Which microcontroller for logging performance of wind turbine

Vermonter

Hi Folks
I'm interested in setting up a data logger for monitoring the performance of a small wind turbine which is part of a home renewable energy system. I'm wondering which chip I should use.

I need to -
Measure 0-50mVDC across a shunt
Measure 0-20VDC across the output of the turbine
Measure RPM, preferably on two inputs - one for the turbine blades and one for a wind speed indicator
Store those readings in memory for a month, preferably a few months
Retrieve the data with my laptop

Any additional inputs and outputs would be very welcome, as eventually I would like to be able to monitor the entire energy system, and even have some automatic controls.

From looking at the Parallax site, it seems that most of their microcontrollers have very little memory. I'd like to be able to have at least a few MB of memory to play with. The more the better. Can any of them use a USB memory stick?

Thanks for any info

Post Edited (Vermonter) : 2/23/2008 10:49:45 PM GMT

Mike Green

All of Parallax's microcontrollers can use the USB memory stick datalogger which is a peripheral that can read and write PC compatible files on a USB memory stick. The Stamps, because they don't have interrupts or multiple processors, can only do one thing at a time, but can easily measure RPM (by counting pulses) sequentially for a short period for each of several sources, then use an external ADC to convert the voltage across the shunt, then log the values. You might consider adding a real time clock like the DS1307 in this module from SparkFun www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=99.

You might consider using a Propeller which has 8 processors on chip and can interface directly with an SD card for data logging. It wouldn't need an ADC although would need signal conditioning to amplify the 50mV signal to something more like 3V. It can also monitor the RPMs continuously and wouldn't need a separate real time clock.

phil kenny

All members of the BS2 Stamp family can interface to the Parallax
Memory Stick Datalogger. Using this device you can easily store several
months worth of data.

If you look at some of the most recent posts in the Stamps in Class forum, you'll
see a group of 7th grade students developing a data logging application using
the Memory Stick for capturing temperature and humidity from a rocket being
launched by NASA.

phil

Forrest

If you want a prepackaged system based on the Basic Stamp 2pe - check out the www.emesystems.com/OWL2pepr.htm