Best software for 24/7 Data Logging to txt file on Computer?

Hello,

I have some temperature sensors that I want to log their data 24/7 year round. The Arduino is plugged into windows computer with USB. I dont want to use ethernet shield or an SD Card shield for data logging. I want to log it directly onto PC.

What software are most people using for data logging on their computer? I have been really struggling with finding a good solution. This seems like such a simple thing to do but all my searching through these forums and else which turns up very little.

Today I got Gobetwino working logging data to a txt file for me with a time stamp which was great but the program seems unstable and freezes on me after recording only 50 data points or so. I've searched and looks like others are reporting similar problems. I was attracted to Gobetwino because I could directly log to excel but at this point ill settle for just logging to a txt file or csv file.

I tried using RealTherm with problems as well. Others have been using Processing.. I havent tried this yet. Can processing log data to txt file and give time stamp?

Any help would be much appreciated.

A serial terminal program that logs to a file. That should not be so hard.

joshuagreen55:
I have some temperature sensors that I want to log their data 24/7 year round. The Arduino is plugged into windows computer with USB. I dont want to use ethernet shield or an SD Card shield for data logging. I want to log it directly onto PC.

If the data is actually important to you, logging to on-board SD is a smart idea - even if you never use it. Indeed, the chances are that, when reality prevails, you will use it, as I think it offers the simplest means of file management. There may be some sophisticated manoeuvre in RealTerm for this, but I'm not aware of it. Further, if you find at the end of the second year that the data on the SD is of more value by virtue of it being easier to handle, remember where you heard it first. Local filing offers the painless flexibilty of running multiple parallel files of different formats - all while enabling you to act in a responsible manner by turning the PC off each night.

What software are most people using for data logging on their computer? I was attracted to Gobetwino because I could directly log to excel but at this point ill settle for just logging to a txt file or csv file.

I found Gobetweeno useless and you don't need it to log to Excel. I use PLX-DAQ for that, it works fine, and it's free. Setting it up to work via bluetooth may be a problem as I don't know if it can be set to work around COM40.

I tried using RealTherm with problems as well.

If you mean RealTerm, it should not be a problem. It is essentially intuitive, it works fine, and does run with any COMport.

Here's a pretty good option. Serial Data Logger. Advanced Serial Data Logger software - serial and RS232 port data collection and acquisition software
I've used it several times in real applications.
It can work in the service mode (that is good for 24/7 logging mode).