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NASA Langley's 8FT, High Temperature Wind Tunnel Utilizes Pacific's PI660 Software to Streamline Test Operations Data Acquisition Software Supports Pressure Scanners
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About Featured ProductsTOP |
Reduced Autobalance and Autozero Times when using Low Frequency Filters
January 25, 2010
Low pass filters in the Series 6000 and 6100 signal conditioning modules determine the time required to perform autozero and autobalance. These functions use successive approximation to arrive at a null setting. It can require several iterations and for each the filtered output requires several time constants to settle to a final value. At very low filter bandwidths this can result in minutes of delay. In order to avoid the long delays software that operates the Series 6000 limited the lowest filter frequency to 4 Hz. For lower frequencies special techniques were required and the Autozero and Autobalance times longer.
The latest version of Pacific’s USB 2.0 Service has been improved to automatically detect each channels filter frequency as programming data is loaded to the 6000 or 6100 systems. Subsequently for any channel with filter frequency less than 4 Hz it switches the filter for that channel to wideband during the Autobalance and Autozero functions. This prevents the long delays previously associated with the low frequency filters and is completely invisible to the operator. To learn more or receive an upgraded USB service please contact a Pacific application specialist or authorized sales representative.
Accessories for Series 6000 and 6100
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National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex Test Next-Gen Rotor-Morphing Helicopters
January 25, 2010
The Pacific Signal Conditioning System at the NASA Ames 40’ by 80' full-scale wind tunnel now known as the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) and run by the Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center has had a busy last year acquiring data from test articles on the Mission Adaptive Rotor (MAR) program. The program objective is to determine how active flaps, slats and controls can be used to increase blade loading, and reduce noise and vibration. Rotors that can change shape on the fly offer a dramatic leap in helicopter technology. Early in 2009 Sikorsky and the Army completed wind tunnel testing of an H-60 rotor modified with individual blade control. Prior to that Boeing’s Smart active rotor with piezoelectric-actuated blade flaps was tested and achieved more than 80% reduction in vibration.
The Air Force selected Pacific’s 6160 for the 500 channel NFAC system for its high performance and high voltage common mode operation. One of the few transducer signal conditioners capable of operating at 300+ Volts common mode it provides over 100 kHz bandwidth for the dynamic signal data produced by strain gages on the blades. Fully programmable the 6160s can be set up and calibrated in far less time than the equipment it replaced providing less facility down time and reducing costs.
About the 6100 Series Transducer Signal Conditioning
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Pacific Provides Integrated Acquisition Support for Pressure Scanners
Concord, CA, March 1, 2009
Pacific Instruments announces the integration of software support for Pressure Systems, Inc. (PSI) line of pressure scanners. Used extensively in wind tunnel, flight and propulsion system testing, the pressure scanner provides a powerful but economic means of acquiring large numbers of concentrated pressure measurements. Integrating these pressure measurements with other measured parameters such as strain, acceleration, position and temperature has often proved to be challenging.
In the past, the pressure scanner system has been independent of the data acquisition system; measuring, recording and displaying other parameters. This necessitated two control stations, two independent sets of data displays and multiple data files. It was left up to the user to time align and integrate data from the independent systems.
The latest version of Pacific’s PI660 Data Acquisition Software now fully supports the PSI pressure scanners used in aerospace applications. A single operator’s workstation performs setup, calibration, control and acquisition for both the pressure scanners and Pacific’s Series 6000 Data Acquisition System that acquires strain, acceleration, position, discrete, frequency and temperature measurements. Real-time data from both systems is viewed on a single set of displays that includes tabular data, strip charts, bar charts, bit-maps and others. Data can be networked to client workstations for recording and additional data displays. Each client workstation may display any combination of pressure scanner and Series 6000 DAS acquired data.
Pressure scanners require a specific calibration process that is implemented by PI660. It provides for definition of Calibration Valve Modes and Calibration Stabilization Times as well as the definition of up to five calibration pressure levels per unit. From the pressure scanner it reads the calibration coefficients and calibration data, which is then presented in spread sheet format with out-of-limit data points highlighted. Calibration coefficients are saved to a file that may be downloaded to scanner hardware for subsequent tests.
PI660 supports the DTC Initium, 8400, and the 9000 Series of PSI pressure scanner modules. A single user interface sets up and operates the Pacific Series 6000 DAS with any or all of these scanners. The user merely tells PI660 which PSI products are to be included, and PI660 provides the user with setup and calibration screens that are tailored to that product.
