Is this the right DAQ board to buy?

[Jimykid86]

Hello.  I am responsible for setting up a temperature automating system in my research lab, but I barely know anything so I need help on most parts.  The DAQ board I am looking at is a PCI-8430/2.  It has two RS-232 ports that I am planning to connect to the IRCON pyrometer and electronika power supply SM7020: both are compatible with RS232.  What I am not sure is how to connect to the DAQ board to the power supply.  The power supply has a DB-15 (15 pins on two columns) port called analog programming connector, so I am planning to connect the power supply to the DAQ board with a cable having a DB-15 and a DB-9 ends.  However, the power supply company suggests that I should get a DAQ board with an "Isolated Digital to Analog Converter board with two 0V to 5V analog outputs.  With one analog output you can control the power supply output voltage and with one analog output you can control the maximum output current."  Now I am confused about what DAQ board to buy.

Can someone help me understanding how to connect an SM7020 powers supply from electronika with a computer?

Thank you,
Jimmy

[smercurio_fc]

The PCI-8430/2 is not a DAQ board. It's a serial port card intended to be used to provide you with serial ports in case your computer doesn't come with a serial port.

The power supply that you indicated does not have a serial port connector. The 15-pin connector is used to control the power supply via a set voltage level. You cannot connect this to a serial port on the computer (or the PCI-8430/2 card). More than likely you'll probably blow something. Delta Elektronika provides a separate serial interface module that connects to the power supply so you can then control the power supply using a serial port interface. If you do not want to buy this separate module then you have to be able to generate a programmable voltage from the computer to feed to the power supply's 15-pin analog programming connector. That's what the company is talking about. For that you would need any of the analog output cards/modules that NI provides. I would suggest a cheap USB-based solution rather than a plug-in card.

Doe the IRCON pyrometer actually have a serial interface? Do you have a link to the tech specs/datasheet? If so you will need a serial port for it unless there's another interface for it. If your computer does not have a serial port interface then you will need to provide one. Again, I would suggest looking at USB<->serial interface modules for portability. NI has a few.

[Dennis_Knutson]

First, an RS-232 board is not a DAQ board. It provides the RS-232 communications protocol. Second, your power supply may have a DB-15 connector but that does not mean it uses RS-232. It just means they use that physical connector as convenient way to connect to it's analog control lines. You cannot connect an RS-232 board to a device expecting vairable analog voltages as inputs. Your pyrometer may have an actual RS-232 port for remote control. You don't provide any details on this device. For analog output, I would suggest you contact your local NI Sales Engineer to discuss the various options available and why they will cost.

[Jimykid86]

Hello.  I am lost.  Can someone suggest a link or a book I can read to understand the messages above?  I don't get most of the terminology used from the above messages.  Thank you.

Jimmy

[Dennis_Knutson]

Wikipedia? Exactly what terms are confusing and what kind of background do you have (electronics, mechanical, programming, etc.)?

[Ray.R]

You do not understand the difference between an RS-232 (serial port on the PC for instance) and a DAQ (Data Acquisition module, used to sample analog (or digital) signals) ?

Well, typically, you would use a DAQ if you wanted to measure a physical phenomena which has been converted to an electrical signal by a transducer.

Let's see what Wikipedia has to say:

Data acquisition is the sampling of the real world to generate data that can be manipulated by a computer. Sometimes abbreviated DAQ or DAS, data acquisition typically involves acquisition of signals and waveforms and processing the signals to obtain desired information. The components of data acquisition systems include appropriate sensors that convert any measurement parameter to an electrical signal, which is acquired by data acquisition hardware.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_acquisition

RS-232 (Recommended Standard 232) is a standard for serial binary data signals connecting between a DTE (Data terminal equipment) and a DCE (Data Circuit-terminating Equipment). It is commonly used in computer serial ports.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232

Look at the References section and External links for tutorials and possibly recommended reading.

Have fun,

RayR

[smercurio_fc]

Odd. You seemed to be using the terms "RS-232", "DAQ", and "DB-9"/"DB-15" as if you knew what they meant.

There's also the tutorials on the NI web site:

Serial Communication Overview
Introduction to Data Acquisition
Complete Data Acquisition Tutorial

[hrh1818]

On May 28, 1:10 pm, Jimykid86 <x...@no.email> wrote:
> Hello.&nbsp; I am responsible for setting up a temperature automating system in my research lab, but I barely know anything so I need help on most parts.&nbsp; The DAQ board I am looking at is a PCI-8430/2.&nbsp; It has two RS-232 ports that I am planning to connect to the IRCON pyrometer and electronika power supply SM7020: both are compatible with RS232.&nbsp; What I am not sure is how to connect to the DAQ board to the power supply.&nbsp; The power supply has a DB-15 (15 pins on two columns) port called analog programming connector, so I am planning to connect the power supply to the DAQ board with a cable having a DB-15 and a DB-9 ends.&nbsp; However, the power supply company suggests that I should get a DAQ board with an "Isolated Digital to Analog Converter board with two 0V to 5V analog outputs.&nbsp; With one analog output you can control the power supply output voltage
> and with one analog output you can control the maximum output current."&nbsp; Now I am confused about what DAQ board to buy. Can someone help me understanding how to connect an SM7020 powers supply from electronika with a computer?Thank you,Jimmy

The DB-15 connector on the back of your SM 7020 power supply is not
used for RS-232 communication. It is instead used for control signals
for controlling the SM 7020 power supply. You should follow the
manufactures recommendation for connecting an external controller to
the power supply. However on my first try the only National
Instruments analog output board with isolated outputs I could find is
the SCXI-1124 - SCXI. This seems to be pretty expensive for your
application. I suggest instead you use a multifunction DAQ board and
analog optical isolators. You will need to build one cable to connect
your multifunction DAQ board to the analog optical isolators and a
second cable to connect your analog optical isolators to the DB-15
connector on the back of your SM 7020 power supply. For communicating
with your IRCON Pyrometer I suggest a USB-232 adapter.

