using NI 6009 to read Garmin GPS

[barkera]

I have joined a new research group at a university and need to convert their instrumentation to Labview. I need to synchronize these three things:

1) Get GPS data from a Garmin OEM 18 GPS receiver
2) Get data from three accelerometers
3) Get a video image from a personal camcorder

The research group currently has a NI 6009 I/O device. I have worked with Labview before but have always had bigger and better DAQ boards. Will the current equipment be sufficient? If not, what do I need to purchase? Searching the NI website for GPS came up with literature on the PXI 6608...

Thanks,
Alan

[Brian_Beal]

You will need to use some sort of comms to get data from the GPS 18.  That depends on the model you have.  They come with DB-9 serial, USB, or Ethernet.  Search the discussion forums for Garmin GPS 18 and will find some help there.  Your DAQ device will gather accelerometer data, but the signals may need to be conditioned first.  What accelerometers are you using?  You will need a framegrabber card to get the images from your camcorder.

[kalyanramuv]

Hi Alan,

1) Like Brian explained you need to find the communication interface for your GPS system.

2) To get data from accelerometer signals you would need to perform signal conditioning before digitizing the data. Also, depending on your application you might need a DAQ card which can do simultaneous sampling and have an anti-aliasing filter. If not, just look for a card with good dynamic range. Also, you need to know the type of accelerometer as you might have provide excitation. IEPE excitation is the most commonly used excitation for accelerometers. If you are using IEPE Accelerometer, NI USB-9233 might be good choice.

3) I would recommend you post this question on Machine Vision discussion forums with appropriate information such as camera type and Model. Here is the link to the forums

https://forums.ni.com/t5/Machine-Vision/bd-p/200

Have a great day!

Kalyan

[barkera]

Thanks so much for the help guys. Here is some more information about the system. I will search through the Machine Vision forums per your suggestion.

Serial Communication Information
Garmin 18 PC: Selectable between NMEA 0183 v2.00, NMEA 0183 v3.00, and GARMIN binary formats; Approved output sentences: GPALM, GPGGA, GPGLL, GPGSA, GPGSV, GPRMC, GPVTG; Proprietary sentences: PGRMB, PGRME, PGRMF, PGRMM, PGRMT, PGRMV

Accelerometers (3) - Crossbow CXL04LP3 w/CXLDK Data acquisition accessory


What is the difference between something like the NI 6009 and the PXI 6608 or the NI USB-9233? What are you paying more for? Also, there are not enough serial ports on our rack mounted PC (Dell Poweredge 750), so we are using a Keyspan USB serial adapter to connect the 1. GPS receiver and 2. the accelerometers (via the NI 6009) to the PC. Will the communication standards still work after going through the USB adapter?

Thanks!
~Alan

[kalyanramuv]

Hi Alan,

1) You shouldn't have any problem in getting the data from serial port using LabVIEW. Use VISA or Instrument I/O assistant to perform initial testing.

2) The difference between 9233 and 6009 lies in simultaneous sampling and IEPE Excitation. 9233 can provide IEPE Excitation needed for most of the accelerometers, while can will not source any external excitation. However, it looks like crossbow accelerometer do not need any excitation. So, I would recommend using 9233 if you need data between channels if phase relationship between channels is important. This would depend on your application as what you are trying to achieve.

6608 is a counter timer and is used with digital signals to perform event counting, finding frequency of a digital signal etc.,

Here are the links to product page of 6608

PXI-6608

https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/model.pxi-6608.html

Kalyan

[barkera]

Brian and Kalyan,
I now have our equipment set up to read our GPS and accelerometer data (each timestamped)! Thanks for the help!
Alan