Electrical Usage Monitoring

Thread Starter

danportugal

Joined Dec 12, 2009
2
Hi I'm new here. My background is in computer science.

How can I turn a 0-5v output from a hall effect current transducer to RS232/RS485 ascii output?

I'm assuming it probably has to get to a micro-controller first.

Also if you can refer to a split core hall effect transducer that will detect 0-20 amps of AC at 0.1 amp resolutions would be fantastic.
 

russ_hensel

Joined Jan 11, 2009
825
For the hack see lady ada "tweet a watt", which is related. If you are new to uC get some version of the Arduino. ( info on it also at LA and all over the web). If you do not want the hack, just get the Arduino and find out how to use the ADC ( easy )
 

someonesdad

Joined Jul 7, 2009
1,583
It sounds like you're trying to make a current measurement. If you first describe what you want to measure, what decisions you want to make from the data, etc., perhaps someone will suggest some alternative ways to get you where you want to go. Also give an estimate of the amount of money and time you're willing to give to the project, as that can strongly influence what approaches can be used.

For example, if I needed to do this, I'd probably use my Radio Shack digital multimeter to make the reading (here's some software); the meter costs around $70 and you'll need an RS-232 cable too. The meter can be used later for other projects (assuming you don't want a permanent installation). You may, however, have to deal with RS-232 cable length issues if the computer is far from the meter.
 
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