Copyright: (C) 1995 Capital Equipment Corp.


A/D Setup

Keithley/Metrabyte boards (except DAS-16)

Data Translation boards

IOTech boards

National Instruments boards

DAS-16

UEI Win-30 series

Analogic FAST-series boards

ADAC boards

Eagle Technologies boards

How to fix configuration and setup problems

Drivers available from the manufacturer for these brands:

UEI PowerDAQ series

Real-Time Devices (RTD)
Quatech
Computer Boards
Dataq
Gage Applied Research

General A/D setup description


Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting setup problems

Step 1 is always to check the instructions again.  Make sure the required configuration steps have been followed.

Also check that hardware switch and jumper settings on your board match the settings you have used in the software.

Next, run the A/D Troubleshooting program from the TestPoint group:

A/D Troubleshooting

Then, close your TestPoint applications (you don't need to exit TestPoint entirely), and reload them.  Go to Run mode to load the A/D drivers.

Look at the A/D troubleshooting window to see what occurred.  This window shows a log of the activity of various A/D drivers as they attempt to access your board.  Note that not all drivers log their activity (for example TPDAS does not, but TPKEITH, TPNI, and TPDT do).

Often this display will make the problem clear.
Sometimes an error code from the A/D board manual is displayed that will point to the trouble.

If not, print out the log (a copy is placed into the file ADDEBUG.LOG), and call for tech support.


General A/D Setup
Configuring A/D and D/A boards for TestPoint

Automatic board setup

TestPoint is set up to automatically search for A/D boards from a variety of manufacturers.

If your board is from one of these companies (for example, Keithley/Metrabyte, Data Translation, National Instruments), and you have installed and configured the manufacturer's driver software for the board, TestPoint will automatically be ready to use it.

The steps for installing and configuring the manufacturer's drivers differ for each company, but are documented in the manuals that come with the boards.

For example, Data Translation boards come with a driver disk that must be installed using the Windows Control panel.

Automatic board mode is used when "manufacturer=AUTO" in the file TESTPT.INI:

[AD0]

manufacturer=AUTO

Automatic search steps through each manufacturer's A/D driver listed in the TESTPT.INI file [ADDRIVERS] section, and tries to find boards from that manufacturer.

This can take a little time when you start your application - you will see the mouse cursor change to the hourglass (wait) symbol a few times. To speed this up, you can edit TESTPT.INI if you wish, and comment out some of the manufacturer names you don't intend to use. For example:

[ADDRIVERS]

Keithley=TPKEITH.DLL

DT=TPDT.DLL

;;; NI=TPNI.DLL

;;; UEI=TPUEI.DLL

You can also use manual board setup, explained below, to avoid the time involved in automatic board search.

Manual board setup

For other A/D board vendors (for example UEI), you must manually configure TestPoint to access the board, since the manufacturer's driver software does not support automatic board recognition.

For these boards, you must edit the file TESTPT.INI in the TestPoint directory, and change the [AD0] section.

For example, for a UEI WIN-30, you might use:

[AD0]

manufacturer=UEI

 io=0x700

 irq=5

In some cases, there is also a separate configuration step using the manufacturer's software that comes with the board.

For example, on Keithley boards, you must run a configuration program (in DOS) which creates the .CFG file. The program for the DAS1600 boards is D1600CFG.EXE.


Keithley/Metrabyte A/D setup
Keithley/Metrabyte A/D board setup

For setup information on Keithley boards, call 888-KEITHLEY.

INSTALLATION

Windows 3.x
Windows95
WindowsNT  (requires DriverLINX)

Digital I/O functions with DriverLINX

Counter/Timer functions with DriverLINX

(For DAS-16 boards, see DAS-16 Installation)

For non-PCI digital I/O boards
(PIO-12, PIO-24, PIO-96...),
use the DIO Object, not the A/D Object

For the following models, use direct port I/O with
the I/O Object:
DAC-02
DDA-06

Model-specific notes and limitations

Additional A/D commands available
(pre-triggering, clock gating, etc.)


Keithley/Metrabyte Win 3.x
Installing Keithley/Metrabyte A/D boards in Windows 3.x

Note: If you are using multiple Keithley boards of different types,
see manual configuration

There are two steps which must be followed for the board to operate with TestPoint.

Step 1) To configure your board, you must run the configuration program appropriate to the board. For example, the configuration program for the DAS-1600 series is

CFG1600.EXE.  For a DAS1800 series, it is CFG1800.EXE.

Run the configuration program, specifying the file KEITHLEY.CFG in your TestPoint directory as the output file. For example:

CFG1600   C:\TESTPT\KEITHLEY.CFG

The filename C:\TESTPT\KEITHLEY.CFG is important! If you use a different filename, auto-configuration will not work.

(Note: if you get any errors when starting the Keithley configuration program, you can ignore them - errors can occur when an existing KEITHLEY.CFG file for a different board model is present).

NOTE: if you are using the Keithley DAS-16 board, you need to use a separate driver

Step 2) REQUIRED INSTALLATION OF DMA DRIVERS:

2a) Choose File/Run in the Program Manager.
Then, type "SYSEDIT". The SYSEDIT program lets you edit the Windows configuration files.
2b) Select the window labelled "SYSTEM.INI".

2c) Replace the line:

device=*vdmad

with

device=c:\testpt\vdmad.386

in SYSTEM.INI.
2d) Save the files and exit.
2e) Then you must restart Windows!

Note: If you are using multiple Keithley boards of different types,
see manual configuration

For digital I/O boards (PIO-12, PIO-24, PIO-96...),
use the DIO Object, not the A/D Object


Keithley/Metrabyte Win 95
Installing Keithley/Metrabyte A/D boards in Windows 95

Driver setup details depend on the board model.

Choose a board model below:

Keithley ASO driver support

DAS800 Series

DAS1200 / DAS1400 / DAS1600 Series

DAS1700 / DAS1800 Series

DAS-TC

DAS-50 or 58

DAS-Scan

DASCard-1000 Series

DAS4000 Series

DDA-8 or 16

DriverLINX support

KPCMCIA Series

Any other model with DriverLINX drivers

(including all PCI bus boards, such as
KPCI-1800 and KPCI-31xx series)


Keithley/Metrabyte Win 95
Installing Keithley/Metrabyte A/D boards in Windows 95 using "ASO"-style drivers

Note: If you are using multiple Keithley boards of different types,
see manual configuration

There are two steps which must be followed for the board to operate with TestPoint.

Step 1) To configure your board, you must run the configuration program appropriate to the board. For example, the configuration program for the DAS-1600 series is

CFG1600.EXE.  For a DAS1800 series, it is CFG1800.EXE.

Run the configuration program, specifying the file KEITHLEY.CFG in your TestPoint directory as the output file. For example:

CFG1600   C:\TESTPT\KEITHLEY.CFG

The filename C:\TESTPT\KEITHLEY.CFG is important! If you use a different filename, auto-configuration will not work.

(Note: if you get any errors when starting the Keithley configuration program, you can ignore them - errors can occur when an existing KEITHLEY.CFG file for a different board model is present).

NOTE: if you are using the Keithley DAS-16 board, you need to use a separate driver

Step 2) REQUIRED INSTALLATION OF DMA DRIVERS:

2a) If TestPoint is installed in a directory other than C:\TESTPT, edit the VDMAD.REG file provided in the TestPoint directory (instructions are given in comments in the file).

2b) Go to the Windows Explorer program, open the TestPoint directory, and double-click on the file VDMAD.REG. You should get a message stating that the information was successfully entered into the Windows registry.


Keithley/Metrabyte Win NT
Installing Keithley/Metrabyte A/D boards with DriverLINX drivers in Windows 95, 98 or NT

When using DriverLINX rather than the Keithley ASO drivers, the installation and additional A/D commands are different.

Step 1) Install DriverLINX drivers according to the instructions in the DriverLINX manual.  This involves running the SETUP program.

Step 2) Configure the DriverLINX drivers, using the DriverLINX configuration icon, as described in the DriverLINX manual.  It is at this stage that you choose hardware parameters like I/O addresses, interrupt levels, and DMA channels.

Step 3) Test the DriverLINX installation.  To do this, run the sample programs supplied with DriverLINX, such as the "Analog Input" and/or "Analog Output" programs.  If there is a problem at this stage, check your configuration from step 2, or call Keithley or SST for help.

