Article: Spreading the data acquisition net

Whatever signals you’re trying to measure, and whatever PC-based hardware you’re using, one program puts you in complete control. JON HANCOCK introduces the latest release of DASYLab.

DASYLab, the software which has enabled so many engineers to create their own PC-based data acquisition systems, is being made easier to use than ever.

The latest release, DASYLab 7.0, features an excellent ‘getting started’ tutorial as well as a long list of improvements to the working environment. It has also been fully tested with Windows XP.

DASYLab enables users without the time for programming to create the perfect on-screen control panel and information display, and handle the interface to their data acquisition hardware at the same time.

All that’s needed is to connect graphical icons representing the hardware, the signal processing and the chosen display, which can be anything from a choice of scope, strip chart, x-y, digital meters, analogue meters, bargraphs, and more.

DASYLab enables systems to be created so easily that they can become extremely sophisticated, and the many improvements in version 7.0 include a number designed to help developing and editing these systems.
For example, modules on the DASYLab 7.0 ‘worksheet’ can now be replaced with others of the same type with all the connections picking up from the previous module. If blocks of modules are moved to another part of the worksheet, all the connections go with them.

New modules include a generic TCP/IP input and output type, enabling data from a sensor connected over the web to be incorporated as easily as a local one.

Using the web opens up completely new possibilities for data acquisition, including 'always-on' connections and the savings in phone costs in remote diagnostics and maintenance. Other I/O modules include multispeed analogue inputs and a Modbus module.

Among the signal-analysis tools in DASYLab 7.0 are new modules for harmonic distortion and electric characteristics, and improvements to existing modules include serial input format string debugging, making setting up serial and Ethernet devices much easier.

DASYLab 7.0 is completely compatible with a huge range of data acquisition hardware products, including hundreds of PC boards from all the major manufacturers. A full list of drivers is available at the Adept Scientific website.

Free demonstration version
A free, downloadable demonstration version of DASYLab 7.0 is available. The demo is a working version of the software which allows you to open example worksheets, and setup and run worksheets that generate data.

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