Amplicon Liveline offers a range of analogue output PCI boards offering 8, 16 and 32 analogue outputs with 16bit resolution. One of the main advantages of these boards is that they can be used with Real-Time Linux, as they are all provided with Linux drivers. The boards are ideal for use both within applications that are reliant on stability, response and accuracy, such as motor control and industrial automation, and also those which require very fast update rates, for example complex closed-loop systems.
The PD2- AO family features eight lines of digital inputs and outputs.
Each analogue output is calibrated individually by the board using no trim POTS but instead a D/A based system that is able to store calibration coefficients in an EEPROM and load them automatically on power up.
This method enables the outputs to be kept in a predefined state for system start-up.
The boards all offer three 24bit counters/timers, three clock/interrupt lines, a channel list, user defined power-on state, simultaneous updating of channels, an onboard buffer size of 2K samples.
The family is an expansion of the PD2-MF series which offered dual 12bit D/A convertors, and is able to increase the number of analogue outputs whilst keeping the 16 digital I/O lines and three counter timers.
The latest board in the family is the PD2-AO 32, which offers 32 analogue output channels on one single standard PCI card.
It can also generate user defined signals without any intervention from the host.
Users can simply load the data into the board's onboard memory and send a command that instructs the onboard DSP to start clocking out the D/A's.
Key points of interest which encompass the entire family of boards include the waveform quality, 16bit resolution on each of the outputs which all update independently at rates of up to 100ksample/s.
They can output signals in the range of 0-10V or +/-10V and each channel can supply 5mA of current.
The boards are supplied with the PowerDAQ software suite for Windows 9x, NT, 2000 and ME and also supports application development in Visual C++, Basic, Delphi and C++ Builder, in addition to Linux/Real-Time Linux, QNX and an Excel add-in.
In addition the drivers for these applications: LabVIEW, Agilent VEE/VEE OneLAB, Testpoint, DASYlab, DIADem, MATLAB DAQ and Toolbox are also included at no extra charge.
The boards can operate in temperatures from between - 40 to + 85C and comply with CE and EMC regulations.