EcoRenovator - View Single Post

AC_Hacker · 04-14-14, 05:13 PM

I bought one of these little rubies off ebay for $13.85.

A couple of weeks it arrived...

'Most Basic' pretty much sums it up...

The USB and probe are combined.

The light green paper dis-information sheet should be discarded immediately without reading, it will just make you grumpy.

the tiny CD is very useful and should be carefully saved

First I plugged the USB device into my laptop, an my computer (Win7) recognized it immediately and a HID device and all drivers loaded immediately (maybe they're in the USB dongle).

Then I loaded the tiny CD in the CD tray and double-clicked the *.msi file. Everything proceeded as it should. A bit later, the installation process was completed, with the exception that I could not find the shortcut.

Finally, I searched my entire computer for it and discovered that it was on my desktop.

OK... it worked as it should.

So here's the open screen:

I did what any good hacker would do... I put the probe in my mouth to see if I was still alive.

The results were encouraging.

But they also illustrate the response time of the sensor... It seems slow enough that if you wanted to measure very short-duration thermal change, it could be a problem. But if you wanted to log events with slower thermal change, this device would be just fine.

There is an 'option' tab (under 'tool')

The default sampling rate is once every 2 seconds, but that can be changed.

It is possible to store an off-set value that will correct error in the probe.

All kinds of interesting possibilities are available, like sending emails or instant messages, launching skype, etc, presumably in the event of temperature exceeding some set-point... or maybe ongoing, i haven't gotten that far.

The question dawns on me, do I really want a Chinese program handling my network, email, IM and Skype logins, and passwords?

These are questions that should be considered.

By default, the logger program stores data in a folder in the 'Documents' directory, where they can be dragged & dropped into a spreadsheet like Excel or Gnumeric for further processing.

But, all in all, I think that this Most Basic Temperature logger, if used within its limits, is a most useful device at a most attractive price, and it's a really cheap way to discover the potential in data logging.

Best,

-AC

04-14-14, 05:13 PM	#2
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	Review: Most Basic Temperature Logger I bought one of these little rubies off ebay for $13.85. A couple of weeks it arrived... 'Most Basic' pretty much sums it up... The USB and probe are combined. The light green paper dis-information sheet should be discarded immediately without reading, it will just make you grumpy. the tiny CD is very useful and should be carefully saved First I plugged the USB device into my laptop, an my computer (Win7) recognized it immediately and a HID device and all drivers loaded immediately (maybe they're in the USB dongle). Then I loaded the tiny CD in the CD tray and double-clicked the *.msi file. Everything proceeded as it should. A bit later, the installation process was completed, with the exception that I could not find the shortcut. Finally, I searched my entire computer for it and discovered that it was on my desktop. OK... it worked as it should. So here's the open screen: I did what any good hacker would do... I put the probe in my mouth to see if I was still alive. The results were encouraging. But they also illustrate the response time of the sensor... It seems slow enough that if you wanted to measure very short-duration thermal change, it could be a problem. But if you wanted to log events with slower thermal change, this device would be just fine. There is an 'option' tab (under 'tool') The default sampling rate is once every 2 seconds, but that can be changed. It is possible to store an off-set value that will correct error in the probe. All kinds of interesting possibilities are available, like sending emails or instant messages, launching skype, etc, presumably in the event of temperature exceeding some set-point... or maybe ongoing, i haven't gotten that far. The question dawns on me, do I really want a Chinese program handling my network, email, IM and Skype logins, and passwords? These are questions that should be considered. By default, the logger program stores data in a folder in the 'Documents' directory, where they can be dragged & dropped into a spreadsheet like Excel or Gnumeric for further processing. But, all in all, I think that this Most Basic Temperature logger, if used within its limits, is a most useful device at a most attractive price, and it's a really cheap way to discover the potential in data logging. Best, -AC Attached Images __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...