WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE!

It's rather dramatic I know but all the same, working or not, I'm always on the lookout for more VELA equipment to document, archive, use and learn about.

Having much of the documentation, I've been able to arrive at quite a long list of items that I'm missing and where possible, I've found pictures of them.

So if you can help me in locating some of the items below, I'd be most grateful.

Missing VELA Hardware

The VELA truly lived up to the "Versatile" part of its name. Not only was the VELA an extremely flexible data logging tool, it could also be used as the basis for a sense and control system and even as a teaching system for basic electronics and binary logic. These extra devices connected to the VELA using its digital I/O connector.

  • Vela Buffer Board (order no. 1030)
    Buffer board
  • Vela Logic Tutor Board (order no. 1031)
    Logic Tutor board
  • Vela ROM Extension Board (order no. 1032)
  • Light Gate (order no. 1035) - found November 2016

    Light gate sensor

Missing Sensor Adaptor Modules

Sensor adaptor modules provided a way to connect standardised sensor modules to the VELA in a mix and match fashion providing great flexibility in the monitoring applications the VELA could be used for. With the addition of the SAM ROM for the VELA, the sensor data could be displayed by the VELA in the correct units without any extra conversion process being required.

Missing Sensors

The VELA Magnetic Field and Temperature Sensor modules

  • Light Sensor (order no. 2220)
    Light sensor
  • Strain Gauge Sensor (order no. 2280)
    Straing Gauge sensor
  • Oxygen Sensor (order no. 2290)
    Oxygen sensor
  • Oxygen Probe (order no. 2291)
  • pH Sensor (order no. 2250)
    pHsensor
  • pH probe (order no. 2251)
  • Magnetic Field Sensor (order no. 2240)
    Magnetic field sensor
  • DC current sensor +/- 10A (order no. 2230)
    DC Amps sensor
  • DC current sensor +/- 1A (order no. 2231)
  • Temperature Sensor 0-50deg C (order no. 2211)
  • Temperature Sensor 50-150deg C (order no. 2210)
    Temperature sensor -50 to 150deg C
  • Temperature Sensor 100-900deg C (order no. 2212)
  • K type thermocouple (order no. 2213)
  • 4 channel thermistor module (order no. 2214)
  • Variable Gain Amp (order no. 2310)
    Variable Gain sensor
  • Position Sensor (order no. 2270)
    Position sensor
  • Pressure Sensor (order no. 2260)
    Pressure sensor
  • Pulse Unit (order no. 9000)
  • 2 channel thermometer (order no. 9100)
  • Motion Sensor (order no. 9200)

Missing Videos (VHS tape)

  • Vela Videos 1, 2 and 3 (on one tape) (order no. 4016)

Missing Software

Educational Electronics published and sold several software titles for four different hardware platforms. Software for the BBC Micro appears to be the most common and all of the archived titles are for the BBC Micro platform. Sadly, there is still a large amount of software that is missing from the archive and they are listed below by platform.

SAM Software brochure screen shots

for BBC Micro

  • SAM 1 Software
  • Statpack
  • X-Y Graphing
  • Graph Plot
  • VELA Software (Bunglesoft)
  • VELAd

for RM380Z

  • Statpack
  • Acklam Graphpack

for Apple II

  • Apple VELA Analysis I

for IBM-PC

  • IBM VELA Analysis II
  • VELAcom

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Other VELA Software

The VELA manuals contain software listings for the transfer of data to several computers, the link below contains an SSD disc image containing the source for the BBC Micro transfer code.

VELA Technical Downloads

ROMs

The following ROM images are Mk I EPROMS and are incompatible with the ISL1* ROM from the VELA Mk II.  You can use the Mk I ROMs in a VELA Mk II or VELA PLUS but there are several differences in the data formats they produce when exporting from the VELA so when sending data to a microcomputer, it should be told it is connected to a Mk I VELA.

The following ROM images are for the VELA Mk II as indicated by a red *.

The following ROM images are for the VELA PLUS as indicated by a green *.

The following ROM image is for the SAM4 Sensor Adaptor Module

  • SAM* ROM

This final ROM is the RS Components ROM image that replaces ISL1* for their re-branded Multi-function Intelligent Data Logger.

IC Datasheets

The following datasheets cover all of the IC chips that are used in the VELA Mk. II data logger.

Contributors

I'd like to thank Jon Neville-Green of The Discovery Academy School in Stoke-On-Trent who kindly arranged for me to obtain their VELA which had been gathering dust in exchange for a donation to the Science department at the Academy. Thank you very much.

I'd also like to thank Cathy Herriman of Sherborne School for providing me with a full surplus set of manuals and supporting books and documents for the VELA in exchange for a donation to the School funds. Thank you.

Finally, I'd like to thank Mr Robert Boyd of Glossop High School in Adelaide and Dr. Ashley Clarke (one of the original creators of VELA) who have both contributed information in various e-mails that has allowed me to build up and present a wider picture of the VELA data logger and what it could do.