Monitor 2 temperature channels and graph - cheapest?

by **Kristi** on Tue May 24, 2011 7:27 pm

I would like to graph a couple of rapidly changing temp channels. I have seen units that have USB connection and software for a PC (don't remember number of channels)

Any inexpensive way?

by **JimG** on Tue May 24, 2011 7:58 pm

http://code.google.com/p/tc4-shield/

Open source collaboration by several Homeroasters.org members.

Jim

by **another_jim** on Tue May 24, 2011 8:11 pm

For one or two channels, the Lascar sticks may be the cheapest. The drawback is that you cannot synchronize multiple sticks unless you load the separate files into a spreadsheet or stats program.

CenterTek, a Taiwanese company, makes a great four channel logger for around $175; I use it and it's very user friendly provided you don't need readings faster than about 1 every 3 to 5 seconds. But the only place selling it now is setting off all my malware alarms, so if you are interested, you may want to contact the firm through Alibaba instead

by **CoffeeMac** on Tue May 24, 2011 8:25 pm

Try two of these USB temperature, at $39 each with free data logging software:

http://www.vernier.com/go/gotemp.html

by **Kristi** on Tue May 24, 2011 8:54 pm

Thanks all!

CoffeeMac wrote:Try two of these USB temperature, at $39 each with free data logging software:
http://www.vernier.com/go/gotemp.html

Thanks, but, response time 4 secs. also cannot connect my 30ga K tc's.

another_jim wrote:For one or two channels, the Lascar sticks may be the cheapest. The drawback is that you cannot synchronize multiple sticks unless you load the separate files into a spreadsheet or stats program.

CenterTek, a Taiwanese company, makes a great four channel logger for around $175; I use it and it's very user friendly provided you don't need readings faster than about 1 every 3 to 5 seconds. But the only place selling it now is setting off all my malware alarms, so if you are interested, you may want to contact the firm through Alibaba instead

3-5 seconds is a killer. The plain Lascar w/o LED may work out... But, yeah, not easy to do 2...

JimG wrote:http://code.google.com/p/tc4-shield/
Open source collaboration by several Homeroasters.org members.
Jim

I looked at this one, but couldn't figure out how to connect it to my PC.........

by **mhoy** on Tue May 24, 2011 9:39 pm

Kristi wrote:Thanks all!

I looked at this one, but couldn't figure out how to connect it to my PC.........

It outputs a serial stream down the USB port. It works quite well (I've got a couple of them).
BTW: Are you sure your sensor can detect changes more often than every second? (Thermal lag et al).

Mark

by **Kristi** on Tue May 24, 2011 9:45 pm

mhoy wrote:It outputs a serial stream down the USB port. It works quite well (I've got a couple of them).
BTW: Are you sure your sensor can detect changes more often than every second? (Thermal lag et al).

Mark

Thanks.
I don't see a USB socket on the card...

tc is simply 30ga K-type with a twisted end. It's fast enough to drive my Omega HH21 crazy if I have it in the path of the water above the puck.

by **mhoy** on Tue May 24, 2011 10:57 pm

The card plugs into an Arduino board, so add in another $35 or so (depending on type). I'm using the Arduino Uno for driving my Bradley Smoker. I've been too busy lately to do anything coffee related (other than drinking it and roasting beans up). The beauty of open source is that a BlueTooth module could be added for remote monitoring. (With a bit of work of course). That's how I'd like to monitor my smoker...

Mark

by **fnacer** on Tue May 24, 2011 11:22 pm

...a BlueTooth module could be added for remote monitoring. (With a bit of work of course)...

Can you use the Arduino BT instead of the Uno with the TC4 to get BlueTooth support?

by **JimG** on Tue May 24, 2011 11:26 pm

fnacer wrote:Can you use the Arduino BT instead of the Uno with the TC4 to get BlueTooth support?

Should work fine, but to my knowledge has not been tested.

EDIT: There might be an issue with the TC4 software fitting into a 16KB flash space (assuming this board still uses the ATmega168).

Jim


Contact Us	Legal disclaimer and copyright: This content and all its parts are copyrighted, all rights reserved. Content including all text and images in part or in whole may not be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission. Home-Barista, Home-Barista.com and related logos are trademarks of Home-Barista.com, LLC. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. By accessing this site, you agree to the terms of service. Overall speed: , current page: s, avg: s, max: s