Wireless Smart Gate

Overview

The Wireless Smart Gate has all the features of the wired Smart Gate. It has dual photogate beams spaced at 1.5 cm to accurately measure speed. The built-in laser switch (when used with any laser) allows you to time objects too large to fit through the standard photogate. Use Photogate Tape passing through the photogate slot to measure the movement of objects. The auxiliary port is for adding an additional photogate head or Time-of-Flight Accessory.

Pasco Super Pulley also attaches directly to the Wireless Smart Gate, providing a simple, low-friction system to measure position, velocity and acceleration. SPARKvue or PASCO Capstone allows students to see and analyse data in real time.

Note: We do not recommend using two Wireless Smart Gates in the same experiment unless the measured times are relatively long (greater than one-half second) since synchronization is limited to 2 ms. For experiments requiring two photogates we instead recommend connecting our Photogate Head to the auxiliary port of the Wireless Smart Gate for timing with no latency.

Long lasting battery. The Wireless Smart Gate draws as little current as possible. This provides you with long battery life for lab activities.  Software also displays the battery level at all times. If it dips too low, you can easily replace the coin cell battery.

Typical Applications

• Launch velocity for a projectile
• Photogate timing for dynamics carts
• Rotational measurements (in conjunction with a Super Pulley)
• Pendulum timing applications
• Acceleration of gravity with picket fence
• No need for an interface.

How it Works

Photogates are a timing device that measure times of the changes in state of an infrared beam that is blocked by a flag of known length, as well as the times the beam is unblocked. Using the flag length, and the blocked time, students can calculate speed. The smaller the flag length, the more ‘instantaneous’ the measurement becomes. Using a “Picket Fence” (a card with multiple flags), students can calculate acceleration. Photogates can also measure the rotation of our Smart Pulley which features wide enough spokes that act as ‘flags’ to block the photogate’s infrared beam. With a pair of photogate beams velocity can be calculated using the distance between the beams and the time between when the two beams are blocked. The Smart Gate allows you to do this with a single photogate because it includes two photogate beams spaced exactly 1.5 cm apart. And if you want to space the two photogates further away, an additional Photogate Head can be connected to the Smart Gate’s auxiliary port and placed at a known distance.

Software Required

This product requires or recommends PASCO software for data collection and analysis. Either SPARKvue software or PASCO Capstone software may be used. PASCO Capstone is available for Mac and Windows.

SPARKvue is available for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Chromebooks. Pasco SPARKvue software is free to download, install and use on mobile devices:

• SPARKvue for iPhone / iPad
• SPARKvue for Android devices
• SPARKvue for Chromebook.

A licence is required to work on a computer running MS Windows or MacOS. The licence for SPARKvue and Capstone software is purchased one for all computers of the educational institution. It is perpetual and all subsequent updates are free. Full-featured 60-day trial versions are available for review.

Compatibility/System Requirements

Any current model Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android tablet or phone will support direct connection to PASCO Bluetooth Low Energy devices. Also, any Windows 10 device with Creators Edition 1703 or later will support direct connection. All PASCO Wireless Sensors connect to computers, Chromebooks, and tablets, through Bluetooth 4.0 Windows devices, Chromebooks and older Macs lack native Bluetooth® Smart support and require an adapter to use PASCO wireless products. USB Bluetooth Adapter order code is PS-3500. Chromebook users MUST have the latest firmware updates for ALL wireless sensors in order to use them without the USB Bluetooth Adapter. Full information.

Recommended

There are additional accessories that can be added to your Wireless Smart Gate:

• Photogate Head ME-9498A
• Super Pulley ME-9450A
• Photogate Tape, High Resolution (30 m) ME-6666
• Cart Picket Fences (2 Pack) — IDS ME-9804