EnviroStation/Smart Logger FAQs

Current User Manuals
Logger Communications
Sensor Communications
Memory and Data Storage
Cable Specifications
General Questions

For information about different power configurations, please click here

Current User Manuals

Download - The current EnviroStation User Manual (version 1.2) in English
Download - The current EnviroStation User Manual (version 1.1) in Chinese

Logger Communications

Download - Configuring HyperTerminal for use with Smart Loggers via RS232 connections
Download - Configuring HyperTerminal for use with Smart Loggers via modem connections
Download - Modem Setup for Smart Loggers
Download - AT Command Set in the NetComm WebMaster 56K V90 TP560i 56Kbps Data/Fax/Voice Modem User Manual (as mentioned in "Modem Setup for Smart Loggers" above).

The download from the Smart Logger is missing data, and/or the data has shifted across columns?

Firstly, a communications problem during download. This is not uncommon, although this is a severe case. A buffer is probably overfilling and causing severe loss of data. There are several things that may be done to improve the situation. We need to know the situation. We need to solve the communications problem before we can see if there is another problem.

Note the way that the logger is missing readings from its own internal virtual sensor. It may be that the logger is actually faulty, although this is very rare. We could send a spare logger and see if that solves the problem but I think there are a number of things to check first.

The file is not the original download file. It has been saved by Excel, and this means that Excel changes things, making it more difficult to see what is really happening. Why are many days missing from the download? Have they been edited out? The column shift is a minor result of a missing character in the download and is insignificant.
The major problem is large junks of data missing. Here are some suggestions:
1. Please check if Xon/Xoff Software control is enabled in the terminal programme. If it is not, try turning it on. Also check that option register b, element 1 is turned off, which is normal.
2. Repeat the same download, but at a lower baud speed. E.g. if the logger is set to 9600 baud, try 4800 baud. Is the same data missing from both downloads?
3. Try a different laptop or PC for the download if possible. Is the same data missing?
4. Make sure no other programmes are running in the download PC.
5. Try downloading with FIFO buffers turned off and then on (this setting can be found in the terminal programme set-up). Surprisingly, turning the FIFO buffers off often eliminates errors.

Sensor Communications

The Smart Logger is producing some strange figures in channels B and G. I am getting numbers like "1.2.20.9" instead of the normal data (i.e. % values). I tried resetting those channels through the set-up menu but I got an error message saying the Logger could not communicate with them. What causes this problem?

When the sensor reading appears with more than one decimal point, it indicates that there was a communication problem between the Logger and the sensor at the time the sensor was registered with the Logger. This is easy to fix, from the HyperTerminal software main menu press 1 for a list of sensors, then press * to relog all the sensors. None of the logged data is lost, simply download the data again and all the strange readings will be replaced with the correct data.

If the address B is the second address of a multi soil moisture sensor, then it does not have its own set-up menu. Only the primary address A will have a set-up menu. Whatever changes you make to address A will affect the "slave" addresses B, C and D. This explains why the Logger said there was no response from address B.

Communication problems have four causes, listed in order of most likely first:

Power supply problems, low battery, insufficient charge from solar panel etc.
Cabling problems, poor connections, water getting into joints etc.
Faulty sensor
Faulty Logger

If the extra decimal points return after a period of time, the problem is one of the above. In this actual situation the battery level was falling below 5.7 volts due to infrequent charging of the Logger.

A 20 A/hr battery was connected to both the Logger using cable (CBEXSL) and DataBus using cable (CBEXIB). The battery was charged from the wall with a regulated charger with a 13.5 V DC output.

Memory and Data Storage

How does the Smart Logger store data?

The SL5 Smart Logger writes or stores data in pages. A single page of data consists of 62 readings. As each page of memory is being written the data is stored in volatile RAM or memory until the page is full. When each page is full this page is then written or stored in non-volatile RAM or memory and is completely secure and cannot be lost even if power is disconnected from the logger. The first 128 pages of memory are allocated to firmware used to operate the Smart Logger. Only pages beyond 128 are used to store data.

How do I clear the data from the Smart Logger after downloading?

It is not possible to selectively erase the data memory (or modify it). This feature has been used in a Court of Law. The oldest data is overwritten in time.

If there are 16 sensors recording every 30 minutes, there will be 768 readings per day. The Logger can hold 500,000 readings before over-writing the oldest. Therefore the memory will hold 651 days of data.

Smart Loggers sold after 1 March 2006 have different standard memory specifications. Please see below.

How much memory does the Smart Logger have?

