Configure logger

Configuration of the logger is the procedure to change the properties of the logger and start a new session of logging.

If you are already in the Logger Status page, clicking on the Configure button will bring up the Logger Configuration dialog:

Decide when to start and when to stop logging

The new session can be started immediately after the logger is configured or start in the future by adjusting the Time to Start field.

If you want the logger to stop at a specific time:

Adjust Time to End field to a time later than Time to Start field.
Set When Memory Full to Stop Logging.

If you want the logger to stop logging after a specific period of time:

Adjust Total Time Span to desired period of time.
Set When Memory Full to Stop Logging.

If you want the logger to continue logging for a specific period of time:

Adjust Time to End field to the time later than Time to Start field. You will see Total Time Span fields updated with the new set of values. Or you can adjust Total Time Span to a desired period of time.
Set When Memory Full to Continue Logging.

If the start time is unknown and you want to activate the new session in the field:

Adjust Time to Start field to a time far beyond the estimated start time (for example, one year ahead) so the logger will be in start-delay mode.
Adjust Total Time Span to desired period of time.
Set When Memory Full to Stop Logging or Continue Logging based on your application.
When you decide to activate the session, press the activation button located on the logger until the LED starts to blink. Release the button.

Decide how often logger samples source

When the logger is operating, the logger samples the source channels in a preset time interval (sampling interval). Most of Site-Log loggers can run as fast as sampling one channel every 20 milliseconds, or as slow as sampling all channels every 12 hours.

If the sampling interval is set 5 seconds or bigger, the logger will operate in normal sampling mode. In this mode, if the logger is logging data, the logger will continue operating while it is communicating with the host device.

If the sampling interval is set below 5 seconds the logger will operate in fast sampling mode. In this mode, the logger needs the external power supply for the logging period and the communications with the logger will force the logger to stop logging.

The above example is for SITE-LOG series. For iLog series, you can decide either below 5 seconds or 1 second the logger will run in fast mode. For PRECISE-LOG series, there is no fast mode and the fastest interval is 1 second.

Decide which channels to log on

When the logger is operating, the logger measures the input of each ENABLED channel. Be sure to enable the channel if you want the channel be recorded.

If one channel’s measurement relies on other channels’ measurements (A custom equation may use other channels’ measurements for the current channel’s calculation), be sure to enable those dependent channels.

Some of the Site-Log loggers are featured with software programmable channels. The input range of those channels can be changed via SiteView. When the range is changed to better fit the actual input signal’s range, better resolution and accuracy can be obtained.

For instance, changing the Input Range of a programmable voltage channel to 0 – 2 V will get better resolution if you know the input source’s range will be within 0 – 2 V.

Decide how to convert to physical measurement

When the logger saves the data the logger saves the data in digital format. SiteView converts the digital values to the physical measurements after the data is downloaded to the computer.

Role of Equation
SiteView does the data conversions by using equations. An equation is a software entity handling the conversion from one data format to another. SiteView contains the built-in equations for those predefined channel types and the customer-defined equations that can be applied to all channel types.

A custome-defined equation (custom equation) is a piece of script (C# source code) in the format of function implementing the data conversion.

When a channel is configured, an equation is applied to the channel. After SiteView has retrieved the logger status SiteView locates the equation entity by the equation name saved inside the logger. Once the equation entity is identified the equation entity will handle the data conversion.

Decide What Equation to Use
This depends on the physical measurement and the input source parameters. If you are using 0 – 10 VDC channel to record a voltage source, you can use a built-in equation “VoltageDC”. If you are recording a 0 – 10 VDC transducer as the source input, and the transducer has the measurement range of 0 – 5000 PPM CO2, you need to write your custom equation like this:

public double CO2Equation(double Input)
{

double output;
output = 5000 * Input / 10 ;
return output;

}

The above equation implements the relationship between the input voltage value and the output physical PPM value. A voltage is converted proportionally to a PPM value.

Starting from SiteView 3, a new factory Liner equation was introduced and you can fill out four parameters to quickly create a linear equation. Refer to this video tutorial for the instructions:

Introducting new Factory Equations

Manage Alarm and Excitation Control (for SITE-LOG series)

Configure Channel Alarms
When the logger is recording data, it compares the current reading with Low/High Alarm values that is previously saved in the logger for each channel. If all the following conditions are met, the logger will be in Alarm state:
1. The current reading is beyond the Low/High Alarm values.
2. Alarm is enabled for that channel.
3. Alarm-On Delay’s counter is counted down to zero.