Then just run TestPoint!  The automatic board search (manufacturer=AUTO in TESTPT.INI) will ask DriverLINX about the board and find it automatically.  If you have any problems with TestPoint finding the board, run the A/D debug utility from the TestPoint program group.

Digital I/O functions with DriverLINX

Counter/Timer functions with DriverLINX

Limits

* Analog triggering is not supported for some models in Windows NT, such as the DAS1800.  Generally, DriverLINX supports analog triggering only if it is implemented in hardware on the A/D board.

* Unipolar input mode is not supported, only bipolar mode.

* Pretriggering is not currently supported.

Additional A/D commands supported in DriverLINX

Clock gating:

Other A/D commands   A/D1  command="gate", value="on"

    or

Other D/A commands   D/A1  command="dagate", value="on"

    Note that gate polarity is not settable.

Burst mode timing

Other A/D commands   A/D1  command="burstticks", value=30

Note that burst mode channel/channel timing is in units of clock ticks,
which are 200nsec on the 1800 series.  The burstticks command for Keithley boards in Win 3.x and Win95 uses units of usec.

D/A gain (1800AO model only)

Other D/A commands   D/A1  command="dagain", value=2

Set the D/A output gain. A gain of 1 gives a +/-5V range, a gain of 2 gives a +/-10V range on the 1800AO model.

Digital trigger polarity:

Other A/D commannds   A/D1  command="ditrig", value="-"

Possible values are "+" or "-".

External clock polarity:

Other A/D commands   A/D1   command="extclock", value="-"

Possible values are "+" or "-".

Sync clock (D/A and A/D, 1800AO model):

Other D/A commands   D/A1   command="sync", value=1

This command sets the DriverLINX clock period value to zero for the D/A start command, which means to use the A/D clock.  Note that support for this capability depends on the DriverLINX implementation.


DriverLINX and DIO
DIO functions using DriverLINX drivers

Digital I/O functions on data-acquisition boards using DriverLINX are supported through a special object, contained in the file DLDIO.TST.

This file contains complete instructions on usage.

You can copy and paste this object into your own applications.


DriverLINX and C/T
Counter/Timer functions using DriverLINX drivers

Counter/Timer functions on data-acquisition boards using DriverLINX are supported through a special object, contained in the file DLCT.TST.

This file contains complete instructions on usage.

You can copy and paste this object into your own applications.


Keithley/Metrabyte Limits
Keithley/Metrabyte HARDWARE SETUP AND LIMITATIONS

* The DAS1600/1400/1200 only support arbitrary channel/gain lists in interrupt mode (not DMA), thus limiting the acquisition rate. For high speed, consecutive channels must be sampled, at a constant gain.

* Analog triggering: Most Keithley board models use software to implement analog triggering, so it will only reliably trigger on waveforms slow enough so the software can catch the analog edges (this is usually only a few KHz). Some models, such as the DAS50 or 58, use a hardware analog trigger.

DriverLINX for WinNT: software analog trigger is not implemented.

* The DAS800 board has a fixed gain of 1.

The DAS801 and DAS802 have programmable gains.

* The DAS80x series boards are limited to fairly low rates in Windows because they do not have DMA hardware. Typically, maximum rates are around 4 to 5 KHz.

* DASTC: *** IMPORTANT ***

The "rate" parameter in "start A/D" is ignored. This board samples at a hardware-determined rate.

(Also, the DASTC ignores triggering options and gains. Gains are chosen in the DASTC configuration program.)

* DAS4100, DAS4200 and DAS4300 boards - IMPORTANT NOTES

- Use only the "Acquire" action, or the "Start A/D" action with samples/event set to "all" - these boards cannot give events during acquisition, only when acquisition is complete.

- These boards support only a very limited set of sampling rates.  You should use the exact value for the rate in your "Acquire" actions:

DAS4100 rates
500000,1E6,2E6,4E6,8E6,16E6,32E6,64E6

DAS4200 rates

781250, 1562500, 3125000, 6250000,
12.5E6, 25E6, 50E6, 100E6

DAS4300 rates
781250, 1562500, 3125000, 6250000,
12.5E6, 25E6, 50E6, 100E6,
250E6, 500E6, 1E9

- The following gains are available

DAS4100 gains (with ranges shown)

5	(+/- 4 V)
8	(+/- 2.5 V)
10	(+/- 2 V)
16	(+/- 1.25 V)
20	(+/- 1 V)
25	(+/- 0.8 V)
32	(+/- 0.625 V)
40	(+/- 0.5 V)
50	(+/- 0.4 V)

80	(+/- 0.25 V)
160	(+/- 0.125 V)
200	(+/- 0.1 V)

DAS4200 gains (at gain of 1, the input range is +/- 2 volts):

1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128
(default is 1)

DAS4300 gains (with ranges shown):

5	(+/- 1 V)
8	(+/- 0.625 V)

10	(+/- 0.5 V)

16	(+/- 0.3125 V)

20	(+/- 0.25 V)

25	(+/- 0.2 V)

32	(+/- 0.15625 V)

40	(+/- 0.125 V)

50	(+/- 0.1 V)

80	(+/- 0.0625 V)

160	(+/- 0.03125 V)

200	(+/- 0.025 V)

- These boards have a maximum number of data points that can be acquired, based on their on-board memory size (e.g. 8K on the DAS4301).

* D/A output: Most Keithley boards, except the DAS1800AO,  use interrupts, not DMA, for D/A waveform output, so speed  will be limited on these boards.


Keithley/Metrabyte manual config
Manual Configuration
(USING MULTIPLE BOARDS)

If you are using two of the same type of Keithley board (such as two DAS1601's), just configure both boards using the Keithley configuration program. TestPoint's auto-configuration will handle the rest.

If you are using two boards from different A/D vendors (such as Keithley and Data Translation), just put entries in TESTPT.INI for each board (one under [AD0], one under [AD1]).

MANUAL CONFIGURATION (for multiple Keithley boards of different types):

If you are using two different models of Keithley A/D board (such as a DAS1601 and DAS1801HC), auto-configuration will not work.

You must manually set the driver names and so on by editing the file TESTPT.INI.

Just put entries in TESTPT.INI for each board.

Create one configuration file for each board.

You must edit TESTPT.INI to indicate which boards you are using. (Note for those delivering runtime applications to other users: include these instructions with your application).

Here are the correct settings for your TESTPT.INI file:

for DAS160x boards:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

family=DAS1600

cfgfile=DAS1600.CFG

boardindex=0

for DAS140x boards:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

family=DAS1600

cfgfile=DAS1400.CFG

boardindex=0

for DAS120x boards:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

family=DAS1600

cfgfile=DAS1200.CFG

boardindex=0

for DAS80x board:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

cfgfile=DAS800.CFG

family=DAS800

boardindex=0

for DAS-TC board:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASTC.DLL

family=DASTC

cfgfile=DASTC.CFG

boardindex=0

for DAS-180xHC, ST, HR, AO boards:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

family=DAS1800

cfgfile=DAS1800.CFG

boardindex=0

for DAS-50 or DAS-58:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DAS58.DLL

family=DAS58

cfgfile=DAS58.CFG

boardindex=0

for DASCard-1000 series:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

family=DAS1000

cfgfile=DAS1000.CFG

boardindex=0

for DDA-8 or -16:
[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

family=DDA16

cfgfile=DDA16.CFG

boardindex=0

Each board comes with a configuration program that can be used to edit the .CFG file for that board model. For example, the DAS1200/1400/1600 come with CFG1600.EXE:

C:\> CFG1600  DAS1400.CFG

Other models have different configuration programs.

The configuration program is supplied by Keithley when you purchase the A/D board.

However, if you are using two or more of the same type of Keithley A/D board, you must set up a single configuration file for multiple boards.

Run the Keithley configuration program (e.g. CFG1600.EXE) in DOS and enter the number of boards.

(Note: some Keithley board models support only 2 boards, not 4. This is a limitation of the Keithley driver and config program).

Enter the settings for each board in the configuration program.

Then, in TESTPT.INI, use the same manufacturer=, driver=, and cfgfile= settings for each board, and a different boardindex= for each.

