I've been through this one, with power meters as one instance.  Sending
someone out to the pole is expensive.  In the case of power meters, it costs
more than the meter itself.

If you save a trip out, especially one that involves a several-man crew in
an expensive specialized vehicle, you can save at least $50.

The big payoff is if you can have a handheld gizmo that tells you right now,
while you're already there with the right stuff, whether you should replace
that pole or not.  We're already here for something else, let's thump those
old poles and see if we can save another trip later.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alan B Pearce [mailto:A.B.Pearce@RL.AC.UK]
> Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2000 9:36 AM
> To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Re: Don't use Microchip's FFT
>
>
> >I can't give full details of the project I'm working on, but
> in overview it's
> >a tool for testing decay in telegraph poles by analysing the
> vibration
> >spectrum from the pole when it is stimulated with an
> impulse.  The FFT is one
>
> Is it not a case where you just record the sound and analyse
> it later in the
> office? does it really need to be analysed on site. I would
> have thought a sound
> recording with pole ID# would have been sufficient. with high
> performance
> analyses later.
>