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| Here's a brief description of each page on our web site. They're arranged under seven topics: Products, Free Stuff, Ordering, Applications, Technical Support, Reference and Tutorials and Serial Communications: RS232, RS485, RS422, Modbus.
- Serial Trouble-Shooting Software
- The free ComDebug software is a terminal emulator that lets you quickly identify any COM port communications problems. For RS232, RS422, RS485 and Modbus devices. It also lets you log data from one instrument.
- Windmill 7 Trial
- Try the new Windmill 7 software with a free trial. If you like what you see you can buy the software for just £50, 60 Euros or $80 US.
- Monitor
- Subscribe to our free, monthly, newsletter for data acquisition news, tutorials and internet resources. Monitor subscribers are also offered a fully working version of Windmill absolutely free!
- Data Acquisition and Control News
- Display live measurement and control news in your own web pages, absolutely free! Or grab the news feed in any news reader or aggregator. If you already subscribe to RSS news feeds just add - http://www.windmillsoft.com/monitor.xml
- Free Literature and Software Demos
- Send for free literature and download a Windmill or Streamer demo.
- Windmill Demo
- Gives a brief summary of Windmill, and help on unpacking and using the demo. Note the demo is quick way to show you what Windmill can do: you can't log read data with it. It will not work under Windows 7: for this you need the Windmill 7 Trial.
- Streamer Demo
- Gives a brief summary of Streamer, and help on unpacking and using the demo.
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- Your Application
- We'd like to feature your application of Windmill on these pages. Fill in our form and tell us about your project.
- Logging data during High Pressure Frying
- Food scientists use Windmill to study pressure frying.
- Investigating Wheat Yields
- Measuring temperature and humidity in greenhouses.
- Monitoring Oxygen Consumption of Fish
- Windmill continually logs data from oxygen electrodes.
- Data logging from load cells, motion sensor and an RTK receiver
- Calibrating tension meters to improve mooring safety on semi-submersible oil rigs.
- Continually measuring ripening grape weight
- Windmill monitors the weight of wine grapes.
- Monitoring Liquid Uptake in Rock Samples
- Windmill helps research into radioactivity at the Yucca mountain.
- Real-Time Fuel Consumption Monitoring
- Interface a vehicle's on board diagnostics system to a laptop PC.
- Measuring Soil Health by Continually Monitoring CO2
- New laboratory method reduces costs for reliable, continuous measurements of CO2 evolution using Windmill software, Excel and a conductivity meter.
- Climate Change Research
- Windmill monitors and controls environmental conditions such as CO2 concentration, temperature, humidity and photosynthetically
active radiation (PAR).
- Diesel Engine Research
- New research uses Windmill to investigate how diesel engine fuel and lubricants affect engine emissions.
- Detecting Oil Contamination
- Research scientists use Windmill to find the source and extent of oil pollution.
- Seabed Surveying
- Marine and Estuarine Ecology Group use Windmill for seabed mapping and surveying.
- Automotive Crash Testing
- Windmill improves automotive crash testing procedures.
- Testing Food Processing Equipment via I2C
- A manufacturer is using Windmill to test its I2C-based thermostats.
- Investigating Pollution from Submarine Springs
- A Geological Survey team is using Windmill software for easy and accurate measurements.
- Temperature Monitoring of Hospital Freezers
- A London hospital is using a Windmill 751-TC system to monitor the conditions of their low temperature liquid nitrogen freezers.
- Monitoring Wheel Slip in Trains
- A British train operating company can now quickly deal with skid conditions thanks to an Internet based system.
- Mapping Dye Dispersion
- Marine scientists are monitoring the dispersion of sewage using a fluorometer, GPS and Windmill software.
- Condition Monitoring for Fish Farming Research
- The Seafish Industries Research Station is using Windmill to monitor their fish populations.
- Data Acquisition from Torque Meters
- Send data from torque meters directly to an Access database with the free Windmill software.
