<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Monitoring Temperature & Humidity</TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1498" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>JP,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you for the timely = information!<G> The "senior drift" thing is particularly of interest to me. As I've had my = unit for many years, it is likely that it is no longer close to being accurate! Yikes!<G> I suspect I better get with the program and update ASAP.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As I think this information is very = important, I'm forwarding this to the list. I hope you don't = mind.<G></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Monitoring of temp/humid has always = been a thing with me. It helps us understand why a particular piano won't stay in = tune and helps the client(s) keep their home healthy for them, as well as their = piano. Much thanks for the post!!!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<BR>Captain, Tool Police<BR>Squares R I</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=jmulkey6@cox.net href="mailto:jmulkey6@cox.net">James = Mulkey</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=joegarrett@earthlink.net href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">joegarrett@earthlink.net</A> = </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, May 31, 2005 = 7:20 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Monitoring Temperature = & Humidity</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe,</FONT> </P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am a "lurker" on the PTG PianoTech = forum.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>I read your post to Julia on this = topic. I would agree that a temperature/humidity meter is better than doing nothing = at all to monitor the piano's environment.  My experience with Radio Shack = products has not been good.  The two I bought from Radio Shack were way = out of calibration for humidity compared to the Oregon Scientific and other = brands I've owned.</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>The best, but most expensive (ca. = $300), temp/humidity monitoring device I have so far encountered are = Temp/Humidity Data Loggers.  These devices are easy to use;  automatically = record temp/humidity data;  quite accurate -- some are calibrated = against a NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) standard; and provide = a lot of data points to evaluate.  I am currently using a HOBO Data = Logger, Model H14-001, made by Onset. (This model was recommended by one of = the guys that work for Dampp-Chaser.  It is the measuring device they use = at their factory test facility to evaluate the DC's performance.)</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>What sold me on this particular data = logger is that it has a user-replaceable humidity sensor.  As you may know, all electronic humidity measuring devices require periodic re-calibration = due to a phenomenon called "senor drift".  They drift at a rate of 1 to 3 = percent per year.  You must either send the device to the manufacturer = for recalibration and replace the humidity sensor yourself with a = pre-calibrated sensor purchased from the manufacturer.  </FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>The software package that comes with = the data logger graphically depicts temp/humidity fluctuations.  Mine is = set up to record at 4-minutes intervals, 24/7, and has enough memory to store a = month's worth of data.</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>While this device is probably too = expensive for most piano owners to consider, it may be of value to dealerships = handling high-end pianos, recording studios, some churches (perhaps), and = possible some rebuilding operations.  Perhaps a few private owners of high-end = pianos would buy them too.</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here is what the graph, imported into a = PowerPoint slide, looks like.  As you can see, it is easy to see how the = piano's environment is being maintained.  It's been very useful tool for = helping me tweak the settings on my whole-house humidifier/dehumidifier = system. </FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Cheers,</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial = size=2>JP Mulkey</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 = size=2><<...>> </FONT></P><BR><BR> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>  = </FONT></P><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>