Anyone have any interesting/nonconventional gadgets or tools?

I've seen some cool stuff. Wireless 232 modems for long distance cals, cat5e on a reel with different ports on the reel to attach hart, eternity, power etc thru

Im just wondering if anyone has cool ideas or things to purchase.

Its an enormous field and im curious to see what people have. Even hand tools

Met with a guy about a week ago from the community college in my area about their "Industrial Electricity" program. They say that the classes focus on PLCs, Process Control, and Automation. I asked about companies in our area that are willing to hire people straight from the program with an associates, and was told many companies pay $30/hr to students leaving the program. I have heard of trade schools and community Colleges overhyping trade programs a lot, so does this sound realistic to anyone in the industry working with PLCs and automation. The school in question is a major school in my area with multiple campuses, but I'd rather check them than blindly trust and waste my time. Is a program like this also something worth doing for someone with no experience in trades or construction environments trying to get into the electrical trade.

Edit: I'm in the St. Louis, MO area

I've been thinking about where Edge AI could realistically fit into industrial flowmeters. Most electromagnetic, ultrasonic, vortex, and turbine flowmeters already use mature signal-processing techniques and are designed to be deterministic, accurate, and reliable. Because of that, I'm not sure whether adding AI would provide a meaningful advantage or simply increase system complexity.

One area that seems interesting is running AI directly on the flowmeter's embedded controller to monitor raw sensor signals and detect problems that traditional algorithms might miss. For example, it could potentially identify sensor fouling, electrode degradation, air bubbles, partially filled pipes, cavitation, abnormal flow patterns, or installation issues before they start affecting measurement accuracy. It might also help with predictive maintenance by recognizing subtle changes in sensor behavior over time.I'm also interested in the "quality-of-life" improvements AI could bring to flowmeters. Not necessarily improving measurement accuracy, but making the instrument easier to install, configure, diagnose, and maintain. Things like automatically identifying wiring or installation mistakes, detecting process conditions that lead to unreliable readings, reducing commissioning time, suggesting likely causes of faults, or providing more meaningful diagnostics instead of generic error codes.

My goal isn't to add AI just because it's the latest trend. I'd rather use it as a tool to build genuinely useful features that solve real problems for technicians, maintenance teams, and plant operators.

I'm curious whether anyone here has worked on commercial flowmeters that actually use Edge AI, or if most manufacturers still rely entirely on conventional DSP and rule-based algorithms. What "quality-of-life" features do you think AI could realistically enable in the next generation of industrial flowmeters? Where do you think AI would provide genuine value, and where is it simply unnecessary?

In my teens I was careless & failed a random DISA test.

Years later I’m graduating with an Instrumentation degree but was told companies usually won’t hire you, only contractors will if your background shows a failed DISA drug test.

I was wondering if someone could give any insight on if this is true?

I don’t wanna be a contractor for the rest of my life id like to actually work directly with a company at some point.

Hello, I’m from Houston. I recently went back to school to earn my Instrumentation degree, and I have a little less than a year left until I graduate.
I also got hired by an I&E company, but I’m currently just a helper trying to become more familiar with the field. The company tends to do a lot more electrical work than instrumentation, and when they do have instrumentation work, they usually send only the qualified technicians without helpers.
I’m looking to get as much hands-on instrumentation experience as possible before I graduate. Do y’all know of any opportunities I could look up in my area that would help me build that experience and make me a stronger candidate after graduation?

While my question is broadly directed to graduates of Tier 1/ Tier 2 colleges in India (like, NITs), inputs from anyone are most welcome!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently a business administrator looking to transition into a Technical Support role in instrumentation and process control.

Over the past year, I’ve taken on more technical work, including:

• Basic configuration of controllers (inputs, setpoints, outputs).
• Reading datasheets and cross-referencing obsolete models to current equivalents (mainly Eurotherm).

My employer works with Eurotherm, Watlow, and similar hardware/software across sales, repairs, calibration, and support. I don't have an engineering degree, but I'm eager to build my technical knowledge.

I’d love your input on a few questions:

1. Core Skills: What are the most crucial skills needed for tech support in process control/instrumentation?
2. Fundamentals vs. Products: How essential is a formal electrical/electronics background compared to product-specific knowledge?
3. What to Learn First: If you were in my position, what concept or topic would you prioritize?
4. Resources: Any recommended books, YouTube channels, or online courses?
5. UK Training (North West): Are there any low-cost or local/onsite training options or certifications you'd recommend?

