SC-2042 RTD

[Dr Jon Atkinson]

Hi all,

We are in need of being able to measure the temperature of a platinum
RTD. Our current setup is a PCI-6052E with SCB-68 accessory. Am I right
in thinking that in order to read resistance we need to obtain the
SC-2042 RTD accessory? And if we do this, how do I go about using the
analog outputs of the card? The SC-2042 RTD does not seem to have any
outputs!

Or is there a way of doing this using our current setup?

Thanks
Jon

[tnewton]

Without the 2042 (or other signal conditioning module) you would have to make your own bridge circuit to measure the voltage across the RTD (See the tutorial 'Resistance-Temperature Detectors' in the Developer Zone at ni.com).
The 2042 requires a 50-pin connection, so you'll have to use a SH6850 from your DAQ device or a cable adapter. You still have access to the unused channels (AI, AO, DIO, counters) of your DAQ card. There is a second 50-pin connector on the 2042 that allows you to connect another cable to a breakout box/terminal block. You will just have to make sure you don't connect to the AI channels that the 2042 is using.

Todd Newton
Applications Engineering- Measurements Group
National Instruments