Datalogging problems with USB-TC01

[Kevski]

Hello,

I am having datalogging difficulties with my USB-TC01. When I connect the USB-TC01 to a thermocouple (type K) in my coffee roasting machine the temperature shown by the TC01 UI bears no relationship to the actual temperature in the machine. The temperature displayed on the TC01 UI increases to a point and then hovers around a fixed value while the temperature in region I am measuring is all the time increasing. This video gives a demonstration of what I am observing:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IME39KWTiXs You will note that the temperature in the machine display is showing 386F while the TC01 UI on the laptop is showing an oscillating temperature of between 154F - 159F - less than half the actual temperature. When I connect the same thermocouple wire on the machine to another datalogger such as the Extech EA15, there is no problem, so there is no issue with the thermocouple connection. Also when I connect the TC01 to a thermocouple temperature probe, such as the one shown in this picture,

 

it behaves normally

Appreciate any advice as to what may be going on here.

Kind regards,

Kevin  

[Tom9390]

Hi Kevin, are you UK based? This looks like it could be a repair issue. Try contacting NI UK technical support on 01635 523545.

Otherwise, take a look at www.ni.com/support

[Kevski]

Hello Tom,

Thanks for your reply and for the contact number for UK Tech Support.. I'm based in Ireland so I guess Tech Support is provided from the UK?

I suspect the problem may be due to electrical interferance/noise with the signal from the thermocouple and I will

test this later this week by running the datalogger with the machine switched off. I'll post the results in this thread. 

Best regards,

Kevin 

[Tom9390]

Hi Kevin, Yes tech support for Ireland is supported from the UK so the contact number should be good.

Cheers, Tom

[coffee_man]

Did you resolve this? I am having the exact same issue.

[Kevski]

I was unable to resolve this issue using the TC-01 device so I upgraded to the 9211 measurement bundle which is a 9211 4-channel thermocouple device which fits into a 1-slot USB chassis. The 9211 device works perfectly now with the sofware interface I'm using. I suspect that electromagnetic interference was at least part of the issue with the TC-01 device.

[coffee_man]

Great, thank you for the reply. I've just ordered the 9211. Are you using Typica software wtih the device? If so, how is it going?

[Kevski]

Yes, I am using Neal Wilson's Typica program - it works very well as a datalogging system.

[coffee_man]

I'm having difficulty getting the 9211 to work with typica.

I'm getting a -200220 error once Typica opens. "Invalid Device ID". Any ideas what would be causing this?

[sahpe]

Hello coffee_man, 

One of these might help:

Why do I Receive Error Code -200220 When Running a Data Acquisition Program?

Kind Regards,

Michael S.