Thermometer Plus
Version 1
1) Introduction
9) Alarms
10) Data Logging
11) Creating a Chart
12) Error Messages
The I.C.E Calibration Adapter and Thermometer Plus Software provide a low cost simple to use method of reading signals derived from external sensors into your personal computer via the games input port. The system is simple because there is no need to fit components inside the computer case, the adapter simply plugs into the games port. The adapter is designed to condition the signals from various sensors to present them in a uniform calibrated manner for the computer to read. The system is compatible with ntc thermistor temperature sensors, light dependant resistors and I.C.E. Ltd are developing a range of active sensors such as barometric pressure and relative humidity, to be directly compatible with the calibration adapter.
This software requires at least one I.C.E. Games port calibrator and one sensor connected to your computers games/joystick port. You can purchase these items online from http://www.iconelectron.com but before purchasing you can check the operation using a standard joystick.
Connect your joystick to the games input port (15 way D-Connector), start the computer and set the standard game port adapter driver to 2-axis, 2-button joystick.
Start->Settings->Control Panel
Double click on the Gaming Options icon. Controller ID 1 should be set to 2-axis 2-button joystick. If it is not then use the Change button to select ID 1 to 2-axis 2-button joystick.
Start your Thermometer Plus software, the display for channels 1 & 2 should vary with joystick movement. Channels 3 & 4 will show an error with just one joystick connected. All being well you are now ready to purchase the hardware.
The picture shows the correct settings for the installation of two calibration adapters. When you receive your sensor hardware you will need to calibrate it to your computer following the procedures described below.
Thermometer Plus software is designed to be used in conjunction with the I.C.E Ltd. Games Port Calibration Adapter and range of input sensors. Up to two sensors can be connected to one calibration adapter and two calibration adapters can be connected to one games port via the Y-splitter cables. The software is therefore able to display and log up to four channels.
The display is controlled form the display option in the settings menu. From here you can select which inputs are displayed and which inputs are plotted on the chart. The software logs the data to a csv file that is compatible with other software including Excel.
There are various calibrations and adjustments available in the settings window. Always click on the "O.K." button to save your changes to settings, calibration etc. Clicking on the "Cancel" button will cancel any changes you made.
By clicking on the units you can cycle through the selection of available units for the selected sensor. i.e. Switch from Centigrade to Fahrenheit to Kelvin with the standard temperature sensor selected.
The calibration adapter needs calibrating to your computer. This must be completed in the following order. (1) Windows Hardware Calibration. (2) Thermometer Plus Automatic Software Calibration (3) Adjustment for Long Cables and finally fine adjustments may be made using the manual calibration adjustments.
The different types of sensor that are available are stored in the "Sensorlist.txt" file that comes with the download. This file maybe updated from the web site as new products become available.
The sensor readings can be accessed through the windows dynamic data exchange for use with your own software programs. See the example source code supplied with the download.
The adapter needs to be calibrated to the windows system. The calibration adapter should be plugged into the games port but disconnected from any sensors or cables. Turn on the computer and open the Gaming Options program in the control panel. Click on the properties button and the settings tab of the Game Controller Properties window. Click on the Calibrate button and follow the calibration instructions.
The adapter is fitted with a three way switch and a button. When the instructions tell you to center the joystick, switch the switch away from the computer. When the instructions tell you to press a joystick button push the adapter button. When the instructions tell you to cycle the joystick to its extents, switch the switch to each of its three positions several times.
When you have finished, the cross hairs in the test screen should be in:
The center when the switch is away from the computer.
The bottom right when the switch is in it's center position.
The top left when the switch is towards the computer.
Set the switch to it's center position when you have finished the calibration routine.
Always complete the windows hardware calibration routine before proceeding with the automatic software calibration routine. Always have all sensors and cables disconnected from the adapter before both hardware and software calibration. This routine fine tunes the Thermometer Plus software to the windows system.
Select auto calibrate from the settings menu. Follow the instructions on the screen. If you have two calibration adapters connected to your system set the switches for both during the routine. The auto calibrate does both adapters simultaneously in the same routine.
