USB Voltmeter

[swuster]

I'm looking for a device I can use to measure analog voltage (up to 25V) and send the data to a PC via USB. Only really need one input, though it wouldn't hurt to have more. My main concern is that it needs to be pretty small and light - any ideas?

The few I've seen online are either too bulky or too costly. It would also be nice to have some sort of software platform to display the data as well..

Thanks for the input!

[vk6kro]

You can get multimeters with USB output.
Like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter-Interface/dp/B000LQONYM

They are also available with RS232 serial port outputs.

[MATLABdude]

You can get multimeters with USB output.
Like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter-Interface/dp/B000LQONYM

They are also available with RS232 serial port outputs.

I think most voltmeters still have serial (RS-232) output. However, you can pick up a USB-RS-232 adapter pretty cheap these days (~$10 to $20).

[swuster]

Well, the thing is I'm looking to try and have wireless voltage monitoring. We've already got the wireless infrastructure working in the form of a USB device server which broadcasts to a router; hence I need an option that is as portable as possible. Spending $70 on a DMM for its PC interface ability seems overkill when all I really need is the voltmeter and the PC output.

[vk6kro]

I just fed "USB voltmeter" into Google and got dozens of products.

So, try that and have a read of what is on offer.

[MATLABdude]

If you know how to program a PIC, and some basic PC interfacing, you could do this for ~$2 plus a few resistors maybe a capacitor, and a connector which will cost twice what you spend on the rest:
http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en533924

This sort of thing is great if you need to make lots (emphasis on lots) of individually cheap voltage sensors. If you don't, you're better off buying a (decent) multimeter since they tend to be quite versatile, and invaluable to any electronics hobbyist. I find serial output to be really nice for automated datalogging (i.e. when you want to monitor something that's running overnight).