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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2009
Advances in electronics during the past decade have led to a variety of computer based instruments. Manufacturers continually add flexibility to traditional research tools as they introduce devices not previously feasible. With measurements made by computers, keyboards replace switches, real-time graphics is common, powerful software is ready to analyze results, and data are easily saved and/or transferred to larger computers. Another important development is adaptability. Minor changes in software and/or hardware can significantly alter a system's capabilities. This book is for people interested in both digital design and adaptable computer based data acquisition.
The Parallel Data Collector (or PDC) has been developed at Ithaca College. It works on Apple II and on IBM PC/XT/AT and compatible computers. With commercially available I/O ports, it also works with Macintosh and IBM PS/2 machines. The PDC can be a frequency meter, voltage recorder, pulse height analyzer, multichannel scaler and many other instruments. The system supports voltage, time and counting measurements with programmable parameters such as voltage conversion rate, time accuracy and counting interval. This book first describes the design principles and integrated circuits which comprise the PDC and then explains the system itself. The central idea is that it's better to master and apply a few concepts than to acquire a broad background with no particular objective in mind.
This book is mostly a text on digital electronics and interfacing. But it also tells “how to” build a powerful, adaptable data acquisition system. Problems at the end of each chapter reinforce the material and many are suitable for laboratory exercises. The later chapters present the PDC's hardware and software as well as construction details and guidelines for testing and troubleshooting.
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