The TPADAC-32 driver will function with TestPoint version 4 and higher, running under MS Windows
98/ME/NT4/2000/XP
1.2 HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY
The TPADAC-32 Driver supports the ADAC PCI Series hardware. The driver was designed to be
compatible with your TestPoint software A/D, D/A, DIO and CT options. Most Options are supported such
as: StartA/D, AcquireA/D, SampleA/D, StopA/D, SetAD trigger immediate, SetA/D trigger digital, SetA/D
burst mode, StartD/A, StopD/A, Output D/A, DIO input from, DIO Output to, DIO Set bits, DIO
Configure, CT start event count, CT read event count and CT start rate generator.
2. SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
Normally, the ADAC Driver files are loaded during the TestPoint product installation. If your version of
TestPoint does not contain the TPADAC-32 driver, you can install it by going to the "ADAC_TP" folder
on your ADAC CD, and clicking on setup.exe.
The setup process will prompt you to place the ADAC files under your "TestPoint" folder, it’s important
that you verify the setup program is installing into your Testpoint directory, normally c:\TestPt; otherwise
TestPoint will fail to find the appropriate ADAC drivers.
Once installed you must manually edit the tpad.ini located in your TestPoint directory to add the following
line to the [ADDRIVERS32] section:
[ADDRIVERS32]
TPADAC32=TPADAC32.DLL
The setup process will automatically install the following files on to your computer:
c:\Windows\
ADAC-TP.con
ADAC-TP.ini
ADLCORE.dll
ADGRM.dll
c:\Windows\system32\drivers\
PCI55XX.sys
c:\Testpt\
ADAC-TP.dll
Important: Once TPADAC-32 is installed on your PC, it is necessary for you to run the ADAC
Configurator Utility to select user options such as input configuration, etc.. Options you select in the
Configurator Utility are saved as your initialization file, which is read by the TestPoint software. See
“TestPoint Board Configuration File” section for more details
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3. TESTPOINT BOARD CONFIGURATION FILE
The ADAC Config software is used to configure the ADAC-TP.con and ADAC-TP.INI files with the
proper setting for each particular board type.
Launch the AdacConfig.exe software, and select File > Open, and then browse to your Windows directory
and select the ADAC-TP.con file.
Select Settings > Configuration. The ADAC Board Configurations window will appear, settings should be
as follows:
Click on the + sign to the left of the board icon to expand the board’s “configuration tree”. Below is an
example of proper settings for a PCI-5501MF-0 or PCI-5501MF-V board:
[Board0]
Board ID=0
Board String= User Defined, not used by Testpoint
Board Name=Pci5501MF
Board Caps File=c:\Adac\AdacConfig\Boards\Pci5501MF.cap
Device Driver Path= c:\Adac\AdacConfig\Boards\
Device System Driver=\\.\aPci55xxDevice0.
Select Settings > Initialization. Click on the + sign to the left of the board icon to expand the board’s
“setting tree”.
The sections listed below specify individual subsystem component configurations used by the ADAC
drivers. The only settings that should be changed are those specified in the following section of this
manual. Changing the default settings as configured by the ADAC config program randomly may cause the
ADAC driver to fail when running in testpoint.
The PCI-550X Series supports most standard TestPoint “A/D Object” settings. In addition an extended
PCI-55XX A/D control object described below is provided to further enhances the A/D data collection
capabilities within TestPoint. For a listing of standard TestPoint A/D object support Refer to the
“Supported TestPoint Software Calls” section of this manual.
The PCI-550x Series of data acquisition boards includes five models; the following table describes the
main differences between these boards:
Product NameADC ResolutionProgrammable GainsNumber of Channels
PCI-5500MF12-bit 100 kHzN/A8 SE
PCI-5501MF12-bit 100 kHz1, 2, 4, 816 SE / 8 Diff
PCI-5502MF12-bit 100 kHz1, 10, 100, 100016 SE / 8 Diff
PCI-5503HR16-bit 200 kHz1, 2, 4, 816 SE / 8 Diff
PCI-5504HR16-bit 200 kHz1, 10, 10016 SE / 8 Diff
The PCI-5500MF has 8 single-ended analog inputs multiplexed to a 12-bit A/D converter with maximum
throughput of 100 kHz, two counter input channels, two timer output channels and 16 lines of digital I/O.
