Adept Scientific has introduced the first in a series of ruggedised, special purpose, USB-based data acquisition product families from Measurement Computing Corporation. The new USB-2404 family is targeted at applications requiring high-accuracy measurement repeatability and high throughput. The ruggedised, metal outer case makes it ideal for all environments.
The USB-2404-XX is a high-speed USB device featuring four 24-bit simultaneous analogue inputs with a sampling rate of 50 kS/s per channel and a ±10 V or ±60 V input voltage range. The USB-2404-XX is fully compatible with both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 ports, and comes with an anti-alias filter which removes noise that may be present in the signals prior to conversion. 250 Vrms channel-to-channel and channel-to-ground isolation protects the module and computer from ground spikes and ensures a reliable data stream, whilst an on-board LED indicates the status of the device. Field connections are made to four 2-pole, detachable screw terminals, and the USB 2.0 high-speed driver transfers data at rates up to 480 Mbps. Power for the USB-2404-XX comes from the +5 volt USB supply from your computer, and no external power is required.
"When we introduced the first line of data acquisition products for USB, we focused on devices for general purpose data acquisition and control applications and attractive prices," says Jim Ficaro, marketing director for Measurement Computing. "That being accomplished, we're now working on higher performance products for signal and sensor measurements requiring instrument-class accuracy, applications requiring high-speed simultaneous sampling and enough analogue, digital and specialty I/O in one module to reduce or eliminate the need for additional instrumentation."
As with all Measurement Computing data acquisition products, the new devices are supported by the Universal Library, programming libraries and drivers for most popular Windows-based programming languages. This complete function library saves the user time by simplifying the configuration and operation of the measurement board and reducing human errors by eliminating detailed, low-level functions. The Universal Library requires little disk storage, making it ideal for integration into multiple instrument systems and OEM products.