EEVblog Electronics Community Forum

Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: HenrikWo on October 23, 2023, 12:06:16 pm

Title: NI (Ni-9260) alternative for other OS
Post by: HenrikWo on October 23, 2023, 12:06:16 pm

Hi,
I am looking for a voltage output module with which I can stream (close to realtime) a voltage signal from e.g. Matlab or similar.
The output requirements are as follows:
    - Frequency range: DC up to min. 50 kHz (preferably 100 - 200 kHz)
    - Output voltage: anything between +/- 3 V and +/- 10 V
    - DAC resolution: 24 bits

1. for frequencies above 10 Hz I currently use RME sound cards. This is relatively inexpensive but unfortunately DC is not possible with them!
2. for DC I am currently dependent on NI, specifically the Ni-9260 module, but unfortunately the card only manages 51.2 kS/s.

Does anyone know an output module that combines "both worlds" and is open for different operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS)? I would like to get away from NI hardware for various reasons (which should not be a topic here!). For suggestions and ideas I would be super grateful!

Title: Re: NI (Ni-9260) alternative for other OS
Post by: maxwell3e10 on October 23, 2023, 08:41:43 pm

There are many DAC audio devices that have DC-coupled output, Topping or SMSL brands for example. They typically have a small constant DC offset of around 1 mV, but otherwise work well at low frequency. I don't know if there are 24-bit analog output devices that work at frequencies above audio range.

Title: Re: NI (Ni-9260) alternative for other OS
Post by: RiZsho on October 24, 2023, 08:19:33 am

Maybe www.dewesoft.com (http://www.dewesoft.com) ? They have some ADCs in the 100k-200k (even 1M), but DACs I don't know.

Title: Re: NI (Ni-9260) alternative for other OS
Post by: HenrikWo on October 24, 2023, 08:53:45 am

Thanks for the hint with the DC-coupled outputs. I really did not have that on the screen! My "RME ADI-2 Pro FS R" should come back tomorrow from a measurement. I looked more closely into the data sheet and it should also be able to do that... I will extensively test this in the coming days and report here.

Title: Re: NI (Ni-9260) alternative for other OS
Post by: HenrikWo on October 27, 2023, 12:55:00 pm

Hi, I found the time to take a closer look at the output of the "RME ADI-2 PRO FS R".

Measuring device: Keysight 34465A

DC: Measurement time 600 s; DC aperture 100 ms; 2000 Samples
< 3 Hz: Measurement time 60 s; DC aperture 50 us; Sample time 1 ms; 50k Samples
> 3 Hz: Measurement time 25 s; AC bandwidth 3 Hz; 100 Samples

The results are attached! Have fun with it if anyone is interested!!!