Read more in the full Integrated Acquisition Support for Pressure Scanners press release.
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Operating Information for Series 6000 Now Available Online
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Technical Product Support Information: Series 6000 Operation
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Portable, DC Operated Data Acquisition System Now With USB 2.0 or Ethernet Interface
Concord, CA, June 1, 2008
Pacific Instruments, Inc. announces new USB 2.0 and Ethernet interfaces for the Model 6005 portable, DC powered data acquisition system. The new interfaces increase data throughput from 1M to 4M samples per second.
The 6005 is a ten-slot enclosure that accepts all Series 6000 transducer signal conditioning and data acquisition modules. With the input modules, it is a complete, ready-to-run signal conditioning and data acquisition system. The 6005 is DC or battery powered, 10-20 VDC is standard and 20-50 VDC is available. Its compact, rugged design makes the 6005 ideal for portable applications. All connectors and controls are located on the front for easy access in tight spaces.
With space for up to 10 modules, all that is needed for a complete, mobile system that records and displays transducer data is a laptop computer with Windows XP or Vista and PI660 acquisition and display software. Simply plug the 6005 into the laptop’s USB 2.0 port, load PI660 software and you’re ready to go. An optional on-board rotating or solid-state drive is available for data storage or for backup recording while data is output and recorded externally.
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Pacific Series 6000 DAS Used in Testing Orion Launch Abort System
Concord, CA, May 27, 2008
In April, the Launch Abort System jettison motor for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle was successfully tested at Aerojet Corporation in Sacramento, California. A Pacific Instruments Series 6000 Signal Conditioning and Data Acquisition System was used by Aerojet to acquire test data.
NASA has partnered with Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences and Aerojet to supply the Orion’s jettison motor. Aerojet performed the first static firing in April at their test facility near Sacramento, California. This was the first full-scale test for the Constellation Program’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
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Transducer Database Simplifies DAS Test Setup
Concord, CA, May 1, 2008
Did you know that PI660 Software for transducer data acquisition, recording, display and network distribution contains a user programmable transducer data base? It can reduce test setup time and labor for facilities that employ the same or similar transducers on multiple tests.
Installed in PI660 Version 8 and above, the Transducer Database is a tool that allows Series 6000 data acquisition system users to quickly configure tests using previously defined transducer setup records. Employing a Microsoft Access format, it may be managed off line, increasing productivity of the test facility. Using point-and-click operations, database records are applied to single or multiple channels, automatically programming them with operating parameters for the selected transducer.
The transducer database is typically used to catalog transducers and to define their characteristics and the operating parameters (i.e. excitation, gain, filter, sample rate, calibration) that are necessary for setup of a data acquisition channel. Downloading from the database provides a quick means of configuring a test using specific transducers or generic transducer types.
Read more in the full Transducer Database Simplifies DAS Test Setup press release.
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On-Board, Redundant Data Recording Module Reduces Lost or Corrupted Data
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MODEL 6095
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Thermocouple Scanner with Built-In UTR Breaks Existing Size Barrier
Concord, CA, April 22, 2008
Pacific Instruments, Inc. announces a new thermocouple scanner that breaks existing price, performance and size barriers. Model 6850 provides uniform temperature references (UTR), voltage scanner and USB 2.0 interface for up to 96 thermocouples all in a 2U (3 ˝”) high, rack-mounted enclosure.
Coupled with Pacific’s PI660 software, the 6850 conditions, displays and records B, C, E, J, K, N, R, S, and T-type thermocouples. Programmable gains from 1 to 5,000 provide the highest accuracy for each thermocouple type. Each channel is digitized with 16-bit resolution at programmable rates up to 2,000 samples per second. Data output on the USB 2.0 interface may be recorded and viewed on real-time displays.
Read more in the full Thermocouple Scanner with Built-In UTR press release.
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Strain Gage Amplifier-Digitizer With Automatic Gain Ranging Eliminates Lost or Degraded Data
Concord, CA, February 11, 2008
Pacific Instruments, Inc. announces a new eight-channel strain gage and transducer signal conditioning-amplifier-digitizer for its Series 6000 Data Acquisition System. Model 6037 automatically ranges gain according to signal level for the optimum signal to noise performance. It is specifically designed for large strain gage applications such as airframe structural testing.
