Data logger sensors

[Rowyrow]

Hi All,
I am trying to orgainse next years budget and we are looking at getting a set of data loggers with a bunch of general sensors. What sensors do you have and what ones would you recommend for a basic set?

[sunray18]

We use data harvest, but can I suggest you also contact Phil Jones from the Logical Interface and check out what he has to offer. He has lots of exciting new pieces of equipment and ideas.I wish we had purchased from him.

[RosalieM]

Unfortunately I don't know the brand, but there is a data logger program you can get where you just plug the sensors straight into your USB port and run it through excel on the computer. I don't know the price of them or anything but before you spend hundreds/thousands of $$ on a data logger itself it would be worth looking into. The sensors we use the most frequently are temp and pH, but also galvanometer, voltage/current, motion, heart rate and light sensors.

[J]

We use light, temp, pH, motion, sound.

They don't get used very often, but our new HT is keen for physics.

J

[RosalieM]

oh yeah, we use sound sensors a lot too but I forgot to add that as they are built into the data loggers we have.

[smiley]

I have a bunch of Vernier gear and have been very happy with it AND with the after sales tech support etc. I have a set of 8 stand-alone temp probes that plug directly into the TI84 graphics calculators that the Seniors already own (for Maths). They are brilliant for calorimetry etc. I also have a stand alone Go-Motion that plugs into my little HP notebook. Then I have a new LabQuest, with Biology stuff (at the moment) - pH, Salinity (Sea-water compatible, and yes there are differences), Dissolved Oxygen, temp, a GPS, CO2 gas, and O2 gas. They are the probes we got as a sort of "starter kit", and our plan is to see how we go with what we have, before we spend $1000's on class sets of anything. We used our datalogger on our recent mega-excursion to the beach with Yr11's. I set up a testing station, and kids brought samples to me to be tested. If we had the time, and battery power, we could have set up individual files for the kids, but we chose good old fashioned pen and paper, because there are marks in the assessment for maintaining a log book with raw data etc. In a perfect world they could have had one per group and downloaded the files at the end of the day. Still, it worked pretty well.

There are also some pretty cool expired air experiments we can do with the PE classes, using the CO2 & O2 gas probes and I think a spirometer is going to be next.

[Rowyrow]

Smiley, how many of the vernier data loggers do you have ? and how many of each sensor?
or to everyone else how many units do you have?

[Ocker]

I have 4 complete sets of Data harvest data loggers with pH, voltage current 3 temp/set, light meter & set of gates
But am upgrading to Logical "interface" that plugs into laptop by USB, and the beauty of is that all the probes are compatable and can be used on Logical interface unit

[lada]

Ocker,
we also have 4 complete data harvest sets and i was in touch with Benny from Serrata to give me suggestions on upgrade and some new sensors.
We have been happy with data Harvest and we will also purcharge the thingie that allows you to plug in USB.
We are looking at UV sensor, CO2 sensor, humidity, conductivity and colorimeter. Benny will come and give teachers free PD on the use of data Harvest.

Lada

[RosalieM]

we have 5 sets of data loggers, but we only have 2 or 3 of some of the more expensive sensors.