Lolly software
Lolly is a software designed specifically for our TOMST® dataloggers. It enables downloading and evaluating collected data from all datalogger variations. With Lolly software you can easily check and update the TMS and TMD firmware, configure different Time Modes for data collection in the field, customise chart parameters, and export measured data points for consequent analysis.
The software is continuously updated and improved, so please check for the latest updates before downloading data or heading into the field.
How to update Lolly
In the Lolly software, navigate to the Options window and select "Check for update". The software will automatically update itself and download the latest firmware for the TMD adapter and datalogger. Once the datalogger is connected to the adapter, the new firmware will be transferred to the datalogger automatically.
Quick actions
- Check and update TMS and TMD firmware
- Configure different Time Modes for data collection in the field
- Customise chart parameters and export measured data points
- Evaluate collected data from all datalogger variations
Data
To download data, attach your device to the TMD adapter, ensuring it is properly plugged in. Once the download is complete, the data will be displayed in a new window as a graph and will also be saved to the dedicated folder in CSV text format, typically located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Lolly\DATA.
Only the data file labelled with the datalogger's serial number (e.g. data_95329651_2024_09_04_0) will be relevant to you. Any other files generated (such as command files) are for diagnostics only and do not contain the collected data.
Each measurement is recorded in a separate row in the following format:
5;2024.08.13 09:45;4;25,875;25,625;25,375;495;202;0;
Individual values are separated by a semicolon in this order: index number of the measurement; date and time in UTC; time zone; T1; T2; T3; soil moisture count; shake; errFlag.
If you need a different decimal separator for analysis, change the setting in Options > Decimal separator before exporting.
Time zone parameter
All measurements are recorded in UTC. A time zone parameter is included to indicate the local time difference. This parameter shows the number of additional quarter-hour increments. For example, a time zone parameter of 4 indicates UTC +4 quarter hours, which equals UTC +1 hour.
Shake
A default value of 202 (TMS), 204 (Thermologgers), or 206 (Dendrometers). This parameter was developed for a previous generation of sensors and is no longer relevant.
errFlag
Should be 0. If =1 the device could not convert time from the PCF chip.
Time Modes (data collection intervals)
By default, all dataloggers are set to Basic mode, which collects data at 15-minute intervals. You can change this interval to any of the options listed below through the Options window in Lolly by selecting "Change mode to". To modify the interval, ensure the datalogger is connected to the Lolly software using the TMD adapter.
Basic Mode
Measurements are recorded every 15 minutes.
Meteo Mode
Measurements are captured every 10 minutes.
Smart Mode
Measurements are recorded at 10th, 15th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 45th, 50th and 60th minute in every hour.
Intensive Mode
Measurements are recorded every 5 minutes.
Experiment Mode
Measurements are recorded every 1 minute. Do not use this mode for long-term data collection! Prolonged use of this mode may lead to memory overflow.
Hour Mode
Measurements are recorded every 1 hour.
Soil Moisture Calibration
DISCLAIMER: This function contains pre-set soil types. If you are looking to obtain more precise values, we would recommend calculating your own calibration curve based on a soil sample. For more details, please refer to the TMS Calibration Handbook (PDF).
All TMS dataloggers collect raw soil moisture values (~500-3600) that must then be converted into volumetric soil moisture (0-100 vol%.). This is enabled by the Calibration function in Lolly.
First, from the dropdown menu select the appropriate soil type. Note that the Default setting is recommended. See below for instructions on how to insert your own soil composition. Once you have selected the soil type, click "Calibrate" and the data displayed in column Hu (raw moisture signal ~500-3600) will be converted into volumetric soil moisture (0-100 vol%.) in column vol%. You can then select "Export" to generate a file of converted data or "Calibrate directory" to convert all the data files (in CSV format) from a folder of your choosing.
Shift zero value
This function will align the vol% values if negative values are present.
Show Local time
This function will enable you to view the conversion to local time.
Custom soil moisture composition
While you cannot yet customize the soil composition directly within Lolly, you can make these changes using the calib.txt file.
Navigate to C:\Program Files\Lolly and open the calib.txt file.
To customize your setting, insert a line in the following format:
id;name;par_a;par_b;par_c;dens_q;perc_clay;perc_silt;perc_salt;zero
id — number your setting
name — name your setting
par_a — parabola A
par_b — parabola B
par_c — parabola C
dens_q — density
perc_clay — percentage of clay
perc_silt — percentage of silt
perc_sand — percentage of sand
zero — default value of 0
When you save changes, your custom setting will appear in the dropdown menu of the Calibration window.
myClim R package
We would also recommend using the myClim R package for the soil moisture conversion or data analysis in general. It was designed specifically for microclimate data processing by Matěj Man et al. "The myClim package supports a complete workflow for microclimate data handling, including reading raw logger data files, their preprocessing and cleaning, time-series aggregation, calculation of ecologically relevant microclimatic variables, data export and storage" (Man et al., 2023).