© National Instruments Corporation xi Lab-NB User Manual
About This Manual

This manual describes the mechanical and electrical aspects of the Lab-NB and contains
information concerning its installation and operation. The Lab-NB is a low-cost multifunction
analog, digital, and timing I/O board for Macintosh NuBus computers. It contains a 12-bit
successive-approximation A/D converter (ADC) with eight analog inputs, two 12-bit D/A
converters (DACs) with voltage outputs, 24 lines of transistor-transistor logic (TTL) compatible
digital I/O, and three 16-bit counter/timer channels for timing I/O.

Organization of This Manual

The Lab-NB User Manual is organized as follows.
• Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the Lab-NB, lists what you need to get started, software
programming choices, optional equipment, and explains how to unpack the Lab-NB.
• Chapter 2, Configuration and Installation, describes how to configure and install the Lab-NB
into your Macintosh computer, and also includes signal connections to the Lab-NB and cable
wiring.
• Chapter 3, Theory of Operation, contains a functional overview of the Lab-NB and explains
the operation of each functional unit making up the Lab-NB.
• Chapter 4, Register-Level Programming, describes in detail the address and function of each
of the Lab-NB control and status registers. This chapter also includes important information
about register-level programming the Lab-NB.
• Chapter 5, Calibration, discusses the calibration procedures for the Lab-NB analog input and
analog output circuitry.
• Appendix A, Specifications, lists the specifications of the Lab-NB.
• Appendix B, I/O Connector, contains the pinout and signal names for the I/O connector on
the Lab-NB.
• Appendix C, AMD 8253 Data Sheet, contains the manufacturer data sheet for the AMD 8253
System Timing Controller integrated circuit (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.). This circuit is
used on the Lab-NB.
• Appendix D, OKI 82C55A Data Sheet, contains the manufacturer data sheet for the
OKI 82C55A (OKI Semiconductor) CMOS programmable peripheral interface. This
interface is used on the Lab-NB.
• Appendix E, Customer Communication, contains forms you can use to request help from
National Instruments or to comment on our products and manuals.