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temp sensor that will log to PC

I'm curious if anyone knows of a temp sensor that will connect to a PC that can then log the temp to a file. Not for the PC temp, but for room temp or something like that. It's nothing vital, so something cheap would be preferable.

Or if you have an idea where I could go to look for more info.

Nevermind, my previous searches didn't do much, but I just hit the jackpot.

For posterity, would you mind sharing the jackpot with the rest of us? TIA

In case anyone else is ever curious, here you go.

http://www.measurementcomputing.com/

It's battery powered and stand alone. The USB is only used to configure the thing and download the data.

# Stores 16,382 temperature reading measurements
# Supports -35 to +80 °C (+/- 1 °C accuracy)
# Supports sampling intervals of 10 sec, 1 m, 5 m, 30 m, 1 hr, 6 hrs, 12 hrs

$59

They also have a slightly cheaper $49 model, but the accuracy/precision is lower, the temp range is smaller, and the sampling intervals and memory is reduced.

There's also a $79 model that's the same as the above except that it also logs up to 16382 relative humidity samples.

I never bought one of the units above, but I still want something. I just found another option. This option is wired and is what I was originally thinking about when I posted this thread. I discovered the info while looking into personal weather stations.

http://www.hobby-boards.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=22
Temp sensors can be bought from the same place for $18, combo temp/humidity for $52, barometric press for $60, rain gauge for $89, usb or serial adapter for $28, hubs for $50, etc....

http://www.hobby-boards.com/catalog/howto_basics.php

Quote:

irstly, let’s take a look at what 1-Wire is and what you can do with it. 1-Wire is really just a simple system of devices such as weather monitoring devices, garden monitoring devices, or home automation devices that are connected through a 1-Wire network to a computer (or other controller – more on that later). Your computer then receives signals from the devices, allowing you to track rainfall, temperature, humidity, soil moisture levels, lightning, and a host of other information.

So how does it work? Well, a 1-Wire network consists of a master controller which is connected to one or many slave devices. The master controller is typically a computer or microcontroller with an external 1-Wire interface such as our Serial Adaptor or USB Adaptor. All of the actual monitoring devices (lightning detector, moisture meter, motion detector, barometer, etc.) are slave devices. The master communicates with one or more slave device(s) using the serial 1-Wire protocol developed by Dallas Semiconductor, sending and receiving signals over a single data line plus ground reference. The 1-Wire protocol synchronizes the slave devices to the master. The master initiates and controls all activities on the 1-Wire network.

One key feature of the Dallas system is that every 1-Wire slave device has a guaranteed unique address that is realized as laser engraved on-chip ROM (Read Only Memory). This enables the master to individually recognize each of your slave devices, and means you can have multiple devices of the same type on the same network without conflict.

There are several pieces of software for various OS that will log/display the info from the sensors.

This looks like something that should be relatively inexpensive and that you can start and build on.

Quote:

Firstly, let’s take a look at what 1-Wire is and what you can do with it. 1-Wire is really just a simple system of devices such as weather monitoring devices, garden monitoring devices, or home automation devices that are connected through a 1-Wire network to a computer (or other controller – more on that later). Your computer then receives signals from the devices, allowing you to track rainfall, temperature, humidity, soil moisture levels, lightning, and a host of other information.

So how does it work? Well, a 1-Wire network consists of a master controller which is connected to one or many slave devices. The master controller is typically a computer or microcontroller with an external 1-Wire interface such as our Serial Adaptor or USB Adaptor. All of the actual monitoring devices (lightning detector, moisture meter, motion detector, barometer, etc.) are slave devices. The master communicates with one or more slave device(s) using the serial 1-Wire protocol developed by Dallas Semiconductor, sending and receiving signals over a single data line plus ground reference. The 1-Wire protocol synchronizes the slave devices to the master. The master initiates and controls all activities on the 1-Wire network.

One key feature of the Dallas system is that every 1-Wire slave device has a guaranteed unique address that is realized as laser engraved on-chip ROM (Read Only Memory). This enables the master to individually recognize each of your slave devices, and means you can have multiple devices of the same type on the same network without conflict.

Onset Computer just up the road from me, makes a variety of sensors and data logging packages that have a very good reputation.

http://www.onsetcomp.com/

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSJoyce (Post 4590075)

Onset Computer just up the road from me, makes a variety of sensors and data logging packages that have a very good reputation.

http://www.onsetcomp.com/

thx, I'll check them out.

what I'd like is a nice cheap temperature sensor that communicates via WiFi...

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb (Post 4590783)

what I'd like is a nice cheap temperature sensor that communicates via WiFi...

I guess this is only half correct?

http://www.temperaturealert.com/product_p/tm-wifi20.htm

Not much cheaper, you could use something like this in conjunction with a serial sensor.
http://www.usbgear.com/VSCOM-123WLAN.html

Still, I wouldn't call either cheap.

I think the problem is the "wifi" and "cheap" in the same sentence. Yes, you can get a cheap USB wifi adapter for a PC, but I think that's because the PC is the brains. The wifi adapter is just a tiny transmitter. It takes the PC's CPU and OS to make it work.

I believe that there are wifi USB hubs. If there are any of those cheap, then you could probably couple one with a 1-wire temp sensor and be on your way. Still, it all depends upon how much you want the sensor and what you consider cheap.

Ultimately, I think it would be great to be able to purchase a $25 wireless thermometer like you can buy at Walmart or Radio Shack that has a serial or USB connection for a computer. I wouldn't think that would cost that much extra to make and would still be pretty cheap. But I haven't yet found anything like that.

yup, neither have I...