The DataLogger Store - Gadgets and Goodies

[Philsuma]

Some pretty cool techie stuff !

Computerized Vivarium data


http://www.microdaq.com/lascar/humidity ... logger.php

[joneill809]

Anyone tried this yet? I've seen a few advertised now and I'm thinking of giving one a go to see what my daily temp/humidity cycles look like in different parts of the viv. Seems like a fun project to compare the micro-climate variations in different areas of the viv over time. I'm wondering if anyone has had success (or failures) with any particular models...

[joneill809]

Alright, I couldn't resist. I bought one and it's up and logging just outside my viv. I'm going to get some room data first, then start rotating through different locations in the viv week to week. I'll post updates as I go.

So far, setup was pretty easy. I did not use the software shipped with the unit, I downloaded the latest from their site and installed on a Windows XP netbook. Driver installation took a bit longer than I expected, but once complete setup of the device went quickly. I didn't setup any alarms, I just set a 1 minute sample interval (collects up to 11 days of data) and had it start monitoring immediately. So far it seems like a solid device. We'll see how it performs under harsher conditions in the viv in the coming weeks.

[joneill809]

I set this up last week and let it run for a few days next to the vivarium to collect external room data. The setup was easy, with a wizard based GUI that walked you through configuring the logger. Here is a screen shot of the software I downloaded from their site (Windows only):
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
I downloaded the data using their software (the only mechanism for extracting the data). It again is wizard based that walks you through the selection of a location to save off a text file. The output is in CSV format. Here's a sample of the data I collected:
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
The application also comes with a custom plotting tool that allows you to visualize the data easily after downloading. It's a fairly simple time series plot of temp, humidity and dew point:
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
You can also "roll over" the plot to select points of interest. A line appears as you move over the data, and the values for the specific data point are presented below the plot:
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
I've placed the unit back in the room next to the vivarium. I'd like to get 7 to 10 days of baseline external data before repeating the collection process inside the viv at various locations. More to come. So far, it's easy to use and works as advertised. My main concern is how it will hold up inside the viv. We'll see.

[Philsuma]

VERY interesting. I'm so glad you are experimenting with this.

[joneill809]

Happy to contribute! I feel like it's one of the few areas where I can help the hobby, being a newb. I'm into data set visualizations, so I'm always looking for a new source of data to plot. I started thinking about this after reading a post you made on another thread:

I've had vivs in the winter / off cycle that were @ 60% humidity and that was not a problem - froglets grew out and even eggs were laid. ... @ 80% humidity would be a 'sweet spot' for a lot of species but it's also better to be on the 'higher end' than the lower end, especially when you are new.

This really got me thinking about what variations we see internally within the viv and how that compares to what the animals might experience in their natural habitat based on [limited] available data. It should be interesting long term and if this works out, maybe more hobbyists can start logging their data and sharing. I'll keep posting to this thread with my observations on the equipment durability and software usability. I really am interested to see how it performs when it gets a little wet!

[Philsuma]

Well, you def want a respite - an 'off" season to change things up.

I would love to compile true native data and then just replicate the highs and lows of temps and humid year long.

[joneill809]

Hmmm, maybe a sponsored pool of data loggers made available to people traveling to regions of interest? Convince an importer to attach one to a belt/backpack on a collection trip? Put out a tickler on DD to see who would contribute? Even 24 hours of data periodically throughout the year would be interesting.

[Philsuma]

We can easily mine all that data online....

[joneill809]

Well holy cow, all I can say is I am done with those cheapo starter plastic jobbies after getting some viv readings off this device. My newb dual analog temp/humidity gauge reported 85% RH in the front left portion of my viv. During the first two days of recording the device reported a 96.3% average, with a min of 94.8% and a high of 97.6%. Yikes - this confirms what I have read on this board, these cheapo gauges are lousy. Promptly removed from the viv.

