USB-AO Series

The USB-AO Series provides 4, 8, or 16 single-ended analog outputs (digital-to-analog converters, i.e. DACs) with either 12- or 16-bit resolution. Additional features include two 16-bit analog inputs (analog-to-digital converters, i.e. ADCs) and 16 digital I/O lines—all packaged in a small, rugged, industrial enclosure. This module can be used in any PC or embedded system with a USB port and is an ideal choice for embedded system and test designers. The unit can be used in an assortment of USB-based embedded applications which require stable and accurate output signals. Ideal applications include light control, motion control, and process controls.

The boards feature jumper selectable unipolar and bipolar output ranges of ±5V or 0-10V ranges for the DACs. Additional ranges can be achieved as factory options giving the user a variety to select from. All analog output channels can be updated either individually or simultaneously at up to 4kHz. System calibration specific to user requirements can be performed via a provided, easy-to-use, software utility. Automatic circuits limit analog outputs to zero volts until initialized via software command.

16 digital I/O lines are provided in two groups of 8 bits. Both digital bytes are individually software configured as input or output. Each 8-bit digital I/O group also can be configured for either 5V CMOS or 3.3V LVTTL signaling via jumper selection.

The USB-AO Series is designed to be used in rugged industrial environments but is small enough to fit nicely onto any desk or testing station. The board itself is PC/104 sized (3.550 x 3.775 inches, 90mm x 96mm) and ships inside a steel powder-coated enclosure with an anti-skid bottom. A DIN rail mounting provision and extended temperature is available for installation in industrial environments.

All connections are made via industry-standard 37-pin D-Sub connectors.

The USB-AO Series includes 10 models with list prices ranging from $299 to $699.

Firmware 2.0 Features

Onboard Watchdog Timer. If your application fails to communicate with the device within a specified timeout period (up to hundreds of seconds) the onboard intelligence will change all the output ports and values to the configured "safe" state.

Need a DAC to power up at 1 Volt? Want the digital output port to generate a square wave as soon as the firmware is loaded? Now you can configure the power-on default states for all possible outputs.

Command the onboard intelligence to perform digital input debouncing and latching. Debouncing time constants from hundreds of microseconds to hundreds of milliseconds allows a wide variety of low-pass filtering options. Latching inputs record low- and high-going pulses that your application may otherwise have missed.

PWM allows programmable duty-cycle square wave output on any digital output. MAP is our new Matrix Mapping feature, wherein you can command the onboard intelligence to automagically copy the state of one bit onto another bit, with no computer interaction required.

OEM USB/104 FORM FACTOR

The OEM (board only) version is perfect for a variety of embedded applications. What makes the OEM option unique is that its PCB size and pre-drilled mounting holes match the PC/104 form factor (without the bus connections). This ensures easy installation using standard standoffs inside most embedded enclosures or systems. The board can be added to any PC/104-based stack by simply connecting it to a USB port included on-board with embedded CPU form factors such as EBX, EPIC, and PC/104. This is especially important since many newer CPU chipsets do not support ISA and have plenty of USB ports. Future stacks will be using the extremely fast PCI Express bus which is essentially overkill for simple monitoring and control. For embedded OEM type applications, an additional micro-fit USB input header is provided.

High Retention USB Connector

The ever-growing presence of USB in the industrial/military marketplace has driven the need for USB connections to be reliable, dependable, and unfailing. Gone are the days of loose USB connections. A type B USB connector is used on all ACCES USB/104 products which features a high retention design that complies with the class 1, Div II minimum withdrawal requirement of over 3 pounds of force (15 Newtons). This connector has an orange color-coded insulator to quickly differentiate it from standard USB connectors. Using these USB connectors increases reliability in your system and ensures a tight connection. For embedded OEM type applications, an additional micro-fit USB input header is provided.

Applications

• Process Control
• Light Control
• Motion Control
• Mobile Solutions
• Test Equipment
• Kiosks
• Robotics
• Machine Control
• Laboratory Monitoring and Control
• Security Systems
• Industrial Automation
• Embedded OEM

Optional Accessories

Available accessories include a wide variety of cables and screw terminal boards for quick and easy connectivity. Also, a DIN rail mounting provision is available.

Drivers and Downloads

Full list of available Downloads: Software Packages, Drivers, Manuals, and other documents

Information about our Free Software packages:

ACCES is proud to provide a full suite of software support with every Data Acquisition product. We are committed to supporting the most popular operating systems and platforms for our customers. Currently we are actively supporting XP -> 10, both 32 & 64 bit, including "Server 2008," "Embedded," and "Compact" flavors for all plug-and-play products including PCI, PCI Express, USB, and more. Many products continue to ship with support for additional operating systems such as DOS, Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, and 2000.

