It may not be best to use an E Series DAQ card to read an absolute encoder. Many absolute encoders are 12-bit while the E Series DAQ boards only have 8 DIO lines.
We do have an online tutorial, however, that discusses using absolute encoders with the NI 7344 FlexMotion board. See
Absolute Encoders and NI Products.
I hope this helps!
Russell
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
http://www.ni.com/support