- Monitoring Renewable Energy
- Windmill calculates photovoltaic solar panels' power output and conversion efficiency.
- Data Logging from Pilot Plant
- Windmill software logs reactor temperatures, reactor jacket flowrate, reactor pressure, vapour, distillate and condenser coolant temperatures, weights, reagent flows and process analytical instrument readings.
- Measuring the Flow Rate of Powder
- The free Windmill LabIML software enables scientists in a Department of Pharmaceutical
Technology to monitor powder "flowability".
- Teaching Technology
- Windmill is being used with a Parallax BASIC Stamp to create an inexpensive laboratory tool for teachers of sciences and environmental studies.
- Control Technology in Education
- A new education initiative is using the Windmill Software demo to help explain control technology. The Windmill Graphics simulation software was seen as essential for student's Information Technology core skills.
- Remote Sensing
- Thanks to Windmill, automated sea-floor mapping has become available for anyone with access to a sonar, GPS and a laptop PC.
- Environmental Monitoring
- Companies now have a legal requirement to "clean" waste gases, and maintain records to prove emissions don't exceed current limits. Windmill Software is helping with this task.
- Wind Farm Energy Monitoring
- Windmill Software is currently monitoring renewable energy generation and usage at an experimental site in Leicester (UK).
- Windmill 7 Technical Support
- Technical support page for Windmill 7, COMIML and ComDebug.
- Getting started with ComDebug and the COMIML Serial Driver
- How to configure Windmill 7 to log data from any instrument communicating over RS232, RS422, RS485, Modbus or TCP/IP.
- Debugging Noisy Measurement Hardware: Fixing Fluctuating Readings
- How to test whether there is a problem with your hardware, power supply or environment. With special reference to pH but also applicable to other measurements.
- Trouble-Shooting RS232 Connections
- Covers the RS232 standard and what to do if you if you have problems getting data through the com port.
- Windmll Serial Port Driver Settings
- When configuring data acquisition software to work with your serial instrument, you must tell the serial driver exactly what settings your instrument is using. This page gives example settings for a range of instruments and devices.
- USB-Serial Converters
- Tips on using USB-Serial converters for data acquisition.
- Com Port Settings
- What the com port settings mean: baud rate, parity, etc.
- Parsing Messages to Extract Data from RS232 Instruments
- Tips on extracting data values from strings sent from instruments with RS232 ports.
- Data Logging Tips
- Logging data to a series of files, automatically overwriting old data,
- Logging Only New Data
- Notes on using the Windmill Logger program to record only new data, for example when data is sent when you press a button on an instrument.
- Routing Data to Excel
- Help on transferring data between your hardware and an Excel spreadsheet.
- Charting Data in Excel
- Help on drawing charts in an Excel spreadsheet.
- Routing Data to OpenOffice
- Help on transferring data between your hardware and an OpenOffice spreadsheet.
- How to collect data from NMEA Instruments
- About the NMEA standard and connecting NMEA devices to the PC.
- Connecting a GPS Receiver to a Laptop
- Connect your GPS receiver to your PC.
- Interfacing a Garmin GPS
- For sea and lake floor mapping, and whenever you need spatially referenced data.
- Interfacing a Modbus Device
- Troubleshoot Modbus connections with our free ComDebug software.
- Interfacing a Turner Fluorometer
- Use Windmill to read data from your Turner Fluorometer balance.
- Interfacing a Sylvac Dial Gauge
- Settings for using Windmill with a dial gauge or digital indicator.
- Interfacing a Mettler Toledo balance
- Use Windmill to read data from your Mettler Toledo balance.
- Interfacing a Sartorius balance
- Settings for using Windmill with a Sartorius balance.
- Interfacing an Adam balance
- Use Windmill to read data from your Adam balance.
- Interfacing a Denver balance
- Settings for using Windmill with a Denver balance.
- Interfacing a Quadra-Chek 2000
- Settings for using Windmill with a Quadra_Check 2000 Optical Reader
- Interfacing a RFID Reader
- Settings for using Windmill with a RFID reader.