Example:

[AD0]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

cfgfile=DASBOTH.CFG

boardindex=0

[AD1]

manufacturer=Keithley

driver=DASSHELL.DLL

cfgfile=DASBOTH.CFG

boardindex=1

NOTE! The DAS160x, DAS140x, and DAS120x are considered to be the "same" type of board for configuration purposes They use a common configuration file.


Pre-trigger and other commands
Additional A/D commands available on Keithley/Metrabyte A/D boards

Pre-trigger:

Some A/D boards support "pre-triggering", which allows you to capture input data before the hardware trigger event.

To set up pre-trigger mode, use the "Other A/D command" action:

Other A/D command	A/D1	command word="pretrigger", value=20

(the value should be the number of samples you want before the trigger).

The DAS1800 series boards support pre-triggering, with digital triggers.

The DAS-50 and -58 boards support pre-trigger with either digital or analog triggers.

To disable pre-trigger, just set the # of pre-trigger samples back to zero.

Simultaneous sample-and-hold:

If you have an external SSH option connected to your A/D board, you can sample multiple channels simultaneously (rather than at the A/D converter's conversion rate).

To enable this feature, use this command line:

Other A/D command	A/D1	command word="ssh", value=1

Burst mode timing:

In burst mode, you can set the time between channels, in units of usec, for example:

Other A/D command	A/D1	command word="burstticks", value=20

Synchronous A/D and D/A:

The DAS1800-AO board has a mode where the same clock signal is used for both output (D/A) and input (A/D), so they are synchronized.

To enable this feature, use this command line:

Other D/A command	D/A1	command word="sync", value=1

Give this command first, then start D/A, and finally start A/D.

Digital trigger polarity:

The default polarity for an external digital trigger (when enabled), is positive-edge.

To change the polarity to negative-edge, use this command:

Other A/D command	A/D1	command word="ditrig", value=2

Use a value of zero to go back to positive-edge triggering.

A/D Clock gating:

To enable an external gate for the A/D conversion clock, use this command:

Other A/D command	A/D1	command word="gate", value="+"

The value can be "+", "-", or "" (for no gate).

D/A Clock gating:

To enable an external gate for the D/A conversion clock, use this command:

Other D/A command	D/A1	command word="gate", value="+"

The value can be "+", "-", or "" (for no gate).

D/A digital external triggering:

To enable a digital start trigger event for D/A waveforms:

Other D/A command	D/A1	command word="datrig", value=1

The value can be 1 or 0, for true or false respectively.


DAS-16 A/D Setup
DAS-16 Setup

The DAS-16 driver does not support the "automatic board setup" feature of TestPoint, so you must manually edit the file TESTPT.INI.

The TPDAS.DLL driver supports the Keithley/Metrabyte DAS-16, DAS-16F, DAS-16G1, and DAS-16G2 boards.

It also supports any 100% compatible board, such as the Advantech PCL 718.

SETUP/INSTALLATION:

You must edit the SYSTEM.INI file in your WINDOWS directory to add the line:

[386Enh]

DMABUFSIZE=64 ; set large DMA buffer area

You must edit TESTPT.INI to indicate the board hardware settings.

(Note for those delivering runtime applications to other users: include these instructions with your application).

Here are the correct settings for your TESTPT.INI file:

[AD0]

manufacturer=DAS

model=DAS16G1	; specify the board model.

 ; should be one of:

 	; DAS16, DAS16F, DAS16G1, DAS16G2

io=0x300 	; set correct base I/O address here

irq=7 	; an unused interrupt level in your PC

dma=3 	; must match the DMA switch on the board!

clock=10.0E6 	; must match the clock jumper on the board,

; either 1E6 or 10E6 hertz.

Optional settings for TESTPT.INI:

range=10 	; use this for the DAS-16 or 16F boards,

; which have a switch-selectable voltage range.

; specify the full-scale voltage span.

; For example, if you choose the +/-5V range,

; use range=10.

; If you choose the 0-2V range, use range=2.

mux=1	; use this if you have connected EXP-16 expander(s)

; specify the number of EXP-16's connected.

; For example, with mux=1, and one EXP-16, channels

; 0 to 15 will connect to the expander, then the next

; channel (ch1 on the DAS16) will be channel 16, etc.

Note: unipolar/bipolar mode is sensed automatically, based on

the hardware switch setting.


Data Translation A/D Setup

INSTALLATION

Install the hardware and device driver software as described in the manual that comes with the board.

1) The driver software is installed through the Windows Control Panel.

Detailed driver installation instructions:

Windows 3.x

Windows 95/98

Windows NT

2) You will be prompted to restart Windows when you complete the driver installation.  Click "Restart Now" to complete your installation.

Now you are ready to begin - just open any A/D example program, such as EXAMPLES\AD.TST.

Data Translation boards DO work with the "automatic" A/D board setup

feature of TestPoint.  There is no need to edit the TESTPT.INI configuration file.

NOTES

   (click on any note below for details)

External clock mode

Digital I/O and Counter/Timer support

Troubleshooting setup problems

Analog triggering limitations

"Other A/D commands" supported:
pretrigger, digital trigger polarity, etc.

FIFO sampling latency (delay) on some board models

Details of support files and TESTPT.INI settings


Data Translation - driver installation Win3.x
Data Translation  - Driver Installation for Win3.x

1.	Install the hardware.  (For non-plug-and-play ISA boards, check switch settings).

2.	Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Main group.

3.	Double-click Drivers.

4.	Click Add.

5.	Select Unlisted or updated driver.  Click OK.

6.	Specify the disk drive:  A:\WIN3.1.  Click OK, OK, OK.

7.	Select the board type and enter any board name you wish for the board.  For non-plug-and-play boards, select the I/O address and other board settings.

8.	Click Add!.  Click Yes.

9.	Click Close.

10.	Go ahead and restart the computer as prompted.


Data Translation - driver installation Win95/98
Data Translation  - Driver Installation for Win95/98

1.	Install the hardware.  (For non-plug-and-play ISA boards, check switch settings).
For PCI plug-and-play boards, you will be prompted to insert the driver disk for the new hardware when you turn your computer on.  Follow the Windows prompts and select A:\WIN95.
Otherwise (for non-plug-and-play), open the Control Panel (under Start/Settings), and double-click Add New Hardware.  Do not search for new hardware - instead, select Sound, video, and game controllers, and "Have Disk", then specify A:\WIN95.

Now your driver is installed within Windows.

Next, to add the board to your device driver configuration:

2.	Open the Control Panel (under Start/Settings).

3.	Double-click Multimedia.  Select the Advanced tab and double-click Media Control Devices.  Double-click DT-Open Layers...

4.	Click Settings. Click New.

5.	Select the board type and enter any board name you wish for the board.  For non-plug-and-play boards, select the I/O address and other board settings.

6.	Click Add!.  Click Yes.

7.	Click Close and OK...

8.	Go ahead and restart the computer as prompted.


Data Translation - driver installation WinNT
Data Translation  - Driver Installation for WinNT 4.0 and later

1.	Install the hardware.  (For non-plug-and-play ISA boards, check switch settings).

2.	Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Main group.

3.	Double-click Multimedia.

4.	Click Devices. Click Add.

5.	Select Unlisted or updated driver.  Click OK.

6.	Specify the disk drive:  A:\WIN3.1.  Click OK, OK, OK.

7.	Click New. Select the board type and enter any board name you wish for the board.  For non-plug-and-play boards, select the I/O address and other board settings.

8.	Click Add.  Click Update.

9.	Click Close.

10.	Go ahead and restart the computer as prompted.


Data Translation  - DIO and Counter/Timer

Full support for digital I/O and counter/timer systems on DT boards is included in the form of additional TestPoint objects.

See the files CEC-DIO.TST and CEC-CT.TST, which are commented examples, containing the objects for digital I/O and counter/timer support.

You may copy and paste these objects into your own applications.

These objects are specific to Data Translation boards, but work on all DT board models that support these functions.


Data Translation  - Limitations and Notes

Analog triggering limitations

Only some DT board models support analog triggering.

Data Translation's analog trigger supports a specified trigger level and slope, but does not support specifying the edge/level mode, the channel number, of the hysteresis.  These options of the "Set analog trigger" action are ignored.

