Data Acquisition Introduction

Data
Acquisition
Developed by Advantech IAG Training Center
(Internal Use Only)
Advantech IAG Training Center (Internal Use Only)

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Table of Contents
(Internal Use Only).......................................................................................................I
Table of Contents..........................................................................................................I
Chapter 1 Introduction..........................................................................................1
1.1 DA&C system Overview...........................................................................1
1.2 Application Stories.....................................................................................2
1.2.1 Portable Thermo Test System.........................................................2
1.2.2 Tone Quality Analysis System.......................................................4
1.2.3 Real-Time Testing System for Wind Power Generation Machine. 7
1.2.4 Self-Service Book Borrowing and Returning System.................10
1.3 Learning Purpose.....................................................................................13
1.4 Structure of Textbook...............................................................................14
Chapter 2 Essential Concepts..............................................................................17

2.1 Data Acquisition & Control System.........................................................17
2.2 Fundamental of DA&C System...............................................................19
2.2.1 Transducers..................................................................................20
2.2.2 Signal Conditioning.....................................................................22
2.2.2.1 Isolation........................................................................................23
2.2.2.2 Filtering........................................................................................24
2.2.2.3 Amplification and Attenuation.....................................................26
2.2.3 Data Acquisition & Control Hardware.........................................27
2.2.3.1 Analog Input.................................................................................27
2.2.3.2 Analog Output..............................................................................42
2.2.3.3 Digital Input.................................................................................45
2.2.3.4 Digital Output...............................................................................52
2.2.3.5 Counter.........................................................................................58
Chapter 3 Product Introduction.........................................................................61

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3.1 I/O Product Interface................................................................................61
3.1.1 ISA/PC-104 Interface...................................................................62
3.1.2 PCI/PCI-104 Interface..................................................................63
3.1.3 CPCI Interface..............................................................................65
3.1.4 USB Interface...............................................................................67
3.2 Naming Rule............................................................................................69
3.3 I/O Selection Guide..................................................................................79
Chapter 4 Getting Started...................................................................................89

4.1 Startup of DAQ cards...............................................................................89
4.1.1 Introduction of the Advantech Device Manager..........................90
4.1.2 Startup of ISA cards...................................................................102
4.1.3 Startup of PCI, USB and CPCI cards.........................................111
4.2 The introduction of WaveScan2.0..........................................................120
Chapter 5 Software Introduction......................................................................135

5.1 Advantech Device Driver.......................................................................135
5.1.1 Examples of the Advantech Device Driver................................138
5.2 Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Driver........................................................141
5.2.1 Features of the ActiveDAQ Pro Driver......................................143
5.2.2 Examples of the ActiveDAQ Pro Driver....................................150
5.3 Advantech LabView Driver...................................................................153
5.3.1 LabView Driver..........................................................................156
5.3.2 LabViewDAQ Driver.................................................................158
5.4 Programming (Advanced)......................................................................165
5.4.1 AI Transferring by Software Polling..........................................165
5.4.2 Fast AI Transferring...................................................................170
5.4.2.1 Fast AI Transferring by Interrupt...............................................179
5.4.2.2 Fast AI Transferring by DMA....................................................187
5.4.3 The programming for the AvtiveDAQ Pro Driver.....................193

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Chapter 6 Trouble Shooting..............................................................................208

6.1 PCI-1710HG with Thermocouple..........................................................208
IV
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Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 DA&C system Overview
While Embedded Controllers are well proven through several industrial
applications, the new trend will be to separate the computing platform from the data
acquisition interface. In this way, users can experience high-performing, reliable
computing platforms and the latest in embedded technology, while saving on
maintenance costs and system upgrade efforts.
With over 25 years of Plug-in I/O card design and manufacturing experience,
Advantech has become a global leader, providing a full range of industrial data
acquisition and control products. There are five major categories - CompactPCI, PCI-
bus, ISA-bus, USB-bus, PC/104 & PCI-104 modules. With rich wiring terminal
modules and software support, Advantech provides high-speed, high quality, yet cost-
saving products for industrial requirements. Advantechs USB-4700 for example,
provides versatile rugged mounting kits and dual lockable cables for industrial test
and measurement applications.

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1.2 Application Stories
1.2.1 Portable Thermo Test System
Project Introduction:
LED flashlights are gaining popularity in the industrial field, not only do they
save energy, but they are also lighter and cheaper than their traditional counterparts.
One of our clients is a major manufacturer of automotive repair tools, including LED
flashlights, and they were looking to reduce the battery requirements in their
flashlights down to a one coin cell battery. Thus, they turned to Advantech help them
design a rise-voltage circuit for driving the LED.
System Requirements:
The manufacturers outsourcing team wanted to leverage Advantechs industrial-
grade USB DAQ module to verify their thermo specifications, which was difficult to
gauge due to the interference from the voltage circuits inside the flashlight. To make
sure quality is under control, they were looking for products that:

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Provided speed data transmission rate
Provided firm mounting and installation kits
Provided firm cable connections
Provided ready to use utilities for data logging
System Description:
USB-4718 was used to connect with thermocouple sensors, and then transfer
data to the desktops HDD. The WaveScan utility inside the desktop is free, providing
data logging, real-time waveform and historical trend functions. All the signals can be
displayed on the screen in real-time, providing offline analysis or transfer of the data
into Excel format for further data analysis at a later time.
Conclusion:
After implementing Advantech products, the client not only saved cabling and
installation efforts, they also saved 70% on the test stations cost. Moreover, this test
tool can be used in the central or subcontractors office, providing increased flexibility
for the engineers.

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Figure 1.2.1-1 System Diagram
1.2.2 Tone Quality Analysis System
Many industrial applications leverage audio to improve performance. One of our
clients is a major manufacturer of consumer electronics devices, and they were
looking to reduce the cost of their audio quality analysis system. Thus, they turned to
Advantech to help them create a simple yet cost-effective solution to improve
efficiency and increase production.

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Our clients in-house R&D team wanted to create a PC-based measurement and
testing solution to analyze audio quality, and hoped to reduce costs compared to
traditional, proprietary test stations. Their requirements included:
Multiple analog input channels to test many products at the same time
A high gain interface for analyzing microphone signals
Multiple digital input/output channels to trigger the objects (electronic
devices)
GPIB card to communicate with instruments
System Description:
The PCI-1710HGs digital output channels were used to trigger the electronic
devices, which play preloaded music. The PCI-1710HGs analog input channels were
used to connect to the earphone port, which acquires audio signals from the electronic
devices. The test application will verify the data to see if the conditions match or not.
After that, the display will show the pass or fail information to the operator.
Conclusion:
Compared to their previous solution (proprietary test workstation), this new

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solution increased production by 50% (it can now test two electronics devices at the
same time) and saved 29% on the test workstations cost. This solution can test all
audio electronic devices with specific fixtures. Furthermore, the ease of operability
allows their local R&D teams to mange the system themselves, reducing maintenance
costs.
The PCI-1710HGs advanced circuit design provides high quality with advanced
functions, including the five most popular measurement and control functions: 12-bit
A/D conversion, D/A conversion, digital input, digital output and counter/timer. The
high gain design allowed this system to measure even small signals (+/- 0.005V)
without any extra amplifier circuit.

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1.2.3 Real-Time Testing System for Wind Power Generation
Machine
The INER (Institute of Nuclear Energy Research) in Taiwan uses an embedded
platform real-time system to create a Wind Power Generation Simulation Platform,
which simulates the wind and blade models they build in Simulink. Through this
unique solution, INER can modulate the speed of the dynes based on actual wind
direction and strength. This affordable and robust multi-function platform can rapidly
control prototype and hardware-in-the-loop test applications. The system is installed

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with Advantechs UNO-2170 and PCM-3718HO.
INER wanted to develop a simulation and test station for their wind power
generation machines. To do so, they needed a rugged and robust real-time system to
run hardware-in-the-loop testing. Therefore, INER made a request for a new system
include following requirements:
Real-time analysis and control systems testing needs.
Rugged, high-performance industrial PC which is fanless, low-power
consumption design, sturdiness, compact size and also can support all
standard PC peripherals.
Standalone ability, xPC self-installed software tools are able to run on
stand-alone mode. And users can burn the pre-set model to CF card without
connecting through internet.
System Description:
The customer used Simulink to build their physical wind and blade models, and
an embedded platform with Advantechs UNO-2170 and PCM-3718HO devices to

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create a Wind Power Generation Simulation Platform for the HIL simulation. The
goal of the simulation is to gauge the efficiency and performance of their power
generation machines, including stress-testing. From the results of HIL simulations,
they can then modulate the speed of dynes according to the actual wind direction and
strength, driving the shaft of wind power generator.
Conclusion:
INERs engineers need to run real-time analysis and control system testing to test
the wind power generation machines, and this platform offers an excellent
combination of performance, compact size, sturdiness, and I/O expandability. By
integrating Advantechs UNO-2170 to customize various requirements and integrating
MATLAB/Simulink and related control modules, the engineers can conduct real-time
modeling and simulation of control systems, rapid prototyping, and hardware-in-the-
loop testing without the need of manual code generation and complicated debug
processes. This results in significant cost savings and reduced development time.

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1.2.4 Self-Service Book Borrowing and Returning System
Recently libraries have been extending beyond the physical walls of a building,
by including material accessible by electronic means. Library 2.0, a term coined in
2005, is the librarys response to the challenge of Google, and an attempt to meet the
changing needs and wants of the users, using Web 2.0 technology. Some aspects of
Library 2.0 include commenting, tagging, bookmarking, discussions, using social
software, plug-ins, and widgets. Inspired by Web 2.0, it is an attempt to make the

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library a more user-driven institution.
One of Koreas top vending machine makers wanted to leverage RFID (Radio
Frequency Identification) to design a modern self-service book borrowing and
returning system. The idea was that customers reserve a book through the librarys
website, choose the location to physically pick up the book, and the computer would
provide the customer with a special barcode that they should print out and bring with
them. The customer then simply goes to the assigned location, shows the printed
barcode information to the vending machine, and the reserved book would show up
automatically.
Customers could also return the book to any applicable vending machine, and
due to the fact that all books are tagged with an RFID, the librarys website and
vending machine system can deliver and trace all the books automatically. To
complete this project, they required:
Compact digital I/O modules with a built-in wiring terminal block
Easy to mount

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Firm cable connection
System Description:
In this solution, the USB-4751 is setup to control the drawer switches when the
information is retrieved from the barcode/RFID readers. Alternately it can sense
which drawer is not occupied for customers to return their books. The USB-4622 acts
as a USB hub to gather all the necessary information. The industrial display interacts
automatically with customers, which is considerably time-saving and cost-saving.
Conclusion:
This system is the first library 2.0 system in Korea, and was integrated with an
online shopping business model, RFID and vending machine technology. Not only
was the manufacturer able to save cabling and installation efforts, but also a lot of
maintenance effort by leveraging Advantechs DiagAnywhere utility. All of the
vending machines operations can be monitored remotely from the central control
room.

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1.3 Learning Purpose
The purpose of this textbook is to assist beginners to learn the basic concept of
DA&C system, understand how to use Advantech DAQ products and do the
programming with Advantech DAQ drivers. If you are already familiar with the basic
knowledge, it is recommended to directly visit the latter (i.e., Chapter 5) which puts a
stress on software programming to improve users skill of DAQ control. After reading
this textbook, we expect that the users can know the architecture of DA&C system
well and its basic knowledge, and will also enhance the ability of using Advantech

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utilities and examples in relation to the control the DAQ products by the Hands-on
practice. Examples introduced in this textbook can be further modified by users to
create their programs in a short term to meet the requirements of their applications.
1.4 Structure of Textbook
This textbook will be separated into five chapters. In Chapter 1, the overview of
industry and the application story of the data acquisition will be introduced. In
Chapter 2, the architecture of DA&C system and related features involved will be
addressed, especially the functions of DAQ hardware such as AI, AO, DIO and
counter. In terms of I/O interface, how to select a suitable Advantech DAQ product
for your application will be described in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 will show users how to
install Advantech DAQ products in the computer and you will find it is very easy to
control Advantech DAQ products by the utilities. Finally, software drivers and
examples given in Chapter 5 will lead users to experience how to use various
Advantech drivers for programming with different kinds of software program. This
Chapter will also introduce the advanced programming.

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Chapter 2 Essential Concepts
The purpose of this chapter is to give users an overview about DA&C system.
Basic knowledge, common features and useful functions in relation to DA&C will be
introduced.
2.1 Data Acquisition & Control System
First of all, DA&C is the abbreviation of Data Acquisition & Control. Due to
the advancement of computer technology, the speed of CPU becomes faster and the
performance of computers dramatically increases. Consequently, DA&C system is
getting more attractive and popular; that is to say, more and more users tend to choose
PC-Based control (i.e., DA&C system) for their application.

