Deodato Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I have a newish cabinet/fridge that I am currently getting a feel for. I think it is stabilizing at my desired 20c / 60 RH but I don't really trust my sensors. What I'm looking for are a couple of data loggers - one to put in a SLB and another to put exposed on a shelf. Ideally they would be wireless so that I don't have to keep opening my humidor to download data. A wrinkle is that I have a Mac only - and every device I've found can only be configured via Windows. Does anyone have any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzz Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Use a Windows emulator program like WineBottler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter1974 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 piggy might can help you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CUBANO Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Look into Lascar data loggers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookite Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 The Lascar loggers look entirely tied to Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Data logging is very much what you want verses expect to pay. How accurate you want them, how much data you wish to store and collect and how much resolution you want. I have run through the gamut with data loggers and I recommend the Lascars for their simplicity. I no longer use them myself because they are too limited in my opinion. Lascars are nifty little data loggers. They offered to make me a dealer and requested that I write them a case study paper but I did not have the time to take it on. The other limiting factor is the software and the ability to combine and align data. Frankly, most people don't need this kind of device and I am being unduly harsh on data logging as a topic, but if you do the analysis that I do, you need some pretty sophisticated equipment. These days I use a universal data collection logger and my own sensors and program the logger to perform the functions that I want logged. It is a huge pain in the ass to move that logger from one project to another and as I build a project for evaluation I have to consider logging equipment into the design. I have been known to run a dozen channels for logging into a humidor. The benefits are reflected in my results and the insight that the results reward me. If you want to know why I can read a post and tell the poster what is wrong with his humidor, it is because of the years of correlation of real time conditions and appliances and how it relates to humidor performance. Frankly it is experience with humidors and data logging that gives me that skill. If I were back to casual data logging I would still be using my Lascars. Mine pretty much sit dormant, but that does not make them second rate instruments. They are limited instruments that I have surpassed in usefulness in my application and at my level. They are otherwise a wise investment, easy to use and pretty cheap. As a Mac user I can sympathize. I run a lot of W7 applications on my several Macs using Parallels and a W7 virtual machine. But for data logging it does not take much of a computer. As I sit here on a Saturday in my construction trailer, I am typing on my own computer. The one my company provides me with a piece of garbage, so I use my own, a small i5 laptop that I paid $200 bucks for. Computers have gotten so cheap when on sale, you can perch a laptop on top of your project and use it just for interfacing with your humidor! I now have two cheap (legacy laptops) that I leave in the lab and I usually just leave them running and connected to my data logging equipment. It is not uncommon to see a laptop on top of one of my projects these days. It is what Piggy's cigar world has come to! Cheers! Best of luck on your projects... -Piggy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deodato Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Thanks Ray - I actually hadn't thought of just buying a cheapy laptop for the purpose. I will go ahead and do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Thanks Ray - I actually hadn't thought of just buying a cheapy laptop for the purpose. I will go ahead and do that. Around these parts, if you not in a hurry to buy a computer and wait for just the right blow out sale, you can get them dirt cheap. You cannot be real picky on brand, but for $200, about two months ago I got an i5 Toshiba with 8G of ram and 1TB HDD. No blue tooth, but the damn thing will run CAD, Office, Project and Bluebeam (most of what I use on the job) and that is all that matters. I am more picky about my mouse than I am about a PC these days. About a week ago, it came close to getting doused in lightweight concrete... -LOL It if was my MBP, I would have defecated kittens, but this thing, I just pushed out of the way... Cheers! -PIggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reffy Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Piggy, have you ever thought of using a Raspberry Pi for data logging? I've been researching into using it for humidity/temperature recording and humidity control via fans. It's much cheaper than buying a laptop (including the sensors) and uses a lot less power. However, the downside is that it's pretty code intensive to setup and requires some soldering skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Piggy, have you ever thought of using a Raspberry Pi for data logging? I've been researching into using it for humidity/temperature recording and humidity control via fans. It's much cheaper than buying a laptop (including the sensors) and uses a lot less power. However, the downside is that it's pretty code intensive to setup and requires some soldering skills. ...no frankly I have not. Some of my data logs consist of 12 channels of data. It is not just temp and humidity data either... I have to correlate the functioning of appliances to sensor readings in chronological alignment in order to do what I do. While tinkering with a data log project might be fun it is not in line with my needs. There are many ways to skin