{"id":1391,"date":"2017-09-08T15:59:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T22:59:31","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-01T10:28:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T17:28:01","slug":"1391","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/1391","title":{"rendered":"Surface Temperature Sensor Troubleshooting and FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"\/product\/surface-temperature-sensor\/\">Surface Temperature Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>STS-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/h3>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"\/manuals\/STS-BTA\">Specifications and User Guide<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/product.sts-bta._hero.001-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Primary Test: <\/strong>Plug in the sensor and start up the data-collection program. Temperature readings should appear on the main screen of the program. Hold the tip of the sensor to warm it and check that the temperature is changing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Important:<\/strong> This sensor is for use in air and water only. For temperature measurements in harsher environments, we recommend the <a href=\"\/product\/stainless-steel-temperature-probe\/\">Stainless Steel Temperature Probe<\/a> (<nobr>TMP-BTA<\/nobr>).<\/p>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2345\/\">Why does my temperature sensor read a value that does not change and is very high\/low?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/3805\/\">My temperature sensor reads 80\u00b0C at room temperature on a LabQuest 2.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2285\/\">The tab on the BTA or BTD connector of my sensor is broken. Can it be repaired?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2377\/\">How should I wrap my sensor cable?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/1310\/\">Can you calibrate a Stainless Steel Temperature Probe?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/1399\/\">Can I use Vernier water quality sensors in salt water or in a salt water aquarium?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Specifications<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Temperature sensor: 20 k\u03a9 NTC Thermistor<\/li>\n<li>Temperature range: \u201325 to 125\u00b0C (\u201313 to 257\u00b0F)<\/li>\n<li>Maximum temperature that the sensor can tolerate without damage: 150\u00b0C<\/li>\n<li>Typical Resolution:<br \/>\u26ac 0.08\u00b0C (\u201325 to 0\u00b0C)<br \/>\u26ac 0.03\u00b0C (0 to 40\u00b0C)<br \/>\u26ac 0.1\u00b0C (40 to 100\u00b0C)<br \/>\u26ac 0.25\u00b0C (100 to 125\u00b0C)<\/li>\n<li>Accuracy: <br \/>\u26ac \u00b10.2\u00b0C at 0\u00b0C<br \/>\u26ac \u00b10.5\u00b0C at 100\u00b0C<\/li>\n<li>Response time (time for 90% change in reading):<br \/>\u26ac 5 seconds (in water)<br \/>\u26ac 50 seconds (in still air)<br \/>\u26ac 20 seconds (in moving air)<\/li>\n<li>Probe dimensions:<br \/>\u26ac Cable: 1 m <br \/>\u26ac Handle to thermister: 15.5 cm<br \/>\u26ac Submergible section: 7 cm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Calibration<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calibrate? No. If you wish to calibrate this sensor, detailed instructions can be found in <a href=\"\/til\/1310\/\">Can you calibrate a Stainless Steel Temperature Probe?<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> a custom calibration cannot be stored to this sensor.<\/p>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Products<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/stainless-steel-temperature-probe\/\">Stainless Steel Temperature Probe<\/a> (<nobr>TMP-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/gotemp\/\">Go!Temp<\/a> (<nobr>GO-TEMP<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/easytemp\/\">EasyTemp<\/a> (<nobr>EZ-TMP<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/extra-long-temperature-probe\/\">Extra-Long Temperature Probe<\/a> (<nobr>TPL-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/wide-range-temperature-probe\/\">Wide-Range Temperature Probe<\/a> (<nobr>WRT-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/thermocouple\/\">Thermocouple<\/a> (<nobr>TCA-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-surface-temperature-sensor\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Surface Temperature Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-ST<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specifications and User Guide Troubleshooting Important: This sensor is for use in air and water only. For temperature measurements in harsher environments, we recommend the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11015,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[720,1175,1771,1770],"class_list":["post-1391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-maintil","tag-sts-bta","tag-stsmain","tag-surfacetemperaturemain"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11015"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}