- Connecting On-Board Diagnostics to a Laptop
- Continually log data from your vehicle and display it in real time.
- Interfacing a Parallax BASIC Stamp
- Turn your Stamp into a multi-channel datalogging instrument.
- Interfacing a Transcell Digital Indicator
- Use Windmill to read a Transcell display.
- Interfacing a Torque Meter
- How to connect a Torque Meter to a PC using Windmill software.
- Interfacing an A & D Balance
- How to connect an A & D Balance to a PC using Windmill software.
- Interfacing a Datel Datataker
- Settings for connecting a Datel Datataker to a PC.
- Interfacing an Ohaus Pioneer Balance
- Use Windmill to log data from an Ohaus Pioneer Balance.
- Interfacing a Pinnacle Advanced Energy 6kW DC Power Supply
- Pinnacle data settings for Windmill ComDebug.
- Tresna Digital Indicator connected to the PC via a Win-1 Special Interface, Series:Q05
- Tresna data settings for Windmill ComDebug.
YSI Oxygen Meter
- YSI data settings for Windmill ComDebug.
- Guide to Seafloor Mapping
- Step-by-step guide to mapping the marine environment.
- Backing up Windmill
- Which files to save to back up Windmill.
- Windmill Help Files and Manuals
- You can download the latest on-line Help files for our software - get an in-depth explanation of how to use each program.
- Installation Notes: Windmill 4.3
- Step-by-step guide to installing the free Windmill 4.3 and LabIML software.
- Windmill 4.3 FAQ
- Questions we've been asked about using our free software.
- Windmill LabIML Checklist
- Installing the free LabiML serial driver.
- Windmill LabIML Setup File Library
- Speed up configuration of your instrument by downloading its setup file.
See also our serial communcication tutorials below.
- GIS
- Article on data acquisition for geographical information systems.
- Measuring Temperature
- Points to consider when measuring temperature.
- Measuring Strain
- Points to consider when measuring strain.
- Routing Data to Excel
- Help on transferring data between your hardware and an Excel spreadsheet.
- Excel Charting Tips
- Notes on choosing the best type of Excel chart to display your data.
- Getting live data from a web page into Excel
- How to get tables of data from web pages into Excel, which automatically update when the web site updates.
- Using DDE with Excel and other Applications
- How to transfer data between applications using DDE.
- User Interface Design
- Considerations for effective user interface design - HMIs, process mimics, etc.
- Engineering Units
- Style conventions for using units and history of the different systems.
- RS232
- The RS232 standard and connections.
- RS485 and RS422
- RS485 and RS422 connections.
- Making Measurements Through the COM Port
- Notes on the RS232 COM port settings.
- USB-Serial Converters
- Tips on using USB-Serial converters for data acquisition.
- DAQ Glossary of Data Acquisition
- An explanation of terms used in computerised data acquisition, control, instrumentation, test and measurement.
- Guide to Seafloor Mapping
- Step-by-step guide to mapping the marine environment.
- Interfacing NMEA Instruments
- NMEA explained.
- Interfacing RFID Readers
- Connecting RFID readers to a PC.
- Wireless Data Acquisition
- How to wirelessly connect your measurement devices to the PC.
- Affordable Sensors: Changing the Rules of the Game for Future Farming
- Increasing farm productivity and crop usage through a fusion of agriscience with non-traditional technologies, such as sensors and informatics.
