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Thanks to Design News for this Gadget Freak, in which NASA engineer Bob Wilson takes the office temperature.
He devised a technological solution for a bureaucratic problem: convince building maintenance that his office was frigid in the morning.
By the time anyone responded to a call, the heat was on. So he programmed a TI MSP430-F2013 microcontroller to record the temperature continuously over several days.
The size of a quarter and powered by a 3V lithium cell, it records converted, filtered, RL-encoded data from its built-in temperature transducer into Flash memory, to be read back later via a USB interface. The maintenance department was convinced.
You can download the build instructions
Thanks to Design News for this Gadget Freak, in which NASA engineer Bob Wilson takes the office temperature.
He devised a technological solution for a bureaucratic problem: convince building maintenance that his office was frigid in the morning.
By the time anyone responded to a call, the heat was on. So he programmed a TI MSP430-F2013 microcontroller to record the temperature continuously over several days.
The size of a quarter and powered by a 3V lithium cell, it records converted, filtered, RL-encoded data from its built-in temperature transducer into Flash memory, to be read back later via a USB interface. The maintenance department was convinced.
You can download the build instructions
| Parts List | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Amt | Part Description | ||
| 1 | 32.768 kHz watch crystal or equivalent | ||
| 1 | 20 mm. coin cell, 3-3.5V or equivalent | ||
| 1 | Half-inch, clear, shrink wrap or equivalent. Only 0.5 x 0.5 inch per cell, 100+ cells | ||
| 1 | Epoxy putty. For ~50-100 cells | ||
|
Additional parts required: Ez430-F2013 development kit with MSP430-F2013 microcontroller, available at Texas Instruments. |
|||
See also: Solar radiation and a delta-sigma ADC, a project that also records daily data (of solar radiation) to a file, but which is then emailed.
Comments (2)
Yes, ok it's funky, but a simple max/min thermometer should have convinced maintenance too.
Posted by Alan Brown | August 6, 2008 9:18 PM
Posted on August 6, 2008 21:18
We have developed a low cost USB device with that task as one of its functions. The eco-wand Comfometer also measures humidity so that possible overnight condensation can be monitored but the main function is to provide computer users with a Comfort Meter display. This shows the current conditions relative to the ideal Comfort Zone and advises on how to work comfortable while using minimum energy.
Posted by Alex Gardiner | August 28, 2008 11:34 AM
Posted on August 28, 2008 11:34