Avionics News January 2018 - 55

and has begun producing the Ed-Lab electronics trainers that CES customers have enjoyed for years.
The CES500 is an exploratory lab trainer used for teaching the basic
elements of DC and AC theory. The panel features a variety of resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, switches and lamps presented in an
intuitive input-process-output format. The built-in power supply provides positive and negative DC voltages, and the function generator
produces adjustable sine, sawtooth and square waveforms.
The CES651 electronics lab trainer is an interactive training tool
used in science and electronics classrooms worldwide to introduce students to basic electronics components and apply STEM concepts using
hundreds of basic, intermediate and advanced electronics experiments.
The CES651 is designed to be an intuitive lab trainer used to teach the
concepts of both DC and AC theory, from simple series and parallel
circuits to complex amplifiers and oscillators. This trainer features a
variety of resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors, potentiometers, switches, lamps and LEDs. A built-in power supply provides
both positive and negative DC voltages, and the function generator
produces sine, sawtooth and square waves from 1 Hz to 100 KHz. The
CES651 also features a built-in analog voltmeter and ammeter along
with both IC and PCB expansion connectors to increase its functionality using external PCB modules.
The CES702 is an electronics lab trainer used to teach digital theory.
This trainer features a complete lineup of logic gates and flip-flops
along with a bank of switches and LEDs to control the circuits and see
them work. A hexadecimal keypad provides additional input options,
and a dual seven-segment LED display enhances the visual output.
The built-in clock pulse generator adds timing capability for advanced
digital logic understanding. The CES702 is the perfect complement to
the CES651 analog trainer to provide a complete analog and digital
electronics education solution.
Azimuth's latest product is the KV920 aircraft lighting lab trainer
with fault isolation. The KV920 is designed to introduce the basic theory of DC electricity through an aviation theme. The trainer features
the external lighting circuits of a typical aircraft, allowing the student
to wire circuits in series or parallel, observe the operation of the circuits, and measure voltage, resistance, and current using a digital multimeter. A switch panel on the back of the trainer allows the instructor
to induce shorts or opens in any of the circuits and simulate a blown
fuse. Designed to mimic the instrument panel and lights of a common
general aviation aircraft, the student learns not only how these circuits
work, but also how the lights of an aircraft are used in-flight. A companion Android app is available in the Google Play Store to help guide
students through wiring the circuits, operation and testing, and for advanced students, troubleshooting faults in wiring circuits.
The KV920 training device debuted at the 2017 KidVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and more than 1,000 youth had the opportunity to use
it. The original design had young students in mind, but those using it
believe the system lends itself to Part 147 programs.
The Aircraft Electronics Association also owns a few of these trainers. I arranged to have one sent to Penn College to write a review.
When it arrived, we took it straight to our basic electricity laboratory,
gave it to a couple of students, and then sat back and watched. The

trainer is solidly built in a wooden case. The wire connections and test
points are color coded and widely spaced. The rear of the trainer has
11 bug switches, which can be set to replicate a short or open. In addition, there is a USB charging port. All the aircraft lights are LEDs,
which makes the unit extremely reliable. Like a real airplane, the anticollision light blinks.
Azimuth also publishes a detailed 47-page instruction manual as a
companion to the KV920. The students found the trainer to be quite
intuitive, and soon, they had the whole lighting system wired properly.
Matt Krepps teaches basic electricity at the Penn College aviation center. As soon as the students finished wiring the trainer, Krepps bugged
the circuit, and the students began troubleshooting.
We found the system works best when the students use the test
points to measure for shorts and opens. The bug switches, when placed
in the short position, removes the LED from the circuit and puts a
wire in place of the LED. For example, to simulate collision light short
properly, the teacher should place the anti-collision light switch in the
short position and place the anti-collision light fuse in the open position. A student could "fix" the anti-collision light short, forget about
the blown fuse, and then wonder why the light still won't work. In this
way, the KV920 creates teachable moments.
The companion guide or instruction manual is available as an
Android application. Students can use the application on a phone or
tablet. Books can wear out quickly. Using the companion guide on
a tablet plugged into the KV920s USB charger will give schools a
long-term training system without needing to worry about wear and
tear on books.
Azimuth Aerospace Solutions also develops computer-based
training. Its CBT applications combine high-resolution graphic animations, amiable sounds and innovative user interactions to create
customized computer learning that is effective, efficient and affordable.
The company has plans to add more CBT products for condensed
digital data bus, ESD and other systems.
Regarding lab trainers, William Tramper, president of Azimuth
Aerospace Solutions, said, "We just finished a production run on the
CES651 and CES500. We are in the middle of the 702 production run."
The company has orders for more CES651s and will do a second production run of those units as soon as the 702 run is complete.
The Azimuth Aerospace Solutions website includes the MerriamWebster Dictionary definition of azimuth: "Horizontal direction expressed as the angular distance between the direction of a fixed point
(as the observer's heading) and the direction of the object."
In simpler terms, the difference between where you are going and
where you want to be.
The website goes on to ask, rhetorically, "What's your azimuth direction?" For a teacher designing an electricity program, the choice
in direction comes down to building or buying. Thanks to Azimuth
Aerospace Solutions, many teachers are going to move in the direction
of buying. q
To learn more about Azimuth Aerospace Solutions, visit
azimuthaero.com.
avionics news

january

2018

http://www.azimuthaero.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2018