Omega OM-143 User manual

OM-143
USB RH/Temperature/GPP
Data Logger with LCD Display
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User’s Guide

The information contained in this document is believed to be correct, but OMEGA accepts no
liability for any errors it contains, and reserves the right to alter specifications without notice.
Servicing North America:
U.S.A.: Omega Engineering, Inc., One Omega Drive, P.O. Box 4047
Stamford, CT 06907-0047 USA
Toll-Free: 1-800-826-6342 (USA & Canada only)
Customer Service: 1-800-622-2378 (USA & Canada only)
Engineering Service: 1-800-872-9436 (USA & Canada only)
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
For Other Locations Visit omega.com/worldwide
omega.com [email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –4
Key Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –5
Safety Instruction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What’s in the Blister Pack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Product Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 –7
Setup Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –13
Installing/Replacing the Battery.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –8
Install Software and Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 –9
Configure the Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 –13
Operating Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 –17
Deploy the Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 –14
Stop Logging and Import Logs.. . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –15
Viewing, Printing and Exporting Data Logs.. . . 15 –16
Other Indications.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 –17
Specifications.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Maintenance Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2

INTRODUCTION
Thank you for purchasing the OM-143 USB RH/Temperature
/GPP Data Logger with LCD Display. Please read this user’s
manual carefully and thoroughly before using the instrument.
The OM-143 is a low-cost, compact, battery-powered thermo-
hygrometer capable of unattended logging (recording) of the
ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) of an
environment for days, weeks or months. In addition, software
included with the product can also calculate and display
absolute humidity levels in units of grains per pound (GPP) or
g/kg. Also called mixing ratio, GPP is a more useful moisture
metric than RH to water damage remediators. Using RH
alone, a remediator might unknowingly introduce moist air—
with a low RH but a high GPP—during a job’s drying phase.
Data logging can be started or stopped by pushing a button
on the unit, eliminating the need to bring a laptop to the job
site. After a data log has been captured and stored, it can be
uploaded as a .txt file to any PC running the Windows®7 or
Windows®XP operating system after plugging the OM-143 into
one of the computer’s USB ports. The OM-143’s internal flash
memory is large enough to store 16,300 pairs of RH and
temperature readings.
Included with the product—which is slightly larger than a
thumb drive—is a mini-disc with the drivers needed to
interface the unit to the computer, as well as software that
can display a data log file as a table or graph and/or export it
to Microsoft Excel. Exporting to Excel is recommended for
sophisticated trending and analysis of humidity and
temperature data and easy detection of unexpected
excursions.
3
Windows®7 and Windows®XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Applications for the OM-143 include:
• Water damage remediation—Because the OM-143 is
designed to be deployed and left in place over the
durion of the job, it is always in equilibrium with the
environment.
• Process control—The OM-143 enables, simplifies and cuts
the cost of environmental monitoring of office buildings,
greenhouses, food and equipment storage facilities,
wineries, freezers, shipping containers, HVAC/R
installations, computer rooms, labs, libraries, museums
and saunas.
• Electronics manufacturing—Alerts provided by the low-
humidity alarm function of the OM-143 can mitigate the
risk of damaging high-voltage static discharges.
KEY FEATURES
• One button starts/stops data logging without a PC
• Plug-and-play USB 2.0 interface; no need for cables,
cradles or docks
• Large storage capacity: 16,300 pairs of RH and
temperature readings
• 3-1/2-digit LCD displays real-time temperature and
humidity readings; also indicates device working status
and “memory full”
• Included software is used to set: Sampling time from
10 seconds to 12 hours; Hi/Lo alarm setpoints for
humidity and temperature; Temperature unit (°F or °C)
4

• Software also calculates and plots GPP and dew point and
wet bulb temperatures and displays data logs as time-
based graphs synchronized to your PC’s clock
• One-click exporting of logs to Excel or Word
• Long battery life (up to one year)
• Includes USB extension cable
• One-year warranty
SAFETY INSTRUCTION
Do not use the OM-143 in the presence of flammable or
explosive gases.
WHAT’S IN THE BLISTER PACK
The OM-143 comes in a blister pack that also contains
• One “1/2 AA” battery. Replacement batteries
(Part No. OM-EL-BATT) are available from Omega
• A disc with software drivers for Windows7 and Windows
XP computers, the ELusb V1.21.3 program for capturing
data logs and displaying them as curves, and a PDF of
this user’s manual
• A USB extension cable
• A hard copy of this user’s manual (inside the fold-over
card)
5

