SPLogger data logging application
When you are developing a new product with an embedded controller, it can often be a matter of researching the underlying process (i.e. how to make the product work best) at the same time as you are developing the actual control system (that will embody that research). In such cases have a data logging facility can be extremely useful. Data logging means you can record events and readings on your computer for later analysis, using perhaps an Excel spreadsheet.
An example of this would be the development of an HVAC controller. Things can happen slowly in air conditioning, on a scale of hours, days or even, in the case of serious optimisation, months. Being able to log major parameters plus the actions of the control system for later analysis can provide significant benefits. Making such data logging a function of the controller has obvious benefits of easy access to controller information and less money spent on equipment.
This is why we have developed a data logging program to go with SPLat. We call it SPLogger.
SPLogger is a program that runs in a PC and extracts data from a connected SPLat controller. It can be set to record readings of any combination of selected RAM locations (though currently only out of the first 128 locations ... we expanded RAM to 196 bytes after SPLogger was written). Readings can be done on a fixed time basis (every so often) or they can be triggered by an event in the SPLat controller. Readings can be recorded in decimal (1 byte), hexadecimal (1 byte), binary (1 byte) or floating point (4 bytes). Readings can be time stamped with elapsed time or time of day. The output is a comma delimited file (*.csv) that can be loaded directly into Excel.
SPLogger is free and available in the downloads section of our website. It is also being distributed on the resources CD supplied with all SPLat controller Developer's Kits. As an added bonus we supply the Visual Basic source code, so you have a fully worked example of our SPLatLink protocol and SLCom ActiveX control in action.
