New U6 adds to the LabJack Family

The LabJack U6 USB Data Acquisition and Control unit from Audon Electronics is the newest member of the popular LabJack range. Featuring 14 analogue inputs with 16-18 bit resolution and a programmable gain amplifier, the U6 is ideal for measuring real-world signals.

The U6 has built-in cold junction compensation for thermocouples, and has two fixed current sources, useful for measuring resistance and for use with resistance thermometers.

Coupled with 20 digital I/O, up to 4 counter/timers, 2 analogue outputs, wide software support and a free copy of DAQFactoy Express, the U6 represents great value at only £219 ex VAT.

http://www.audon.co.uk/u6.html

Circuit Gear 7-in-1 USB Test Instrument

The Circuitgear CGR-101 from Audon Electronics is a PC-based instrument that provides the features of seven devices in one USB-powered compact box. The device offers the performance of a two-channel 10-bit 20MSa/sec 2MHz oscilloscope, a two-channel spectrum-analyser, and a 3MHz 8-bit arbitrary-waveform/standard-function generator with eight digital I/O lines. It also functions as a network analyser, a noise generator and a PWM output source. Its open-source software runs with Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

The CGR-101's oscilloscope capability provides a two-channel 10-bit -+/-0.25Vp-p to +/-25Vp-p 2MHz basic scope, but with sophisticated marker measurements, triggering (normal, auto, single-shot and pre-trigger) with time-base adjustable from 50ns/division to 100ms/division. With a 1k sample/channel data buffer, the user can even view pre-trigger signals.

The CGR-101's two-channel FFT spectrum analyser feature offers marker measurements, and when used with the internal signal generator, displays Bode plots and performs vector network analysis, showing gain and phase values.

The CGR-101's signal generator is an 8-bit 0.1Hz to 3MHz signal source, offering sine/square/triangle/ramp waveforms, as well as being capable of outputting arbitrary or preloaded waveforms such as ECGs. The user can enable the generator, connect its signal to a circuit and perform measurements with the oscilloscope and/or spectrum analyser. The generator can also be set to function as a white noise source. A slider-controlled PWM generator is also provided, with mark-space ratio clearly displayed.

The included visual interface software enables simple control and display of information. The oscilloscope, generator, and digital I/O are operated from a custom open-source Tcl/Tk software GUI included with the hardware. As the software is open source, the code can be read and even added to or customised.The CGR-101 is also Labview compatible and can be controlled by any serial-port-driving software, such as Matlab or Visual Basic.

Project-based electronics lab teaching materials are also available for use with Circuitgear CGR-101. http://www.audon.co.uk/cgr101.html

USB DAQ Range Expands with the USB-1208LS Addition

Audon Electronics has now added the RedLab USB-1208LS to it's range of USB data acquisition and control units. The RedLab USB-1208LS has 8 single-ended inputs or 4 differential inputs with 12-bit resolution, offers sample rates up to 1.2 kilosamples/sec (8 ks/s for up to 4000 samples) with 8 software selectable input ranges. The unit also provides 2 channels of 12-bit analogue output, one 32-bit counter and 16 bits of digital I/O.

With the addition of the USB-1208LS, Audon Electronics now has one of the largest ranges of USB Data Acquisition and Control equipment in the UK with more than 30 different model types usually in stock for next day delivery.

USB DAQ Unit Samples all Channel Simultaneously

The RedLab-1608FS is a low cost 8 channel, 16-bit 50kHz data acquisition unit featuring simultaneous sampling on all input channels. The RedLab-1608FS is ideal for applications that require higher sampling rates per channel such as transient signal analysis or simultaneous acquisition of data for phase sensitive applications.

The RedLab 1608FS offers true simultaneous sampling of up to eight channels of 16-bit single-ended analogue input. This is accomplished through the use of one A/D converter per channel. The range of each channel is independently configurable via software. Eight digital IO lines are independently selectable as input or output.

Multiple-channel continuous sampling rates up to 100 kilosamples/sec total, where the maximum sampling rate per channel is 50 kilosamples/second (2 channels can be sampled at 50 kS/s, 3 channels at 33.3 kS/s, 4 channels at 25 kS/s etc.). A burst mode is also provided that allows 4 channels to be sampled at 50 kS/s each for up to 32,768 total samples. Input ranges of ±10V, ±5V, ±2V and ±1 volt are software selectable and each channel may be set at any of the four ranges independent of other channels.

