1. Choose a Suitable Data Logger:

• Temperature Range: Ensure the logger accurately measures temperatures within the recommended vaccine range (typically 2°C to 8°C).
• Storage Capacity: Consider the amount of data you need to store and the frequency of readings.
• Remote Access: To monitor temperature remotely, look for a logger with LAN, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth connectivity. Sometimes, it may be necessary to use a device with Cellular connectivity if none of these is available. Also, consider a device that utilizes cloud-based data storage to allow remote viewing

2. Proper Placement:

• Data Logger Placement: In many cases it is desirable to place the data logger outside the vaccine refrigerator to allow the temperature to be read without opening the door, to optimize wireless connectivity, and to maximize battery life
• Probe Placement: Place the sensor for the data logger in the center of the vaccine refrigerator, away from the door, fan (if present), and any heat sources.
• Secure Attachment: Use a cable tie or adhesive to attach the prober to the shelf securely.
• Thermal Buffer: Consider the use of a thermal buffer such as a glycol bottle or nylon block to help smooth out temperature fluctuations caused by compressor cycling and door opening so the reported temperature more closely mimics the vaccine

3. Configure Settings:

• Sampling Interval: Set the desired frequency of temperature readings (e.g., every hour, every 30 minutes).
• Alarm Settings: Configure the logger to trigger an alarm if the temperature exceeds the recommended range.
• Data Storage: Ensure the logger has sufficient storage capacity to store the desired amount of data.

4. Start Recording:

• Activate the Logger: Turn on the data logger and start recording.
• Verify Functionality: Check the logger’s display or use the accompanying software to confirm that it’s recording data correctly.

5. Monitor and Review Data:

• Regular Checks: Review the recorded temperature data to ensure it’s within the acceptable range.
• Data Analysis: Use the logger’s software or export the data to a spreadsheet program to analyze temperature trends and identify deviations.
• Alarm Notifications: If the logger is configured for alarms, respond promptly to temperature alerts.

6. Data Storage and Reporting:

• Backup Data: Regularly back up the recorded data to prevent loss.
• Reporting: Generate reports to document temperature compliance for regulatory purposes or internal records.

Additional Tips:

• Calibration: Ensure the data logger is calibrated regularly to maintain accuracy.
• Battery Life: Monitor the battery level and replace batteries as needed.
• Remote Monitoring: If using a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular-enabled logger, set up remote monitoring to receive alerts and access data from your smartphone or computer.

By following these steps, you can effectively use a data logger to monitor the temperature in your vaccine refrigerator and ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.

For further information on Vaccine Temperature Monitoring, or to find the ideal solution for your application-specific needs, contact a CAS Data Logger Application Specialist at (800) 956-4437 or request more information.

The post How To Monitor Temperature In A Vaccine Refrigerator Using A Data Logger appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

Accsense monitoring pods use an Internet connection to monitor a wide range of physical values including Temperature, Humidity, Current/Voltage and more. However if you don’t have access to Ethernet, and you still need Accsense alarm capabilities, you can connect a cellular modem to your Accsense system. This gives you a simple and quick way to bring your Ethernet-wired or Wireless pod online. The Applications Specialists at CAS DataLoggers have written up this short 3-Step tutorial to keep you connected to your critical data!

Connecting Your Modem:

1. Your choice of modem depends largely on which cellular carrier you choose.  In North America there are 2 cellular technologies: GSM and CDMA.  In the United States, AT&T and T-Mobile are the main large companies using GSM technologies, while Sprint and Verizon are 2 big CDMA carriers.  There are also many smaller carriers available to select from.  Always ask what technology your carrier uses if you are going to go with a smaller carrier or a prepaid system (if the carrier uses a SIM card, it’s generally a GSM carrier).
2. Once you’ve chosen a particular cellular technology, you’ll need to find a modem that has an Ethernet connection on it and which provides a DHCP connection for the Accsense B1-06 gateway or the A2-05 standalone wired pod.  You’ll also need to check to see if Port 443 needs to be opened in the modem’s firewall.
3. Since the Accsense system’s interface is all contained in the managed webpage at https://secure.sensornetworkonline.com/SSIWeb/, you’re nearly finished after you get the modem properly set up and connected to the cellular network. Note: you can also go to Accsense.com and click ‘Customer Login’ at the top menu. Simply power up the Accsense B1-06 or A2-05 and plug in the Ethernet cable, and then the pod will begin logging data and monitoring for alarms.

A2-05 Power Over Ethernet Logger

The A2-05 Ethernet Temperature monitor is designed for temperature measurement and alarm in medical refrigerators, freezers, cryogenic storage and incubators. The data logger has connections for external RTD and Thermocouple sensors. In the event of a loss of the network connection, the datalogger will store up to 256 data points, or until the connection is restored.

