9323 Hamilton Mentor, Ohio 44060 - USA Tel:+1-440-357-1400 Fax:+1-440-357-1416

Scientific Solutions ^® Inc.

LabMaster ^® PRO PCI

Product Description

The Lab Master PRO PCI brings the power, performance, and flexibility needed to handle the toughest assignments in engineering and scientific research. Designed for today's faster PCI systems, the Lab Master PRO delivers the advanced features you expect in a data acquisition interface, with the precision of current technology and ease of use of an all software configurable interface.

Lab Master PRO is an advanced data acquisition product. It features high speed analog-to-digital conversion, sample FIFO buffering, coordinated simultaneous ADC and DAC capabilities, programmable gain amplifiers, high speed counters/timers and digital I/O on a single card. Complete solutions include the Lab Master card, cabling, and desktop connector termination unit.

The 16-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) handles 16 to 256 input lines at rates up to 333,000 samples/second. Precision software programmable gain amplifiers handle voltage ranges between ±l00mV and ±10V. Two independent 16-bit digital to analog converters (DAC) supply a ±10V output range. Five 16-bit precision counters can time intervals with 250nsec. resolution or count events up to 6MHz. Digital I/O lines (8 input/16 output) connect to switches, LEDs, relays, etc. Connections are made using a single high density connector with included RF-shielded cable.

Our Solution Includes

• Lab Master PRO PCI Interface - Data Acquisition & Control interface for inside the PC
• 1.5 meter double shielded cable
• Desktop Unit (several versions available)
• Software Drivers

Key Features

• True 16-bit Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog Conversion.
• True simultaneous sample-and-hold
• 16 Analog input channels expandable to 256.
• High data rates (333,000 samples/second) to provide maximum speed and versatility.
• Dual  High-Speed (500KHz) Analog Outputs.
• Five 16-bit High Resolution Cascadable Timer/Counters.
• Digital I/O lines - 8 in, 8 out, 8 FIFO controlled for digital pattern generation or digital In/Out expansion.
• Digital output coordinated with DACs (can be used with PCI Bus Mastering)
• Provisions for digital I/O & Analog input channel expansion
• Precision Software programmable gain amplifiers.
• High-performance ADC Channel / Gain Array with auto-increment allows automatic sampling of the analog inputs in any order with different gains at full speed.
• Dedicated on-board FIFO memory for high-performance acquisition and waveform generation with reduced CPU overhead
• On-board timers provide timed, simultaneous ADC and DAC updates.
• Continuous DAC output with on-board memory buffering and PCI Bus Mastering - excellent for clean waveform generation!
• Timed, simultaneous DAC updates ("no-jitter" analog outputs)
• Coordinated ADC and DAC using simultaneous and concurrent 32-bit PCI Bus Mastering (allows for simultaneous "record & playback")
• Multiple active hardware interrupt sources
• Advanced Surface mount technology for high reliability
• Physical small size (9" length) with narrow height for newer slim line computers.
• Advanced ESD protection against damage by human static discharge or lightning strikes.

Applications

• Energy Management
• Chromatography
• BioMedical (neuron stimulation, muscular stress)
• Psychology (infant stimulation, stimulus/response, interval timing, Galvanic skin response)
• Process Automation (relay control, stepper motor control, timing/counting, die cutting monitor)
• Test and Measurement (PC board tester, particle counter, component solderability determination)

Functional Description

The LabMaster PRO installs into a PCI expansion slot of a computer. A single high-density connector is provided for easy access to all  input and output lines.  The  LabMaster PRO is capable of multiple concurrent Bus Master operations for optimal PCI data performance. Designed for maximum flexibility, all features on the LabMaster PRO are software programmable.

Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)

The Analog-to-Digital converter (ADC) is a 16-bit successive approximation converter with a 3µSec. conversion time for a maximum throughput of 333Khz. The analog inputs (single-ended or  true-differential) pass thru a programmable, precision gain amplifier prior to the analog-to-digital conversion.  Examples  of analog inputs are: Temperature, Flow, Displacement, Voltage, Current, Acceleration, Velocity, Level, Pressure,  Moisture, and Humidity.

A conversion can be started by a software command, a  trigger signal from one of the on-board precision timer/counters, a rising edge from an external source, self-triggered by the end of the last conversion, or by using the on-board analog compare. An on-board channel/gain memory allows any combination of channels and gains with complete auto-sequencing and burst mode performance. Channels can be selected for conversion one at a time or as a set. The software enabled auto-scan feature automatically increments  the channel number with each conversion. Both the starting and ending channel in the sequence are software selectable.

