National Instruments DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Download

DAQMeter

DAQCard-4050

User Manual

Digital Multimeter Card for PCMCIA

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

February 1997 Edition

Part Number 321427A-01

Internet Support

support@natinst.com

E-mail: info@natinst.com FTP Site: ftp.natinst.com Web Address: http://www.natinst.com

Bulletin Board Support

BBS United States: (512) 794 -5422 BBS United Kingdom: 01635 551422 BBS France: 01 48 65 15 5 9

Fax-on-Demand Support

(512) 418-1111

Telephone Support (U.S.)

Tel: (512) 795-8248 Fax: (512) 794-5678

International Offices

Australia 03 9879 5166, Austria 0662 45 79 90 0, Belgium 02 757 00 20, Canada (Ontario) 905 785 0085, Canada (Québec ) 514 694 8521, Denmark 45 76 26 00, Finland 09 527 2321, France 01 48 14 24 24, Ger many 089 741 31 30, H on g Kong 264 5 3186, Israel 03 5734815, Italy 02 413091, Japan 03 5472 2970, K orea 02 596 7456, Mexico 5 520 2635, Netherlands 0348 433466, Nor w ay 32 84 84 00, Singapore 22658 86, Spain 91 640 0085, Sweden 08 730 49 70, Switzerland 056 200 51 51, Taiwan 02 377 1200, U.K. 01635 523545

National Instruments Corporate Headquarters

6504 Bridge Point Parkw ay Austin, TX 78730-503 9 Tel: (512) 794-0100

Important Information

Warranty

The DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 is warranted again st defects in mat erials and wor kmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty period. This warranty includes parts and labor.

The media on which you receive National Instru ments software ar e warranted not to fail to execute pro grammi ng instructions, due to defects in materials and workmanship, for a period of 90 days from date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace soft ware media that do not execute programming instructions if National Instruments receives notice of such defects during the warranty period. National Instrument s does not war rant that the oper ation of the softwar e shall be un interr upted or error free.

A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the factory and clearly marked on the outside of the package before any equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments will pay the shipping costs of returning to the owner par ts whi ch are cov ered by w arranty .

National Instruments believes that the information in this manual is accurate. The document has been carefully reviewed for technical accuracy. In the event that technical or typographical errors exist, National Instruments reserves the right to make ch anges to subsequent editions of this document without prior not ice to holders of th is edition. The reader should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected. In no event shall National Instruments be liable for any damages arising out of or related to this docum ent or the in format ion contai ned in it.

XCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN

SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE

USTOMER’S RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF NATIONAL

NSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT THERETOFORE PAID BY THE CUSTOMER WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, USE OF PRODUCTS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF

Instruments will apply regardles s of the fo rm of acti on, whether i n contract or tort, incl uding neg lig ence. Any acti on against National Instruments must be brought wit hin one year after the cause of action accrues. Nat ion al Instrument s shall not be liable for any delay in performan ce due to causes beyo nd it s reasonable cont rol. The warranty pr ovided herein does not cover damages, defects, malf unctio ns, or s ervice fai lures caused by owne r’s fail ure to fol low the National Instruments in sta llat ion, o perat ion, or ma inte na nce instr uct ions; owner ’s modif icat ion of the p roduct; owner’s abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and power failure or surges, fire, flood, accident, actions of third parties, or other events outside reasonable control.

, N

ATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND

. N

ATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

. This limitation of the liability of National

Copyright

Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, reco rding, storin g in an in format ion retr iev al system , or tra nslati ng, in wh ole or in par t, without the prior written consent of Nation al Inst rument s Corpo ration .

Trademarks

LabVIEW®, NI-DAQ®, ComponentWorks™, CVI™, DAQCard™, DAQMeter™ , SCXI™, and VirtualBe nch™ are trademarks of Nationa l Ins trumen ts C orpor atio n.

Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

WARNING REGARDING MEDICAL AND CLINICAL USE OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS

National Instruments products are not design ed with comp onents and testing in tend ed to ensure a level o f reliabi lity suitable for use in treatment and diag nosi s of humans . Appli cations of Nation al Instru men ts product s invol vin g medical or clinical treatment can create a potential for accidental injury caused by product failure, or by errors on the part of the user or application designer . Any us e or applicat ion of Nat ional Ins trum ent s products for or involvi ng medical or clinical treatment must be performed by properly trained and qualified medical personnel, and all traditional medical safeguards, equipment, and procedures that are appropriate in the particular situation to prevent serious injury or death should always continue to be used when National Instruments prod ucts ar e being used. National Instruments products are NOT intended to be a substitute f or any for m of establ ished pr ocess, proce dure, or equi pmen t used to monitor or safegua rd huma n he alth and sa fety in med ical or clin ical t reat ment .

About This Manual

Organization of This Manual.................................................................................. ......ix

Conventions Used in This Manual................................................................................x

National Instruments Documentation.............................. ..... .................................. ......x

Related Documentation.................................................................................................xi

Customer Communication............................................................................................xi

Chapter 1 Introduction

About the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050............................................ ...... ...... .................1-1

What You Need to Get Started.....................................................................................1-2

Software Programming Choices...................................................................................1-2

National Instruments Application Software...................................................1-2

VirtualBench...................................................................................................1-3

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver and NI-DAQ.......................1-3

Optional Equipment......................................................................................................1-5

Unpacking.....................................................................................................................1-5

Table

Contents

Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration

Safety Instructions ........................................................... ..... .................................. ......2-1

Installation ........ ...... .................................................................... ..... ...... .......................2-2

Cable and Probes ..........................................................................................................2-3

Hardware Configuration...............................................................................................2-4

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

Warm-up.......................................................................................................................3-1

Choosing a Reading Rate..............................................................................................3-1

Measuring Voltages......................................................................................................3-2

DC Voltages ...................................................................................................3-3

Input Ranges ................................. ...... ................................. ...... ......3-3

National Instruments Corporation v DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Table of Contents

AC Voltages...................................................................................................3-5

Measuring Resistance................................................................................................... 3-8

Signal Connections ................................... ...... ...... ......................................... 3-8

Input Ranges .................................. ...... ................................. ...... ...... ............. 3-9

Continuity Measurements.............................................................................. 3-10

Testing Diodes......................................................... ...... .................................. ..... ...... ..3-10

Signal Connections ................................... ...... ...... ......................................... 3-10

Measuring Current........................................................................................................3-11

Appendix A Specifications

Accuracy Considerations.................................................................3-3

Input Impedance.............................................................. ..3-3

AC Noise Effects...............................................................3-4

Thermal EMF.................................................................... 3-4

True RMS Method........................................................................... 3-5

Input Ranges...................................................... ..... ...... ................... 3-5

Accuracy Considerations.................................................................3-6

Frequency Response..........................................................3-6

Crest Factor.............................................. .........................3-7

AC Voltage Offset.............................................................3-8

Appendix B PC Card Questions and Answers

Appendix C Customer Communication

Glossary

Index

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual vi

National Instruments Corporation

Figures

Tables

Table of Contents

Figure 1-1. The Relationship between the Programming Environment,

NI-DAQ, and Your Hardware ........................................ ...... .................1-4

Figure 2-1. Installing the DAQCard-4050 and Cables.............................................2-3

Figure 2-2. Probe Types ...........................................................................................2-4

Figure 3-1. Connecting Probes for Voltage Measurement.......................................3-2

Figure 3-2. The Effect of Input Impedance on Signal Measurement.......................3-4

Figure 3-3. Connections for Resistance Measurement.............................................3-8

Figure 3-4. Connections for Diode Measurement....................................................3-10

Figure 3-5. Connections for Current Measurement..................................................3-11

Table 3-1. DC Input Range Accuracy.....................................................................3-3

Table 3-2. AC Input Range Accuracy.....................................................................3-6

Table 3-3. Input Frequency Error Rate...................................................................3-7

Table 3-4. Crest Factor Error Rate..........................................................................3-7

Table 3-5. Resistance Input Range Accuracy.........................................................3-9

National Instruments Corporation vii DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

This manual des cribe s the el ectri cal an d mech an ical a spect s of the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 a nd contain s information concernin g its operation and programming.

The DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 is a digital multimeter card for computers with Type II PCMCIA slots compliant with revision 2.1 of the PCMCIA specifications.

Organization of This Manual

The DAQMeter DAQ Card-4050 U ser Manual is orga nized as follo ws:

• Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050, lists what you need to get started, describes the optional software and optional equipment, and explain s how to unpack you r card .

• Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration, explains safety instructions and describes how to install and configure a DAQMeter DAQCard-4050.

• Chapter 3, DMM Operation, describes how to use your DAQMete r DAQCard-4050 and inclu des operation tips on taking voltage, resistance, diode, a nd cu rren t rea dings.

• Appendix A, Specifications, lists the specifications for the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050.

• Appendix B, PC Card Questions and Answers, contains a list of common questions and answer s relating to PC Card (PCMCI A) operation.

• Appendix C, Customer Communication, co ntain s f orm s y ou ca n use to request help from National Instruments or to comment on our products.

•The Glossary contains an alphabetical list and description of terms used in this manual, including acronyms, abbreviations, metric prefixes, mnemonics, and symbols.

•The Index alph abetically lists topics covere d in this manual, including the page where you can find the topic .

