General Tools and Instruments VM8205SD - Manual (Page 3)

INTRODUCTION
Thank you for purchasing General Tools & Instruments’ VM8205SD Vibration Meter with
Datalogging SD Card. Please read this user’s manual carefully and thoroughly before using
the meter.
The VM8205SD is a general-purpose handheld instrument that can measure the
acceleration or velocity of a machine as an indicator of its vibration level. All industrial
machinery vibrates, and a machine’s vibration level can serve as a proxy for its condition.
Imbalance, misalignment or loose bolts will cause the vibration level to increase, indicating
the need for maintenance.
The meter is a professional-quality instrument that comes with a vibration probe as well as
a magnetic base for attaching the probe to any metal part of a machine or its housing. The
meter’s sensitivity and frequency spectrum of 10 Hz to 1 kHz comply with ISO 2954, the
standard for measuring mechanical vibration of rotating and reciprocating machinery.
Measurements made by the probe can be displayed in either of two metric units or one
English unit. Vibration inputs can be displayed in the preferred way: as root mean square
(RMS) values. The meter also can measure, hold and update the RMS peak value in a series
of measurements.
Because it is microprocessor-based, the VM8205SD can make full use of the portability,
reliability and large storage capacities that SD memory cards offer. Measurements can be
made automatically at any sampling rate between one second and one hour. After time-
stamping and storing the measurements on an SD card plugged into the meter (a process
called datalogging), the user can remove the card and plug it into to a laptop or desktop
computer either directly or via a USB card reader. The data logs are stored on the card as
files with the .xls extension, which can be opened by Microsoft’s Excel application.
The VM8205SD has a backlit 2-1/2 in. diagonal display and is powered by six “AA” Alkaline
batteries or an optional 9-VDC AC adapter.
KEY FEATURES
• Vibration probe measures acceleration or velocity
• Included magnetic base facilitates attachment of probe to metal parts or
machine housing
• Big (2.5 in. diagonal) front-panel green backlit LCD is easy to read
• Displays maximum and minimum readings and holds any RMS reading
• Automatically logs measurements at sampling time settable from one second
to one hour
• Also supports manual datalogging and changing of SD card storage location
• Outputs Excel-compatible data logs
• Accepts SD memory cards of up to 16 GB capacity
• Powered by six “AA” batteries or optional 9V AC/DC adapter
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