The pin connections for the DB-15 connector on the back of the SM 7020
is shown at the bottom of the following PDF document.
http://www.delta-elektronika.nl/PDF/DTS-SM700.pdf

Howard

Update National Instruments has some SCC modules for producing
isolated analog outputs.

[hrh1818]

On May 28, 3:50 pm, hrh1818 <hr...@att.net> wrote:
> On May 28, 1:10 pm, Jimykid86 <x...@no.email> wrote:
>
> > Hello.&nbsp; I am responsible for setting up a temperature automating system in my research lab, but I barely know anything so I need help on most parts.&nbsp; The DAQ board I am looking at is a PCI-8430/2.&nbsp; It has two RS-232 ports that I am planning to connect to the IRCON pyrometer and electronika power supply SM7020: both are compatible with RS232.&nbsp; What I am not sure is how to connect to the DAQ board to the power supply.&nbsp; The power supply has a DB-15 (15 pins on two columns) port called analog programming connector, so I am planning to connect the power supply to the DAQ board with a cable having a DB-15 and a DB-9 ends.&nbsp; However, the power supply company suggests that I should get a DAQ board with an "Isolated Digital to Analog Converter board with two 0V to 5V analog outputs.&nbsp; With one analog output you can control the power supply output voltage
> > and with one analog output you can control the maximum output current."&nbsp; Now I am confused about what DAQ board to buy. Can someone help me understanding how to connect an SM7020 powers supply from electronika with a computer?Thank you,Jimmy
>
> The DB-15 connector on the back of your SM 7020 power supply is not
> used for RS-232 communication. It is instead used for control signals
> for controlling the SM 7020 power supply. You should follow the
> manufactures recommendation for connecting an external controller to
> the power supply. However on my first try the only National
> Instruments analog output board with isolated outputs I could find is
> the SCXI-1124 - SCXI. This seems to be pretty expensive for your
> application. I suggest instead you use a multifunction DAQ board and
> analog optical isolators. You will need to build one cable to connect
> your multifunction DAQ board to the analog optical isolators and a
> second cable to connect your analog optical isolators to the DB-15
> connector on the back of your SM 7020 power supply. For communicating
> with your IRCON Pyrometer I suggest a USB-232 adapter.
>
> The pin connections for the DB-15 connector on the back of the SM 7020
> is shown at the bottom of the following PDF document.http://www.delta-elektronika.nl/PDF/DTS-SM700.pdf
>
> Howard
>
> Update National Instruments has some SCC modules for producing
> isolated analog outputs.

I don't know what Ircon pyrometer you are planning on buying but the
one I looked at has an RS-485 digital interface. National Instruments
also sell an USB-485 USB to RS-485 adapter.

Howard

[hrh1818]

On May 28, 3:50 pm, hrh1818 <hr...@att.net> wrote:
> On May 28, 1:10 pm, Jimykid86 <x...@no.email> wrote:
>
> > Hello.&nbsp; I am responsible for setting up a temperature automating system in my research lab, but I barely know anything so I need help on most parts.&nbsp; The DAQ board I am looking at is a PCI-8430/2.&nbsp; It has two RS-232 ports that I am planning to connect to the IRCON pyrometer and electronika power supply SM7020: both are compatible with RS232.&nbsp; What I am not sure is how to connect to the DAQ board to the power supply.&nbsp; The power supply has a DB-15 (15 pins on two columns) port called analog programming connector, so I am planning to connect the power supply to the DAQ board with a cable having a DB-15 and a DB-9 ends.&nbsp; However, the power supply company suggests that I should get a DAQ board with an "Isolated Digital to Analog Converter board with two 0V to 5V analog outputs.&nbsp; With one analog output you can control the power supply output voltage
> > and with one analog output you can control the maximum output current."&nbsp; Now I am confused about what DAQ board to buy. Can someone help me understanding how to connect an SM7020 powers supply from electronika with a computer?Thank you,Jimmy
>
> The DB-15 connector on the back of your SM 7020 power supply is not
> used for RS-232 communication. It is instead used for control signals
> for controlling the SM 7020 power supply. You should follow the
> manufactures recommendation for connecting an external controller to
> the power supply. However on my first try the only National
> Instruments analog output board with isolated outputs I could find is
> the SCXI-1124 - SCXI. This seems to be pretty expensive for your
> application. I suggest instead you use a multifunction DAQ board and
> analog optical isolators. You will need to build one cable to connect
> your multifunction DAQ board to the analog optical isolators and a
> second cable to connect your analog optical isolators to the DB-15
> connector on the back of your SM 7020 power supply. For communicating
> with your IRCON Pyrometer I suggest a USB-232 adapter.
>
> The pin connections for the DB-15 connector on the back of the SM 7020
> is shown at the bottom of the following PDF document.http://www.delta-elektronika.nl/PDF/DTS-SM700.pdf
>
> Howard
>
> Update National Instruments has some SCC modules for producing
> isolated analog outputs.

Here is one possible configuration for interfacing Labviiew to a
SM7020 power supply and a IRCON Pyrometer.

1. NI PCI-6251 M series multifunction DAQ $999
2. SH68-68-EP cable 1 meter length $99 2 meter length $119
3. NI SCC-2345 with SCC-PWR01 SCC carrier with hinged lid and
connector block $349
4. NI SCC-A010 isolated analog output module $349 each
5. USB-485 USB to RS485 adapter. $149 each

Howard