Works well, but has some quirks
I used this app with the owon CM2100B clamp multimeter on a Toyota Prius 12V auxiliary battery to measure parasitic DC current draw over long time periods. The meter can record and save up to 10,000 readings for later retrieval with the app. The meter draws only 10mA from its AAA batteries, so it can easily record multiple sessions of 7200 points at a sampling rate of 4s per point (8 hour recording session).
The user manual is OK, but could use more detail on what is going on with online and offline data logging. For example, online (real-time) data recording uses a circular buffer with a user-determined number of data values, but this is not spelled out. owon has a pdf version of the manual that can be downloaded.
The Bluetooth connection is solid and the display on the phone is as quick as the LCD display on the meter.
Unfortunately, the app does not remember any previously-connected devices, so it does not auto-connect to the phone when the phone is brought near the instrument. Connection is therefore a little annoying, but it is fast and straightforward.
The app allows one to remotely select AC/DC current settings and it can zero the meter. Remote data logging (owon calls it offline recording) is straightforward. The only quirk is that the sampling interval and number of samples for a session has to be entered every time unless one wants the default 1s, 100 samples.
Once offline recording is started, the meter disconnects the phone, so the phone does not need to be on and recording during the data logging. Data is retrieved by reconnecting the phone and reading the data into the app for on-phone storage. Files can be exported as email attachments or with AirDrop on the iPhone app. The files are plain text, comma-delimited .csv files suitable for Excel or Numbers spreadsheets. This all works well.
In addition to the lack of auto-connect and inability to save offline custom settings, I have only one more complaint about file retrieval. Files are displayed as a stack of names. A file is tapped to select it, but it is easy to fat-finger the tap and select the wrong file. Unfortunately, the user cannot know this because the selected filename is not displayed on the resulting options dialog (Load data, Share, etc). Given that one of the options is "Remove", it would be nice to confirm what file is being removed. Unlike many apps, Remove just removes without giving you the filename or the "are you sure?" option.
Despite a few quirks, this app works well where it counts and has enabled me to monitor the strange set of current spikes that the Prius generates after it has been turned "off" for several hours.
The user manual is OK, but could use more detail on what is going on with online and offline data logging. For example, online (real-time) data recording uses a circular buffer with a user-determined number of data values, but this is not spelled out. owon has a pdf version of the manual that can be downloaded.
The Bluetooth connection is solid and the display on the phone is as quick as the LCD display on the meter.
Unfortunately, the app does not remember any previously-connected devices, so it does not auto-connect to the phone when the phone is brought near the instrument. Connection is therefore a little annoying, but it is fast and straightforward.
The app allows one to remotely select AC/DC current settings and it can zero the meter. Remote data logging (owon calls it offline recording) is straightforward. The only quirk is that the sampling interval and number of samples for a session has to be entered every time unless one wants the default 1s, 100 samples.
Once offline recording is started, the meter disconnects the phone, so the phone does not need to be on and recording during the data logging. Data is retrieved by reconnecting the phone and reading the data into the app for on-phone storage. Files can be exported as email attachments or with AirDrop on the iPhone app. The files are plain text, comma-delimited .csv files suitable for Excel or Numbers spreadsheets. This all works well.
In addition to the lack of auto-connect and inability to save offline custom settings, I have only one more complaint about file retrieval. Files are displayed as a stack of names. A file is tapped to select it, but it is easy to fat-finger the tap and select the wrong file. Unfortunately, the user cannot know this because the selected filename is not displayed on the resulting options dialog (Load data, Share, etc). Given that one of the options is "Remove", it would be nice to confirm what file is being removed. Unlike many apps, Remove just removes without giving you the filename or the "are you sure?" option.
Despite a few quirks, this app works well where it counts and has enabled me to monitor the strange set of current spikes that the Prius generates after it has been turned "off" for several hours.
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Does it work on OW16A?
Does it work on OW16A?