- Monitor Newsletter Archive
- Issue 1 - transducer monitoring
Issue 2 - connecting equipment to your PC
Issue 3 - understanding analogue-to-digital converter specifications
Issue 4 - analogue inputs and types of a-d converters
Issue 5 - using your PC to measure temperature
Issue 6 - software survey and emission monitoring
Issue 7 - timing and counting
Issue 8 - filtering
Issue 9 - designing user interfaces
Issue 10 - choosing a data acquisition system
Issue 11 - differential v single-ended inputs
Issue 12 - product testing
Issue 13 - feeding data into Excel, VB programs, etc
Issue 14 - standards
Issue 15 - remote sensing and RS232
Issue 16 - magazines and visual basic
Issue 17 - measuring strain
Issue 18 - process control and survey
Issue 19 - Windmill tips and free software
Issue 20 - data logging tips
Issue 21 - Access and Visual Basic
Issue 22 - laboratory tool and acronyms
Issue 23 - weather monitoring
Issue 24 - USB data acquisition
Issue 25 - index and exhibitions
Issue 26 - multiplexing
Issue 27 - engineering units
Issue 28 - internet DAQ, GPIB
Issue 29 - low cost USB
Issue 30 - GPS and train wheel slippage
Issue 31 - monitoring powder flow rate
Issue 32 - serial communications and com port software
Issue 33 - data logging from pilot chemical plant
Issue 34 - charting and excel
Issue 35 - monitoring renewable energy
Issue 36 - analogue outputs
Issue 37 - automating electroforming processes
Issue 38 - free software update, Excel corner
Issue 39 - energy management, Excel corner
Issue 40 - tenth anniversary, sensors
Issue 41 - monitoring fish farms, Excel corner
Issue 42 - modbus, RS232 COM port
Issue 43 - survey results, exhibitions
Issue 44 - fluorescence mapping, GIS
Issue 45 - triggering data acquisition
Issue 46 - DAQ Index; COM Port Settings
Issue 47 - PLCs and Excel
Issue 48 - monitoring houses; teaching technology
Issue 49 - coral reef monitoring; voltage inputs
Issue 50 - accuracy of temperature measurements
Issue 51 - protecting the water table; Excel corner
Issue 52 - interfacing NMEA instruments over RS232
Issue 53 - strain package; Excel corner
Issue 54 - temperature packages; hospital freezer monitoring
Issue 55 - powder flow research; Excel corner
Issue 56 - Windmill and I2C; energy monitoring
Issue 57 - resistance measurement
Issue 58 - investigating pollution from submarine springs
Issue 59 - high speed data collection software
Issue 60 - transient capture over USB
Issue 61 - people counting
Issue 62 - automotive crash testing
Issue 63 - train brake testing
Issue 64 - Windmill 6 launched
Issue 65 - bottling quality control; humidity measurement
Issue 66 - data acquisition survey; Excel corner
Issue 67 - dynamic data exchange tutorial
Issue 68 - alarm handling
Issue 69 - current monitoring; parsing data
Issue 70 - generating reports in Excel
Issue 71 - control systems
Issue 72 - live data acquisition news feed
Issue 73 - new footfall measurement software
Issue 74 - RS232 handshaking explained
Issue 75 - locating oil contamination
Issue 76 - seabed surveying and mapping
Issue 77 - data acquisition
Issue 78 - data logging
Issue 79 - data logging II
Issue 80 - tensiometers; variable speed drives
Issue 81 - materials testing; PID control
Issue 82 - WiFi and RS232 instruments
Issue 83 - troubleshooting RS232 connections
Issue 84 - Mettler Toledo balances; OpenOffice
Issue 85 - Parallax BASIC Stamp; OpenOffice
Issue 86 - DAQ Glossary
Issue 87 - monitoring diesel engines in particulate emission research
Issue 88 - new people counting software
Issue 89 - DGPS and Galileo
Issue 90 - DAQ in climate change
Issue 91 - gas sensor monitoring
Issue 92 - pH Measurement
Issue 93 - pH Update
Issue 94 - USB; DAQ Exhibitions
Issue 95 - range and resolution
Issue 96 - drift and calibration
Issue 97 - determining soil health
Issue 98 - resetting a counter from Excel
Issue 99 - USB-serial converters part 1
Issue 100 - USB-serial converters part 2
