Re: Household electrical current to Excel ???

[Palindr☻me <sb382638@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

daestrom wrote:
> "Dan Bloomquist" <public21@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:9EQQe.1291$Xo3.1182@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>>
>>daestrom wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"Dennis Mchenney" <mchenney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>news:43135BCE.4010705@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>
>>>
>>>>For LOW cost try here. You will need to have a main and branch cicuit
>>>>sensor inputs of some type and > $ 100 each for LOW resolution is the
>>>>norm. Log data to *.cvs FORMATED file and open in Excell maybe.
>>>>
>>>>http://www.labjack.com/index.html
>>>
>>>If you're handy with the signal conditioning, you can get *really* cheap
>>>A/D->PC by using iButtons and related 'one-wire' devices from Dallas
>>>Semiconductor.
>>>http://www.maxim-ic.com/1-Wire.cfm
>>>
>>>I use some of their temperature sensors to monitor my domestic hot-water
>>>heat-exchanger, hot-air furnace, and the temperatures in my attic.
>>>
>>>daestrom
>>>P.S.  It helps if you can do a little programming as their software
>>>development kit is a bit 'stone-knife and bearskin'
>>
>>Thanks daestrom,
>>I hadn't noticed this maxim line well enough. Interesting enough to keep
>>me busy for a while. Digi-key sells their stuff. Did you start with the
>>DS9090K? (Why pound your thumb with a hammer for a lack of $65? :) I
>>haven't seriously had a soldering iron in my hand for a few years, I miss
>>it...
>>
>>I like it so far.
>
>
> The one thing I ran into, is a lot of their products are surface mount.
>
> But I was able to 'SuperGlue' a 1/8 dowel underneath the 8 pin package and
> then solder some hairline strands to the legs.  Ran the strands to some more
> conventional 22AWG, and wrapped the whole thing up in a layer of tape.
> Gives me a nice 'probe' about 3/16" diameter that I can poke into furnace
> ducts, strap onto hot-water pipe (with some foam pipe insulation around
> probe to help improve accuracy) or whereever.  Even drilled small hole in
> sill-plate and stuck one through to get an 'outdoor' reading.
>
> Although two of the units failed early because of my... (ahem...) soldering
> skill with SO packages (well, afterall I was using a 15w pencil iron to do
> SO, so what can you expect).  But once I got things down pat, I've gotten 12
> working units.
>
> Had some old cat-5 scraps, and there was already a couple of cat-5 runs up
> to the attic area.  Made for good wire to connect them all together.  So now
> I have a linux box sitting in the basement 'logging' temperatures from all
> around the attic, basement, furnace.
>
> Got some of their straight A/D converters from another hobby source.  These
> came with the surface mount chip already mounted in a standard 8-pin dip
> plug.  They only take 0-5V input, so I've been tinkering with some 'signal
> conditioner' circuits to attach a solar cell for measuring potential 'sun
> input' for different placements around the place.
>
> Just a hobby, but interesting, keeps me off the streets.  And my wife
> doesn't mind as long as there's no wires strung across the kitchen table ;-)

You might be quite interested by this:

http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3145.htm

Which is what I have used for a similar reason to yours!

By fitting the sensor into a standard utp connector, wired to some of
the "spare" cores, you can just plug them in where you fancy, moving
them when you want, and connect out at the patch panel.


--
Sue