Samples

Among the software we deliver with our products are sample programs in a wide variety of programming languages. These samples are used to demonstrate the software interfaces to our products — and many can be used as-is in your production environments, or to test functionality of the devices out-of-the-box. We're currently actively supporting sample programs in Microsoft Visual C#, Visual Basic, Delphi, and Visual C/C++, with many devices including samples in Borland C/C++ 3.1 for DOS. Additionally we provide National Instruments LabVIEW compatible DLLs and many demonstration VIs for our devices.

Drivers

Drivers for various operating systems are also provided, including active support for Windows XP -> 10 — all in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, and including consumer, server, and embedded varieties — as well as the 2.6 and newer Linux kernels and recent OSX / macOS versions. Many products continue to ship with driver support for Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, and Windows 2000, but support for these operating systems is considered deprecated.

Setup Programs and Utilites

Our Data Acquisition devices also include a graphical setup utility that walks you through the process of configuring any option jumpers or switches on the device, as well as explaining a little about the various connectors present.

Many devices also include utility programs - little tools to make your use of the device easier, such as EWriter, a program that allows you to read and write data in the user-accessible EEPROM locations on all our USB data acquisitition products; or WinRISC, a "Really Incredibly Simple Communications" terminal program that lets you get started instantly with serial devices.

"Register Level" Documentation

Besides all this software in all these languages and operating systems ACCES has a policy of open and transparent development: none of our lowest-level "register" interfaces are hidden from you — we document every register in every bus card, every command in every serial board, and every usb control transfer in every USB Data Acquisition board. These lowest-level interfaces allow you to develop for our products in ANY operating system or language, regardless of our actively supporting it or having a driver for it. We have customers actively developing in ADA, Android, Python, Java, MATLAB, Solaris, and more, just by referring to our complete low-level interface documentation! And we provide the full source code to all of our drivers, regardless of operating system, to give you an even bigger head start in your own development tasks.

No Fees or Royalties

All of this software is provided at no additional charge, and is licensed under any of a variety of flexible — and royalty free — options. Check out our software license explanation if you'd like more information..

USB and Performance

Our USB Data Acquisition products use our "AIOUSB" driver package in Windows and Linux. This driver package includes 32-bit and 64-bit support, and consists of low-level driver components and a high-level API library. This custom interface driver enables our USB devices to achieve 4000 transactions per second, compared to the competitions' "HID" drivers that cap out around 50 transactions per second. You can read all about the API in the USB Software Reference Manual linked below, and included in every applicable Software Package. (The Linux version of the AIOUSB API is almost identical to the Windows API, and is documented in the aiousb.html file included in the Linux software package.) Like all of our software, full source code is always provided.

Custom Software

ACCES also offers Custom Software Services for our products. Our prices are unbelievably low, often as inexpensive as free! If you need something tweaked to support your needs, or an entire enterprise application developed from scratch, it is definitely worth your time to inquire with us, first.

Further information about available ACCES Software:

Redistributing Windows Drivers

A list of ACCES drivers and the files that compose them under different versions of Windows, so you can easily redistribute ACCES cards and drivers.

Analog Outputs

• Number of Outputs: 16 channels
• Type of Outputs: Single-ended
• Resolution: 16-bit resolution (12-bit available)
• Unipolar Ranges: 0-10V standard, 0-5V*
• Bipolar Ranges: ±5V standard, ±10V*
• Conversion Rate: 4kHz, all channels simultaneous
• Relative Accuracy: ±4 LSB typical
• Diff. Non-linearity: ±0.25 LSB typical
• Settling Time: 8us typical, 10us max
• Output Current: ±12 mA per channel
  * Factory Configured

Digital Inputs

• 3.3V configuration
• Logic High: 2VDC min, 5.5VDC max
• Logic Low: 0.8VDC max, -0.5VDC min
• 5V configuration
• Logic High: 3.5VDC min, 5.5VDC max
• Logic Low: 1.5VDC max, -0.5VDC min

Digital Outputs

• 3.3V configuration
• Logic High: 2.4VDC min, source 10 mA
• Logic Low: 0.55VDC max, sink 24 mA
• 5V configuration
• Logic High: 3.8VDC min, source 10 mA
• Logic Low: 0.55VDC max, sink 24 mA

Analog Inputs

• Number of channels: 2
• ADC Type: Successive Approximation
• Sampling Rate: 4k samples per second
• Resolution: 16-bit
• Unipolar range: 0-5V

Environmental

• Operating Temp.: 0° to 70°C
• Storage Temp.: -40° to +85°C
• Humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
• Board Dimension: 3.550 x 3.775 inches

Power

• +12VDC: @ 100 mA typical, no-load on DIO buffer sourced outputs and DAC outputs @ 520 mA typical, full-load on DIO buffer sourced outputs and DAC outputs
• Includes external AC to 12V @ 1Amp DC regulated adapter (not included with -OEM option)
• Optional screw terminal power input