USB/Serial Data Input Device ??

[InOverMyHead]

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

 

[petrus bitbyter]

"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> schreef in bericht
news:fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

Bob,

What you want to do is known as data logging. A cheap (in components)
solution is using the parallel port. You get whatever sensorvoltage you
have, take an AD-converter to make it 8 bits binary and present it to the
parallel port. The burden of timing is on the side of the PC-program. That's
to say on the programmer. If you use DOS it is not that difficult but it's
hardly possible to use the PC for somthing else at the same time. If you're
using windows, the programming of the parallel port is a pain. Furthermore,
the timing (especially for short intervals) is not very accurate as windows
has a lot of other things to do.

A much better solution is taking a microcontroller. Use one that has a uart
and a AD-converter on board. The micro can gathering the data and send it to
the PC which can take all the time it needs to receive and store it. Windows
can be programmed to perform this task in the background, so you can use the
PC for normal tasks as well.

I'm sure you can find a lot of info googling for data logging.

petrus



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[Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun]

In article <TBmtb.144246$di.33160464@amsnews02.chello.com>,
p.kralt@hccnet.nl mentioned...

"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> schreef in bericht
news:fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob



Bob,

What you want to do is known as data logging. A cheap (in components)
solution is using the parallel port. You get whatever sensorvoltage you
have, take an AD-converter to make it 8 bits binary and present it to the
parallel port. The burden of timing is on the side of the PC-program. That's
to say on the programmer. If you use DOS it is not that difficult but it's
hardly possible to use the PC for somthing else at the same time. If you're
using windows, the programming of the parallel port is a pain. Furthermore,
the timing (especially for short intervals) is not very accurate as windows
has a lot of other things to do.

People overlook using the game port to do simple analog input. You
can put a 30k ohm thermistor across the pins that normally have the
joystick pots, and read the thermistor value, and translate that into
temperature. Or use a CdS photocell instead of the thermistor to
sense light (radio snack has them). You can put a switch across the
joystick button pins to get an on/off input. This is probably the
least expensive way.

You can buy a DMM from radio shark that connects to the PC thru a
serial port. It comes with software that allows you to read the
voltage or current or resistaince, etc. For more info see URL
http://tinyurl.com/v3xz

A much better solution is taking a microcontroller. Use one that has a uart
and a AD-converter on board. The micro can gathering the data and send it to
the PC which can take all the time it needs to receive and store it. Windows
can be programmed to perform this task in the background, so you can use the
PC for normal tasks as well.

I'm sure you can find a lot of info googling for data logging.

petrus

--
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http://www.everybookstore.com You'll be glad you did!
Just when you thought you had all this figured out, the gov't
changed it: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
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[JB]

"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

What you need is a 'Labjack'.

www.labjack.com
USB powered and you can daisy-chain them too.
HTH,
JB

 

[Tom Woodrow]

http://www.measurementcomputing.com/cbicatalog/cbiproduct_new.asp?dept_id=352&pf_id=1535

or

http://www.dlpdesign.com/usb/temp9.html

Tom Woodrow

InOverMyHead wrote:

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

 

[w3frg]

Try http://www.dataq.com/ for the DI-194R3 DA at $24.95, then select
your input type.

GL Tom



"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... )
and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm
talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be
great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for
solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

 

Bob,

B&B Electronics has an analog to serial module for about $70 US Kind
of experience
http://www.bb-elec.com/

DLPDesign has a USB example design with a DS18S20 Temperature sensor
for $50. With the driver from FTDIchip.com, you can access this using
a virtual comm port. (serial).
http://www.dlpdesign.com/usb/evalp.html

If you need to import serial to Excel, I can provide an example
spreadsheet that uses Excel macros (VBA) and the MSComm Control, which
is available on the Net. Drop me a line if you are interested.
http://www.yes-tele.com/mscomm.html

If you want to build something, KitsRUS has a datalogger kit:
http://www.kitsrus.com/kits.html#k112
Hobby Engineer sells this kit for $29.
http://www.hobbyengineering.com/SectionEK.html#IX1251
http://info.hobbyengineering.com/specs/DIY-k112.pdf

g9u5dd43@yahoo.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 07:43:07 GMT, "InOverMyHead"
<bbart@.ix.netcom.com> wrote:

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Bob

 

[Gary Tait]

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 03:57:12 -0800, Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun, Dark
Remover" <alondra101@hotmail.com> wrote:

In article <TBmtb.144246$di.33160464@amsnews02.chello.com>,
p.kralt@hccnet.nl mentioned...

