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Jean Femia

Jean Femia writes about technical subjects and has focused on automation and control systems for more than 15 years. She likes learning about technology and taking corners in her Honda S2000.
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Recent Posts

OptoNews: New industrial refrigeration video case study

Posted by Jean Femia on Aug 3, 2016 3:54:09 PM

How do you get fresh apples in March?

California Controlled Atmosphere (CalCA) knows the secret: strictly controlled storage.

CalCA builds produce storage systems for growers in California and all over the world. Each system must be flexible to accommodate fluctuating harvests and individual produce varieties.

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Topics: Case studies, Videos, Food & beverage, optonews, PACs, OptoNews 2016-08-03

OptoNews: Coming soon - mobile-friendly OptoForum format

Posted by Jean Femia on Aug 3, 2016 3:53:06 PM

A lot of you post questions and share your expertise in the OptoForum. It's a great place to get advice from other Opto product users, explore new ways to solve a control problem, or share your sample code.

Now we're updating the forum platform to make it easier to use. Sometime in the next couple of weeks you'll see a major change.

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Topics: Insider, Updates, optonews, OptoNews 2016-08-03

OptoNews Tip: New OptoTagPreserve eases PAC updates

Posted by Jean Femia on Aug 3, 2016 3:52:31 PM

Last OptoNews you heard about all the new features in PAC Project 9.5 and SNAP PAC firmware 9.5, both just released.

The most exciting new features are the HTTP/HTTPS server and RESTful API, giving you secure access to I/O point and variable data in your PAC controller. 

These developer- and IoT-ready features are free—all you need to do is update your firmware.

But updating PAC controller firmware on a running system can pose a problem.

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Topics: Updates, Tips, optonews, PACs, PAC Project, Firmware, PAC Control, OptoTagPreserve, OptoNews 2016-08-03

OptoNews Special: Get major new features now in PAC Project 9.5!

Posted by Jean Femia on Jul 21, 2016 4:54:16 PM

Available now. Announcing the new PAC Project and firmware R9.5a releases. Included:

  • Many new features you've asked for
  • Support for two new I/O modules
  • A brand-new HTTP/HTTPS server and REST API to make integration, data exchange, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications 
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Topics: Internet of Things, Updates, IoT, optonews, PACs, New products, Integrators, PAC Project, OptoNews 2016-07-20

OptoNews: Sneak peek - SNAP-AIRTD-8U multifunction input

Posted by Jean Femia on Jul 6, 2016 4:34:26 PM

Actually you can buy this flexible analog input module right now. You'll just need a SNAP PAC brain or R-series controller with firmware R9.5a in order to use it—coming soon!

Designed for 3-wire RTD temperature inputs or high-resolution resistance measurement, the new SNAP-AIRTD-8U analog input module has, yes, 8 points, each individually software configurable.

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Topics: Energy management, Process control, optonews, New products, I/O, OptoNews 2016-07-06

OptoNews: Case study - Keeping supercomputers cool

Posted by Jean Femia on Jul 6, 2016 4:31:58 PM

Getting Useful Data from Big Data

At the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), researchers analyze mountains of data from widely differing fields, including:

  • Supersonic aircraft
  • The human brain
  • Distant stars
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Topics: Energy management, Case studies, optonews, PACs, Integrators, Building management, Modbus, OptoNews 2016-07-06

OptoNews: Las Vegas IoT Evolution Conference & Expo

Posted by Jean Femia on Jul 6, 2016 4:29:33 PM

Are you thinking about your Internet of Things (IoT) strategy? Join us next week in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the IoT Evolution Conference and Expo.

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Topics: Internet of Things, Remote monitoring, IoT, optonews, Events & conferences, Integrators, OptoNews 2016-07-06

OptoNews Tip: More capabilities, more I/O for legacy systems

Posted by Jean Femia on Jul 6, 2016 4:27:33 PM

Move up to SNAP PAC—and keep racks and field wiring intact

Have you seen some of our newer high-density, high-speed, or multifunction I/O modules and wished you could use them in your legacy SNAP Ultimate or SNAP Ethernet I/O system? 

Have you wanted to build an easy-to-use groov mobile interface for your legacy system?

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Topics: Updates, optonews, PACs, New products, Migration, Integrators, I/O, OptoNews 2016-07-06

OptoNews: Sneak peek - SNAP PAC delivers the data

Posted by Jean Femia on Jun 22, 2016 4:59:12 PM

Are you thinking about how you could use data from some of your SNAP PACs in databases, other applications, even the Internet of Things (IoT)?

If so, you'll be pretty excited about the upcoming release of SNAP PAC firmware, R9.5. 

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Topics: Process control, Discrete control, Internet of Things, Updates, Remote monitoring, IoT, optonews, PACs, Firmware, Security, OptoNews 2016-06-22

OptoNews: Sneak peek - Great new features in PAC Project R9.5

Posted by Jean Femia on Jun 22, 2016 4:58:59 PM

Coming soon: PAC Project R9.5000, with many new features you've requested plus support for new I/O modules. Here's a sneak preview of what's inside.

Just a few of the highlights...

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Topics: Updates, optonews, PACs, Migration, PAC Project, Optomux, OptoNews 2016-06-22

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