a cat. A homemade solution might be a fun project for some but in this case I need working tools, not more projects. Frankly it pisses me off that I have had to do so much work on my data loggers as it is to get them to do what I want. That does not in any way mean that I am deriding the idea, it just is a tangent that I cannot afford. Data alignment and correlation are very important to me. If I had the time I would bring up a data log showing more than a couple of variables so that you can see what I am talking about. Most folks will not take data logging as serious as I do. It is kinda' a fringe ancillary interest for me, but without it, I would miss many core interrelationships that exist in one of my humidor projects and as a result I would leave precision and performance on the table. Because I sell my stuff, and my customers want the precision that I demonstrate, it is very important to me move the precision humidor concept off the CAD file and into the hands of the people who want them. Data logging therefore has surpassed an amusing interest. It is a requirement to get the results that I get. I do the data logging, so my customer does not have to! I would love to see your project once done. We have a small group of eggheads on the forum and I am sure there are several of us who would love to see you share your project. Cheers! -Piggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I was thinking about some of the pains that I go through to get data after posting that last post... Here is an example. I might want temperature data off of 5 or 6 locations in one of my coolers to correlate chronologically. All of these sensors need to be wired through the cooler so that I can collect my data without disturbing the cooler. While my controls maker will sell me NTC sensors really cheap, I go through them like du Deputes! I often leave them in place rather than take a project apart again to retrieve them. I got to the point that it just became easier to tig weld my own thermocouples! I buy the wire by the spool have thermocouple wire welding sessions where I make a whole pile of them at the same time. I already jump through a lot of hoops to data log. Making the logger is one hoop too many...! -LOL -the Pig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reffy Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I would love to see your project once done. We have a small group of eggheads on the forum and I am sure there are several of us who would love to see you share your project. Cheers! -Piggy So far my plans are still in the research phase haha. I have to stop buying cigars for long enough to really invest in the hardware I want. My vision is to have a RPi2 read humidity/temp and send it to a home server build, so I can record data even when my main computer is off. I also want it to control internal fans in my humidor and a thermoelectric element as well. All in all it should cost somewhere between 300-500usd for the initial build, but to add more humidors it should be a lot cheaper (<100usd per RPi2 setup and cooler), because the main cost should be the server. My plans are certainly not as fastidious as yours, but should be a streamlined solution to not only monitor humidity/temp as well as control it without buying more expensive equipment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free85 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 So far my plans are still in the research phase haha. I have to stop buying cigars for long enough to really invest in the hardware I want. My vision is to have a RPi2 read humidity/temp and send it to a home server build, so I can record data even when my main computer is off. I also want it to control internal fans in my humidor and a thermoelectric element as well. All in all it should cost somewhere between 300-500usd for the initial build, but to add more humidors it should be a lot cheaper (<100usd per RPi2 setup and cooler), because the main cost should be the server. My plans are certainly not as fastidious as yours, but should be a streamlined solution to not only monitor humidity/temp as well as control it without buying more expensive equipment. What language do you plan to use to interface with the temp/rh sensors? C or going more the Python route? I ask because I've considered the same thing myself. If built correctly I would think the Pi could more than handle all the data you need it to, for a long time. If not you could run some slick things off of old very inexpensive hardware. The data would be megs a month per humidor I would think. A small HD would go a very long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reffy Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 What language to do plan to interface with the temp sensors? C or going more the Python route? I ask because I've considered the same thing myself. If built correctly I would think the Pi could more than handle all the data you need it to, for a long time. If not you could run some slick things off of old very inexpensive hardware. The data would be megs a month per humidor I would think. A small HD would go a very long way. I was planning on going the Python route, just because anecdotal reports say that it's shorter to develop programs. The server would also host other things as well, I was planning on making it a NAS/HTPC in order to stream my music using AllPlay. That's why I'm planning to hold off until I get more capital, so I'll be set for the foreseeable future and not have to worry so much about storage and power. Having a nice hub would also be nice for any other networked projects I want to do in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free85 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Python is certainly the quicker route regarding development. There is some very cool NAS software out for linux these days as well. Might want to go with a chassis and appropriate hardware if going that route. I built a very cool NAS for a client using FreeNAS and raid controllers / breakouts recently (JBOD). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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