-------------------------Monitor------------------------ The Newsletter for PC-Based Data Acquisition and Control Issue 128 www.windmill.co.uk March 2009 --------------------ISSN 1472-0221---------------------- Welcome to Monitor, the data acquisition newsletter. I hope you find it useful, but should you wish to remove yourself from our mailing list please go to https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html CONTENTS ======== * Windmill Notes: 5 Ways to Speed up Data Acquisition * New Wireless Connection to be launched: Bluetooth Low Energy * DAQ News Roundup ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Windmill Notes: 5 Ways to Speed up Data Acquisition ________________________________________________________ Windmill software can collect data from some instruments and devices at up to 200 samples per second. However, when communicating over RS232 it can go no faster than 5 samples per second per channel. Here are 5 tips to speed up the data acquisition to Windmill's maximum. 1. Make sure your sampling interval is not less than 0.2 seconds. 2. If you have set alarms with SetupIML, remove any you do not need. Continual checking for alarm conditions can slow down data acquisition. 3. If you do not need all the data channels you are collecting with Windmill Logger, then reduce the number of channels Logger is storing. 4. Log data without displaying it on screen. In Windmill Logger select the Settings menu and turn off the "Display data on screen" option. No data will be shown in the Logger window, which in some circumstances will allow logging to proceed at a faster rate. 5. Close any software that is running that you are not currently using. More on Windmill ================ Windmill Data Acquisition software Tips on Using Windmill ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ New Wireless Connection to be launched: Bluetooth Low Energy ________________________________________________________ Bluetooth allows up to seven devices to be monitored wirelessly over short distances, typically about 10 meters. In April a new Bluetooth standard is to be publicly presented in Japan: Bluetooth Low Energy. Devices housing Bluetooth Low Energy technology will consume a fraction of the power of classic Bluetooth enabled products. In many cases, low energy devices will operate for more than a year on a tiny button cell battery without the need for recharging. This strengthens the technology's ability to provide wireless connectivity for smaller devices. For example, yachtswoman Luce Molinier currently uses a Bluetooth system to track her heart rate, body temperature and caloric consumption, as well as GPS positional data, as she trains for a 6800 km race. Using Bluetooth low energy sensors will solve the problem of having to recharge the sensors during a race. Bluetooth Low Energy does not compete with existing Bluetooth, nor does it extend existing Bluetooth directly. Instead it is a separate method of transmitting and receiving small amounts of data that can reside alongside existing Bluetooth software, and share some elements such as the Bluetooth radio and antenna. According to a new study by ABI Research, in 2010 nearly 30 million Bluetooth Low Energy chipsets will be shipped. If they are correct then this will be an extraordinary adoption rate for a new technology. Further Reading: =============== Bluetooth SIG ABI Research Other Wireless Technologies ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ DAQ News Roundup ________________________________________________________ Welcome to our roundup of the data acquisition and control news. If you would like to receive more timely DAQ news updates then grab our RSS newsfeed at https://www.windmillsoft.com/monitor.xml. Read https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsfeed.php for notes on how to display the news on your own web site, read it via e-mail, mobile phone or in your browser. IEEE Approves 1902.1 Standard for Wireless Visibility Networks The IEEE has approved a new wireless standard which improves upon the network protocol known as RuBee. RuBee is a bidirectional, on-demand, peer-to-peer, radiating, transceiver protocol operating at wavelengths below 450 KHz. This protocol works in harsh environments with networks of many thousands of tags and has an area range of 3 to 15 m. Source: IEEE Standards Association http://standards.ieee.org/ Wireless technology could boost hand hygiene compliance A new wireless system tracks the use of hand hygiene dispensers when health care workers enter and exit patient rooms. The system uses ZigBee technology, which works with low-power devices. Workers wear small, pager-sized badges to monitor their use of hand hygiene dispenser stations prior to entering patient rooms. Data is recorded and processed in the badges rather than relying on a network. Source: The University of Iowa News Service http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/ Pressure Transmitter Market to Grow at 3.3% Driven by a stronger emphasis on plant asset management and safety applications, the worldwide market for Pressure Transmitters is expected to grow from $2.38 to $2.798 billion in the next 5 years, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study. Source: ARC Advisory Group http://www.arcweb.com/AboutARC/Press/Lists/Posts/ Faulty Sensor causes Arctic Sea Ice Error A faulty sensor has caused a slowly growing underestimation of Arctic sea ice extent by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The underestimation reached approximately 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles). Source: SCUBA News http://news.scubatravel.co.uk/ Pollution Radar Provides unprecedented picture of Urban Smog Scientists have developed a sophisticated new air quality measuring device that can act as a pollution radar over cities. The compact imaging spectrometer operating in the ultra violet and visible (UV/VIS) part of the spectrum has a number of potential applications on satellite platforms. Source: University of Leicester http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/news/ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ * Copyright Windmill Software Ltd * Reprinting permitted with this notice included * For more articles see https://www.windmill.co.uk We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and use extracts from it on your own web site or publication, providing the above notice is included and a link back to our website is in place. An archive of previous issues is at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html and an index of articles at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html Windmill Software Ltd, PO Box 58, North District Office, Manchester, M8 8QR, UK Telephone: +44 (0)161 834 6688 Facsimile: +44 (0)161 833 2190 E-mail: monitor@windmillsoft.com https://www.windmill.co.uk/ https://www.windmillsoft.com/
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