Selecting the channel gains to use on a large structural test is a time consuming task. Under or overestimating signal levels results in lost or degraded data. It is always desired to use the highest gain possible, which results in the best signal-to-noise performance. If the signal level is higher than expected, however, it will overscale the amplifier, resulting in lost data. Too low of a signal results in degraded resolution and poor signal-to-noise performance. Automatic gain ranging eliminates these concerns by dynamically scaling the amplifier’s gain to the input signal level, providing the highest output without overscale.
Read more in the full Automatic Gain Ranging press release.
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Calibration for Highest Accuracy Measurements Made Available to Users
Concord, CA, April 1, 2007
Pacific Instruments calibrates and aligns each I/O module it manufactures, using NIST traceable test equipment prior to delivery. All critical performance specifications for each channel on the I/O module are verified and recorded. When the module is certified by Pacific, it meets all of its performance specifications.
Users typically perform periodic calibrations during the life cycle of any I/O module. Depending on the application and facility requirements this can range from annual calibration and certification to frequent verification of critical parameters such as gain accuracy and stability. Pacific provides support for both periodic and frequent calibration. The ACS2000 calibration system may be used to automatically perform all critical performance tests channel by channel. It is the same system used by Pacific during factory I/O module calibration and certification. For frequent calibration (typically performed before a test) software provides gain and zero calibration and linearity verification using voltage substitution and a NIST traceable voltage standard. Any gain or zero errors detected can be automatically eliminated during data acquisition, providing typical accuracies of +/-0.02%.
Read more in the full Calibration for Highest Accuracy Measurements article.
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High Level Digitizing Systems Save Replacing Aging Computers and Software
Concord, CA, April 1, 2007
Antiquated computers and storage media, along with dated software, limits data acquisition system performance at many test facilities. While transducers and signal conditioning can last for decades, the rapid advance in computer technology means that computers and software are obsolete in a few years. Most systems can be updated without replacing the signal conditioning. The 6016 and 6028 are high-level digitizers for the Series 6000 Data Acquisition System and are supported by PI660 software that can replace aging computers and software, while retaining the existing signal conditioning.
The 6028 and 6016 are 8 and 32-channel 16-bit digitizer cards. Both digitize at programmable rates. The 6028 is for high-speed channels with rates up to 100 kS/s per channel. The 6016 is for lower-speed channels with rates up to 5 kS/s per channel. When installed in the 6000 system with USB 2.0 interface, aggregate rates up to 8 MS/s are possible.
PI660 Software runs on Windows XP. This low-cost platform has many benefits that include massive storage, high processing speed, network connectivity and data distribution to multiple workstations. The 6000 offers many add on features like digital I/O, IRIG time stamping, digital signal processing for derived parameters, alarms and PID control outputs just to name a few. It offers many modern signal conditioning choices like 300 Volt common mode, continuously programmable filters, 100 kHz analog bandwidth and charge amplifiers. See the full range of 6000 products and capabilities here.
Read more in the full High Level Digitizing Systems article.
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Featured Product: Model 9355 Revision
Concord, CA, March 1, 2007
Pacific Instruments is pleased to announce a 2007 revision to the Model 9355 Transducer Amplifier. First created in 1990 as the Model 9255, this model was updated in 1998 and became the 9355. Through the years, the Model 9355 has become a staple of the Pacific Instruments signal conditioning product line. Over 5500 channels have been sold and continue to remain in service today.
As the Model 9355 aged, however, concerns about its future began to surface, due to many of its components becoming difficult to purchase. Pacific has addressed these issues by freshening up its design. The new 9355 takes advantage of surface mount components as well as an automated assembly process. It has the ability to perform seamlessly with the previous version of 9355 and continues to utilize existing PACWIN93 software.
We are excited about these new changes to the 9355 and look forward to many more years of its service.
Read more in the full Model 9355 Revision article.
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New U.S. Representative Locator Map
Concord, CA, February 5, 2007
Quickly locate Pacific Instruments U.S. Representatives in your region with just one click. Simply select your state on the map to instantly receive contact information and the option to send e-mail, view your representative's website, or request support.
Try it now!
Read more in the full Rep Locator Map article.
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Featured Product: Model 5810 Transient Recorders
Concord, CA, February 1, 2007
The 5810 is an AC powered, rack-mounting, 16-channel system enclosure for 5800 series recording modules. With a considerably lower price than ruggedized enclosures, it makes the 5810 system a competitive model for laboratory transient recorder applications.
