Is there a practical difference between these two sonar units: MB1000 LV-MaxSonar-EZ0 and MB1200 XL-MaxSonar-EZ0?
The data sheets say MB1200 reads at 10 Hz rate, MB1000 reads at 20 Hz rate and is cheaper. Their sensing range doesn't appear to differ much. MB1000 is however noticeably cheaper!
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how do you test the accuracy of the sonars?
Heres my story....When I bought my first setup (AC2) not long ago they didn't have any sonars so i bought one from Maxbotics. I ordered what was recommended by DIY-the 1200 xl, i'm pretty sure i got a MB1000lv, maybe a mixup in stock picking...Anyway, the mb1000, as guessed by the lack of the big silver coil box on the back, performed MUCH better under 20 feet than my replacement MB1200xl has ever. My original quad (gaui 330xs with AC2) could slowly fly up and over obstacles and on the nap of the earth with a little speed, I was impressed. Unfortunately the original mb1k sonar was destroyed in a non-altitude hold-related crash. Of course my pid's could be off with my new unit as I have changed frames/motors/esc since then. So far tho, the pid adjustment has been a pain compared to the last sonar. Thinking about getting another sonar, and based on my eye's and finger's observations and the fact that I don't know which sonar I got originally, I'm going to toss some money on an mb1000lv for the type of flying I do
This is a great question. So lets take a closer look at these two ultrasonic sensors so we can better understand not only the technical differences but also the application (practical) differences and what one can expect from not only in performance but price point as well.
First I would like to agree with the writer, that on the surface the MB1000 vs MB1200 "Their sensing range doesn't appear to differ much."
While these two ultrasonic sensors are designed to operate similarly their beam patterns displayed in the data sheets clearly detail their differences. The XL-MaxSonar® products offer auto calibration, broader range sensitivity, its 10Hz rate offers better noise depression over the 20Hz found in LV-MaxSonar®-EZ product line. The XL-MaxSonar® products will detect grass far better than the LV-MaxSonar®-EZ product because of its higher output power and sensitivity.
Range sensing again is most notable when we look at the beam characteristics of both sensors 1/4 inch dowel test.
http://www.maxbotix.com/pictures/sensor_beam/Beam%20Pattern%20MB1000.gif
http://www.maxbotix.com/pictures/sensor_beam/Beam%20Pattern%20MB1200-MB1300.gif
Either of these high quality ultrasonic sensors are and great value and very competitive at their current price point.
Looking overall at the XL-MaxSonar® products, the real-time filtering of the analog envelope is held to a new standard. For all the products in this sensor line, for regular continuous noise sources such as motors and vibrations found on robots and UAVs, the sensor learns and then removes the noise, allowing reliable readings. In addition, when the engine noise increases, or an additional noise source comes into play, the filtering learns and changes to compensate. (This can be contrasted with the LV-MaxSonar®-EZ product line where the sensor learns the background noise during the initial calibration, but the LV-MaxSonar®-EZ product line did not compensate for noise sources that changed after this initial calibration. In addition, for the LV-MaxSonar®-EZ product line, products with increased sensitivity (i.e. the LV-MaxSonar®-EZ0) also had increased susceptibility to noise.
For complete details on each sensor, please click the datasheet links below.
http://www.maxbotix.com/documents/MB1000_Datasheet.pdf
http://www.maxbotix.com/documents/MB1200-MB1300_Datasheet.pdf
Scott Wielenberg
Technical Support & Sales
of MaxBotix Inc.
Phone: (218) 454-0766
Fax: (218) 454-0768
Email: scott@maxbotix.com