Transient Recorders Merge High-Speed with High-Precision, Long Memories

Elsys Instruments has expanded itsfamily of LAN-controlled transient recorders toinclude several high speed modules that offer sampling speeds of 240 MS/sec or120 MS/sec at 14-bit or 16-bit vertical resolution. The new compact TPCX-24014 and TPCX-12014 series combineElsys' measurement precision featuring vertical and offset accuracy specifiedat A plus or minus 0.1 percent of full scale (typically A plus or minus 0.07 percent after auto- or inducedcalibration) with exceptionally increased sampling speeds.

Housed in a single-width PCI slot,the transient recorders feature analog bandwidth at Nyquist frequency of 120MHz for 240 M/sec versions and 60 MHz for 120 M/sec versions. They areuseful for a diverse range of power measurement applications includinginverters, frequency converters, engine control and medical device testing.

Specialty applications includeballistics and explosive tests, acoustic emissions, ultrasonic testing,fluorescence and phosphorescence decay studies and particle acceleratorcontrol.

The TPCX-24014 and TPCX-12014series were designed for application flexibility. The modules featurefour single-ended channels that can be switched into two true, fullydifferential channels. Four differential channel recorders are obtained bymechanically and electrically integrating a pair of two-channel differentialunits.

Standard acquisition memory lengthon the new units is 32 Mpoints/channel with an optional 128 Mpoints/channelavailable for increased digital bandwidth so that signals may be sampledproportionally faster for the same event duration.

The new data acquisition unitsoffer many sophisticated features such as a large input voltage range of up to100 V and an offset range of up to FSR on all sensitivity settings, 50 Ohm and1 Mega Ohm inputs, advanced trigger capabilities with external trigger inputs,programmable anti-aliasing filters, ICP current supply for piezoelectricsensors and digital input markers.

Each input channel can beindividually triggered, a feature unique to Elsys recorders. For example, fourfull trigger circuits are available on a four-channel recorder to obtain logictriggering such as "AND" and "OR." However, synchronizationcan be established as well with many associated channels. Advanced trigger modesinclude slew rate, pulse width, pulse pause, period, missing event, window in,window out as well as the usual edge pos/neg triggering, with triggerhysteresis values set by the user.

The TPCX-24014 and TPCX-12014provide flexibility in configuring unique solutions for individual measurementneeds. Several data acquisition modes are featured, including scope mode,similar to an oscilloscope that enables the quick configuration of theacquisition parameters before working in a different mode or simply the abilityto visualize and analyze single-shot events.

In continuous mode (data recording,writing or streaming), data is acquired and written onto the internal hard diskat a maximum total data transfer rate of up to 50 Mbytes/sec with no loss ofdata or dead times between events. The capture length is limited only by thesize of the hard disk.

Block mode divides the availableonboard data acquisition memory into absolute or relative time-stamped blocks,especially useful for capturing signal bursts where only relevant data needs tobe recorded. Dead time between blocks is in the range of a few sampleintervals.

As the most sophisticated dataacquisition mode available, event controlled recording (ECR) mode is ideal fortrouble-shooting applications. ECR mode requires a trigger event, buteliminates the dead time between triggers using an overlapping technique ofadjacent acquisitions. The time stamped events are recorded first in theonboard memory, which uses a ring-buffer architecture, and then written off tothe internal hard drive. As long as the streaming rate keeps up with the datatrigger rate, this mode can run for a very long time or until the hard drive isfull.

Elsys Instruments' Transient Recorders Merge High-Speed with High-Precision, Long Memories