FIFO sampling latency (delay)

Some DT boards, such as the DT3010, have a minimum number of samples recognized by the hardware before the computer can process the data.  On the DT3010, for example, this is 32 samples.  This means that you will not see any A/D events until at least this many samples have been taken.
This limitation is most apparent at low data rates.  For example, at 5 Hz on a DT3010, no A/D event will occur until at least 6.4 seconds have elapsed (32 sample periods), no matter what "event after" parameter you specify in the Start A/D action.


Data Translation  - Other A/D commands

Available commands for use with the Other A/D commands action:

command	value	meaning

ditrig	+	positive-edge digital trigger mode

-	negative-edge digital trigger mode

pretrigger	(number)	acquire specified number of samples
before the trigger (requires digital or
analog trigger mode).  Supported only
on some board models like DT3010.

burstrate	(number)	specify rate of sampling between
channels when in burst mode.  The
default is to use the board's fastest rate.

analogtriggersource
external	use the normal analog trigger input pin.
channel	use the first channel from the channel
list as the analog trigger source (this
option is only available on some boards)


Data Translation A/D - external clock
Data Translation A/D - external clock mode

When using external clock as the rate parameter in Start or Acquire actions, you must tell the driver the approximate clock rate that is expected, so the driver can use the correct memory buffer sizes.

You do this by using the "Other A/D commands" action, like this:

Other A/D commands  A/D1  command="extclockrate",

value=1000

 (using whatever rate is appropriate for your application).


Data Translation A/D Troubleshooting

COMMON PROBLEMS

The most common setup problem is not installing the necessary drivers and restarting Windows.

You need a driver installed through the Control Panel (this driver comes with your board).

The next most common problem is a conflict between add-in boards. A/D boards use a range of I/O addresses, and many models use an interrupt (IRQ) channel and one or more DMA channels. These must not be the same as any other add-in board.

Make sure to test your installation by using the TEST button on the Data Translation driver setup screen within the control panel.  This will run a simple test application, described in the DT manual, that lets you try out the board independently of TestPoint.

If you have problems getting TestPoint to recognize the board, make sure to run the A/D troubleshooting utility ADDEBUG provided with TestPoint, then try again to load and run a TestPoint application.


Data Translation A/D setup details
Data Translation A/D Support Files

TESTPOINT SETUP

TestPoint includes the files necessary to interface with the Data Translation device drivers.

These files are:

TPDT.DLL	Interface code

TPDT32.DLL	Interface code

OLDAAPI.DLL	Data Translation "Open Layers" software

OLMEM.DLL	Data Translation "Open Layers" software

OLMEM32.DLL	Data Translation "Open Layers" software

OLDAPI32.DLL	Data Translation "Open Layers" software

These files normally are placed in the TESTPT directory when TestPoint is installed.

There is also a .DRV file for the specific DT board model you are using. This file is supplied with the board, on a disk marked "Windows device driver", and is installed using the Windows Control Panel.

Data Translation boards are recognized automatically by TestPoint if you have TestPoint with the default setup (A/D manufacturer=AUTO). You can optionally edit TESTPT.INI to indicate which board you are using.

[AD0]

manufacturer=DT

board=DT2823	; put your board name here

; as you entered it when you installed

; the Data Translation driver in

; the Control Panel

Optional settings include:

(These need not be specified on boards where the settings are controlled by jumpers or switches. These TESTPT.INI parameters are used only when the feature is software-controlled.)

type=differential ; or: type=single

; On boards with a programmable input

; type, this chooses whether

; differential or single-ended is

; used.

range=-10,10 ; A/D input range (if programmable)


National Instruments A/D Setup

NI A/D boards do support the "automatic board setup" feature of TestPoint, so you should normally just have to install the NI drivers.

IMPORTANT NOTE: NIDAQ version 5 and later do not work correctly with TestPoint in Windows 95 or 98.  There is no such problem in Win3.x, or WinNT.  For most NI board models, you can simply download NIDAQ 4.9.0 if you have Windows 95.

Step 1. Install the NI board drivers for Windows as described in the manufacturer's instructions.

Step 2. Run the DAQ Configuration program and configure the boards. Use the "Test" feature of the program to ensure that the configuration is correct.

When you configure your NI board(s), configure them as board numbers 1, 2, etc.

NOTE: In Win95, NI no longer uses a config program - instead they use the Win95 Device Manager in the Control Panel.

Step 3. IF you have TestPoint set up for automatic A/D board search (the default setup), it will find the NI boards. Automatic search is used when TESTPT.INI has:

[AD0]

manufacturer=AUTO

OR, you can manually set TestPoint up for the NI boards, by editing the TESTPT.INI file and modifying the [AD0] or [AD1], etc. sections as follows:

[AD0]

manufacturer=NI

boardindex=1

where the boardindex is the same as the board number assigned in the NI configuration utility. Boardindex=1 is the default if you do not specify a value.

OTHER SETTINGS IN TESTPT.INI

The following settings can optionally be added in the [AD0] section of TESTPT.INI - if these settings are programmable on the particular board model:

MODE=UNIPOLAR  or  MODE=BIPOLAR

RANGE=20	(the full scale voltage range of the input)

SINGLEENDED=YES  or  SINGLEENDED=NO

(sets single-ended vs. differential input)

FEATURES/LIMITATIONS

Windows NT is supported - you need the NT board drivers from National.

The NI drivers only report events at a minimum of 2 samples/event, even if you specify 1 sample/event in the "Start A/D" action.

On most NI boards, you can run A/D and D/A at the same time.

Currently, the AMUX-64T expansion board is NOT supported.

Burst mode is NOT supported.

Only the MIO-E series boards have analog trigger capability.

There is no pre-trigger option.

BOARDS SUPPORTED

If you get a "Board model not supported" error:

Testpoint queries the configuration information you provided to NI's windows setup utility to find which board you are using. If this board did not exist on the release date of this driver, an error message of no support is returned, even though it is possible that your board may be supported. If you get this error message and you feel your board may be supported, you must update testpt.ini.

If your  board is "MIO" compatible, add the line "MIO=YES" testpt.ini.

If your board is a PCMCIA card or a "Lab" board, add the line "LAB=YES".

 And finally, if your board is an "MIO-E" series board, add the line "MIOE=YES" to testpt.ini.

TestPoint only knows of the 16-bit boards which existed at the time the driver was last modified. If you followed the procedure above to allow testpoint to support your board, and it is sixteen bit, add the line "16BIT=YES" to testpt.ini.


UEI PowerDAQ A/D Setup

Installation and configuration of PowerDAQ drivers for TestPoint is handled entirely by the PowerDAQ software installation.  Follow the instructions in your PowerDAQ manual.

1) Install the PowerDAQ software (it will identify your TestPoint installation).

2) Install your PowerDAQ hardware

Auto-search mode is supported, so there is no need to edit your TESTPT.INI file - just open any A/D example, such as AD.TST, and run it.

Other A/D commands

Details on the available special commands are given in the read-me files that come with the PowerDAQ drivers.  These commands allow access to special options of the board.


UEI A/D Setup
UEI Win-30 A/D Setup

The UEI board drivers DO NOT support the "automatic board setup" feature of TestPoint, so you must edit the file TESTPT.INI manually.

INSTALLATION NOTES

The default I/O address for WIN-30 boards is 700 hex. (700-71F)

Note that this can conflict with other cards set to 300 hex, or 310 hex, because many other add-in cards do not decode the full address value.

If you have problems, try another I/O address such as 740 hex.

DRIVER VERSION COMPATIBILITY

TestPoint includes the UEI drivers:

UEIDAQV.386

UEIDAQ.DLL

The .DLL file should be placed in your WINDOWS directory.

The .386 file must be loaded with this line in the Windows SYSTEM.INI file (you can edit SYSTEM.INI using the SYSEDIT program provided with Windows):

[386Enh]

driver=UEIDAQV.386

You MUST be running Windows in 386 enhanced mode for this driver to operate correctly.

The UEI driver files must be dated Aug. 25, 1994 or later.

FILES

You must edit TESTPT.INI to indicate which board you are using. (Note for those delivering runtime applications to other users: include these instructions with your application).