About

This

Manual

National Instruments Corporation ix DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

About This Manual

Conventions Used in This Manual

The following conventions are used in this manual:

bold Bold text denotes the names of menus, menu items, parameters, dialog

boxes, dialog box buttons or options, icons, windows, Windows 95 tabs, or LEDs.

bold italic Bold italic text denotes a note, caution, or warning. italic Italic text denotes emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction to a

key concept. This font also deno tes text from which y ou supply the appropriate word or v alue, as in Wind ow s 3 .x .

monospace Text in this font denotes text or characters that should literally enter

from the keyboard, sections of co de, pro gramming ex ample s, and syntax examples. This font is also used for the pro per names of disk drives, paths, directories, programs, subprogram s, subroutines, device names, functions, operations, variables, file names and exten sions, and for statements and c omm en ts take n from p rogra ms.

The Glossary lists abbreviations, acronym s, metric prefixes, mnemonics, symbols, and ter ms.

National Instruments Documentation

The DAQMeter DAQ Card-4050 U ser Manual is one piece of the documentation set for your DAQ system. You could have any of several types of manuals depending on the hardware an d software in your system. Use the manuals you have as follows:

• Your DAQ hardware user manua ls—These ma nuals have detailed information about the DAQ hardware that plugs into or is connected to your computer. Use these manuals for hardware installation and configuration instructions, specification information about your DAQ hardw are, an d applicatio n hints.

• Software documentation—You might have several sets of software documentation, includin g La bVIE W, Lab Windo ws VirtualBench, and NI-DAQ. After you have set up your hardware system, use either the application software (LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI) or the NI-DAQ documentation to help you write your application. If you have a large and complicated system, it is worthwhile to look through the software documentation before you configure your hardware.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual x

/CVI,

National Instruments Corporation

• Accessory installation guides or manuals—I f you are using accessory products, read the terminal block and cable assembly installation guides. They explain how to physically connect the relevant pieces of the system. Consult these guides when you are making your connec tions.

Customer Communication

National Instruments wants to rece ive you r com ments o n ou r prod ucts and manuals. We are interested in the applications you develop with our products, and we want to help if you have problems with them. To make it easy for you to contact us, this manual contains comment and configuration forms for you to complete. These for ms are in Appendix C, Customer Communication, at the end of this manual.

About This Manual

National Instruments Corporation xi DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter

Introduction

This chapt er des cri bes the D AQM ete r DA QCar d-4 050 , list s wh at you need to get started, describes the optional software and optional equipment, and expla ins how to un pa ck yo ur c ard.

About the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050

Thank you for buying a National Instruments DAQMeter DAQCard-4050. The DAQCard-4050 is a digital multimeter card for c omputers eq uipped wi th Type II PCMCIA slots.

The DAQCard-4050 features accurate 5 1/2-digit DC voltage, true root mean square (RMS) AC voltage, ohm, and diode measurements in a PC Card format. You can use the card to make the same measurements you would with a standard benchtop digital multimeter. The DAQCard-4050 conta ins a 24-bit analo g-to-digital conve rter (ADC) with digital filtering, which gives the card excellent resolution, accuracy, and noise reje ction. Coup led with a CSM ser ies curre nt shunt module available from National Instrum ents, th e DAQCar d-4050 als o effectively measures AC and DC current.

The DAQCard-4050’s small size , weigh t, and low pow er co nsum ption make this device ideal for use in portable computers, which makes remote measureme nts and d ata-log ging prac tica l. T he D AQC ard-4 050 requires very little power when in operation, thus extending the life of your computer batteries.

A system based on the DAQCard-4050 offers the flexibility, performance, and size that ma kes it ide al fo r ser vice , re pa ir, a nd manufacturing as well as for use in industrial and laboratory environments. The DAQCard-4050, used in conjunction with your computer, is a versatile, cost-effective platform for high-resolution measurements.

Detailed specifications for the DAQCard-4050 are in Appendix A,

Specifications.

National Instruments Corporation 1-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction

What You Need to Get Started

To set up and use your DAQCard-4050, you will need the following:

❑ DAQMeter DAQCard-4050

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

❑ ❑ One of the following software packages and documentation:

– NI-DAQ for PC compatibles – LabVIEW for PC compatibles – LabWindows/CVI –VirtualBench – DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver

❑ DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 accessory cable ❑ One pair of test probes (red and blac k) ❑ Your computer

Software Programming Choices

There are several op tions to choo se from to progra m and use your National Instruments DAQ hardware. You can use LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, VirtualBench, or the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver.

National Instruments Application Software

LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI are innovative program development software packages for data acquisition and control applications. LabVIEW uses graphic al pro gra m ming, w her ea s La bWind ows/CV I enhances traditional pr ogr am ming la ngu ages. B oth p acka ges includ e extensive libraries for data acquisition, instrument control, data analysis, and graphic al data p res entation .

LabVIEW features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user interface, and a po werf ul g raphic al progr am ming langua ge. The LabVIEW Data Acquisition VI L ibra r y, a se ries of V Is fo r using LabVIEW with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is included with

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 1-2

National Instruments Corporation

VirtualBench

Chapter 1 Introduction

LabVIEW. The LabVIEW D ata A cquisitio n VI Libr ar y is functiona lly equivalent to the NI-DAQ software.

LabWindows/CVI features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user interface, and uses th e ANSI standa rd C pr ogr am ming la nguage . The LabWindows/CVI Data Ac quisition Lib rary, a se ries of fun ctions f or using LabWindows/CVI with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is included with the NI-DAQ software kit. The LabWindow s/CVI Data Acquisition library is functionally equivalent to the NI-DAQ software. However, the DAQCard-4050 works only with the Easy I/O functions. For full functionality, you can use the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver with LabWindows/CVI.

Using LabVIEW or La bWin d ows/ CVI so ftware will greatly re d uc e th e development time fo r you r data ac quisition an d con trol ap plicat ion.

VirtualBench is a suite of VIs that allow you to use your data acquisition products just as you use stand -alone instrume nts, b ut yo u benefit from the processing, display, and storage capabilities of PCs. VirtualBench instrume nts load and sa ve w avef orm d ata to disk in the same forms that can be us ed in po pular sp readsh eet pr ogram s and wor d processors. A report generation capability complements the raw data storage by adding timestamps, measurements, user name, and comments.

The complet e V i rtua lB en ch su it e c on ta ins Vir tua lB en ch- S co pe, VirtualBench-DSA, VirtualBench-Function Generator, VirtualBench-FG, VirtualBench-Arb, VirtualBench-AODC, VirtualBench-DIO, VirtualBench-Board Calibrator, VirtualBench-DMM, and VirtualBench-Logger. Your DAQCard-4050 kits contains a copy of VirtualBench-DM M. VirtualBenc h-DMM is a turn-key application that allows you to make mea sureme nts as you would with a standard benchtop multimeter.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver and NI-DAQ

The DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver provides flexibility and programmability in a standard instrument driver format.

The instrument driver application pro gramm ing interface (A PI) is designed after a classical, full-featured digital multimeter instrument driver. The instrument driver lets you avoid making low-level software calls. The DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver works with

National Instruments Corporation 1-3 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction

LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or conventional programming languages such as C and Visual Basic.

While you can do most programming at the instrument driver level, you can use NI-DAQ for complete control over the card’s functionality as well as for integrating your system into larger National Instr uments data acquisition systems.

Whether you are using the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver, LabVIEW, or La bW indows/CV I, y our app lica tion u ses the NI-DAQ driver software, as illustrated in Figure 1-1.

DAQ or

SCXI Hardware

VirtualBench

(Windows 95, 3.1)

LabVIEW

(Windows 95, 3.1, or NT)

Personal

Computer or

Workstation

Conventional

NI-DAQ

Driver Software

DAQMeter

DAQCard-4050

Instrument Driver

Programming Languages

(C, Visual Basic)

(Windows 95 or NT)

LabWindows/CVI*

(Windows 95, 3.1, or NT)

*Easy I/O functions only

Figure 1-1. The Relationship between the Programming Environment,

NI-DAQ, and Your Hardware

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 1-4

National Instruments Corporation

Optional Equipment

National Instruments offers a var iety of pr odu cts to use w ith yo ur DAQCard-4050, includ ing c able s, conne cto r bl ocks, a nd othe r accessories, as follows:

• Current shunt modules fo r ma king c urr ent m eas urem en ts

• Additional test probes and ac cessor ies to simplify ma king measurements

For more specific information about these products, refer to your National Instruments catalogue or website, or call the office nearest you.

Unpacking

Your DAQCard-4050 is shipped in an antistatic vinyl box. Whe n you are not using your D AQC ard-4 050 , sto re it in this box . Bec ause yo ur DAQCard-4050 is enclosed in a fully shielded case, no additional electrostatic precautions are n ecessar y. Howe ver, fo r your o wn sa fety and to protect your DAQCard-4050, never attempt to touch the connector pins.

Chapter 1 Introduction

National Instruments Corporation 1-5 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Installation and

Chapter

Configuration

This chapter explains safety instructions and describes how to install and configure a DAQMeter DAQCard-4050.

Safety Instructions

Caution:

DO NOT OPERATE THIS DEVICE IN AN EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERE OR WHERE THERE MAY BE FLAMMABLE GASES OR FUMES.

Equipment described in this document must be used in an Installation Category II environment per IEC 664. This category requires local level supply mains-connected installation.

To prevent safety hazards, the maximum voltage between either of the inputs and the ground of the computer should never exceed ±250 VDC or 250 V

DO NOT OPERATE DAMAGED EQUIPMENT. The safety protection features built into this device can become impaired if the device becomes damaged in any way. If the device is damaged, do not use until service-trained personnel can check its safety. If necessary, return the device to National Instruments for service and repair to ensure that its safety is not compromised.

rms

Do not operate this equipment in a manner that contradicts the information specified in this document. Misuse of this equipment could result in a shock hazard.