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In general, most of signals in the nature derive from temperature, pressure or
position. But how can we measure these analog signals by the PC which can read
digital codes only?
The first thing we need to do is to select matched sensors, so as to capture
physical phenomena and transfer them to suitable signals which can be further
handled by DAQ cards. With the purpose of noise reduction and signal adjustment,
the signal conditioning such as filtering, amplification or attenuation should be
taken into account before the measurement. Subsequently, DAQ cards are required to
conduct the process of data acquisition and convert signals from analog to digital.
After capturing related signals, we can go further to display what we get, analyze
what signals mean and react to what happens; as a result, a computer with software
relative to data display and monitor is imperative. In order to control something
outside, we need the computer to send commands to next devices (e.g., actuators).
The implication is that signals are re-converted from digital to analog through DAQ
cards, so as to change physical phenomena in the environment.
Therefore, the DA&C system can be viewed as a closed loop process (see Figure 2-
1), starting with sensors, then signal conditioning, DAQ cards and PC with

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corresponding software, finally ending with actuators.
Figure 1.2.4-5 DA&C System
2.2 Fundamental of DA&C System
As mentioned in Section 2.1, industrial PC-based DAQ products have become
increasingly reliable, accurate and affordable in the last few years. The PC-based
DA&C systems are now widely used in industrial and laboratory applications.
Therefore, it is worth knowing how to select and build a DA&C system. This section

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will give you an introduction about how a DA&C system operates and how to
configure such system. The contents are separated into Transducers, Signal
Conditioning, Data Acquisition & Control Hardware and Selection Guide which
will be introduced in turn.
2.2.1 Transducers
The transducer is usually adopted to convert temperature, pressure, length or
position into voltage, current or other signals. There are many kinds of transducers
such as thermocouple (for temperature measurement), strain gauge (for stress/strain
measurement) and pressure sensor (for pressure measurement). Here we briefly
introduce the thermocouple which is used often in automation industry.
The thermocouple operates on the principle that the junction of two dissimilar
metals generates a voltage that varies with the temperature (see Figure 2-2).
Measuring this voltage is difficult because connecting the thermocouple to a DAQ
card also causes so-called reference junction or cold junction. These additional

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junctions act as thermocouples themselves and produce their own voltages. Thus, the
final measured voltage (i.e., Vmeas) is the combination of the voltage generated by the
thermocouple and the voltage deriving from the cold junction. The method used to
compensate for these unwanted cold-junction voltages is called Cold-Junction
Compensation (CJC).
Figure 2-6 The operation of the thermocouple
There are a number of thermocouples available in the market, such as J type, K
type, and so on. In Figure 2-3, we can see that the measurable temperature range as
well as the temperature coefficient of each type of thermocouples is different from
each other. In order to get accurate temperature readings through the thermocouple, it
is necessary to take CJC into consideration and implement the calculation based on
the conversion rule. It is a tough task; fortunately, most of software applications (e.g.,

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Advantech Device Manager, Advantech DAQ drivers) can support this conversion
from voltage to temperature.
Figure 2-7 The temperature range of each thermocouple type
2.2.2 Signal Conditioning
Generally, signal conditioning is used to manipulate analog signals so that these
signals can meet the requirements of the following stage for further processing.
Besides, the signal conditioning is able to improve the quality of analog signals from
transducers before they are converted into digital signals by PC-based DAQ cards.
The functions of signal conditioning include isolation, filtering, amplification and
attenuation; these functions will be described in following sections one by one.

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2.2.2.1 Isolation
Grounding does matter in signal measurement. Common problems, for example,
noise interference or component damage, are likely caused by improper grounding.
Signal conditioners with isolation can remove such problems. This kind of devices
passes the signal from its input (i.e., signal source) to its output (i.e., measurement
device) through transformers, optical components, or capacitive coupling circuits (see
Figure 2-4); put simply, there is no physical contact or connection between its input
and output during transmission. Besides, due to separated grounds, the isolation can
block high-voltage surges or interference current on input side, and prevent both
components on output side and following devices from the damage caused by high
common-mode voltage (Vcm) which is the difference of voltages between the local
ground and ground of the DAQ card. It means if one side of the signal source is
connected to a local ground, the signal source will be ground-referenced. But the
ground of the signal source and the ground of the card will not be exactly of the same
voltage. The difference between the ground voltages forms a common-mode voltage.

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Figure 2-8 Isolation signal conditioner can prevent the problem
2.2.2.2 Filtering
Another feature of signal conditioning is to serve as the filter to eliminate unwanted
noise within a certain band of frequency. In most cases, data acquisition is likely
subject to noise with 50 or 60 Hz which may come from power lines or machinery. As
a result, signal conditioning is often equipped with low-pass filtering to get rid of such
noise (see Figure 2-5).
Filters are also used to prevent signal aliasing (i.e., a phenomenon caused by
lower sampling rate for a signal with higher frequency). According to Nyquist
theorem, if the frequency of partial sub-signals (i.e., a measured signal consists of

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sub-signals) is greater than one-second sampling rate, the measured signal could be
distorted and such sub-signals are usually defined as noise. The solution to the above
problem is to implement low-pass filters to screen this kind of sub-signals before the
measured signal is sampled.
Figure 2-9 The Low pass filter can prevent signal aliasing
2.2.2.3 Amplification and Attenuation
Due to the fact that signals from transducers tend to be small in magnitude,
amplifying signals to better match the input range of following devices (e.g., analog-
to-digital converter) is required often (see Figure 2-6). When signals are big enough,
the measurement error caused by limited resolution (i.e., 1 LSB, Least Significant Bit)

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can be ignored. On the contrary, when signals are smaller, 1 LSB could have a
significant influence on the measurement result. Thats why most of DAQ products
support on-board amplification.
However, noise like signals probably becomes bigger through amplification, which
does affect the accuracy of measurement. In order to improve this situation, increasing
signal-to-noise ratio is a way to go. Normally, amplifiers tend to be located around
signal sources or transducers, and intensify the measured signals before they are
affected by environmental noise.
Figure 2-10 The amplifier or attenuator can boost the level of the input signal to better
match the range of the ADC

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2.2.3 Data Acquisition & Control Hardware
Data acquisition and control hardware generally performs one or more of the
following functions: Analog Input, Analog Output, Digital Input, Digital Output and
Counter/Timer functions. This section will introduce these functions and explain some
essential concepts that users have to understand before selecting products.
2.2.3.1 Analog Input
Normally, physical properties such as temperature, pressure, flow, pH and speed
tend to become a form of analog signals through sensors or transducers, and have to
be subsequently converted into digital ones before entering the main system for
further processing (e.g., displaying, analyzing or storing). This conversion from
analog to digital is essential and inevitable, so that analog-to-digital conversion can be
seen as the groundwork of DA&C system.

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Figure 2-11 The Analog Input card can transform the analog signal to the digital value
The common specification of AI (i.e. Analog Input) is shown in Table 2-1, these
items are often used to represent the performance of AI cards. This section will give
you an overview about significant properties in relation to AI function, such as the
operation of multiplexer, input mode, sampling rate, resolution, trigger clock, data
transfer mode, and so on.
Spec. Item Example

Number of Channels 16 channels or more
Input Mode Differential or Single-Ended
Polarity Unipolar (0~10V) or Bipolar (+/-10V)
Input Range Gain Code
Resolution 12-bit or 16-bit
Data Transfer Mode Software Polling, Interrupt, DMA

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Sampling Rate Share with the MUX or Independent

Trigger Clock Pacer, Software, External
Table 2-1 The specification of Analog Input
(a) Multiplexer (MUX)
The multiplexer serves as a resource allocator and allows one of channels to
reach ADC (i.e., Analog-to-Digital Converter) at a time. As shown in Figure 2-8, the
multiplexer selects a channel in turn and then passes the signal of that channel to ADC
for data conversion. Typically, ADC is the most valuable part of AI cards and nearly
determines the price of such products. Through the multiplexer, one ADC can be
shared by a number of AI channels. In other words, the multiplexer offers a cost-
effective way to meet the requirement of massive AI channels.

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Figure 2-12 The specification of Analog Input
On the other hand, simultaneous data acquisition for all channels is required
sometimes. The multiplexer, in fact, fails to acquire data at the same time because the
ADC behind the multiplexer is shared by all channels. In such context, one ADC for
one AI channel (e.g., PCI-1714, see Figure 2-9) is recommended for this kind of
application, but always coming with a higher price.

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Figure 2-13 PCI-1714U (Simultaneous 4-ch Analog Input Universal PCI Card)
(b) Input Mode
Two input modes are relative to AI function, namely single-ended mode (SE) and
differential mode (Diff). In the SE mode, voltage reference (e.g., AIGND in Figure
2-10) is always fixed and co-owned by all AI channels; but in the Diff mode, each
channel has its own voltage reference (e.g., AI0-AI1, AI2-AI3, see Figure 2-11).

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Figure 2-14 Single-ended input channel connection
Figure 2-15 Differential input channel connection
Please note that in the Diff mode it is necessary to form the pair and the pair is
unchangeable (i.e., AI0-AI1, AI2-AI3, , AI14-AI15). As a result, the number of
channels in the Diff mode is half of the SE mode. Furthermore, the SE mode and the
Diff mode can coexist on the same AI card. For instance, Advantech DAQ cards
support these two input modes and allow users to set channels as SE or Diff

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individually through software configuration.
(c) Resolution and Sampling Rate
According to Figure 2-12, Sample & Hold and Quantization are central to
the process of AD conversion. First of all, an oscillator providing a pacer rate to the
ADC for data sampling is needed. When an analog signal is acquired as a discrete
signal by sampling, the latter has to be held steadily for a while so that the following
process of quantization can be done in the given time. After that, the discrete signal is
transferred to the digital signal (i.e., binary data) and the process of AD conversion is
completed.
Figure 2-16 Sample & Hold and Quantization

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In order to fully understand the process of conversion, two things have to be
addressed in the first place, that is, sampling rate and resolution. The sampling rate
means the number of samples per second (or other time unit) users want to acquire
through the ADC, and the resolution means the least change the ADC can recognize.
Normally, the unit for the sampling rate is Hz whereas the unit for the resolution is
bit.
For the sampling rate, users have to know something about the Nyquist sampling
theorem first. As mentioned in Section 2.2.2.2, the Nyquist theorem states that the
perfect reconstruction of a signal is achievable if sampling frequency is greater than
twice the maximum frequency of a sampled signal. Therefore, the greater the
sampling rate is, the higher the probability to rebuild the original signal based on the
sampled signal is (see Figure 2-13).
However, the sampling rate is shared by all channels if a multiplexer is adopted.
For example, the maximal sampling rate of PCI-1710 is 100KHz. Due to the
implementation of multiplexer, users can determine how many channels they want to
employ for data acquisition. If one channel is used only, the maximal sampling rate
for this channel is 100KHz/1ch = 100KHz/ch. If four channels are adopted at the

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same time, the maximal sampling rate for each channel is 100KHz/4ch = 25KHz/ch.
But AI cards without multiplexer (i.c., one ADC for one channel, such as PCI-1714)
are exceptions; in that case, the maximal sampling rate for each channel is the same
with the maximal sampling rate of the ADC.
Figure 2-17 Higher sampling of ADC results in better conversion
In terms of the resolution, LSB (Least Significant Bit) is often used to
represent the smallest unit which can be identified by the ADC. For instance, if the
input range is 0~10V and 8-bit ADC is adopted, the full scale (i.e., 10V) can be
separated into 256 (i.e., 28) pieces and each piece (i.e., LSB) is equal to 40mV (i.e.,
10V/256). If the ADC is upgraded from 8-bit to 16-bit, 1 LSB is lessened to 150uV
(i.e., 10V/216), that indicates the accuracy of data conversion is much increasing.

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Figure 2-18 Higher resolution of ADC results in better quantization
(d) Data Transfer Mode and Trigger Clock
Three modes of AI data transfer, namely software polling, interrupt and
DMA (Direct Memory Access) will be introduced as follows.
The software polling is a simple way to react to special conditions. This involves
a users program which is connected to signal measurement, data analysis, decision
algorithm and pre-defined action. This program periodically checks the systems clock
or external trigger input so as to sense a sign for action taking. Whenever a sign is
detected, the program starts sampling each of inputs, stores acquired data in a frame

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and then stops to wait for next sign. A frame is simply a list that contains the values
representing the acquired signals at the specific time; besides, frames can be saved in
RAM, or other types of memory for further use. With the software polling, the data
transfer rate can be up to 10KHz or higher, that totally depends on the performance of
a computer adopted by users. Furthermore, the data transfer rate cant be exactly fixed
all the time because the resource of the computer allocated to this program is not
always stable. In other words, the computer could constantly stay busy when the
polling loop is going, that implies no other tasks can be served then. If the above is a
concern, the interrupt or DMA mode which is executed in the background can be
taken into account.
The interrupt mode is a mean to accurately control the timing of events,
especially more than one tasks are executed. Multitasking systems can be referred to
as Foreground/Background systems. One way to execute the program relative to
data acquisition in the background is to use an interrupt routine. The system clock or
external timing signal, rather than the polling loop, is usually used to generate an
interrupt to the computer. Whenever the interrupt occurs, the computer suspends
current activities and executes an Interrupt Service Routing. The interrupt service
routing in this case might be a short program which requests one frame of data and

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stores it in memory. After the interrupt service routine is done, the computer resumes
the tasks from where they leave off in the beginning. Compared with the software
polling, the computer can perform other tasks in the foreground during data collection
except the interrupt service routine is executed (i.e., moving acquired data to
memory); besides, the data transfer rate through the interrupt mode can be up to
200KHz (e.g., USB-4716) which is much higher than the software polling.
The DMA mode offers a way to transfer data into memory at a higher rate
without getting the CPU involved. Actually, DMA is a kind of technique that leads to
high-speed data transfer from or to random access memory (RAM); in the meanwhile,
tasks connected to the CPU are not affected while reading or writing data at precise
points of time through the DMA mode. For example, data can be written to RAM at a
rate of up to 30MHz (e.g., PCI-1714) under DMA control, and this can be done
without taking time from the tasks of the microprocessor. Compared with the
interrupt, the amount of time required to respond to a DMA request is relatively
shorter. In conclusion, the DMA mode facilitates high-speed data transfer without the
CPU intervention, more urgent tasks such as data analysis and graphic manipulation
can be handled by the CPU timely. Moreover, it also allows users to run all I/O
functions simultaneously at a full speed without the concern of losing data.