6
A
B
C
D
E
F
Fig. 1a. The components, controls and connector
of the OM-143
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Fig. 1a below shows the main components, controls and
connectors of the OM-143. Fig. 1b (on the facing page) shows
all possible indications on the OM-143’s display. Familiarize
yourself with their names and functions before moving on to
the Setup Instructions.
A. Temperature and humidity sensor window
B. Battery compartment (latch is on rear of unit)
C. 3-1/2-digit LCD (displays temperature and humidity
readings; also indicates device working status and
“memory full”)
D. USB plug
E. Protective cap
F. MODE button

Display Legend
:indicates reading is higher than high alarm setpoint
for that parameter
▼
▼
:indicates reading is lower than low alarm setpoint
for that parameter
%RH: relative humidity unit
°C: Celsius temperature unit
°F: Fahrenheit temperature unit
[-]188.8: Humidity or temperture value or one of the
following four working status indications
LOG:Unit is logging data
- - -:Unit is in standby mode, ready to log data
FUL: Internal memory is full (and logging has been
stopped)
CON. Unit needs to be configured by software
SETUP INSTRUCTIONS
INSTALLING/REPLACING THE BATTERY
The OM-143 uses a 3.6VDC “1/2 AA” Lithium-ion battery.
To open the battey compartment, use a paper clip or a
screwdriver with a fine point to push in the silver flange
showing through the small square hole in the rear of the unit
7
Fig. 1b .
All possible
display
indications
on the OM-143
LATCH

(left photo on previous page). Push back the cover (middle
photo), remove the old battery (right photo) and insert a fresh
battery in the correct orientation. Then replace the cover,
pushing it forward until you feel and hear a click.
After you replace the battery, the LCD will “wake up” and
begin displaying real-time readings. If the MODE button is not
pressed within 60 seconds, the LCD will be automatically
powered off.
Note: If the battery is removed from a unit before it has been
set up from software or while it is recording, the unit must be
reconfigured before it can be reactivated. If it is not
reconfigured, the unit will remain in standby mode.
INSTALL SOFTWARE AND DRIVERS
1. Place mini-disc in tray of CD/DVD drive, shiny side down.
Close tray.
2. When the AutoPlay window appears, click on “Open folder
to view files using Windows Explorer.”
3. Windows Explorer will indicate that there are two “Files
Currently on the Disc”. One is actually a folder containing
a PDF of the OM-143 user’s manual (as well as PDFs of the
manuals for the OM-141 and OM-144—versions of the
OM-143 without an LCD and with an IR thermometer). Copy
the OM-143 manual to your computer’s hard drive for
permanent storage. The other file is a Windows Installer
Package (.msi file) named “ELusb_V1.23.1.msi”. Double-
click its icon.
4. A window titled “Welcome to ELUsb Installation Wizard”
will appear. Click Next to continue.
5. Within the Software License Agreement window that
appears next, click the I agree (T) box.
8

6. The next three windows advise that the ELusb application
will be installed in your computer’s C:\Program Files (x86)
folder in a new subfolder named <ELusb>, and that
shortcuts to the program will be created on your desktop
and Quick Launch bar. If you want to install the software
elsewhere, click Browse and choose another location
Within each window, after selecting either the default
location or another location, click Next(N) to continue.
7. When the “Preparing to Install” window detailing the
changes to made appears, click Install (I) to continue.
8. Before the installation begins, a User Account Control
window may appear and ask, “Do you want to allow
[ELusb V1.21.3msi] to make changes to this computer?”
Click Yes to continue.
9. The ELUsb Setup Wizard will now install the program on
your computer. On the next window that appears, click the
Completed (F) box.
10. At the bottom of the Device Driver Installation Wizard that
appears next, click Next to continue.
11. The next window to appear is a Windows Security
window. Click on “Install this driver software anyway”
to continue.
12. The next Device Driver Installation Wizard window will
advise you that an OM-141/143/144 driver from Omega
or Kecheng Laboratories was successfully installed and
that your device is now “Ready to use.” Click Finish to
continue.
9

CONFIGURE THE UNIT
Note that the software installation has added a icon to
your desktop. To facilitate access to the program, right-click
on the icon and pin it to both your Start button and the Quick
Start area at the left of your taskbar. You can now eject the
installation mini-disc and store it with your other important
software.
Plug the OM-143 into an available USB port of your computer.
If your computer is a laptop and the only available USB jack
does not have enough vertical clearance to accommodate
jack the OM-143 without mechanically stressing its USB
plug, do not plug the OM-143 directly into the jack. You do
not want the plug of the OM-143 to support any of the
weight of the laptop. If that is the case, plug the OM-143 into
the jack of the included USB extension cable and insert the
plug of the extension cable into the computer’s USB jack.
The first time you plug the OM-143 into your computer, your
system tray will notify you that the computer is “Installing
Device Driver Software”. When the notification disappears
open the ELusb program by selecting it via your Start button,
clicking on its icon on your taskbar, or double-clicking its
desktop icon.
If the software has installed correctly and you have plugged
the OM-143 into a working USB port of your computer, the
following screen should appear on your computer’s display.
10