Read more in the full Model 5810 Transient Recorders article.
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New Release of PI580 Software
Concord, CA, February 1, 2007
PI580 is the software for programming, calibrating, operating and debriefing Pacific’s 5800 series transient recording systems. The 5800s are sold in configurations for laboratory and field applications. Models for field work are battery operated, ruggedized and record data while subject to 50 Gs of shock. They are frequently used for recording explosive effects data.
V1.2, provides several enhancements that make PI580 easier to use and improves its calibration and export capabilities. Added features include a Test Report Generator that provides a record of operating parameters and calibration data, as well as a Hardware Verification spreadsheet that points out any differences between software and hardware programming.
Read more in the full PI580 New Release article.
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DAC Shunt Calibration for the 6060 and 6160 Transducer Signal Conditioning
Concord, CA, January 24, 2007
DAC shunt calibration provides accuracies equal to using multiple precision resistors, but at a lower cost. Using a 16-bit DAC provides over 64,000 calibration steps using a single precision range resistor replacing multiple high-accuracy, high-cost resistors. It eliminates the need for multiple sets of shunt resistors to accommodate transducers with different characteristics and calibration requirements.
In the case of the 6060 and 6160, Pacific has made DAC shunt calibration a no-cost option and installed it on a removable “features” card that can be taken to the laboratory for periodic calibration and verification without losing the service of an amplifier module.
Read more in the full DAC Shunt Calibration for the 6060 article.
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FAA Type Certification for the Hawker 4000
Concord, CA, January 15, 2007
The Raytheon Aircraft Hawker 4000 is a super-midsized business jet with composite fuselage and advanced integrated system features of a much larger airplane. As a Partner Supplier, Pacific congratulates Raytheon on another fine aircraft from its Wichita, Kansas facility. Raytheon uses Pacific’s Series 6000 signal conditioning and data acquisition system for structural and fatigue testing.
Read more in the full Hawker 4000 article.
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NASA-Ames Wind Tunnel Reopens - Pacific Supplies Signal Conditioning
Concord, CA, January 1, 2007
After three years of inactivity, the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFSAC) at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California is set to reopen for testing in February 2007. It will be operated by the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) located in Tullahoma, Tennessee and dedicated to fixed and rotary-wing testing. Initial tests will be on the UH-60 independent blade control system.
The NFSAC facility is being re-instrumented by Jacobs Sverdrup of Tullahoma, Tennessee, with new Pacific Instruments signal conditioning. Sverdrup and NASA selected the Model 6160 for its high accuracy and 300 Volts common mode. This facility experiences high common mode potentials due to its physical size and high-power equipment.
Read more in the full NASA-Ames Wind Tunnel article.
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Telemetry Products Spun-Off to JDA Systems
Concord, CA, January 2, 2006
The telemetry products manufactured and sold by Pacific have been spun-off to a new company, JDA Systems. The focus of JDA is telemetry systems, tracking antennas and software support. JDA will now provide technical support for the telemetry products sold by Pacific. Any warranty or service requests on Pacific sold products should continue to be referred to Pacific. Please visit JDA's web site, www.jdasystems.com for further information or contact them by email at sales@jdasystems.com or by phone at (800) 381-3305.
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PI660 Now Offers Triggered Capture of Shock and Other Transient Data
Concord, CA, December 12, 2005
Version 8.8 of PI660 software for the Series 6000 data acquisition systems contains a new feature that enables capturing pre and post-trigger data from a fast event. The captured data may be saved to a data file and displayed in time, frequency or shock response spectrum plots. Multiple selected channels are saved in the same data file and multiple events can be recorded with each event in a separate file with auto incrementing file names.
If selected the new “Fast Trigger” operation is available when the 6000 is in Preview mode. The operator may chose to record Fast Trigger data for all triggers or select only to record specific triggers while observing the data display. The trigger event may be detected from any input channel and is set as a signal level in engineering units. The minimum record length is specified by the operator. Ten to forty percent of the captured data is pre-trigger the remaining is post-trigger. This new feature provides a flexible approach to triggered data collection for short events that can be used in a wide variety of test situations.
If you have purchased PI660 within the past 12 months or are on a PI660 support program you will receive Version 8.8 automatically. Otherwise you may purchase a software support contract and receive Version 8.8 and all other PI660 upgrades for one year.
