------------------------Monitor------------------------- The Newsletter for PC-Based Data Acquisition and Control Issue 39 www.windmill.co.uk October 2001 --------------------ISSN 1472-0221---------------------- Hello. Thank you for subscribing to Monitor and welcome to the October issue. We hope you enjoy it but should you wish to cancel your free subscription please visit https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html CONTENTS ======== * Windmill News: Windmill Chosen for Energy Monitoring Package * More on Energy Monitoring * Data Acquisition Exhibitions * Excel Corner ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Windmill News: Windmill Chosen for Energy Monitoring Package ________________________________________________________ Biodata is offering Windmill software free with their new Microlink energy monitoring units. The Microlink 826 is a small device which collects readings from up to 8 utility meters - electricity, gas, water, etc. It both logs the data locally, and passes it to Windmill for storage on the PC's hard disk. Windmill, which runs under Windows, also charts and tabulates the data so you can see demand in real-time and identify patterns of use. As always with Windmill systems, if you wish you can pass data straight to Excel or to other programs for analysis and report generation. Plus, with our Graphics software, you can quickly create your own data displays. Just draw a background and click where you want live items like analogue meters or bar charts to appear. The system includes up to 30 Microlinks and each can be up to 1 km away from the PC. If you wish you can plug a modem into the Microlink and send the data to a PC anywhere in the world. The low cost package starts at just £295 (around $440 US or 500 Euros). Quantity discounts are available. For more information on the Microlink 826 units visit http://www.microlink.co.uk/ml826.html For a free leaflet about the energy information system, fill in the form at http://www.microlink.co.uk/contact.html For more about the Windmill software see https://www.windmill.co.uk/windmill.html ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ More Information on Energy Monitoring ________________________________________________________ Kathleen Burns, writing in Energy User News, provides an informative article on energy information systems. She highlights some of the key elements of these systems as: - Real-time data access - Flexibility to connect to existing metering devices - Ease of use - Integrated systems (data collection devices and software) - Online reporting capability - Low cost - Capable of monitoring all energy usage-electricity, gas, water supply, and waste streams, plus process-related variables such as temperature and pressure of manufacturing processes For the full article see http://www.energyusernews.com/ Anther article in Energy User News you might find interesting is "Energy Monitoring Evolves into Business Management Tool" http://www.energyusernews.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/ (Link provided courtesy of Energy User News. iCopyright Clearance License 3.5241.16044-11056) Previous issues of Monitor have also covered energy monitoring and related topics. Issue 38, Energy Trading https://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor38.html Issue 35, Monitoring Renewable Energy https://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor35.html Issue 20, Data Logging Tips https://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor20.html Issue 6, Emission Monitoring https://www.windmill.co.uk/survey.html ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Data Acquisition Exhibitions and Conferences ________________________________________________________ The majority of the exhibitions scheduled for the next couple of months are proceeding, however Science & Technology India has been postponed owing to the events of September 11 and the subsequent military action. CIA2001 30 October - 2 November Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre Asia's leading show for chemical and process engineering, controls, automation, testing, measurement, instrumentation and laboratory technology. http://www.chem-asia.com/ Manufacturing Week 2001 30 October - 1 November NEC Birmingham UK Includes 4 exhibitions: Drivers, Motors and Controls; Production; Automation and The Design Engineering Show. http://www.manweek.co.uk/ Postponed: Science & Technology India Due to the events of September 11, and the current situation in the region, the Science & Technology India exhibition has been postponed until April. http://www.exhibitionsindia.com/ The National Measurement Conference 6-8 November Harrogate UK Covers technical developments and innovation in the measurement science industry. http://www.nmpuk.co.uk/conference/ Sicon/01 5-7 November Rosemont Illinois USA The first Sensors for Industry Conference and Exhibition, organised by ISA and IEEE. Aims to bring together professionals involved in all aspects of sensor technologies. http://siconference.org/ NEMEX 2001 7-8 November NEC Birmingham UK The European event dedicated to energy management: energy saving equipment, services and information. http://www.nemex-energy.co.uk/ Scanautomatic 19-22 November Stockholm International Fairs, Sweden Sweden's only exhibition for industrial automation products and services. http://www.swefair.se/scanautomatic/eng/ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Excel Corner: Overlaying Scatter and Stock Charts ________________________________________________________ In Issue 34 of Monitor (https://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor34.html) we discussed options for charting with Excel. As a result of this article we've been asked how to overlay different types of chart, in particular scatter and stock charts. First a quick reminder of what scatter and stock charts are. A stock chart lets you see, for example, high, low and average values for each day or week. An x-y scatter chart plots one variable against another. To overlay one type of chart on the other. 1. Create your Stock Chart. 2. From the Chart menu select Add Data. 3. Select the data for the first set of scatter values. 4. You now need to tell Excel that the new data is not part of the Stock chart, but is to be overlaid as a scatter chart. To do this: from the Chart Toolbar select your new series of data. (If the Chart Toolbar is not visible, enable it from the View menu.) 5. From the Chart toolbar now select XY Scatter as the Chart type. The new data will be overlaid as a scatter chart. 6. Add more data as necessary. 7. If you want to change the x values against which your scatter data is plotted, from the Chart menu choose Source Data. Select the Series tab, delete the current x values and drag and drop the new x values. Note, the above instructions assume you are using Excel 2000. We hope you found this month's Excel corner useful. For details of getting real-world data into Excel see https://www.windmill.co.uk/excel/ If you've any questions on using Windmill with Excel please see our technical support FAQ at https://www.windmill.co.uk/techsupp.html If your problem isn't answered there then fill in the technical support form at either of the above addresses. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ * Copyright Windmill Software Ltd * Reprinting permitted with this notice included * For more articles see https://www.windmill.co.uk We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and use extracts from it on your own web site or publication, providing the above notice is included and a link back to our website is in place. An archive of previous issues is at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html and an index of articles at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html Windmill Software Ltd, PO Box 58, North District Office, Manchester, M8 8QR, UK Telephone: +44 (0)161 834 6688 Facsimile: +44 (0)161 833 2190 E-mail: monitor@windmillsoft.com https://www.windmill.co.uk/ https://www.windmillsoft.com/
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