The Logit: A Better USB and PoE Power Logging Device - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: tekthead
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2015, 12:46:26 am
content: Hey guys,I posted this under the crowd funding section but I hope it is OK to post here too as I believe it may be relevant. If you think it is spam please delete or I will as to have the post removed.I am an engineer based in Melbourne, Australia who has created a new type of voltage, current, and power logging device specifically for USB and Power over Ethernet (PoE) devices.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/642519995/tektyte-logit-specialised-circuit-testersThe challenge of measuring USB and Power over Ethernet voltages and currents inline is normally a time consuming and often expensive exercise that leads to a complicated test bed setup for some pretty straight-forward and desirable results. The LogIT devices make the job much simpler and in doing so also make the information these devices measure, more accessible to both the professional engineer and DIY enthusiast alike.The kickstarter video clearly shows that devices like those made by Arduino and Raspberry Pi Foundation can be monitored for voltage, current, and power effortlessly. Additional features found only in professional multimeters have been included as standard such as logging to microSD card and streaming real-time data to a PC for live monitoring of devices while they are connected and being tested. What makes these devices different from a standard multimeter is that they are easy to connect and support the reduced range of positive voltages found in the USB and PoE standards. Not having to cope with wide voltage range measurement or 5 digits of accuracy make these devices much more cost effective while also being an invaluable tool potentially used more often than a multimeter for embedded electronics developers.Two tasks that the LogIT tools perform especially well is battery charging measurement and battery life estimation. The free software week are developing has a useful battery life calculator built in that takes real measurement data and calculates the expected life for different standard battery sizes or a user selectable custom battery capacity. This helps designers optimise the battery type for a give application.I hope people wont be scared away by the 12 bit resolution. Internally it uses a programmable gain amplifier to achieve a much higher effective resolution.If you would like to be involved in a discussion about how we can make this device better please post. If it is a really good idea I will send you a t-shirt as a thank you.We are currently looking into plug based screw terminals instead of spring terminals for larger wire gauge support, USB3 data pass-through, and a higher resolution display.If you want to support what we are doing here in Australia please join the twitter @tektyte, facebook page, or mailing list atwww.tektyte.comAgain, your thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

author: PTR_1275
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 01:52:29 pm
content: Hi,Not sure how often you visit the forum, but this looks like a good little product.I have a few USB power loggers, but this looks to be a lot better than anything I have. I have also been looking out for a POE tester recently.I can't see anywhere to buy them after the kickstarter has been funded. If you have any further info, that would be appreciated.-Chris

author: tekthead
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 10:55:47 pm
content: Hi Chris,We have just finished the pre-release PCBs (hopefully the shipped version, see attached for the PoE sense board) and ordered many of the components to fulfill our backer shipment numbers. An allowance has been made for about 35 extra units of each model and these will be sold on our website in July. If you join the mailing list there will be notification sent out when we are ready to ship out each batch. As this is our first product range we are making every effort to ensure the design is perfect before they are released. It is possible that we might have the Tektyte site upgraded over then next month to allow for pre-orders. Either way the mailing list, facebook, and twitter feed for Tektyte is a good source of up-to-date information about our progress.I look forward to keeping you posted. O0

author: PTR_1275
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2015, 01:14:53 am
content: Done. Thank you.I've been eyeing off the byte brothers poe1000 and that seems to be good for on the go testing, big screen, cable tracer built in to some models etc.... But for bench testing it doesn't have any logging ability.I've subscribed to the list, I look forward to future updates