Flexstar Technology Introduces a Programmable Power Supply Simulator
(PSS) for all Industries

Fremont, California. August 12, 2008 - Flexstar Technology, Inc. (Flexstar) the worldwide leading supplier of storage device test systems, today announced the Flexstar Power Supply Simulator (PSS). The sophisticated design is based on meeting the stringent power requirements of the storage drive industry. Additionally it can be used by companies in any industry where precise voltage margining and current measurement under any power condition is required.

The PSS provides four asynchronous DC power outputs allowing each voltage output to be programmed from 0 to 15 Volts in 0.25-millivolt increments with an accuracy of better than +/-0.5%. Each channel of the PSS can be independently programmed to allow up to 100,000 arbitrary voltage points which are used to simulate various undesirable power supply behaviors such as overshoot, ringing, brownouts, output skew, etc. Output rise times can be programmed in increments of 100 microseconds up to 1 second with the same 0.25-millivolt resolution. Current measurement over the 0 to 5 Amp range has an accuracy of +/-2 milliamps with a sampling rate up to 100K samples per second for all four channels. The internal buffer is capable of storing up to one million samples each of voltage and current measurements for each channel (8 Million samples total).

The on-board sine wave generator is available on each channel to inject simulated low frequency ripple and high frequency noise into the output in the range of DC to 20 MHz with programmable amplitude up to 1V P-P. The system has a connection for an external function generator allowing users to inject a variety of wave shapes such as saw tooth, square wave, random pulses, etc.

Each channel can simulate sudden short or open circuit conditions in the power supply output – which is a critical design verification tool for most electronic devices.

“We developed the PSS for our storage manufactures to meet their requirements to test their latest drives, but we quickly realized it has potential for many applications in other industries”, said John Hoeppner, Vice-President of Engineering for Flexstar, “The extreme accuracy of voltage control and current measurement are combined with the ability to create arbitrary outputs and ripple & noise injection make this a very powerful tool for design verification, quality test, and production applications.”
The innovative design of the Flexstar Power Supply Simulator enables easy integration into a wide range of test and development equipment.

“These are exciting times at Flexstar as this is the first product released that has applications outside the storage industry.” said Timothy Beck Vice President of Marketing and Major Account Sales, “the PSS can be used in our burn-in racks or environmental chambers or as a standalone tester for other industries that need to test the effects of poorly behaved power supplies”.

The Flexstar Power Supply Simulator delivers the accuracy, flexibility and repeatable testing that Flexstar is known for in the industry.

The Flexstar Power Supply Simulator for storage drive manufactures is available immediately from Flexstar and Flexstar business partners with an MSRP of $3,900 depending on options and quantities.
The standalone version of the PSS for general industrial use is available in August 2008.

About Flexstar Technology

Founded in 1981, Flexstar Technology has established itself as an industry innovator by becoming the first non-captive supplier of storage test systems.  Since introducing the industry’s first commercially available HDD tester in 1985, Flexstar has continued to be at the forefront of innovating advanced testing solutions for the data storage industry, providing storage manufacturers and their customers with standardized and repeatable testing and qualification processes and delivering over 350,000 test ports.

Flexstar’s product line includes ambient, burn-in, environmental, and altitude test equipment with advanced yet easy-to-use software. All industry standard interfaces and form factors are supported, and a modular design approach ensures products are field upgradeable, providing flexibility and investment protection. All products are backed by support offerings and Flexstar’s uncompromising commitment to customer service.

For more information, please visit www.flexstar.com or email sales@flexstar.com

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