Best Method to Download Data from a datalogger?

You guys all have really great suggestions.

To further clarify my situation.  These truck drivers DON'T want to
bring a laptop onto the field.  Which is why I was thinking about using
some sort of removeable flash storage.  Reading through your
suggestions, seems like I was on the right track.  I already have flash
RAM inside the black box.  So the plan is to have the client download
the data onto a CF card once every few months.

Now the question is... how do I start?

I've only been working in this industry for a year... and I have no
previous experience with ANY type of hardware design.

I've been googling for the past week... and only found CF card adapters
for the PC or linux hard drive replacements.  I see all these
vocabulary:  'Compact Flash Controller.... Compact Flash Adapter...
Compact Flash Connector'

All that vocab means nothing to me.  I don't know if I only need one of
them or all of them!  In most cases, I don't even see a datasheet
attached to these products.  Am I simply using the wrong search
criteria?

Is there someplace I can go to read up on HOW to add a compact flash
functionality to my embedded application?

Could anyone please suggest a book for me to read to buff up on my
general embedded design skills?  Or maybe a website?  You guys all seem
to know what you're doing... how did you acquire all this knowledge?

I have been trying to figure things out on my own... but I'm totally in
the dark...  This is so frustrating!  :-)

-Mercy

Correcton:  I meant MMC  or SD cards not CF cards :-)

Mercy wrote:

> I've been googling for the past week... and only found CF card adapters
> for the PC or linux hard drive replacements.  I see all these
> vocabulary:  'Compact Flash Controller.... Compact Flash Adapter...
> Compact Flash Connector'
>
> All that vocab means nothing to me.  I don't know if I only need one of
> them or all of them!  In most cases, I don't even see a datasheet

You need three things:

1. Physical and electrical interface from your device to the card. This
means a connector and possibly a voltage regulator and level-matching
electronics, depending on your target system.

2. Low-level read/write code to access your flash media at a sector
level.

3. A filesystem. FAT is commonly used in this type of application,
although it is not very robust. I pointed you to a URL where you can
obtain a free FAT implementation to use however you wish. As long as
your firmware is written in C, this is a "plug and play" solution.

CF and SD/MMC are approximately equal in terms of software complexity.
SD/MMC wins on overall difficulty, however, because the electrical
interface is less complex (in particular, fewer pins are required).
That is why I suggested it. Oh, and it's easier to hand-prototype, for
the same reason.

Read the MMC datasheet at <http://www.sandisk.com/Oem/Manuals/>.
Actually, maybe you should read the SD datasheet as well.

If you are still sufficiently out of your depth after reading this
material and googling for something like "interface mmc to 8051" then I
suggest you outsource the project.

Thanks Larwe!

That was very very helpful :-)

-Mercy

I'm not sure what sort of data logging you are doing, but the best once
I have every used  for analog data logging is the Lascar one,
http://tinyurl.com/wfymq

It only costs =A339, 32Kbytes FLASH, usb interface and very easy data
display software.

Lyn






Mercy wrote:
> Thanks Larwe!
>=20
> That was very very helpful :-)
>=20
> -Mercy

Lyn wrote:
> I'm not sure what sort of data logging you are doing, but the best once
> I have every used  for analog data logging is the Lascar one,
> http://tinyurl.com/wfymq
>
> It only costs =A339, 32Kbytes FLASH, usb interface and very easy data
> display software.

I think the OP wants 10 channels, not just one as in this device.

Mercy wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> So my company has a datalogger for trucks and etc.  It's a simple black
> box design, nothing too fancy about it.  Right now the clients download
> data by bringing a laptop to the truck, plugging a null modem cable
> into the RS232 of the black box and downloading the data as a text file
> via HyperTerminal.
>
> We want to make this process easier for our clients.  I have the fun
> task of exploring all the options from CF cards, USB flash drives (Thus
> my previous post asking how to make a USB driver), blue tooth, RFID,
> wi-fi and maybe even satellite.
>

If the amount of data you want to extract from the datalogger is in the
region of 10s of kB you might consider SRAM based iButtons such as the
DS1996 (8kB). The data could be split up into a few of the iButtons if
it doesn't fit into one.
The mechanical interface is as rugged as you're likely to find.

Viktor wrote:
> Mercy wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > So my company has a datalogger for trucks and etc.  It's a simple black
> > box design, nothing too fancy about it.  Right now the clients download
> > data by bringing a laptop to the truck, plugging a null modem cable
> > into the RS232 of the black box and downloading the data as a text file
> > via HyperTerminal.
> >
> > We want to make this process easier for our clients.  I have the fun
> > task of exploring all the options from CF cards, USB flash drives (Thus
> > my previous post asking how to make a USB driver), blue tooth, RFID,
> > wi-fi and maybe even satellite.
> >
>
> If the amount of data you want to extract from the datalogger is in the
> region of 10s of kB you might consider SRAM based iButtons such as the
> DS1996 (8kB). The data could be split up into a few of the iButtons if
> it doesn't fit into one.
> The mechanical interface is as rugged as you're likely to find.

Or try the Ferric RAM (FRAM).  As fast as sram and non-volatile as
flash.   I am still waiting for some 32K bytes sample chips to arrive
anytime now.

In article <1160753322.337205.25720@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>, 
me@linnix.info-for.us says...
> 
> Viktor wrote:
> > Mercy wrote:
> > > Hi All,
> > >
> > > So my company has a datalogger for trucks and etc.  It's a simple black
> > > box design, nothing too fancy about it.  Right now the clients download
> > > data by bringing a laptop to the truck, plugging a null modem cable
> > > into the RS232 of the black box and downloading the data as a text file
> > > via HyperTerminal.
> > >
> > > We want to make this process easier for our clients.  I have the fun
> > > task of exploring all the options from CF cards, USB flash drives (Thus
> > > my previous post asking how to make a USB driver), blue tooth, RFID,
> > > wi-fi and maybe even satellite.
> > >
> >
> > If the amount of data you want to extract from the datalogger is in the
> > region of 10s of kB you might consider SRAM based iButtons such as the
> > DS1996 (8kB). The data could be split up into a few of the iButtons if
> > it doesn't fit into one.
> > The mechanical interface is as rugged as you're likely to find.
> 
> Or try the Ferric RAM (FRAM).  As fast as sram and non-volatile as
> flash.   I am still waiting for some 32K bytes sample chips to arrive
> anytime now.
> 
> 
I've used the Ramtron FRAMS in the 32KB size and S08 package.  I didn't 
need the non-volatility, but I did need  a fast, SPI-accessible RAM of 
significant size.  I used two of them and a bit of logic to create a 
dual-port buffer between a low-power collector and a higher-power logger 
with more RAM and a hard disk.  (10 channels x 16 bits x 120Hz  
CONTINUOUS  for about 6 months  on an average current of 14mA.)  I had 
to buy a hundred to get them about a year ago---and will have only used 
about 30 by the end of the year.   One of the advantages of a high-
margin niche product is that you can make those purchases without 
getting ulcers.


Mark Borgerson

 

Tom Lucas wrote:
>I had a very similar problem with an industrial boiler control where
>the old method was to use a laptop with an IrDA dongle to transfer data.
>I started a thread on it about a year ago called "Upload Options"
>or similar but I can't find it in google.

http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=insubject:Upload-Options+author:Tom-Lucas