Here are the correct settings for your TESTPT.INI file for UEI boards:

[AD0]

manufacturer=UEI

io=0x700	; set correct base I/O address here

irq=5	; an unused interrupt level

Optional settings for TESTPT.INI:

mode=unipolar	; default is bipolar

dma=5	; dma channel

sdma=6	; second dma channel

gains=1,10,100,1000

; for -PGL boards. default gains are 1,2,4,8 (PGH)

LIMITATIONS, SPECIAL NOTES:

* Only immediate trigger mode is supported (not digital or analog trigger)

* Only differential inputs are supported (not single-ended)

* D/A output is limited to 50KHz, because higher rates cause some computers to hang up.

* Continuous A/D and D/A cannot run at the same time. It is OK to output a single D/A value while running A/D. Sample A/D while running D/A can also hang the computer, at high D/A rates.

* On slower computers, it may not be possible to acheive the full 1 MHz sampling rate of the WIN-30 board. In this case, an overrun (#164) error will occur.


Analogic A/D Setup
Analogic FAST-series A/D Setup

The Analogic board drivers DO NOT support the "automatic board setup" feature of TestPoint, so you must edit the file TESTPT.INI manually.

FILES and TESTPT.INI settings

TestPoint includes the driver for the Analogic FAST 1MHz AD board.

Here are the correct items for your TESTPT.INI file. Search the file

for [AD0] and enter the appropriate items.

[AD0]

manufacturer=ANALOGIC

io=0x380	; use correct I/O address here

Refer to Analogic FAST Series Hardware Manual, Analogic Bulletin

#16-400531 for all information on hardware configurations and Jumper

settings.

TESTPOINT APPLICATION INFORMATION

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT repeat the same channel more than once in a channel list!

Channels:

-----------

The standard Analogic connector box labels channels beginning with 1. TestPoint refers to channels beginning at 0.

Full Scale Converter Range:

--------------------------

The converters on the FAST board are considered to have a full scale

range of 10 volts for the 16 Bit board and 5 volts for the 12 and 14

Bit boards. With a gain of 1, you get an input range of +/- 5v in

bipolar, and 0 to +10 volts unipolar for the 16 Bit A/D Board. With a

Gain of 1 for the 12 bit Bipolar you will have a scale of +/- 2.5v.

Polarity is set with a jumper on the board, and is the same for all

channels.

Legal Gain Values:

-----------------

Bipolar 16 Bit:	0.5, 1, 2	( +/- 10v, +/- 5v, +/- 2.5v )

Bipolar 14, 12 Bit:	0.25, 0.5, 1	( +/- 10v, +/- 5v, +/- 2.5v )

Unipolar 12, 16 Bit:	1, 2, 4	( to 10v, 5v, 2.5v )

Trigger:

-------

Trigger can be either immediate from TestPoint action items, or

external TTL.  The default trigger is immediate. The FAST TTL input

can be used for an external trigger to initiate conversions by

including the action "Set AD Trigger Digital" before starting

conversions.  If external TTL trigger is used, the minimum rate is

153 Hertz.

Pacing:

------

Only internal clock is supported. You cannot currently use rate="external".

Supported FAST Models

---------------------

Currently tested boards are as follows:

   12 Bit Bipolar, 16 Bit Bipolar, 16 Bit Unipolar

   12 Bit Unipolar 14 Bit Bipolar, 12S  (Fixed Gain, 4 channel board)

The 12S Board is not currently supported by this driver. If a 12S

board is used predictable but confusing results will be seen. i.e. a

signal of +5 to -5 with a gain of 1 will display a 0 to 10v display.

If a gain value is used in TestPoint, it must be a legal gain value,

otherwise it will be rejected. The default gain is the lowest legal

gain.

The following are not supported by this version of TPALOG.DLL:

   IRQ mode, DMA mode, Analog Trigger, 2 M or greater FAST memory,

   expansion FAST boards, on-board DSP, SSH Daughter Board.


ADAC A/D Setup

The ADAC board drivers DO NOT support the "automatic board setup" feature of TestPoint, so you must edit the file TESTPT.INI manually, or you may use the "Direct View for Windows" (DVW) program provided by ADAC, which steps you through the configuration process.

Click here to go to the ADAC help file for more detailed instructions.

(Note: the ADAC help file includes sample TESTPT.INI settings for their boards, which you can copy from the help file and paste into TESTPT.INI).


Eagle Technologies A/D Setup

Installation instructions:

1.	Run CFGEAGLE.EXE to setup your boards. Click the HELP button for detailed information on setup. The CFGEAGLE program adds the necessary lines to your TESTPT.INI file.

To run CFGEAGLE, use Program Manager. Choose File/Run from the menu and enter C:\TESTPT\CFGEAGLE.EXE

2.	Add the line:
device=c:\testpt\edrvxd.386
to the [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI (found in your \WINDOWS directory). You will need to restart Windows for this change to take effect.

Notes:

* No trigger mode actions are supported - triggering is set in hardware.


IOTech Data Acquisition Setup

IOTech data acquisition products are auto-detected by TestPoint.  This means there is no need to manually configure any file settings for Testpt.ini in order for it to find the IOTech systems and begin to collect data.

Installation

The IOTech data acquisition products come in several forms, all supported by IOTechs DaqX drivers.  To install the drivers, follow the IOTech directions on the installation CD.  Once the data acquisition device is installed, there is a test utility called DaqView that can be used to verify installation of the device, and perform some simple data acquisition tasks.   It is important to verify installation in this way, and once complete, will make running TestPoint very simple.

Once the IOTech installation is verified, run TestPoint and open the AD.TST file, which can be found in the Examples subdirectory of the TestPoint install directory.   Run this program and switch to the LIVE mode.  You should be able to collect data with this program and use it as a starting point to build custom applications.  If you dont get any data when running this program, check the signal path, cables, configuration (i.e. single ended or differential, and bi-polar or uni-polar).  If you are getting an error message, check the A/D Troubleshooting link.

General Description

Supported Features

Other A/D Commands

Using gain with and without DBKs

DBK Signal Conditioning Modules

Counter/Timer

Digital IO

D/A Support

Trigger Amplitudes

Details of Support Files and Testpt.ini


General
General Description

IOTech data acquisition systems consist of a data acquisition device and one or more signal conditioning modules, called DBKs.  The data acquisition device can be a stand alone box (DaqBook) or a PCI plug-in card (DaqBoard) or a PCMCIA card (Daq PC-Card).  The DBKs are connected to the data acquisition device and can be cascaded to provide up to 256 channels of input for each data acquisition device.

The TestPoint interface to the IOTech products consists of the usual A/D and D/A objects and, if any DBKs are used, a separate DBK object for each physical DBK used.  These DBK objects are stored in one TestPoint file named DBKX.TST.  When you need one, you simply copy it from this application, and paste it into your application.  If you are going to be using them frequently you may wish to copy them to your stock panel permanently.  Details on each DBK can be found in the links under the DBK section.

In addition, there are some special objects to handle digital IO and counter timer operation.  Details on their use can be found in the links to counter/timer and digital IO.

Note that the addition of DBK signal conditioning modules is recognized by TestPoint and data is scaled accordingly.  In general TestPoint automatically compensates for any gains in the system, and for the cases where sensors are used (i.e. strain gages, accelerometers, etc) some additional scaling may be needed in the sensor/input scaling settings of the A/D object (see individual DBK descriptions for details).  As an example, if you have a High Gain Mux connected, with a gain of 1000, the numbers you read in TestPoint will be equal to the voltage seen at the input of the Mux.  Similarly for thermocouple inputs, TestPoint will be reading out units of degrees (C or F).  In the latter case, you must activate the sensor/input scaling and put the appropriate scaling type and values in.


Supported Features

Currently, TestPoint supports the following set of features of the IOTech product line:

* A/D acquisition foreground and background (can be continuous), all

rates, channels, gains

* D/A both single-point and waveform

* Start triggering on digital or analog events

* Bipolar/unipolar under program control, by channel (where supported by hardware)

* Single-ended/differential modes

* AUTO search mode - which means you just need to install the driver, the data acquisition device and TestPoint will detect the system automatically.

* DaqX for the DaqBoard, DaqBook, and Daq PC-Card

* Internal and external clock

* Win9x and WinNT

* DIO - configure and IOWrite and IORead functions

* CT - high-level user access to all API functions daq9513xxxx

* DBKs: 2,4,5,7,8,12,13,15,16,17,18,19,43,45,50,51,52,53,54

* All DBKs do complete conversion to engineering units automatically.

