ideal hard/software setup

[epaschalis]

Hi. I am a PhD student and I need some advice on what is right for my project.
The project consists from LVDT which I need to measure and illustrate the results real time on a computer and process the data received.
I need to know the best setup of hardware and software and at the same time keeping in mind that I need a low cost setup and reusable in other projects in the future.

Thank you.

[SShekhar]

Dear epaschalis
Thank you for choosing National Instruments!

In order to facilitate LVDT measurements, we would suggest signal conditioning system including an SCXI chassis (SCXI 1000 or something similar), the LVDT measurement module - SCXI 1540 - it has 8 input channels and can be used for both 4 and 5 wire LVDTs. You can also use this module to measure from RVDTs and Resolvers in addition to LVDT. You can also autocalibrate this hardware from NI-DAQ. You will also need a Multifunction DAQ card. We recommed that you go for the M Series card which has extended functionality and also incorporates our latest technology.

You can find information for:

SCXI 1000 - Here
SCXI 1540 - Here
M Series - Here


Hope this helps.

Thanks and Regards
ShekharS
National Instruments

[epaschalis]

What is better the PCI M series or the PXI? And what would be the difference. Also I have read that you have special discount for students and research student in University. I live in Greece an I am doing my Ph.D in the university of Thrace. How is it possible to order the equipment with discount? I cannot find a distributor on NI in Greece.

Thank you
epaschalis@hotmail.com

[SShekhar]

Dear Epaschalis
I apologize for the delay in getting back to you but I was out of town!

The PCI M Series card is our new line of PCI Multifunction DAQ cards featuring the latest technology and the best features in the market. The question of whether the PCI M Series card is better or the PXI is something of an application based answer.

If you are developing your application on a PC and do not want extended timing and triggering capabilities and if you will only be doing simple Data Acquisition and would not need an ARB or Waveform generators then I would suggest going for the M Series boards because these are affordable and provide you with good timing and triggering and can do very good Analog/Digital/Counter I/O. However, if you need to do advanced triggering and if you need to add more modules, then I would suggest getting a PXI system. Another key component of a PXI system is that it is rugged.

If you need to perform advanced Reconfigurable I/O wherein you can define your own triggering and control parameters, then I would suggest going for CompactRIO which is simply fantastic for the capabilities and ruggedness it provides. To get information on CompactRIO, you can go here.

Any of these choices will depend on the application you are trying to solve/implement. I hope this answers your question to certain depth.

About the sales question that you had, we have an office in Italy which takes care of the Greece segment as well. They are the one who will be able to provide you the necessary pricing. I would suggest contacting them.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks and Regards
ShekharS