Note: If you have already used your OM-143 to log data
and it is still in recording mode, plugging the unit in
will cause the following window to appear.
Click Yes to stop recording and import all data recorded to
that point in time. Click No to continue to Setup without
importing recorded data (meaning it will be lost). Click
Cancel to go back and unplug the unit from the USB port.
11
Fig. 2.
The three
options made
available by
plugging the
OM-143 into
a USB port

You can no w use the software to “configure” your OM-143.
Configuring the device means choosing four key parameters:
• Sampling time—How often it makes and stores humidity
and temperature measurements.
• Temperature unit—degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius (°F or °C).
• High and low temperature alarm setpoints
• High and low humidity alarm setpoints
To begin, click on “Set up the USB Data Logger” in the
window shown in the figure above. Doing so will cause the
following window to appear.
Using your mouse, trackball or touchpad, first choose your
Temp Scale and Sample Rate (sampling time). With regard to
sampling time, using the shortest setting of 10 seconds may
result in too much essentially identical data being stored in
memory, potentially limiting its capacity to capture important
events such as an unexpected excursion of temperature or
12
Fig. 3.
The OM-143
configuration
(Setup)
window

humidity. Conversely, using the longest sampling time setting of
12 hours will likely cause important events to go undetected.
If you are an experienced data logger, you already know how
to choose the optimum sampling time for your application. If
you are a novice, pick a sampling time closer to the minimum
sampling time than the maximum, on the assumption that the
OM-143 probably has enough memory (16,300 pairs of RH and
temperature readings) to store all the data you ask the meter
to log—unless you use it to log data for months.
Be aware that if you do manage to fill up the OM-143’s memory
(by logging for a very long time at a very short sampling time,
for example), the device will simply stop recording. It will not
continue recording by overwriting the oldest saved data with
new data.
If you wish, you can also drag the sliders shown in the figure to
set high and low alarm setpoints for temperature and RH.
Once you have chosen your data logging parameters, click
Setup. A window will appear advising that “Setup completed
successfully.” Clicking Setup also synchronizes the OM-143’s
internal clock with your computer’s clock, giving all data logs
to be captured an absolute time reference.
You can now unplug the OM-143 from your computer’s USB
port .The unit is in “standby” mode, ready to begin logging data.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
DEPLOY THE UNIT
The OM-143 is particularly easy to deploy on a job site because
the unit does not need to be plugged into a computer to be
activated (ready to start logging data). Working together, the
MODE button and the LCD serve as the control and indicators
needed to: 1) start and stop data logging and 2) verify and
change the unit’s working status. 13

That leaves only two things to be sure of when choosing a
place to deploy the OM-143:
• The temperature and humidity sensor window
(Fig. 1a, Callout A) is not covered
• The humidity and temperature values at the unit’s
location are “representative” of the room
The OM-143—with its protective cap on—can be deployed
either by laying it on a horizontal surface or by hanging it
vertically within the included plastic mounting bracket. The
back of the bracket features both a magnet and a hanger hole.
Once you have deployed the OM-143, you can initiate data
logging. To start data logging, press and hold the MODE
button for at least 3 seconds. The LCD will display the word
“LOG” to confirm that logging has begun.
STOP LOGGING AND IMPORT LOGS
To stop data logging, press and hold the MODE button for at
least 3 seconds. The LCD will display three dashes (- - -)
to confirm that logging has stopped.
That is how you should stop data logging if you plan to initiate
another logging session later without uploading logged data
to your computer in the interim. If you allow logging to
continue and you do not upload your data to your computer
soon, you risk filling up the OM-143’s memory.
A simpler and safer way to stop data logging is to plug the
OM-143 into your computer’s USB port immediately after
completing a logging session and then use the ELUSB
software to stop logging.
Each time you plug the OM-143 into the USB port, the window
shown in Fig. 2 will appear. When you plug in the unit, it
makes no difference whether it is still logging; the procedure
14

for uploading (importing) data logs is identical. Just click on
the middle selection—Stop the USB Data Logger and
download data—to instantly execute both functions. The
data will be imported as a .txt file. A “Save As” window will
appear, asking you to name the file and choose where you
want it to be stored.
VIEWING, PRINTING AND EXPORTING
DATA LOGS
Immediately after you close the “Save As” window by
clicking on Save, the uploaded data log will automatically be
displayed as a set of curves representing all loggable values.
Fig. 4 is a typical example. The initial display includes all
parameters, including dew point and GPP or g/kg (which the
software automatically calculates) and alarm setpoints that
you may have entered during Setup. To remove any
parameter or horizontal and vertical grid lines from the
overall plot, uncheck its box at right.
15
Fig. 4. A typical initial plot of an imported data log