A SYNC (synchronization) control line allows you to synchronize two RedLab 1608FS modules together to acquire data synchronously from 16 analogue inputs.

A 32-bit counter is capable of counting TTL pulses. The RedLab 1608FS is powered by the +5 volt USB supply from your computer. No external power is required.

Supplied with free chart recording software, and drivers for most DAQ packages and programming languages.

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Audon Electronics
Phone: +44 (0)115 925 8412
Fax: +44 (0)115 925 9757
email: info@audon.co.uk
web: www.audon.co.uk

RedLab-TC USB Thermocouple DAQ device at a Red Hot price!

Available from Audon Electronics is the RedLab-TC, a new, low-cost USB based thermocouple data acquisition unit. The RedLab-TC provides eight temperature inputs, 8 bits of digital I/O, 500 V of isolation, and built-in ambient temperature sensing, for only £239. Supplied with free chart recording software, and drivers for most DAQ packages and programming languages.

The RedLab-TC has 8 fully differential 24-bit thermocouple inputs which support all of the common thermocouple types (J, K, R, S, T, N, E, B). The RedLab-TC performs all linearization and cold-junction compensation to yield a typical accuracy of better than ±0.5°C. Opto-siolation ensures wiring faults won't cause damage to your system. The 8 digital I/O can be used for simple control, alarm outputs or for monitoring contact inputs.

The RedLab-TC is supplied with TracerDAQ, a simple chart recorder and datalogger package, and is supplied with drivers for common DAQ Packages such as LabVIEW, RealView and ProfiLab-Expert.

The RedLab-TC’s combination of competitive performance, superior ease-of-use, and lowest cost make it the perfect alternative to the thermocouple-based temperature measurement products available on the market today.

Audon Electronics
Phone: +44 (0)115 925 8412
Fax: +44 (0)115 925 9757
email: info@audon.co.uk
web: www.audon.co.uk

Low Cost Wireless temp/Humidity Logging

The TL Series is a wireless temperature and humidity logging system based on a USB based receiver base station and up to 50 remotely located transmitters. The TL series is suitable for a wide range of uses in both industrial and domestic applications. Over fifty wireless sensors can be installed and monitored by the USB base station and the included temperature logger software enables the monitoring and analysis of all the sensors separately.

The TL-300 is the entry level receiver whilst the TL-500 has stand alone data logging capability with 2Meg of built-in memory. There are several wireless sensors in the range covering indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity. The sensor range will be expended over time, with a CO2 sensor due out next. The sensors can be located up to 40m from the receiver and use the licence exempt 433Mhz radio band.

The easy to use Software presents the temperature measurements with time and date graphically. The Software keeps track of the data over several years and will log data (in the background) as long as your computer is running.

The logged measurements can be exported in several formats for further processing. The package includes a screensaver that dynamically displays the actual temperature for each sensor. An additional feature, when the software is installed, is Messenger software that enables temperature messages to be sent by email and to be published on a website. With an email-to-SMS service it is therefore possible to receive information from the temperature logger system on an SMS enabled device.

Available as starter kits which include either the TL-300 or TL-500 receiver, 2 wireless sensors, USB lead and software CD. Prices start from £56 ex VAT and delivery.

Audon Electronics
Phone: +44 (0)115 925 8412
Fax: +44 (0)115 925 9757
email: info@audon.co.uk
web: www.audon.co.uk

The USB-AD - Where's the DAQ Unit?

Available from Audon Electronics is the USB-AD USB based multifunction I/O unit which is so small it could be mistaken for a connector. The USB-AD has 16 analogue inputs, 1 analogue output, 4 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs all enclosed in a standard 37-way D-type connector housing. Supplied with a copy of NextView4-Live software for data acquisition and control and a wide selection of Windows, MAC and Linux programming examples.

The USB-AD is a low cost USB based multifunction I/O unit with 16 x ±5V 12-bit analogue inputs, 1 x ±5V 12-bit analogue output, 4 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs. Data can be acquired at up to 500Hz rate at 12-bit resolution. All I/O are presented to a 37-way D-type socket. The user can connect to this directly or optional expansion boards are available. Up to 127 units can be connected to a single PC.

Drivers are available for Windows, MAC and Linux operating systems. The USB-AD is supplied with an Active-X component and comprehensive programming examples for use with most common programming languages. There are also VI for use with LabVIEW and there is a USB-AD component icon the ProfiLab-Expert programming package.