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE PARTS OR MODIFY EQUIPMENT. Because of the danger of introducing additional hazards, do not install unauthorized parts or modify the device. Return the device to National Instruments for service and repair to ensure that its safety is not compromised.

National Instruments Corporation 2-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration

Connections that exceed any of the maximum signal ratings on the DAQCard-4050 can create a shock or fire hazard or can damage any or all of the devices connecte d to the DAQ Car d-4 050. N atio nal Instrum ents is NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR INJURIES resulting from incorrect signal connections.

Clean devices and acce ssories b y brushing off light dust with a so ft, nonmetallic brush. Remove other contaminants with a stiff nonmetallic brush. The unit must be completely dry and free from c ontaminants before returning to service.

Installation

Note: You should install your driver software before installing your hardware.

Refer to the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Read Me First docum ent for software installation instructions.

There are t wo b asi c ste ps t o in s tall ing a D AQCa rd -40 50:

1. If you have Windows 3.1, you must have C ard & Sock et Ser vices

2.0 (or a later version) software installed on your computer. If you have Windows 95, you do not need Card & Socket Services. These services are built into the Windows 95 operating system.

2. Insert the DAQCard-4050 and attach the DAQCard-4050 accessory cable.

The DAQCard-4050 ha s two co nnec tors—a 6 8-pin PC MCI A bus connector on one e nd and a 4- pin I/O c on nector on the other en d. Insert the PCMCIA bus connector into any available Type II PCMCIA slot until the connector is seated firmly. Notice that the DAQCard-4050 and th e DAQCar d-4050 accessory cable are bo th keyed so that the cable ca n b e inse rted o nly one wa y.

Be careful not to put strain on the DAQCard-4050 accessory cable when inserting it into and removing it from the DAQCard-4050. Always grasp the cable by the connec tor you are pluggin g or unplugging. Never pull directly on the DAQCard-4050 accessory cable to unplug it from the DAQCard-4050.

The DAQCard-4050 is n ow insta lled.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 2-2

National Instruments Corporation

Cable and Probes

The DAQCard-4050 kit contains the DAQCard-4050 accessory cable, which connects the DAQCard-4050 to a pair of test probes with shrouded banana plugs. These probes are also included in the kit. Bo th the DAQCard-4050 accessory cable and the test probes meet international safety requirements including U L 3111 and IEC 1010-1 for the full ranges of applications supp orted by the DAQC ard-4 050. Before using any probe s or acc essorie s no t supplied by Na tiona l Instruments, ensure that they meet applicable safety requirements for the signal levels you may en co unter.

To use the DAQCard-4050 acce ssory cable an d probe s with the DAQCard-4050, first connect the cable to the card as shown in Figure 2-1. The accessory cable connector is p olari zed so that it cann ot be plugged in incorrectly.

Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration

Portable

Computer

PCMCIA Slot

DAQCard-4050

Accessory Cable

Figure 2-1.

National Instruments Corporation 2-3 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Installing the DAQCard-4050 and Cables

Probes

Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration

The test probes connect to the DAQCard-4050 accessory cable via shrouded banana jack s. Th e shrouds a round the bana na ja cks p re vent you from contacting poten tially h azardo us voltages c onnec ted to the test probes. You can also connec t the cable to standard (un shroude d) banana jack probes or accessories; however, use unshrouded probes or accessories only when the vo ltages are less than 30 V

You can use the measurement ends of the test probes in either of two ways, as shown in Figure 2-2. With the plastic covers over the ends, you can use the probes to directly probe the circuit or device to be tested. With the plastic tip covers removed, the test probes can accept standard banana jack accessories (such as spade lugs, alligator clips, or spring clips), which are available from National Instruments.

or 42 V

rms

pk-to-pk

Standard Banana Jack Accessories

Hardware Configuration

The DAQCard-4050 is a fully softw are -conf igur able, Plug an d Play device. Configuration information is stored in nonvolatile memory. The Plug and Play services que ry the d evi ce, rea d the in forma tion, a nd arbitrate resource a llocation for it ems such as base address a nd interrupt level. After assigning these resources, the operating system enables the device for operation.

Plastic Tip Cover

(Included with Probe Kit)

Figure 2-2. Probe Types

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 2-4

National Instruments Corporation

Chapter

DMM Operation

This chapter describes ho w to use your DAQMet er DAQCard-4050 an d includes operation tips on taking voltage, resistance, diode, and current readings.

Warm-up

Measurements taken wit h the DAQCard-4050 chan ge with temperature. These changes are called thermal drifts or temperature coeffi cients. The DAQCard-4050 temperature coefficient specifications are listed in the Accuracy sections in Appendix A, Specifications. PCMCIA sl o ts, especially those in m any n ote book c om puters, ca n wa rm up a ca rd significantly above the ambient temperature. Therefore, measurements made immediately after inserting the DAQCard-4050 or powering up the computer can differ signif icantly from m easurements m ade after the DAQCard-4050 has fully warmed up.

To minimize th e effe cts of thermal drif t and ens ure th e spec ified accuracies, let the DAQ Card-4050 warm up for at least 30 seconds after power-up before taking measure ments. To maximize the relativ e accuracy of measurements, take all measurements after the DAQCard-4050 has had a chance to fully warm up in the computer, about 15 minutes.

Choosing a Reading Rate

In all measurement ranges and mode s of the DAQCar d-4050, th ere are three possible reading rates available for use —10, 50, an d 60 readings/s. The reading rate is the rate at which a new m easu re me nt is taken. In addition to the measurement speed, the selection of the reading rate affects the filtering, and thus the noise level, of measurements.

National Instruments Corporation 3-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

In NI-DAQ, you set the reading rate directly. To optimize the measurement accuracy and minimize the noise level, you should choose a reading rate of 10 r eading s/s . I f you a re u s ing the D AQC ard -4050 Instrument Driver, select the resolution or the aperture time. Also called the number of powerline cycles, aperture time is the period of time over which a measurement is averaged. The setting of resolution and aperture time for the DAQCard-4050 Instrument Driver are discussed in the diskette.

In practice, much of the noise encounter ed in measure ments occu rs at harmonics (multiples) of the local power line frequency. The DAQCard-4050 filters out noise at harmonics of its reading rate. A reading rate of 50 readings/s filters noise at harmonics of 50 Hz, while a reading rate of 60 readings/s filters noise at harmonics of 60 Hz. Since both 50 Hz and 60 Hz are multiples of 10 Hz, choosing a sample rate of 10 reading per second will let the DAQCard-4050 filter out harmonics of both 50 Hz and 60 Hz.

Measuring Voltages

ni_dmm.hlp file on the instrument driver installation

Connect the test probes to voltage signals as shown in Figure 3-1. For DC voltages, the HI (red) terminal is the positive terminal, and the LO (black) terminal is negative. For AC voltages, positive and negative terms are irrelevant.

The DAQCard-40 50 is pro tec ted a gain st da mage from v oltages within ±250 VDC or 250 V

rms

above these levels to the inputs.

Caution: To prevent possible safety hazards, the maximum voltage between either of

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 3-2

the inputs and the ground of the computer should never exceed ±250 VDC or 250 V

250 V MAX.

rms

DC Voltage

Source

Figure 3-1.

Connecting Probes for Voltage Measurement

in all ranges. You should never apply voltages

250 V MAX.

National Instruments Corporation

AC Voltage

Source

DC Voltages

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

Input Ranges

The DAQCard-4050 ha s fi ve inpu t rang es a vailable for me as uring DC voltages. These ranges are ±20 mV, ±200 mV, ±2.0 V, ±25 V, and ±250 V. The DAQCard-4 050 can measure DC voltages to its specified accuracy as long as the voltage is within the selected input range. The DAQCard-4050 can mea sure volta ges ou tsid e of the input r an ge ( the overrange) with reduced accuracy. Table 3-1 shows the accuracy, typical overrange, and input impeda nce of each of the input ranges.

Table 3-1.

Input

Range

±20 mV 0.005% 0.1% ±22 mV > 1 GΩ

±200 mV 0.005% 0.025% ±220 mV > 1 GΩ

±2.0 V 0.004% 0.01% ±2.2 V > 1 GΩ

±25 V 0.006% 0.035% ±27 V 1 MΩ

±250 V 0.006% 0.007% ±250 V 1 MΩ

Percent of

Reading

Error

DC Input Range Accuracy

Percent of

Range

Error

Overrange Input

Impedance

Accuracy Considerations

If you are making sensitive measurements (measurements that need a high degree of accuracy), you should consider problems associated with input impedance, AC noise effects, and thermal electromo tive fo rces (thermal EMFs).

Input Impedance

The input impedance of the DAQCard -4050 can ca use additio nal span errors by creating an attenuator with the impedance of the circuit under test. Although the high (>1 GΩ) impedance in the low er three input ranges is not likely to cause any significant errors, the lower impedance of the ±25 V and ±250 V ranges can attenuate (make smaller) the signal being measured.

National Instruments Corporation 3-3 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

Figure 3-2 illustrates the input impedance of the DAQCar d-4050 and its effect on the meas urem en t of a c ircuit u nde r test. I f the sour ce impedance of the circuit being tested is known, you can corre ct for the attenuation caused by the DAQCard-4050 in software.