The PCI-5501MF has 16 single-ended/pseudo-differential or 8 differential analog inputs multiplexed to a
12-bit A/D converter with maximum throughput of 100 kHz, programmable gains of 1, 2, 4 or 8, two
optional clocked 16-bit D/A voltage outputs, two counter input channels, two timer output channels and 48
lines of digital I/O. An eight 4-20mA current loop input option is available by using the TB-PCI-5500-8CL
screw terminal panel.
The PCI-5502MF is the same as the PCI-5501MF above, but with programmable gains of 1, 10, 100 or
1000.
The PCI-5503HR has 16 single-ended/pseudo-differential or 8 differential analog inputs multiplexed to a
16-bit A/D converter with maximum throughput of 200 kHz, programmable gains of 1, 2, 4 or 8, two
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optional clocked 16-bit D/A voltage outputs, two counter input channels, two timer output channels and 48
lines of digital I/O. An eight 4-20mA current loop input option is available by using the TB-PCI-5500-8CL
screw terminal panel.
The PCI-5504HR is the same as the PCI-5503HR above, but with programmable gains of 1, 10, 100.
All boards feature on-board digital calibration for both A/D and D/A, and a DMA engine for optimum
performance in a Windows environment. Board connections are terminated in a 68-pin “high density”
SCSC III connector at the rear of the PC.
The Channel range for the PCI-5500MF board is 0 to 7.
The Channel range for the PCI-5501MF/PCI-5502MF Series is from 0 to 15.
The Channel range for the PCI-5503HR/PCI-5504HR Series is from 0 to 15.
The PCI-5501MF and 5503HR provide programmable gains is 1, 2, 4 and 8.
The PCI-5502MF and PCI-5504HR provide programmable gains is 1, 10, 100 and 1000.
5.1 A/D BURST MODE ACQUISITION
This mode is only supported during StartAD or AcquireAD acquisition. The burst mode registers are used
to provide time interval between channel to channel conversions. The time interval between bursts is
obtained from the specified clocking source that is specified by the A/D rate parameter or external clock
input if the rate is set to 0.
The rate at which the burst conversions are clocked is defined by the TestPoint “Other A/D command,
BURSTRATE(value)” If the BURSTRATE value is not within the limits of the specific board’s
capabilities, an error will be reported by the driver. The rate parameter specified in the “A/D Object”
“StartA/D” or “AcquireA/D” specifies the time between bursts, and must not exceed the BURSTRATE
value divided by total number of channels (see example below).
Max rate is the Rate parameter that is specified in the TestPoint Acquire or Start A/D command line.
If the rate parameter is set to 0 the Burst Trigger becomes external, but may be set by the TestPoint “OtherA/D command, EXTCLKEDGE(value) as EXT_FALLING_EDGE or EXT_RISING_EDGE”. The
EXTCLKEDGE must be issued just prior to each Start or Acquire command.
Note: The value specified by BURSTRATE is specified in hertz.
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5.1.1 A/D Internal Burst Triggering
For burst acquisition, TestPoint’s A/D Objects “StartA/D” or “AcquireA/D” rate parameter can be used to
program the on-board pacer clock to the rate at which burst scans are initiated. The rate parameter is the
exact frequency at which burst scans are initiated, i.e. if the rate were set to 1000 and the Channel(s) = 0, 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the total number of A/D samples obtained in one second would be calculated as (8 channels
X 1000Hz.).
5.1.2 A/D External Burst Triggering
In burst mode acquisition, the (ADTGIN) input can be used to initiate a burst scan, each low to high
transition of the (ADTGIN) input will initiate a another burst scan.To select this option, set TestPoint’s
A/D Objects “StartA/D” or “AcquireA/D” rate parameter to 0 and “Set A/D trigger Immediate”.
