www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 1/8
Datasheet Evaluation Kit EK-H4
For SHTxx Humidity and Temperature Sensors
Ready to use Hard and Software
Suitable for data-logging experiments
Programmable Interface
Dew Point and Energy Calculation
Multiple Multiplexer boxes with Sensors
Figure 1 Schematic of the Evaluation Kit EK-H4. The Evaluation
Kit works without connection to a computer it only needs a
connection to the power socket. Optionally, the EK-H4 can be
connected to a computer and operated through the Viewer
Software.
Device Certification
The Evaluation Kit EK-H4 is RoHS and WEEE compliant.
EK-H4 Material Contents
The EK-H4 contains the following components, enclosed
in a handy suitcase:
EK-H4
(Order no. 1-100661-02)
EK-H4 Flex
(Order no. 1-101068-03)
4 x SHT31 sensors
on PCB with connector
4 x SHT31 sensors
on FPCB
4 x SHT21 sensors
on PCB with connector.
4 x SHTC1 sensors
on FPCB
4 x SHT71 sensors
4 x SHTW2 sensors
on FPCB
4 x sensor cables with RJ45
plug and pin-type connector
for connecting sensors with
multiplexer box of 3m length.
4 x sensor cables with RJ45
plug and FPCB connector for
connecting sensors on FPCB
with multiplexer box of 3m
length.
1 EK-H4 multiplexer box: to connect up to 4 SHTxx Sensors
1 USB cable for connection to computer.
1 Power supply unit with US, EU, AU adapter
EK-H4 Viewer Software is available from Sensirion’s
Webpage (www.sensirion.com/ek-h4).
Product Summary
The evaluation kit EK-H4 is made for running
Sensirion’s humidity and temperature sensors and to
display measured values. It is able to communicate
with SHT1x, SHT7x, SHT2x, SHT3x, SHTC1 and
SHTW2. The measured values will be displayed on
the display of the EK-H4. The main purpose of the
evaluation kit is to demonstrate the unique
performance of Sensirion’s humidity and temperature
sensors without any own hard or software design
work. Together with a computer and a dedicated
Viewer software (see
sensirion.com/ek-h4
) it may also
be used as a data-logger for simple experimental
measurements. The EK-H4 is connected to the
computer via USB interface. The software may
record and display humidity and temperature values
as well as calculated values of dew point and
absolute humidity. It is possible to connect multiple
EK-H4 to different USB ports on the same computer
and operate them through the same Viewer
Software.
Datasheet EK-H4
www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 2/8
Specification
Electrical specification:
Parameter
min
typ
max
Unit
Input Voltage
8
9
10
V
Input Voltage Ripple
0.5
V
Supply Current
170
280
mA
Input Voltage
4.75
5
5.25
V
Supply Current
170
280
mA
Range
1.8
3.0
3.6
V
Resolution
0.1
V
Accuracy
2
5
%
Output current
40
110 1
mA
Temperature Resolution
11
14
Bit
Humidity Resolution
8
12
Bit
Measurement interval
1
1440
s
Communication
USB (via Virtual Com Port (VCP))
Operating
Temperature
0 to 50°C (multiplexer box)
-20 to 70°C (cables, sensor)
Default Configuration
After power-up two different voltages ranges (2.1V to 3.6V
& 1.8V) can be chosen through the push button on the top
of the evaluation kit.
Parameter
Default value
Sensor Supply Voltage
3.0 V
Temperature Resolution
12 Bit
Humidity Resolution
12 Bit
Measurement interval
1 s
Heater
off
OTP reload
SHT7x
on
SHT2x
off
Power Supply
Used Connection
EK-H4 supplied from
DC
DC (9V)
DC and USB
DC (9V)
USB
USB (5V)
The EK-H4 may be supplied by DC Power Supply Unit at
9V or USB connection at 5V. Power supply by USB is only
possible if USB driver is installed correctly.
Pin
Name
Comment
-
GND
Ground
+
Positive
Voltage
9V Supply
1
short circuit current
Table 1 DC Power Supply: Pin Diagram
EK-H4 Circuit Board
EK-H4 Pin Assignment
RJ45 Pin
Sensor Pin
Name
Description
1
3
VSS
Ground
3
1
SCL
Serial clock
5
2
VDD
Supply voltage
7
4
SDA
Serial data
Table 2 Pin Assignments: Female RJ45 pin diagram on the
left – SHTxx on PCB, SHT71 and SHTxx on FPCB sensors on
the right of the upper panel.