The Smart Loggers sold after 1 March 2006 have Flash memory with capacity for 500,000 measurements. Each measurement reading is:
1. fully date/time stamped, to one second resolution;
2. high resolution, 16 bit;
3. includes the sensor's measurement units (e.g. kPa, °C);
4. sensor type; and
5. sensor serial number.

After 1 March 2006: The SL5 Smart Logger has a standard memory capacity of 500,000 readings
Before 1 March 2006: The SL5 Smart Logger had a standard memory capacity of 120,000 readings.

How many pages of memory does the Smart Logger have?

After 1 March 2006: The SL5 Smart Logger has a total of 8,191 pages of memory. The first 128 pages are reserved for operating firmware leaving 8,063 pages for data storage. With optional expansion there are 15,992 pages of memory available for data storage.
Before 1 March 2006: The SL5 Smart Logger had a total of 2,047 pages of memory. The first 128 pages are reserved for operating firmware leaving 1,919 pages for data storage.

How many readings will the Smart Logger store?

The current model SL5 Smart Logger can store 499,906 readings. With optional expansion it can store 991,515 readings or just under 1 million readings.
The SL5 Smart Logger before 1 March 2006 can store 118,978 readings.

Logger Cable Specifications

Download - Cable Specifications for making extension cables for use with the Smart Logger and Sensors
Download - Connector Specifications for use with Smart Logger & Sensors

How do I join extension cables so they are waterproof?

Joining extension cables of ICT International data logger systems

Clean the cable to remove any grease or dirt. Avoid using any cleaning product that could damage the cable.
After soldering the cables together, slide a long length of heat shrink on, such that there is at least 10 cm either side of the join. This heat shrink should have a thick wall and preferably contain glue inside.
Heat the heat shrink from the join of the cable, in the middle of the 20 cm outwards in order to squeeze air out of the heat shrink.

Joining the cable and potting the cable for underground burial

Once the heat shrink has been completed, start the potting process. The potting should occur within a small plastic container or a thin plastic tube. A polyurethane material is used, such as "Scotchcast™ 2135 Wet-niche Potting Compound" from 3M; or "Polyurethane Potting Compound", stock number 199-1474 from RS Components

In either case, it will take 24 hours for the potting compound to become solid and to be electrically non-conductive. The join may not function when tested immediately after applying the potting compound. You will need to wait 24 hours to test the join successfully.

Download a Printer Friendly Version (PDF) of this faq: JoiningExtensionCables.pdf

General Questions

I have a range of sensors connected to my Smart Logger such as, Soil Temperature, Soil Matric Potential, Gypsum Block, and Tensiometers. Can I change the single character sensor address to a user assigned name so that I can group all of my sensors based on their type?

Yes. Using the new state of the art F-Chip Smart Logger through the sensor menu you can assign a 10 character User Name to display for each single character sensor address. Each time the Smart Logger reads that sensor address it will display the user assigned name. This allows the user to group sensor types or experimental replicates as follows, Soil Temperature sensors can be displayed as Temp1, Temp2, Temp3, Soil Matric Potential sensors as Matric1, Matric2, matric3, or experimental replicates as site1, site2, site3...

How do I assign a sensor address when I have more than 62 sensors connected to my Smart Logger?

The Smart Logger's factory default setting uses a single ASCII character to address each sensor, using the characters: 0 - 9, A - Z and a - z. This allows a maximum of 62 sensor addresses. An additional 6 ASCII characters are used for the Virtual Sensors:

character	character name	Virtual Sensor
:	colon	Evapotranspiration
;	semicolon	Animal Comfort Stress Index
<	less-than sign	Accumulated Heat Load
=	equals sign	Dew Point
]	right square bracket	Battery Voltage
^	circumflex	Battery Current

EnviroStation Manual

To change the factory default from 62 channels to "Enable all addresses" you can edit Option Register a, element 6 (this may have been done before your system was shipped, this procedure will also show you the current setting). From the main logger menu type:

4 - change logger settings
6 - change option registers
a - option register a
"space bar" five times
1 - element 6
"Enter"
any key to accept

EnviroStation Manual

A HyperTerminal window showing editing of option register.

Editing Option Register a, element 6. This shows the screen after point
6 (press "Enter" key) and before pressing "any key" to accept edit.

Changing Option Register a, element 6 changes the display of the address in the Sensor List. Under the heading "address", the address is given in two forms. e.g. a=0097. The first is the address in ASCII, the second, after the equals sign, is the decimal equivalent.

To expand the logger to its full 250 sensor capacity you must utilize decimal codes for Unicode characters. A Character Map can be found in all versions of Windows in directory C:\Windows\Windows32\CHARMAP.exe which displays the Unicode character and its decimal value. Alternatively if your computer does not have a Character Map installed (highly unlikely) you can download the executable file from this site.