The USB-AD is also supplied with a copy of nextView4-Live data acquisition and control software. With NextView-Live, the user can acquire and analyse data, set analogue and digital outputs and read the status of the digital inputs. The user can create their own screens, with chart displays, text, alarm panels, output sliders etc.

The USB-AD is available ex-stock for £79 (ex VAT and Delivery)

Multifunction USB DAQ Unit is Cheap but Fast

The U120816 is a very low cost USB data acquisition module which provides eight single-ended 12-bit analogue inputs, 16 digital I/O lines, two programmable pulse-width output channels, and one 16-bit counter channel. Analogue sampling rate is 32 ksamples/s maximum, with up to 13 ksamples/s for all 8 channels.

There are 8 single ended analogue input channels with an input range of 0-4.096V, 12 bit, so the resolution would be 1mv. The U120816 supports scan and streaming modes for data acquisition. The user can scan a single channel or scan multi-channels at once. In scan mode, the execution time is 8ms or 125Hz per channel. In streaming mode, the U120816 can start streaming data to the PC immediately or upon external trigger input, select through software. In trigger mode, a high state on the trigger line will start the data acquisition. The maximum throughput of streaming data varies with number of channels and they are also system dependant. Typically this is up to 32Ksamples/s for a single channel and 13Ksamples/s for all 8 channels.

There are 16 bi-directional digital I/O lines in U120816 module. Each line is software configurable to be either input or output high or output low. At power-up or reset, all lines are set to be input by default. All digital lines are 5V TTL and include a 470 ohm series resistor to provides over voltage/short-circuit protection. Each channel also has a 1M resistor connected to ground.

Thre is an external trigger line for streaming mode data acquisition. It is software configurable if the user wants to wait for this line. When in use, as soon as the line goes high, the device will start hardware timed data acquisition. This is a TTL level input.

There are two 10-bit PWM outputs in U120816. Software can set the period and duty cycle for each channel separately. The period is between 3 micro seconds to 333 micro seconds or the frequency is 333kHz to 3kHz. Duty cycle can be set between 0 – 100%. The PWM outputs can be used to light LEDs, drive motors, or convert to analogue outputs by adding an extra circuit.

The U120816 has a 16-bit counter. Software has the option to select if the counter should be reset after the read or not. The counter is incremented when it detects a falling edge followed by a rising edge. If you reset the counter while your signal is low, you will not get the first count until it goes high-low-high again.

The U120816 is supplied with the free application iDAQTest&Log. This package that can be used to test the U120816 device and log analogue input data and read back logged data for basic analysis. With this software, the user can browse through all the features in U120816, such as read single analogue channel, multiple analogue channels, streaming analogue input data continuously for display and log into file with or without external trigger, set DIO directions and read/write DIO states, set PWM output, read counter etc.

The U120816 also comes with a programming API iUSBDAQ.dll. This DLL can be called by third party applications. Programming examples are supplied in VB , ActiveX , dot net , C/C++ , Delphi, MacOSX. There is also a LabVIEW VI and program examples. Price for the U120816 is only £79

Budget GPIB to USB converter is Easy to USe

The GPIB-USB4 controller from Audon Electronics converts any computer with a USB port into a GPIB Controller or Device. In Controller mode, the GPIB-USB controller can remotely control GPIB enabled instruments such as Oscilloscopes, Logic Analyzers, and Waveform Generators. In Device mode, the GPIB-USB controller converts the computer into a GPIB peripheral for downloading data and screen plots from the instrument front panel. In both modes, the GPIB-USB controller interprets high level commands received from the host computer and performs the appropriate low-level GPIB protocol handshaking.

While the GPIB-USB4 controller provides many of the same features as GPIB-USB controllers from other vendors, it is much easier to use. The GPIB-USB4 controller provides a virtual serial interface to communicate with instruments, while handling all GPIB protocol details for you. As a result, you can communicate easily with instruments using any terminal program instead of having to write custom programs using the vendor supplied library

The GPIB-USB controller can operate in two modes – Controller mode and Device mode.

In Controller mode, the GPIB-USB Controller acts as the Controller-In-Charge (CIC) on the GPIB bus. When the controller receives a command over the USB port it addresses the GPIB instrument at the currently specified address to listen, and then returns the received data to the PC. Controller mode is used to remotely control instruments and to download screen plots by sending plot commands from a host computer.