LED Functions
LED
Function
Power LED
LED off denotes low supply
voltage (DC < 8V, USB < 4.75V)
or not connected.
RJ45
Connector
Green LED
Sensor detected
Orange LED
Measurement is in progress
4 sensor channels
Display
2 buttons for
display modes
User field
connected to MCU
Micro Controller Unit
Debug interface
Reset button
USB interface
Power supply
Power LED
8 1
1 2 3 4
2 1 3 4
1 2 3 4
+
www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 3/8
EK-H4 Users Guide
1 Evaluation Kit Features
The Evaluation Kit EK-H4 may be used as a stand-alone
device, displaying measured values on the screen on the
multiplexer box or – connected to a computer – as a data-
logger run by the Sensor-viewer software.
The stand-alone device displays temperature and humidity
values of each connected sensor plus dew-point derived
from the two measured values.
Besides the above mentioned values the data-logger
software displays calculated absolute humidity and power
consumption. Furthermore, it is possible to change the
acquisition interval (see section 4.7), switch the in-built
heater on and activate a fast conversion mode (see
section 4.9). Eventually measured data can be exported
for data processing.
2 EK-H4 Suitcase
Figure 2 Schematic of the EK-H4 suitcase highlighting its
content
3 Stand-Alone Evaluation Kit
3.1 Getting Started
Set up and application of the stand-alone device is straight
forward:
1. Select multiplexer box, power supply cable, sensors
with sensor cables as many as needed.
2. Connect sensors via sensor cables to the multiplexer
box.
3. Choose appropriate voltage range for the connected
sensors
4. Connect multiplexer box via power supply cable to
power (voltage supply also may occur via USB cable
from a computer). Please note: The specific plug
needs to be connected to the power supply cable –
the plastic protection cap on cable side must be
removed before connecting the plug.
5. As soon as the green LED light is shining, the
measurement starts automatically.
Figure 3 Stand-Alone Evaluation Kit. Voltage supply to be set
in the range of AC 80 … 250V.
3.2 Display Information
After powering the EK-H4 as standalone measurement
tool the screen shows following information:
The first screen shows an overview over the connected
sensors. The second screen (accessed through the push
buttons) shows a detailed information of the connected
sensor. In the first row the sensor number, which can be
matched with the printed number on the cover, is visible.
In the second column the temperature is displayed in °C.
The third column shows the relative humidity. Not
connected sensor ports are displayed with “--.-- ” .
Figure 4 Overview Screen of the EK-H4 multiplexer box
Sensirion
Evaluation Kit
for SHTxx
EKH4 V3.0
1 25.45°C 45.32%RH
2 --.--°C --.--%RH
3 24.98°C 46.27%RH
4 25.71°C 45.46%RH
Datasheet EK-H4
www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 4/8
By pressing the buttons the displayed information can be
switched from all sensors to the respective single sensors:
Right button: Sensor 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → all → 1
Left button: Sensor 4 → 3 → 2 → 1 → all → 4
The displayed information by choosing only one sensor is
as following:
Figure 5 Individual screen for each connected sensor
If no sensor is connected to the chosen port, the sensor
designation is replaced with “no sens”.
To execute a self test for testing the sensor ports and
voltage supply both buttons must be pressed for longer
than one second. For a successful self test each port
requires a sensor to be connected. If no sensor is
connected the corresponding port will show an error.
By pressing one of the buttons the display information will
switch back to the measurement.
4 Data-Logger with Software
Using the EK-H4 system as a data-logger requires the
installation of the read-out software on a computer and
connecting multiplexer box and computer via USB cable.
Prior to this a driver installation may be necessary.
4.1 EK-H4 Driver Installation
Connect the EK-H4 multiplexer box to the computer via
USB cable. EK-H4 uses a Silicon Laboratories CP210x
USB to UART bridge controller. If a driver for this controller
is not installed yet, a dialog pops up which helps you to
search for a driver on the internet. Alternatively, the driver
software may be installed from the EK-H4 memory stick.
4.2 Read-Out Software Installation
EK-H4 read-out software requires the .NET framework
4.5.2 or later. If it is not already installed on the computer,
it may be downloaded from
Microsoft .net Web Installer Version 4.5.2.
To install the EK-H4 software, simply copy the EK-H4
folder from the memory stick to the hard drive of the
computer.
Figure 6 EK-H4 configuration with connection to read-out
software on computer. No additional power supply is needed.
