Multichannel Systems PGA Manual - Manual (Page 11)

7
3 First Use of the PGA
3.1 Welcome to the PGA
The Programmable Gain Amplifier (PGA) is used for amplifying and filtering raw data
from a miniature preamplifier, for example, a MPA32I. The PGA is a differential (I-type)
filter amplifier. It operates similar to the standard I-type filter amplifiers (FA) from Multi
Channel Systems MCS GmbH, but was designed for users who demand a higher flexibility.
Whereas the gain in the standard FA is fixed, the gain of a PGA is software-selectable, in
the range of 10 to 5000, for each individual channel. This is useful when signals from different
sources with either different preamplification stages or different signal amplitudes, for example,
spikes and local field potentials, are recorded.
Gain settings for each channel are selected in the user-friendly program PGA-Control.
Simply pick the desired gain for each channel from the drop-down list and download the settings
onto the amplifier via the USB port. You can print a report sheet and save the gain configuration
for later use.
Standard versions of the PGA are available with 16, 32, and 64 inputs (PGA16, PGA32, PGA64,
respectively). Standard bandwidth is 1 to 5000 Hz, which is useful for recording all signal types,
such as cardiac signals, spikes, and local field potential recordings. Signals can be separated by
digital filtering in MC_Rack, the data acquisition and analysis software from MCS for use with
the ME- / MEA-System. Special versions feature an integrated splitter, with two different
pass bands for recording signals with different frequencies, for example, for separating local
field potentials from spike signals: Input signals are split and the two pass bands (1 to 300 Hz,
300 to 5000 Hz) are sent to two separate outputs. Splitter versions are available with 16 input
and 32 output channels, or 32 input and 64 output channels (PGA1632 and PGA3264,
respectively). Please refer to chapter "Signal Amplification and Filters" for more information.