In Device mode, the GPIB-USB Controller acts as another peripheral on the GPIB bus. In this mode, the GPIB-USB controller configures itself as a GPIB Listener. All data received by the controller over the GPIB port is passed to the USB port. Device mode is used to download screen plots from the instrument front panel for rendering using plotter emulation software.

A wide variety of host software may be used to communicate with the GPIB-USB controller. Any terminal emulation program, such as HyperTerminal, can be used to communicate with the controller and instruments connected to it. Any programming language or environment that provides access to serial ports or allows interfacing to DLL may be used to develop custom applications. Graphical programming environments like National Instruments LabView, DAQFactory and Agilent VEE may be used as well. Finally, it is possible to use plotter emulation applications such as 7470.exe, PrintCapture and Plottergeist to render screen plots from any common HPGL plotter instruments.

The GPIB-USB4 is available ex-stock from Audon Electronics for under £100

DSO-101 USB Digital Storage Scope

The DSO-101 from Audon Electronics is an USB-powered digital storage oscilloscope with dual 20MS/s inputs and a 2MHz bandwidth that is small enough to fit in your pocket. The DSO-101 packs some powerful features including a hardware preamp, adjustable digital triggering, and 32kB memory depth on each of the two 8 bit input channels. The DSO-101 is powered by an open-source graphical user interface for Windows and Linux.

The DSO-101 is a general-purpose two-channel oscilloscope for the teaching, development and debugging of electronic circuits. Channels A and B are sampled simultaneously and stored in oscilloscope memory before being sent for display to the host computer. Consequently, they are always time aligned and triggered from the same trigger signal. The oscilloscope timebase frequency is derived from a crystal oscillator, so it can be expected to be precise and stable.

The fully functional, easy to use software supports multiple triggering modes, waveform scrolling, saving waveforms to a file, and cursor measurements. Source code is included. The user can add and modify the graphic user interface as desired.

The PC connects to the oscilloscope hardware via a USB cable so that no other power source is required. The USB interface emulates a serial port so that the oscilloscope may be accessed as a serial port device

USB DAQ Unit has Flexible I/O

Available from Audon Electronics is the LabJack U3 low-cost USB multifunction data acquisition and control device. The U3 has 16 "flexible" inputs which can be configured for any mix and analogue, digital input or digital output making for a very versatile general purpose DAQ unit. The U3 is supplied with a wide range of FREE Data logging software and examples for use with most programming and DAQ packages.

The LabJack U3 can have up to 16 analogue inputs available on the flexible I/O lines. Single-ended measurements can be taken of any line compared to ground, or differential measurements can be taken of any line to any other line. Analogue input resolution is 12-bits with an input range of 0-2.4 volts. Optional signal conditioning adaptors are available that can condition the inputs to 0-5V, 0-10V or 4-20mA.

The LabJack U3 can have up to 20 digital I/O channels. 16 are available from the flexible I/O lines, and 4 are dedicated digital I/O. Each digital line can be individually configured as input, output-high, or output-low. The digital I/O use 3.3 volt logic and are 5 volt tolerant. Up to 2 flexible I/O lines can be configured as timers. The timers are very flexible, providing options such as Pulse Width Modulated output, pulse timing, pulse counting, and quadrature input from encoders. Up to 2 flexible I/O lines can be configured as 32-bit counters.

The LabJack U3 also has 1 or 2 dedicated analogue outputs which can be set to provide an output voltage between 0 and 5 volts with 8-bits of resolution.

The LabJack U3 is supplied with a range of free software. The LabJack Control Panel application handles configuration and testing of the U3. When first opened it searches for connected LabJacks and displays a panel whereby all the I/O types can be configured. The application also displays analogue/digital inputs and has boxes to set analogue/digital outputs. The U3 has field upgradeable flash memory. The self-upgrade application programs the latest firmware into the processor. FREE firmware upgrade will be available from time to time bringing improved performance and new features.

The U3 is also supplied with a copy of DAQFactory Express data acquisition and control, software. DAQFactory Express offers data logging, user designable screens with trending, automation capabilities and more. The U3 is also supported by the RealView Chart recorder software and the ProfiLab-Express programming package.

For programmers, the U3 is supplied with Visual C and Visual Basic modules for the LabJackUD driver, and simple example projects. A LabVIEW VI is also supplied.

