Trigger from the ac mains power using DAQ PXI 5154

[demetres76]

I have a PXI chasis with an embedded controller and a DAQ 5154. I have developed LABview code to trigger on input from channel 0 or 1 but now I require to trigger on the ac mains power i.e. I require to synchronise my measurement with the ac cycle. Have no idea how to go about it.

[EEsRULEtheWORLD]

Hey,

This is definitely an application that you're going to have to spend some time researching, because it will involve some external circuitry.  You will need to transform the three-phase AC power to single-phase and attenuate it to a -2.5 to 2.5 V signal, such that it can be acquired by the 5154 without damaging the device.

As for triggering and synchronizing your signal with the AC power cycle, here is a DevZone article that discusses the different mechanisms of triggering that are possible with digitizers.  You could trigger a finite acquisition at certain points of the acquired sinusoid using an edge or window trigger, for example.