The long cable adjustment is to allow for capacitance losses in extension cables between the calibration adapter and the sensor. Always perform Long Cable adjustments after Hardware and Software Calibration but before any Manual Calibration adjustments. It should be considered for extension cables of greater than one metre or three feet. Ensure the manual span is set to one and the manual offset is set to zero for the channel to be adjusted. The adjustment is done from the settings window Cable Adjust in the settings menu. The adjustment is best performed by initially plugging the sensor directly into the adapter and making a note of the reading with the adjustment bar set at zero. Then plug in the extension cable and set the adjustment bar to read the same reading.
The Manual Calibration is there to allow individual adjustment for different sensors. This should always be performed after calibrating the adapter via the Hardware and Software Calibration routines and after any adjustment for extension cables. There are two types of adjustment available, zero Offset Adjust and Span Adjust. The offset adjustment adds or subtracts an amount from the reading, the span adjustment multiplies or divides the reading. The manual calibration is performed against a known calibrated source, it is not normally necessary and should only require small adjustments if the rest of the system is properly calibrated. The sensors with the largest variance from one to another are the Light Dependant Resistors. These will almost certainly need some manual adjustment and will only ever give an approximate guide to LUX levels.
Once you have purchased your sensors you need to tell the software which sort of sensor you have connected to each channel. This is done from the Sensors selection in the settings menu. Simply select you sensor from the selection box for each channel you are using and click on the O.K. button. The Generic Resistance Sensor selection is there incase you have your own choice of resistance device. The meter will read the value of your device in kilohms.
Upper and lower limit alarms can be set for each channel. The check box must be ticked to enable the alarm. When the limit is exceeded the display becomes the top most window and the readings turn red for a high level and blue for a low level alarm.
The Thermometer Plus software can log the data readings to a file at intervals varying from once every five seconds to hourly. The interval is set from the log interval selection box in the Data Logger settings window. The period of data logging is set in the log size box as the total number of readings to be recorded. The time period the recording will take and file size it will generate are displayed. The Start button starts and stops the recording and the Rest button resets the recorder to the beginning of the file. The recorded file is "Log.csv" which can then be loaded into other spread sheets if required.
Selecting "New" in the Chart File Menu resets and automatically starts or restarts the data logger recording to a new file (over writing the previous Log.csv file).
The chart recorder can create a graph from live data updating from the data logger interval settings. You can then save your chart, print it and reload it as you require.
To create a chart set up the data logger and start logging. Select Open Chart from the File Menu. The graph will be plotted live as the data is recorded. When the data logger has finished, opening the chart will plot the data stored in the "Log.csv" file. You can move the position of the title text and plot text buy selecting with the mouse and dragging. You can change the text, color and fonts from the various selections under the settings menu. Once you have set up the graph as you want you can save it from save or save as in the file menu. Print preview opens a preview window of what will go to the printer and the print selection sends to the printer. Selecting "New" in the Chart File Menu resets and automatically starts or restarts the data logger recording to a new file (over writing the previous Log.csv file).
Auto-Features:
The chart can automatically generate axis extents and label positions. These automatic features can be turned on or off by ticking the appropriate selectors in the settings window. Generic auto-features are:
Auto-Label Positioning. Applies to each channel label and the title label.
Auto-Maximum Extents for Y-Axis. Applies to each channel.
Auto-Minimum Extents for Y-Axis. Applies to each channel.
Auto-Graduations. Applies to X and Y Axes adjusting the number of graduations to the current window size.
The digital display can show two error messages.
The "Error" sign indicates that the Calibration Adapter is not connected or the Joystick Port is not correctly setup.
The "Ovr" sign indicates that the input signal from the sensor has gone out of range of the display.
You can browse through the products available and buy online at www.iconelectron.com. You can also download the most recent version of the "Sensorlist.txt" file that contains the full selection of sensors currently available.
See Purchase Terms and Conditions
If you wish to remove the software from your computer.
Click on the windows "Start" button, "Settings=>Control Panel".
Double click on the "Add/Remove Programs" icon.
Select "Thermometer Plus" and Click on the Add/Remove Button.
If you have created any Thermometer Plus short cuts manually you will need to remove them.
Open your windows explorer and manually delete any files in the Thermometer Plus folder that were left over buy the windows program remover. Then delete the Thermometer Plus Folder if still there. Always follow the procedure above in the correct order to properly remove all aspects of the software.
© Industrial Control Electronics Ltd 2002.