5.2 A/D TRIGGERING METHODS
The TestPoint A/D Objects “StartA/D” and “AcquireA/D” “Set A/D trigger digital” allows an external
event to start the acquisition. In addition the TestPoint “Other A/D command, PRETRIGGER(value)” is
used to enable About mode acquisition when Set A/D trigger digital is enabled. In about mode the specified
number of PRETRIGGER(samples) is collected before the a trigger event and the rest of the samples after
the trigger. The external signal edge that triggers defaults to falling edge, but may be changed in the adactp.ini file using the ADAC Config program to either EXT_FALLING_EDGE or EXT_RISING_EDGE.
Note: The Trigger Source signal may also be output to the terminal connector/panel, to do this you must
modify the adac-tp.ini file using the ADAC Config program and set the TrigOutput setting to ENABLED
5.2.1 Post Triggering
In non-burst mode acquisition, the (ADTGIN) or (DATGIN) input can be used to start the acquisition, a
low to high transition of the ADTGIN connection will start the process. To do this set the TestPoint’s A/D
Objects “StartA/D”, “AcquireA/D” or “StartD/A” to “Set A/D Trigger Digital” just prior to each
“StartA/D”, “AcquireA/D” or “StartD/A”call.
5.3 D/A TRIGGERING METHODS
The TestPoint A/D Objects “StartD/A” can have an external event to start the acquisition as defined by the
D/A setting in the adac-tp.ini file. Using the ADAC Config program to modify the D/A trigger settings, the
trigger mode and edge may be configured.
5.4 A/D AND D/A CLOCKING METHODS
For non-burst acquisition, the rate parameter that TestPoint’s A/D Objects “StartA/D”, “AcquireA/D” and
StartD/A calls provide, is the rate in Hz at which the A/D or D/A conversions are clocked. For the A/D, the
rate is a multiple of the number of channels specified in the Channel(s)= parameter, i.e. if the rate were
equal to 1000 and the Channel(s) = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; the actual A/D clocking would be 8000 Hz, 1000
Hz per channel.
ADAC Series PCI boards also support an external clocking input connection that may be used to clock the
A/D conversions. To select the external clock input as the A/D clocking source, set the rate parameter in
TestPoint’s A/D Objects “StartA/D”, “AcquireA/D” or StartD/A to “0”. If the rate parameter is set to 0 the
signal edge that triggers defaults to falling edge, but may be set by the TestPoint “Other A/D command,
EXTCLKEDGE(value) as EXT_FALLING_EDGE or EXT_FALLING_EDGE”. The EXTCLKEDGE
must be issued just prior to each Start or Acquire command.
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Note: The A/D Clock Source signal may also be output to the terminal connector/panel, to do this you must
modify the adac-tp.ini file using the ADAC Config program and set the ClockOutput setting to ENABLED.
5.4.1 Internal Clocking
For non-burst acquisition, TestPoint’s A/D Objects “StartA/D”, “AcquireA/D” or “StartD/A” rate
parameter is used to program the on-board pacer clock to the rate at which the A/D conversions are
clocked.
For the A/D the rate is a multiple of the number of channels specified in the Channel(s)= parameter, i.e. if
the rate were equal to 1000 and the Channel(s) = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the actual A/D clocking would be
8000 Hz, 1000 Hz. per channel.
5.4.2 External Clocking
In non-Burst mode acquisition, the (ADCLKIN) or (DACLKIN) input can be used to clock the A/D
conversions. To select the external clocking mode, set the TestPoint A/D Objects “StartA/D”,
“AcquireA/D” or “StartD/A” rate parameter to 0.
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6. ERROR CODES
In addition to the TestPoint error codes, the TP ADAC-32 driver reports custom error codes generated by
ADAC ADLIB Series driver which the TP ADAC-32 driver is based on. The error codes are extensive, and
should assist in solving most setup or configuration problems. See below for a complete list of ADLIB
error codes.
6.1 ADLIB ERROR CODES
ALERR_NOERRORS1No errors occurred during the call.
ALERR_NOT_SUPPORTED-1The specified function or argument is not supported.