World-Class Medical Monitoring:

Accsense medical monitoring systems are the choice of many distinguished medical and academic institutions including Stanford Hospital and Clinics, the Smithsonian Institute, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, New York Hospital Queens, and the US Navy Medical Center, among many others.

The post How to Connect a Cellular Modem to Your Accsense Pod appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

If you’re seeing extreme temperature readings using the Accsense A2-05 Temperature Data Logger, this problem can be diagnosed and resolved relatively quickly. Although rare, this issue causes users to see high-temperature readings in the range of 240°C, and usually indicates a broken wire, not that the probe itself is damaged. For example, this can occur when a probe cable has snagged after a freezer or fridge has been moved.

Diagnosis:

When you first install an RTD temperature probe on your A2-05 wired pod, you can go online to view the current temperature in order to determine that the pod installation has been completed properly.

If the reading is positive 240°C or -240°C, then one of the probe wires is either disconnected or broken within the probe or the cable itself.

Check Wiring:

To troubleshoot this issue, open the back cover of the data logger and inspect all three connections:  first visually, and then by tugging on each wire. If any of the wires are disconnected, push down the corresponding connection lever and re-insert the wire into the terminal block. Then pull on each wire individually to ensure that the connection is good.

Test the Probe:

If everything is wired properly and you still get extreme temperature readings, then it will be necessary to test the condition of the probe itself. First, open the back cover and uninstall the probe from the terminal block by pressing down on the three levers together and pulling the wires out from their connections. Remove the probe from the A2-05 assembly. You’ll need an ohmmeter or a multimeter to test the condition of the RTD probe. The RTD probe has one wire of a unique color and two wires of a different color. The multimeter should be set for a range of 0 to 200 ohms. We’ll be taking three separate readings:

The first will be across the two similarly-colored wires. This reading should be between 0 and 2 ohms (for an RTD probe with a 10-ft cable).

We’ll take the next two readings between the uniquely colored wire and each of the two similarly-colored wires. The two readings you receive should be approximately 100 to 125 ohms each, and they should match one another to within a tenth of an ohm (0.10).

For Additional Support:

These steps should resolve the issue in the vast majority of cases. However, if after performing these tests and reinstalling the probe, you still receive incorrect temperature readings, call Accsense Technical Support at 800-956-4437 for assistance or email us at support@dataloggerinc.com.

The post Troubleshooting Extreme Temperature Readings with Accsense Installation appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

A Note on Best Practices:

Accsense systems are capable of continually monitoring data at 2 different sample rates: the logging rate and the alarm check rate. The logging rate is the rate at which Accsense records data to the server, while the alarm check rate is the rate at which Accsense monitors the data for alarm purposes.

When users have already set the alarming sample rate, it is usually unnecessary to set the logging rate to a faster value, since Accsense will always monitor data at the check for alarm rate. In fact it’s usually beneficial to set the alarm rate to sample several times an hour and then set a less frequent logging rate, for example once an hour. In the event of a power failure, Accsense will start logging at the alarm sample rate on its emergency buffer, so the buffer will fill up less quickly when users set the logging rate less frequently than the alarm rate.

Doing this also helps ensure that users see fewer gaps in their data in case of a power outage, as opposed to creating a very large number of recordings with a high logging rate. This will also help to prevent ‘false positive’ alarms which can occur during outages, so that users aren’t called out of bed for a false alarm.

We also recommend that users periodically login to their Accsense account to check the system’s data, especially if they have chosen to disable the automatic alarming functionality.

Accsense is already widely used in life sciences applications including biomedical, drug research, and pharmacies storing vaccines and other supplies.

The post Best Practices Using Your Accsense Monitoring and Alarming Data Loggers appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

CAS DataLoggers provides its Accsense wired and wireless monitoring systems to a wide variety of industries including healthcare, the life sciences, and bloodbanks. Using the standard Accsense service level which supports alarm capabilities, you can depend on your system’s default behavior to reliably respond to gateway outage alerts as follows:

How are Outage Alarms Configured? – When a new gateway connects to the Accsense servers, the system automatically enables outage alarming for it, sending the alarm notifications to everyone you’ve added to your default alarm contact list.  This means that all you need to do is login, add your contact details to the default alarm contact list, and you will now receive notification of any outage alarms for that gateway.

