronics, has launched an intrinsically safe version of its established T24 wireless telemetry sensor system. The new X24 range of products is ATEX and IECEx approved for Zones 1 & 2 and was developed after feedback from existing users of the T24 system, many of whom wanted to extend this versatile system into hazardous areas. In the field, X24 has been found to be particularly suited to the petrochemical and industrial processing industries.

Alongside its ATEX / IECEx status, modularity is the key feature. The X24 system comprises 3 products that are certified for use in hazardous areas - the X24-HD handheld display unit, X24-ACMI-SA cased transmitter and X24-SAe OEM transmitter. These new products currently operate with strain bridge inputs and gather and transmit data from force, weight, torque and pressure sensors. Being fully compatible with Mantracourt’s T24 system, the data is transmitted to T24 receivers within the safe zone. This compatibility also means that the X24 system can be retrofitted, so companies can extend its existing T24 wireless network into hazardous areas, reducing installation costs and providing quick setup.

All three units display many of the notable features seen in equivalent products in the T24 system including high resolution/low noise electronics, long battery life of up to 5 years, proprietary license-free 2.4 GHz radio and a system range of up to 800m. However, new X24 products are manufactured with intrinsically safe electronics and are approved for use in explosive atmospheres Zone 1 and Zone 2, with the X24-SAe extending to dust Zones 21 and 22.

The transmitter module, X24-ACMi-SA measures strain bridge input and delivers it to the T24 receivers in the safe zone, or X24-HD in the hazardous area. It is housed in an environmentally sealed IP67 enclosure with battery holder for two Lithium Energiser L91 AA batteries.
The X24-HD is a lightweight, portable design and certified to IP67. With simple and intuitive button control it receives data and displays data from the remote transmitter module such as X24-ACMi-SA as well as any T24 transmitter. The product can display data from any transmitter detected or the operator can define up to 24 specific transmitters.  The functionality is complemented by the ability to rename each channel to whatever you require.
The X24-SAe is a product specifically for OEM sensor manufacturers. This transmitter, comprising a PCB board with antenna measures strain bridge input and transmits data to X24 and T24 receivers. The PCB module provides OEMs and those who supply approved strain bridge sensor products with a quick route to manufacture.

Once in the safe zone, users of the system have access to the complete T24 product range. This includes the base stations and T24 Toolkit and visualisation software. The Toolkit can be used to configure both the T24 and X24 systems.

The free data logging and visualisation software allows users to log up to 100 channels and build visual displays. Alarms can be set that can indicate under and over range and can alert users to loss in communication, low battery and error reports. In recognition that we now work in an increasingly mobile world, Mantracourt has also included a built in web server that provides a summary view page to other computers, tablets and smart phones, both Apple and Android.

“We are very excited about the new opportunities this product provides for our customer base.  In the past we were frequently asked for a wireless solution in explosive environments and our design team have worked diligently to develop the X24 product range in response. We have extensively field-tested these new products in a wide variety of applications and customers have been impressed with how seamlessly the new products could be integrated.” says Jonathan Purdue, Sales Manager at Mantracourt.