» Lively comments and active participation always mark reader response to this category of products, which makes it our favorite to report on. And, strange though it may seem, for the first time since weýve been bringing you the Ultimate Products service, Tektronix did not have the top rated product in this category. But, no worries, Tek comes in second.

(1)
ONSET COMPUTER CORP
Cheap and dirty data logger can be sited almost anywhere
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "This is a neat 12-bit data acquisition product. Onset's data loggers are also proving as accurate and reliable as conventional chart recorders in some applications. In use, the data loggers sidestep the use of chart supplies such as thermal paper or special ink, letting you display your collected data on a PC or even a notebook in the field. There are no DAQ cards required. As such, data loggers can help reduce the price per channel for many applications and can be easier to implement. "
Readers say: » "What's the price? It's given for the 8-bit and the shuttle, but not for the unit that the article is mostly about." » "A thermistor isn't very accurate cold junction compensation" » "USB port limited in distance from logger to computer? Are other options available?" » "I have used Onset loggers in many applications and have found them to be excellent tools." » "This I may get to use if it fits in my budget constraints." » "Looks quick and easy to use." » "This doesn't have enough resolution for most applications I would want to log." » "Cheap and useful." » "Priced right." » "Good idea, small target audience."
USABILITY RANK: 2

(2)
TEKTRONIX
Tek's new 4-channel portable scopes take to lab or field
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "These new Tektronix TPS2000s now match, and in some cases, eclipse Fluke's portables. Indeed, Tek's scopes are arguably industry-first instruments able to make power-specific measurements on four isolated channels simultaneously. The new scopes also give you the usual oscilloscope front panel, but with totally independent knobs and buttons for each channel. Unlike Fluke's ergonomically designed handheld scopes, Tek's look more like conventional bench instruments---but thinner, and much smaller than most. "
Readers say: » "Very handy for field work. Great display, easy to read." » "Portability is important, especially to check equipment in the field." » "This line of scopes would be very useful if I needed to travel to a customer's site (and if we had any money in our test equipment budget.)" » "I use a TDS 3034B and love the zoom feature but don't like the lack of memory that comes with it, unless you have a lot of money to upgrade" » "The ability to isolate the power is the best." » "I like the concept. I am always concerned about safety when specifying/making high-voltage measurements. My application would probably be in a lab or factory facilities checking." » "Why drag around a boat anchor when you can have one of these?" » "I have always dragged bench dual-channel scopes to the field, and wondered if I wouldn't like one of these." » "Beautiful scope. Cost is an issue." » "Still too bulky for travel. Since most of us also have a laptop, why not make use of the laptop's user interface and with a small data acquisition product that can be controlled via laptop?"
USABILITY RANK: 1

(3)
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES
Top-drawer realtime scopes top out with 13-GHz bandwidths, 40-Gsample/s sampling rates
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "When I was shown the new realtime Infiniium DSO80000 oscilloscopes and associated InfiniiMax II probes, I realized I was witnessing oscilloscope history in the making. In 1984 the oscilloscope industry crossed the one GHz line, but,it's taken twenty more years to cross the 10 GHz barrier. "
Readers say: » "Impressive specs and attention to detail." » "Very impressive, but our department is at least several years away from requiring this kind of speed and sampling." » "I want it, but budget constraints are getting in the way." » "Impressive, but I don't see a need in my organization for this sort of bandwidth for years to come." » "Too pricy." » "Now clearly Agilent is the leader in performance -- and by far, actually. Amazing technology breakthoughs in high speed, low noise and probing solutions."
USABILITY RANK: 3

(4)
NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
USB grabs data-acq spotlight
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "These five products are just the first in a whole series of USB devices from NI we'll see before year's end. In any case, it's plain to see that USB has ascended to its rightful place as the interconnection mode of choice for data-acq and test, delivering not only fast connectivity, but portability and decreased set-up times. "
Readers say: » "What OS does it support? Has product been tested in a Linux environment?" » "Will USB be supported by Lab View or possibly replace IEEE-488? This will make these products very desirable." » "USB is getting more useful every day" » "For the future this looks great." » "This product description did not tell me anything about the product's capability except that it is USB-connected."
USABILITY RANK: 5

