Mac; We generally work with systems in very remote areas that can't support always-on internet, as satellite internet uses a lot of watt-hours and GSM cell usually has no coverage. So mostly SD card logging for us.
We work on many systems with small wind turbines, and the APRS World wind data loggers have many extra analog channels, and Jim can provide you with inexpensive conditioner/amplifiers for current measurements. The loggers can be used realtime/internet too. Our lowest-cost solutions are from Dataq Instruments; their USB loggers and DAQ starter kits are super cheap and simple, with simple software for deployment and data retrieval. For current measurements (and net watt-hours), we've seen some great deals on buckets o' shunts off Ebay. If readings get squirelly, get some conditioners from Jim. The Wattmon that Eric posted looks really interesting and inexpensive, I'm going to get one and try it out. Also curious about their software. Thanks Eric! With a spreadsheet, once you get above 10k data points things get slow. At 50k data points, Micro$oft Office and OpenOffice can't cope so you need to move to a database system like MySQL (free). Steep learning curve, but easy to find a college kid who will set it up for you cheap. I'm also interested in what anyone else here has to say about different SD card loggers and their software. Very low power use or self-contained battery a must. The Dataq pen drive ones use little lithium batteries that last 2 years or more in use. Dan Fink, Executive Director; Otherpower Buckville Energy Consulting Buckville Publications LLC NABCEP / IREC accredited Continuing Education Providers 970.672.4342 > Another monitoring question I have for wrenches. Does anyone have any > recommendations for a standalone, versatile data logging device, that I > could leave on sites with no internet connection, and get trends (battery > voltage, SOC, battery currents etc) over time? I like to show people that > they are using more power than they think. > > Thanks > >
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