Chapter 1
Introducing the PCI-DAS64/M2/16
Overview: PCI-DAS64/M2/16 features
The PCI-DAS64/M2/16 board offers a combination of high speed, channel count and resolution on a single PCI-bus data acquisition board. It offers:
!64 single-ended or 32 differential 16-bit analog inputs
!2 MHz sample rate
!Two 16-bit analog outputs
!100 kHz D/A update rate (16 K FIFO)
!32 bits of digital I/O
!One 16-bit down-counter
!A variety of analog and digital trigger modes with software-selectable trigger levels and direction
The PCI-DAS64/M2/16 board is designed with Measurement Computing’s powerful System Timing Controller (STC) chip. The STC chip controls all A/D sampling and D/A update rates as well as controlling the 8K A/D FIFO, the 8K gain/channel queue and the 16K D/A FIFO buffer. This functionality is based on the STC chip’s use of an on-board 32K x 16 SRAM. The STC chip assigns functions to various parts of the SRAM, such as the A/D FIFO buffer, and provides full-speed control and arbitration among the various functions using the various sections of the SRAM buffer.
The STC allows simultaneous full speed A/D sampling, D/A updating and gain/channel queue sequencing, with variable inter-sample timing if desired. The STC chip performs these functions up to 5 MHz, and is available as an OEM component for use in your own designs. The board provides bus-mastering and scatter-gather functionality to assure the desired system timing is maintained.
The PCI-DAS64/M2/16 is completely plug-and-play, with no switches, jumpers or potentiometers on the board. All board addresses, interrupt channels, etc., are set by your computers plug-and-play software. Calibration is performed via software by using on-board trim D/A converters.
Software features
For information on the features of InstaCal and the other software included with your PCI-DAS64/M2/16, refer to the Quick Start Guide that shipped with your device. The Quick Start Guide is also available in PDF at www.mccdaq.com/PDFmanuals/DAQ-Software-Quick-Start.pdf.
Check www.mccdaq.com/download.htm for the latest software version or versions of the software supported under less commonly used operating systems.
1-1