In this version of the driver, TestPoint does not yet support:  pretrigger, RTD (DBK-9), or WaveBook.


Other A/D
Other A/D Commands

Supported commands are:

Extclockrate	Values=  samples/second

Approximate value of external clock rate (in Hz.) when using clock=external

Differential	Values= Yes, No, Channel#

Used to set one or all the channels of the A/D system to differential input mode.  In this mode each channel has a high/low pair of input signals. If Yes is used, all channels are set to Differential mode, and if a channel number is specified, only that channel is set. Some A/D boards do not support individual channel settings.  Check the hardware reference for your board.

Single	Values= Yes, No, Channel#

Used to set one or all the channels of the A/D system to single ended input mode.  In this mode each channel has a high signal input and a common ground with all the other single ended inputs.  If Yes is used, all channels are set to Single mode, and if a channel number is specified, only that channel is set. Some A/D boards do not support individual channel settings here.  Check the hardware reference for your board.

Unipolar	Values= Yes, No, Channel#

Sets the range of the selected channel to 0 to 10V or 0 to 5V depending on the board. If Yes is used, all channels are set to Unipolar mode, and if a channel number is specified, only that channel is set. Some A/D boards do not support individual channel settings here.  Check the hardware reference for your board.

Bipolar	Values= Yes, No

Sets the range of the selected channel to 5 to +5V or 10 to +10V depending on the board.  If Yes is used, all channels are set to Biipolar mode, and if a channel number is specified, only that channel is set. Some A/D boards do not support individual channel settings here.  Check the hardware reference for your board.

Analogsoftwaretrigger	Values= Yes, No

Triggers acquisition on an input channel at a specific voltage level and slope.  The threshold crossing is detected by comparing the digitized data and the level.

Ditrig	Values= +,-	(+ means positive slope and  means negative slope)

A separate hardware input used to trigger acquisition based on a change of state of a TTL like signal, at the specified slope.

Maxsinglepointrate 	Values= 5-1000

Data is transferred to TestPoint either in blocks or one point at a time.  The block mode is more efficient for faster sample rates, and the single point mode is more efficient for slow sample rates.  If you use a slower sample rate with the block mode, you will have a latency time while the system fills up to the block size of the data buffer (fifo in the data acquisition device).  TestPoint is set to use the single point mode below 1000 Hz and block mode above 1000 Hz, and this is generally adequate for most cases.  However you can force TestPoint to use the block mode at lower sampling rates, for example in cases where the latency time is not a concern.  This leaves more processor time for other tasks, while the data acquisition system is collecting data.


Gain and DBKs
Using Gain with and without DBKs

Gain without any DBKs

When using any of the data acquisition devices (i.e. DaqBook 216), the gain is programmed via a TestPoint action line.  For example:

Acquire A/D   A/D1    #Samples= 1000 ,   rate= 5 Hz.  Channel(s)= 0(2),5(8)

This action line tells TestPoint to set the gains for channels 0 and 5 to 2 and 8 respectively, and collect 1000 samples on the two channels, at 5 samples/sec.   Of course the device has to have these gains as valid choices, but each channel can be controlled independently using this method.

Gain with DBKs

In this case, gains are set up using one of two methods.   Either jumper settings can be set on the DBK, or gains can be programmed via a TestPoint action line.

Gain settings via board jumpers:

Some devices have fixed ranges for input signals.  An example is the DBK-8 High Voltage Input module.  The allowable ranges for this are 10V, 50V, and 100V.  There is a jumper on the board and fixes the range (gain) for this DBK.  There is no programmable gain override for this so you will not be able to change the range of the DBK, in a TestPoint action line.   You must tell TestPoint how the jumper is set however (so that it can apply the correct scaling to the data), and that is done in the settings for the DBK.  The channel by channel settings must match the jumpers on the DBK.

Programmable Gains:

In some DBKs there are no jumpers and gains are controlled via a TestPoint action, similar to the case above for a data acquisition device with no DBKs.   The allowable gains for the system (the data acquisition device and the selected DBK) will be determined by the specific combination of acquisition device and DBK.   TestPoint will set the gains on the DBK and the acquisition device according to the capabilities of each. For example, the DaqBoard 2000 has gains of 1,2,4,8,16,32, and 64.   If this is used with a DBK54, which has gains of 1, 10, 100, and 1000, then the system gain possibilities are:

1,10,100,1000,2,20,200,2000,4,40,400,4000,……32000.

In this case, if your TestPoint action line is:

Acquire A/D   A/D1    #Samples= 1000 ,   rate= 5 Hz.  Channel(s)= 16(10),17(4)

you will get 1000 samples on channel 16 and the gain on the DBK54 will be set to 10.  Channel 17 will acquire 1000 samples but with a gain of 4.  This gain of 4 will be set on the DaqBoard however because a gain of 4 is not a valid gain choice for the DBK54.   In general, if the gain is available on both the DBK and the acquisition device, it will be set on the DBK before it implements gain on the acquisition device.

When building a TestPoint application, if portability is important, consider the following.  The above case will work for the DBK54 , but if you want to use a DBK53, you will get an error message because a gain of 10 is not a valid combination of gains for the DBK53/DaqBoard2000 system.  If possible then, use gains that will work across a range of hardware choices.


DBKs
DBK Modules

All DBKs are represented in TestPoint by an individual object specific to that DBK.  The purpose of having a DBK object is to correctly set up the driver for each DBK and notify TestPoint of any factors that may be used to scale the data.  Each one has settings corresponding to device specific parameters, for example the DBK-2 (a 4 channel voltage output card)  has four range settings corresponding to each of the four output channels.  Other DBKs will have other settings depending on the type.  There are also settings for the board number, base channel, and sub-channel (if used).   Since TestPoint can recognize up to four A/D boards, a total of 1024 channels of data can be collected using combinations of data acquisition devices and DBKs.   If there is a setting on the DBK settings panel, and it has a corresponding jumper on the board, they must match.  All DBKs will have at least the board number and base channel settings.

DBK-Settings

The base channel setting is the position of the base channel jumper on the DBK and corresponds to the input channel on the data acquisition device (for example DBK-2 is assigned to channel  0 on the DaqBook 216).  The sub-channel corresponds to the board jumper identifying which set of channels are assigned to that DBK.   For example, the DBK-2 is a four channel device, so the sub-channel setting can be 0,1,2, or 3.  If there were multiple DBK-2s each one would have to have a unique base channel/sub-channel combination.

There are actually three sets of channel numbers to consider here.  The first is the channel number of the main data acquisition device and channels in this set are identified on the device as Channels 0-15.  The second set of channel numbers is that on the DBKs.  The DBK alone generally has a channel list that starts with 0 and goes up to 1,3,7,or 15 depending on the number of channels supported (2,4,8,or 16 channels).  When the DBK is used in conjunction with a data acquisition device, these channels become sub channels of those on the main device.  The third set of channels is the TestPoint channel list.  When you use a channel number in a Start A/D or Acquire A/D action, the channel you specify is the TestPoint channel number.  All three sets of channel numbers are identified in the settings of the DBK object.  When the base channel and/or the sub-channel are changed, the labels will change showing the appropriate TestPoint channel numbers.  For an example follow the link below:

Example with DaqBook 216 and four DBK8s

In general, TestPoint channel numbers are 0-15 for the base data acquisition device, and 16 and up for the DBK channels.  These are all distinct channels and can have their own gains(subject to the hardware limitations) as determined by the TestPoint channel/gain list.  There is a math expression that you can use to calculate the TestPoint channel number, knowing the base channel, and sub-channel numbers.

TestPoint Channel = 16 + 16*base + nch*sub + index

Where	base = base channel setting

nch   = number of channels for DBK

sub   = sub-channel setting

index = DBK channel number

Note: For some DBKs there are no sub-channels so you would use sub = 0 in the equation.

DBK-Actions

There is only one action for a DBK object and it is Re-init DBK.  In general, this would not be used because the object automatically initializes when the program starts.  However, there may be cases where you are changing the settings during a running program.  In this case, you would want to execute the Re-init action in order to reconfigure the driver for the new conditions.