4.3 Starting a Measurement
Connect the EK-H4 multiplexer box with a USB cable to
the computer and then start the software by double-
clicking on EK-H4_Viewer_VXY_Installer.exe. The
connect dialog displays the COM ports to which EK-H4
multiplexer boxes are connected – see Figure 7.
After clicking OK, a connection to the multiplexer box is
established and the sensors are listed in the Sensor
Select and Measurement Data sections – see Figure 8.
Figure 7 Connect dialog of read-out software. Window in the
center displays COM ports with multiplexer boxes connected.
4.4 Multiple EK-H4 Devices
EK-H4 read-out software is able to read sensors from
various EK-H4 multiplexers. The different systems are
selected via connect dialog at start-up or using the menu
item Connection. To disconnect EK-H4 systems use the
menu item Connection/Disconnect. The connected
Evaluation Kits are displayed under the Sensor Select
section.
Sensor 1: SHT7x
Temperature: 25.45°C
Humidity RH: 45.32%
Dew Point: 16.76°C
Sens 1: OK 3: OK
Sens 2: OK 4: OK
Sensor Supply : OK
EKH4 Supply : OK
Datasheet EK-H4
www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 5/8
Figure 8 EK-H4 software window before measurement starts.
Sensors are displayed in different colors.
4.5 Temperature and Humidity Measurement
Measurements are started and stopped by the Start/Stop
button. The measured data are displayed in the
Measurement Data table. The measurements which are
displayed in this table can be selected in the context menu
which appears when the right mouse button is clicked on
the table.
Two plots are available, which display the progress of a
measurement over time. The measurement can be
selected in the list below the plot. The scale of the axes
can be altered by pressing the left mouse button on the
axis and moving the mouse. The plot can be dragged
using the left mouse button. The right mouse button can
be used to display a context menu, which offers functions
to print or copy the plot, or to set auto-scale options for the
axes.
Figure 9 Software surface during measurement. Displayed
values may be selected via menus at the bottom of the window.
4.6 Calculated Values
Relative humidity and temperature data are measured by
the sensors. From this data dew point and absolute
humidity values are derived.
4.7 Settings
In the settings section the measurement interval can be
chosen. The default configuration is 1 second.
4.8 Data Logging and Data Export
The data displayed in the measurement plots is kept in
memory. The measured values can be exported to a CSV
file using the menu item File/Log to file. The measurement
data can be cleared under the menu item View/Clear
Graph.
4.9 Heater and Fast Conversion
Behind every sensor there are two tick boxes, one to
activate the in-built heater and one to activate a fast
conversion mode.
The heater can be used as a simple functional test. After
switching on the heater, the temperature of the sensor
should increase, while the humidity signal should drop.
Please note that the heater power is different for every
SHTxx sensor. Additionally, the temperature elevation that
can be achieved through the in-built heater depends on
the temperature itself (at higher ambient temperature a
smaller temperature increase is achieved), the operating
voltage (higher operating voltages lead to higher
temperature increases) and on the thermal coupling of the
sensor to the environment.
The fast conversion mode activates a different
measurement command which has a higher noise level.
For SHT1x, SHT7x and the SHT2x series a measurement
with a lower resolution is started. While for the SHT3x
series the repeatability is changed to the low repeatability
mode. The default command (tick box not active) issues a
measurement command with the smallest noise level (high
resolution or high repeatability mode), except for the
SHT1x/SHT7x series, where the low resolution mode is
active per default.
4.10 Firmware Update
Starting from firmware version 2.4 (see section 3.2 on how
to read out the firmware version) it is possible to update
the firmware through the Viewer Software. If you have a
EK-H4 box with version below 2.4 you can use the Viewer
software Version 2, which is available from our webpage.
It does support the functions (Heater, Fast Conversion and
Firmware Update Function).
Datasheet EK-H4
www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 6/8
In Order to open the update window go to the Help Tab
and click on “Update Firmware EK-H4 box”.
To update the firmware perform the following steps:
1. Check the firmware version of the EK-H4 box
2. Download EK-H4 firmware (.hex file) from
Sensirion’s Webpage (sensirion.com/ek-h4) and
store on the desktop
3. Power the EK-H4 with the external power supply
4. Disconnect the EK-H4 that you want to update
(go to the connection tab and click on Disconnect,
then choose the correct Com Port )
5. Open the Update window. Go to the Help Tab
and click on “Update Firmware EK-H4 box”.
