Where is that noise coming from?

Another popular topic we get asked about on a regular basis, and here is the typical result.

The most common cause of noise is due to pick up in the wiring, it is good practice to use screened cable and twisted pairs for signal and power. A cable such as Belden (or equivalent) 8772 LSF is a good choice for most measurement applications. More information on pick up can be found in our app note http://AN-W1 Notes on wiring and mains pickup

The next thing to note is how bridge configuration effects noise, when using full bridge all your gauges and references are in close proximity, this negates any common mode problems as all gauges have the same electrical path to the amplifier. when you use half bridge this adds noise as one half of the bridge is now located inside the amplifier. as it is one complete side of the bridge the impact is small, then when you move to quarter bridge you are now splitting the remaining side, so one 3/4 of the bridge is now inside the amplifier, and one arm is split. We recommend using a 3 wire method as detailed in application note https://fylde.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/AN-QB1-quarter-bridge-app-note.pdf