(5)
GAGE APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES
cPCI/PXI digital capture card converts your PC to a logic analyzer
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Equipped with an onboard FPGA CompuScope 3200C looks like a pretty nifty plug-in. That's especially true when you consider its less-than-$6000 price tag that includes PC software. "
Readers say: » "There are a number of other companies claiming PXI compatibility, while in reality they are only supporting the cPCI spec. This is confusing to customers who may later find that they can't create a multi-board synchronized system." bvg» "A lot more options are now available for analyzing data captures" » "Not much info (or spec)given about this card." » "looks interesting" » "Need more to compete with National Instruments and others"
USABILITY RANK: 6

(6)
SAELIG
Thumb temperature logger plugs into your PC's USB port
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "When I saw the EL-USB-1 for the first time it was love at first sight. The little unit even includes a built-in thermal sensor. Although the EL-USB-1 is also available from other vendors, Saelig specializes in supporting unique niche test-and-measurement and data-acq products, and I trust you'll find the company a good source of support. "
Readers say: » "Doesn't indicate how much memory is available. Does this have a remote removeable sensor or does it just monitor the ambient temp where it's plugged in?" » "would be great if it were half the price" » "Can the product be adapted to be used on an Ethernet network" » "Very neat portable unit." » "Neat Device. Although I'm not too sure to whom you would market this to. I would imagine the research community uses more accurate temperature logger devices while the basic consumer probably doesn't have much of a need for a USB-based temperature logger device. " » "The significance of this product is not the temperature sensor's capability. The significance is that it is a USB thumb-type device that can log data in the field and be brought back to the office and plugged in just like any other USB device. If more data loggers go this way, it will help engineers and technicians in that it provides easy to use, compact and portable methods to log data." » "Now this is a neat product. I assume that you simply set up the logging parameters, place it where you want to record then simply plug it into the USB port and download your data. It will sure be handier than the old chart logging instruments." » "Max temp of 400 degrees F would be useful" » "A great little device... I can see applications where this will be very useful." » "Sounds great, but I have never thought about using such a device. It could come in handy."
USABILITY RANK: 4

(7)
NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
NI launches next-gen multi-function data-acq plug-ins
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Dubbed the M Series, these multi-function DAQ boards offer better accuracy than predecessors, as well as faster sampling rates, more I/O channels, and a set of expanded features. The 20 new devices themselves address low-cost, high-performance and high-accuracy applications. "
Readers say: » "Real accuracy is frequently overspecified for real operating conditions, and calibration requirements are unrealistic. It's refreshing to see someone pay real attention to this." » "Big improvement over previous generation" » "I never understand NI's products until I get with the salesperson and app engineer for my problem."
USABILITY RANK: 7

(8)
LITEPOINT CORP
WLAN tester serves high-volume manufacturing
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "As a customizable production and manufacturing test instrument, the IQflex promises a number of useful and cost-effective features and attributes for OEMs developing and building 802.11a/b/g WLAN equipment. "
Readers say:
USABILITY RANK: 10

(9)
ANRITSU COMPANY
Embedded optical time-domain reflectometry modules can work as sensors
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Anritsu's MW9077A/A1 OTDR (optical time domain reflectometry) modules can be applied to quite a wide variety of applications. Not only can they be used to maintain cabling in lightwave-based networks, but they also have applicability as sensors. "
Readers say: » "The stand alone portables do more for about the same money and can go anywhere. These would be nice to have if you have a huge budget."
USABILITY RANK: 9

(10)
ACCES I/O PRODUCTS
Data-acq box mixes, matches industry-standard plug-ins
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Highly compact system is intended to ensure flexibility through the use of various PC/104 and PC/104-Plus plug-ins. It's also appealing that the company ships the product with myriad software utilities, tools, source code, and drivers. You also get support for virtually every operating system, from DOS to Windows to Linux. "
Readers say: » "I prefer the Lab View data acq plug in." » "PC 104 users probably have board sets to do these functions without another new box"
USABILITY RANK: 8