DAQs for PCIs

National Instruments has introduced its highest resolution multi-function data acquisition (DAQ) devices for the PCI bus with four 18 bit M Series DAQ devices.

The PCI-628x devices deliver four times the resolution of 16 bit devices and samples up to 32 channels at rates up to 625 kS/s. The devices also measure DC voltages with accuracy equivalent to 5/½-digit voltmeters, improving measurement accuracy of sensors such as thermocouples.

The devices offer channel counts ranging from 16 analog input channels and 24 digital I/O lines to 32 analog input channels, four analog output channels and 48 digital I/O lines. All devices contain two 80 MHz, 32 bit counter/timers and support hardware-timed digital I/O at rates up to 10 MHz on 32 lines.

Engineers can use these devices in test applications to provide instrument capabilities equivalent to a 5/½-digit voltmeter, 2.8 MS/s arbitrary waveform generator and 32 bit logic analyser.

The devices are also compatible with NI signal conditioners and IEEE 1451.4 smart sensors, making them suitable for sensor measurement and data logging applications.

The devices bring the total of M series multi-function devices to 24 and feature the technologies introduced with the M series product range, including NI-MCal technology and the NI-STC 2 system controller chip.

MCal improves measurement accuracy across the entire measurement range by performing a self-calibration at each input range and compensating for non-linearity error.

The STC 2 chip delivers digital I/O and timing capabilities previously unavailable with plug-in DAQ devices, such as timed and correlated digital I/O, 32 bit counter/timers with quadrature encoder inputs and debouncing filters, as well as six DMA channels for dedicated data paths to the PC processor for all I/O operations.