6. Choose the correct com Port of the EK-H4 which
connects to the EK-H4 that you want to update
7. Select the new EK-H4 firmware (.hex-File) with
the „Browse” Button from the desktop
8. Press “Update”
Error handing: In the case that the EK-H4 was not
disconnected prior to opening the update window an error
message will be shown, when the com port is selected
(step 6). If this happens close the Update window and
perform step 4 or unplug the USB cable and plug it in
again.
4.11 Firmware compatibility
Firmware 2.4 and higher operates with Viewer
3.0
Firmware 2.3 and lower can be operated with the
Viewer V2
4.12 Sensor and EK-H4 Properties
Information about the sensors such as the serial number is
shown behind each sensor in the Measurement Data
Section.
4.13 License Information
The EK-H4 viewer software uses the NPlot charting
library, to which the following license applies:
*************************************************************************
NPlot - A charting library for .NET
Copyright (C) 2003-2006 Matt Howlett and others.
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
without modification, are permitted provided that the following
conditions are met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above
copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials
provided with the distribution.
3. Neither the name of NPlot nor the names of its contributors
may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this
software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT
HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR
ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA,
OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT
OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Datasheet EK-H4
www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 7/8
Revision History
Date
Version
Page(s)
Changes
August 2009
1.0
1 – 7
Initial release
May 2010
1.1
2
Operating temperature ranges are defined – replacement for storage conditions
May 2015
2
all
Added SHT3x, Updated description to Viewer Software 3.0
June 2015
3
4
Updated .net framework instructions
July 2015
4
1,2
Combined EK-H4 and EK-H4 Flex
August 2016
5
1
Replaced SHTW1 on FPCB by SHTW2 on FPCB
Datasheet EK-H4
www.sensirion.com Version 5 – August 2016 8/8
Important Notices
Warning, Personal Injury
Do not use this product as safety or emergency stop devices or in
any other application where failure of the product could result in
personal injury. Do not use this product for applications other
than its intended and authorized use. Before installing, handling,
using or servicing this product, please consult the data sheet and
application notes. Failure to comply with these instructions could
result in death or serious injury.
If the Buyer shall purchase or use SENSIRION products for any
unintended or unauthorized application, Buyer shall defend, indemnify
and hold harmless SENSIRION and its officers, employees,
subsidiaries, affiliates and distributors against all claims, costs,
damages and expenses, and reasonable attorney fees arising out of,
directly or indirectly, any claim of personal injury or death associated
with such unintended or unauthorized use, even if SENSIRION shall be
allegedly negligent with respect to the design or the manufacture of the
product.
ESD Precautions
The inherent design of this component causes it to be sensitive to
electrostatic discharge (ESD). To prevent ESD-induced damage and/or
degradation, take customary and statutory ESD precautions when
handling this product.
See application note “ESD, Latchup and EMC” for more information.
Warranty
SENSIRION warrants solely to the original purchaser of this product for
a period of 12 months (one year) from the date of delivery that this
product shall be of the quality, material and workmanship defined in
SENSIRION’s published specifications of the product. Within such
period, if proven to be defective, SENSIRION shall repair and/or
replace this product, in SENSIRION’s discretion, free of charge to the
Buyer, provided that:
notice in writing describing the defects shall be given to
SENSIRION within fourteen (14) days after their appearance;
such defects shall be found, to SENSIRION’s reasonable
satisfaction, to have arisen from SENSIRION’s faulty design,
material, or workmanship;
the defective product shall be returned to SENSIRION’s factory at
the Buyer’s expense; and
the warranty period for any repaired or replaced product shall be
limited to the unexpired portion of the original period.
This warranty does not apply to any equipment which has not been
installed and used within the specifications recommended by
SENSIRION for the intended and proper use of the equipment.
EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES EXPRESSLY SET FORTH
HEREIN, SENSIRION MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT. ANY AND ALL
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED AND DECLINED.
SENSIRION is only liable for defects of this product arising under the
conditions of operation provided for in the data sheet and proper use of
the goods. SENSIRION explicitly disclaims all warranties, express or
implied, for any period during which the goods are operated or stored
not in accordance with the technical specifications.
SENSIRION does not assume any liability arising out of any application
or use of any product or circuit and specifically disclaims any and all
liability, including without limitation consequential or incidental
damages. All operating parameters, including without limitation
recommended parameters, must be validated for each customer’s
applications by customer’s technical experts. Recommended
parameters can and do vary in different applications.
SENSIRION reserves the right, without further notice, (i) to change the
product specifications and/or the information in this document and (ii) to
improve reliability, functions and design of this product.
Copyright© 2016, SENSIRION.
CMOSens® is a trademark of Sensirion
All rights reserved
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