Note:  There is not always a setting on the DBK settings panel where there is a jumper on the board.  In some cases, the board may require a jumper to be set but TestPoint does not need to know about this jumper to perform the A/D or D/A task.  For example, DBK-7 has a jumper for Analog or Digital inputs.  This is important to the DBK and is important for optimizing the data collection, but is of no importance to TestPoint.

Follow the links below for any DBK specific information

DBK-2	4 Channel Voltage Output

DBK-4	2 Channel Dynamic Signal Input

DBK-5	4 Channel Current Output

DBK-7	4 Channel Frequency to Voltage Input

DBK-8	8 Channel High Voltage Input

DBK-12	16 Channel Input Mux (with low gain)

DBK-13	16 Channel Input Mux (with high gain)

DBK-15	16 Channel Input Mux (Volts or Amps)

 	DBK-16	2 Channel Strain Gage Input

DBK-17	4 Channel Simultaneous Sample and Hold (SSH)

DBK-18	4 Channel Low Pass Filter

DBK-19	14 Channel Thermocouple Input

 	DBK-43	8 Channel Strain Gage Input

DBK-45	4 Channel SSH and Low Pass Filter

DBK-50	8 Channel High Voltage Input

DBK-51	8 Channel Low Voltage Input

DBK-52	14 Channel Thermocouple Input

DBK-53	16 Channel Low Gain Mux

DBK-54	16 Channel High Gain Mux


Counter/Timer

The counter/timer object (IOTech_CT) is in a separate TestPoint file named iot_ct.tst.   This file demonstrates some typical usage of the object.  You can copy and paste the object to your application or copy it to the stock panel, if you intend to use it frequently.  The settings and actions shown below highlight the capability of the object.  Please see the IOTech documentation for detailed operation and definitions of the counter timer.

Settings:

Device Name:

This is the device name as it appeared in the installation process.   You can go back to the Daq Configuration program in Windows Control Panel to check the device name if necessary.

Actions:

GetHold	Reads the hold register of the specified counter

deviceType 	- usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

ctrNum	- 1,2,3,4, or 5

ctrVal	- count is returned into this object (range 0-65535)

MultCtrl	Performs a command on multiple counters simultaneously

deviceType	-usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

ctrCmd	- list of acceptable commands

ctr1-ctr5	- A flag that if non-zero enables the counter command to be executed on the specified counter

RdFreq	Reads the frequency of one of 9 external inputs

deviceType	- usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

interval	- the gating interval in mS

cntSource	- the list of available count sources

count	- count is returned into this object

SetAlarm	Sets the specified alarm register

deviceType	- usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

alarmNum	- the alarm register number

alarmVal	- the value to write to the specified alarm register (range 0-65535)

SetCtrMode 	Used to set the 9513s mode register for a specified counter (see IOTech documentation for detailed definitions.

deviceType	- usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

ctrNum	- counter number = 1,2,3,4, or 5

gateCtrl	- gating control mode

cntEdge	- + or  count edge

cntSource	- One of 16 count sources

specGate	- a flag to enable(1)/disable(0) the special gate

reload	- a flag to control reload mode

cntRepeat	- a flag to control count repeat mode

cntType	- a flag to select BCD count (1), or binary count (0)

cntDir	- a flag to select count up (1) or count down (0)

outputCtrl	- Output control mode

SetHold	Outputs a value to the hold register of the specified counter

deviceType	- usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

ctrNum	- counter number = 1,2,3,4, or 5

ctrVal	- the value to write to the hold register of the specified counter

-range(0-65535)

SetLoad	Outputs a value to the load register of the specified counter

deviceType	- usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

ctrNum	- counter number = 1,2,3,4, or 5

ctrVal	- the value to write to the load register of the specified counter

range(0-65535)

SetMasterMode	Used to set the counters master mode register

deviceType	- usually 0

whichDevice	- which 9513 (Usually 0)

foutDiv	- the fout divider (from 1-16)

cntSource	- the fout source

comp1	- compare1 flag (disabled or enabled)

comp2	- compare2 flag (disabled or enabled)

tod	- time of day mode


Digital IO

The digital IO object (IOTech_DIO) is in a separate TestPoint file named iot_dio.tst.   This file demonstrates some typical usage of the object.  You can copy and paste the object to your application or copy it to the stock panel, if you intend to use it frequently.  The settings and actions shown below highlight the capability of the object.  Please see the IOTech documentation for detailed operation and definitions for digital IO.

Settings:

Device Name:

This is the device name as it appeared in the installation process.   If you dont know what the name is, you can go back to the Daq Configuration program in Windows Control Panel to check the device name if necessary.

Actions:

Open

This action initializes the DIO port and is done automatically when the application starts.  This would only need to be done if the logic of the application caused a close action to be executed.  In that case open would need to be called to re-open the port.

Config_port	Used to configure the specified ports for reading or writing

portA	- set to Read or Write

portB	- set to Read or Write

portCHigh	- set to Read or Write

portCLow	- set to Read or Write

Output	Write to the specified port on the selected device

value 	- the value to write to the port

devType	- IO device type

devPort	- IO device port

whichDevice	- IO device selection (usually 0)

whichExpPort	- IO device expansion port address

Input	Read from the specified port on the selected device

value 	- the object that will be assigned the read value

devType	- IO device type

devPort	- IO device port

whichDevice	- IO device selection (usually 0)

whichExpPort	- IO device expansion port to read from

Close

This is performed automatically when the application terminates.  You may wish to include this in an action list in order to force a re-initialization of the port, perhaps as a part of an error recovery algorithm.


D/A Suport
D/A Support

Waveform output is supported if using the data acquisition device only (i.e. DaqBoard, DaqBook, or Daq PC-Card).  If using any DBKs for output, waveforms are not supported.  Single point output however is valid on any Daq/DBK combination.


Triggering
Trigger Amplitudes

When using an analog trigger on input channels, the value specified for the trigger level can have different references depending on whether a DBK is used or not.  The possibilities are discussed below:

No DBK

In this case, the value used in the action line for the trigger level is the actual trigger level on the input signal.  This is also true if gain is used.  So for example, if the trigger level is set to 1 volt, the acquisition will begin when the signal crosses the 1 volt threshold.  If a gain of 4 is used, the acquisition will still begin when the signal crosses the 1 volt threshold.

DBK with gain

When using an analog trigger on input channels with a DBK, the trigger level used in the TestPoint action line, will be scaled by the gain.  For example, if using a DBK8, and the range is set to 50V, and you use the Set A/D trigger analog action, then the value you put in the level field is the voltage coming out of the DBK8 and into the data acquisition device.  If this field has the value 2, the system will trigger on 2 volts at the input to the data acquisition device.  Since the DBK8 has a gain of 0.1 (attenuation of 10) for the 50V range, this also corresponds to 20 volts at the DBK8 input.


Support Files
Details of Support Files and Testpt.ini

TESTPOINT SETUP

TestPoint includes the files necessary to interface with the IOTech DaqX device drivers.

These files are:

TPIOTECH.DLL	Testpoint arbitration software to communicate with DaqX drivers

DBKX.TST	Testpoint file containing DBK objects

IOT_CT.TST	Testpoint file containing counter timer object

IOT_DIO.TST	Testpoint file containing digital IO object

These files normally are placed in the TESTPT directory when TestPoint is installed.

IOTech boards are recognized automatically by TestPoint if you have TestPoint with the default setup (A/D manufacturer=AUTO). You can optionally edit TESTPT.INI to indicate which board you are using.

[AD0]

manufacturer=Iotech

board=DaqBoard2K	; put your board name here

; as you entered it when you installed

; the board in Windows

Optional settings include:

(These need not be specified on boards where the settings are controlled by jumpers or switches. These TESTPT.INI parameters are used only when the feature is software-controlled.)

differential=yes/no/channel#

single=yes/no/channel#

bipolar=yes/no/channel#

unipolar=yes/no/channel#

; On boards with a programmable input

; type, this chooses whether

; differential or single-ended is

; used.


DBK-2
DBK-2	4 Channel Voltage Output

The D/A object contains the data to output to the DBK.  The units are in volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match

the base address (called card address in IOTech documentation) jumper on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 3 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match the sub-channel (called sub address in IOTech documentation) jumper on the DBK.

