Overview

This chapter will give you a primer course on data acquisition basics, which we touched on in Chapter 2, "Virtual Instrumentation: Hooking Your Computer Up to the Real World." Data acquisition is one of the main reasons why people use LabVIEWturning their computers into virtual instruments by gathering data from the real world. We'll take a look at the various options you have for taking or making data using DAQ devices. You'll also learn some signal theory and about the kind of hardware used for these systems.

Goals

• Finally find the meaning of all those data acquisition acronyms that everyone thinks you know

• Become familiar with the hardware options you have for acquiring or sending data

• Learn some signal theory, including the classification of signals, measurement types, signal conditioning, and sampling

• Get some hints on picking and installing a DAQ device that suits your needs

• Learn how to set up simulated devices so you can still write DAQ programs without hardware