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New USB version for popular data logger

A Pico Technology product story
Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Nov 3, 2004

Pico Technology, the PC-based test and measurement company, has introduced a USB (v1.1) version of its popular TC-08 eight-channel thermocouple data logger.

Pico Technology, the PC-based test and measurement company, has introduced a USB (v1.1) version of its popular TC-08 eight-channel thermocouple data logger.

The new unit samples at up to 10 readings per second (more than twice the speed of the serial port version), features built-in cold junction compensation (CJC) and covers the temperature range -270 to 1820 degrees C.

The TC-08 can be used with thermocouple types B, E, J, K, N, R, S and T and outputs can be viewed in degrees C or mV.

The unit is accurate to 0.2 per cent +/- 0.5 degrees C and has a resolution of better than 0.1 degrees C for most thermocouple types.

The TC-08 USB connectivity allows multiple units to be run on a single PC, making it easy to create systems with up to 80 thermocouples.

The TC-08 is supplied with PicoLog software free of charge, full and demo versions which can be downloaded from http://www.picotech.com.

Alan Tong, Pico Technologys Technical Director, comments: "The serial version of the TC-08 was launched in 1995 and, with temperature being the most common parameter users wish to measure, fast became one our most popular data logging products.

However, with serial ports no longer provided on modern PCs, customers had to buy serial-to-USB adapters, but no more: the new TC-08 connects to a PC via USB, dispensing with the need for an adapter and delivering enhanced performance." With the free PicoLog Recorder software, the user can configure multiple (USB) TC-08s, set the sampling interval from 0.1 seconds to several hours and set the maximum number of readings.

The user can also tell PicoLog Recorder what to do once the thermocouple readings have been taken - either: Stop; Repeat Immediately (start again); Scroll (oldest recordings disappear); or Repeat After Delay (where the delay is set by the user).

The user can also perform mathematical operations on the thermocouple outputs: for example to output one temperature relative to another.

Using PicoLog Recorder, TC-08 data can be viewed, in a spreadsheet and/or in a graph, as it is being recorded.

TC-08 data, collected from previous recordings, can also be viewed in PicoLog Player.

The TC-08 (USB version) is available immediately and retails for £249.00 + VAT.

Established in 1991 and based in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, Pico Technology is the market leader in PC oscilloscopes: low-cost alternatives to bench-top and handheld instruments.

The companys flagship instrument is PicoScope, a combined oscilloscope and spectrum analyser, available with resolutions of 8, 12 and 16 bits, sampling rates of up to 5GS/s and memory depths of up to 128k.

In addition, Pico Technology is the market leader in PC oscilloscopes for the automotive industry and has developed a multi-award winning automotive diagnostic kit (comprising an ADC 212/3 PC oscilloscope, current clamps, secondary ignition pickup as well as a range of test clips, leads and probes) which enables automotive technicians to test virtually all electrical/electronic signals on any vehicle.

The company also designs and manufactures a number of data acquisition solutions including the PicoLog data loggers (ranging from 1 to 22 channels, and 8 to 24 bits resolution), the EnviroMon PC-based and standalone data loggers, the education data logger DrDAQ, and a range of dedicated PC-based temperature and humidity recording products.

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