The ‘PASPort’ range of ‘USB port’ sensors plug straight into
the latest PC’s without the need for an interface box or power supply. Each
sensor connects to a 'USB link' which then plugs into the computer. The
software fires up in response and, with a click, starts measuring. The systems
come with 'EZScreen' software and 'Data Studio Lite' which ought to satisfy
most needs without further cost.
This system is much more than one to use for measuring
temperature. It's worth looking beyond this. PASCO’s PASPort sensor range
includes the highly innovative Visual Accelerometer (£145 approx). This has a
line of ten LEDs which light up in turn to measure and so visualise
acceleration. Push the sensor in one direction to see one or more red LEDs
illuminate, push it in the other to see the green LEDs. Place it on a trolley
(US='cart’), wheel it down a track or bounce it from a spring and you quickly
find yourself with the most effective teaching tool in ages. The Visual
Accelerometer works well without a computer but connect it with a ‘USB-Link’
and run Data Studio software (for PC, Apple, OS-X) and you have a handy
accelerometer. This means that you can not only see acceleration graphs appear
live, if you use a Force sensor as well, you can plot force against
acceleration and do ‘F=ma’.
And then there is a smart colorimeter which without fuss
records absorbance over four wavelengths simultaneously. If that’s not something
you’re used to doing, try it as you study the reaction order of bleaching a
dye. You’ll see four graphs, quickly choose the best and will soon realise that
colorimetry works much better using technology. Other sensors in this range
include a drop-counter for titrations, a turbidity sensor and a carbon dioxide
sensor. That's not to say you need everyone of these - rather you can get say,
a pH sensor, a drop-counter and two USB links to give a great one-off system.
Anything else you have will not do this as easily as this.
You can use a ‘PASPort Xplorer’ instead of a ‘USB link’ to
connect sensors with the computer. This unit is a data logger that records
sensor readings and shows you them on a screen. A few buttons and a menu system
allow you to set options for recording data. To upload the data to the computer
you connect ‘PASPort Xplorer’ with a standard USB cable. (NB ‘Explorer’ is a
popular name - hence LogIT ‘Explorer’)
The PASPort range is the best engineered system we have
seen. On the surface you will enjoy its positive, unambiguous connections to
the computer. After that you notice how well the software and hardware talk to
each other. I am impressed - but it is not without reason. After doing scores
of demonstrations for INSET days, courses and conferences, PASPort’s
reliability shines. Never do I get the feeling, like on so many other systems,
that software and hardware do not like each other. The result of that is that
the system takes things out on you. No so here. PASPort is to one watch.
PASCO Science
Workshop
Pasco’s Science Workshop is a well-engineered system
offering reliability and performance. There's a quality feel to this and words
like robust soon come to mind. This system records at great speed (20-200K
readings a second). The high resolution provides masses of detail as objects fall
to the ground, or as lamps flicker and sounds sound. This kind of fast (i.e.
detailed) recording takes data logging into this century.
The setup is straightforward: you connect sensors to an
interface box (Science Workshop 500, 700 or 750) which then connects to a PC
via a USB lead. There is also a serial lead or fast SCSI connection depending
on which model you go for).
Those teaching advanced level will find the system’s
capabilities unmatched. The price points are high but I’d rate this as good value.
Were you to use Science Workshop to compare different insulators, it would not
be so. The Science Workshop 750 interface will suit advanced physics.
The sensor range is extensive and exceeds what a school
would want. Sensors measure colour changes in chemistry or force and
acceleration in physics. Coverage of physics is excellent, with kits available
for chemistry and biology.
Elsewhere we review Pasco's 'Data Studio', the software
required to work all the PASCO kit. To summarise that, there is little software
of this calibre to be found in the data logging arena - although it mostly
suits the advanced user. You can download a free demo for PC or Apple Mac from
www.pasco.com
Pros: especially good for physics but chemistry too. Great software - works
with: PC, Apple, OS-X/Cons: A class set would need a windfall of money.Future proofing: well-focussed US company has two distinct sensor kits and
both are still growing. Recommended for advanced and college use, but first see
if your needs are met by the PASPort range.
Verdict: Quality and high performance data logging that is almost too good
for everyday uses such as measuring temperature. Best used when you need high
performance (e.g. advanced physics). Advanced physics teachers should consider
getting a set to enhance many demonstrations.
Review Feature: PASCO Science Workshop (TES)
Radioactivity decay curves: schools in need of a radioactive source to
record half-lives with radioactivity sensors might take a look at PASCO's 'Isogenerator Kit'. It uses Barium-137 which has a half-life of around three
minutes. The protactinium source once sold by Philip Harris is no longer
available.
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