In the figure illustrated below, you can check “Alarm Enabled” check-box if you want to enable the Alarm of the channel. And you can adjust “Low Alarm” and “High Alarm” values so that when the measurement is below “Low Alarm” or above “High Alarm” it will trigger the alarm.

Decide what to do when in Alarm State
If the logger is alarm state, the logger can energize Alarm1 and/or A2/E terminals in order to control the external devices like siren auto dialer etc.

At the left side of the above figure, you can change Alarm/Excitation Selection to decide which terminals the logger will work with when there is an alarm.

Configure Excitation Control
Excitation output is used when you need to save the electric power of the device that provides the signal source to the data logger. When there is no local power available and a battery pack is used to power the transducer, excitation control greatly reduces power consumption by turning on the transducer only when it samples the data and turning off the transducer after the sampling.

A2/E on the terminal strips can be configured by for excitation purpose.

In order to enable A2/E, one of the following Alarm/Excitation Selection must be selected:

Excitation control to A2/E, both high and low alarm to Alarm1
Excitation control to A2/E, low alarm to Alarm1
Excitation control to A2/E, high alarm to Alarm1

Excitation Warm-up Delay is used to specify how much delay will be set after the excitation terminal is activated and before the logger is taking the sample. If the measurement source device needs certain time to stabilize the signal output you may need to set this parameter so the logger will wait certain time before it takes the sample.

Quick way to calibrate logger

Although you can go through the procedure in Calibrate Logger chapter to calibrate a logger, you can also use Logger Configuration dialog to do a quick calibration for all channels of the logger.

Understand Cali. Low & Cali. High
These two fields specify the calibration values that are used for measurement adjustment.

Cali. Low value specifies the digital value that is over zero when the input value is the lowest value (for 0 – 5 VDC channel the lowest value is zero volt). For instance, if you apply zero volt input and the logger measured 100 as the digital value, then Cali. Low should be 100 digits. The equation entity will subtract this value when resolving the correct lowest digital value.

Cali. High value specifies the digital value that is over 65535 when the input value is the highest value (for 0 – 5VDC channel the high range is 5 volt). For instance, if you apply 5 volt voltage to the channel and the logger measured 65100 as the digital value. Then Cali. High is “- 435” (calculated from 65100 – 65535). The equation entity will subtract this value (-435) from the digital value when resolving the highest digital value.

The valid range for these two parameters is from –32768 to 32767.

The following figure illustrates the relationship between an ideal data line and a measured data line and how Cali. Low and Cali. High correct the measured data line.

Calibrate Channel
Cali. Low and Cali. High parameters for each channel are editable in Logger Configuration dialog. You can simply change them and use real-time table to check if the parameters are changed correctly.

To calibrate a channel:
1.      Click Real-Time button to enable Real-Time table. Notice the real-time readings are updated in Reading cells for all channels.
2.      Check the difference between the reading you see and the reading it is supposed to be. Adjust Cali. Low and Cali. High parameters to make the readings as close as to the desired value.
3.      If you are satisfied, click Apply button to save the parameters to the logger or click OK button to save the parameters and close the dialog.

Save WIFI Related Settings (for PRECISE-LOG with WIFI series)

If PRECISE-LOG contains a WIFI module, the following are used to configure the module.

There are two WIFI mode:

1 Standard Server Mode:

In this mode, both the data logger and a host PC will join an existing WIFI network (Access Point).

2 AccessPoint Server Mode:

In this mode, the data logger will create a WIFI Access Point for a host PC to join.

In both modes, If you'd like to turn the logger into a Modbus Server and communicate with a Modbus client/master, you can check 'Use Modbus Protocol'

AP SSID is the AP the data logger created. The AP name is based the data logger's serial number and it is formated as "PL" + "logger's serial number".

You can change AP password to join this access point. After you joined you can communicate with the data logger through USB Server connection. The IP address of the data logger is fixed to:

10.10.100.254.

Save Settings and Start New Session

Once you have finished making changes to the available settings, you can click OK button to save the settings to the logger. The logger will start to record data from the Time to Start field you have set.

WARNING: By clicking OK or Apply buttons, all recorded data in the logger will be lost. If the data is important please ALWAYS download the data before configuring the logger.