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The comparison between the software polling, the interrupt and the DMA mode
is arranged and shown in Table 2-2.
Software Polling Interrupt DMA

Operation Foreground Background Background
CPU Loading High Low Lower
Sampling Rate Up to 100KHz Up to 200KHz Up to 30MHz
(Depends on PC (e.g., USB-4716) (e.g., PCI-1714)
performance)
Table 2-2 The difference between Software Polling, Interrupt and DMA
Figure 2-15 gives you a clear picture about the operation of data transfer. For the
software polling mode, a request from software program enables the ADC to sample
signals and move acquired data to PCs memory. In this case, the data transfer rate
depends on PCs performance and users program. For the interrupt or DMA mode,
acquired data are moved to on-board FIFO (First-In, First-Out) rather than PCs
memory, and this process doesnt get the CPU involved. Actually, the FIFO serves as
a buffer for acquired data, and generates buffer change event to move the
accumulated data to the PC at a time when the levels of 1/2 FIFO and full FIFO are
reached. Consequently, the data transfer rate can be much higher than the software

40
polling.
On the other hand, a pacer signal is required to trigger the ADC for data
conversion. Generally, the pacer signal can be supplied through three modes, namely
software trigger, internal pacer trigger and external trigger. The software
trigger means that the ADC is enabled by software commands; the internal pacer
trigger can provide stable and fast pulses to the ADC for high-speed data acquisition;
the external trigger allows users to take advantage of external devices to offer pulses
to the ADC for data conversion.
Figure 2-19 The operation of software polling, interrupt and DMA

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2.2.3.2 Analog Output
Analog output (AO) is just opposite to analog input (AI). Like the role of ADC in
AI function (i.e., transfer data from analog to digital), Digital-to-Analog Converter
(DAC) is required and at the heart of AO function (i.e., transfer data from digital to
analog). For example, a request to output 5V (i.e., digital command) is sent from the
PC and fulfilled by the DAC (i.e., generate analog signal).
Figure 2-20 The Analog Output card can output the analog signal from the computer

42
The common specification of the AO function is shown in Table 2-3, the items in
the table are often used to show the performance of AO cards. This section will
introduce these significant properties in relation to AO function, such as resolution,
data transfer mode as well as output mode.
Spec. Item Example

Polarity Unipolar (0~10V) or Bipolar (+/-10V)
Resolution 12-bit, 14-bit or 16-bit
Data Transfer Mode Software Polling or DMA
Output Mode Static Update or
Waveform Output (PCI-1712 and PCI-1721)

Table 2-3 The specification of Analog Output
The description about the resolution of ADC is applicable to the resolution of
DAC, please refer to Section 2.2.3.1 (c) for details. With regard to the data transfer
mode, the software polling and the DMA mode are available for the AO function only,
please refer to Section 2.2.3.1 (d) to get more information about these two modes if
necessary. In terms of the output mode, there are two kinds of modes for users
selection, namely static update and waveform output. The former acts like the
software polling with a lower update rate, whereas the latter allows outputting a

43
waveform at a fixed and higher rate through the DMA transfer. PCI-1712 (1MHz) and
PCI-1721 (10MHz) both support the waveform output mode. However, the frequency
marked here doesnt mean the frequency of analog signal users can output through
this mode, it represents the number of points users can adopt to form a desired
waveform. For instance, users can have PCI-1712 output 1M points to structure a sine
waveform with 10KHz, which means this sine waveform should be composed of
around 100 points (actual output frequency also depends on other parameters in the
program).
2.2.3.3 Digital Input
Digital Input (DI) is usually used to get the status information of external devices
by sensing the level of measured voltages (see Figure 2-17). Rather than actual
readings in the AI, two states (i.e., on and off) are addressed in the DI function.
Normally, if the voltage of a measured signal for certain DI channel (or bit) is higher
than a specific value, the DI reading will be 1 and the status will be recognized as
on. On the contrary, in the context of lower than a specific value, the DI reading

44
will be 0 and the status will be viewed as off.
Figure 2-21 The Digital Input card can receive or monitor On/Off status of a device
Table 2-4 presents common specification about the DI function. These items can
be used to show the features of DI cards. In this section, some significant properties
such as input level and interrupt function will be explained in detail.
Spec. Item Example

Input Level TTL or Isolated
Input Range TTL (0~5V) or Isolated DI (5~25VDC or higher)
Interrupt Function Event, Status Change, Pattern Match
Data Transfer Mode Software Polling, DMA (PCI-1755 only)
Table 2-4 The specification of Digital Input

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(a) Input Level
In general, there are two kinds of input level for the DI function, namely TTL
(Transistor-Transistor Logic) and Isolated digital input.
TTL is a class of digital circuits in combination of BJT (Bipolar Junction
Transistors) and resistors. The name Transistor-Transistor Logic comes from the
feature of transistors which leads to the implementation of logic gate (e.g., AND, OR)
and amplification in digital circuits.
The symbol of switch is commonly adopted in DI diagrams to represent on/off
states. According to the position of switch, the way of connection for DI channels can
be classified into Dry Contact (i.e., always open) and Wet Contact (i.e., always
closed). In Figure 2-18, a pull-high resistor (i.e., 10K) is implemented to keep the
input at a high level (i.e., 5V). If the dry contact is used, due to the aforementioned
pull-high resistor, the DI will always stay high until the dry contact is closed (i.e.,
connecting to GND). If the wet contact is applied, an external source is required to
supply a voltage to the DI, so that the DI status fully depends on the output of the

46
external source. The user can select an external source which can offer 3.3V or 5V to
DI channels in order to meet the TTL input level. Generally, the TTL DI presents
high when a measured signal is between 2.0~5V DC, and changes to low when the
signal drops to 0~0.8VDC. The range of 0.8~2VDC is viewed as Tri-State, that means
the DI status could vary in this gray area.
Figure 2-22 Dry contact and Wet contact for TTL DI connection
As mentioned in Section 2.2.2.1, the isolation is often used to prevent sensitive
components or circuits from the damage caused by noise interference. This function
can be applied to the DI to increase the degree of protection. In most cases, the
isolated DI (IDI) is designed through photo couplers which can transfer a signal
between two separated circuits in an optical way, so that the input level of the IDI can
be up to 25V or higher.

47
Similarly, the dry contact and the wet contact, mentioned in TTL section, can also
be applicable to the IDI (see Figure 2-19). A pull-high resistor makes the IDI stay high
in the first place. When the IDI channel is connected to the GND through the dry
contact, the IDI status changes to low. If the wet contact is utilized, the IDI status will
be subject to the external source. For example, the IDI of PCI-1750 presents high if
5~48V is supplied and becomes low if the voltage is decreased to 0~2V.
Figure 2-23 Dry contact and Wet contact for Isolated DI connection
(b) Interrupt Function

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It is worth stressing that the DI can act as interrupt triggering. An interrupt relative
to a change in state for each DI channel equips users to monitor the DI status more
efficiently. Three types of interrupt users can take advantage of include Event
Trigger, Status Change and Pattern Match.
The event trigger is commonly adopted compared with the other two. With this
function, if the state of the DI changes, an interrupt signal will be generated and
delivered to the system to handle this event. The event trigger can be activated by a
rising edge, a falling edge, or both at the same time, this setting should be based on
users application. For instance, if a user wants to give an alarm as soon as the
restaurant is on fire, a DI card can be applied to check a change in state through a
smoke detector. Once the DI status changes, the DI card will send an interrupt to the
PC to enable the alarm.
Similar with the event trigger, the status change function can help users to monitor
changes in state of DI channels. It can monitor the status of the enabled digital input
channels and when one of the enabled channels changes its state, the DI card will
deliver an interrupt signal to the system to handle this event. It means we can detect if
there is any status change for several channels by using the status change function.

49
The pattern match offers a way to check whether changes in some specific DI
channels simultaneously meet the criteria preset by users. That is to say, the status of
DI channels is under supervision and the comparison between the measured and the
pre-defined is made constantly. When the measured matches the pre-defined, the DI
card will deliver an interrupt signal to the system for further processing. For example,
we can set a default value (i.e., FF) of one DI port, and there will be an interrupt once
all the DI channels are high which means FF. This function releases the CPU from
the burden of polling all of I/O points, and enables the PC to handle more I/O points
with higher performance.
2.2.3.4 Digital Output
Digital Output (DO) is used to interpret a command from the computer and then
output two-level voltages (i.e., high or low) to following devices. For example,
turning on/off lights, enabling heating/cooling systems, or sending digital information
to machinery, the DO can serve as a switch and make these happen in an easy way.

50
Figure 2-24 The Digital Output card can do On/Off control or act as a switch
Table 2-5 shows common spec. items about the DI, including output type, output
direction and power-on status. These will be introduced in detail as follows.
Spec. Item Example

Output Type TTL, Isolated DO, Relay (Form A, B, C)
Output Range TTL (0~5V) or Isolated (5~30VDC or higher)
Output Direction Sink or Source
Power-on Status Keep Last Status or Default Status
Data Transfer Mode Software Polling, DMA (PCI-1755 only)
Table 2-5 The specification of Digital Output
(a) Output Type

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Three output types of the DO are available for users, namely TTL, Isolated
and Relay. As mentioned in Section 2.2.3.3 (a), the voltage level of TTL can be
3.3V or 5V. Consequently, the TTL DO means that the output voltage through DO
channels is 3.3V or 5V (i.e., logic 1) or nothing (i.e., logic 0).
In terms of the isolated DO (IDO), Figure 2-21 can help users understand how it
works. First of all, a Darlington transistor (i.e., next to 2803) usually comes with the
IDO, and an external source (5 ~ 30 V DC or higher) as well as a load (e.g., bulb, fan)
are always required. When the IDO is enabled (i.e., on), the load is driven by the
external source and the current flows from the external source to the IDO (see the left
diagram). When the IDO is off, the load cant be driven, and the free-wheel diode
goes further to release surplus energy stored in the inductive load (see the right
diagram).

52
Figure 2-25 The Isolated DO card can work as a switch to control the load loop circuit
The relay is an electrical switch that can open or close one or many sets of contacts
in an electromagnetic way. It usually comprises a coil of wire surrounding a magnetic
core, a moveable iron armature and a set of contacts. When an electric current goes
over the coil, the magnetic field is generated and forces the armature to leave original
position so as to make or break contacts (i.e., on or off). The relay can switch one or
more poles, each of whose contacts can be thrown by energizing the coil in one of
three ways (see Table 2-6).
Form A Form B Form C
SPST, with default value of NO, SPST, with default value of NC, SPDT, with one NO and one NC, also

53
also called Make contact also called Break contact called Break-before-Make contact
Table 2-6 A relay can be classified to three forms
Normally-Open (NO) means that the contact always stays open until the relay is
activated, whereas Normally-Closed (NC) represents that the contact stays closed
until the relay is driven. Besides, SPST (Single Pole Single Throw) indicates that
there is only one contact which can be connected or disconnected, whereas SPDT
(Simple Pole Double Throw) implies that there are two contacts for different
purposes. The pole with NO is also called Form A, the pole with NC is called
Form B, and the pole with both NO and NC is called Form C.
(b) Output Direction
The output direction means the direction of current flow in the DO. There are two
types of the output direction, that is, Sink and Source. For the sink type DO, the
current flows into the DO channels (e.g., most of Advantech DO cards), whereas for
the source type DO, the current flows from the DO channels (e.g., PCI-1752USO).
Figure 2-22 can give you a clear picture about the difference between the sink and
source type DO. To select sink or source type, please base on the current flow

54
direction of the load you use.
Figure 2-26 The output direction of the Sink and Source type
(c) Power-on Status
The power-on status function allows users to determine what DO value should be
outputted after the system reboots. This value can be the default setting or the same
with the last one before the system restarts. In other words, this function can resume
the DO value from where the DO value leaves off when the system reboots. It is
worth noting that this function helps users get rid of danger caused by wrong action
after unexpected system reset. If users want to make this function available, jumpers
relative to this function need to be correctly set (see Figure 2-23).

55
Figure 2-27 The jumper which can set the power on configuration after hoe reset
2.2.3.5 Counter
The counter is usually used to count the number of events (total count value),
measure the duration of a pulse (pulse width) and calculate the rate of pulses
(frequency). For example, we can use a counter to read how many pulses you input
now, and further use the count value to divide by the time elapse so that we can know
the frequency of input signal.

56
Figure 2-28 The Counter Card can do counting for the events
Common specification about the counter is shown in Table 2-7. Due to the fact
that the counter function is supported by the IC chip 82C54 in most cases, this
section will put a stress on the description about 82C54.
Spec. Item Example

Resolution 16-bit or 32-bit (maximal counter value)
Time base 10MHz or higher
Table 2-7 The specification of Counter
The 82C54 is a programmable interval timer/counter chip and can generate a
pacer trigger for AD conversion. It includes three independent 16-bit counters which

57
can count values from 0 to 65535 (i.e., 2 16). Each counter has its own clock input,
control gate and output. Normally, one counter is used as an event counter to calculate
how many events coming from the input channel, the other two can be cascaded
together to form a 32-bit timer/counter. In fact, the 82C54 can support six operating
modes, that is, mode 0 - stop on terminal count, mode 1 - programmable one-shot
pulse, mode 2 - rate generator, mode 3 - square wave generator, mode 4 -
software-triggered strobe and mode 5 - hardware-triggered strobe. For more
information about these six modes, please refer to the datasheet of 82C54.

58
Chapter 3 Product Introduction
After introducing the basic knowledge of the DA&C system, we will instruct you
how to select the DAQ products from Advantech in this Chapter. First of all, the
Naming Rule and the I/O interface will be introduced, and then we will take some
simple examples so that you can know how to select the right products for your
application.
3.1 I/O Product Interface
There are many kinds of products with different I/O interfaces in Advantechs
catalog such as ISA, PCI, USB and CPCI interface. These I/O interfaces can be used
as a communication boundary between the computer and the DAQ card. To know the
Naming Rule of the DAQ cards, we have to understand the concepts of the I/O
interface first.

