Relying on the earth prong of a 120VAC for signal ground connections is not advised.. Different ground plugs may have large and potentially even dangerous voltage differentials. Remember that the ground pins on 120VAC outlets on different sides of the room may only be connected in the basement. This leaves the possibility that the “ground” pins may have a significant voltage differential (especially if the two 120 VAC outlets happen to be on different phases!)
PCI-DAS1000 and signal source already have isolated grounds
Some signal sources will already be electrically isolated from the
4.2 WIRING CONFIGURATIONS
Combining all the grounding and input type possibilities provides us with the following potential connection configurations. The combinations along with our recommendations on usage are shown in the chart below.
Ground Category | Input Configuration | Our view | |
Common Ground | Recommended | ||
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Common Ground | Differential Inputs | Acceptable | |
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Common Mode | Not Recommended | ||
Voltage < | |||
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Common Mode | Differential Inputs | Recommended | |
Voltage < | |||
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Common Mode | Unacceptable without | ||
Voltage > +/- 10V | adding Isolation | ||
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Common Mode | Differential Inputs | Unacceptable without | |
Voltage > | adding Isolation | ||
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Already Isolated Grounds | Acceptable | ||
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Already Isolated | Differential Inputs | Recommended | |
Grounds | |||
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The following sections depicts recommended input wiring schemes for each of the 8 possible input configuration/grounding combinations.
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