Shimpo DT-365E LED Portable Handheld Stroboscope Review

Hello everyone,

Today I am reviewing the DT-365E LED Stroboscope from Shimpo. The DT-365E is designed to determine the RPM of motors, fan blades, conveyors, rotors, meshing gears, textile equipment, pumps, vibration equipment, etc. This can be exceptionally useful in determining unknown RPM or tweaking machinery to a specific RPM requirement.

This unit has an overall rugged design with many advanced features. Firstly, this particular model uses LEDs over the older Xenon Stroboscopes. This equates to longer lifespan of the bulbs in addition to brighter illumination. Secondly, this model has a very user-intuitive control panel. The control panel features an LED display, adjustment dial, MODE button to adjust Flash Mode, Flash Duration, and phase shift settings, an “X2” and “÷2” button to multiply or divide flash rate, direct input signal jacks, power button, and the power connection jack. Finally, the DT-365E is equipped with a versatile carrying handle and long-lasting, quick-charge NiMH rechargeable batteries for jobs away from a direct power source.

Using this device is very simple. First, the user must attach a piece of reflective tape on one specific blade, gear, etc. of the machine being measured. After this is complete, it is as simple as starting up the machine, and adjusting the DT-365E’s flash rate until the piece of reflective tape appears frozen in motion. The reflective tape may appear frozen even at half RPM because the frequency is matched, so make sure to utilize the “x2” button, or manually adjust the dial. If the user adjusts the flash rate slightly too high, the reflective tape will appear moving counterclockwise. If the user adjusts the flash rate much too high, the reflective tape will appear as 2, 3, 4, etc. pieces depending on how much faster the flash rate is in comparison to the machine’s natural RPM. Once the reflective tape appears frozen, and the user is sure the RPM is not higher, the red number on the LED display will indicate the RPM of the machine in question.

Have you ever had a machine where you were not sure of its RPM? Let us know in the comments!