59
3.1.1 ISA/PC-104 Interface
The 16-bit ISA interface is defined by the IBM PC/AT and it is also called the AT
Bus. Its data transfer rate is only 8.33MHz which is 16.66Mbytes/s (8.33MHz * 2
bytes). And the most significant feature of the ISA interface is that it can not support
PnP (Plug and Play) function, so we have to configure the setting in the software to
make sure it is corresponding to the setting on the hardware. By the way, since the
performance and transfer quality of the ISA bus are not as good as the ones of the PCI
bus, it is replaced by the PCI, AGP, and USB interface gradually.
Figure 3-29 The 16-bit ISA bus

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As shown in the Figure 3-2, the PCL-818HG (HG means High Gain) is one of
our famous products. It is an ISA card which has AIO and DIO function, and we have
to set the base address or IRQ jumper manually on the card in order to configure the
device.
Figure 3-30 PCL-818HG (100kS/s, 12-bit ISA Multifunction Card)
3.1.2 PCI/PCI-104 Interface

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The Peripheral Component Interconnect interface which means PCI is the most
common interface in modern computer. It had displaced the ISA bus as the standard
expansion bus. Compare to the ISA bus, there are several superiorities for the PCI
bus. For instance, the data transfer rate for the 32-bit PCI standard bus can be as high
as 133Mbytes/s (33MHz), and the PCI bus can support PnP function so that the
system will configure the device setting automatically. Besides, most of the PCI bus
can support either 5V or 3.3V power suppliers (lower than ISA bus) which we usually
call the Universal Bus. Please refer to the Figure 3-3 to find the difference between
the 5V board and 3.3V board.
Figure 3-31 The Universal Bus and the difference between the 5V board and 3.3V board
We can compare the PCI interface in the Figure 3-4 with the ISA interface in the

62
Figure 3-1. This PCI card is PCI-1710HG which is also a multifunction card and the
HG is short for the High Gain. It means we can use the card which can support
HG function to acquire the voltage which is only mV degree.
3.1.3
Figure 3-32 PCI-1710HG (100kS/s, 12-bit, PCI Multifunction Card)
CPCI Interface
The CompactPCI (CPCI) interface which is defined by the PICMG (PCI
Industrial Computers Manufactures Group) is electrically a superset of desktop PCI
interface with a different physical form factor. The CPCI interface utilizes the
Eurocard form factor popularized by the VME bus (Versa Module European bus) and

63
is usually defined for both 3U (160mm deep * 100mm high) and 6U (160mm deep *
233.35mm high) card sizes.
Figure 3-33 The 3U Socket connector
The data transfer rate for the 32-bit CPCI bus is 133Mbytes/s (33MHz) and can
also support 256 buses as well as the PCI bus. In addition, the CPCI has the staged
power pins for Hot Swap capability, and the excellent shock and vibration resistance
characteristics which can be used in critical applications. Some CPCI cards also have
the user I/O connections on front or rear of the module.
The Figure 3-6 shows the MIC-3714 which is a 4-channel AI card. Since there
has one ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) for each channel, this card can acquire
the data simultaneously.

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3.1.4
Figure 3-34 MIC-3714 (30MS/s Simultaneous 4-ch Analog Input Card)
USB Interface
Up to now, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface is becoming popular and has
replaced many legacy varieties of the serial and parallel ports. It is because most of
the USB devices are small and are convenient to carry, and they usually consume little
power. The USB interface can also support PnP and Hot Swap function so that we can
connect the USB device without turning off the computer. Besides, the USB interface
can be easily expanded by using the Hub device and it can connect up to 127 USB
devices on one computer. So far the data transfer rate of the USB interface can be up
to 480Mbit/s (USB 2.0, High-Speed) and it is 40 times faster than the data transfer

65
rate of USB1.1 (12Mbit/s for Full Speed devices, 1.5Mbit/s for Low Speed) around 10
years ago.
Figure 3-35 The USB series Male plug
Advantech has several USB devices, for example, the USB-4716 which is shown
in the Figure 3-8 is a multifunction USB module. Its sampling rate is 200kS/s by high-
speed data acquisition and we can connect up to 16 USB-4716 modules on one
computer.
Figure 3-36 USB-4716 (200kS/s, 16-bit, 16-ch Multifunction USB Module)

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3.2 Naming Rule
This section will introduce the Naming Rule of the DAQ cards of Advantech.
First of all, please refer to the Figure 3-9 and Table 3-1 which show the Naming Rule
and series products of Advantech ISA interface DAQ cards.
Figure 3-37 Naming Rule of the ISA interface products
Multifunction Card PCL-711B 40 kS/s, 12-bit, 8-ch SE Input ISA Multifunction Card
PCL-812PG 30 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch SE Input ISA Multifunction Card
PCL-818HG/HD/L 100 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch ISA Multifunction Card
(L: 40 kS/s)
Analog Input Card PCL-813B 25 kS/s, 12-bit, 32-ch SE Isolated Analog Input ISA Card
Analog Output Card PCL-726 12-bit, 6-ch Analog Output ISA Card with 32-ch DI/O
PCL-727 12-bit, 12-ch Analog Output ISA Card with 32-ch DI/O
PCL-728 12-bit, 2-ch Isolated Analog Output ISA Card
Non-Isolated DI/O PCL-720+ 64-ch Digital I/O and Counter ISA Card
PCL-722 144-ch Digital I/O ISA Card

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Card PCL-724 24-ch Digital I/O ISA Card

PCL-731 48-ch Digital I/O ISA Card
Isolated DI/O Card PCL-725 8-ch Relay and 8-ch Isolated Digital Input ISA Card
PCL-730 32-channel Isolated Digital I/O Card
PCL-733 32-channel Isolated Digital Input Card
PCL-734 32-channel Isolated Digital Output Card
PCL-735 12-ch Relay ISA Card with 16-ch DI/O
Counter Card PCL-836 6-ch, 16-bit Counter/Timer ISA Card
Table 3-8 Advantech ISA interface DAQ cards
The Figure 3-10 and Table 3-2 show the Naming Rule and series products of
Advantech PC-104/PCI-104 interface DAQ cards.
Figure 3-38 Naming Rule of the PC-104/PCI-104 interface products
Multifunction Card PCM-3718H/HG/HO 100 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch Multifunction PC/104 Module
Analog Output Card PCM-3712 2-ch Analog Output PC/104 Module
Non-Isolated DI/O PCM-3724 48-ch Digital I/O PC/104 Module
PCM-3753I 96-ch Digital I/O PCI-104 Module
Card
Isolated DI/O Card PCM-3725 8-ch Relay and Isolated Digital Input PC/104 Module
PCM-3730 16-ch Isolated Digital I/O PC/104 Module

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Counter Card PCM-3780 2-ch Counter/Timer with 24-ch DI/O PC/104 Module
Table 3-9 Advantech PC-104/PCI-104 interface DAQ cards
Advantech PCI interface DAQ cards.
Figure 3-39 Naming Rule of the PCI interface products
Multifunction Card PCI-1710/L/HG/HGL 100 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch PCI Multifunction Card
PCI-1711/L 100 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch SE Input PCI
Multifunction Card
PCI-1712/L 1 MS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch PCI Multifunction Cards
PCI-1716/L 250 kS/s, 16-bit, 16-ch PCI Multifunction Cards
PCI-1718HDU/HGU 100 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch Universal PCI
Multifunction Cards

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(D: DB-37)
PCI-1741U 200 kS/s, 16-bit, 16-ch Universal PCI
Multifunction Card
PCI-1742U 1 MS/s, 16-bit, 16-ch Universal PCI
Multifunction Card
Analog Input Card PCI-1713 100 kS/s, 12-bit, 32-ch Isolated Analog Input PCI
Card
PCI-1714U 30 MS/s, 12-bit, Simultaneous 4-ch Analog Input
Universal PCI Card

PCI-1714UL 10 MS/s, 12-bit, Simultaneous 4-ch Analog Input
Universal PCI Card

PCI-1715U 500 kS/s, 12-bit, 32-ch Isolated Analog Input
Universal PCI Card

PCI-1747U 250 kS/s, 16-bit, 64-ch Universal PCI Card
Analog Output Card PCI-1720U 12-bit, 4-ch Isolated Analog Output Universal
PCI Card
PCI-1721 12-bit, 4-ch Advanced Analog Output PCI Card
with 16-ch DI/O

PCI-1723 16-bit, 8-ch Analog Output PCI Card with 16-ch
DI/O
PCI-1724U 14-bit, 32-ch Isolated Analog Output Universal
PCI Card
PCI-1727U 14-bit, 12-ch Analog Output Universal PCI Card
with 32-ch DI/O

Non-Isolated DI/O PCI-1735U 64-ch Digital I/O and Counter Universal PCI

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Card Card
PCI-1737U 24-ch Digital I/O Universal PCI Card
PCI-1739U 48-ch Digital I/O Universal PCI Card
PCI-1751 48-ch Digital I/O and 2-ch Counter PCI Card
PCI-1753/1753E 96-ch Digital I/O PCI Card/96-ch Digital I/O
Extension Card for PCI-1753

PCI-1755 80 MB/s, 32-ch Digital I/O PCI Card
PCI-1757UP 24-ch Digital I/O Low Profile Universal PCI Card
Isolated DI/O Card PCI-1730 32-ch Isolated Digital I/O PCI Card
PCI-1733 32-ch Isolated Digital Input PCI Card
PCI-1734 32-ch Isolated Digital Output PCI Card
PCI-1750 32-ch Isolated Digital I/O and 3-ch Counter PCI
Card
PCI-1752U/USO 64-ch Isolated Digital Output Universal PCI Card
(USO: Source type)

PCI-1754 64-ch Isolated Digital Input PCI Card
PCI-1756 64-ch Isolated Digital I/O PCI Card
PCI- 128-ch Isolated Digital I/O Universal PCI Card
1758UDI/UDO/UDIO
Isolated DI with Relay PCI-1760U 8-ch Relay and 8-ch Isolated Digital Input
Output Card Universal PCI Card with 10-ch Counter/Timer

PCI-1761 8-ch Relay and 8-ch Isolated Digital Input PCI
Card
PCI-1762 16-ch Relay and 16-ch Isolated Digital Input PCI
Card
Counter Card PCI-1780U 8-ch, 16-bit Counter/Timer Universal PCI Card
Table 3-10 Advantech PCI interface DAQ cards

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Advantech CPCI interface DAQ cards.
Figure 3-40 Naming Rule of the CPCI interface products
Multifunction Card MIC-3716 250 kS/s, 16-bit, 16-ch CPCI Multifunction Card
Analog Input Card MIC-3714 30 MS/s, Simultaneous 4-ch Analog Input CPCI
Card
Analog Output Card MIC-3723/3723R 16-bit, 8-ch Non-isolated Analog Output CPCI
Cards
Non-Isolated DI/O Card MIC-3753/3753R 72-ch Digital I/O CPCI Cards
Isolated DI/O Card MIC-3756 64-ch Isolated Digital I/O CPCI Card
MIC-3758 128-ch Isolated Digital I/O CPCI Card
Isolated DI with Relay Output MIC-3761 8-ch Relay and Isolated Digital Input CPCI Card
Card
Counter Card MIC-3780/3780R 8-ch Counter/Timer CPCI Cards
Table 3-11 Advantech CPCI interface DAQ cards

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Advantech USB interface DAQ cards.
Figure 3-41 Naming Rule of the USB interface products
Multifunction Card USB-4711A 150 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch Multifunction USB Module
USB-4716 200 kS/s, 16-bit, 16-ch Multifunction USB Module
Analog Input Card USB-4718 8-ch Thermocouple Input USB Module with 8-ch
Isolated DI
Non-Isolated DI/O Card USB-4751/4751L 48-ch Digital I/O USB Module
(L: 24-ch)
Isolated DI/O Card USB-4750 32-ch Isolated Digital I/O USB Module
Isolated DI with Relay Output USB-4761 8-ch Relay and 8-ch Isolated DI USB Module
Card
Hub USB-4622 5-port USB 2.0 Hub
Table 3-12 Advantech USB interface DAQ cards
3.3 I/O Selection Guide
To select an Advantech manufactured data acquisition hardware and software for

73
measurement, monitoring and applications control, the first step is to know the source
for what you need. This section will guide and help you to choose components for
your data acquisition system.
Step1: Know your fundamental goal
Decide whether your DA&C system will be used primarily for measurement,
monitoring, control or analysis. Know the data requirements of your process, and
know the number of data collection points in your system. Knowing the required data
collection speed, the sampling rate, the type of measurement, the voltage or current
being produced, the desired accuracy and the output resolution at each data collection
point. Finally, know the timing of events in your system, and any special environment
conditions that exist.
Step2: Hardware selection
Select the hardware required to achieve your fundamental goal. Advantech provides
plug-in boards for Analog-to-Digital, Digital-to-Analog, Digital I/O or Counter needs.
Both ISA and PCI bus products are available. Your hardware selection should be
based on five major criteria:

74
1. Number and types of channels
2. Differential or Single-ended inputs
3. Resolution
4. Speed (Sampling Rate)
5. Software compatibility with hardware
Step3: Signal conditioning modules and terminal boards selection
Most applications require additional accessories which are available as separate
items. These include:
1. Expansion peripherals to add to your system.
2. Cables, signal conditioners and external boxes such as screw terminals or BNC
accessories.
Advantech also provides many kinds of the cables and wiring boards for your
application. Please refer to the Table 3-6 which shows all the signal conditioning
modules and terminal boards in Advantech. For the information of cables, please refer
to the Advantechs catalog.