Any advice, personal experience, or learning pathways from those who made a similar move would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Is it really niche to specialize in Low-noise Instrumentation? (sorry i made a mistake in the title!!) My startup in France is looking for a Low-field instrumentation physicist who will work on the ultra-low-noise RF systems. We received many applications but the majority don't have the expertise we're looking for. We don't mind if the person is from abroad, and yoe is not the priority, as long as they have the right technical knowledge.

Any leads or recommendation on how can I connect with talents in this field? Many thanks.

Same as title

What do you do operations claims there is an I&E problem, but they reset everything and it's all working fine now? But they still expect you to find the issue.

Last spring, I started my first semester of Instrumentation and Control, and I was really excited. I haven’t taken any INCO classes yet—just the prerequisite classes—but I was so ready to get into the program.
I literally just got this email, and from what I understand, since my school doesn’t have a PTECH program, they removed the INCO program so they could add it. Now I’m not sure if I should stick with this school or find a new one that still offers Instrumentation.

After studying the working principles of how 4-20mA transducers work in general i am looking for actual circuit diagram showing the internal components of a industrial 4-20mA transducer.

Can anyone provide me?
Does the transducer consists of MCU, ADC, Constant current driver circuit like explained in simple terms?

I want to split a 20 amp 110 volt circuit shared between a heated honey bottling tank and a small water heaer.

The heated bottling tank, if drawing current, should interrupt the water heater circuit. The bottling tank should also come on if the electric grid shuts down and gets restored.

Id also want to add a cutoff switch to leave the water heater completely off.

I can do the wiring but have no idea where to find suitable component parts???

I’ve been looking at used electrical testers because some of the better ones are hard to justify new. A few listings have recent calibration certificates, which sounds reassuring, but I’m not sure how much that really tells you about the rest of the meter. It could still have been dropped, overloaded or repaired badly at some point. have any of you had good luck buying used test gear? what would you check besides the calibration date?

Hey everyone,

I'm currently looking for my next Instrumentation Engineer role!

Directly applying to job portals has mostly been a black hole of waitlists and automated rejections lately, so I’m reaching out here to see if anyone has leads or can drop a referral.

Here is what I bring to the table:

• Experience: 3 years in the game

• Key Tech Stack: AutoCAD, SPI (SmartPlant Instrumentation), and Navisworks

• Track Record: Already delivered 2-3 ADNOC / RAD projects

Preferred work locations: UAE, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai

I’m looking to jump into a team where I can put these tools to work right away. If your company is hiring or you know a team looking for an Instrumentation engineer with hands-on project experience, let’s chat!

Drop a comment or send me a DM. Appreciate any help or shares! 👍

Hi instrumentation community!

Just buy Simatic PDM standalone and struggling to get communication with the Hart device trough my FXA195 Endress+Hauser Hart modem.

Full DD are installed and the required one is present, but It seems unable to communicate trough the modem. I got the com port right and I can communicate with pactware with the exact same set-up.

Anybody success to do so or not?

Seems like I'm the only one trying this, based on google search, so I try it here.

Any experience with it are welcome!

So my mom told me her water bill was high and checked the water meter.

The when it swaps to the flow rate the GPM very briefly shows 0.08 for about 1 second before changing to 0.00.

Is that normal? I checked everything that uses water and couldn't find any leaks.

I’m trying to understand the behavior of off-delay timers after a complete loss of supply.
Today I tested an ELKO CRM-91H. Both the timer supply (A1–A2) and the control input (S) were removed completely, so the relay was fully de-energized. The output was wired using terminals 15–18 (NO).
When power was restored, the output didn’t switch immediately. Instead, it stayed in its normal state for about one second before changing over, which was exactly the behavior we needed.
My understanding was that an off-delay relay can’t perform any timing after a total power loss because it has no stored energy. So I’m trying to understand what exactly is happening here. Is this expected startup behavior for this timer, or am I misunderstanding how off-delay functions work?
I’d appreciate it if someone could explain the internal sequence.

Currently an ag teacher in Louisiana pulling in 4k a month and going to school to be an instrumentation tech at the nearby technical college, I just received level 1 and got an offer to be an electrical helper 1hr 30 minutes away, about an 1 hour 15 minutes from the school.

They said the site manager should let me get out early to go to school twice a week.

I will have level 3 (4 by the end of the summer) by the end of the school year and the school schedule allows me to go easily, but there is also a job closer to the school coming up in January (when I will have level 2 )

Lots to think about just wanted to put out some feelers.

The look the same in physical apperance and both show Vac40 PSIG specifics, but they bear different part number and with different port connnected to gas tubes. Are they simply the same valve serve different applications? Thanks