The descriptions of the new products listed in this section are based on information supplied to us by the manufacturers. Physics Today can assume no responsibility for their accuracy. To facilitate inquiries about a particular product, a Reader Service Card is attached inside the back cover of the magazine.
Ruggedized data acquisition system
Gould Instrument Systems has introduced the C-DAQ compact data acquisition system, which includes Compact Flash (used in most digital camera systems) for removable mass storage. The C-DAQ provides hundreds of megabytes in a compact, ruggedized system. Onboard processors enable real-time data reduction, including FFT, time at level, level crossing, and triggered burst history, in order to maximize the use of the Compact Flash memory during long-duration unattended tests. The C-DAQ offers an easy way to synchronize CAN-Bus (controller area networks) data frames, Global Positioning Satellite position and time, and 96 channels of analog inputs. Those channels feature programmable signal conditioners for thermocouples, strain gauges, pressure transducers, and voltages; up to four signal-conditioning modules can be used with the C-DAQ system. Gould Instrument Systems Inc, 8333 Rockside Road, Valley View, Ohio 44125-6100, http://www.gouldis.com
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PCI digitizer
National Instruments has introduced the NI 5112, a high-speed digitizer for PCI, a follow-up to the company’s PXI version to extend the module’s measurement capabilities to desktop and industrial computers. The dual-channel digitizer simultaneously acquires waveforms with bandwidths up to 100 MHz, sampling at up to 100 megasamples/s with 8-bit resolution; in random interleaved sampling mode, the digitizer can sample at 2.5 gigasamples/s. The NI 5112 includes 16 megabytes of memory per channel, with an option for 32 MB, and offers multiple-record acquisition with time stamping of records to 2 ns accuracy. The digitizer comes with NI-Scope, an Interchangeable Virtual Instruments-compliant driver software that offers more than 50 measurement modes, including waveform math and time-voltage histograms. National Instruments Corporation, 11500 North Mopac Expressway, Austin, Texas 78759-3504, http://www.ni.com/instruments
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The Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus is a high-performance plug-and-play expansion bus architecture generally accepted as the standard in the desktop PC industry. The advantages of PCI include its high data transfer rates (up to 132 megabytes/s), the broad hardware and software support from the computer industry, and its use independent of particular processors. CompactPCI, introduced in 1995, combines the PCI bus with the rugged and compact Eurocard mechanical packaging. The PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI) specification was introduced in 1997 as an open industry standard for measurement and automation systems. It combines the high-speed PCI bus with integrated timing and triggering features and the standard, ready-to-use software available in the PC industry. Any PXI product can be used in a CompactPCI system and vice versa. Revision 2.0 of the PXI specification, recently approved by the PXI Systems Alliance, extends the bus’s benefits to larger, more sophisticated systems.
PCI- and PXI-bus compatible I/O cards
PDXI (PowerDAQ extensions for Instrumentation) function cards from United Electronic Industries are compatible with Revision 2.0 of the PXI specification and can be plugged into any 3U CompactPCI chassis. The PDXI cards are available in four categories: 20 multifunction I/O (PDXI-MF) models with resolutions of 12, 14, or 16 bits, digitization rates ranging from 150 kilosamples/s to 2.2 megasamples/s, and 16 digital inputs and 16 digital outputs; 12 simultaneous sampling (PDXI-MFS) models with a sample-and-hold for each of four or eight input channels; 3 analog output (PDXI-AO) models with an independent D/A converter for each channel, all with 16-bit resolution and 100-kHz update rates; and 3 digital I/O (PDXI-DIO) models with 64 digital I/O points. United Electronic Industries, 10 Dexter Avenue, Watertown, Massachusetts 02472-4107, http://www.ueidaq.com
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Data acquisition for industrial applications
DATAQ Instruments’ upgrade to its DI-730 PC-based data acquisition and control system has six input ranges extending from ± 1000 V down to ± 10 mV full scale, with an A/D resolution of 14 bits. The system features a sampling rate of 250 kilosamples/s and up to ±1000 V isolation from input-to-output and from channel-to-channel. The DI-730 includes a digital signal processing-based design with an oversampling technique that provides for noise reduction, minimum/maximum detection, and acquisition of peaks at very low sample rates, and of desired data before, after, or at the trigger event. The DI-730 was designed for in-field industrial applications that require the monitoring and recording of motor-drive systems, load sensors, braking systems, and related types of machinery. DATAQ Instruments Inc, 241 Springside Drive, Suite 200, Akron, Ohio 44333, http://www.dataq.com
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PXI digitizer
