Strategic Test Introduces First 4-channel Digitizer PXI module

Up to 25 MS/s on all four channels with 12-bit vertical resolution.
Includes up to 128 MByte memory to record long signals at maximum sampling rates.

Boston, MA - Strategic Test Corporation today announced the UltraFast UX3131, industry's first 3U PXI card with four high-speed digitizer channels. With the release of this card, engineers and scientists can now acquire on all 4 channels at rates to 25 MS/s for SONAR, LIDAR and Ultrasonic measurements. The card combines the advantages of 12-bit resolution, 8 input ranges, programmable input offset, up to 64 MSamples memory and optional high-speed digital inputs on a single card.

"Our customers have been asking for a high performance card that allowed them to create high-channel count systems", stated Bob Giblett, President of Strategic Test. "The design team created a card that not only packs 4 channels in a 3U form factor, but also managed to achieve a set of dynamic specifications that are best-in-class together with a feature set our customers demand."

The UX3131 provides four input channels, each with a 12-bit A/D for true simultaneous sampling, 25 MS/s maximum sampling rate on every channel, a 12.5 MHz bandwidth, internal and external triggering and external clocking.

Each channel can be programmed with one of the 8 input ranges ±50 mV to 10V and the input signal can also be offset adjusted by up to 100% of each range. Together with the AC/DC coupling and a choice of 50 Ohm or 1 MOhm impedances, the user is able to configure each input by software so that it is optimised for each signal source.

Like all of the UltraFast PXI, PCI and CompactPCI Digitizer cards, the UX3131 sampling rate can be programmed from 1kS/s to the 25 MS/s maximum rate when using the onboard clock, or from DC to 25 MHz when using an external clock signal – a feature often used to synchronize the card to external equipment. In either case, the user is free to specify any sample rate within these ranges and the software driver will automatically adjust the onboard clock signal hardware divider and PLL to obtain the closest possible match. As many digitizer cards limit the available sampling rate to a few pre-selected ranges, Strategic Test has created an Application Note (AN_01 Sampling Rate Determination) that describes its technology in greater detail. This can be downloaded from the company's website at www.strategic-test.com

The UX3131 can record signals to onboard memory or continuously transfer the digitized data gap-free across the PXI bus to the PC host at up to 100 Mbytes (50 MSamples) per second.

There is an extensive list of available options. Apart from expanding the on-board memory from the standard 8 MSamples up to 64 MSamples in various increments, there is the Multiple Recording option for recording a series of waveforms at very high speed (over 20,000 per second are possible), Gated Sampling that starts and stops the recording when an external TTL signal changes level and a high-speed Digital Inputs option that allows 16 TTL or CMOS level signals to be acquired at the same speed as the A/D's, a feature often used to record high-speed events or status information from other equipment.

Software drivers for Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME, 98 and Linux are supplied, while drivers for MATLAB, LabVIEW, Agilent's-VEE and DASYLab are available as cost-options.

Strategic Test also includes its SBench measurement/oscilloscopes program running under Microsoft Windows. This supports all of the UX3131's features. Signals can be recorded and displayed graphically then cursors used to make graphical analysis such as measuring peak values. Statistical calculations and FFT's can be performed on the data. More sophisticated analysis can be performed created using third-party programs, such as MATLAB by exporting the signal data as ASCII / Text files.

The UltraFast UX3131 with 16 MByte memory costs $8036, with 32 MBytes $8960, 64 MBytes $10031, 128 MBytes $11256. Prices are based on the current Euro/US$ exchange rate. OEM prices are available on request.

About Strategic Test
With the introduction of more than 130 new high-speed Digitizer, Arbitrary Waveform Generator and high-speed Digital I/O PCI, 3U PXI and 6U CompactPCI cards during the last three years, Strategic Test Corporation now offers the widest range of high-speed PC-based instruments. The UltraFast cards are designed at the R&D facility in northern Germany and distributed through our Head Office in Stockholm (Sweden), the US office in Boston and a distributor in Japan.

The first high-speed measurement card for PC's was designed in 1989. All of the current range of more than 145 cards has been developed since 1999. Strategic Test's clients include global electronics, semiconductor, defense, telecommunications and medical instrument companies, government funded research labs and universities in five continents.

Source: Strategic Test