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ADAM 3000 Series ADAM-3011 Isolated Thermocouple Input Module

ADAM-3013 Isolated RTD Input Module
(Isolated Signal
ADAM-3014 Isolated DC Input/Output Module
ADAM-3016 Isolated Strain Gauge Input Module
Conditioning Modules)
Relay Module and Carrier ADAM-3854 4-ch Power Relay Module
ADAM-3864 4-ch Solid State Digital I/O Module Carrier Backplane
Backplane
Special Functions Wiring PCLD-780 Screw Terminal Board
PCLD-880 Industrial Wiring Terminal Board with Adapter
Board PCLD-782/782B 16-ch Opto-Isolated DI Board
(B: 24-ch)
PCLD-785/785B 16-ch Relay Output Board
(B: 24-ch)
PCLD-885 16-ch Power Relay Output Board
PCLD-786 8-ch SSR I/O Module Carrier Board
PCLD-7216 16-ch SSR I/O Module Carrier Board
PCLD-788 Relay Scanner/multiplexer Board (CE)
PCLD-789D Amplifier and Multiplexer Board
PCLD-8115 Industrial Wiring Terminal Board with CJC Circuit
PCLD-8710 Industrial Wiring Terminal Board with CJC Circuit
PCLD-8751 48-ch Opto-Isolated Digital Input Board
PCLD-8761 24-ch Opto-Isolated Digital Input/ 24-ch Relay Board
PCLD-8762 48-ch Relay Board
Pin-to-Pin Wiring Board ADAM-3909 DB-9 Wiring Terminal for DIN-rail Mounting
ADAM-3920 20-pin Flat Cable Wiring Terminal for DIN-Rail
ADAM-3925 DB-25 Wiring Terminal for DIN-rail Mounting
ADAM-3937 DB37 Wiring Terminal for DIN-rail Mounting
ADAM-3950 50-pin Flat Cable Wiring Terminal for DIN-rail
Mounting
ADAM-3951 Wiring Terminal Module with LED Indicators for DIN-
rail Mounting
ADAM-3962 DB62 Wiring Terminal For DIN-rail Mounting
ADAM-3968 68-pin SCSI-II Wiring Terminal for DIN-rall Mounting

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ADAM-3968/20 68-pin SCSI-II to Three 20-pin Wiring Terminal
Module for DIN-rail Mounting

ADAM-3968/50 68-Pin SCSI-II to Two 50-pin Box Header for DIN-rail
Mounting
ADAM-39100 100-pin SCSI-II Wiring Terminal for DIN-rail
Mounting
Table 3-13 Advantech signal conditioning modules and terminal boards
Step4: Software selection
More than any other single factor, software will determine your system start-up
time, as well as its effectiveness, suitability for your application, and ease of
modification. We will introduce Advantechs drivers and the software programming
more detail in Chapter 5.
Three major criteria should determine the choice of software:
1. Operation system used
2. User programming expertise
3. Software compatibility with hardware
Here we take some examples to show you how to select a suitable DAQ card in

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Advantech.
Example 1: The customer would like to choose a card that has AI/O, DI/O, and
AI/O must support high sampling rate (ex: 100KS/s).
Solution: We can advise the customer to use the PCI-1712 since it is a
multifunction card which has 1MS/s AI and 1MHz AO sampling rate.
Figure 3-42 PCI-1712 (1 MS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch PCI Multifunction Cards)
Example 2: The customer would like to choose a card which could measure
Temperature directly.
Solution: We can recommend the customer to use the USB-4718 which is a
thermocouple module. By using our driver, it can convert the voltage signal from

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the thermocouple to the temperature. USB-4718 can support up to 7 types
thermocouple input.
Figure 3-43 USB-4718 (8-ch Thermocouple Input USB Module with 8-ch Isolated DI)
Example 3: The customer has a request as shown below.
1. 1000 Isolated DI/O points
2. Only 8 PCI slots on his computer
3. DO status can be kept when the system is hot reset
Solution: Since there are only 8 PCI slots on the customers computer, each PCI
DAQ card must have 125 DI/O channels (1000 points/8 slots). For this reason,
the customer can choose the PCI-1758UDI which has 128 DI/O isolated

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channels. Therefore, there will be totally 1024 DI/O channels for the customers
application. Besides, PCI-1758UDIO can also support Programmable Power-
Up States function so that the DO status will not changed even if the system is
hot reset.
Figure 3-44 PCI-1758UDIO (128-ch Isolated Digital I/O Universal PCI Card)

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Chapter 4 Getting Started

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As we know, the speed of PC is getting faster and faster today, and more and
more users would like to choose PC as the platform for their application. Therefore,
Advantech also develops drivers based on the Windows system for the DAQ products
so that the users can set up their application under Windows system easily. This
Chapter will instruct you how to use the DAQ card of Advantech, how to startup
DAQ cards, the driver installation, and how to test Advantechs DAQ cards in the
Utility.
4.1 Startup of DAQ cards
This section will first introduce the utility Advantech Device Manager. And
then guide you how through the installation of Advantechs DAQ cards which
includes ISA cards (have to install manually), and PCI, USB and CPCI cards (Plug-
and-Play devices) on the computer. We will also instruct you how to use the
Advantech Device Manager with Advantechs DAQ cards to do some tests to check if
the card is workable.

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4.1.1 Introduction of the Advantech Device Manager
The Advantech Device Manager is a convenient utility which can allow you to
configure the hardware and store the settings in the Windows registry. These settings
will be used when you call the APIs of Advantech 32-bit Device Drivers.
Now we will use USB-4716 as an example to show each function of this utility.
Please follow the steps to install the driver and utility, and learn how to do the test in
the Advantech Device Manager with USB-4716.
1. Please install the driver of USB-4716 and the Advantech Device Manager which
can be found in the driver CD.

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Figure 4-45 Install Driver and Advantech Device Manager from the driver CD
2. You can also download the files from the Advantech Support & Download
website.
http://support.advantech.com.tw/Support/SupportCategoryView.aspx?ID=1-2MLJZA

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Figure 4-46 The Advantech Support& Download website
Please search the USB-4716 product and you can find the Universal 32-bit
Windows driver in the drivers tab.
http://support.advantech.com.tw/Support/DownloadSearchByProduct.aspx?
keyword=USB-
4716&ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_EbizTabStripNoForm1_Tab=Driver

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Figure 4-47 The drivers page of USB-4716
Then please download the Advantech Device Manager and the driver of USB-
4716 from the website.

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Figure 4-48 Download the Advantech Device Manager and the driver of USB-4716
from the website
3. After the installation, you can connect USB-4716 to the computer and you will
see the USB-4716 in the Installed Devices list in the Advantech Device
Manager. The Device Number is used to specify the device in the software
program while the BoardID is used to identify cards of the same type. The

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Control Button is to let you configure the device setting, test the basic functions,
and remove the device.
Figure 4-49 Install the USB-4716 in the Advantech Device Manager
4. Click the Setup button and you can set the driver default device property
values, these values will be saved in system. The device properties will be
referenced by the device driver functions.
BoardID: USB device has a virtual Board ID. It is the ID of device. When

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there are multiple USB devices connected to Host, we can use this ID to identify each
device. This ID exists in EPROM of USB device, so it will not disappear or change
when the module is powered off. It can be set form 0~15 (Default is 0). Please note if
multi-devices are connected to the Host, each device must have different Board ID
or Host will fail to find the device. And we can find the device with specified Board
ID via this Locate button.
AI Channel Configuration: Set the Single-Ended or Differential Configuration
for the selected channel.
AO Channel 0/1 Ref: Set the D/A reference voltage for the A/O output channel.
Calibration: Do the Auto-Calibration for the AI or AO.

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Figure 4-50 Configure the USB-4716
5. After the Device Configuration, we can demonstrate the hardware functions by
clicking the Test button.
6. First of all, please click on the Analog input tab in the test utility and the analog
input test panel will appear as shown in the Figure 4-7. Select the range for each
channel in the Input range field. Configure the sampling rate by dragging the
scroll bar. Switch the channels with the up or down arrow.

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Figure 4-51 Analog input tab
7. Click on the Analog output tab to switch to the analog output test panel as
shown in the Figure 4-8. The panel allows the sine, square, and triangle
waveforms to be outputted automatically, or a single value to be outputted
manually. Configure the waveform frequency by dragging the scroll bar. Switch
the output channels with the up or down arrow.

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Figure 4-52 Analog output tab
8. Click on the Digital input tab to switch to the digital input test panel. The up or
down arrow may be used to switch the digital input channel.

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Figure 4-53 Digital input tab
9. Click on the Digital output tab to switch to the digital output test panel. By
pressing the buttons on the panel, the desired values may be outputted to the
corresponding ports. The up or down arrows may be used to switch the digital
output channel.

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Figure 4-54 Digital output tab
10. Click on the Counter tab to switch to the counter test panel. The panel provides
event counting and pulse output functions. The pulse frequency may be
configured by scrolling the scroll bar. The counter channel may be switched by
using the up or down arrow.

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Figure 4-55 Counter tab
4.1.2 Startup of ISA cards
For the ISA cards, we take PCL-818L (40 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch ISA Multifunction
Card) as an example.
1. Install the Advantech Device Manager and Drivers from the driver CD or
Advantech website.
2. After the installation, we have to check the system resource to install the PCL-

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818L manually since ISA cards (PCL and PCM series) can not support Plug-and-
Play function.
3. First of all, please check the Base I/O Address in the Windows Device Manager.
You can see that the address 300-376H is not shared by other add-on devices in
the Figure 4-12.

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Figure 4-56 Check the Base I/O Address in the Device Manager
4. Please check the Interrupt Request (IRQ) in the Windows Device Manager. You
can see that the IRQ 7 is not shared by other add-on devices in the Figure 4-13.

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Figure 4-57 Check the IRQ in the Device Manager
5. Please check the DMA channel in the Windows Device Manager. You can see that
the DMA channel 1 is shared by other add-on devices in the Figure 4-14.

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Figure 4-58 Check the DMA channel in the Device Manager
6. Please refer to the hardware manual of PCL-818L to set the jumper and switch on
the PCL-818L card. For example, the Figure 4-15 shows how to set the Base I/O
Address.

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Figure 4-59 Set the Base I/O Address of PCL-818L
7. Scroll down the List of Supported Devices and select the PCL-818L to be
installed. Click the Add button to install the PCL-818L in the Advantech
Device Manager manually.

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Figure 4-60 Add the PCL-818L in the Advantech Device Manager
8. After clicking the Add button, a configuration dialog box will load for the
specified device as shown in the Figure 4-17. Please set the device configuration
in the Advantech Device Manager. Please also note the software setting should be
corresponding to the hardware setting. And the resource (Base Address, IRQ and
DMA channel) can not be shared by other add-on devices.

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Figure 4-61 Set the device configuration in the Advantech Device Manager
9. After configuring the device, click the OK button and the device will be shown
in the Installed Devices field as shown in the Figure 4-18. Then we can do some
tests in the Advantech Device Manager.

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Figure 4-62 Test the functions of PCL-818L
10. As shown in the Figure 4-19, the AI0 will read 2.5V by inputting a 2.5V DC
voltage signal to the AI0 channel. You can also do the test with other functions
(AO, DIO and Counter) in the Advantech Device Manager.

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Figure 4-63 Test the AI function of PCL-818L
4.1.3 Startup of PCI, USB and CPCI cards
For the PCI, USB and CPIC cards, we do not need to install the devices
manually since they can all support Plug-and-Play function. And here we take PCI-
1710HG (100 kS/s, 12-bit, 16-ch PCI Multifunction Card) as an example.
1. Install the Advantech Device Manager and Drivers from the driver CD. Or you
can also download the files from the Advantech Support& Download website.

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http://support.advantech.com.tw/support/DownloadSRDetail.aspx?SR_ID=1-O1VSR
2. After the installation of the driver, we can plug the PCI-1710HG card on the PC
directly and the hardware will be installed after the PC boots or re-scans the
devices in Windows Device Manager. All the bus-related configurations (Ex. Base
I/O address) will be handled by the Plug-and-Play function automatically.
Figure 4-64 Setup and test the functions of PCI-1710HG
3. In the Setup, you can set the Device Configuration such as the A/D channels

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configuration and the D/A voltage reference.
Figure 4-65 Set the Device Configuration
Click the Options button, a window will pop up and you can select the expansion
board for the extended application (Ex. use PCLD-8710 to measure the temperature).

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Figure 4-66 Set the expansion board
On the other hand, you can do the Auto-calibration of the AI can AO functions by
clicking the Calibration button. For more information about the calibration, please
refer to the hardware manual.
Figure 4-67 Do the Auto-calibration
4. By testing, we can set the analog output value in the AO tab. Here we set the
output value as 2.5VDC as show in the Figure 4-24.

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Figure 4-68 Set AO output value
5. Then connecting AO0 channel to AI0 channel directly, you can see the AI0 will
read 2.5V as show in the Figure 4-25.

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Figure 4-69 Test the AI function of PCI-1710HG
6. Now we do the DIO test. In the beginning, you can see all the DI statuses are
High as shown in the Figure 4-26. It is because there are pull-up resistors in the
DI channels of PCI-1710HG.

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Figure 4-70 The default DI status of PCI-1710HG
By connecting the DO0 channel to the DI0 channel, the DI0 status will become
Low since the DO0 status is Off which means there is no voltage output.

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Figure 4-71 Test the DI function of PCI-1710HG
Whenever you On the DO0 button in the DO tab, the DI status will become
High again since the DO0 will output a 5V voltage signal.

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Figure 4-72 Test the DO function of PCI-1710HG
7. Finally, we can test the counter function by inputting a TTL signal to the counter
of PCI-1710HG. As shown in the Figure 4-29, the counter starts to count by the 1
KHz TTL signal.

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Figure 4-73 Test the Counter function of PCI-1710HG
4.2 The introduction of WaveScan2.0
WaveScan2.0 is another Advantechs useful utility which makes it easier for the
user to acquire, observe and store data. This utility is based on the ActiveDAQ GUI
control and the ActiveDAQ Pro Device control. With data acquisition and data display
functions provided by the controls, WaveScan2.0 can achieve the purpose of real-time
monitoring and history checking. In this section, we will instruct you how to use the

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WaveScan2.0 utility and will also take an example for your reference. For the
ActiveDAQ Pro device and GUI controls, we will introduce them in the Chapter 5.
1. Please refer to the Figure 4-30 for the main interface and interface elements of the
WaveScan2.0 first.
Figure 4-74 User interface layout of the WavsScan2.0
1. The Graph display area is used to show the acquired AI or DI data.
2. The Popup menu contains various mouse modes: XPan, YPan and etc.
3. Y coordinate of DI plot is the sum: DI port * 8 + DI Channel + 0.66 * [value

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is high]
4. The Plot data line style is used to show different curve styles for AI or DI
data of different channels.
5. The History Playback GroupBox contains controls related with the playback
of historical data. The definition of these controls is consistent with the
definition of the Playbar of media players.
6. The Start button is used to begin or stop data acquisition. The HistoryMode
button is used to switch between data acquisition mode and historical data
playback mode.
7. The Device GroupBox contains the button for opening the device
configuration page. It also contains the storage options for AI/DI data.
8. The Graph GroupBox contains the button for adjusting the resolution of the
area and the button for opening the Graph configuration page.
9. The Signal GroupBox is used to select the data source between AI data, DI
data and historical data.
10. The Exit button is used to terminate the program.
2. By clicking the Setting button in the Device GroupBox on the main interface, a
window will pop up and you can set the FAI (Fast Analog Input), soft AI and/or
DI configuration here.

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For the FAI setting, please refer to the Figure 4-31. You can click the
SelectDevice button to select a device. The start channel, channel count and data
count should be set. The return data type should be set to analog or digital. If Cyclic is
selected, then AI operation will function cyclically. External triggering can be selected
in the drop-down box of PacerSource for acquisition cards that support external
PacerSource. The user can specify advanced properties in the Trigger Setting
GroupBox. When fast AI is used, if data loss occurs, then the user should increase the
DataCount or reduce the SampleRate correspondingly. When the configuration is
completed, click the OK button.

