AN INEXPENSIVE DATA ACQUISITION-SYSTEM FOR SOLAR, WIND AND CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA RECORDING

A new inexpensive state-of-the-art data-acquisition system, called Suryavijay, for solar radiation, wind and climatological data corresponding to long periods, has been developed and is described in the paper. It acquires data without in situ computers at the field stations. The hourly data are stored in an unpluggable 32 Kbyte EPROM for 24 channel months. The information in the EPROM from a field station is downloaded in a mainframe or personal computer at the mother station. Suryavijay uses a 12 bit analog-to-digital convertor for high resolution and an INTEL 6216 tristat analog multiplexer which accepts differential signals from the sensors and makes the system expandable in integral multiples of 8 channels. It has specially tailor-made signal-conditioning circuits for solar, wind and climatological data channels. In addition, Suryavijay is cost-effective, which makes it possible to have a greater number of field stations in a solar radiation, wind and climatological data network.