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6000 DAS Adds Local Recording and Back-Up of Acquired Data
Concord, CA, November 7, 2005
Series 6000 Data Acquisition Systems that use the USB 2.0 interface can now have local data storage in the form of a removable 40 or 80 gigabit hard drive. With the Model 6095 plug-in storage module installed on the 6000U Mainframe, acquired data is stored locally and simultaneously output on the USB interface for display and recording on a PC or other computer. Stored data retrieval and management is performed by PI660 Windows-based operating and display software.
The local storage option can prevent loss of critical test data. Should the primary data storage computer go off-line or the computer interface or network that is carrying the acquired data for primary storage fail during a test the system will continue to store data. By supplying 6000U Mainframe power from an Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) the entire recording system is immune to supply line power failure.
This option is not available for 6000 systems with a GPIB interface. However, GPIB systems can be upgraded to USB 2.0 and then have local data storage. The USB 2.0 upgrade will also increase the maximum system throughput from 1 MS/s to 4 MS/s or higher. One caveat; a high-performance PC is required to achieve the maximum throughput. Contact a Pacific Regional Sales Office for more information on upgrading to USB 2.0.
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NEW Release of PI660 Announced
Concord, CA, September 12, 2005
PI660, the data acquisition and display software for Series 6000 systems, is currently up to Version 8, Release 2.15. In order to use Test files created in earlier versions of PI660, it was necessary to export them to an Access database and then import the database files into Version 8. This could be tedious and time consuming for users who had many files and if done improperly could damage the Test files.
This latest release of Version 8 has been made to directly accept PI660 Version 6 & 7 Test files, eliminating the need to export them to Access. They will open just like a Version 8 test file and are subsequently saved in Version 8 Test file format.
The change of file format for Version 8 was made to incorporate new features such as automatic offset and gain correction. Once the earlier version Test files are in Version 8 format, these new features can be utilized, which will improve operation and accuracy of the 6000 system.
Pacific offers free upgrades to users who purchase annual support contracts or have had PI660 for less than one year.
Click here to see a list of new features in Version 8 of PI660.
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NEW High-Performance Data Acquisition Systems Installed
Concord, CA, September 12, 2005
DAQSCRIBE INSTALLS HIGH-PERFORMANCE DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS USING PACIFIC INSTRUMENTS SIGNAL CONDITIONING……
DaqScribe, Inc., based in Denver Colorado, has selected Pacific's Series 6000 signal conditioning for use in their high-performance data acquisition systems. DaqScribe systems are typically used at government and aerospace facilities for critical testing of airframes, rocket motors and rotating machinery. These systems offer the industry's highest data acquisition and storage rates, over 100 million samples-per-second aggregate and up to 150 million samples-per-second per channel. Disk array storage provides data capacities of up to 2.5 TBytes. PI660 acquisition and display software is used by DaqScribe to support their systems in a Window's environment. A single software application performs end-to-end signal conditioning and system setup, automated calibration, data acquisition, recording media management and real-time data display. Data can be displayed on multiple LAN workstations and a video wall employing up to nine large, high-resolution monitors. Operator-transparent backup acquisition for critical channels is optionally available.
Visit Website... www.daqscribe.com
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6035 Eliminates Bridge Completion Components and Jumpers
Concord, CA, September 26, 2005
The 6033 is the most popular input module for the 6000 systems. It has 8-channels of strain gage or transducer signal condition with amplifier, filter and 16-bit digitizer. But the module must be removed from its enclosure to change bridge type, and the plug-on jumpers that configure the signal conditioning can get misplaced. The 6035 now offers a solution without giving up any of the features or performance of the 6033.
The 6035 is an 8-channel input module with performance equal to the 6033, but with fully programmable signal conditioning for ¼, ½ and full bridges and programmable completion resistors. It eliminates the need to remove the module when changing transducers. The 6035 is a direct replacement for the 6033 with the same input and output connections and connector types. One additional advantage: it has individually programmable voltage excitation output level for each channel, whereas the 6033 had all channels programmed at the same level.
Click here to see specifications for the 6035.
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Record Transient Events using Series 6000 and PI660
Concord, CA, August 22, 2005
Recently a customer wanted to monitor continuous operation of a transmission for a specific event and when it occurred, analyze data for several hours prior to the event and for a short period after. Analysis required that multiple channels be sampled and recorded at 10 KS/s and higher rates requiring aggregate storage rates in excess of 2 MB/s.
