Although there are a number of different uses for WinCounter, the most common use is to count people. To do this you need a sensor to automatically detect the people as they enter your premises or a manual switch that a person can press when you want to count a person or event.
Click here to see pricing for our range of suitable sensors and switches. You can also use a third party supplied sensor or switch. WinCounter can use any sensor or switch that has a 'dry contact' switch output. If you need to know if you sensor will work with WinCounter, contact us.
Your sensor or switch needs an interface connector that plugs into your computer's serial port. These are available from Software Studio, or if you want to connect your own sensor or have a local electrician or alarm installer install a sensor, we have included some simple wiring diagrams here.
Sensors automatically detect a person walking past them and trigger WinCounter. Typically sensors detect movement, but there are other special sensors available that can detect heat, light, temperature, water level etc.
The most common sensors for detecting people are:
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These sensors project a beam of light across an entrance. When a person walks through the door it breaks the beam and a pulse is sent to WinCounter. This is the most convenient type of sensor because the transmitter and receiver are built into one unit. The light beam from the transmitter bounces off a reflector and is received back at the receiver. This type of unit is easier to install because any cables only need to be run to one side of the doorway. |
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| The WL260 and WL250 sensors are
two popular
retro-reflective sensors manufactured by SICK (a world leader in sensor
technology). The majority of WinCounter installations use these sensors. They use a red light beam and have a small LED on the top of the sensor that lights when the reflector is aligned. They are waterproof and rugged and come with a mounting kit. |
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| A thru-beam sensor is similar to a retro-reflective sensor only it has a separate transmitter and receiver. It does not rely on a reflector to bounce the beam back. These sensors are often more suitable for covering wide openings as they can generally cover a larger distance. They require power cable to both the transmitter and receiver and so they can be more complex to install. |  |
| A passive sensor generally detects changes in heat as a person walks past it. These
sensors cover a wide area and are not as accurate as a beam sensor. The basic
models tend to
be slightly lower cost than beam sensors because of their wide use in security alarm
systems. These sensors can be used as an overhead sensor and in some cases they can detect the direction of movement so you can separate incoming and outgoing counts. |
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If you need to count people in a very accurate manner over a large area then you may need to install a specialist people counting sensor. These sensors have complex processing electronics that single out patterns of people moving over large areas. They can detect individual people in groups and work out which direction they are moving. These sensors provide excellent results, but they are many times more expensive than the basic sensors outlined above. If you need more information on specialist sensors, please contact us. |
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You can use a switch to trigger WinCounter. A popular use for a switch is in a club or bar situation where a door-person presses a key-chain switch every time a customer enters. When a customer leaves the door-person presses another button. This keeps an accurate count of the total people in the building at one time. |
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Some of the switches that can be connected to WinCounter are:
Contact us if you need more information on the different types of switches.