When Will I Receive an Outage Alarm? – You will receive an alarm notification if the gateway has not communicated with the servers in approximately the last 20 minutes (specifically 17-22 minutes).  A new entry will also be visible in the ‘Triggered Alarms’ section when you log into the servers.  The entry will either be show in red (active), meaning the servers have still not received any communication from the gateway since the alarm was raised, or black (inactive), meaning communication with the gateway has now been reestablished.  For example an active alarm looks like this:

The ‘Alarm Time’ column tells you the last time that the gateway successfully communicated with the server (not the time that the alarm was raised and notifications were sent). You will not receive further notifications of the failure so long as no further communication with the gateway occurs, and you do not send the active alarm to your alarm history.

What if Communication with the Gateway is Restored? – If the servers receive a successful communication from the gateway, the red (active) alarm entry will turn black.  The system will now resume normal outage monitoring, raising another alarm and sending out notifications in case communication with the gateway fails again.  This means that if the gateway’s connection is failing intermittently with a period of 20 minutes or more between successful connections, you will receive a series of alarm notifications since the system will regard each failure as a separate occurrence of the alarm.

What if I Send an Active Alert to the Alert History? – By doing this you are telling the system that the alarm condition is dealt with.  The system will resume normal monitoring and if the alarm condition still exists or repeats, it will raise a new active alarm entry and send out notifications.

How do I Permanently Disable Outage Alarming for a Gateway? – You can do this by logging on to the website and clicking the ‘Clock’ icon to the right of the gateway in question.  Uncheck the ‘Alarm Enabled’ checkbox and click ‘OK’.

The post Gateway Power or Internet Outage Alerts using Accsense Data Loggers appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

Checklist:

1.  Download and install the Remote Gateway Configuration Utility  (you’ll need to unzip the installer first.)
2. Run the Remote Gateway Configuration program from the Start menu.  (you may need to wait a few seconds for the gateway MAC ID to show up)
3. Click on the gateway MAC ID for the B1 gateway that you want to work with, and then click on the ‘Mesh Control’ tab.
4. For a one-time channel scan, simply click ‘Start Channel Scan’. For an extended scan to see which channel is the quietest over a longer period, click the ‘Perform Continuous Scan’ box.
5. After a few seconds, you’ll see a yellow bar appear on the graph.  If you click on this bar, you’ll get a dialog box confirming that you want to change the channel, and that all previously associated pods will need to be re-associated.  Click ‘Yes’ in this dialog box.
6. The gateway will now reset.
7. Now you’ll re-associate all the pods with the gateway.  This can be done one at a time, by holding down the ‘Assoc’ button on a pod until the blue light flashes rapidly, then pressing the red ‘Associate’ button on the back of the gateway once (you won’t have to hold the button down.)  The second method is to click the ‘Start Remote Gateway Association’ button in the utility.  You can then just hold the associate button on each pod down until the blue light starts blinking.  After all the pods stop blinking, you can then click the ‘Stop Gateway Association’ button (you’ll need to go back into Mesh Control as the gateway will reset itself when going into association mode).

CAS DataLoggers has provided Accsense monitoring and alarming solutions for such demanding clients as the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, New York Hospital Queens, the Smithsonian Institute, and the US Navy Medical Center, among many others.

The post 7 Steps to Change Communication Channels on Your Wireless Accsense System appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

Several Accsense data logger pods can connect with PT-100 RTD temperature probes to provide highly accurate measurements. These probes are 3-wire probes and can present some problems when users do the initial install. With this in mind, the Applications Specialists at CAS DataLoggers have prepared this quick list of troubleshooting tips for users seeing extreme temperature readings.

When logging into the Accsense system, if the indicated temperatures seem to be way out of range, this is an indication that the RTD probe has been miswired, or that perhaps there is a broken wire. If the temperature indicates around 240°C or 400°F, the probe has been wired backwards. If the temperature is around 125°C or 260°F, 2 of the wires have been crossed: the pod has been wired with the odd-colored wire between the 2 wires of the same color. If the temperature is reading around -240°C or -400°F, there is most likely a loose wire or a break in the wire cable. Check the wiring diagram for the pod, noting that ‘EXC+’ and ‘IN+’ will be the 2 wires of the same color, and ‘IN-‘ will be the odd-colored wire.

If all the wires solidly attached, then there is probably a break in the cable. This can often be fixed just by cutting a portion of the cable and stripping back new wire. If that does not fix the problem, you’ll need to replace the probe.

Accsense data logging systems allow wireless or wired monitoring with the use of internal and external sensors to measure common parameters including temperature, humidity, voltage, current, light and vibration readings. The Accsense wireless monitoring system will automatically send data to a secure server where it is stored. With the data coming in, you can setup sophisticated alarms to monitor the data in real-time and send out email, pager or phone notifications whenever an alarm goes off. Using a standard web browser, users can sign in to retrieve reports and graphs or modify the system configuration from anywhere an internet connection is available. Additionally, Accsense systems comply with FDA, JCAHO, HIPAA, and other industry standards.

