Basic question about DC voltage ranges with PXI-6031E?

[emerino]

Hello,

  I have noticed that when you setup a channel (either in MAX or DAQ Assist) to either aqcuire or generate analog voltages, you cannot select anything larger than 10 Volts in the "Signal Output Range" boxes.

  If in theory I can select from -10 to +10, which in reality is an overall range of 20 volts, why then can't I define a range of say 0 to 15 volts? or 0 to 20V?

  Is that a limitation of my hardware (PXI-6031E) or a limitation of LV?

  If I have a device that works with 0 to 15v signals, I know I could make circuits to either drop the voltage or increase it (wheter I'm doing input or output).

  Is there any other way around the limitation?

Thanks!

[Dennis_Knutson]

You seem to have a mistunderstanding about voltage ranges. The max range of your board is -10 to +10. That means that the output of your board cannot exceed a positive 10 volts or a negative 10 volts. That is a total voltage swing of 20 volts but that does not mean you can specify a new range of 0 to +20. The same is true of an input. You can input any voltage between -10 and +10 but anything outside that voltage will be clipped. This is really no different than any other type of instrument. They all have limits as to input and output.