Development Of A Multi-Channel Personal Computer (Pc) Based Data Logger

PC (Personal Computer) based instrumentation is getting more attention because of three technological enhancements; increasing reliability of PCs, steadily decreasing cost of hard drive space on PCs and PC-based measurement hardware that could meet or exceed measurement capabilities of stand-alone data loggers. This paper discusses the development of a circuitry that is capable of acquiring data from sixteen different sources external to the computer. The circuitry was connected to a personal computer through the printer's port, and the acquisition time interval of the circuitry was variable with a minimum of one minute. The complete activity of the circuitry was controlled by software written in visual basic 6.0. The circuitry was used to monitor atmospheric temperature and relative humidity. The sets of data obtained were found to be accurate and reliable, with the exact time and date of acquisition automatically recorded. This design revealed almost 50% cut in the cost of using this technology when compared with the cost of importing a data logger of comparable feature.Journal of Science & Technology (Ghana) Vol. 27 (3) 2007: pp. 122-13