External

DAQCard-4050

Source

Impedance R

Rs +R

Measured

Voltage

Input

Impedance

Source

Voltage V

Figure 3-2. The Effect of Input Impedance on Signal Measurement

AC Noise Effects

The DAQCard-4050 filters out AC voltages while in the DC voltage measurement ranges. However, if the amplitude s of the AC voltages are large compared to the DC v oltages, or if the peak value (AC+D C) of the measured voltage is outside the overrange limits, the DAQCard-4050 may exhibit additional errors. To minimize these errors, keep the circuit under test and the DA QCar d-4 050 a way fr om strong A C m agne tic sources and minimize the area of the loop formed by the test leads. Choosing the 10 readings/s reading rate will also help minimize noise from AC sources. If the peak value of the measured voltage is likely to exceed the selected input range, select the next high input range.

Thermal EMF

Thermal EMFs, or th ermoelectric potentials, are voltages generated at the junctions of dissimilar metals and are functions of temperature. Thermal EMFs in a ci rcuit und er te st can cau se high er than ex pect ed offsets that change w ith varian ces in tempe ratur e. Oc casion ally these voltages are desirable, such as when the thermal EMF of a thermocouple is used to measure temperature changes. Other times these voltages are sources of error.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 3-4

National Instruments Corporation

AC Voltages

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

To minimize th erma l EMFs, use c opper leads to conne ct the signal to the DAQCard-4050. Also, try to maintain a constant temperature in the circuits under test, perhaps by using an enclosu re to minimize air currents.

True RMS Method

In the AC voltage ranges, th e DAQCard-4050 measures the AC- coupled root mean square (RMS) value of a signal. The RMS value of a signal is a fundam en tal m eas u re me nt o f th e ma gn itud e of a n AC si gn al. T he RMS value of an AC signal can be defined mathematicall y as the squa re root of the average o f the square of a sig nal. In practic al terms, the RMS value of an AC signal is the DC value required to produce an equivalent amount of heat in the same load.

The DAQCard-4050 first AC -couples the measured signal to remove any DC components an d th en me as ures the RMS v alu e of the AC component. This method lets you measure a small AC signal in the presence of a large DC offset.

Input Ranges

The DAQCard-4050 ha s fi ve inpu t rang es a vailable for me as uring AC voltages. These ranges are 20 mV and 250 V

. The DAQCard-4050 can measure AC voltages to its

rms

, 200 m V

rms

specified accuracy as long as the voltage is at least 10% and no more than 100% of the selec te d inp ut ran ge. Th e DA QC ard -4050 ca n measure voltages outside of the input range (the overra nge) with reduced accuracy. Table 3-2 shows the accuracy and typical overrange of each of the input ranges. The accuracy is based on a 1 kHz sine wave of full-scale input ra ng e.

National Instruments Corporation 3-5 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

rms

, 2.0 V

rms

, 25 V

rms

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

AC Input Range Accuracy

Percent of

Overrange

Range Error

0.3% 0.1% 22 mV

0.3% 0.1% 220 mV

0.4% 0.2% 2.2 V

0.4% 0.2% 27 V

0.3% 0.1% 250 V

rms

Input

Range

20 mV

200 mV

2.0 V 25 V

250 V

Table 3-2.

Percent of

Reading Error

rms

The impedance in each of these ranges is 1 MΩ. The DC component in any of these ranges can be as high as 250 VDC .

Accuracy Considerations

The AC voltage me asu reme nt ac cu racy is depe nde nt on ma ny fa cto rs, including the signal amplitude, frequency, and waveform shape (or crest factor). Each of these factors, and their effects on your measurements, are discussed below. In addition to these factors, consider the effects of the source impeda nce of your cir cuit. These effects are de sc ribe d in th e Input Impedance section earlier in this chapter.

Frequency Response

The accuracy of the DAQCard-4050’s AC voltage measurements is a function of th e in put sig nal’ s fre quen cy. Tabl e 3-3 shows the addit iona l measurement errors associated with different frequency ranges. These errors are for full-sc ale, sine wa ve inpu ts.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 3-6

National Instruments Corporation

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

Table 3-3.

Input

Frequency

Input Frequency Error Rate

Additional Error

(Percent of Full Scale)

20–50 Hz 2%

50–100 Hz 1%

100 Hz–5 kHz 0%

5–10 kHz 1%

10–25 kHz 2%

Crest Factor

The DAQCard-4050 is calibrated to optimize the accuracy of measuring sine wave inputs. Because the DAQCard-4050 uses the RMS method of the AC measurements, it can also accurately measure inputs other than sine waves. The ac cu ra cy o f th es e m eas u rem en ts d ep en d s on th e crest factor of the input signal. The crest factor of a signal is the ratio of the peak value of the signal to the RMS valu e of the sig n al. For ex amp le , a symmetrical square wave has a crest factor of 1 and an undistorted sine wave has a crest factor of 1.4. The DAQCard-4050 can measure signals with crest factors of up to 10.

Table 3-4 shows the additional errors associated with different crest factors.

Table 3-4.

Crest

Factor

Crest Factor Error Rate

Additional Error

(Percent of Full Scale)

1–2 no error 2–5 1%

5–10 2%

National Instruments Corporation 3-7 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

AC Voltage Offset

The AC measurements of the DAQCard-4050 are specified over the range of 10% to 100% of the full scale input range. Below 10% of the input range, errors due to the AC vo ltage o ffset b ecom e signifi cant. This offset, unlike DC voltage offsets, cann ot simply be subtracted from the readings or ze roed out because the o ffset ge ts conver ted in the R MS conversion. The relations hip between the input volta ge, AC offse t voltage, and the measured voltage is as follows:

Vmeasured Vin

()

Voffset

For example:

Range = 200 mV

rms

Input voltage = 100 mV AC offset voltage = 0.5 mV

The measured voltage in this example wo uld be V

measured

0.001 mV

= 10 0.001 mV

of error and is, there fore, negligible. However, if the input

rms

voltage were only 10 mV

10.012 mV

. To minimize the error s due to the A C offs et voltag e,

rms

; the 0.5 mV

rms

, the measured voltage wou ld b e

rms

choose an input range that keeps the measured volta ge between 10% and 100% of full scale.

rms

offset contributes on ly

rms

Measuring Resistance

Signal Connections

Connect the test probes to resistors as shown in Figure 3-3. To accurately measure the value of a resistor, make sure the resistor is not connected to any other circuits. Erroneou s or misleading readings may result if the resistor you are measuring is connected to external circuits that supply voltages or currents or to external circuits that change the effective resistance of that resistor.

Figure 3-3.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 3-8

250 V MAX.

Connections for Resistance Measurement

Resistor

National Instruments Corporation

Caution: To prevent possible safety hazards, the maximum voltage between either of

Input Ranges

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

The DAQCard-4050 is protected against damage from voltages within ±250 VDC or 250 V

in all ranges. However, voltages above these

rms

levels should never be a pp lied to th e inputs.

the inputs and the ground of the computer should never exceed ±250 VDC or 250 V

rms

The DAQCard-4050 has five basic input ranges for resistance as well as an extended range. The basic ranges are 200 Ω, 2.0 kΩ, 20 kΩ, 200 kΩ, and 2 MΩ. With the extended range, measurements up to at least 20 M Ω ar e poss ible.

The DAQCard-4050 me asure s resistance by sen ding a curr ent through the test resistor and measuring the voltage this current develops across the resistor. In the E xten ded O hm s range , the DA QCar d-4 050 a dds a 1MΩ resistor in parallel with the test resistor, and then calculates the value of the resisto r bein g tested . Ta ble 3- 5 shows the acc urac y of the readings in the di ffer ent ra nges.

Table 3-5.

Input

Range

Resistance Input Range Accuracy

Excitation

Current

Percent of

Reading Error

Percent of

Range Error

200 Ω 100 µA 0.007% 0.2%

2.0 kΩ 100 µA 0.007% 0.03% 20 kΩ 100 µA 0.007% 0.02%

200 kΩ 1 µA 0.01% 0.03%

2 MΩ 1 µA 0.01% 0.06%

Extended Ohms 1 µA See note below.

Note: The accuracy of measurements made in the Extended Ohms range varies with the value being measured. For resistances up to 1 MΩ, the accuracy is 0.05%. For resistances between 1 MΩ and 20 MΩ, the accuracy is 0.1%. For larger resistances, the error is 0.4%.

National Instruments Corporation 3-9 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

Continuity Measurements

Many traditional multimeters can make continuity measurements, which test for the presence or absence of continuity between the two test probes. These measurements are simply resistance measurements, where the resistanc e betwee n the two probes is measure d and co mpared to a set value. You can perform continuity measurements on a circuit by setting the DAQCard-4050 to the 200 Ω range and comparing the measured valu e to some low re sist ance valu e (10 Ω is typical). If the measured value is less than 10 Ω, there is continuity between the test probes.

Testing Diodes

You can also use the DAQCard-4 050 to measure the forward drop across a diode. You can measure voltage drops of up to 2 V.

Signal Connections

Connect the test probes to a diode as shown in Figure 3-4. To accurately measure the forwar d v olt ag e of a dio d e, mak e su re that the diode is not connected to any other circuits. The DAQCard-4050 biases the diode with a current of 100 µA and measures the resulting voltage drop. Diode measurements are made with a fixed range of 2.0 V and an accuracy of

0.01%.

Figure 3-4.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual 3-10

250 V MAX.

Connections for Diode Measurement

100 µA

Diode

National Instruments Corporation

Measuring Current

You can use the DAQCard-4050 to measure curr ent with an optional National Instruments CSM series current shunt module. These accessories are connected between the DAQCard-4050 cable and the test probes as shown in Figure 3-5.

