Opto Epic I/O points collected in a data-logger to csv file

[Spencerw]

I’m trying to build a simple data logger collecting I/O points (mostly just analog values), from the Opto Epic (we have PAC Controller also.

Basically need a timestamp, roughly 10 analog points collected every 5 seconds, put into one CSV file (each day would be a new file name based on date: 2024-01-23) and within the csv file it would have a column for the timestamp, value 1, value 2, value 3…etc.

Much appreciated.

[Beno]

Hi Spencer. Welcome to the Opto Forums!

This video should get you going for Node-RED.

For PAC Control: Opto22 - FTP and Data Logging Example

There are also a lot of CSV logging tips and code in these forums: Search results for 'csv logging' - OptoForums

Node-RED: Logging CSV files to USB with groov RIO

[Spencerw]

Thanks Beno, I appreciate the information.

Spencer

[Spencerw]

Hi Beno, this worked, however, I can’t seem to figure a way to add a timestamp to each line of data collected. For example, if I run an interval of 5s, I want to see the date and time for each interval. Any suggestions on how to do this?

Thanks,
Spencer

[torchard]

There are two ways to do this, if you are using an inject node you could set it to inject msg.timestamp = timestamp and have that be a part of the CSV.

Without an inject node you can get the current timestamp at any point with a change node like this:

If you need a more specific time format, your best bet is to use a function node, here’s an example:

I have an older forum post you can check out for other ways you can format date and/or time with the JavaScript date functions, it might be useful for you:

Date Formatting in JavaScript (and OptoScript)

There are many options for date formatting in JavaScript, among which are toString() which results in “Tue Jul 18 2017 13:28:48 GMT-0700 (PDT)”, toUTCString() that gives “Tue, 18 Jul 2017 20:28:48 GMT”, and finally toISOString() for “2017-07-18T20:28:48.297Z”, as well as methods that return each piece with getFullYear()_, getHours(), getMilliseconds(), etc. (see full list). None of these, however, provide 12 hour time or AM / PM status, which is usually easier to actually read. In order to g…

[Spencerw]

Hi Terry, I do have it as an injector for timestamp and it does come up with a timestamp [1706107469370] but needs to be converted using the normal conversion calculation; however, for some reason in Excel 365 I can’t get it to convert - it comes up with #Value. Have you experienced this in MS365 Excel? Any other tools or calculations I can use to get around this - or better yet, can I add something in (not being an experienced programmer) to my nodes to have it populate in proper MM:DD:YYYY hh:mm:ss?

Thanks,
Spencer

[Norm_Freeman1]

Check out this node “node-red-contrib-moment”
It can “humanize” Time/Dates

[Beno]

Another option from @philip is to do the conversion in excel.

He provides the formula here: Convert groov Trend timestamp in Excel

[Spencerw]

@Norm_Freeman1

node-red-contrib-moment

Hi Norm, thanks - I installed this and got the following error:

[Beno]

You will need to install an older version of the node.

From the Node-RED menu in groov Manage…

Once you click on Node Management…

The node will then install.
Next you will need to restart Node-RED from the groov Manage Node-RED menu.

[Spencerw]

Thanks @Beno - the older version actually worked perfect - problem solved and format is now as needed. I really appreciate your help!

Spencer