The U3 is rugged and is designed for industrial use: the operating temperature range is -40°C to + 85°C and all I/O are overload and short-circuit protected. The ABS enclosure has screw mounting attachments and optional DIN rail mounting clips.

Available ex-stock from Audon Electronics for £69

The USB myPCLab DAQ Units has Universal Inputs

Available from Audon Electronics is the myPCLab USB
data acquisition unit which accepts thermocouples, PT100
temperature probes, Volts and 4-2OmA loops all for under
£60.



myPCLab is a very compact Data Acquisition tool which connects
to a PC via a USB port and monitors two universal analogue inputs,
accepting thermocouples, Ptl 00, Voltages and 4-2OmA current
loops along with one digital input. Sampling rate can be up to 128
samples per second and ADC resolution is user adjustable from
11 to 15 bits. There is built-in thermocouple and P11 00 linearisation
and automatic thermocouple cold-junction compensation.

The myPCLab comes with an intuitive and easy-to-use Windows
data logger software package which plots data, shows gauges,
bargraphs and digital readouts and logs data to disk. Logged data
can be exported in multiple file formats (xis, pdf, rtf, xml, html,dbf,
txt, csv) for easy importation to analysis and Spreadsheet packages.

The myPCLab software can simultaneously communicate with multiple
modules, making it easy to expand the number of inputs of a
measurement system.



Although the myPClab is USB based, it actually uses a virtual RS232
Com port, so any software package that can talk to a Corn port can
communicate with the myPClab. There are two communications
modes, ASCII text and Modbus.

With ASCII text Auto-send, data is transmitted from the myPClab
in a simple comma separated ASCII text format at a pre-set time
interval. Data can be read using any package capable of accepting
ASCII strings including most daq packages such as LabVIEW, VEE,
DAoFactory, TestPoint etc, programming languages VB, Delphi,
C++ .NET, and terminal programs such as HyperTerminal.

In MODBUS RTU Slave mode, myPCLab acts as a Modbus RTU
slave that can answer to Read Holding Register requests, Modbus
command number 3. The module doesn t have a specific Modbus
address, since it s the only device in its serial port. It will answer to
read request to any valid slave address. It can therefore be used
with every SCADA software package that support MODBUS RTU.

For more information, please contact :-

Audon Electronics
123 High Road, Chilwell, Nottingham NG9 4AT. UK
Tel: +44 (0)115 925 8412
Fax +44 (0) 115 925 9757
Web: www.audon.co.uk

LabJack U12 USB DAQ Unit

Now available in the UK from Audon Electronics is the LabJack U12 USB data acquisition and control unit.

The Labjack features 8 single ended or 4 differential analogue inputs,
2 analogue outputs, 20 digital I/O including a 32 bit counter and
watchdog timer. This is all crammed into a sturdy unit measuring only
150mm x 110mm x 35mm. 

The LabJack has a ±10V input range at 12-bit resolution. Differential
channels can make use of the low noise precision amplifier with gains
of 1,2,4,8,16,20, giving an effective resolution of greater than 16-bits.
Data can be streamed to disk at 1kHz and a bursts mode allows over
4000 samples to de taken at a 8kHz rate. The two 0-10V analogue
output channels can be updated at a 50Hz rate with 10-bit resolution.
All analogue I/O are accessed via screw terminals.

The LabJack has 20 digital I/O channels which can be individually
configured as input or output. Four digital I/O's are accessed via
screw terminals whilst the remaining 16 are accessed through a
25-way D connector; an optional relay/opto-isolator expansion
board is available.There is also one 32-bit counter available on
the LabJack U12, capable of counting frequencies up to 1 MHz. 
The LabJack U12 also has a watchdog timer function available
which can change the states of digital I/O if the LabJack does not
successfully communicate with the PC within a specified time-out
period. This function could be used to reboot the PC allowing for
reliable unattended operation.

The use of the PC's USB port allows for a simple plug-and-play
installation process and by using USB hubs, up to 80 LabJacks
may be connected to a single USB port.

Included with the LabJack are the free example applications
LJlogger and LJscope. LJlogger provides datalogger type
functionality. It reads all inputs, controls all outputs, writes real
time data to the Internet or hard disk, and sends email when
events are triggered. LJscope is a virtual oscilloscope program
with FFT display.

Drivers are provided as a DLL which can be called from most
programming languages. Also included are an ActiveX wrapper
and LabVIEW VIs which call all the functions in the DLL.