Low Cost Data Logger - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2020, 02:47:03 pm
content: Long story short, I have a 0-5V analog signal from a sensor.I'd like to log the information for a short period of time, maybe an hour or two along with an internal clock to match the data with time.I've looked for some inexpensive models, and found the cheapest to be around $50. Does anyone know of some decent inexpensive units that may just store the information in CSV form?

author: Pawelr98
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 04:14:14 am
content: DIY is the cheapest solution.ADC + some microcomputer board + a simple programOrADC + uC sending data to a computer on serial and a program on PC just saves it to a file.Microcomputer board like Rpi or PC has tons of memory so it can record a lot of data into any format you need.

author: rpetitho
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 07:07:33 am
content: I use a Raspberry Pi. An Arduino should be able to send it data over serial, and if you enable the serial GPIO on the RPI you can have a very simple logger for cheap (at least if you already have one or both of those).My RPI runs a simple python program (see below) to log the data coming across the serial input.import sysimport serialrunners = serial.Serial("/dev/serial0", baudrate=9600)while 1:output = open('output_log.csv', 'a')output.write(runners.read_until('\r'))output.close()

author: MosherIV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 07:43:08 am
content: Other option:If your multimeter has interface/connection to pc. Use it and some data logging software.Look for old picologger on ebay. They plugged into parallel port of pc and came with easy to use software

author: NivagSwerdna
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 09:16:57 am
content: https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMOwon%20B35T%20UK.htmlwas suggested in another thread... haven't used it myself (I have a cheap Mastech which has USB)

author: Etesla
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 09:28:20 pm
content: These guys have some optionshttps://www.phidgets.com/?tier=1&catid=16&pcid=14

author: JimRemington
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2020, 04:24:25 pm
content: It is really hard to beat the Sparkfun OpenLog for price and performance. I've used it to log data for months at at time, with no problems.Although it is designed to log serial input, the code is open source. It would be easy to modify it to log ADC voltages, standalone.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2020, 07:04:05 pm
content: For EUR 2 or so you can get a pstage stamp sized PCB from Ali with a uSD card on one side and an ATMEGA328 on the other side. I think the thing is a clone of a project called "open log" or openlogger" or similar.

author: rvalente
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 02:18:41 pm
content: Easier, not cheapest: National Instruments USB DAQ (can get used ones)+ LabView, up and running in a few hours...

author: SilverSolder
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 02:28:17 pm
content: Inexpensive oscilloscope that appears to do data logging as well:https://www.tequipment.net/Instek/GDS-1054B/Digital-Oscilloscopes/