Data Acquisition Systems

Data acquisition systems are used in order to convert analog waveforms into digital values that can be used for processing. This conversion is possible due to the process data acquisition (DAQ) which is the sampling of actual physical conditions such as property or phenomena, which can include light intensity, fluid flow, gas pressure, temperature and force. The resulting samples are then converted into digital numerical values by means of sensors in order to get all of the data into a unified form that can be utilized by a computer.

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Signatec
Lockport, IL
800-567-4243
Since 1988, Signatec, Inc. has designed and manufactured PC-based solutions for very high-speed applications in four key areas, which includes data acquisition systems, parallel digital signal processing, signal waveform generation and playback and real-time signal waveform recording. Contact Signatec today to find out more information about our company and services.
Red Lion Controls, Inc.
York, PA
717-767-6511
Red Lion Controls is an internationally based manufacturer of control devices like data acquisition systems. We have state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and staff that make sure Red Lion products are built to the highest standards. We pride ourselves on the introduction of many new and exciting control products each year. Call or visit our website today to find out more information.
DCC Corporation
Pennsauken, NJ
800-991-5207
DCC Corp. is a major manufacturer of thermocouple assemblies, thermocouples, custom thermocouples, temperature sensors and temperature controllers. DCC Corp. also offers data acquisition systems for monitoring thermocouples and so forth, as well as other analog signals using digitizing eight channel modules. Providing all of our customers with low-cost, top-quality, reliable equipment.
MetricTest
Hayward, CA
800-432-3424
For nearly 20 years, MetricTest has been a solution provider for buying, renting & leasing new & refurbished electronic test equipment like data acquisition systems. We have been exceeding expectations for test & measurement engineers in R&D, manufacturing and field applications. With more than 6,000 products available, we offer test equipment for a variety of applications.
SOLTEC® Corporation
San Fernando, CA
800-423-2344
Being in business for 45 years, SOLTEC® Corp. has been a leading-distributor of data acquisition systems, chart recorders and other related instruments and systems. We offer a line of torque, pressure, force, stress, strain and temperature transducers and gages as well. Our products are designed to serve modern technology test and measurement applications. Give us a call today!

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View A Video on Data Acquisition Systems - A Quick Introduction

In addition to a variety of devices and components, there is a broad range of methods in which data acquisition can be achieved. Two common methods in industrial applications are personal computer (PC) data acquisition and universal serial bus (USB) data acquisition. The method of PC data acquisition refers to the vast majority of data acquisition systems and devices that require some sort of connection to a host computer in order to function and properly download the collected information. In fact, there are many types of data acquisition devices that plug directly into the host computer in order to function. One example of this type of data acquisition device is one that uses USB data acquisition. The definition of a USB device is a serial bus that has become standard for connecting and establishing communication between data acquisition devices and a host controller, which is typically a computer. USB data acquisition offers several advantages for DAQ systems including the ability to provide power to peripheral devices as well as offering a higher bandwidth which the capability of reaching 12 Mbits/s. Since USB devices are used in order to supply power, only one cable is required to link the data acquisition device to the computer, which will likely feature at minimum one USB port.


