Data loggers are tools which can be used to measure and store technical data over a set period of time. They are used in lots of data acquisition devices including plug in boards, communication systems and more. Wireless transmitters are able to transform a mobile phone into a mobile data logger these days!
Most data logging devices are battery powered, allowing for use where there is no electrical supply. They often accept one or more sensor inputs, sampling and saving the data at set frequencies. These can be several hundred times per day, or as much as several hundred times per second! There are different rates of data loggers available to suit different requirements.
Companies involved in science and technology can find data logger tools useful where they need to record conditions over time. Applications could be getting a record of wind speed, or perhaps tracking temperature in a chiller cabinet, or even monitoring the flow rate at a pump station. Once the data acquisition period has ended, the data can be retrieved and downloaded to a computer for analysis.
The benefits for companies using data loggers can be quite variable. They can save time and expense of sending a human to remote locations in order to take measurements and can gather much more data than a person could possibly take! As there are lots of different types of data loggers available to purchase, ranging from single channel devices to multichannel data loggers which can gather data from lots of different sensors at the same time.
Data loggers work by taking both analogue and digital inputs – typical analogue inputs could include things like temperature, pH and humidity. Digital inputs might be something like wind speed sensor, or a flow sensor. There are even specific data loggers which are designed for specific types of sensor inputs including thermocouples and atmospheric sensors.