250 V MAX.

Chapter 3 DMM Operation

Current Source

Current Shunt

Accessory

Figure 3-5.

Connections for Current Measurement

Current shunt accessories contain a precision resistor that converts the current through the shunt into a voltage that the DAQCard-4050 can measure in voltage mode. You can calculate the value of the current flowing through the shunt by dividing the voltage reading by the value of the precision resistor.

National Instruments Corporation 3-11 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Appendix

Specifications

This appendix lists the specifications of the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050. These specifications are typical at 25° C unless otherwise specified. The ope rating tem pera ture ran ge is 0° to 55 ° C.

DC Voltage

Accuracy

250.000 V 0.006% + 0.007% 9 ppm + 5 ppm 250.000 V

25.0000 V 0.006% + 0.035% 9 ppm + 30 ppm 27.0000 V

2.00000 V 0.004% + 0.01% 5 ppm + 5 ppm 2. 200 00 V

200.000 mV 0.005% + 0.025% 5 ppm + 20 ppm 220.000 mV

Range Accuracy*

±(% of reading +

%of range)

Temperature

Coefficient

±(ppm of reading +

ppm of range)/°C

Overrange

20.000 mV 0.005% + 0.1% 5 ppm + 175 ppm 22.0000 mV

* Percent of range incl udes the effects of nonl inearity, noise, and offset errors.

Noise Rejection

NMRR (10 Hz filter se tting, 50/60 H z

power line fr eq uen cy ± 5% ) ...... .. .. .... .. . 80 dB

DC CMRR ............ .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. .... .>130 dB

AC CMRR ............ .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. .... .90 dB, 60 Hz

Input Characteristics

Input bias cu rre nt .. .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. .... .100 pA, 1 nA ma x

National Instruments Corporation A-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Appendix A Specifications

Input resista nc e .. .. .. .... .. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... .. . >1 GΩ (2 V, 20 0 mV,

20 mV ranges ); 1 M Ω (250 V, 25 V ranges)

Linearity .. ...... .... .... .... .... .... ....... .... .... . 0.001 5%

AC Voltage

Accuracy

Range Accuracy

±(% of reading +

% of range)

250.000 V 0.3% + 0.1% 60 ppm + 10 ppm 250.000 V

25.0000 V 0.4% + 0.2% 60 ppm + 80 ppm 27.0000 V

2.00000 V 0.4% + 0.2% 60 ppm + 100 ppm 2.20000 V

200.000 mV 0.3% + 0.1% 60 ppm + 50 ppm 220.000 mV

20.0000 mV 0.3% + 0.1% 60 ppm + 50 ppm 22.0000 mV

Temperature

Coefficient

±(ppm of re ad ing

+ ppm of

range)/°C

Overrange

Additional AC Errors

Frequency dependent error s

Input Frequency Additional Error

20–50 Hz 2%

50–100 Hz 1%

(% of full scale)

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual A-2

100 Hz–5 kHz 0%

5–10 kHz 1%

10–25 kHz 2%

National Instruments Corporation

Appendix A Specifications

Crest factor errors

Crest Factor Additional Error

1–2 no error

2–5 1%

5–10 2%

Noise Rejection

AC CMRR ............ .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. .... .>90 dB, 60 Hz

Input Characteristics

Bandwidth ...... .... ...... .... ..... ...... .... ...... . 20 Hz–25 kH z

Input resista nc e..... .. .. .... .. ... .. .... .. .. .. .... .1 MΩ

Resistance

Accuracy

(% of full scale)

Range Accuracy

200.000

2.00000 k

20.0000 k

200.000 k

2.00000 M

Extended Ohms

*The accurac y of mea sur emen ts made i n th e Ex te nded Ohms ran ge v arie s wi th th e val ue b e ing measured. For resistances up to 1 MΩ, the accuracy is 0.05%. For resista nce s bet w e en 1 MΩ and 20 MΩ, the accuracy is 0.1%. For larger resistances, the error is 0.4%.

National Instruments Corporation A-3 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

±(% of reading +

% of range)

Ω

0.007% + 0.2% 13 ppm + 175 ppm 200.000

Ω

0.007% + 0.03% 13 ppm + 20 ppm 2.00000 k

Ω

0.007% + 0.02% 13 ppm + 3 ppm 20.0000 k

Ω

0.01% + 0.03% 17 ppm + 20 ppm 200.000 k

Ω

0.01% + 0.06% 17 ppm + 3 ppm 2.00000 MΩ1 µA

0.05% + 0.006 %* 500 ppm + 30 ppm n/a 1 µA

Temperature

Coefficient

±(ppm of reading +

ppm of range)/°C

Overrange Test

Current

Ω

100 µA

Ω

100 µA

Ω

100 µA

Ω

1 µA

Appendix A Specifications

Diode

Accuracy

Range Accurac y

±(% of reading +

% of range)

2 V 0.01 % + 0.01% 10 ppm + 10 ppm 2.2 V 100 µA

Temperature

Coefficient

±(ppm of reading

+ ppm of range)

Overrange Test

Current

General Specifications

Settling time .......................................Determined by source

impedance, user cable construction, and input signal changes

Warm-up time.................................... 30 seconds before making

measurements; 15 minutes for measurements accurate within

typical specifications

Bus interface ty pe .... .... .... ..... ...... .... ... Slav e

Safety .....................................................Designed in accordance with

IEC 1010-1 and UL 3111 for

measuring and testing eq uipment;

Installation Category II

Pollution Degree 2

Double Insulated

Indoor use

Altitude .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .. ... .... .. .. .. ... For use u p to 2 ,00 0 m

Maximum working voltage between either input terminal

and earth ground .. .. .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. ... 250 V m a x

Powe r requ i r emen t ................................+5 VDC

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual A-4

45 mA in operational mode

15 mA in power- down mode

National Instruments Corporation

Appendix A Specifications

Physical

PCMCIA card t ype ... .. .... ... .. .. .... .. .. .. ...Type II

I/O connect or ............ .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. . 4-p i n m a le

Environment

Operating t emp er at ur e .... ..... .. .. .. .... .. .. .0° to 55° C

Storage temper at ur e ........... .... .. .. .... .. ...-55° to 15 0° C

Relative humi dity .............. .. .... .. .. .... .. . 5% to 9 0% n onc on dens ing

National Instruments Corporation A-5 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

PC Card Questions

Appendix

and Answers

This appendix co ntains a li st of common qu estions and an swers relating to PC Card (PCMCIA) operation. The questions are grouped according to the type of informa tio n re quested . Yo u may f ind this inf orma tion useful if you are having difficulty with the PCMCIA system software configuration and y ou ar e using W in dows 3. 1.

Note:

Configuration

If you are using Windows 95, the operation system will automatically configure your PC Card. All questions in this appendix are specific to Windows 3.1, with the exce ption o f questi on 1 in the

1. What operating system should I use with my PC Cards?

2. Do I nee d to use my PCMCIA configuration utility to configure

Configuration

The PC Card should wor k with Windo ws 3.x, Windows 95 , a nd Windows NT. We strongly recommen d that you use Windo ws 95.

the National Instruments PC Cards?

section.

No. We recommend that yo u do not conf igur e our PC C ar ds usin g PC Card Control or an equivalent PC Card configuration utility. Use the configuration utilities included with the NI-DAQ driver software to properly configure your DAQCard. The appropriate utility is the NI-DAQ Configuration Utility for Windows 3.1 users.

3. What should I do if my computer does not have Card and Socket Services version 2.0 or later?

Contact the manufa ct urer of yo ur co mputer o r o f your PC MC IA adapter and reque st th e late st Card a nd Soc ket Servic es PCM CI A driver. Our NI-DAQ software will work with any Card and Socket Service driver that is compliant to version 2.0 or higher.

National Instruments Corporation B-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Appendix B PC Card Questions and Answers

Operation

1. My PC Card works when inserted before power-on time, but it does not work when hot inserted. What is wrong?

You may have an interrupt conflict. If you have a utility such as

MSD.EXE, run it to determine the allocated interrupts, then refer to

question 4 in the Resources section. with Microsoft Windows.

2. My computer locks up when I use a PC Card. What should I do?

This usually happens because Card Services allocated an unusable interrupt level to the PC Card. For example, on some computers, interrupt level 11 is not routed to PC Cards. If Card Services is not aware of this, it may assign interrupt 11 to a PC Card eve n thoug h the interrupt is not usable. When a call uses the interrupt, the interrupt never occurs, and the c ompute r locks u p w aiting f or a response. For information about how to locate an interru pt that is free to be u sed , re fe r to q u es tio n 4 i n t he Resources section.

MSD.EXE is usually shipped

Resources

1. How do I determine if I have a memory conflict?

If no PC Cards are working at all, it is probably because a memory window is not usable. Card Services uses a 4 KB memory win dow for its own internal use . If the m emor y ca nno t be u sed , then Ca rd Services cannot read the Card Information Structure (CIS) from the DAQCard EPROM, which means it cannot identify cards.

There are two different me thods you can use whe n Card Servic es has a problem reading the CIS. First, you can determine which memory window Card Se rvices is us ing, a nd exclud e tha t wind ow from use by Card Services and/or the memory manager. Second, you can attempt to determine all of the memory that Card Services can possibly use and exclude all but that memory from use by Card Services.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual B-2

National Instruments Corporation

Appendix B PC Card Questions and Answers

2. How do I determine all of the memory that Card Services can use?

One way to find out w hich m emor y addre sses Ca rd Se rvice s ca n use is to run a utility such as

MSD.EXE that scans the system and

tells you how the system memory is being used. For example, if you run such a memory utility and it tells you that physical addresses C0000 to C9FFF are being used for ROM access, then you kno w that C8000–D3FFF is an invalid range for Card Services and should be changed to CA000–D5FFF.