Converted data is transferred to dedicated  on-board sample memory buffers.  The buffers permit full-speed operation under non-real time operating systems.  High speed transfer of the data to memory is possible using the Advanced PCI Bus Mastering of the LabMaster PRO. When Bus Mastering is used, the end of the conversion strobe will initiate the transfer from the on-board memory to system memory. When not using  Bus Mastering, the end of a conversion can be detected by using an interrupt or  polling the status register. Data is transferred  by reading the converted data byte from the buffer memory or via automatic Bus Master transfer.

A/D conversions can be coordinated to occur simultaneously with D/A updates.  The LabMaster PRO supports up to 256 analog input channels.

Digital-to-Analog Conversion (DAC)

Two independent 16-bit Digital-to-Analog converters (DAC) can be accurately and simultaneously updated at a 500KHz rate.  The DACs have output ranges of ±10V.  Each output value is latched and remains constant until the next digital value is presented to the DAC.  The DACs are precisely updated from an on-board sample memory buffer with replay control for waveform generation with zero CPU overhead.  The on-board memory buffer can be loaded using memory access instructions or from system memory using PCI Bus Mastering.  The latching of the DAC data is controlled by an on-board precision timer which can be programmed to provide the desired "sample" (update) rate.  Alternatively, an external supplied signal can be used to update the DAC from the on-board memory.As an example of using the DAC, an application could fill the DAC on-board memory buffer with samples to generate a waveform.  The LabMaster PRO could then be configured to play out the samples to the DAC at a very precise rate. After the samples have been sent to the DAC, the waveform generation could then stop, or the waveform could be continuously played from the on-board memory if configured for "repetitive" mode. The on-board timers are very precise and have very little jitter. The use of the on-board precision timer source for controlling the DAC update results in waveform generation with very low harmonic distortion.

System Timer/Counter (STC)

Five independent 16-bit counters count TTL compatible pulses (rising or falling edge) generated from a wide range of equipment and sensors.  Six separate source and gate input lines are provided on the external connector for signals that can be used by any counter.  A TTL compatible pulse/level output signal is available from three counters for the user application.Each gateable counter counts up or down (binary or BCD).  The accumulated count may be read at any time without disturbing the counting process.  Each of the counters can be connected to others to form a counter with resolution up to 80 bits.  The counters provide a resolution of 250nSec. to 2.5mSec.  External events can be counted at speeds to 6.25MHz.

Digital Input/Output (DIO)

Digital Input/Output is supported by dedicated 8 lines of digital input and 8 lines of digital output. An additional 8 digital output lines are provided and can be used for general outputs, or coordinated with the DAC outputs (including DMA control).  These lines can also be used with a strobe line as a bank select register to expand the Digital I/O up to 256 Bytes.

Interrupts & Bus Mastering Features

Hardware interrupts (IRQs) allow the computer to react to special events when they occur.  The Lab Master PRO provides software enabled sources to the PCI bus.  Internal interrupt sources are counter output, A/D or D/A data overrun, and A/D or D/A Bus Master transfer complete.  High speed 32-bit Advanced PCI Bus Mastering permit the transfer of data to/from the LabMaster card without CPU intervention.  The Bus Mastering supports full simultaneous and concurrent ADC and DAC operations.  Interrupts fully conform to the PCI specification.

System Resources

The LabMaster PRO occupies a single PCI slot and is a short board for today's smaller computer cases.  The connection from the computer to the outside world is thru a small single High-Density connector.  The LabMaster PRO comes with a double-shielded 1.5 meter cable.  The connectors on the cable and on the LabMaster PRO are designed for only one correct alignment.  The cable connectors have retaining clips that lock the cable to the mating connector on the computer board.  These clips prevent the cable from being accidentally disconnected and provide a very fast and easy method of connection.The LabMaster PRO is mapped directly into the computers memory space and thus does not have any I/O conflict restrictions!  Configuration of the card is completely by software.  Resource allocation is automatic using PCI BIOS and plug-and-play operation.

Note:

Technical Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the difference between the LabMaster ADEX and the LabMaster PRO

volts = (count) * (range) / (gain) / (2 raised to the power of "data format")

Example: count of 3FFF0000h, range of -10v to +10v, gain = 1, data format of 32-bit:

note: 3FFF0000h = 1073676288 decimal

volts = (3FFF0000) * (20) / (1) / (2 raised to the power of 32)

volts = (1073676288) * (20) / (1) / (4294967296)

volts = 4.999