AM16/32B Relay Multiplexer 28
Appendix C.
Thermocouple
measurement
If the AM16/32B will be used in thermocouple measurements, the practices outlined below should
be followed to make the best possible measurement. The data logger manuals contain thorough
discussions of thermocouple measurement and error analysis. These topics will not be covered
here.
NOTE:
The AM16/32B is not recommended for making highly accurate thermocouple measurements.
Instead, Campbell Scientific recommends the AM25T, which uses an onboard PRT as a
reference junction.
C.1
Measurement considerations
C.1.1 Reference junction
As shown in
and
, two reference junction configurations are possible:
1) reference located at the data logger or 2) reference at the AM16/32B.
C.1.2 Data logger reference
If the reference junction is at the data logger, matching thermocouple wire should be run
between the COM terminals of the multiplexer and the differential input channel on the data
logger (observe TC wire polarity).
The CR6, CR3000, CR1000X, CR800 series, CR300 series, and CR1000 have built-in temperature
references.
NOTE:
The measurement from the CR6 and CR300
PanelTemp()
instruction does not accurately
reflect the temperature of the wiring panel, since it measures the temperature of the main
processing board. Therefore, if the processor or charge (CHG) input are active, the PanelTemp
measurement will be warmer than ambient. This should be taken into consideration if this
measurement is used as a reference temperature for thermocouples.