August 2017 marks an important milestone in the history of Campbell Scientific with the release of the CR1000X data logger – a product line that commenced 30 years ago, way back in 1987.

When CSA commenced operation in May of 1993, Campbell Scientific’s fourth data logger, the CR10, was already six years old. At that point in time, it was our lowest priced logger and was used in most applications other than micro-meteorology. With incredible functionality and capability for its time, the CR10 was a huge hit in the meteorological, hydrological and geotechnical sectors. I recall that for many years, CSA held the Australian price of the CR10 at $1770 – a significant number in Australia’s history. 28,170 units of the CR10 data logger were sold worldwide between 1987 and 1995.

In 1995, eight years after the launch of the CR10, the CR10X was released. The CR10X was Campbell Scientific’s first logger to use surface mount technology which freed up board space to add more memory and more features. Following in the footsteps of the CR10, the CR10X set the benchmark for accuracy, reliability, and flexibility in battery powered data loggers. With a mean time between failures (MTBF) in excess of 3,500 years, in its 9-year life 64,240 CR10X’s were sold. As a result of its industry leading features of reliability, flexibility, and accuracy, the CR10X was instrumental in helping CSA break into the hydrology market in Australia.

The current evolution of the CR10 series logger, the CR1000, was released in 2004. This was the first CS data logger to contain an ASIC – a custom integrated circuit to replace multiple IC’s in the older CR10X logger, thus reducing component count and board complexity. Lower cost variants which use the same circuit board as the CR1000, the CR800, and CR850 loggers, were introduced in 2006. The CR1000 has become the industry standard for geotechnical and meteorological applications. After an incredible 13 years in production, 97,899 CR1000 loggers have been sold to date. In addition, over 41,000 CR800 & CR850 loggers have also been sold during that time. With an MTBF in excess of 2,243 years, the CR1000 carries on the tradition of incredible reliability created by its predecessors.

In August 2017, some 13 years after the CR1000 was released, this month will see the release of the CR1000X. Largely due to Campbell Scientific’s dedicated engineering team, we anticipate that the CR1000X will set a new standard for environmental measurement applications for many years to come. While the CR1000X has many enhancements over and above the CR1000, our engineers claim that the new logger makes the best analog measurement of any Campbell Scientific data logger ever made, and that includes the legendary CR7 logger which was produced from 1983 until 2011 – an incredible production run of 28 years.

The CR10 product line has played a pivotal role in CSA’s development and success during my 24-year association with the Campbell Scientific family. In an age when electronic products have built in obsolescence and when manufacturers are forced to release a new model every 12 months to stay ahead of the competition, we at Campbell Scientific are proud to buck the trend by continuing to provide products with long term reliability coupled with quality service.

Managing Director

Steve Bailey