Sensors take USB route

DataShuttle is such a unique and clever product that although it's been available for several years, some people are still incredulous to discover that yes, you can hook up thermocouples, pressure sensors and just about any other transducer to a single box - which in turn links directly to a PC to display the results, all at the same time. Now it's been made even easier to use.

The parallel port DataShuttle has been around for some time, and has a huge base of users in all sorts of applications. Many just couldn't live without this ingenious little device, it seems. And many couldn't really see how it could be easier to connect a whole selection of sensor signals straight into a PC without the need for cards or anything extra. But as PC standards have moved, an opportunity has come up for DataShuttle to be made even more straightforward to use: the introduction of the USB port.

Now found on almost all PCs, the USB port has been a revelation for connecting peripherals such as printers and scanners to a PC. Just plug and unplug them at will, and if you want to attach a whole bunch of peripherals at the same time, just buy a small USB 'hub' at low cost. But now of course, one of those peripherals could be a DataShuttle, with a whole string of sensors hanging off it.

The introduction of USB has inspired some other manufacturers to enter the market for products to connect sensors to PCs. But be careful. Not only do these not have the pedigree of DataShuttle, but they won't have the incredible range of signal handling capability. DataShuttle/USB allows signals from ±20V to ±30mV to be mixed and matched with thermocouples and frequency inputs. What's more, it comes complete with excellent software for display and logging which means you can hook up your sensors to a PC straight out of the box. And starting at £595, it looks an unbeatable proposition to us.