National Instruments NI 4050 manual

Computer-Based Instruments NI 4050 User Manual Digital Multimeter Card for PCMCIA NI 4050 User Manual Mar ch 2000 Edition Part Number 3214 27C-01[...]

Worldwide Technical Support and Product Info rmation www.ni.com National Instruments Corporate Headquarters 11500 North Mopac Expressway Austin, Texas 78759-3504 USA Tel: 512 794 0100 Worldwide Offices Australia 03 9879 5166, Austria 0662 45 79 90 0, Belgium 02 757 00 20, Brazil 011 284 5011, Canada (Calgary) 403 274 9391, Canada (Ontario) 905 785 [...]

Important Information Warranty The NI 405 0 is warrant ed against defects in materials and workmanshi p for a peri od of one year from th e date of s hipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. Nat ional Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective durin g the warranty period . T his w arran[...]

Compliance FCC/Canada Radio Frequency Interference Compliance* Determining FCC Class The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rules to protect wireless communications from interference. The FCC places digital electronics into two classes. These classes are known as Class A (for use in industrial- commercial locations only) or Class B (for us[...]

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. • Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV te chnician for help. Canadian Department of Communications This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations. Cet appareil num[...]

Conventions The follo wing con ventions are used in this manual: » The » symbol leads you throu gh nested menu items and dialog box options to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options directs you to pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item, and select Options from the last dialog box. This icon denotes a note, which alert[...]

© National Instruments Corporation vii NI 4050 User Manual Contents Chapter 1 Taking Measurements with the NI 4050 Cable and Probes .................. .............. ........... .............. ............ ........... .............. ........... .. 1-1 Introduction to the VirtualBench-DMM Soft Front Panel..................... .............. .......[...]

Contents NI 4050 User Manual viii www.ni.com Appendix A Specifications Appendix B Technical Support Resources Glossary Index Figures Figure 1-1. Installing the NI 4050 and Cables ................. .............. .............. ............ 1-2 Figure 1-2. NI-DMM Soft Front Panel ........ ............ .............. ........... .............. ......[...]

© National Instruments Corporation 1-1 NI 4050 User Manual 1 T aking Measurements with the NI 4050 Thank you for buying a N ational Instruments 4050 digital multimeter card. A system based on the NI 4050 offers the flexibility, performance, and size that makes it ideal for service, repair, and manufacturing as well as for use in industrial and lab[...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measure ments with the NI 4050 NI 4050 User Manual 1-2 www .ni.com Figure 1-1. Installing the NI 4050 and Cables The test probes connect to the NI 4050 accessory cable via shrouded banana jacks. The shrouds around the banan a jacks prevent you from contacting potentially hazardous v o ltages connected to the test probes. Y ou can [...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measurements with the NI 4050 © National Instruments Corporation 1-3 NI 4050 User Manual Introduction to the VirtualBench-DMM Soft Front Panel The following sections explain how to make connections to your NI 4050 and take simple measurements using the VirtualBench-DMM, as shown in Figure 1 -2 . To launch the soft front panel, se[...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measure ments with the NI 4050 NI 4050 User Manual 1-4 www .ni.com The Function selector allo ws you select a measurement mode. Select Edit»Settings and click on the tabs for Current and Resistance or Temperature to control the d ata type acquired by V irtualBen ch-DMM. DC volts measures the DC component of a v oltage signal. A C[...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measurements with the NI 4050 © National Instruments Corporation 1-5 NI 4050 User Manual % selects the percentage calculation. V irtualBench-DMM expresses the displayed reading as a percent de viation from the reference value entered in the Math Settings. Refer to Help»Online Reference , Math Settings topic for more information [...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measure ments with the NI 4050 NI 4050 User Manual 1-6 www .ni.com The NI 4050 is protected against damage from voltages within ±250 VDC or 250 V rms in all rang es. Y ou should nev er apply v oltages abov e these levels to the inputs. Figure 1-4. Connecting Probes for V oltage Measurement 2. Select the mode you will measure: •[...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measurements with the NI 4050 © National Instruments Corporation 1-7 NI 4050 User Manual Figure 1-5. Connections for Resistanc e Measurement 2. Select 2-wire resistance mode. 3. Select the range for your measurement—200 Ω , 2 k Ω , 20 k Ω , 200 k Ω , 2 M Ω , 200 M Ω , or autorange. The v alue indicator indicates the[...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measure ments with the NI 4050 NI 4050 User Manual 1-8 www .ni.com 2. Select diode mode. 3. Select the range for your measurement. Only the 2 V range is av ailable for diode measurement. The v alue indicator will indicate the voltage drop measured. If the display indicates 2.200 VDC, the diode is either rev erse biased or defectiv[...]