3. How can I find usable I/O addresses?

Identify usable I/O addresses by trial and error. Of the three resources used—memory, I/O, interrupts—I/O conflicts will be low. You can use the NI-DAQ Configuration Utility in Windows to diagnose I/O space conflic ts. When you have co nfigured th e NI-DAQ Configuration Utility for a particular I/O space, save the configuration. If there is a conflict, the configuration utility will attempt to report an error describing the conflict.

4. How do I find usable interrupt levels?

Some utilities, such as

MSD.EXE, will scan the system and display

information about what is us ing h ar dwa re inte rrupts. If you ha ve such a utility, you can run it to determine what interrupts Card Services can use. Card Services needs an interrupt for itself as well as one interrupt for each PCMCIA socket in the system. For example, in a system with two PCMCIA sockets, at least three interrupts should be alloca ted f or use b y Car d Service s.

Keep in mind that utilities such as

MSD.EXE will sometimes report

that an interrupt is in use when it really is not. For example, if the computer has one seria l por t, C OM1, a nd one p aralle l po rt, LPT 1, you know that IRQs 4 an d 7 ar e pro ba bly in use . In g en eral, IRQ 5 is used for LPT2, bu t if th e comp uter d oes not have two pa rallel ports, IRQ5 sho u ld b e usa ble . IRQ3 i s u sed f or CO M2 , but if t h e computer has only has o ne seria l po rt, IRQ3 sho uld be us able .

National Instruments Corporation B-3 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Appendix B PC Card Questions and Answers

5. I run a memory utility, and it appears there is no memory available for Card Services. What should I do?

You should remove your m emor y ma nager by c omme nting it o ut of the Memory managers often consume an enormous amount of memory, and you will need to de termine wha t m emor y is really usa ble b y Card Services. Whe n you ha ve de termin ed wha t m em ory is available for Card Services, reinstall your memo ry manage r and make the necessary change s to provide Card Service s with the memory needed. We suggest that you use the minimum amount of memory for Car d Se rv ices , na me ly 4 to 12 K B, w hic h free s m ore memory for the memory ma nager.

Resource Conflicts

1. How do I resolve conflicts between my memory manager and Card Servic es ?

Card Services can usually use memory space that is not being used for real RAM on the system. Even when t his is the case, yo u should still exclude the memo ry addre sses used by Car d Services from use by any memory manager that ma y be installed.

CONFIG.SYS file. Next, you can rerun the memory utility.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual B-4

National Instruments Corporation

Appendix

Customer Communication

For your convenience, this appendix contains forms to help you gather the information necessary to help us solve your technical problems and a form you can use to comment on the product documentation. When you contact us, we need th e information on the Technical Suppor t Form and the configuration form, if your manual contains one, about your system configuration to answer your questions as quickly as possible.

National Instruments has techn ica l assistan ce thr ou gh electronic , fa x, a nd telepho ne sys tems to quickly provid e the informat ion you need. Our electron ic services incl ude a bullet in board ser vice, an FTP site, a Fax-on-Demand system, and e- mail support. If you have a hardw are or softwa re problem, first try the electronic support systems. If the information available on these systems does not answer your questions, we offer fax and telephone support through our technical support centers, which are staffed by applica tions engine ers.

Electronic Services

Bulletin Board Support

National Instruments has BBS and FTP sites dedicated for 24-hour support with a collection of files and documents to answer most common customer questions. From these sites, you can also download the latest instrument drivers, updates, and example programs. For recorded instructions on how to use the bulletin board and FTP services and for BBS automated information, call (512) 795-6990. You can access these services at:

United States: (512) 794-5422

Up to 14,400 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity

United Kingdom: 01635 551422

Up to 9,600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity

France: 01 48 65 15 59

Up to 9,600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity

FTP Support

To access our FTP site, log on to our Internet host, ftp.natinst.com, as anonymous and use your Internet address, such as joesmith@anywhere.com, as your passwor d. The support files and documents are located in the /support directories.

National Instruments Corporation C-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Fax-on-Demand Support

Fax-on-Demand is a 24-hour inf ormation re trieval sys tem containing a library o f documents on a wide range of technical information. You can access Fax-on-Demand from a touch-tone telephone at (512) 418-1111.

E-Mail Support (currently U.S. only

You can submit technical support questions to the applications enginee ring team through e-m ail at the Internet address listed below. Remember to include your name, address, and phone number so we can contact you with solutions and sugg estions.

support@natinst.com

)

Telephone and Fax Support

National Instruments has branch offices all over the world. Use the list below to find the technical support number for your country. If there is no Nat ional Instruments office in your countr y, contact the source from which you purchased your software to obtain support.

Telephone Fax

Australia 03 9879 5166 03 9879 6277 Austria 0662 45 79 90 0 0662 45 79 90 19 Belgium 02 757 00 20 02 757 03 11 Canada (Ontario) 905 785 0085 905 785 0086 Canada (Quebec) 514 694 8521 514 694 4399 Denmark 45 76 26 00 45 76 26 02 Finland 09 527 2321 09 502 2930 France 01 48 14 24 24 01 48 14 24 14 Germany 089 741 31 30 089 714 60 35 Hong Kong 2645 3186 2686 8505 Israel 03 5734815 03 5734816 Italy 02 413091 02 41309215 Japan 03 5472 2970 03 5472 2977 Korea 02 596 7456 02 596 7455 Mexico 5 520 2635 5 520 3282 Netherlands 0348 433466 0348 430673 Norway 32 84 84 00 32 84 86 00 Singapore 2265886 2265887 Spain 91 640 0085 91 640 0533 Sweden 08 730 49 70 08 730 43 70 Switzerland 056 200 51 51 056 200 51 55 Taiwan 02 377 1200 02 737 4644 U.K. 01635 523545 01635 523154

Technical Support Form

Photocopy this form and update it each time y ou make ch anges to you r software or h ardware, and use the completed copy of this form as a reference for your current configuration. Completing this form accurately before contacting National Instruments for technical support helps our applications engineers answer your questions more efficiently.

If you are using any National Instruments hardware or software products related to this problem, include the configuration forms from their user manuals. Include additional pages if necessary.

Name __________________________________________________________________________ Company _______________________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________ Fax (___ )___________________ Phone (___ ) ________________________________________ Computer brand ________________ Model ________________ Processor___________________ Operating system (include version number)____________________________________________ Clock speed ______MHz RAM _____MB Display adapter __________________________ Mouse ___yes ___no Other adapters installed _______________________________________ Hard disk capacity _____MB Brand _____________________________________________ Instruments used _________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________ National Instrument s hard war e produ c t mode l__________ Revision _______________ ___ ____ Configuration _______________ __ _________________ ___ ___ _________________ ___ ___ ____ National Instrument s sof t war e produ ct____________________________ Version ____________ Configuration _______________ __ _________________ ___ ___ _________________ ___ ___ ____ The problem is: __________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________ List any error messages: ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________ The following steps reproduce the problem:____________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Hardware and Software Configuration Form

Record the settings and revisions of your hardware and software on the line to the right of each item. Complete a new copy of this form each time you revise your software or hardware configuration, and use this form as a reference for your current configuration. Completing this form accurately before contacting National Instruments for technical support helps our applications engineers answer your questions more efficiently.

National Instruments Products

DAQ hardware ___________________________________________________________________ Interrupt level of hardware __________________________________________________________ DMA channels of hardware _________________________________________________________ Base I/O address of hardware ________________________________________________________ Programming choice_______________________________________________________________ NI-DAQ, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or VirtualBench version ___________________________ Other boards in system _____________________________________________________________ Base I/O address of other boards _____________________________________________________ DMA channels of other boards ______________________________________________________ Interrupt level of other boards _______________________________________________________

Other Products

Computer make and model _________________________________________________________ Microprocessor ___________________________________________________________________ Clock frequency or speed ___________________________________________________________ Type of video board installed ________________________________________________________ Operating system version ___________________________________________________________ Operating system mode ____________________________________________________________ Programming language ____________________________________________________________ Programming language version ______________________________________________________ Other boards in system _____________________________________________________________ Base I/O address of other boards _____________________________________________________ DMA channels of other boards ______________________________________________________ Interrupt level of other boards _______________________________________________________

Documentation Comment Form

National Instruments encourages you to comment on the documentation supplied with our products. This information helps us provide quality products to meet your needs.

Title:

Edition Date:

Part Number:

Please comment on the completeness, clarity, and organization of the manual.

_______________________________________________________________________________

If you find errors in the manual, please record the page numbers and describe the errors.

