When considering options for equipment controls more manufacturers are leaving traditional keypads behind. The latest technology allows the design if custom silicone keypads for applications from cell phones to large industrial machines, providing features traditional keypads can’t match.

Environmental Resistance

Electronics are delicate and need to be protected from environmental hazards. Even a standard office environment has dangers that can threaten delicate components in computers, copiers and other equipment.

No matter how many times they are told to keep food and drinks away from equipment, some workers won’t listen. A coffee spill can cause thousands of dollars of damage. Crumbs from food can fall through tiny cracks into the internal electronics creating the possibility of short circuits and overheating. Traditional keypads offer little protection but molded keypads made from silicone rubber form a solid surface that is resistant to solids and liquids alike.

Even with a liquid-resistant seal, some environments expose electronics to chemicals that can damage the keypad itself. Silicone keypads can be made from formulas that resist corrosion and oxidation, making them ideal for hazardous environments.

Longer Lasting

Over time, traditional keypads suffer wear and tear in normal use. The tiny switches under each key can wear out through use and the keys themselves can become sticky or unresponsive. Cleaning can help but often the wearing of a single key can require replacing the entire keypad. Because each “key” on a silicone keypad is flexible rubber they last far longer than the mechanical switches used by traditional keys.

The other symptom of wear occurs as the symbols are rubbed off. For a typical numeric keypad this may not seem like a problem since it’s easy to remember which key corresponds to each number, but for custom control panels this can prove dangerous as the function of each key is no longer easy to determine. There is also a security issue as an intruder can see which numbers are worn down on a keypad and deduce the entry codes to secure areas.

The surface of custom silicone keypads wears less quickly because it is flexible. Laser marking embeds symbols deeply into each key and are more durable than the painted on markings traditional keypads use.

Soft and Quiet

Many people find custom silicone keypads easier more comfortable than the hard keys on a typical design. The softer surface and the gentler key movement put less stress on workers’ fingers, hands and arms and allow them to work longer without a break.

Custom keypads made from silicone rubber are nearly silent in operation in contrast to the clacking sound of traditional keys. In a quiet working environment this hushed operation can be less disturbing to other workers or clients.

With all of these advantages it’s no wonder that custom silicone keypads have become so popular.

Do you have reasons to believe someone is stealing from you, nanny or baby sitter is harming your kids, employee stealing your goods or money, customers stealing or vandalizing your products, street punks messing with your home or car or you feel your kids are stealing from you or a spouse is cheating on you? You will never be able to prove this unless you catch them in the act with hardcore evidence. There is no better way to do this than a hidden camera w/DVR.

Hidden cameras can be in just about anything and nearly invisible to the naked eye. There are many versions of covert hidden cameras even in full function items like an alarm clock, telephone, oscillating fan, teddy bears, and they can be in items as small as an ink pen. These everyday common items are where no one will expect there would be a hidden camera. Most hidden cameras can come wired or wireless which gives you the option to have the digital video recorder (DVR) wired to and near the camera or a wireless unit where you can hide the DVR at a much greater distance away from the camera. The wireless units offer an option of a high output transmitter, therefore giving the unit the ability to record video with distances up to 2,500 feet away.

Then there are the all in one hidden cameras or all inclusive cameras that have all you need built into one unit. Which means just plug the camera into the wall, aim in the direction you want to record and use the remote to start recording. That’s all there is to it. The unit even has a removable SD card to view all recordings on a SD reader slot on your computer. Most units built with an SD card use a 2 GB SD card and we have an 8 GB SD card built into our units. These units offer several levels of recording to give the user the option of better picture quality but less recording time or lesser picture quality with greater recording time.

Most hidden cameras have a couple of options in recording times. The standard options for recording times are 352 X 240 resolution which will be in real time at 30 FPS (frames per second) and 640 X 480 resolution at 12 FPS. Resolution is the ability of the camera to gather images for higher picture quality. The higher the resolution of the camera, the better picture quality you will have. The higher the resolution in recording, the better picture you will receive but you will have less recording time due to more FPS.

As you can see, there are many different kinds of cameras on the market today. I hope this article gives you a better understanding of what to look for and how they work. No matter what you need to protect or evidence you need to collect, a hidden camera is up to the job.

If you’re searching for a really extraordinary means to filtrate small amounts of H2O in a quick amount of time then the these systems would be perfect for you! These products allow water to be sterilized by UV rays that are formulated from batteries within the systems. These products utilize wavelength UV waves, which demolishes the DNA of microbes in seconds. Without operational DNA, microbes simply can’t reproduce or make you ill. These are not only handy but also lightweight, so you can carry it with you just about anyplace. These products come in a couple of diverse models, and all of the models hold different amounts of water, which allows the water to be sterile in particular increments of time.

These are really nice products to have if you are traveling to “at risk” countries where you may not know if you can trust the water filtration system or not. It is also a particularly good idea to take this product other places as well, such as camping, eateries or even on a cruise. This product can also be taken on an airplane for when you go on vacation. The filtration systems are very easy to work, so there is no disorienting procedures to figure or heaps of buttons to configure.