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Figure 4-75 FAI Configuration
For the Soft AI and/or DI setting, please refer to the Figure 4-32. In the Soft AI
function, you only need to set the start channel, the channel count and the acquisition
interval for AI operation. While in the Soft DI function, you only need to set the
device for DI operation, the DI channel for acquisition and the shared acquisition
interval for DI and AI operation.

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Figure 4-76 Soft AI and/or DI Configuration
3. For the Gain Setting, please click the SetRange button to open the
RangeSetting dialog box. In the dialog box, you can set the gain of each channel
by using the control in the InputRange GroupBox and set each channel to single-
ended or differential by using the control in the SignalConnection GroupBox.

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Figure 4-77 Gain Setting
For temperature measurement cards (Ex. USB4718, PCI1710HG + PCLD-8710
and PCI1718HG + PCLD-8710 are supported; for other cards, the AI | Thermo
GroupBox will be disabled.), channels can be set for temperature data acquisition.
You can set the current channel to acquire temperature data by clicking Thermo in the
AI | Thermo GroupBox and then the ExpChan (reserved) and TCType (thermocouple
type) should also be set.

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Figure 4-78 Thermo Setting
4. Now we will use the Advantech DEMO Board as an example to show how to use
the WaveScan2.0 to acquire and store data. Please select the Advantech DEMO
Board in the Supported Devices in the Advantech Device Manager as shown in
the Figure 4-35.

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Figure 4-79 Add the Advantech DEMO Board
After clicking the Add button, a window will pop up to let you set the Base I/O
Address as shown in the Figure 4-36.

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Figure 4-80 Set the Base I/O Address of the Advantech DEMO Board
5. Then please click the Setting button in the Device GroupBox to open the Setting
page. And you can just follow the setting as shown in the Figure 4-32. When the
setting is complete, click the AI or DI switch in the Signal GroupBox. The
software triggering acquisition will be enabled when the Start button is clicked.
6. To store historical data, select the corresponding check box in the Device
GroupBox. When the acquisition is complete, the data can be saved.

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Figure 4-81 Start the AI acquisition and store the historical data
7. The WaveScan2.0 can store temporary data when storing data during the
acquisition is requested. When the acquisition is complete, the WaveScan2.0 will
store data to the specified path and folder and then a file with the suffix .wsp
(WaveScan2.0 project) will be generated. You can open this file for history
playback. Please note the data loss will occur if the data has not been stored before
the next acquisition.

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Figure 4-82 SaveAs Dialog Box
8. For historical data playback, you should click the History button in the Signal
GroupBox and select the file from the file dialog box.
Figure 4-83 Historical File Interface

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9. The file is played by the control in the PlayBack GroupBox. The buttons indicates
start/pause, accelerate and stop respectively. You can also adjust the playing speed
and process by clicking on the playing speed and playing process sliders on the
left.
Figure 4-84 Show the historical data
10. The Convert button is used to convert historical binary data to text data in order
for the user to import the data into Excel.

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Figure 4-85 Text Interface

126

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Chapter 5 Software Introduction
To have a complete DA&C system, we have to learn not only the basic
knowledge of DA&C modules but also how to use the driver for the programming.
Advantech provides several drivers for the user to develop their programming on their
application, such as Advantech Device Driver, ActiveDAQ Pro driver, LabViewDAQ
driver and so on. This Chapter will introduce the Advantech drivers first, and then
instruct you to do the programming for the advanced lesson.
5.1 Advantech Device Driver
The Advantech Device Driver which also called 32-Bit DLL driver is the base of
all other drivers in Advantech. It means no matter what software program we want to
use for controlling the hardware, it has to be commanded through the Advantech
Device Driver. As shown in the Figure 5-1, different users will use different software
programs for their different applications, for example, Visual C++, Visual Basic,

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Delphi, Visual Studio .Net, Matlab, LabView or Advantechs GeniDAQ. We develop
different kinds of drivers for these software programs so that the user can control the
DAQ cards easily. But all these drivers are relative to the Advantech Device Driver, so
it is a MUST for Advantechs DAQ cards. And so far the Advantech Device Driver
can support WinXP and Vista operation systems.
Figure 5-86 Comprehensive software support is based on 32-Bit DLL drivers
For the features of the Advantech Device Driver, it can provide comprehensive
functions to maximize the hardware's performance. The powerful programming API
functions are available in a variety of programming environments and languages, and

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same programs can be easily adopted by different cards with the same functions. This
driver can support high-speed functions that utilize DMA or interrupt for data
acquisition. The DMA transferring of data uses less CPU time and speeds the data
transfer rate. These functions are used to transfer large amounts of data at high speed.
And the Advantech Device Driver can also support event handling functions. Users
can get the status of data transferring and acquisition when events are signaled within
the device. Manual status check is not necessary. This improves the system efficiency.
Besides, except the installation of the Advantech Device Driver while using the
DAQ card, we also have to install the Advantech Device Manager to let the device
work since it includes the ADSAPI32.DLL file. Please refer to the Figure 5-2, the
ADSAPI32.DLL file is a bridge between the Advantech Device Driver and other
drivers in Advantech.

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Figure 5-87 API is controlling DAQ cards through ADSAPI32.DLL
5.1.1 Examples of the Advantech Device Driver
We provide a lot of examples and sample codes for Visual C, Visual Basic, Borland
C and Delphi so that the user can develop the application by programming more
easily. You can find the All_Examples file in the Examples folder in driver CD, or
you can also download it from the website.
http://support.advantech.com.tw/support/DownloadFile.aspx?File_Id=1-
2NE5PI&Solution_ID=1-
94DDU&filename=All_Examples.zip&utm_campaign=All_Examples.zip&utm_sour
ce=support.advantech.com.tw&utm_medium=Download

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Figure 5-88 Examples for VC, VB and Delphi
After the installation, you will find the libraries and examples in the folder as
shown in the Figure 5-4.
Figure 5-89 Examples and Libraries for VC, VB and Delphi

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To know how to build an application by sing the Advantech Device Driver in VC,
VB and Delphi, please refer to the Advantech Device Drivers Manual.
Figure 5-90 Getting started with Advantech Device Driver
5.2 Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Driver
The ActiveDAQ Pro driver is a collection of OCX (ActiveX) controls for
performing I/O operations within any compatible ActiveX control container, such as

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Visual Basic, Delphi and .Net environment, etc. Compared to the Advantech Device
Driver, you can easily perform the I/O operations through properties, events and
methods with the ActiveDAQ Pro driver. And you can also perform versatile I/O
operations to control your Advantech DAQ devices. But please note the ActiveDAQ
Pro driver is still based on the Advantech Device Driver as shown in the Figure 5-6.
Therefore, you still have to install the Advantech Device Driver before using the
ActiveDAQ Pro driver.
Figure 5-91 The structure of the ActiveDAQ Pro driver
The ActiveDAQ Pro package contains the following components:
Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Device Control: Enumerate all Advantech
devices, direct I/O operation.
Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro AI Control: Retrieve data from Advantech AI
device.

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Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro AO Control: Export data to Advantech AO
device.
Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Digital I/O Control: Digital I/O operation.
Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Thermo Control: Retrieve temperature by
thermocouple measurement.
Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Counter Control: Counter input signal.
Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Pulse Control: Pulse signal output.
You can use these ActiveX controls in any development tool that supports them,
including Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft Visual Basic, Borland C++ Builder,
Borland Delphi and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.
5.2.1 Features of the ActiveDAQ Pro Driver
In the ActiveDAQ Pro driver, efforts have been made to improve on the technical
aspects and to provide a clear-cut mode of operation, as explained in the following
summary.
1. Graphic User Interface Control Components

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The Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro GUI control collection consists of abundant of
Graphic User Interface (GUI) control components, which enable users to conveniently
and quickly build graph display modules for data acquisition so as to supervise the
evolution of the object. The ActiveDAQ Pro GUI control collection also helps users
easily develop prototype vision applications in an interactive environment without
programming. These control components include:
Button Control: It offers various display styles (2D and 3D) and is a
Boolean control that displays an on or off state (True or False).
Figure 5-92 Button control
Graph Control: This control provides abundant graph display functions,
which enable the user to displays data of various sources simultaneously.
Knob Control: It is a circular data controlling control that provides various

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graph styles and can be used to display one or more values on the same
interface.
LED Control: This control provides data display and editing functions with
the seven-segment nixie tube mode. After the Formatstring has been chosen
or defined by the user, the displayed value of the control will be adjusted
automatically according to the FormatString and displayed in the text edit
box.
Figure 5-93 Graph, Knob and LED control
Intensity Control: It offers two-dimensional display and simple
interpolation for scattered 3D data points so that the user can conveniently
check the intensity variation trend of scattered 3D data points.

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Figure 5-94 Intensity control
NumEditor Control: This control provides the user with the functions of
data displaying and editing. After the Formatstring has been chosen or
defined by the user, the values of the control will be adjusted automatically
according to the FormatString and displayed in the text edit box.

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Figure 5-95 NumEditor control
Slider Control: It is a linear data controlling control that provides various
graph styles. A Slider control can be used to set or display one or more
values.

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Figure 5-96 Slider control
2. Supports All Advantech DAQ Devices With High Speed Functions
The ActiveDAQ Pro driver can fully support all Advantech DAQ cards and
functions with complete high speed data acquisition, including AI, AO, DIO and
counter cards. These high speed functions are preformed by interrupt and DMA data
transfer which were previously excluded.
3. Straightforward User Interface and Independent Operation Of Controls
The ActiveDAQ Pro driver has become less-hardware dependent and it has relied
more on intuition during the user interface. The target of this driver is to decrease the

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development difficulties. It has become easier for both entry level and advanced level
users to manage. And the ActiveDAQ Pro driver can offer total independent control
operation, needing no support from other existing controls.
4. Easy-to-use Property Sheet Interface For Configuring Controls
The property page will offer selections which will give easy access to all settings
eliminating unnecessary programming. Programming will only be required in
specialized situations. Besides, physical properties like voltage, current and frequency
can be directly applied by the user and will automatically be reassigned to the data
needed by GainCode and sampling rate. Making these changes has ensured that the
ActiveDAQ Pro driver has become much more user friendly.
5. Default Settings For Immediate Execution
Proper default settings have been added to all methods and properties. That
means quicker execution for the user, which will offer a prompt response.
6. Properties And Parameters Are Chosen Automatically
When the user opts for some specific methods in the ActiveDAQ Pro driver, it

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can result automatically in appropriate properties and parameters. For example, the
ActiveDAQ Pro control can automatically determine an appropriate data transferring
method to perform the data acquisition. (Software, interrupt or DMA transfer)
7. Supports All Widely Known Development Platforms
The ActiveDAQ Pro driver can support Microsoft Windows 2000/XP and Vista
operation system. And it can support all widely known development platforms based
on ActiveX technology. These platforms include Microsoft Visual Basic, Visual C++,
Visual Basic.Net, Visual C#, Borland C++ Builder and Delphi.
5.2.2 Examples of the ActiveDAQ Pro Driver
For the installation of the ActiveDAQ Pro driver, please find the file in the driver
CD, or you can also download it from the website.
http://support.advantech.com.tw/support/DownloadSRDetail.aspx?SR_ID=1-29WPJY

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Figure 5-97 ActiveDAQ Pro driver
After the installation, you can find the examples of the ActiveDAQ Pro Device
and GUI controls in the folder as shown in the Figure 6-12. We provide examples for
VB.Net, C#, Delphi, etc. for the users reference.
Figure 5-98 Examples for the ActiveDAQ Pro Device and GUI controls

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To know how to add or use the ActiveDAQ Pro ActiveX controls in different
applications, please refer to the Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Control Help.
Figure 5-99 Add the ActiveDAQ Pro controls in application
5.3 Advantech LabView Driver
LabView, which is the short for Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering
Workbench, is developed by the NI (National Instruments) Corporation. It is a
visually-oriented programming development tool, and each program is called VI

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(Virtual Instrument). Every VI in LabView has three main parts; the first one is the
front panel, the second is the block (or wiring) diagram window and the last one is the
Icon & connector.
In Advantech, we provide two LabView drivers, LabView and LabViewDAQ, for
the user to control Advantech DAQ cards in the LabView program. These two drivers
are totally different, but they can both work with LabView version 7, 7.1, 8.0 or
higher. And they can both form an interface between the Advantech Device Driver,
which contains all the relevant functions to control the DAQ cards, and the LabView
software. It means the Advantech LabView drivers can form a VI in the LabView
package, which enables other applications to be used in conjunction with the DAQ
cards.

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Figure 5-100 Through the structure, Advantech LabView driver becomes NI Style
For the installation of the Advantech LabView Drivers, please find the files in the
driver CD or download them from the website.
http://support.advantech.com.tw/support/DownloadSRDetail.aspx?SR_ID=1-29WTFD
This section will introduce these two drivers respectively.

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Figure 5-101 LabView and LabViewDAQ drivers
5.3.1 LabView Driver
The Advantech's 32-bit LabView driver is designed to integrate Advantech DAQ
Cards with the LabView software. This driver feature has both high speed and normal
speed data acquisition functions, and provides two different set of interfaces for users.
One is Easy I/O VIs for ease-to-use, and the other is Advanced I/O VIs for
complex applications. You can find these VIs in the User Libraries in the LabView
program after the installation of the LabView driver.

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Figure 5-102 VIs for the LabView driver
Besides, we also provide a lot of LabView examples which includes fast AI, fast
AO, PortIO, slow IO and other aspects for the users to develop their application
quickly. You can find these examples in the folder as shown in the Figure 5-18. For
more information, please refer to the LabView Drivers Manual.

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Figure 5-103 Examples for the LabView driver
5.3.2 LabViewDAQ Driver
The Advantech LabViewDAQ driver is the latest generation of LabView driver.
And its can be categorized in to three types:
1. Easy VIs perform simple operations. You can run these VIs from the front
panel or use them as subVIs in basic applications. They provide a basic, convenient
interface with only the most commonly used inputs and outputs, such as AI, AO, DIO,
and Counter/Timer functions. They are actually composed of Intermediate VIs. Unlike
Intermediate VIs, Easy VIs automatically alerts you to error with a dialog box that
asks you to stop the execution of the VI or to ignore the error.

