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From: pedrom@shark.cs.fau.edu (Pedro Monteiro)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Dealers adress wanted!
Keywords: Hall element
Message-ID: <1991May08.173319.20421@cs.fau.edu>
Date: 8 May 91 17:33:19 GMT
References: <1991May3.162546.6163@hsr.no>
Sender: news@cs.fau.edu (NetNews)
Reply-To: pedrom@shark.cs.fau.edu (Pedro Monteiro)
Organization: Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
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In article <1991May3.162546.6163@hsr.no>, svein-v@newshost.hsr.no (Svein
Vetti) writes:
|> 
|> I am building a digital compass, and I need the adress to some dealers of
|> hall IC`s. Practical Electronics gave me the names of to dealers : 
|> RS Componets and Electromail , both english. Could someone please send
|> me these adresses.
|> 

Try F. W. Bell
6120 Hanging Moss Rd.
Orlando, FL 32807
Phone: 407-678-6900
FAX:   407-677-5765

I considered getting one of their Hall transducers for my own digital compass,
but I ended up working on another project.  None of their transducers seem
particularly well suited for magnetic fields as low as the Earth's.  You'll
probably need a lot of drive current, and a lot of amplification.  I don't
know if There are any other big Hall transducer manufacturers ( Bell is a 
manufacturer, not a distributor).

If F.W. Bell doesn't have what you want, I have two suggestions:

 o There is a British company that makes auto pilots for boats ( I think it's
   called Navico, but I'm not sure.  Try contacting them and finding out what
   they use.  They're the only ones I know of who use the Hall Effect for 
   their compass.  Others use a flux gate compass.

 o Consider using a flux gate instead of Hall Effect for your compass.

Let me know if you need more Info on these two suggestions.  I have some info
I can dig up on the subject.

Pedro

Pedro Monteiro / Florida Atlantic University    - Pedro@acc.fau.edu