Building Digital Dashboard for Vehicle

[Chris Peek]

I am trying to build a digital dashboard concept that will run on a small PC inside a vehicle. The goal is to display a set of gauges/readings to the user.

The sensor inputs will be for temperature for oil and water using automotive style sender (thermistor), exhaust temperature using a thermocouple, oil and water pressure using automotive style sender, boost pressure using automotive style sender, voltage at two batteries, and current at two alternators using appropriate shunts.

The reading of the sensors only needs to occur a few times a second at most.

My challenge is that everywhere I have looked for data acquistion for this project is requiring a significant investment of several thousand dollars in equipment bef
ore buying any sensors. This is because depending on the product, it either is affordable but will not do thermistor inputs, or those that do require expensive signal conditioning. My target budget was about $1,000.

Can anyone suggest some ideas?

[KyleBryson]

Hi Chris,

It sounds like you need an NI 4351. The 4351 is designed specifically for measuring temperature using thermistors, thermocouples, and RTDs, and also for making other voltage or resistance measurements. With cable and terminal block, this solution lists at $1065, which sounds like it might work for your application.

As you have probably already discovered, our SCC and SCXI signal conditioning platforms provide a great deal more flexibility for low and high channel count systems, respectively, and are well-suited to these types of measurements. These solutions may price too high for this specific application, though. SCC is generally a great platform for a number of different signal
types, though I think the number of signals that need current conditioning in your system makes the overall system more expensive. If you are considering reusing some of this system for a future application, you should keep SCC in mind.

Make sure that the 4351 or whatever solution you choose is accurate enough and meets all of your needs. Products can be ordered online or by calling (800) 531-5066. Please let me know if you have more questions or if I can provide more information.

Thank you,
Kyle Bryson
National Instruments