Issue 101 - USB Box to measure strain
Issue 102 - Monitor Survey
Issue 103 - LabIML checklist
Issue 104 - serial driver checklist
Issue 105 - DAQ programming tools checklist
Issue 106 - excitation
Issue 107 - interfacing a vehicle's data (OBD)
Issue 108 - people counting
Issue 109 - NMEA checklist
Issue 110 - wireless data acquisition
Issue 111 - monitoring liquid uptake
Issue 112 - RS232 to Ethernet; Web to Excel
Issue 113 - backing up Windmill
Issue 114 - interfacing a Sartorius balance; Survey
Issue 115 - interfacing a Garmin GPS
Issue 116 - interfacing a Sylvac dial gauge
Issue 117 - emailing on alarm in Excel; interfacing a Transcell
Issue 118 - messages from RS232 instruments I
Issue 119 - messages from RS232 instruments II
Issue 120 - ASCII codes for serial instruments
Issue 121 - number formats in Excel
Issue 122 - debugging noisy measurement systems
Issue 123 - LVDTs, pivot tables in Excel
Issue 124 - DAQ glossary
Issue 125 - Excel, DAQ exhibitions
Issue 126 - measuring torque
Issue 127 - sensors in agriculture
Issue 128 - 5 ways to speed up data acquisition
Issue 129 - 7 ways to reduce the size of the Powerpoint file
Issue 130 - Choosing the sampling rate
Issue 131 - People counter
Issue 132 - interfacing a Remontec sonar
Issue 133 - Excel, DAQ exhibitions
Issue 134 - DAQ Glossary Update
Issue 135 - intefacing an ICP Das module
Issue 136 - controlling analogue inputs with Windmill
Issue 137 - Excel, DAQ exhibitions
Issue 138 - Continually logging grape weight
Issue 139 - Automatically starting logging
Issue 140 - Which version of Windows?
Issue 141 - Windows 7
Issue 142 - Energy Management
Issue 143 - Using free DAQ software
Issue 144 - Data acquisition and Linux
Issue 145 - Finding data in serial messages
Issue 146 - Monitoring oxygen consumption
Issue 147 - Interfacing a Denver balance
Issue 148 - USB DAQ drivers for Windows 7
Issue 149 - Windmill Help files
Issue 150 - Windmill 7 launched at just £50
Issue 151 - Free logging software; Modbus Settings
Issue 152 - Multiplexing
Issue 153 - Automating test sequence control
Issue 154 - Thermocopule monitoring
Issue 155 - Half price data acquisition and control
Issue 156 - Hexadecimal data and RFID
Issue 157 - Strain measurement
Issue 158 - Data logger launched
Issue 159 - Understanding RS485
Issue 160 - New thermocouple logger
Issue 161 - Understanding TCP/IP: logging via Ethernet and Internet
Issue 162 - Windmill Launch free TCP/IP software
- Getting Started with COMIML and ComDebug
- How to configure Windmill to read data from instruments connected to the COM port over RS232, RS422, RS485, Modbus or TCP/IP.
- Making Measurements through the COM Port
- A full explanation of the COM port settings: baud rate, parity, etc.
- RS232 Wiring and Trouble-Shooting Connections
- If you cannot pursuade your serial instrument to send a reply to the software, read this.
- RS232 Handshaking
- Hardware and software handshaking explained.
- Interfacing a Modbus Device
- Troubleshoot Modbus connections with our free ComDebug software.
- Windmill COMIML
- Serial device driver which handles RS232, RS485, RS422 and Modbus instruments.
- Configuring the COMIML Serial Driver
- Step-by-step instructions on configuring the data collection and control driver for RS232, RS422, RS485 and modbus devices.
- Parsing Messages to Extract Data from RS232 Instruments
- Tips on using ComDebug to extract the data values from strings sent from instruments with RS232 ports.
- Free Serial Troubleshooting software: ComDebug
- Lets you communicate with almost any RS232, RS422, RS485 or Modbus serial device. Extensive trouble-shooting capabilities make it ideal for solving comms problems, or for quickly checking that you can communicate with your instrument before starting to automatically acquire data.
- Windmill 7, COMIML and ComDebug Technical Support
- Help using the latest version of our software.
