Measuring temperatures - Classroom

Temperature fluctuations over time can be captured well by the TiePie engineering measuring equipment as this measurement example will show you.
To be able to display measured temperature information on the Windows software, a temperature adapter will be needed. TiePie engineering uses a Voltcraft Temperature Adapter, which can be ordered separately through TiePie engineering. For detailed information about the temperature adapter, mail to .
The temperature adapter provides an interface between a temperature probe and the input of the measuring instrument. The device operates from a 9V block battery. Temperature selection can be set to either Fahrenheit or Celsius. The measuring range of the probe lies between -40 to +250 degrees Celsius. The output voltage ranges from -40 mV to +250 mV. This means that for every Kelvin increase, the output voltage increases 1 mV. Temperature adapter

The voltmeter of the TiePie engineering Windows software can be used to display the instantaneous temperature and log the minimum and maximum values the temperature reaches. Open the voltmeter in the instrument taskbar and set the Measurement in each display to True RMS by right-clicking in each seperate display and selecting the True RMS setting in the Measurement menu. Because we would like to see the measured temperature directly, the mV/K scale has to be corrected. This can be done by increasing the gain by a factor 1000. To clarify that we are actually measuring a temperature, and not simply a voltage, the Units of measure can be set to Degree C in the menu that pops up during a right-click in the display window. The precision of the temperature display can freely be adjusted from 1-5 digits or be left at the automatic setting.

To display minimum and maximum values that are reached during the time the temperature probe is connected, right-click in the display of your choice and choose either Min or Max from the Display measured value menu. As long as the voltmeter is left running, the minimum and maximum values of the temperature are being logged. If you want to reset the maximum values again, you can choose Reset Min. and Max. values from the channel menu.

Another useful feature of the TiePie engineering measurement equipment in cooperation with a temperature adapter is the ability to log the change in temperature over a long time. This can be achieved through use of the transient recorder.

Measuring temperatures over time: transient recorder

The transient recorder can be set to sample at an adjustable interval. This provides the means to measure a signal over a very long time. For example, the sampling speed can be set to 1 second interval between 2 samples, which allows for a total measurement time of 32768 seconds (over 9 hours!). Hence the transient recorder is the ideal instrument to record slowly changing phenomena, in this case, temperature change.

The sampling speed of the transient recorder can be set up by right-clicking on the time axis and choosing the option Sampling speed from the menu. By adjusting the time between two samples and the number of samples, the recorded measuring time can be set.

The vertical axis needs to be adjusted to the temperature adapter again. Right-click on the vertical axis and choose Units gain from the menu. Enter 1000 in the typebox and close the menu again. Don't forget to set the Units of measure to Degrees C to clarify that we're measuring a temperature. If desired, the vertical axis can be adjusted to the temperature range that will be measured by dragging the center of the vertical axis to the bottom.

The measurement is started by pressing the Start button in the taskbar or by pressing 's' on your keyboard.

The current settings should provide a good startingpoint for measuring any temperature change over a long period of time. Measurements can be saved to disk or printed afterwards, allowing for further examination off-screen. Refer to the manual of your TiePie engineering measuring instrument for detailed information concerning the transient recorder.