Sensors to connect to PC

Hi Does anyone know of any 'Sensors' (such as Ph, float switches, temperature etc), that are available to be connected to a PC, and their values read via the .NET framework??

Thanks

Reply to
Paul Aspinall
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Quite a few PID's are available using industrial ethernet, and almost anything can be connected to one of these. Most 'sensors', will be relatively 'low level' devices returning just a voltage or 4-20mA signal. Add a module like this, and they become easy to read.

Best Wishes

Reply to
Roger Hamlett

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, I'm a novice on this stuff, can you please confirm what a PID is please.

I know most of these sensors come with a BNC style plug. Is there a device that can read the voltage from a BNC device??

Do you know of any USB devices that would be useful??

Thanks

Reply to
Paul Aspinall

Paul Aspinall wrote this in :

BNC is just a connector. It is used for everything from 10Base2 (you know that old ethernet, eh?) to 'scope probes and RF applications

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MVH,
Vidar
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Reply to
Vidar Løkken

The old geezer definition of PID was Proportional/Integral/Differential. This was a gadget that would generate an output feedback that was Proportional to the input, but there might be tiny difference between the input and output, so you would Integrate the difference between input and output and use that too to minimize error. Then there could be differences because of sudden changes in the input, and you used the Derivative to accomodate that too.

I'd use a BNC jack and solder whatever I needed to the other side of that.

If you were looking for cheap,

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has $25 "starter kits" that can measure 10 bits on 4 different sources, has software to use with Windows, has cables, etc. They use RS232 for interfacing.

Radio Shack has had multimeters with PC interfaces for a little more than that.

Test & Measurement World magazine had an article a few years ago on budget measurement modules. This might be it.

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It had a long list of companies in the $100 or so category for measurment cards.

Reply to
Don Taylor

There are a large number of microcontroller modules in DIN rails, built as 'PLC' modules. the simplest of these are commonly used for 'PID' control of servos, kilns etc.. these lack the sophistication (and cost) of the larger PLC controllers, but in most cases have the 'basics', of a programmable controller, a couple of digital inputs, and an analog channel. For what you describe, I'd look at these more basic modules, rather than their full size brethren. They are usually marketted as 'mini PLC', or 'PID' modules.

BNC is only a connection. You can put just about any plug you want on a sensor, but BNC is commonly used on the modules as well, when they support analog inputs.

USB, is a very 'not nice' interface in this type of enviroment. Seriously, many industrial modules will be built to survive 250v or more being accidentally attached. USB, does not provide the isolation, or ruggedness required in this sort of enviroment (there are some fibre-optic USB repeaters that are quite good, but expensive). It's 'range' limits, and lack of error recovery, also make it less than ideal. You can connect to an ethernet interface with USB, or RS485, and these are the signallign standards you are more likely to find.

Best Wishes

Reply to
Roger Hamlett

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(once known as "computer Boards, Inc" for the other old farts out there ;-) has a line of interface devices that range from inexpensive to $$$ and that speak to a variety of ports. Most (all?) include their Universal Library with DLL and .NET APIs for the usual range of PC application languages.

There's also

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(where "dicksonweb" parses as two words, not three) that has a variety of more specialized interface gizmos.

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Rich Webb   Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

I was using them when they changed their name. ;-)

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Michael A. Terrell
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Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Check out the Labjack for USB interface DAQ.. has both analog I/O and digital I/O, timers, counters, etc... Not as pricey as the National Instruments line, but not as full-featured either. Programmable using VB6, VB.Net, etc.

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Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net  (Just substitute the appropriate characters in 
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Reply to
DaveM

Their USB-6008 is $145 and can do external triggered acquisition and can do digital IO during analog acquisition, something the LabJACK cannot.

Steve

Reply to
Steve

USB with many sensors

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Reply to
Steve

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