These products have been examined in such places as A&L Laboratory, University of Main, University of Arizona, Oregon Health Sciences and Ryerson University (located in Toronto, Canada), and the studies from these tests are obtainable for download on Hydro-Photon if you would like to take a look at those! The following systems are ones in which you might want to take a look at if you are interested in something like this:

SteriPEN Adventurer Handheld Water Purifier -
This product used as an ultraviolet (UV) water purifier is the top water purification choice for many travelers, hikers, and campers because of it’s size, speed, and ease of use. It offers the only trademarked handheld water purifier that uses ultraviolet light to destroy waterborne microbes. UV light has been used for more than 90 years in high-end water purification systems that are typically found in bottling plants, food production, hospitals, city water providers, and many more.

Journey LCD Handheld UV Water Purifier -
Journey LCD takes the water purifier to a whole new level. Never has purifying water while travelling, camping, or hiking been so easy and fast. Along with the proven UV technology, the Journey contributes an innovative microprocessor with LCD display.

Portable UV Water Purifier -
This is versatile and simple to pack - carry it in your backpack, suitcase, handbag or briefcase and it’s like carrying hundreds of gallons of purified water with you wherever you go - and it can be applied in an assortment of containers. Whether you are traveling overseas or going on a backwoods hike, at 8 ounces, carrying this is no hassle at all.

One of the most popular types of binoculars that people are looking to purchase are night vision binoculars. Night vision binoculars enable you to see things in darkness that the naked eye or normal binoculars cannot. If you are engaging in activities that will require you to see at night, then night vision binoculars will be the tool you will need.

There are four generations of night vision binoculars that are currently available. As one might guess, as the generations improve in performance the price goes up.

Generation one night vision binoculars are the most affordable and are typically used by civilians. The night vision provided by these binoculars, typically amplify light by a factor of 1000.

Generation two binoculars provide an image that is sharper, brighter and cleaner. Night vision binoculars that are generation two are typically used by police and fire departments.

Generation three and four binoculars have an image quality that is superior that the bottom two generations. These binoculars, which are the most expensive, are typically used by military personnel.
Picking the right pair of night vision binoculars will depend upon how you will use them. Are you going to be using them in rugged conditions? Will the light be low or no light?

Some of the ways in which night vision binoculars can be used are night safaris, night hunting, night fishing, navigation at night, surveillance and security.Each of those uses has a specific prerequisite for use and will require a different model of binocular to enjoy.

But how do night vision binoculars work?

Night vision binoculars work by enhancing the existing light that is in the immediate area around the binoculars. This process is called light amplification. What this means is that outside light is enhanced so that inside the binocular is brighter than the darkness outside.

The type of light that is amplified is not only from the visible part of the spectrum but also the infrared part as well. The image appears green as it is displayed upon a phosphor screen inside the binocular.

The outside lighting that you will use the night vision binoculars in will dictate what specific model you will need to purchase. The lowest generation, gen 1, will function beautifully on a clear night of a full moon or many bright stars. As the available light is reduced the need for more powerful binoculars will increase. If you need to use binoculars in almost no light conditions whatsoever, you will need to purchase gen3 or better night vision binoculars.

Whatever your intended use, night vision binoculars will be able to bring to your eyes the nightlife of the wilderness.

The digital camera is now a bona fide element of the modern world, uploading pictures to computers and posting these images onto the internet so that they are viewable by almost anyone in the world is now a facet of the world in which we live. But where has this device come from? While the history of the film camera has been documented considerably, its digital cousin has not had the same treatment. Hopefully the following article will be able to highlight some of the formative moments in the development of the digital camera.

The digital camera is believed to have largely come about due to the work of a man named Eugene F. Lally, a man who worked in the production of jets rather than the photography industry. It was his activities outside of the working world however that led him to create a device that was capable of recording images digitally. At this stage however Lally never intended for the device to enter the public domain, he wanted astronauts to use it whilst in space to photograph planets and subsequently devise their position.

Even though Lally was a forward thinking man his idea never truly bore fruit. This was wholly down to the fact that at the time the electrical components for such a device were not advanced enough. It was in 1975 that an engineer named Steven Sasson first began work on a digital device, this time the activities were carried out during working hours, Sasson working for the Eastman Kodak Company. This inaugural device combined existing Motorola components with Kodak camera pieces and CCD sensors manufactured by Fairchild.

The camera however was not exactly portable; weighing around four kilos it was relatively heavy. Additionally it did not have a viewing screen, the images being recorded onto a cassette tape that needed a special device to view the photographs. As a genesis device though it was revolutionary, despite the twenty three second shutter lag, .1 megapixel resolution and only being able to record images in black and white. As a result of these limitations Kodak invested more money into film camera rather than the digital variety.

1981 is the next important time for the digital camera. Even though some digital cameras were developed during the seventies the early eighties saw the release of the Sony Mavica. This video camera could not be considered the perfect device for capturing still images but did show how visual information could recorded digitally, even if at this stage the information was recorded upon floppy discs rather than a hard drive.

Throughout the eighties a number of companies manufactured camera varieties used almost solely by government agencies and laboratories. The first camera to hit the shops was the Dycam Model1, a camera that went on sale in 1990 and comprised a CCD sensor capable of recording images and uploading them to a PC for storage.

Apple’s Quick Take 100 however revolutionised the market and was the first digital camera to come in under a thousand dollars. Gradually prices were reduced and with the widespread of use media cards the holding capacity of the devices was increased greatly. From this time onwards the digital camera has continued to become more affordable, creating a convenient way for photographers to snap away and manage their own photo production.