MC.3130 | Spectrum

General Information

The MC.31xx series allows simultaneous recording of two, four or eight channels with sampling rates of 1 MS/s, 10 MS/s or 25 MS/s. Due to the proven design a wide variety of 12 bit A/D converter boards for CompactPCI 6U and PXI 3U can be offered. As an option 4 digital inputs per channel can be recorded synchronously making a total of up to 32 additional digital channels for mixed-mode operation.

CompactPCI combines the advantages of the PCI bus with the needs of the industrial user. CompactPCI uses well well known and stable 19" technology and offers robust systems for industrial needs. The defined cooling power and the robust connector extend the life of the product. CompactPCI systems are defined in two different sizes: 6U and 3U. The CompactPCI 6U products from Spectrum have the same product range as the PCI pendants (former MI series).

The cascading option synchronizes up to 4 Spectrum boards internally. It's the simplest way to build up a multi channel system. On the internal synchronisation bus clock and trigger signals are routed between the different boards. All connected boards are then working with the same clock and trigger information. There is a phase delay between two boards of about 500 picoseconds when this synchronization option is used.

The Extra I/O module adds 24 additional digital I/O lines and 4 analog outputs on an extra connector. These additional lines are independent from the standard function and can be controlled asynchronously. There is also an internal version available with 16 digital I/Os and 4 analog outputs that can be used directly at the rear board connector.

The FIFO mode is designed for continuous data transfer between measurement board and PC memory (with up to 100 MByte/s) or hard disk. The control of the data stream is done automatically by the driver on interrupt request. The complete installed on-board memory is used for buffer data, making the continuous streaming extremely reliable.

Ring buffer mode

The ring buffer mode is the standard mode of all acquisition boards. Data is written in a ring memory of the board until a trigger event is detected. After the event the posttrigger values are recorded. Because of this continuously recording into a ring buffer there are also samples prior to the trigger event visible: Pretrigger = Memsize - Posttrigger.

The star-hub is an additional module allowing the phase stable synchronization of up to 16 boards in one system. Independent of the number of boards there is no phase delay between all channels. The star-hub distributes trigger and clock information between all boards. As a result all connected boards are running with the same clock and the same trigger. All trigger sources can be combined with OR/AND allowing all channels of all cards to be trigger source at the same time. The star-hub is available as 5 card and 16 card version. The 5 card version doesn't need an extra slot.

The data acquisition boards offer a wide variety of trigger modes. Besides the standard signal checking for level and edge as known from oscilloscopes it's also possible to define a window trigger. Trigger conditions can be combined with logical conjunctions like OR to adopt to different application scenarios.

All boards can be triggered using an external TTL signal. It's possible to use positive or negative edge also in combination with a programmable pulse width. An internally recognized trigger event can - when activated by software - be routed to the trigger connector to start external instruments.

Gated Sampling

The Gated Sampling option allows data recording controlled by an external gate signal. Data is only recorded if the gate signal has a programmed level. In addition a pre-area before start of the gate signal as well as a post area after end of the gate signal can be acquired. The number of gate segments is only limited by the used memory and is unlimited when using FIFO mode.

Multiple Recording

The Multiple Recording option allows the recording of several trigger events with an extremely short re-arming time. The hardware doesn't need to be restarted in between. The on-board memory is divided in several segments of the same size. Each of them is filled with data if a trigger event occurs. Pre- and posttrigger of the segments can be programmed. The number of acquired segments is only limited by the used memory and is unlimited when using FIFO mode.

Pulsewidth Trigger

Defines the minimum or maximum width that a trigger pulse must have to generate a trigger event. Pulse width can be combined with channel trigger, pattern trigger and external trigger. This makes it possible to trigger on signal errors like too long or too short pulses.

The timestamp option writes the time positions of the trigger events in an extra memory. The timestamps are relative to the start of recording, a defined zero time, externally synchronized to a radio clock, or a GPS receiver. With this option acquisitions of systems on different locations can be set in a precise time relation.

Using a dedicated connector a sampling clock can be fed in from an external system. It's also possible to output the internally used sampling clock to synchronize external equipment to this clock.

The option to use a precise external reference clock (normally 10 MHz) is necessary to synchronize the board for high-quality measurements with external equipment (like a signal source). It's also possible to enhance the quality of the sampling clock in this way. The driver automatically generates the requested sampling clock from the fed in reference clock.

Digital Inputs (Optional)

This option acquires additional synchronous digital channels phase-stable with the analog data. When the option is installed and activated additional digital inputs are stored in the unused bits of each ADC word (2 digital inputs on 14 bit A/D and 4 digital inputs on 12 bit A/D)

The analog inputs can be adapted to real world signals using a wide variety of settings that are individual for each channel. By using software commands the input termination can be changed between 50 Ohm and 1 MOhm and one can select an input range matching the real world signal.

Most of the Spectrum A/D cards offer a user programmable signal offset opening the Spectrum boards to a wide variety of setups. The signal offset at least covers a range of +/-100 % of the currently selected input range making unipolar measurements with the card possible. Besides this the input range offset can be programmed individually allowing a perfect match of the A/D card section to the real world signal.

Synchronous Sampling

All acquisition cards from Spectrum are built with a completely synchronous design. Every channel has its own independent input amplifier as well as an independent ADC allowing to program all input channel related settings individually for each channel.

3rd Party Drivers

A lot of third-party products are supported by the Spectrum driver. Choose between LabVIEW, MATLAB, LabWindows/CVI and IVI. All drivers come with examples and detailed documentation.

Programming Examples

Programming examples for C++, Delphi, Visual Basic, C#, J#, VB.Net, Java, Python and LabWindows/CVI are delivered with the driver. Due to the simple interface of the driver, the integration in other programming languages or special measurement software is an easy task.

Linux

All cards are delivered with full Linux support. Pre compiled kernel modules are included for the most common distributions like RedHat, Fedora, Suse, Ubuntu or Debian. The Linux support includes SMP systems, 32 bit and 64 bit systems, versatile programming examples for Gnu C++ as well as the possibility to get the driver sources for own compilation.

SBench6

SBench 6 is a powerful and intuitive interactive measurement software. Besides the possibility to commence the measuring task immediately, without programming, SBench 6 combines the setup of hardware, data display, oscilloscope, transient recorder, waveform generator, analyzing functions, import and export functions under one easy-to-use interface.

Windows

This standard driver is included in the card delivery and it is possible to get the newest driver version free of charge from our homepage at any time. There are no additional SDK fees for the classical text-based programming. All boards are delivered with drivers for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10, all 32 bit and 64 bit.