To enter these extra character addresses, type the 4 digit decimal number (e.g. 0097) whilst holding down the "ALT" key. After the 4 numbers are typed, the character is sent when the ALT key is released.

Note that on some computers you must use the numerical key pad or nothing will happen. This is a problem with laptops, that do not have a normal numerical key pad. Usually the numerical key pad is incorporated into the main key board on a laptop. Look for the blue numbers on the front of the keys. You normally have to hold down the blue key as well as the ALT key when using these blue numbers.

Note that, although there are 4 numbers, the first of the four is always zero. Some computers allow this first zero to be omitted, but most do not.

The ALT key allows the entire character set to be entered. For example, when changing the address of a sensor. The sensor will only echo back the ASCII version of the address. This is usually a symbol, but it may not be a unique one, and it may be an invisible one. This is where the font that is being used by your terminal programme is very important. We usually recommend using Courier New. To see how the characters will appear with any font, open Character Map, under System Tools, under Accessories.

When using option register a, element 6, not all the possible 256 combinations are available. The following are forbidden:

decimal reference	character	character name
0000		Null
0032		Space
0063	?	question mark
0125	}	right curly bracket
0189	½	fraction one half
0254	þ	Latin small letter thorn
0255	ÿ	Latin small letter y with diaeresis

The following addresses are reserved for future use: 0033 - 0047, i.e. the "space" character and ! " # $ % & ' ( * ) + , - . /

The address 0127 "delete" is not recommended.

All other 202 addresses are available at this time.

A sensor may be put on the address of a Virtual Sensor, provided the Virtual Sensor is not in use. If the Virtual Sensor is turned on, the real sensor will have precedence.

Note that when assigning addresses to multi-channel sensors, make sure none of the slave addresses falls on a forbidden address. e.g. don't put a 4 channel temperature sensor on address 0186, its fourth channel will fall on the forbidden address 0189. Put it on 0185, or 0190 instead.

How accurate is the logger? I notice that the specifications don't list a figure.

The logger records and stores all data as 16 bit digital samples, (1 part in 65,536) which are received from each individual sensor in this form. Therefore the accuracy will depend on the characteristics of each sensor. The logger does not degrade resolution or accuracy in any way.

When you talk about 250 channels, what sort of channels are you talking about? Are there different kinds? How many of each kind are there?

Traditional analogue data loggers indeed will have different types of channels for different kinds of sensors, and researchers used to these types of device often ask us this. The SL5 is quite different from these older type of devices, being wholly digital in nature. When we talk about 250 channels we mean 250 digital channels, or if you prefer, 250 separately addressable sensors. Each sensor contains the appropriate circuitry to convert the raw millivolt or microvolt analogue signal to digital using its own internal microprocessor, which also converts the signal directly to the appropriate engineering unit (°C for example) and transmits it back via the DataBus to the Logger as a 16-bit digital value.

As an example consider the Dynagage Sapflow sensor. If used with an analogue datalogger, it requires 4 single-ended analogue inputs for just one sensor. However, when we upgrade the Dynagage sensor to a digital output that is compatible with the Smart Logger the microprocessor attached to the Dynagage sensor essentially has 4 single-ended analogue channels in the Smart Interface. It records the analogue microvolt signals from the Dynagage sensor and converts them to a digital signal and processes the values through the Sapflow energy balance equation and outputs a single digital serial value of sapflow in g/hr that can then be transmitted up to any distance back to the Smart Logger where only 1 of the 250 channels is used to store the processed calibrated data. Alternatively, if the user wishes to record the raw microvolt signals coming from the Dynagage sensor then 4 raw microvolt values will be transmitted as converted digital serial packets of information back to the Smart Logger where 4 channels of the smart logger will be used to store the data.

So you're saying I can't just wire up any old sensor to the Smart Logger?

That's right. However, we have digital interfaces that consist of a microprocessor that can upgrade analogue sensors to the correct digital serial output to make them compatible with the Smart Logger. But, in most cases it is actually cheaper and better for the customer to simply buy acomplete new Smart Sensor from ICT.

What's the difference between the 62 "standard" channels and the rest of the 250?

There isn't one. The reason that the Smart Logger is preconfigured with 62 channels available rather than 250 is because most customers find they only need 30 channels or so, and it is quicker to scan through 62 sensor channels than it is to do the full 250. However, if you need more than 62 channels, you can select an option via the software which instantly "expands" the unit to the full 250 channels. It will just take a little longer to scan through the additional sensor channels.