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2. Intermediate VIs have more hardware functionality and efficiency in
developing applications than Easy VIs. Utility VIs consist of convenient groupings of
Intermediate VIs. Intermediate VIs are used in most applications. Each Intermediate
and Advanced VI contains an error in input cluster and an error out output cluster,
which give you more control over error handling than Easy VIs. With each VI, you
can check for errors or pass the error cluster to other VIs. In each data acquisition
palette, for Intermediate VIs, there are calling flows available for guidance.
3. Utility VIs are also intermediate-level VIs. They are for situations where you
need more functionality control than the Easy I/O VIs provide but want to limit the
number of VIs you call.
For using the LAbViewDAQ VIs, please install the driver which can be found in
the driver CD, or you can also download it from the website.
http://support.advantech.com.tw/support/DownloadSRDetail.aspx?SR_ID=1-29WTFD
After the installation, you can find the LabViewDAQ VIs by right-click on the
block diagram window in the LabView program. And then select Fucntion ->
All Functions -> User Libraries -> Advantech DAQ as shown in the Figure 6-

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19.
Figure 5-104 LabViewDAQ VIs
Furthermore, it is deserved to mention that the LabViewDAQ VIs can replace NIs
DAQ VIs. This function was made especially for the users who use NI DAQ card and
have developed their own application in LabView before. In the past, these users must
have to modify their LabView program if they want to replace the NI DAQ card with
the Advantech DAQ card. But now, they can just use the LabViewDAQ VIs to replace
the NI VIs since the pin assign of the LabViewDAQ VI is identical to NI DAQ VI.
Therefore, by replacing the VI, existing programs based on NI DAQ driver can be
used to control Advantech DAQ card.

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To know how to replace NI DAQ VIs, we make a demo video which can be
available on the website to show you the process. Generally, all examples that NI
DAQ driver provides can be replaced in the same manner.
http://support.advantech.com.tw/support/KnowledgeBaseSRDetail.aspx?SR_ID=1-
1Y5SWB
Here we take an example for your reference.
1. Find NI DAQ Cont Acq&Chart (buffered) example in the route as below.
C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 8.0\examples\daq\anlogin
Figure 5-105 NI Cont Acq&Chart (buffered) example
2. While running with the Advantech DAQ card (Ex. PCI-1714), there will be an
Error which means it can not support the hardware.

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Figure 5-106 The NI VIs can not support the Advantech hardware
3. Then please right click the VI and replace it by LabViewDAQ VI. Please also
watch out the Device Number connection of AI_Start.

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Figure 5-107 Replace NI VIs with Advantech LabViewDAQ VIs
4. Finish the replacement of all VIs.

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Figure 5-108 Finish the replacement of all VIs
5. Running again, you can find that this example can already work with the
Advantech DAQ card.
Figure 5-109 The example can work without problem
5.4 Programming (Advanced)

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So far, we have already introduced all the basic knowledge for the Advantech
DA&C system. Now we want to instruct you to know how to control the Advantechs
DAQ cards by programming. And since most of the users would like to acquire their
data in a High Speed which also means High Sampling Rate, our driver provides
some API (Application Program Interface) to support the INT and DMA functions
which are introduced in the section 2.3.2.1. By using these API, the user can achieve
the purpose of High speed analog data acquisition. So in this section, we will not
only introduce the programming of the software polling, but will also specially
introduce the INT and DMA functions to let you know how they work by
programming. And finally, we will guide you to complete a project for the
ActiveDAQ Pro Driver. After this, we believe you will be more familiar with our
driver and programming.
5.4.1 AI Transferring by Software Polling
By referring to the Figure 5-25 or in the Drivers Manual, we can find all the
functions we can use to trigger the data conversion by software command. The driver
provides two kinds of functions. One is for single channel reading such as
DRV_VoltageIn, and the other is for multiple channels reading such as

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DRV_MAIVoltageIn. Both kinds of operations acquire the data only once. To
sample multiple data periodically by these functions, a software timer can be used to
call the functions periodically.
Figure 5-110 The functions for Software Polling
Now please refer to the AD_SOFT examples for VC program which you can find
in the route: C:\Program Files\Advantech\Adsapi\Examples\VC\AD_SOFT.
The programming is easy. First of all, we have to use the DRV_DeviceOpen to

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open the corresponding installed device by its device number (DeviceNum) and return
the DriverHandle for later operations. Please note this function must be called before
any other methods that perform I/O operations. Then we can use the
DRV_DeviceGetFeatures and DRV_AIConfig to retrieve the device's features
and configures an AI channels input voltage range by setting the corresponding
GainCode on the DriverHandle specified device. Please refer to the corresponding
Hardware Manual for detailed information on input voltage range and the
corresponding GainCode.

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Figure 5-111 Open the device and retrieve/configure the devices features
After that, we can use a timer to read back the current voltage from an AI channel
unceasingly by DRV_AIVoltageIn on the device indicated by the DriverHandle.
Please remember to use the DRV_DeviceClose to close the DriverHandle specified
device after the operation of any function. The user must call this function to release
the resources.

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Figure 5-112 Read the current voltage from AI channel
You can refer to the flow chart as show in the Figure 5-28. The DRV_AIConfig
configures the input range for the specified channel. If the input range needs to be
changed at runtime, use the DRV_AIConfig function again. The
DRV_AIVoltageIn function reads the voltage of input channels. The Device Drivers
also provide a binary data reading function, DRV_AIBinaryIn. The functions for
multiple channel sampling are similar to those for single data reading, except the input
channel is not limited to one.

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Figure 5-113 The flow chart for AI reading by software polling
5.4.2 Fast AI Transferring
Except for the software polling, all the other analog sampling methods, including
DMA, bus-master DMA, interrupt etc., are identified as FAI (Fast Analog Input)
functions. The operation modeling and flow control in all kinds of FAI sampling
methods are similar.
1. Initiate a sampling data buffer
In FAI data operation, the size of buffer is not determined by the FIFO size.
However, before you engage sampling, you must set up your sampling count, i.e. the

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data count that you want, while it is also the size of sampling data buffer in our
example. Commonly we need to create a sampling data buffer first and pass the
pointer to the driver for later acquisition. The buffer is created by the user, commonly
according to your sampling count, but used in the kernel mode by the driver. In order
to have enough space and make sure the data not to be lost, the buffer size (sampling
count) needs to be set properly.
Please refer to the Table 5-1 as below for setting buffer size:
Condition\Method Buffer Size (Unit: bytes)

Even Multiple of the Multiple of the count >4K
(recommended)
FIFO/2 Size of channels
(recommended)
Cards with and Interrupt
using FIFO DMA

Bus-Master
(recommended)
DMA
Cards without or Interrupt
not using FIFO

Table 5-14 Buffer size for FAI transferring
For the cards using FIFO, if it is sampled by interrupt, the buffer size should be an

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even number and a multiple of half the FIFO size, while it is recommended to be a
multiple of the channel count. If it is sampled by DMA, the buffer size should be an
even number. If it is bus-master DMA, there is no limit to the size of buffer, while 4k
bytes are recommended.
2. Engage the data sampling
Interrupt mode data sampling will be started by the DRV_FAIIntStart function.
For DMA mode data sampling, DRV_FAIDmaStart or DRV_DAIDmaScanStart
is used. The DRV_FAIDmaExStart function is for bus-master DMA.
Different sampling methods need different settings. The corresponding structure
for each method needs to be created first and use its pointer as a function parameter in
order to pass all necessary settings, including the previous initiated buffer, to the
driver.
Please note that DAQ cards only support the functions the hardware supports.
For example, PCL-818 supports interrupt and DMA sampling and PCI-1712 supports
bus-master DAM sampling. Trying to call an unsupported function will return an error
code. Please refer to functions support table and the Hardware Manual for more

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details.
3. Data transfer
Once the data sampling is engaged, users have to know the current sampling
status and transfer data from sampling buffer to user buffer in time for later operation.
Two methods are used to get the sampling status. One is to enable the required events
(by calling DRV_EnableEvent) and wait for the event notification (by calling
DRV_CheckEvent), then check the status (by calling DRV_FAICheck); the other
is to check the data transferring status repeatedly (by calling DRV_FAICheck).
When the event is signaled or the checked status indicates that either buffer is full,
call the data transfer function DRV_FAITransfer to fetch data from sampling data
buffer to user buffer.
Following is a list of the Events supported in FAI:
ADS_EVT_INTERRUPT Triggered when a certain number of interrupts occur. The number is specified
when applications call the DRV_EnableEvent.

ADS_EVT_BUFCHANGE Generally, in the high speed analog input operation, user's buffer is divided into
two equal parts, the low buffer and the high buffer. Data from the device will fill

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them separately. This event will be signaled when either buffer is full.
Applications can call the DRV_FAICheck to check which buffer is full, and
then call the DRV_FAITransfer to take away the data in this buffer. If the data
hasn't been taken away in time, the event ADS_EVT_OVERRUN will be
signaled.
ADS_EVT_TERMINATED Triggered when a high speed analog input operation finishes, or when
applications call the DRV_FAITerminate.

ADS_EVT_OVERRUN Triggered when the data in the buffer has not been taken away in time after an
ADS_EVT_BUFCHANGE occurs.
If ADS_EVT_OVERRUN occurs, the data would be overwritten by new ones.

ADS_EVT_TIME_OUT Triggered when no event has occurred during the wait interval in the
DRV_CheckEvent.
Table 5-15 Events supported for FAI transferring
The Figure 5-29 explains how the sampling buffer works and when the data is
transferred:

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Figure 5-114 The operation of the sampling buffer and the data transferring
The four graphs as shown above show the sampling buffer working on a proper
cycle:
(1) The sampling data buffer is used as two equal size sections, the 1st half (Low
Half) and the 2nd half (High Half). When the sampling starts, the driver will write
data starting from the 1st half.
(2) When the DRV_EnableEvent function is called, should the 1st half be full,
the driver will create a buffer change event (ADS_EVT_BUFCHANGE) to notify
the user's program. The user's program should transfer the data in time, otherwise the
buffer will overrun if the 2nd half is full.
(3) At the same time, data sampling keeps going on the 2nd half during the data

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transfer.
(4) When the DRV_EnableEvent function is called, should the 2nd half be full,
a buffer change event (ADS_EVT_BUFCHANGE) will be signaled. The data
sampling will be completed for non-cyclic mode, while for cyclic mode, data will log
back to the 1st half again (graph 1).
As described above, if the data has not been transferred in time, the previously
acquired data will be overwritten. See the Figure 5-30:
Figure 5-115 Overrun occurs
After the sampling, we need to copy the data from the sampling data buffer to the
transfer buffer for analysis (by calling DRV_FAITransfer), so that the transfer
buffer should also be allocated. However, the size of the transfer buffer should be no

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less than 2*sampling count bytes when the data type is raw data (2 bytes per raw
data), or no less than 4*sampling count bytes when the data type is float data (4 bytes
per analog data).
Figure 5-116 The size of the transfer buffer
4. Stop FAI functions
DRV_FAITerminate is used to stop the data sampling. When the user calls the
DRV_EnableEvent function and enables the Terminate event, should the
DRV_FAITerminate function be called or the operation is completed under non-
cyclic mode, the driver will stop the operation and free some resources and send the
ADS_EVT_TERMINATED event to the user. Then the user can do operation such
as closing the device in the event handling function.

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In non-cyclic mode, when the operation completes, the driver will stop
automatically. If the user does not call the DRV_EnableEvent, the event
ADS_EVT_TERMINATED will not be enabled. In cyclic mode, the operation will
not be stopped until the user calls the DRV_FAITerminate. Calling the
DRV_EnableEvent to enable the ADS_EVT_TERMINATED event is
recommended.
5.4.2.1 Fast AI Transferring by Interrupt
There are two kinds of interrupt operations for analog input. One generates a
hardware interrupt for each conversion. The other one keeps the conversion data in
FIFO, and then generates a hardware interrupt for a half-full FIFO or full FIFO
depending on the hardware. The driver will catch these interrupts. Various events will
occur to notify the user of the acquisition status.
Similar to the software polling, this type of transferring also provides two kinds
of functions. One is for single channel reading, and the other is for multiple- channel
reading.

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1. Event Notification (Recommended)
Please refer to the Figure 5-32 which shows the typical function call flow for
single channel reading. The DRV_EnableEvent function enables the notification
event and then starts the analog input operation by DRV_FAIIntStart. The driver
will send a proper event to notify the status of the acquisition progress.
DRV_CheckEvent may then be used to check the signaled event and handle the
data. The operation may be stopped by the DRV_FAITerminate function at any
time.

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Figure 5-117 The flow chart of the FAI transferring by Interrupt (Event Notification)
2. No Event Notification
The DRV_FAIIntStart function starts the analog input operation with interrupt
transferring. The DRV_FAICheck function may be used to check the status of the
operation. Meanwhile the DRV_FAITransfer function may be used to retrieve data.
The operation may be stopped by the DRV_FAITerminate function when the

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conversion is completed or at any other time. In this type of conversion, no event
notification of the acquisition status will be received. The only way to retrieve the
status is to call the DRV_FAICheck to check the status of the acquisition progress.
Figure 5-118 The flow chart of the FAI transferring by Interrupt (No Event Notification)
Besides single data reading, the driver also provides the DRV_FAIIntScanStart
function for multiple channel reading. For this kind of operation, you should set the
buffer size (the Count parameter) to be a multiple of the number of channels.
Otherwise, for cyclic mode, the first data in the buffer may not correspond to the
starting channel.
Now please refer to the AD_INT examples for VC program which you can
find in the route: C:\Program Files\Advantech\Adsapi\Examples\VC\AD_INT. As the

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same as the software polling, we have to use the DRV_DeviceOpen to open the
corresponding installed device first. And then use the DRV_DeviceGetFeatures to
retrieve the device's features. But please note we have to allocate a buffer for the data
storage of the data acquisition as shown in the Figure 5-34.
Figure 5-119 Allocate a memory buffer
After that, we can use the DRV_EnableEvent to enable a specified event by
specifying the corresponding EventType.

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Figure 5-120 Enable the event
Use the DRV_FAIIntStart to initiate a single-channel FAI operation with the
interrupt transfer, by way of specifying an AI channel and pre-initiating the sampling
buffer for data storage. At the same time, we can create a thread to do the event check
and transfer data.