"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> schreef in bericht
news:fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob



Bob,

What you want to do is known as data logging. A cheap (in components)
solution is using the parallel port. You get whatever sensorvoltage you
have, take an AD-converter to make it 8 bits binary and present it to the
parallel port. The burden of timing is on the side of the PC-program. That's
to say on the programmer. If you use DOS it is not that difficult but it's
hardly possible to use the PC for somthing else at the same time. If you're
using windows, the programming of the parallel port is a pain. Furthermore,
the timing (especially for short intervals) is not very accurate as windows
has a lot of other things to do.

People overlook using the game port to do simple analog input. You
can put a 30k ohm thermistor across the pins that normally have the
joystick pots, and read the thermistor value, and translate that into
temperature. Or use a CdS photocell instead of the thermistor to
sense light (radio snack has them). You can put a switch across the
joystick button pins to get an on/off input. This is probably the
least expensive way.

At least on the old ISA bus gameport adaptors, and those integrated on
older I/O cards (the 558 based ones), there is less than 8 bits, when
you reslove out the play in the A/D convertor used.

You can buy a DMM from radio shark that connects to the PC thru a
serial port. It comes with software that allows you to read the
voltage or current or resistaince, etc. For more info see URL
http://tinyurl.com/v3xz



A much better solution is taking a microcontroller. Use one that has a uart
and a AD-converter on board. The micro can gathering the data and send it to
the PC which can take all the time it needs to receive and store it. Windows
can be programmed to perform this task in the background, so you can use the
PC for normal tasks as well.

I'm sure you can find a lot of info googling for data logging.

petrus

 

[the Wiz]

"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> wrote:

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

Try the intro level serial ADC from DATAQ Instruments www.dataq.com
It has four 10 bit, +/-10 volt ADC channels and two digital channels for
control. It comes with Windows software so you can use it as a chart recorder.
I spent a number of hours exploring ways to measure light and temperature with
it. If you do any programming, an ActiveX control is included so you can access
the unit from Visual Basic or VBA (in Excel, Access, etc).

You can read about the unit here: http://www.dataq.com/194.htm It's US$25 and I
think it's worth the money just for the data acquisition education you'll get
while exploring it.

More about me: http://www.jecarter.com/
VB3/VB6/NSBasic Palm/C/PowerBasic source code: http://www.jecarter.com/programs.html
Drivers for Pablo graphics tablet and JamCam cameras: http://home.earthlink.net/~mwbt/
johnecarter at@at mindspring dot.dot com. Fix the obvious to reply by email.

 

[Gung Ho]

Try these links...

http://www.lvr.com/usb.htm
http://www.dlpdesign.com/usb/evalp.html


"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

 

[Wim Ton]

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.

How about the Maxim DS1615, a one chip temperature recorder. You can dump
the values to the serial port later.

Wim

 

[InOverMyHead]

Wow - you guys are great. I'm going with the Hobby Electronics' K145 Temp
Data Logger kit. Thanks again for all the leads. I've spent HOURS getting
happily sidetracked. Oh the possibilities . . .

Bob


"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would
sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database.
Presumably I would graph the results with Excel. Input data would be
captured once per second, or minute or hour or whatever. And I'm talking
hobby level stuff, not precision grade. Radio Shack parts would be great.
(Cheap is good.) Is there a name for this? Where can I look for solutions?
Could I build/program it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

 

[Ted Swift]

"InOverMyHead" <bbart@nospam.ix.netcom.com> wrote in message news:<fOktb.1124$sb4.175@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>...

What am I looking for? I don't even know what to call it. But it would sense
temperature (or light or sound level or electrical current or ... ) and
input data (through serial or USB ports?) for capture into a database...

Yes, this is generally called "data logging", and there are getting to
be thousands of ways of doing it. If you don't want to dedicate a
desktop or laptop computer to the job, you can buy dedicated loggers
that do their thing for minutes to years, after which you download the
data to a computer. Onset (www.onsetcomp.com) makes self-contained
loggers for a wide variety of variables (temp, light, humidity,
events, voltage, etc.) for both dry and wet conditions. They're
rugged, relatively cheap, last forever, and are a breeze to use. If
you are serious, with serious money, you can go to companies such as
Campbell Scientific (www.campbellsci.com/home.html), but that's
outside the realm of "hobby". One thing I want to explore is using a
cheap Palm organizer (Palm IIxe's are getting cheap on eBay) and
something like the "MELD" data acquisition board
(www.execpc.com/~fdeck/meld/ ) to log, say, four channels of
temperature over a period of months. National Semiconductor makes the
LM34 and LM35 temperature-to-voltage converters, available through
DigiKey for cheap, and you could instrument your house (or compost
pile or whatever) for less than $100.