MS-T

The MultiSensor family provides a very low cost solution for the need to monitor, measure, record and alarm, remote parameters. MultiSensors are not designed for high degrees of accuracy, but are intended more as relative indicators of the conditions they monitor. The enclosures are not weather proof; they are intended for indoor use and to protect the electronics from coming in contact with external items that might cause failure or damage. With the exception of MS-T, all MultiSensor products measure temperature and one additional parameter.

The temperature measurement is made with a DS2438Z. The device is not calibrated, but empirical data shows it to be accurate within a few degrees of actual, with an operating range of -40 to +85 degrees C. Because the sensing device is partially enclosed and mounted to the PCB, the response time to temperature changes will relatively slow. Care should be taken not to place the sensor in direct sunlight, as the radiant heat will be partially trapped inside the enclosure and cause readings higher than ambient.

MultiSensors, like all 1-Wire slaves, can operate on "parasitic" power. That is, they use the power contained in data signal of the 1-Wire bus, with a capacitor to sustain them during the zeros. Unlike most other 1-Wire devices, MultiSensors have an AUX jumper. This jumper connects the Vcc line on the sensor directly to the power source of the serial port (via the master Link), thus providing a constant Vcc to the sensor independent of what the line signal doing. The AUX jumper is set to provide Vcc when shipped from the factory.