[NHCOLL-L:977] Environmental standards for spirit collections

[Andy Bentley]

Hi Robin

What John failed to mentioned was the method we use for monitoring our
collections environmental standards.  Up until about 3 weeks ago we had been
using thermohydrographs on two of the four floors of our wet wing.  These
record humidity and temperture on an ongoing basis for a week.

However we have just invested in two HOBO recorders to do this task.  These
little recorders (about the size of a match box) record temperature (in
celcius or Farenheit), relative humidity, dew point and light intensity.
These are placed in the collection to record and then the data is
downloaded, through a cable linkup, to computer.  The software that comes
with the HOBO's can then graph any or all of theses parameters for you and
print them out.  They are very easy to use and give a nice readout of data.
The length of time you want to record will determine how often the recorder
will take a reading as the recorder has a set memory size (for a 24 hour
data sequence the recorder will record every 30 seconds or so while for a
weeks data the recorder will record only every 3 minutes).  They are also
cheap, only costing $100 each (the software is also $100) as opposed to a
thermohydrograph which costs more than that to REPAIR!!  You can find out
more at www.hobohelp.com.  There are a number of different recorders for
different applications.  The other advantages of the HOBO recorders are that
they are small and easily moved around for accurate microclimate recording.
They can be placed in individual cabinets or even a bottle on a shelf if
need be.  They are easily moved and have a magnet or velcro patch as
attachment.  You can also start off with one and then buy up more recorders
as you need them and download data using the same software.  The light
intensity meter is a great way to check use of the collection if your lights
are usually off.

Hope that helps

Andy

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Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager
University of Kansas
Natural History Museum
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
USA

Tel: (785) 864-3863
Fax: (785) 864-5335
Email: ABentley at ku.edu
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