Measurement Computing CIO-DAS-TC - Manual (Page 7)

7
Chapter 1
Introducing the CIO-DAS-TC Board
Overview: CIO-DAS-TC features
The CIO-DAS-TC is a 16-channel thermocouple/voltage input board for the ISA bus. The board accepts
seven different types of thermocouple input—J, K, E, T, R, S, and B. The digital output is scaled for
temperature in either °C or °F.
An onboard microprocessor handles all of the control and math functions, including:

cold junction compensation (CJC)
 automatic gain and offset calibration
 scaling (voltage to temperature translation)
 thermocouple linearization.
This relieves the computer from performing all of these functions. The analog input section is electrically
isolated from the computer. Onboard dip switches are used for setting the base address.
The CIO-DAS-TC is designed for use with the CIO-STA-TC adapter board. The CIO-STA-TC is an
external screw terminal board for thermocouple connections. This adapter board provides screw terminals
for each thermocouple input channel on the CIO-DAS-TC. A cold junction compensation (CJC) sensor is
integrated into an isothermal bar to maintain the screw terminals at a constant temperature. You can
configure open thermocouple detection (OTD) for each input channel with on-board switches. The CIO-
STA-TC screw terminal board is mounted in an enclosure to minimize errors caused by local currents or
air drafts.
The CIO-DAS-TC is shipped fully-calibrated from the factory with calibration coefficients stored in
nonvolatile RAM. At run time, these calibration factors are loaded into system memory and automatically
retrieved each time a different range is specified. The user can recalibrate with respect to the factory-
measured voltage standards with the InstaCal software. InstaCal calibrates all channels at all four ranges
in less than a minute per channel.
The CIO-DAS-TC is available by itself (MCC part number CIO-DAS-TC/BRD), or as part of a kit that
includes the CIO-STA-TC screw terminal adapter board and five foot shielded cable. The MCC part
number for the kit is CIO-DAS-TC.
Software features
For information on the features of InstaCal and the other software included with your CIO-DAS-TC,
refer to the Quick Start Guide that shipped with your device. The Quick Start Guide is also available in
PDF at www.mccdaq.com/PDFmanuals/DAQ-Software-Quick-Start.pdf .
Check www.mccdaq.com/download.htm for the latest software version.