CAS DataLoggers products are used in a wide variety of applications in remote monitoring, in industrial process and manufacturing industries, for automotive and aerospace data collection, in pharmaceutical manufacturing and storage, and in geological and environmental monitoring. CAS DataLoggers provides configuration assistance, programming, custom system design and assembly, post-sales technical support, and repair and calibration services. Development capabilities include custom data acquisition and data logging systems, test and measurement systems, and portable data collection systems.

The post 3 Ways to Troubleshoot RTD Probes on an Accsense System appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

The post 3 Steps to Connect and Properly Scale a 0-5V Signal to an A1-09 Accsense Pod appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

The reassociation process is a simple 2-step procedure. First, on the A1 series pod, hold down the button marked ‘Assoc’ until you see a blue light flashing rapidly. If you do not see the blue light, the pod may be powered down. The other button is the power button: hold it down until you see a solid blue and a solid green light for a few seconds. Once the pod has a flashing blue light, click the red button located on the back of the gateway.

After clicking the button on the back of the gateway, both devices will show a pattern of flashing lights that will last for approximately one minute. When the gateway lights back to a solid green light on both ends of the light bar, and an intermittently-flashing amber light in the middle, the association is done.  You should now be able to log into the Accsense account and see current data coming from the pod.

Accsense wireless data loggers provide a 90 ft. indoor communication range, operating on battery or AC power. The B1-06 Data Logger Gateway features built-in 10/100BaseT Ethernet to put the pods’ data online for instant access. Each gateway can support as many as 16 sensor pods, which can also be assigned as Repeaters to extend wireless range as needed.

Accsense installations provide customers with turn-key operation and bypass any need for IT professionals or costly training sessions. Since data immediately goes out to the Web, Accsense is the only system on the market that has virtually no impact on server structure or IT overhead, with only a minimal impact on bandwidth. Real-time access to current temperature data sharply decreases staff response times. Also, unlike many integrated systems which present real security issues, Accsense systems offer users peace of mind and protected operation.

The post Reassociating an Accsense Wireless A1 Series Pod with a B1-06 Gateway appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.

Network configuration errors can occasionally crop up when working with wireless monitoring systems. To help diagnose and remedy them, CAS DataLoggers presents this brief tutorial showing you how to troubleshoot network connection issues which may occur using the Accsense model B1-06 Wireless Gateway. We’ll cover two common failure modes, both of which are indicative of network configuration errors. You can also watch our brief YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEh94uSWdQQ.

Gateway Keeps Rebooting:

The first of these network connection issues is called a ‘boot loop.’ When users first connect the B1-06 gateway, it performs a ‘Power on Self’ test. It indicates this through the flashing of multiple lights including:

• Operating Status
• Network Activity
• Error Status

In this error, these three lights flash for a short period of time and then they all go out. At this time, the Network Connection sequence begins. When these three lower LEDs flash again, this means that the gateway is now attempting to obtain an IP address and connect to the DNS server. If this process fails, the gateway will make several more attempts, and if it keeps failing then the Error Status LED will flash red for a period of time after which the gateway will reboot to restart the process.

If the process still does not succeed after several attempts, have your IT technician call Accsense Technical Support FREE at (440) 729-2570 for assistance with your network configuration.

Error Status Light is Lit:

The second condition is simply a flashing red Error Status light, appearing along a solid green Power light with no other LEDs lit. This condition is usually indicative of a change that has been made in network configuration while the gateway has been in proper operation, but it may occasionally occur with a new gateway.

In either case, it is a network configuration error and you should immediately have your IT technician call Accsense Technical Support at (440) 729-2570. Ask for assistance in identifying the change or the error that has occurred in order to properly reconfigure the network.

In a related Error Status issue, you may instead find that the Error Status light is lit solid red immediately after completion of the Power On self-test. When the gateway is plugged in, the three lower LEDs flash for a period, go out, and when they go out, the red Error Status light comes on solid and remains on. This indicates a hardware failure which means that the gateway has failed its Power On self-test.

• If your gateway has been in use for some time, it may have failed or been damaged as a result of some electrical disturbance.
• If it’s a new gateway, it’s highly likely that the unit has been damaged in shipment and therefore will require replacement.

In either case, just call Accsense Technical Support immediately at (440) 729-2570.

For a visual walkthrough, watch our YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEh94uSWdQQ.

The post Troubleshooting the Accsense B1-06 Wireless Gateway appeared first on CAS Dataloggers.