If you just need a simple budget friendly precision laser distance sensor that can detect objects out to 3 meters, then this guy is exactly what you need. You just power it up, place an object at the distance you want to detect – between 0 and three meters, of course - and press and hold the teach button until it blinks. That’s it. The sensor will now detect any object that comes closer to the sensor than that. Easy. While there are two output wires, there is really only one output signal, because the second wire is just the compliment of the first one. Both of them are PNP. This sensor has a laser enable signal – just apply 24VDC to this pin to disable the laser output. The hysteresis on this sensor is fixed at around 15 mm – call it a little over half an inch - so once the object is detected, it has to fall back past that detection point plus an additional 15 mm for the output to go inactive. The connector can be rotated 90 degrees in either direction with detents every 45 degrees. That gives you a lot of flexibility with your mounting and cabling options. If you need more control over your distance measuring - like the ability to change the outputs from PNP to NPN , or being able to set your own the operating range limits and not be stuck at 0 to 3 meters, or being able to detect objects between two limits , or being able to delay the on and off signaling, or even being able to have a programmable pulse out – which can also be delayed - instead of a signal that just lasts the duration of the object … then check out this guys brother – the 2011. It’s covers the same distance, has the same form factor, has similar power requirements, and similar performance metrics … but it has an LCD screen with menus that you can navigate to setup all of these options and quite a few more. And don’t forget – Automation Directs tech support is FREE and you’ll talk to a real live person here in the US within minutes. Got a question? You can call, e-mail, or even do on-line chat during regular business hours. AutomationDirect.com offers Wenglor distance measuring sensors from 80 micro meters all the way out to 100 meters to cover all of your distance measuring needs.