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IOtech LabVIEW - getting started

IOtech LabVIEW - getting started

This is the first article in a series that describes the basics of the IOtech LabVIEW Support. To begin the IOtech LabVIEW Support installation installs not only the VI support but also the drivers for IOtech devices. If you are in need of the installation, access the TechSupport->Software/Driver Downloads. At the bottom of the page you find IOtech Downloads. Select the folder that best reflects your device then choose LabViewDaqCom2Setup.exe

Once installed there will exist a DaqIO LabVIEW Support folder typically located under Program Files. This folder contains support for IOtech devices and browsing through it often leads to confusion. Instead it is suggested to start with examples specific to your device. The following image shows the path to PersonalDaq/3001 examples. As you can see these are located under the Daq Device Examples folder. This folder contains examples for DaqBoards, DaqBooks, DaqLabs, DaqScan and the PersonalDaq/3000 series.

Open the Personal Daq 3001 Analog Input Example VI.

At this time take note of the Device Name property. The driver software locates the device using the Device Name so if it wrong the program will not run. If you have another IOtech device such as the PersonalDaq/3005 then change the name to PersonalDaq3005. If you have a DaqBook or DaqBoard and are looking at the DaqBook 2001 Analog Input Example, make sure the Device Name is the same name that is found in the Daq Configuration Windows Control Panel utility. For example, "DaqBoard2k0". The PersonalDaq/3000 series does not use Daq Configuration.

Below I have circled some of the fields. The ScanRate is the sample rate which is number of samples per second. Below it is set to 1000Hz.

The Total Scans to Acquire is used to size a working buffer in the driver and instructs the example as to how many samples to acquire before stopping. The term Scan is used to indicate one reading from each enabled channel.

The StartType and StopType fields commands the driver to begin and end in a specific way. Below they are set to Immediate and Manual. Immediate instructs the acquisiton to start when LabVIEW is started. Manual instructs the acquisition to Stop when the Program's Stop button is pressed. When using the Manual Stop, the Total Scans to Acquire is ignored for the purpose of counting scans. However it is still used to auto size buffers and because of this it should never be set below 10. A rule of thumb is to set the buffer to 10 for slow rates and for fast rates one second. Therefore if the ScanRate is 1000 the Total Scans to Acquire should also be 1000.

To select or deselect channels, hold down the CTRL key using the mouse to select more channels. Below shows two channels set to differential mode. Note that if channels 0 & 1 are set to differential then channels 8 & 9 must not be selected. This because channels 8 & 9 make up the other side of the differential pair.

Finally, the Chan Min V & Chan Max V is how the voltage ranges are set. How this works is the driver will select the closest range to the entered values. For example, entering -9 to +9 will select the -10 to + 10 range.

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Article ID: 50331

Last Modified:2/24/2012 1:52:58 PM

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