LeCroy Corp has announced the PXD222 digitizer featuring a singleshot sampling rate of 2.5 gigasamples/s, 200 MHz bandwidth, and accommodating up to 300 V at its isolated inputs. The PXD222, fully PXI compliant and with a 3U PXI 2 form factor, is designed with advanced triggering capabilities, including automatic, edge, video glitch, and pulse width. In addition to the digitizer’s normal acquisition mode in which up to 1000 points are captured, there are two others. The glitch capture mode allows captures of glitches as fast as 50 ns in time windows from 50 μ s to 50 s. In the scope record mode, the PXD222 stores 27 kilopoints while sampling the data at 20 MS/s. Both modes oversample the waveform and return the minimum/maximum values found in each time interval. The digitizer’s software includes an instrument driver for the Interchangeable Virtual Instruments-scope feature. LeCroy Corporation, 700 Chestnut Ridge Road, Chestnut Ridge, New York 10977-6499, http://www.lecroy.com
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Distributed I/O modules
IOtech has introduced the PointScan family of 45 analog and digital distributed I/O modules, divided into three groups and their supporting accessories. The PointScan/100 series features built-in Ethernet to provide immediate (TCP/IP-based) integration into existing Ethernet networks as well as browser-based Web access. These modules also enable an expansion of up to 32 RS-485-based I/Os using a single Ethernet IP address. The PointScan/200 series provides built-in RS-485, supporting open protocol-based expansion using a multidrop network. The PointScan/300 series uses a high-speed local bus capable of handling up to 20 modules over a 16-m total distance, and offers a combination of I/O modules, for example, four digital inputs and four analog outputs; this series provides the lowest cost per channel. IOtech Inc, 25971 Cannon Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44146, http://www.iotech.com
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Synchronous communications PCI board
Quatech’s MPAC-100 board provides a single synchronous RS-232 serial port to a PC that supports byte-oriented synchronous protocols such as the IBM BiSync, and bit-oriented protocols including high-level data link control and synchronous data link control. The board is equipped with 1024-byte transmit-and-receive-FIFOs (first-in-first-out) and supports interrupt-driven communication. With the FIFOs enabled, data can be moved to and from the serial communications controller (SCC) chip in large blocks, providing data speeds up to 600 kilobytes/s and low-interrupt overhead. The SCC also provides a programmable baud-rate generator and digital phase-locked-loop for recovering data clocking from received data streams. The MPAC-100 includes the company’s SYNCDRIVE software. Quatech Inc, 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway, Akron, Ohio 44311, http://www.quatech.com
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CompactPCI crates
Acqiris has introduced CompactPCI crates in 3-slot (CC103), 5-slot (CC105), and 8-slot (CC108) versions. They can be used freestanding on the bench or rack mounted and offer a wide variety of configurations. For example, a test system based on the CC108 can house up to seven instrument modules, including any combination of 6U or 3U CompactPCI digitizers, multiplex switching cards, and waveform generators. One slot can be dedicated to a remote PCI host processor interface or to an embedded 6U processor board. It is also possible to fill the seven slots entirely with the company’s Cougar quad digitizer modules to achieve 28 channels of simultaneously sampled data. For a high-speed link to a standard PC, Acqiris offers two interfaces: the IC200 and the IC210, which uses a fiberoptic transmission system. Both interfaces connect directly to any vacant PCI slot in the crate. Acqiris USA, P.O. Box 2203, 234 Cromwell Hill Road, Monroe, New York 10950, http://www.acqiris.com
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Sensor-data acquisition
Sensoray Co has developed the model 618/619 that can acquire sensor data for any PCI bus system. Features include 16-bit resolution from 8 (model 618) or 16 (model 619) differential input channels plus sensor excitation. Each channel is software programmable for sensor type, linearization, gain, low-pass filtering, and scan rate; an on-board microprocessor continually scans the active sensor channels. A/D conversion is performed in less than 22 ms, providing a 45-channel-per-second scan rate. The model 618/619 has autocalibration and supports thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors, thermistors, and strain gauges. The company’s QuickSense, a data acquisition program, is available as an option. Sensoray Company Inc, 7337 SW Tech Center Drive, Tigard, Oregon 97223, http://www.sensoray.com
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Modules for multimeter/switch systems
Keithley Instruments has announced three new modules and three mass termination kits for the digital multimeter functions of the company’s two-slot model 2700 and five-slot model 2750 main frames. The new modules are designed for mass terminations with the new connector kits and include the models 7701 (1 × 32 differential multiplexers); 7707 (1 × 10 differential multiplexers and 32 channels of digital I/O); 7709 (6 × 8 switching matrix); and connector kit models 7788, 7789, and 7790 that allow fast, mass terminations to multiplex modules with a ribbon cable. The plug-in modules provide the flexibility to vary channel count from 20 to 400 (single-ended), apply a stimulus to devices under test, route signals, control system components, and make precision measurements with the instrument’s digital multimeter functions. Keithley Instruments Inc, 28775 Aurora Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44139-1891, http://www.keithley.com
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