cDAQ 9172 Input Question

[Anigma]

Im a undergraduate student currently carry a project which require me to design and build a X-ray Detector(Geiger-counter). The circuitry will work like this,

 I need to record the output voltage signal of the detector and record the number of count for the signal(ie many signal in an interval of time). This is the first time I use Labview and NI Instrument, hope i dindt ask some silly question.

The question is,

1. Can cDAQ 9172 power up my device? I need 600V for the power supply. , if can what is the voltage cDaq can supply.
2. Any voltage contrains for the input of the module( the module available is C-series module). I scare i will blow the thing off if i supply the 600V directly. Any recommended module for this purpose?

[RavensFan]

Anigma wrote:

Im a undergraduate student currently carry a project which require me to design and build a X-ray Detector(Geiger-counter). The circuitry will work like this,

 I need to record the output voltage signal of the detector and record the number of count for the signal(ie many signal in an interval of time). This is the first time I use Labview and NI Instrument, hope i dindt ask some silly question.

The question is,

1. Can cDAQ 9172 power up my device? I need 600V for the power supply. , if can what is the voltage cDaq can supply.

PC's can supply about 5V,  that is a long ways away from 600V.

2.  Any voltage contrains for the input of the module( the module available is C-series module). I scare i will blow the thing off if i supply the 600V directly. Any recommended module for this purpose?

I would say so you'd blow something.  Are you trying to read  600 V from the detector or supply 600V to the detector?  Question 1 sounds like you are trying to supply 600V, but question 2 starts hinting at that you want to read 600V

[KyleBryson]

Hi Anigma,

CompactDAQ is not designed to be a power supply, and it can't output anywhere near 600V.  You'll need an external supply designed to provide that kind of voltage.  For measurement, the largest input signal range on a C Series module is +/- 60V.  If you need to measure a small signal with a high DC offset, the isolation rating of the NI 9206 may meet your needs...but I'm guessing you're going to need some external circuitry to divide down your voltage to a range that can be acquired safely by one of the +/- 10V or +/- 60V modules.

The CompactDAQ Advisor will help you select modules appropriate to your needs, once you figure out how you're dividing your signal down.

Regards,
Kyle

[Anigma]

Thanks for that info, B'cos from the demo i see it just need to plug the sensor into the C series I/o module, and it will work, so i thought cDAQ can supply power.

Fine 🙂 the external power supply wont be a problem.

my output signal should be +/- 5V, after all i just need to count how many pulse(count) in an interval time. 

So many module available, which one should i use? any sugestion?

[KyleBryson]

Anigma,

Some of the modules can supply power to a particular type of sensor (like a bridge sensor or an IEPE accelerometer), but none of them can do 600V!

If you can treat your signal as a digital input, it will be very easy to use the counters accessible through slots 5 and 6 to count pulses.  Many of the digital input modules are only for single-ended inputs; for a differential +/- 5V input, I would look at the specifications for the NI 9411 and NI 9435 and consider your speed, connectivity, and other needs to make sure that you select the right one.

Regards,
Kyle

[Anigma]

Sorry, just able to finish my design

Now the detector(Geiger Muller tube) should detect Gamma ray particle and send signal.

The noisy signal will be fed into 555Timer, the output of 555Timer will fed into  cDAQ

So the input signal for cDAQ is 5V square wave, and i need LABview software to record down how many count per minute(cpm)(1pulse = 1 count)with time and date that will store in text file

The Cdaq module available in my university is NI cDAQ stater kit, NI9219, NI9201,NI9233, NI9901,NI PXI-8252,NI PXI-4071,PXIe-1062Q,8 slot 3U PXIe.....

Any suggested module for my project? the conecter look wierd to me, and facing problem finding those datasheet.Im totally new to NI equipment and sofware:(Anyone can suggest where should i start with? May God bless me^^

[KyleBryson]

Hi Anigma,

It's good to hear that you have figured out a large portion of your design.  Since you want to make a counter measurement on a 5V square wave, a digital module like the NI 9401 would be ideal.  By placing that module in slot 5 or slot 6, you can use the counters built into the cDAQ-9172 chassis, which make it very easy to measure something like count per minute using the examples included with DAQmx.  Depending on the pulse width out of your 555 circuit, the NI 9421 or NI 9423 might be a good choice too.

The three cDAQ modules that you listed are all analog input, and not ideal for making counter measurements.  If your signals are slow enough, you might be able to write software to mimic a counter, but it's not the ideal solution.

Some modules need a small connector block to allow you to wire in signals; these are inexpensive, and pretty well described in the product manuals.  To find product manuals, go to ni.com and enter the product number (e.g., 9219) in the search field.  Follow a link like 'Operating Instructions and Specifications.'

Regards,
Kyle

[Anigma]

Unforturnately, these device is just what i got, beside that also we have PXIe8105 controller, PXIe-1062Q  8slot chasis,PXI-8252 interface board,PXI-4071 7 1/2 FlexDMM

The main problem is, i hav no idea how these thing work and how to start with, could you recomended a suitable device for me to study on it?

Beside, get stuck wit the hardware, I'm stuck wit the software too....Basically I need a software to count how many pulse in maybe a minute, then save it to a text to make a record.

Do u hav any similiar fuction LABVIEW script that i can study with?Or where can i find them(any keyword to search for them)? 

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank in advance first

[Anigma]

My detector device------>NI Hardware------>PC------>LABview(count how many pulse in a minute,trigger alarm if exceed cetain count,provide stastitic view, save the                  

                                                                                      every  hour to log)

This is the idea, but since I needed the PC all the time, could I just skip the NI Hardware, means direct connected to PC, would LABVIEW work without NI Hardware? Going throught all the datasheet make me feel wat to suicide

[KyleBryson]

Hi Anigma,

You can certainly use LabVIEW without NI hardware.  However, I doubt that your PC already has the I/O capabilities to count pulses directly from your detector, but if it does, that might be a solution.

LabVIEW and the driver software for your CompactDAQ hardware (NI DAQmx) ship with numerous examples for different applications.  Try opening LabVIEW, click on 'Find Examples' and look under Hardware Input and Output -> DAQmx -> Counter Measurements -> Count Digital Events -> Count Digital Events.vi.  That would be a good example to start with if you had a digital module for reading your input as suggested in my previous post.  You could easily add a timer to this example to measure for a minute as you desire.

If you're stuck with the analog input modules, you'll need to start with something like Hardware Input and Output -> DAQmx -> Analog Measurements -> Voltage -> Cont Acq&Graph Voltage-Int Clk.vi, and you'll have to add more programming to look for changes in your input voltage and use that to count pulses.  Either way, there are more examples for things like file I/O under Fundamentals...there should be a good amount to get you started.  The PXI-4071 DMM does have a high-speed digitizer mode that may help if the cDAQ modules are not fast enough; you'll want to look at NI-DMM examples for ideas there.

If you've never used LabVIEW before, you might ask if there are any training sessions going on at your university soon, or maybe some of your professors, teaching assistants, or fellow students could help you get started faster.  Overall, I'd recommend starting with one piece of your application and a shipping example, understand that and get it working, and then expand to complete your entire design.

Good luck!

Regards,
Kyle