- ASCII codes for serial instruments
- Issue 120 of Monitor lists the ASCII codes commonly used by RS232 data acquisition devices.
- Real-world COMIML configuration example
- Issue 47 of Monitor used a real-world example of how to
configure COMIML for use with a custom PLC.
- USB-Serial Converters
- Tips on using USB-Serial converters for data acquisition.
- Understanding RS485 and RS422
- Find out the benefits of RS485 and RS422, differences between them, wiring options, how to prevent voltage reflection and how to avoid serial errors. Everything you need to know about using RS485 for data acquisition and control.
- Serial Communications: RS422, RS485 and Modbus
- Issue 32 of Monitor covered reading RS422, RS485 and Modbus instruments through the COM port.
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- Connecting a GPS Receiver to a Laptop
- Connect your GPS receiver to your PC.
- Interfacing a Garmin GPS
- For sea and lake floor mapping, and whenever you need spatially referenced data.
- Interfacing a Mettler Toledo balance
- Use Windmill to read data from your Mettler Toledo balance.
- Interfacing a Sartorius balance
- Settings for using Windmill with a Sartorius balance.
- Interfacing a Parallax BASIC Stamp
- Turn your Stamp into a multi-channel datalogging instrument.
- Interfacing a Transcell Digital Indicator
- Use Windmill to read a Transcell display.
- Interfacing a Quadra-Chek 2000 to Excel
- See how Windmill resulted in a 90% increase in efficiency for a company using a Quadra-Chek 2000 optical measurement system.
- Interfacing a Desoutter TMP220 Torque Meter
- The settings for a Desoutter TMP220 Torque Meter plus brief notes on capturing Torque Meter data to an Access database.
- Guide to Seafloor Mapping
- Step-by-step guide to mapping the marine environment.
- Interfacing NMEA Instruments
- NMEA explained.
- NMEA Checklist: Data Aquisition with Windmill
- How to use Windmill to collect data from NMEA instruments.
- Windmill Software
- A suite of data acquisition and control software for laboratory and industry. Buy the core modules and add others as the need arises.
- Optional and Standard Windmill Modules
For a list of all the Windmill modules and their prices see our data acquisition catalogue.
- Windmill Alarm Logger
Alarm logging over distributed and stand-alone systems.
- Windmill Blackboard
Enter data from the keyboard and record batch numbers or readings from mechanical instruments alongside digitised signals. Also lets you process the data before recording it.
- Windmill Chart
Real-time charting for the PC. One of Windmill's core modules.
- Windmill ComDebug
Free terminal emulator software to read almost any RS232, RS422, RS485 or Modbus device.
- Windmill COMIML
Serial device driver which handles RS232, RS485, RS422 and Modbus instruments.
- Windmill DigitalOut
Control any number of digital outputs
- Windmill Graphics
Powerful, yet easy to use, virtual instrument and process mimic generator.
- Windmill Harvester
Route data from many different sources into Windmill.
- Windmill IML Tools
Active X control for data acquisition from Excel, JavaScript, Visual Basic, etc - speed up test and measurement programming tasks.
- Windmill Logger
Flexible data logging program. One of Windmill's core modules.
- Windmill Modbus Driver
Connect Modbus devices to your PC. Includes Windmill's core logging, charting and control programs.
- Windmill Replay
Play back logged data files graphically.
- Windmill SetupIML
Configure the measurement hardware.
- Streamer Software
Waveform capture software with real-time charting.
- Windmill Test-Seq
Versatile test sequence control.
- Windmill Test-Seq for Incinerators
Monitor atmospheric emissions, log data and generate reports.
- Windmill Remote Software
Condition monitoring over the internet.
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- 751 SBox
- All-in-one USB strain measurement box.
Search
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Subject index
List of the contents of this site by subject.
Monitor Index
List of topics covered in our newsletter by subject.
Windmill in the News
What the press has to say about Windmill Software and our products
Other Sources of Information
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