Guide
What Is a Data Logger? A Guide to Remote Data Logging
Updated 1 October 2026 · 7 min read
A data logger records measurements over time so you can see what equipment has been doing. Traditional loggers have to be visited and downloaded; a remote data logger sends its readings over a mobile network so you can see them from the office, with alerts when something goes wrong. This guide explains how they work, the main types and how to choose one for remote assets.
What a data logger does
A data logger is a device that takes readings from sensors or equipment at set intervals and stores them with a time stamp. Typical readings include temperature, humidity, voltage, current, pressure, tank or water level, and on/off events such as a pump starting or an alarm contact closing.
The value is in the history. A single reading tells you what is happening now; a log tells you how a battery has been discharging all week, how often a pump has run, or exactly when a generator stopped.
Traditional vs remote data loggers
A traditional data logger stores readings in its own memory. Someone has to visit, connect a laptop or USB lead, download the data and look through it — often days or weeks after the event that mattered.
A remote data logger adds a communication link, usually cellular (4G, LTE-M or NB-IoT) or Ethernet. Readings are sent to a cloud platform as they are taken, so you can view live and historical data from anywhere, set alert thresholds and export the data — without the download visit.
| Traditional data logger | Remote data logger | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the data | Site visit and manual download | Sent automatically over cellular or Ethernet |
| When you see it | After the next visit | As it is recorded |
| Alerts | None — problems found afterwards | Alerts when readings cross a threshold |
| Multiple sites | One visit per logger | All loggers in one platform |
| Running cost | Visits and staff time | Data connection and platform subscription |
Common types of data logger
- Temperature and humidity data loggers — cold rooms, transport, buildings
- Voltage and current loggers — batteries, solar systems and power supplies
- Water level and pressure loggers — boreholes, rivers, pumping stations
- Event and pulse loggers — pump runs, door openings, meter pulses
- CAN bus data loggers — engine and machine data from vehicles, plant and generators, often using J1939
- Modbus data loggers — readings from controllers, meters, inverters and battery systems over RS485 or Ethernet
- GPS data loggers — position and movement history
What to look for in a remote data logger
- Inputs: does it read your equipment directly — CAN bus, Modbus, RS485, digital and analogue inputs — or only its own sensors?
- Logging interval: how often readings are taken and sent, and whether you can change it
- Connectivity: cellular coverage at your sites, and Ethernet where there is a network
- Power: what it runs from, and whether a backup battery keeps it logging if the supply fails
- Alerts: thresholds, who gets notified and how — email, webhook or messaging
- Data access: charts, CSV export and an API so the data can go into your own systems
- Location: built-in GPS / GNSS if the asset moves between sites
Data logger vs telemetry, telematics and SCADA
The terms overlap. Data logging is recording readings over time. Telemetry is sending readings from a remote place to somewhere else — a remote data logger is a telemetry device. Telematics usually means telemetry from vehicles and machines, including location. SCADA is a larger control system used on fixed infrastructure such as water treatment and power networks, which can also send commands back to equipment.
For mobile and temporary assets — towers, generators, pumps, welfare units and plant — a remote data logger or telematics gateway is usually a better fit than SCADA: it can be fitted in an afternoon and moved to the next site.
Using TrackSyte Neo 2 as a remote data logger
TrackSyte Neo 2 is a telematics gateway that also does the job of a remote data logger. It reads equipment over CAN bus (including J1939), RS485 / Modbus, GPIO and Ethernet, works with Victron equipment and BMS batteries, and has a built-in accelerometer for vibration, shock and running detection. Readings are sent over LTE, LTE-M or NB-IoT to the TrackSyte Portal with GNSS location.
In the Portal every reading is kept as history: you can chart battery, power, running hours and machine data over time, set alert rules and export data as CSV or stream it by MQTT and API. A rechargeable lithium backup battery keeps Neo 2 reporting for a couple of days if the asset's own supply is lost.
Neo 2 is designed for monitoring field assets. Where regulations require a calibrated, certified temperature record — for example in pharmaceutical cold chains — use a logger certified for that purpose.
FAQs
What is a data logger?
A data logger is a device that records readings such as temperature, voltage, level or on/off events at set intervals and stores them with a time stamp, so you can see how equipment has behaved over time.
What is a remote data logger?
A remote data logger sends its readings over a mobile or wired network to a cloud platform, so you can view live and historical data and receive alerts without visiting site to download it.
What is the difference between a data logger and telemetry?
Data logging means recording readings over time; telemetry means sending readings from a remote location. A remote data logger does both.
Can a data logger read engine and machine data?
Yes, if it has a CAN bus input. CAN bus data loggers read values such as engine hours, temperatures, fuel level and fault codes, often using the J1939 standard on diesel engines and plant.
Can TrackSyte Neo 2 be used as a data logger?
Yes. Neo 2 sends readings from CAN bus, Modbus, GPIO, Bluetooth-connected equipment and its accelerometer to the TrackSyte Portal, which keeps the history for charts, alerts and CSV export.
Replace data logger downloads with live data
Tell us what you log today and where, and we will show you how Neo 2 and the TrackSyte Portal can record it remotely.