There are several features shown in Fig. 4 worth noting:
• To mark the position of every recorded data point on the
curve, check the “Mark Points” box at the top of the sidebar
at right.
• To get a higher-resolution view of the data recorded during
a specific period of time, scale up and down the curves by
dragging the slider at the bottom of the window to the left
and right.
• Hovering the cursor over a particular point of the curve
displays all data related to this point—including the
maximum, minimum and average values of the entire
curve—in a shaded box at upper left.
• The dates and times shown on the x-axis scale and in the
upper left corner are in sync with your computer’s clock.
• To print the .txt file of any data log, click the Print virtual
button.
• To open a previously saved data log, click the Open button.
This function is also a vailable as the “View previously saved
data” option shown in Fig. 2.
• To export a file to Excel for advanced trending and
analysis, click the Export to Excel button.
OTHER INDICATIONS
As mentioned earlier, the MODE button and the LCD can be
used together to display real-time temperature and humidity
measurements, and to indicate the current working status of
the OM-143.
Circuitry inside the OM-143 automatically shuts down the LCD
(to conserve battery life) if the MODE button has not been
pressed within the past 60 seconds. That is the case even
16

when the unit is logging data. In other words, the LCD is
normally “asleep”.
To wake up the LCD, briefly press the MODE button. This
first press of the button will cause the LCD to resume
displaying the same indication that was on-screen when th
LCD was last put to sleep.
There are four possible display indications: (1) current
temperature in Celsius, (2) current temperature in Fahrenheit,
(3) current relative humidity (in %), and (4) current working
status. Each press of the MODE button changes the display
to the next indication in the sequence; pressing the MODE
button when the LCD is displaying the unit’s current working
status (4) resets the cycle to (1).
There are four possible working status indications:
• LOG: The unit is currently logging data
• - - -: The unit is in standby mode, ready to log data
• FUL: The unit’s internal memory is full and logging has been
stopped
• CON: The unit needs to be configured by software
When the LCD is displaying a temperature or humidity
reading, it also gives an indication if the reading is outside the
“acceptable” range of readings for that parameter—
assuming that high and/or low alarm setpoints were entered
during the Setup procedure. If an “up” arrow appears at the
left of the reading (see Fig. 1b on p. 7), the measured value of
that parameter is higher than its high alarm setpoint. If a
“down” arrow appears at the left of the reading, it is lower
than the low alarm setpoint for that parameter.
17

SPECIFICATIONS
Temperature Measurement Range -4° to 158°F (-20° to 70°C)
Temperature Measurement Accuracy ±1.8°F (1°C) from 14° to
104°F (-10° to 40°C); ±3.6°F
(2°C) elsewhere in range
Temperature Measurement ±0.2°F (0.1°C)
Resolution and Repeatability
Relative Humidity (RH) 0 to 100%
Measurement Range
RH Measurement Accuracy ±3% from 20 to 80%RH,
±3.5% elsewhere
RH Measurement Resolution ±0.1%
and Repeatability
Internal Storage Capacity 16,300 pairs of RH/Temp
readings
Display 3-1/2-digit LCD with
60 second auto power off
Temperature Response Time 0.5 seconds
Humidity Response Time 5 seconds
Interface USB 1.0/2.0
Length of USB Extension Cable 7.9 in. (200mm)
Dimensions 4.96 x 1.10 x 2.01 in.
(126 x 28 x 51 mm)
Weight <7 oz. (<200g)
Power Source 3.6V non-rechargeable
(1/2 AA) 1200mAh
Lithium-ion battery
Current Consumption <0.2mA
Battery Life (typical) 1 year
18

MAINTENANCE TIPS
• Avoid dropping the unit. Do not subject it to violent shock or
vibration or expose it to strong electromagnetic fields (for
example, near arc welders or induction heaters).
• Keep the unit out of direct sunlight.
• Do not use chemicals or abrasive cloth to clean the display
window or housing.
• Before storing the OM-143 for an extended period of time
(several months or more), remove the battery to avoid
having it leak and damage the unit.
19