{"id":3334,"date":"2014-11-11T21:04:49","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T05:04:49","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-01-12T10:25:17","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T18:25:17","slug":"3334","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/3334","title":{"rendered":"How do I use my homemade sensor with Logger Pro?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Vernier Breadboard Cables (Breadboard Cable (Analog)<\/a> (BB-BTA<\/nobr>) and Breadboard Cable (Digital)<\/a> (BB-BTD<\/nobr>)) provide an easy way to connect your sensor to a Vernier interface. Once your sensor is connected to an interface, you can use Logger Pro<\/i> to calibrate the sensor and collect and analyze data. (Note: Graphical Analysis and Graphical Analysis Pro doe not allow for manual setup of sensors and thus cannot collect data from a homemade sensor.)<\/p>\n

Use the Vernier Breadboard Cable to connect to a Vernier Interface<\/b>
The Vernier Breadboard Cable connects to a standard electronics prototyping board and provides the following lines:<\/p>\n

\n
\"3334-bb-bta_pin_diagram.jpg\"\/
Analog Breadboard Cable<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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\"3334-bb-btd_pin_diagram.jpg\"\/
Digital Breadboard Cable<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A Vernier interface, such as a LabQuest 2 or LabQuest Mini, can read sensor output signals on two different ranges: 0-5 V or +\/- 10 V. The output of your sensor dictates the lines to which you should connect your sensor. The following are a few of the common cases for homemade sensors:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sensor Output Signal<\/b><\/td>\nHow to Connect to Breadboard Cable<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Analog Voltage: 0-5 V<\/td>\nConnect the sensor output to SIG1 and your sensor’s ground terminal to GND of an Analog Breadboard Cable.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Analog Voltage: +\/-10 V<\/td>\nConnect the sensor output to SIG2 and your sensor’s ground terminal to GND of an Analog Breadboard Cable.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Analog Voltage: milli-volt range<\/td>\nVery small voltages, such as those from a Wheatstone bridge, are most easily read into a Vernier interface via the Instrumentation Amplifier<\/a> (INA-BTA<\/nobr>), rather than a Breadboard Cable. The Instrumentation Amplifier monitors voltages from 20 mV to 1 V (DC or AC). It has several switch settings to allow you to select the best gain and includes auto-ID functionality for each of the six ranges. The Strain Gage Measurement Project<\/a> from Engineering Projects with NI LabVIEW and Vernier<\/i> (EPV, discontinued<\/em>) is an excellent example of using the Instrumentation Amplifier to input a very small voltage signal into Logger Pro<\/i>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Variable resistance<\/td>\nIf your sensor uses a variable resistor, such as a thermistor or photoresistor, a voltage divider is a convenient way to convert the change in resistance into a change in voltage.
\"3334-voltage
A voltage divider places a known resistance (R1<\/sub>) and a variable resistor (RT<\/sub>) in series across a known voltage (Vin<\/sub>). The signal output voltage (Vout<\/sub>) can be measured across the variable resistor. The value of the upper resistor, R1<\/sub>, will determine the range (or swing) of the sensor’s output voltage, Vout<\/sub>. R1<\/sub> should be larger than the variable resistor’s minimum resistance, but smaller than the variable resistor’s maximum resistance.Any power source can be used for Vin<\/sub>, but the 5V line from the breadboard cable is convenient and will produce Vout<\/sub> measurements between 0 and 5 V. For example, in the Building a Temperature Sensor project in Engineering Projects with NI LabVIEW and Vernier<\/i> (EPV, discontinued<\/em>), the thermistor is wired to the Breadboard Cable in this manner: \"3334-thermistor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Digital Voltage<\/td>\nIf your sensor produces a simple “high” voltage or “low” voltage in response to changes in the measurement, you will use the Digital Breadboard Cable. How Logger Pro<\/i> interprets the input values it reads depends on what you identify the sensor as, e.g. a motion detector, photogate, radiation monitor, or rotary motion sensor. See a detailed pin out diagram for each mode here<\/a>. This photogate project<\/a> is a good example of homemade digital sensor.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Calibrate Your Sensor in Logger Pro<\/i><\/b>
After connecting the sensor and interface, calibrate your sensor.
1. Connect the Breadboard Cable to CH1 or DIG\/SONIC1 of your interface and connect your interface to the computer.
2. Start Logger Pro<\/i>.
3. Choose Set Up Sensors from the Experiment menu. To continue, follow the directions below for the type of sensor your are using.<\/p>\n

Analog sensors<\/i>
4. In the CH1 list, select Choose Sensor. From the Voltage list, select Raw Voltage (0-5 V) or Raw Voltage (-\/+10 V), depending on which voltage range is most appropriate for your sensor. Note: At this point, sensor output values will be displayed in the digital meter.<\/p>\n

5. Create a calculated column to perform the calibration. The calibration equation you enter into the Expression field depends on the nature of your sensor.<\/p>\n

A simple linear calibration can be found by measuring the maximum and minimum voltage, Vmax<\/sub> and Vmin<\/sub> respectively, produced by the sensor under the conditions in which it will be typically used. In the Expression field, enter: (“Potential”-Vmin<\/sub>)\/(Vmax<\/sub>-Vmin<\/sub>)<\/p>\n

Digital sensors<\/i>
4. In the DIG\/SONIC1 list, select Choose Sensor. Select the digital device that is most appropriate for your sensor. If you select “Photogate”, you will need to specify which timing mode to use.<\/p>\n

Collect and Analyze Data<\/b>
Now that your homemade sensor is connected to Logger Pro<\/i> and its output signal is calibrated, you can begin data collection just as you would with any Vernier sensor.<\/p>\n

RELATED ARTICLES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can I use Vernier LabQuest sensors with non-Vernier software or interfaces?<\/a><\/p>\n

Do you have an SDK or API for your sensors?<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Vernier Breadboard Cables ( and ) provide an easy way to connect your sensor to a Vernier interface. Once your sensor is connected to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100811,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[784,5655,5656,798,671,108],"class_list":["post-3334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-bb-bta","tag-bb-btd","tag-build-your-own-sensor","tag-diy","tag-homemade","tag-ina-bta"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3334","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\/100811"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}