The Lascar website states an accuracy of +/- 0.5 degrees with a repeatability of 0.1 for temp and +/- 3% with 0.1 repeatability for RH (not sure what confidence is associated with these ranges). The room temperature readings seem accurate. The programmable thermostat daytime temp is targeted at 78 and night time is 76. I averaged the 60 data points per hour each day and also calculated the standard deviation for the hour. I then took the median values per hour across 7 days to come up with an estimate of the typical room temperature for the week, as well as the typical standard deviation for that hour. You end up with a room temperature profile that looks like this:
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
You can see the stretches where the recorded temperatures are spot on with the programmed targets. The variability during the adjustment periods is expected, and the variability at night can be attributed to the layout of the house; during the day the main zone and 2nd floor zones of our house (open floor plan) are set to the same temperature - at night the upstairs (viv location) drops while the downstairs increases, so the temps upstairs fluctuate more yielding more variable logging results. Overall I feel comfortable with its accuracy at this point. I do have a voltage monitor with temp/humidity logging capabilities that I can fire up, run side by side and compare the differences, but I'll run that in a few weeks after I am done profiling the viv.

So far, the data I have collected is summarized in the following plot - the average values for each location for the 7 days of collection is on the left. Full hourly profiles are the majority of the plot moving from left to right by date of collection. Temperature readings are on top, relative humidity is below. Gradient shading was used for the min/max of the full range extending from room temperature (first block of data) to the first viv location (partial data on right).
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
I'm still messing with the visualization - thinking of some radar plots for the hourly averages for the week and I'd like to work in a section on the number of data points involved. Suggestions on the visualization are appreciated!

I will move the device from the front left of my viv (wettest) to the upper right (driest location) on Friday night and see how readings there compare to the 60% to 70% rh reported by my second analog gauge. Overall the device is chugging along inside the viv (I moved it there last Friday night). I'm impressed with the ease of use. The only caveat is the date recording format of dd/mm/yyyy is not easily recognized by my US copy of Excel so there is some text manipulation required for stats analysis and plotting (easily scripted - not a big deal). Other than that, very easy to use.

Phil - let me know if you would rather that I start a new thread for further data plots. I don't want to hijack this thread with viv temperature analysis (the ultimate purpose of this purchase) but the initial plots illustrating the assessment of the device's performance seem relevant.

[Philsuma]

Wow...you ARE a data freak ! I LIKE it.

I'd love nothing more than to have all that info/probes and data updated and refreshed on my Android Razr maxx every 6 seconds.

AND

a couple pan and tilt colour cameras INSIDE each viv.

Sigh...someday.

[joneill809]

Heh - yeah big data sets are my day job

Maybe one of these? PC only software though...
http://www.lascarelectronics.com/tempera...logger=424

The EL-WiFi-TH sensor measures the temperature and humidity of the environment in which it is situated. Data is transmitted wirelessly via a WiFi network to a PC and viewed using a free software package. During configuration the sensor will search for an existing wireless network whilst physically connected to the PC. It can then be placed anywhere within range of the network. If the sensor temporarily loses connectivity with the network, it will log readings until it is able to communicate again with the PC application (max 60 days at 10 second sample interval). The range of the sensor can be increased by using WiFi extenders.

[joneill809]

I'm up to 79 days of data collected with the device and it's working great. I sampled 4 areas in my vivarium initially, then I settled on one location for long term monitoring. The stock interface I posted above is probably sufficient for most applications where you want to spot check temperature and humidity values for a few days in a particular location. Longer term views may require more customized approaches, but the data is easily exported to csv and imported into other tools. I have been fiddling with the presentation of the data for a long term presentation - my goal is to look at the changes in the vivarium climate over the course of a year (so I can compare that to the Sipaliwini weather station data I downloaded), which ends up being a lot of data to consolidate. Here's the first 79 days (with a 7 day ambient measurement up front) of temperature data. Each day is a row, and each column is an hour. Each column is the average value of 60 samples taken during that hour. The lightest color is the lowest value, darkest color is the highest. Ambient data is included in the gradient:
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

And the first 79 days of humidity data.
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

The large white blocks of time are interruptions in collection from when I forgot to pull the device and download the data. It can buffer approximately 11 days of 1 minute sample interval data (1440 points per day). When it hits the limit it stops collecting. I've started downloading the data weekly now while performing maintenance on the viv. The small white lines indicate changes in position of the monitor.

The monitor is sensitive enough to pick up differences in humidity when my mister engages (00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:00) - I'm still working on the gradient so it's hard to see on some monitors. The lightest blue region is the ambient measurement - I can solve my gradient issue by dropping these values from the range, but I really want to see what happens in the winter before I yank them.