_______________________________________________________________________________

DAQMeter DAQCard -4050 U ser Manual

February 1997 321427A-01

Thank you for your help. Name _________________________________________________________________________ Title __________________________________________________________________________ Company _______________________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________ Phone (___ )__________________________ Fax (___ ) _________________________________

Mail to:

Technical Publications National Instruments Corporation National Instruments Corporation 6504 Bridge Point Parkway (512) 794-5678 Austin, TX 78730-5039

Fax to:

Technical Publications

Prefix Meaning Value

Glossary

p- pico- 10 n- nano- 10 µ- micro- 10

m- milli- 10

k- kilo- 10

M- mega- 10

G- giga- 10

-12

-9

-6

-3

Numbers/Symbols

% percent + positive of, or plus

- negative of, or minus /per °degree ±plus or minus Ωohm

National Instruments Corporation G-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Glossary

A amperes AC alternating current AC coupled the passing of a sig nal thro ugh a f ilter ne twork that remo ve s the D C

component of the signal A/D analog-to-digital ADC analog-to-digital converter—an electronic device, often an integrated

circuit, that converts an analog voltage to a digital number ADC resolution the resolution of the ADC, which is measured in bits. An ADC with

16 bits has a high er resolution, and thus a higher deg ree of accur acy,

than a 12-bit ADC. amplification a type of signal conditioning that improves accuracy in the resulting

digitized signal and reduces noise amplitude flatness a measure of how close to co nsta nt the gain of a circu it rema ins over a

range of frequencies aperture tim e the period of tim e ove r w hi ch a m e asu r eme nt is av erag ed ; a lso c a lle d

the number of powerli ne cy cles attenuate

to reduce in magnitude

b bit—one binary digit, either 0 or 1 B byte—eight related bits of data, an eight- bit binary n umb er. Also used

to denote the amount of memory required to store one byte of data. bus the group of conductors tha t interc onn ect ind ividua l ci rcuitry in a

computer. Typ ica l ly, a bu s is th e ex pa nsi on vehi c le to w hi ch I/ O o r

other devices are conn ected. Ex amples o f PC buses are th e PCI bus, AT

bus, and EISA bus.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual G-2

National Instruments Corporation

Glossary

CCelsius CMRR common-mode rejection ratio—a measure of an instrument’s ability to

reject interference from a co mmo n- mode signal, usua lly exp resse d in

decibels (dB) continuity the measure of the ability of a material to conduct electricity conversion device device that transforms a signal from one form to another. For example,

analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for analog input, digital-to-analog

converters (DACs) for analog ou tput, digital inpu t or ou tput ports, and

counter/timers are conversion devices. conversion time the time required, in an analog input or output system, from the moment

a channel is interrogated (such as with a read instruction) t o the moment

that accurate data is available coupling the manner in which a signal is connected from one location to another CPU central processing unit crest factor the ratio of the peak value of the signal to the R MS value of the s ignal CSM current shunt module

DAQ data acquisition—(1) collecting and measuring electrical signals from

sensors, transducers, and test probes or fixtures and inputting them to a

computer for pro cessing ; (2 ) collecting a nd mea surin g the sam e kinds

of electrical signals w ith A /D and/or DI O board s p lugge d into a

computer, and possibly generating control signals with D/A and/or DIO

boards in the same computer dB decibel—the unit for expressing a logarithmic mea sure of the ratio of

two signal levels: dB=20log10 V1/V2, for signals in volts DC direct current

National Instruments Corporation G-3 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Glossary

default setting a default parameter value recorded in the driver. In many cases, the

default input of a control is a certain value (often 0) that means use the current default setting. For example, the default input for a parameter may be do not change current setting, and the defaul t setti ng may be no AMUX-64T boa rds. If you do change the value of such a parameter, the new value becomes the new setting. You can set default settings for some parameters in the configuration utility or manually using switches located on the device.

device a plug-in data acquisition board, card, or pad that c an c ontain mu ltiple

channels and co nversio n d ev ices. Plug- in b oar ds, PCM CI A c ards, and devices such as the DAQPad-1200, w hich conne cts to your compute r parallel port, are all examples of DAQ devices. SCXI modules are distinct from devices, with the exception of the SCXI-1200, which is a hybrid.

differential input an analog input consisting of two termina ls, both of which are isola ted

from computer g rou nd, w ho se diff eren ce is mea sure d DMM digital multimeter DNL differential nonlinearity—a measure in LSB of the worst-case deviation

of code widths from their ideal value of 1 LSB double insulated a device that contains the necessary insulating structure s to provide

electric shock protection without the requiremen t of a safety ground

connection DOS disk operating system drivers software th at co ntr o ls a spec ific hardware device suc h as a DAQ board

or a GPIB interface board

EEPROM electrically erasable programmable read-only memory–ROM that can

be erased with an electrical signal and reprogrammed EISA extended industry standard architecture

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual G-4

National Instruments Corporation

Glossary

filtering a type of signal conditioning that allows you to filter unwanted signals

from the signal you are trying to measure

ft feet

gain the factor by which a sig nal is amplified, sometimes expressed in

decibels

harmonics multiples of the fundamental frequency of a signal half-power bandw idth the frequency range o ver w hich a c ircui t mainta ins a leve l of at le as t

-3 dB with respect to the m aximum level

hardware the physical components of a computer system, such as the circuit

boards, plug-in board s, cha ssis, enclosu re s, p eriphe rals, c ables, a nd so

on hex hexadecimal Hz hertz —per sec ond , as in c ycl es pe r seco nd or sample s p er sec ond

IBM International Business Machines IC integrated circuit ID identification IEC International Electrotechnical Commission IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in. inches input bias current the curren t tha t f lows into the inpu ts of a c ircuit

National Instruments Corporation G-5 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Glossary

input impedance the measured resistance and capacitance between the input terminals of

a circuit Installation Category classification system for expected transients on electrical supply (Overvoltage Category) installations

instrument driver a set of high-level soft ware fun ctions tha t contr ols a s pecific GPIB ,

VXI, or RS-232 programmable instrument or a specifi c plug-in DAQ

board. Instrument drivers are available in several forms, ranging from a

function callable language to a virtual instrument (VI) in LabVIEW. interrupt a computer signal indicating that the CPU should suspend its current

task to service a designated activity interrupt level t he relative priority at which a device can interrupt I/O input/output—the transfer of data to/from a computer system involving

communications channels, op er ator inte rf ace devic es, and /or da ta

acquisition and control interfac es IRQ interrupt request ISA industry standard arch itecture isolation a type of signal conditioning in which you isolate the transducer signals

from the computer for sa fety p urp oses . Th is pr otects you and you r

computer from large voltage spikes and makes sure the measurements

from the DAQ device are not affect ed by differenc es in ground

potentials. isolation voltage the voltage that an isolated circuit can normally withstand, usua lly

specified from input to input and/or from any input to the amplifier

output, or to the computer bus

k kilo—the standa rd metr ic prefix fo r 1 ,000, o r 103, used with units of

measure such as volts, hertz, and meters

K kilo—the prefix for 1,024, or 2

computer mem ory

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual G-6

, used with B in quantifying data or

National Instruments Corporation

LabVIEW laboratory virtual instru me nt eng inee ring w orkbe nch

mmeters M (1) Mega, the standard metric prefix for 1 million or 10

with units of measure such as volts and hertz; (2) mega, the prefix for 1,048,576, or 2 memory

MB megabytes of me mo ry

, when used wi th B to quantify da ta or c om puter

NBS National Bureau of Standards NI-DAQ National Instruments driver software for DAQ hardware

Glossary

, when used

NMRR normal mode rejection ratio—a measure of an instrument’s ability to

reject a signal applied directly to the differential inputs of the instrument

noise an undesirable electrical signal—Noise comes from external sources

such as the AC power line, motors, generators, transformers, fluorescent lights, soldering irons, CRT displays, computers, electrical storms, welders, radio transmitters, and internal sources such as semiconductors, resistors, and capacitors. Noise corrupts signals you are trying to send or re ceive.

overrange a segment of the inp ut r ange of an instrum en t ou tside of the n orm al

measuring range. Measure ments can still be mad e, usually with a degradation in specifications

National Instruments Corporation G-7 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Glossary

PC Card a credit-card-sized expansion card that fits in a PCMCIA slot often

referred to as a PCMCI A car d PCMCIA an expansion bus ar chitecture that has found widespr ea d acceptance as

a de facto s tand ar d in n ot eb ook -si z e co mpu t er s. It o r igi na ted a s a

specification for add-on memory cards wr itten by the Personal

Computer Memory Ca rd I nter natio nal A ssoci ation. peak value the absolute ma ximum o r minimum am plitude o f a signa l ( AC + D C) pk-to-pk peak to peak value—the absolute maximum amplitude of a signal

subtracted from the absolute minimum value Plug and Play devices devices that do not require dip switches or jumper s to configure

resources on the devices—also called switchless de vices port (1) a communications conne ction on a computer or a remote controller

(2) a digital port, consisting of four or eight lines of digital input and/or

output ppm parts per million

RAM random-access memory range error an error in accuracy that is determined by the input range that is

selected. The range error is independent of the value of the signal being

measured. reading error an error in accuracy that is determined by the input range, as well as the

value being measured. reading rate the rate at which a new measurement is taken. In addition to the

measurement speed, the selection of the reading rate affects the

filtering, and thus the noise level, of measurements. resolution the smallest signal increment that can be detected by a measurement

system. Resolution can be expressed in bits or in digits. The number of

bits in a system is roughly equal to 3.3 times the num ber of digits.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual G-8

National Instruments Corporation

Glossary

rms root mean square—a measure of signal amplitude; the square root of the

average value of the square of the instantaneous signal amplitude

ROM read-only memory

s seconds Ssamples settling time the amount of time required for a voltage to reach i ts final value wit hin

specified limits

SNR signal-to-noise ratio–the ratio of the overall rms signal level to the rms

noise level, expressed in dB

S/s samples per second—used to express the rate at which a DAQ board

samples an analog signal

system noise a measure of the amount of noise seen by an a nalog circuit or an ADC

when the analog inp uts a re g rounde d

temperature the percentage that a measurement will vary according to temperature. coefficient See also thermal drift.