Data Acquisition Systems Types

  • DAQ is an abbreviation for data acquisition.
  • Data acquisition is the process in which electric signals from various devices are converted into a digital form that can be analyzed.
  • Data acquisition cards are a form of data acquisition (DAQ) hardware used to interface between a signal and a type of personal computer (PC) such as a desktop, PC-compatible industrial computer or an Apple Macintosh computer.
  • Data acquisition software is designed to process, record, and analyze information received from various sensors and instruments.
  • Data aquisition is the sampling of actual physical conditions such as property or phenomena, which can include things such as light intensity, fluid flow, gas pressure, temperature and force.
  • Data loggers are acquisition systems that store information from various devices.
  • Data logging is the process of storing data that can occur in a variety of instruments and devices.
  • Data recorders receive and analyze information.
  • Data acquisition software enables computers to recognize and process signals received from monitoring devices.
  • Electronic data loggers need a computer to operate. These devices are programmable and allow the user to choose the different interval readings.
  • Mechanical data loggers are stand-alone instruments that do not require computer operation and print the measurements directly on a chart. 
  • PC data acquisition is a method of data acquisition that utilizes a personal computer (PC) as the device to which the signals are converted to digital values for further manipulation.
  • Pressure sensors (http://www.iqsdirectory.com/pressure-transducers/) are used to measure and record the pressure of a particular environment. 
  • Signal conditioners are data acquisition devices that are used to convert one type of electronic signal, typically analog, to another type of electronic signal, which is almost always digital.
  • Temperature recorders are a specific kind of data logger that record temperature and sometimes humidity. Many of these devices are highly compact and can monitor conditions inside packages; they also monitor the temperatures of facilities that require regulated environments.
  • USB data acquisition is a method of converting analog waveforms into digital values that can be used for processing by means of a universal serial bus (USB).
  • Wireless data loggers are very small and remote-controlled, and scan data by lasers. These models are the latest technology in data acquisition systems.

Data Acquisition System Terms

Accuracy - The sum of all factors of error in a data acquisition device.
 
Aliasing - The false reading of high-frequency signals as lower-frequency signals. These readings are expected errors from the discrete calculations with sampling devices like analog-to-digital (A/D) converters.
 
Anti-Aliasing Filter - An apparatus that attenuates the content of signals outside the preferred bandwidth and comes before the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in instrumentation designs, which, in theory, permits the frequencies only in the pass band to be sampled with the ADC.
 
Analog - A signal that has a value somewhere between two extremes and can constantly change.
 
Analog-to-Digital Conversion (A/D) - The procedure of converting analog signals into a digital value or signal that is then able to be stored on a computer.
 
Asynchronous - Transmission of data between receiving and transmitting mechanisms in the form of zeros and ones. For correct data interpretation, the receiving data needs to start at the appropriate location of the sequence.
 
Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time (ALERT) - Protocol of data transmission for flood warning systems.
 
Calibration (http://www.iqsdirectory.com/calibration-services) - The process of adjusting a device to increase its accuracy.
 
Common Mode Range - The required voltage range as related to the datalogger ground into which both inputs of a differential calculation must fall in order to make a differential measurement.
 
Data Retrieval - Receiving data from an RTU, datalogger or field recording apparatus. This process is done locally or remotely, depending on the data retrieval peripheral.
 
Differential Input - An input channel configuration consisting of two signal wires coupled with each input signal, one wire for input and one for return signals. The measurement is the variation of voltage between the wires.
 
Differential Measurements - Analog measurements that measure the voltage between two inputs. Differential measurements are able to reject noise better than single-ended calculations, and can purge errors from differences in ground potential between the sensors and the datalogger.
 
Digital I/O Ports - Input/output ports that sense status, read SDM peripherals or SDI-12 sensors and maintain external devices.
 
Excitation - The electrical current or voltage used with transducers.
 
External Signal Conditioning - The use of a peripheral device to change a sensor's signal so another non-compatible device is able to read the signal. Signal conditioning mechanisms can be simple or complex.
 
Jitter - The frequent or periodic displacement of a signal away from its intended location.
 
Queue - A temporary storage location for information that has yet to be processed or has not yet been transmitted.
 
Resolution - The lowest vital number at which a measurement is determined.
 
Sample Rate - The pace of measurements.
 
Sampling - Procedure of calculating a signal's value at discrete time points.
 
Sampling Frequency - Amount of times per second that an analog signal is measured as A/D conversion occurs.
 
Sensitivity - A measure of the minimum amount of change in a signal that an instrument can detect.
 
Sensor - A device that responds to a physical stimulus and generates an electrical signal or alters an electrical property, such as resistance. The stimuli can be things like light, sound, heat, pressure and motion.
 
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) - System that correlates redundant data storage with measurement regulation, typically for regulating a manufacturing process. Water treatment plants generally use SCADA systems.

Transducer - A sensor that converts energy into readable electrical signals, which data loggers measure and record. Examples of these include thermocouples and strain gauges.