10 Years of the Original 2-wire Guided Wave Radar Concept

It has been 10 years since Magnetrol (Belgium) released the Eclipse Model 705, the first 2-Wire Guided Wave Radar (GWR) level transmitter that measured liquid level, independent of liquid characteristics. No need for calibration, a broad application coverage, ease of configuration and commissioning, integration without piping changes, and enhanced reliability are a few of the reasons for its rapid acceptance in the very conservative oil and gas industries.

The principle of operation is based on time-of-flight measurement of high frequency pulses sent down a fixed transmission line reflecting off the liquid surface. The initial product involved one amplifier with two probe types (Coaxial and Twin rod). The product offering now includes one universal amplifier with a complete series of application-oriented GWR probes.

Through continuous innovation, the Eclipse Model 705 transmitter has always stayed one step ahead of the market.

A glance at some milestones in its history:

1998: first loop-powered GWR radar on the market
1999: first GWR probe suited for high temperature / high pressure
applications
2000: first overfill safe GWR probe that measures up to the process
connection
2001: first self-redundant GWR combination with a magnetic level indicator (Aurora)
2002: first GWR probes suited for interface and saturated steam applications
2003: successful participation on the broadest GWR testing so far, performed by the independent user group WIB/XERA and EI
2007: first enlarged coaxial GWR probe suited for high viscous liquids with low dielectrics
2008: first integrated flushing connection for in-process maintenance of coaxial GWR probes

With an installed base of more than 50,000 units, mainly in the oil and gas industries, Eclipse runs the operational functions as well as the ESD functions of entire facilities.

Eclipse is also one of the safest process level devices on the market with a SFF fraction of > 91%, making it suitable for applications requiring SIL 2 hardware compliance.