Data Acquisition Devices: Specifications and Selection Criteria

Main Categories

Bus Type

• USB
• PXI
• PCI
• PCI Express
• FireWire
• PCMCIA
• ISA
• CompactFlash

Analog Input Channels

• At least 8
• At least 16
• At least 32

Analog Input Resolution

• At least 12 bits
• At least 16 bits
• At least 20 bits

Analog Input Sample Rate

• Less than 1 kHz
• At least 1 kHz
• At least 100 kHz
• At least 1 MHz
• At least 10 MHz

Note: National Instruments devices use the nomeclature S/s (Samples per second) instead of Hz. They both mean the same thing.

Max Analog Input Range

• 10 mV
• 80 mV
• 1 A
• 3 A
• 5 V
• 10 V
• 20 V
• 25 V
• 40 V
• 42 V
• 42.4 V
• 60 V
• 100 V
• 250 V
• 300 V
• 1000 V

Analog Output Channels

• At least 2
• At least 4
• At least 8

Digital I/O Channels

• At least 8
• At least 16
• At least 32

Triggering

• Analog
• Digital

OS Support

• Windows
• Linux
• Real-Time
• Pocket PC
• Mac OS
• RTX

Measurement Types

• Thermocouple
• Strain gauges
• IEPE accelerometer
• Bridge-based sensors
• Quadrature encoders

Counter/Timers

• At least 2
• At least 4
• At least 8

Product Family

• M Series
• SC Series
• S Series
• R Series
• E Series
• B Series

Additional Categories

Number of Analog Input Ranges

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 14
• 15

Analog Input Signal Conditioning

• Low-pass filtering
• Current excitation
• Ch-Ch isolation
• Bridge completion
• Anti-aliasing filter

Analog Output Resolution

• 12 bits
• 13 bits
• 14 bits
• 16 bits
• 24 bits

Analog Output Update Rate

• Less than 1 kHz
• At least 1 kHz
• At least 100 kHz
• At least 1 MHz
• At least 10 MHz

Note: National Instruments devices use the nomeclature S/s (Samples per second) instead of Hz. They both mean the same thing.

Data acquisition computer boards