Pacific's 6000 with PI660 software and USB2.0 interface solved the problem. With data to storage in excess of 8 MB/s, the USB interface easily handled the aggregate data rates and with an 80 GB hard drive, provided the storage space to capture over 11 hours of data. Data was stored to a file sized to accommodate slightly more than the desired amount of pre-event data. When the file was full, it wrapped around and wrote over the oldest data, providing continuous recording in limited storage space.
The event was detected using the programmable alarms built into every 6000 channel. The alarm was programmed in PI660 to initiated storage of a specified amount of post-event data and inserted a mark in the data file indicating the time of the event. Since IRIG time was also contained in the data file, the time of event occurrence is accurately known and may be correlated to other data and tests. Specific time slices of selected data are exported to analysis software for further study.
Key features of the Series 6000 and PI660 that made this “transient recording” possible are the programmable channel alarms and record duration settings. The alarms are hardware-based. The digitized output of each channel is checked against programmable upper and lower limits. If a limit violation is detected for a programmable number of successive samples, a flag is set in the current output data frame, informing PI660 software that an alarm has occurred. PI660 may be programmed to acquire a specific number of samples, specified as a time period, after the alarm and stop recording to preserve the pre-event data already in storage. This is but one example of the recording flexibility built into PI660 software.
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LabVIEW Drivers Now Available for 9355 Programmable Transducer Amplifiers
Concord, CA, July 25, 2005
Pacific now offers a free instrument driver and set of software programs that allow users to quickly set up and operate the 9355 Transducer Amplifiers and 9335 Instrumentation Amplifiers. The driver and applications are written in LabVIEW, National Instruments' graphical development environment for test and measurement systems.
The 9355 and 9335 are Pacific's premier line of signal conditioning and instrumentation amplifiers. They feature 300 Volts of operating common mode voltage for the most severe applications and are often used in applications where lightning induced voltage on exposed input cables would destroy instruments with lesser protection. They also have fully isolated excitation and fully floating outputs that eliminate ground-loops and resulting measurement errors in complex and noisy measurement applications.
The instrument driver supports all 9300 standard functions including excitation, gain and filter programming, automatic zero and balance, voltage and shunt calibration and digital monitoring of excitation voltage and current, calibration and output levels. To add flexibility, the driver communicates with the amplifiers using VISA (Virtual Instrument System Architecture) functions. As a result, application level VIs access GPIB or RS232 interfaces transparently by simply calling the required driver functions.
A LabVIEW application is supplied that configures a system of 9300 channels and programs operating parameters. It has only two front panels but allows users to configure, set up, test and operate all channels in a small or large system. The Channel Set Up panel has a graphical display that monitors excitation voltage or current and output voltage, making it easy to monitor the effect of setting changes.
Click here to contact a Sales Manager in your area for details on how to get free LabVIEW drivers.
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USB 2.0 Interface Shipping on the Series 6000
Concord, CA, June 13, 2005
The USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface has been used by computer peripherals for a number of years. The recent implementation and availability of USB 2.0 with 480 Mb/s (60 MByte/s) transfer rate makes it an excellent and inexpensive choice for high-speed data transfers. The recent introduction by Pacific of a USB 2.0 interface for Series 6000 systems provides the means to economically acquire large quantities of high-speed transducer data.
The Series 6000 with USB 2.0 interface will acquire data for storage and display at over 4 Million samples per second, where each sample consist of two bytes of data. It can also provide data latency of less than 5 milliseconds. A high-performance CPU is recommended to achieve the highest throughput and lowest latency. Throughput and latency can also be optimized for any particular application by scan list design. For example, while the 6000 can sample channels at different sample rates, the best throughput and latency is usually achieved by sampling all channels at the same rate.
Virtually all new desktop, rack-mounted and laptop PCs have one or more USB 2.0 ports. This provides a wide variety of inexpensive platforms and peripherals to support high-performance data acquisition and processing. A laptop PC with Pacific's 6005 battery operated mainframe makes a truly portable system with laboratory performance. However, care must be taken in selecting the laptop. The method of implementation affects USB performance, which can significantly reduce data throughput. Pacific has benchmarked the throughput performance of several laptops and will be happy to share our findings.
Click here for more details on the 6000U.
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