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Figure 5-121 Initiate the FAI (Interrupt) operation and create a thread
In the thread, we can use the DRV_CheckEvent to check whether the buffer
change occurs, and also use the DRV_FAICheck to retrieve the current status of FAI
operations (not ready: 0, first half ready: 1, second half ready: 2). Once there is an
event, the DRV_FAITransfer will transfer data from FAI sampling buffer to user's

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buffer. If the buffer is HalfReady (checked with the function DRV_FAICheck),
then the data must be transferred in order to avoid being overwritten.
Finally, please remember to free the buffer you allocate and use the
DRV_FAITerminate to stop the running FAI operation by safely resetting hardware,
releasing resources and sending a terminate event to the user after the data conversion.
If you want to close the program, please use the DRV_DeviceClose to close
the DriverHandle specified device.

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Figure 5-122 Check the status of FAI operation and transfer the data

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5.4.2.2 Fast AI Transferring by DMA
DMA Transferring is the fastest data acquisition type of the analog input operation.
The data directly flows from the device to the memory without the interference of the
CPU. The driver will monitor the progress of the conversion and send a proper event
to notify the user of the current conversion status.
For non-bus master DMA, DRV_AllcoateDMABuffer must be used to allocate
DMA transferring buffer. There is no definite limit to the buffer size.
DRV_FreeDMABuffer must be used to free the allocated DMA buffer. For PCI-
17XX series cards, Bus master DMA transferring is recommended, so it is not
necessary to call these two functions. The DMA buffer size must exceed 4K bytes.
Please refer to the individual device software manual for details.
The calling flow for single channel reading is shown as below:
1. Event Notification (Recommended)
The DRV_EnableEvent function enables the notification event and then starts

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the analog input operation by DRV_FAIDmaStart (ISA series cards) or
DRV_FAIDmaExStart (PCI series cards). The driver will send a proper event to
notify the status of the acquisition progress. DRV_CheckEvent may then be used to
check the signaled event and handle the data. The operation may be stopped by the
DRV_FAITerminate function at any time.
Figure 5-123 The flow chart of the FAI transferring by DMA (Event Notification)a

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2. No Event Notification
The DRV_FAIDmaStart function starts the analog input operation with DMA
transferring. The DRV_FAICheck function may be used to check the status of the
operation. Meanwhile, the DRV_FAITransfer function may be used to retrieve the
data. The operation may be stopped by the DRV_FAITerminate function when the
conversion is completed or at any other time. In this type of conversion, event
notification of the acquisition status will not be received. The only way to monitor the
conversion is to call the DRV_FAICheck to check the status of the acquisition
progress.
In the Figure 5-39, DRV_AllcoateDMABuffer and DRV_FreeDMABuffer
are not necessary for PCI series devices.

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Figure 5-124 The flow chart of the FAI transferring by DMA (No Event Notification)
Besides single data reading, the driver also provides DRV_FAIDmaScanStart
function for multiple channels reading for ISA series. For PCI series cards,
DRV_FAIDmaExStart can provide both single channel and multiple-channel
operation. For such kinds of operation, you should set the acquisition number to a
multiple of the number of channels. Under this configuration, the data will be stored
in the data serially according to the channel number and the first data in the buffer can
always be the first channel's data, which means the data for a specific channel are
always stored in a fixed position in the buffer. Then you can trace the data according

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the channel number easily. Otherwise, for cyclic acquisition, the first data in the
circular buffer may not be for the starting channel, so you must trace your data
according to the channel number and the acquisition number laboriously.
For the programming of the DMA function, you can refer to the AD_DMA_BM
VC example which can be found in the route: C:\Program
Files\Advantech\Adsapi\Examples\VC\AD_DMA_BM. Its programming is similar
with the AD_INT: Open device; Get device features; Allocate a memory buffer;
Enable event; Create a thread to check event and retrieve the status of FAI operation;
Terminate the FAI operation finally. The only difference is we will use the
DRV_FAIDmaExStart to initiate a single-channel FAI operation with bus-master
DMA transfer, by way of specifying an AI channel and pre-initiating the sampling
buffer for data storage. For more information, please refer to the examples and the
Advantech Device Driver Manual.

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Figure 5-125 Initiate the FAI (DMA) operation
5.4.3 The programming for the AvtiveDAQ Pro Driver
We will show you in this section a project using the ActiveDAQ Pro controls to do
the programming. After this practice, we believe you will be more familiar with the
programming of the ActiveDAQ Pro controls under .Net environment.
First of all, please install the Advantech Device Manager and the ActiveDAQ Pro

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driver. Then please follow the steps as below to add the ActiveDAQ Pro controls in
the VB.Net project in Visual Studio 2005. For more information, please refer to the
Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Control Help.
1. New a VB.Net Windows application project
Figure 5-126 New a VB.Net project
2. As shown in the Figure 5-42, right-click and select Choose Toolbox Items in the
Toolbox. Then Add the ActiveDAQ Pro Controls in COM Components tab. You

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can add the AI, AO, DIO, Counter and other GUI controls here. After clicking the
OK button, you will see the controls are already added in the Toolbox as shown
in the Figure 5-43.
Figure 5-127 Add ActiveDAQ Pro controls

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Figure 5-128 Add ActiveDAQ Pro controls (continued)
3. Drag the AI control onto the Form, and right-click to check its properties.

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Figure 5-129 Check controls properties
4. To start the programming, you can refer to the Figure 5-45 to design the Form for
AI function. You can create a button to select device, and create two textboxes to
show the device name and device number.
AxAdvAI.SelectDevice() (Selects a device from the installed Advantech device
list in the system)
textBox1.Text=AxAdvAI.DeviceName (Retrieve the device name)
textBox2.Text=AxAdvAI.DeviceNumber (Retrieve the device number of the
current opened device)
Then create a button to read the AI and also create a textbox (textBox3) to
show the AI reading.
AxAdvAI.ChannelNow=0 (Set the currently selected AI channel)
textBox3.Text=AxAdvAI.DataAnalog (Retrieve the sampling data (float) from
the current AI channel on the DAS card)

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Figure 5-130 Design the Form for AI function
You will find that the programming steps of the ActiveDAQ Pro drive is the same
as the Advantech Device Driver. But the programming is easier.
Figure 5-131 The programming for AI function
5. For the programming of AO function, you can refer to the AdvAO.DataAnalog
example in the Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Control Help. This property can set an

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AO output value for the current AO channel.
Figure 5-132 The example of the AdvAO.DataAnalog
You can refer to the Figure 5-48 to design the Form for AO function. Double-
click the Send button and modify the example code from the Advantech
ActiveDAQ Pro Control Help. The programming as shown in the Figure 5-49 is for
your reference.

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Figure 5-133 Design the Form for AO function
Figure 5-134 The programming for AO function
6. For the DIO function, the programming is very easy. You can just use the
AdvDIO.ReadDiChannel to read back the status of a specified DI channel and
the AdvDIO.WriteDoChannel to output specific digital value on a specified DO
channel. And you can also refer to the programming in the Figure 5-52 to use the
Counter function.

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Figure 5-135 The example of the AdvDIO.ReadDiChannel

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Figure 5-136 The example of the AdvDIO.WriteDoChannel
Figure 5-137 The programming for Counter function
Figure 5-138 Design the Form for DIO and Counter functions
7. Finally, you can complete a VB.Net project which has AI, AO, DIO and Counter
functions. You can check if your programming is workable by using the
Advantech DAQ cards such as PCI-1710 or USB-4716. For example, you can just

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connect AO channels to AI channels directly and use the AI channels to check if
the AO output value is correct. The Error-handling mechanism will help you to
check if there is any improper operation.
Figure 5-139 A VB.Net project which has AI, AO, DIO and Counter functions
Besides, if you want to acquire data in high speed mode, you can refer to example
of the AdvAI.AcquireBulkDataToMemory in the Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro
Control Help. This function can retrieve bulk data from specified AI channels to the

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user or control allocated memory using FAI. You need to set the parameter
dataCount as the actual sampled data count and it will be retrieved by the return
value of the method. You also have to use the AdvAI.DataSampleRate to set the
sampling frequency for FAI functions in Hz.
Figure 5-140 The example of the AdvAI.AcquireBulkDataToMemory
You can just paste the example code onto your project and modify your
programming as shown in the Figure 5-56. After compiling the program, you can do

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the test by inputting a signal to the Advantech DAQ devices to check if the reading
value is correct.
If you are still not sure of how to do your programming, you can refer to the
examples which can be found in the route: C:\Program Files\Advantech\ActiveDAQ
Pro\Device Controls\Examples.
Figure 5-141 The programming for FAI operation by using ActiveDAQ Pro AI control

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Figure 5-142 Run the program

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Chapter 6 Trouble Shooting
This Chapter will take an example showing you how to duplicate the customers
problem and do the trouble shooting. We can also do some more analyses with the
Questionnaire so that we can solve the problem quickly.
6.1 PCI-1710HG with Thermocouple
One customer had used PCI-1710HG for a long time. In the past, they always used
the platform which has Pentium 4 CPU, and they can measure the temperature with
K-type thermocouple by PCI-1710HG without problem. But they would like to
develop their application on a higher performance platform in a new project. However
they encounter Restart and Blue Screen issue (The error massage is
"Multiple_IRP_Send_Request") when using the system which has AMD CPU or Intel
core 2 dual CPU. The problem can be both occurred in the customers program and
our Thermo example with the latest driver.
1. For this case, we can check some system information first so that we can know
how to simulate the customers application.

197
Which CPU and system do the customer use?
Ans: The customer use AMD Athlon(tm) 7750 Dual-Core CPU on the WinXP system.
Do the customer use the latest driver, and which programming software do the
customer use?
Ans: Yes, the customer already install the latest driver and they use the VC++ for the
programming.
2. Then we can try to duplicate the customers problem so that we can verify it
more easily. But please not we should do the test on the platform which has AMD
Dual-Core CPU.
Do the customers PCI-1710HG run well in the Advantech Device Manager?
Ans: Yes, it can read AI values correctly and its version is 1.5.7.1. From this result,
we can confirm that there is n problem with the basic function of the customers card.
When running our example such as AD_SOFT, AD_INT and Thermo, are there
problems?
Ans: Yes, when running the Thermo example, it indeed encounters Blue Screen issue
(The error massage is "Multiple_IRP_Send_Request"), but other examples run
properly. If using the driver from CD 2.6 version, the API TCMuxRead can only
read the value "NAN". On the AMD platform, both the latest driver and older
driver will encounter problems.
3. So far we already duplicate the customers problem, but we can still do some

198
more tests so that the RD can find the root cause more easily.
How about the Hyper Threading platform? Will it encounter problems?
Ans: Yes, the system will also return blue screen when running the Thermo example.
If we are using the platform which doesnt support Hyper Threading or Core 2
Dual function, can it work?
Ans: Yes, under this situation PCI-1710HG can measure the temperature properly.
From the test results, we can conclude that the problem will only occur on the
Hyper Threading or Core 2 Dual platform. So we can interpret what we do and what
we check in the Questionnaire to speed up solving the problem.

Data Acquisition Introduction

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Advantech IAG Training Center (Internal Use Only)

1.2 Application Stories.....................................................................................2

1.2.1 Portable Thermo Test System.........................................................2

1.2.2 Tone Quality Analysis System.......................................................4

1.2.3 Real-Time Testing System for Wind Power Generation Machine. 7

1.2.4 Self-Service Book Borrowing and Returning System.................10

1.3 Learning Purpose.....................................................................................13

1.4 Structure of Textbook...............................................................................14

Chapter 2 Essential Concepts..............................................................................17

2.2 Fundamental of DA&C System...............................................................19

2.2.2 Signal Conditioning.....................................................................22

2.2.2.3 Amplification and Attenuation.....................................................26

2.2.3 Data Acquisition & Control Hardware.........................................27

2.2.3.1 Analog Input.................................................................................27

2.2.3.2 Analog Output..............................................................................42

2.2.3.3 Digital Input.................................................................................45

2.2.3.4 Digital Output...............................................................................52

Chapter 3 Product Introduction.........................................................................61

3.1 I/O Product Interface................................................................................61

3.1.1 ISA/PC-104 Interface...................................................................62

3.1.2 PCI/PCI-104 Interface..................................................................63

3.1.3 CPCI Interface..............................................................................65

3.1.4 USB Interface...............................................................................67

3.2 Naming Rule............................................................................................69

3.3 I/O Selection Guide..................................................................................79

Chapter 4 Getting Started...................................................................................89

4.1.1 Introduction of the Advantech Device Manager..........................90

4.1.2 Startup of ISA cards...................................................................102

4.1.3 Startup of PCI, USB and CPCI cards.........................................111

4.2 The introduction of WaveScan2.0..........................................................120

Chapter 5 Software Introduction......................................................................135

5.1.1 Examples of the Advantech Device Driver................................138

5.2 Advantech ActiveDAQ Pro Driver........................................................141

5.2.1 Features of the ActiveDAQ Pro Driver......................................143

5.2.2 Examples of the ActiveDAQ Pro Driver....................................150

5.3 Advantech LabView Driver...................................................................153

5.3.1 LabView Driver..........................................................................156

5.3.2 LabViewDAQ Driver.................................................................158

5.4 Programming (Advanced)......................................................................165

5.4.1 AI Transferring by Software Polling..........................................165

5.4.2 Fast AI Transferring...................................................................170

5.4.2.1 Fast AI Transferring by Interrupt...............................................179

5.4.2.2 Fast AI Transferring by DMA....................................................187

5.4.3 The programming for the AvtiveDAQ Pro Driver.....................193

Chapter 6 Trouble Shooting..............................................................................208

1.1 DA&C system Overview

While Embedded Controllers are well proven through several industrial

acquisition interface. In this way, users can experience high-performing, reliable

computing platforms and the latest in embedded technology, while saving on

maintenance costs and system upgrade efforts.

saving products for industrial requirements. Advantechs USB-4700 for example,

and measurement applications.

Advantech IAG Training Center (Internal Use Only)

1.2 Application Stories

1.2.1 Portable Thermo Test System

design a rise-voltage circuit for driving the LED.

The manufacturers outsourcing team wanted to leverage Advantechs industrial-

Advantech IAG Training Center (Internal Use Only)

Provided speed data transmission rate

Provided firm mounting and installation kits

Provided firm cable connections

Provided ready to use utilities for data logging