Ecotech WinAQMS data acquisition system

Ecotech’s WinAQMS data acquisition system (DAS)is a fifth-generation data gathering and control system that has been specifically designed for use in ambient air, meteorological and emission monitoring applications.

The DAS uses exactly the same software, but is installed on a miniature industrial computer with dimensions marginally larger than that of an iPhone.

The compact system requires less than 7 W of power and features a 64 Gb solid-state hard disk, capable of storing up to 10 years’ worth of data.

It can connect digitally to a wide variety of ‘smart analysers’ and is suitable for use in weather stations or air-quality monitoring systems where space is limited. It has been designed and tested to cope with wide temperature ranges so it offers a solution for applications where air conditioning is not available.

The system interfaces to a range of analysers which includes those manufactured by Ecotech, Met One, Synspec, Dani, Baseline, Thermo, API, Environnment SA etc. The use of RS232 and USB links allows the system to collect data directly from these instruments in digital format, eliminating digital to analog conversion errors. An optional 16-bit termination panel provides a high level of accuracy when interfacing with non-digital sensors.

A variety of communication methods can be used, including modem, ethernet and satellite networks. Data can be retrieved remotely or copied to the logger’s mini SD card.

The system provides supervisory and interactive control from anywhere in the world, enabling calibrations to be performed, system set-up and diagnostic parameters to be viewed/changed, and data to be retrieved at user-selectable intervals. Another module, the WinAQMS’s data pusher, is able to automatically upload data to an FTP server or other applications without data needing to be downloaded first.