04-29-2019 12:37 PM
Hello,
I'm looking for a PXIe or PCIe card that can provide at least 8 TTL digital outputs. Any 4 of these TTL digital outputs will need to be synchronized in an arbitrary/programmable way (i.e., separated by specified delays). Need said delays to be programmable and accurate to within +/- 100nSec. Anyone have an idea or a recommendation?
Thanks
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04-29-2019 01:16 PM
It may depend on the kind of TTL signals you plan to generate:
There are X-series boards that meet both of those, though some of the lower-cost models only support 1 MHz DIO. (The timing *accuracy* would still be better than +/- 100 nanosec, just not the timing *resolution*).
-Kevin P
04-29-2019 02:46 PM
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the response. I think I am looking for "4 bits worth of arbitrary digital timing patterns". At this point, a 10MHz clock rate is a nice to have; but I think 1MHz would suffice. So, I think the NI PCI-6220 might work for us; but if not, the NI PCI-6250 would. The support pages for those devices recommend considering the 6320 X-series and 6351 X-series respectively. However, I do not see it specified that those devices offer correlated DIO. Do they? Also, I may need to have this in a PXI form factor and don't see any PXI cards specified as having correlated DIO. Please advise further if you can.
Thanks,
BB
04-29-2019 04:14 PM
The "Correlated DIO" feature found in M-series boards (model #'s 62xx) was kinda like having both a badly sprained ankle and crutches. Port 0 supported the possibility of hw-clocking, but the board couldn't derive such a clock internally the way it does for AI and AO tasks. You had to supply the timing source from somewhere else.
X-series boards (model #'s 63xx) still support that same "correlated" usage, but don't publicize it because the design included internal clocking support for DIO -- like a fully functional ankle with no *need* for crutches. The specs now simply refer to the supported sample clock frequency.
There are several X-series PXI-express boards you could consider with model #'s starting PXIe-63__. Note that you need to have a chassis that supports PXI-express. If you're stuck with an older PXI chassis, you'll be limited to using an M-series board with correlated DIO. This may lead you to use 1 or 2 (of 2 total) counters to generate a sample clock for your DO task.
-Kevin P
P.S. There may well be a dedicated digital-only board that would work out well too, I just don't have enough familiarity to offer advice.
04-29-2019 05:25 PM
Hi Kevin,
The PXIe-6341 looks like the lowest cost alternative that might work for us but only offers a 1MHz clock rate for the DIO lines. Next in cost is the PXIe-6535 (which I looked up based on your P.S.); it is DIO only (which is all we really need) but offers a 10MHz clock rate. Then there is the PXIe-6361. It too offers a 10MHz clock rate for the DIO lines; but like the PXIe-6341, it has all the analog and counter/timer features that I don't really need and is the priciest of the 3.
At any rate, looks like I have 3 alternatives I can propose. Thanks again.
BB