Data Acquisition Toolbox

Introduction to Data Acquisition

Before you set up any data acquisition system, you should understand the physical quantities you want to measure, the characteristics of those physical quantities, the appropriate sensor to use, and the appropriate data acquisition hardware to use.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide you with some general guidelines about making measurements with a data acquisition system. The information provided should assist you in understanding the above considerations, and understanding the specification sheet associated with your hardware. The sections are as follows.

Anatomy of a Data Acquisition Experiment	Tasks you perform for each new data acquisition experiment
The Data Acquisition System	Typical components that compose a data acquisition system
The Analog Input Subsystem	Hardware subsystem that converts (digitizes) real-world sensor signals into numbers your computer can read
Making Quality Measurements	Maximizing precision and accuracy, minimizing noise, and matching the sensor range to the hardware range
Selected Bibliography	Resources for additional information

Typographical Conventions Anatomy of a Data Acquisition Experiment