Input basics – MoTeC ACL VIM User Manual
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22 Operation
To connect a thermocouple to an ADL2 a MoTeC thermocouple 
amplifier may be used. The amplifier measures the very weak signal 
from the thermocouple and amplifies it so that it is suitable for 
connection to an Analogue Voltage (or Analogue Temperature) input on 
the ADL2. 
Note Sensor amplifiers normal require power to be supplied to them, 
often a regulated 5 volt or 8 volt supply. This means that they cannot be 
simply connected to the vehicle battery voltage. The various MoTeC 
measurement devices usually have a number of 5V and 8V sensor 
supply pins for this purpose. 
Amplified Sensors
Some sensors have an internal amplifier to convert the signal from the 
internal sensing element to a voltage suitable to connect to an 
Analogue Voltage input or in some cases to a Digital input. Many 
pressure sensors and crank trigger sensors work this way. 
These sensors normally require power to be supplied to them as 
described for Sensor Amplifiers above. 
Input Basics
Calibration
Calibration is the process of converting the electrical value, for example 
voltage, into a number that represents the physical value, for example 
temperature. 
The calibrations can be selected from a number of predefined calibrations 
provided by MoTeC, or they can be entered by the user. 
Read Value Feature
Note To use the Read Value feature in ACL manager, a channel must 
already be assigned to that pin and sent to the device (unlike the same 
feature in ADL2 / SDL). 
Range
Each input will have a range over which it will work. For example some 
analogue voltage inputs will work over a range of 0 to 5 volts and others may 
work over a range of 0 to 15 volts. Similarly digital frequency inputs will only 
work over a certain range of frequencies. 