•	Jumper Settings JP1-JP3 control the voltage range of the 4 output channels.  The software settings must match the jumper settings on the board.


DBK-4
DBK-4	2 Channel Dynamic Signal Input

Use the A/D object to acquire input signals.  The data is scaled in volts and the sensor/input scaling option in the A/D settings should be used to scale the data to engineering units.  Linear scaling should be chosen as the Type parameter and A set to the sensitivity of the transducer.  The parameter B compensates for any offset in the transducer sensitivity.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match main channel jumper block  setting on the DBK)

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 7 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match s5-s7 of SW1 on DBK)

•	Channel specific settings (must match jumpers on DBK where appropriate):

•	Filter

•	Frequency

•	Baseline

•	Excitation

•	SC Clock


DBK-5
DBK-5	4 Channel Current Output

The D/A object contains the data to output to the DBK.  The units are in Amps.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match the base address (called card address in IOTech documentation) jumper on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 3 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match the sub-channel (called sub address in IOTech documenation) jumper on the DBK).


DBK-7
DBK-7	4 Channel Frequency to Voltage Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Hz.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings.

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match J1 jumper on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 3 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match S1 jumper on the DBK).

•	Channel Specific settings (must match jumpers on DBk where appropriate)

•	Slope

•	Bounce

•	Min Frequency

•	Max Frequency


DBK-8
DBK-8	8 Channel High Voltage Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1A jumper on DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a value of Hi or Lo uniquely identifying this DBK ( must match JP16 on DBK)

•	Channel Specific Range (must match dual jumper on the DBK).


DBK-12
DBK-12	16 Channel Input Mux (with low gain)

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 jumper on DBK).

Gain is controlled as a parameter in the TestPoint action list.  This can be done in the channel list of a Start A/D or Acquire A/D action.  In either case, the channel parameter would look something like 32(8),33(64).  Here, channel 32 has a gain of 8 and channel 33 has a gain of 64.


DBK-13
DBK-13	16 Channel Input Mux (with high gain)

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 jumper on DBK).

Gain is controlled as a parameter in the TestPoint action list.  This can be done in the channel list of a Start A/D or Acquire A/D action.  In either case, the channel parameter would look something like 32(10),33(100).  Here, channel 32 has a gain of 10 and channel 33 has a gain of 100.


DBK-15
DBK-15	16 Channel Input Mux (Volts or Amps)

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are Volts or Amps depending on the range setting

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 jumper on the DBK).

•	Channel Specific Ranges  Each channel is set to the appropriate input range and that must correspond to the resistor configuration on the DBK


DBK-16
DBK-16	2 Channel Strain Gage Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts and the sensor/input scaling in the settings of the A/D object must be used to obtain engineering units. Linear scaling should be chosen as the Type parameter and the value A set to the sensitivity of the strain gage.  The parameter B compensates for any offset in the strain gage sensitivity.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 jumper on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 7 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match S1 DIP switch settings on the DBK)

•	Channel specific gains (min=100 max=1250)  This is the total system gain for the strain gage.


DBK-17
DBK-17	4 Channel Simultaneous Sample and Hold (SSH)

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match J1 jumper on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 3 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match SW6 switch on the DBK).

•	Channel Specific Gains (must match RG1 to RG4 on the DBK)


DBK-18
DBK-18	4 Channel Low Pass Filter

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match J1 jumper on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 3 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match SW6 switch on the DBK).

•	Channel Specific Gains (must match RG1 to RG4 on the DBK)


DBK-19
DBK-19	14 Channel Thermocouple Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Engineering units are obtained by using the sensor/input scaling option of the A/D object.  Thermocouple should be chosen as the Type parameter and the appropriate thermocouple type, units, and compensation chosen from the available choices.  The resulting data will have units of degrees C or F depending on the scaling chosen.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 jumper on the DBK).

•	Channel Specific Thermocouple Types  Set to match thermocouples used


DBK-43
DBK-43	8 Channel Strain Gage Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts and the sensor/input scaling in the settings of the A/D object must be used to obtain engineering units. Linear scaling should be chosen as the Type parameter and the value A set to the sensitivity of the strain gage.  The parameter B compensates for any offset in the strain gage sensitivity.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 jumper on DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number of 0 or 1 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match J2 on DBK).

•	Channel Specific Gain (min=100, max=1250).  This is the total system gain for the strain gage.


DBK-45
DBK-45	4 Channel SSH and Low Pass Filter

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match J1 on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a number from 0 to 3 uniquely identifying this DBK (must match SW6 switch on the DBK).

•	Channel Specific Gain (must match RG1 to RG4 on the DBK).


DBK-50
DBK-50	8 Channel High Voltage Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1A/B on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a selection of Hi or Lo uniquely identifying this DBK (must match JP1C jumper on the DBK)

Range is controlled as a gain parameter in the TestPoint action list.  This can be done in the channel list of a Start A/D or Acquire A/D action.  In either case, the channel parameter would look something like 32(0.5),33(0.05).  Here, channel 32 has a gain of 0.5 (Range=10V) and channel 33 has a gain of 0.05 (Range=100V).  Note for the 300Volt range, the gain parameter should be specified as the decimal 0.0166.


DBK-51
DBK-51	8 Channel Low Voltage Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1A/B on the DBK).

•	Sub-Channel  a selection of Hi or Lo uniquely identifying this DBK (must match JP1C jumper on the DBK)

Range is controlled as a gain parameter in the TestPoint action list.  This can be done in the channel list of a Start A/D or Acquire A/D action.  In either case, the channel parameter would look something like 32(5),33(50).  Here, channel 32 has a gain of 5 (Range=1V) and channel 33 has a gain of 50 (Range=100mV).


DBK-52
DBK-52	14 Channel Thermocouple Input

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Engineering units are obtained by using the sensor/input scaling option of the A/D object.  Thermocouple should be chosen as the Type parameter and the appropriate thermocouple type, units, and compensation chosen from the available choices.  The resulting data will have units of degrees C or F depending on the scaling chosen.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 on the DBK).

•	Channel Specific Thermocouple Types  Set to match thermocouples used


DBK-53
DBK-53	16 Channel Low Gain Mux

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using (must match JP1 on the DBK)

Gain is controlled as a parameter in the TestPoint action list.  This can be done in the channel list of a Start A/D or Acquire A/D action.  In either case, the channel parameter would look something like 32(16),33(32).  Here, channel 32 has a gain of 16 and channel 33 has a gain of 32.


DBK-54
DBK-54	16 Channel High Gain Mux

The A/D object is used to acquire the data.  Units are in Volts.

Settings include:

•	Board number  must match the data acquisition board number in the A/D object settings

•	Base Channel  the channel on the data acquisition board that the DBK is using

Gain is controlled as a parameter in the TestPoint action list.  This can be done in the channel list of a Start A/D or Acquire A/D action.  In either case, the channel parameter would look something like 32(10),33(100).  Here, channel 32 has a gain of 10 and channel 33 has a gain of 100.


Example

Four DBK-8s are hooked up to a DaqBook 216, so there are four DBK objects in the application.

DBK8-1 is set for base channel 1 and sub-channel Lo.

DBK8-2 is set for base channel 1 and sub-channel Hi.

DBK8-3 is set for base channel 4 and sub-channel Lo.

DBK8-4 is set for base channel 4 and sub-channel Hi.

TABLE 1 - relationship between the three channel groups:

DaqBook 	DBK8-1	DBK8-2	TestPoint

C	1	0	-	32

h	1	1	-	33

a	1	2	-	34

n	1	3	-	35

n	1	4	-	36

e	1	5	-	37

l	1	6	-	38

s	1	7	-	39

1	-	0	40

1	-	1	41

1	-	2	42

1	-	3	43

1	-	4	44

1	-	5	45

1	-	6	46

1	-	7	47

DaqBook	DBK8-3	DBK8-4	TestPoint

C	4	0	-	80

h	4	1	-	81

a	4	2	-	82

n	4	3	-	83

n	4	4	-	84

e	4	5	-	85

l	4	6	-	86

s	4	7	-	87

4	-	0	88

4	-	1	89

4	-	2	90

4	-	3	91

4	-	4	92

4	-	5	93

4	-	6	94

4	-	7	95