What's New in Measurement and Control?

The latest news, tutorials and articles on data acquisition and control using personal computers.

Control Systems Article now On-Line - (Found June 19, 2008 )

New article on controlling digital equipment is now available.
http://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor71.html#control

How to Measure pH with a Computer - (Found June 19, 2008 )

New article gives tips on measuring pH with a PC. pH electrodes have a very high output impedance and you cannot just connect them to a normal voltage input on your data acquisition unit. You will need instead to choose a DAQ unit that will amplify the signal to the appropriate level.
http://www.microlink.co.uk/pH.html

Tips on Extracting Data from RS232 Instruments - (Found June 19, 2008 )

If you have an instrument or device which you can plug into the PC's COM port, and it communicates using ASCII messages, chances are you can use the free Windmill software to collect its data. This is because Windmill's free LabIML driver was designed to be as flexible as possible and accommodate almost any instrument with an RS232 port. However, this flexibility has meant that the initial set up can be a case of trial and error. These notes should reduce the error and help you decide the best.
http://www.windmill.co.uk/parse.html

Choosing the Right Range and Resolution - (Found June 19, 2008 )

Most analogue sensors produce a voltage, including thermocouples, strain gauge bridges and gas concentation probes. This is converted to a form the computer can understand by an analogue-to-digital (A-D) coverter. The input range (or gain range) of an A-D coverter refers to the maximum and minimum voltage that it can accept. You should always choose the smallest range that encompasses your signal, as this optimises the resolution. Although the resolution increases when you narrow the..
http://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor95.html#range

New All-in-One Strain Measurement over USB - (Found June 19, 2008 )

Let your PC monitor four strain gauges through the USB port. The new 751 SBox has been designed to be really easy to set up and use. Putting everything in just one box means that it is ideal for mobile applications or for moving from place to place. The Windmill data acquisition software comes free with the package. When the software takes a reading from a strain gauge bridge, it automatically monitors excitation voltage and calculates the measurement in microstrain. This eliminates errors due..
http://www.windmill.co.uk/751sbox.html

Windmill launches USB Box to measure strain - (Found June 19, 2008 )

Windmill Software announces their 751 SBox which lets a PC monitor four strain gauges. It connects to the PC over a USB cable and comes with the Windmill data acquisition and control software suite. The SBox has been designed to be really easy to set up and use.
http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/wnd/wnd100.html

Receive this RSS Newsfeed on Your Mobile Phone - (Found June 19, 2008 )

Receive the data acquisition and control news via your mobile phone.
http://www.mobispine.com/MyMobispine/MyServices/SignUp.do?serviceId=11075

Interface Instruments to the PC's COM Port - (Found June 19, 2008 )

COMIML lets Windows software read and control serial devices connected to the PC's COM port. These include such diverse equipment as electronic balances used in a laboratory, GPS receivers used in the field and data loggers used in process plant. The COMIML device driver can communicate over RS232, RS422, RS485 or Modbus. New checklist quickly gets you started logging and charting data from your serial instruments.
http://www.windmill.co.uk/comiml_ts.html

comDebug awarded the Softpile "Most Popular" award - (Found June 19, 2008 )

Softpile.com, a leading provider of software downloads, awards comDebug its "Most Popular" award. This is based on the overall number of downloads from the Softpile site. comDebug lets you communicate with almost any RS232, RS422, RS485 or Modbus serial device. No programming is required, and its easy to diagnose any problems with your COM port connection. Softpile currently boasts over 8,200 freeware and shareware downloads.
http://www.softpile.com/Education/Science/Review_07893_index.html

Strain Gauges Monitoring Over USB - (Found June 19, 2008 )

The new 751 SBox lets a PC monitor four strain gauges. It connects to the computer over a USB cable and comes with the Windmill data acquisition and control software suite. Windmill designed the SBox to be really easy to set-up and use. Putting everything in just one box means that it is ideal for mobile applications, or for moving from place to place.
http://www.sensorsportal.com/HTML/DIGEST/april_07/Strain_gauges.htm