You can also see drops in temperature during my viv maintenance windows - this is when I use a hand mister to "power wash" the poop off plants and glass, as well as drain the FB. You can see these more easily in the temperature data when there is a light block in the middle of the day followed by a gradual darkening.

Overall, it seems to be a very sensitive device that is holding up well within the moist environment of the vivarium. It gets misted 4 times a day indirectly, and I have accidentally shot it with the hand mister on occasion and it has not shown any signs of slowing down. It's still on it's original batteries.

[joneill809]

The data logger failed this weekend. I am not sure if it is the battery or a problem with the unit. I have to order a replacement 1/2 AA battery to test the unit out. It has been running for about 4 months. According to the manufacturer the battery should have lasted 12 months, so we'll see what's up. Kind if disappointing - I had a nice continuous data set building up. Now I'll have about a 10 day interruption...oh well. I'll post again when I determine if the unit failed or the battery died.

[joneill809]

It was a dead battery. Manufacturer states 12 months on a single battery - mine ran from 7/13 through 11/18, just over 4 months on the manufacturer supplied cell.

[joneill809]

The second unit I had purchased for my newest viv consistently yields high RH values, typically in the 102% to 104% range. I exchanged email with the vendor and this was their response:

The sensor that is used in the EL-USB-2 is the SHT11, the accuracy of the logger is +-3%RH but only between 20-80%RH due to the inaccuracy of the sensor outside of that environment. The sensor can be off by +- 5%RH at the upper 90’s as shown in the datasheet. For more accuracy I would recommend the EL-USB-2+, this uses the SHT15 sensor that can be found on the same datasheet. If there is anything else I can do to assist you please let me know.

Keep this recommendation from product support in mind when selecting your unit

This unit is measuring RH values between the mid 90's and low 100's. Here's a sample of the peak raw data:

1751,30/12/2012 20:40:43,72.0,102.5,72.7
1752,30/12/2012 20:41:43,72.0,102.5,72.7
1753,30/12/2012 20:42:43,72.0,103.0,72.8
1754,30/12/2012 20:43:43,72.0,103.0,72.8
1755,30/12/2012 20:44:43,72.0,103.0,72.8
1756,30/12/2012 20:45:43,72.0,103.0,72.8
1757,30/12/2012 20:46:43,72.0,103.0,72.8

And another sample showing the lower range.

4070,01/01/2013 11:19:43,77.0,95.5,75.6
4071,01/01/2013 11:20:43,77.0,95.5,75.6
4072,01/01/2013 11:21:43,77.0,95.5,75.6
4073,01/01/2013 11:22:43,77.0,95.5,75.6
4074,01/01/2013 11:23:43,77.0,95.5,75.6
4075,01/01/2013 11:24:43,77.0,95.5,75.6
4076,01/01/2013 11:25:43,77.0,95.5,75.6

[Armson]

Jim,

Does this monitor real time stats?


-Byron

[joneill809]

Hey Byron. I bought the less expensive model without an LCD panel and without real time feedback - you have to connect it to your system to start the logging, stop the logging, and download the data. The LCD model lists for $99 compared to $82 without (though street was about $65 to $75). Keep in mind you probably want to go for the LCD 2+ with a more precise sensor and I'm not sure if that one has an LCD variant.

They do have a WiFi enabled model that looks interesting, but I'm reluctant to spring for a $185 device that my frogs are going to crap all over - for some reason these monitors are poo magnets The specs online: Humidity accuracy (overall error between 20%RH and 80%RH) +/-2% avg, +/-3% max. Outside that range and you may encounter greater margins of error. I've been burning through batteries in about 2 months, so I'm a bit annoyed with that as well. I was expecting better battery performance. Anyhow, I seem to have one good one and one crummy one, but since I'm in the 85% to 95% RH range I'm outside their warranted operational window.

[Armson]

I don't need an LCD and would prefer it be just a real time USB humidity and temp sensor.

I was going to use this...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-TnH-SHT10-U ... 3a7b6aaeeb

But I am not so wild about the chipset. I was hoping to find one done with the dht22/sht15 chip. I may end up just building my own sensor.

-Byron

[joneill809]

I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with. I'm growing tired of replacing batteries...