thermal drift measurements that changes as the temperature varies thermoelectric See thermal EMFs.

potentials thermal EMFs thermal electromotive forces—voltages generated at the junctions of

dissimilar metals that are functions of temperature. Also called thermoelectric potentials.

transfer rate the rate, measured in bytes/s, at which data is mo ved from source to

destination after software initialization and set up operations; the maximum rate at wh ich the h ardwar e can op erate

National Instruments Corporation G-9 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Glossary

UL U nderwrite rs Labora tory update the ou tput equivalent of a sc an. One or mo re analog or digita l output

samples. Typically, the number of output samples in an update is equal

to the number of ch anne ls in the ou tput gr oup . Fo r exa mp le, on e pu lse

from the update clock produces one update which sends one new sample

to every analog output c hannel in the group . update rate the number of output u pdate s per seco nd

V volts VDC volts direct curre nt VI virtual instrument—(1) a c ombina tion o f har dware and/o r so ftware

elements, typically use d with a PC, that has the f unctionality of a cl assic

stand-alone instrum ent (2) a La bVIEW sof tware module (VI) , whi ch

consists of a front panel user interface and a block diagram program V

rms

volts, root mean square value

waveform shape the shape the magnitud e of a sign al crea tes ov er time working voltage the highest voltage that sh ould be a pplied to a p roduc t in nor mal use ,

normally well under the brea kdo wn vo ltage for sa fety m a rgin.

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual G-10

National Instruments Corporation

Index

AC noise effects, 3-4 AC voltage measurement, 3-5 to 3-8

AC voltage offset, 3-8 accuracy considerations, 3-6 to 3-8 connecting probes (figure), 3-2 crest factor, 3-7 frequency response, 3-6 to 3-7 input ranges, 3-5 to 3-6 true RMS method, 3-5

AC voltage specifications, A-2 to A-3

accuracy (table), A-2 crest factor errors (table), A-3 frequency dependent errors (table), A-2 input characteristics, A-3 noise rejection, A-3

accuracy considerations

AC voltage measurement, 3-6 to 3-8

AC voltage offset, 3-8 crest factor, 3-7

frequency response, 3-6 to 3-7 AC voltage specifications (table), A-2 DC voltage measurement, 3-3 to 3-4

AC noise effects, 3-4

input impedance, 3-3 to 3-4

thermal EMF, 3-4 to 3-5 DC voltage specifications (table), A-1

aperture time, 3-2 attenuation of signals, 3-3

bulletin board support, C-1 bus interface type, A-4

cables, installing, 2-3 to 2-4 configuration

PC card questions and answers, B-1 continuity measurements, 3-10 crest factor

definition, 3- 7

error rate (table), 3-7, A-3 current measurement, 3-11 to 3-12 customer communication, xi, C-1 to C-2

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050

features, 1-1

optional equipment, 1-5

requirements for getting started, 1-2

safety precautions, 2-1 to 2-2

software programming choices, 1-2 to 1-4

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument

Driver and NI-DAQ, 1-3 to 1-4

National Instruments application

software, 1-2 to 1-3

VirtualBench software, 1-3

unpacking, 1-5 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument

Driver, 1-3 to 1-4

National Instruments Corporation I-1 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Index

DC voltage measurement, 3-3 to 3-5

AC noise effects, 3-4 accuracy considerations, 3-3 to 3-5 connecting probes (figure), 3-2 input impedance, 3-3 to 3-4 input ranges, 3-3 thermal EMF, 3-4 to 3-5

DC voltage specifications, A-1 to A-2

accuracy (table), A-1 input characteristics, A-1 to A-2 noise rejection, A-1

digital multimeter operation. See DMM

operation.

diode testing

accuracy (table), A-4 signal connections, 3-11

DMM operation, 3-1 to 3-12

current measurement, 3-11 to 3-12 diode testing, 3-11 reading rate selection, 3-1 to 3-2 resistance measurement, 3-8 to 3-10

continuity measurements, 3-10 input ranges, 3-9 to 3-10 signal connections, 3-8 to 3-9

voltage measurement, 3-2 to 3-8

AC voltages, 3-5 to 3-8 connecting probes (figure), 3-2 DC voltages, 3-3 to 3-5 preventing safety hazards

(caution), 3-2

warm-up, 3-1

documentation

conventions used in manual, x National Instrument s docu ment at i on, xi organization of manual, ix-x related documentation, xi

electronic support services, C-1 to C-2 e-mail support, C-2 environment specifications, A-5 equipment, optional, 1-5 errors, AC voltage

crest factor errors (table), 3-7, A-3

input frequency errors (table), 3-7, A-2

input range accuracy (table), 3-6, A-2

fax and telephone support numbers, C-2 Fax-on-Demand support, C-2 frequency error rates (table), 3-7, A-2 frequency r esponse, 3- 6 to 3-7 FTP support, C-1

general specifications, A-4

input characteristics

AC voltage specifications, A-2 to A-3

DC voltage specifications, A-1 to A-2 input impedance, 3-3 to 3-4 input ranges

AC voltage measurement, 3-5 to 3-8

DC voltage measurement, 3-3 to 3-5

resistance measurement, 3-8 to 3-10 installation

cables and probes, 2-3 to 2-4

configuration, 2-4

procedure, 2-2

safety precautions, 2-1 to 2-2

unpacking the DAQMeter

DAQCard-4050, 1-5

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual I-2

National Instruments Corporation

Index

LabVIEW application software, 1-2 to 1-3 LabWindows/CVI application software, 1- 3

manual. See documentation. maximum working voltage, A-4 measurement. See DMM operation.

NI-DAQ driver software, 1-4 noise

AC noise effects, 3-4 setting reading rate for filtering, 3-2, 3-4

noise rejection specifications

AC voltage, A-3 DC voltage, A-1

operation of DAQMeter DAQCard-4050. See

DMM operation.

overrange

definition, 3-5 typical overrange of input ranges

(table), 3-6

PC card questions and answers, B-1 to B-4

configuration, B-1 operation, B-2 resource conflicts, B-4

resources, B-2 to B-4 physical specifications, A-5 power requirements, A-4 powerline cycles, 3-2 probes, installing, 2-3 to 2-4

questions and answers. See PC card quest ions

and answers.

reading rate, 3-1 to 3-2

definition, 3- 1 minimizing noise, 3-2

setting, 3-2, 3-4 requirements for getting started, 1-2 resistance measurement, 3-8 to 3-10

continuity measurements, 3-10

input range accuracy (table), 3-10, A-3

input ranges, 3-9

signal connections, 3-8 to 3-9 root mean square (RMS) value of signal, 3-5

safety precautions, 2-1 to 2-2 safety specifications, A-4 settling time, A-4 signal connections

current measurement, 3-12

diode testing, 3-11

resistance measurement, 3-8 to 3-9 software programming choices, 1-2 to 1-4

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 Instrument

Driver and NI-DAQ, 1-3 to 1-4

National Instruments application

software, 1-2 to 1-3

VirtualBench software, 1-3 specifications

AC voltage, A-2 to A-3

accuracy (table), A-2 crest factor errors (table), A-3 frequency dependent errors

(table), A-2

National Instruments Corporation I-3 DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Index

input characteristics, A-3 noise rejection, A-3

DC voltage, A-1 to A-2

accuracy (table), A-1 input characteristics, A-1 to A-2

noise rejection, A-1 diode accuracy (table), A-4 environment, A-5 general specifications, A-4 physical, A-5 resistance (table), A-3

technical support, C-1 to C-2 telephone and fax support numbers, C-2 temperature coefficients, 3-1 testing diodes, 3-11 thermal drift, 3-1 thermal EMF, minimizing, 3-4 to 3-5 thermoelectric potentials, 3-4 true RMS method, AC voltage measurement,

3-5

connecting probes (figure), 3-2 DC voltages, 3-3 to 3-5

AC noise effects, 3-4 accuracy considerations, 3-3 to 3-5 input impedance, 3-3 to 3-4 input ranges, 3-3 thermal EMF, 3-4 to 3-5

preventing safety hazards (caution), 3-2

warm-up time, 3-1, A-4

unpacking the DAQMeter

DAQCard-4050, 1-5

VirtualBench software, 1-3 voltage measurement, 3-2 to 3-8

AC voltages, 3-5 to 3-8

AC voltage offset, 3-8

accuracy considerations, 3-6 to 3-8

crest factor, 3-7

frequency response, 3-6 to 3-7

input ranges, 3-5 to 3-6

true RMS method, 3-5

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual I-4

National Instruments Corporation

National Instruments DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

DAQMeter DAQCard-4050 User Manual

Important Information

Warranty

Copyright

Trademarks

Figures

Tables

Organization of This Manual

Conventions Used in This Manual

National Instruments Documentation

Related Documentation

Customer Communication

About the DAQMeter DAQCard-4050

What You Need to Get Started

Software Programming Choices

National Instruments Application Software

VirtualBench

Optional Equipment

Unpacking

Safety Instructions

Installation

Cable and Probes

Hardware Configuration

Warm-up

Choosing a Reading Rate

Measuring Voltages

DC Voltages

Input Ranges

Accuracy Considerations

AC Voltages

True RMS Method

Input Ranges

Accuracy Considerations

Measuring Resistance

Signal Connections

Input Ranges

Continuity Measurements

Testing Diodes

Signal Connections

Measuring Current

Glossary

Index