Chapter 1 T aking Measurements with the NI 4050 © National Instruments Corporation 1-9 NI 4050 User Manual Measure T emperature You can measure temperature using common temperature transducers such as resistive temperature devices (RTD) and thermistors. You can measure transducers in the 2-wire resistance mode, as shown in Figure 1-8. Although the[...]

© National Instruments Corporation 2-1 NI 4050 User Manual 2 NI 4050 Operation This chapter contains safety instructions, measurement fundamentals and concerns, and scanning information. Safety Instructions Cautions T o av oid personal injury or damage to electronic equipment, observ e the following: Do not operate this instrument in an e xplosi v[...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation NI 4050 User Manual 2-2 www .ni.com Measurement Fundamentals Wa r m U p The required warm-up time for the NI 4050 is 30 minutes. This warm-up time is important because measurements made with the NI 4050 multimeter can change with temperature. This change is called a thermal drift and affects your accuracy. To minimize th[...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation © National Instruments Corporation 2-3 NI 4050 User Manual Input Ranges The NI 40 50 has five input ranges available for measuring DC voltages. These ranges are ±20 mV, ±200 mV, ±2.0 V, ±25V, and ±250 V. Each range has a 10% overrange, except for the 250 V range. The 250 V and 25 V input ranges have a 1 M Ω input[...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation NI 4050 User Manual 2-4 www .ni.com Thermal EMF Thermal EMFs, or thermoelectric potentials, are voltages generated at the junctions of dissimilar metals and are functions of t emperature. Thermal EMFs in a circuit under test can cause higher than expected offsets that change with temperature. Noise Rejection The NI 40 50[...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation © National Instruments Corporation 2-5 NI 4050 User Manual Figure 2-2. Normal Mode Measurement Effects If you are measuring signals in the presence of large normal mode voltages, consult Appendix A, Specificatio ns , to calculate the additional error to your system. Use the equation in Figure 2-2 to calculate the voltag[...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation NI 4050 User Manual 2-6 www .ni.com Figure 2-3. Common Mode Measurement Effects Using the equation in Figure 2-3, you can calculate the voltage error due to the common mode v oltage. If you are measuring signals in the presence of large common mode v oltages, consult Appendix A, Specifications , to calculate the addition[...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation © National Instruments Corporation 2-7 NI 4050 User Manual components and then measures the RMS v alue of the A C component. This method lets you measure a small A C signal in the presence of a lar ge DC of fset. Input Ranges The NI 40 50 has five input ranges available for measuring AC voltages. These ranges are 20 mV [...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation NI 4050 User Manual 2-8 www .ni.com These additional errors are sho wn in Appendix A, Specifications . Wh ile the NI 4 050 is characterized and specified ov er the 20 Hz to 25 kHz frequency range, measurements outside of this range can still be made with decre ased accuracy . Resistance Measurements 2-Wire Resistance Mea[...]

Chapter 2 NI 4050 Operation © National Instruments Corporation 2-9 NI 4050 User Manual In the extended ohms range, the NI 4050 adds a 1 M Ω resistor in parallel with the test resistor , and then calculates the v alue of the resistor being tested. The test current for the 200 Ω , 2.0 k Ω , and 20 k Ω ranges is 100 µA. The test current for [...]

© National Instruments Corporation A-1 NI 4050 User Manual A Specifications This appendix lists the specif ications of the NI 4050. These specif ications are guaranteed between 15 and 35 ° C unless otherwise specifi ed. DC V oltage Accuracy (% of reading ± µV) Noise Rejection NMRR (10 Hz reading rate, 50/60 Hz powerline frequency ±1%) ...... .[...]

Appendix A Specifications NI 4050 User Manual A-2 www .ni. com DC Current Accuracy (% of reading ± µA ) DC current measurements require the use of the CSM current shunt modules. Input Characteristics 200 mA shunt Input protection ............................... Fuse F1 500 mA/250 V fast fusing Shunt resistor ................. ............ ......1[...]

Appendix A Specifications © National Instruments Corporation A-3 NI 4050 User Manual AC V oltage Accuracy (% of reading ± mV) Noise Rejection AC CMRR (DC to 60 Hz).................. .... > 80 dB (with a 1 k Ω imbalance in LO lead) Input Characteristics Input resistance ................. ............ ......... 1 M Ω all ranges Bandwidth ...[...]

Appendix A Specifications NI 4050 User Manual A-4 www .ni. com AC Current Accuracy (% of reading ± mA) A C current measurements require the use of the CSM current shunt module. Input Characteristics 200 mA shunt Input protection ............................... Fuse F1 500 mA/250 V fast fusing Shunt resistor ................. ............ ......1 ?[...]

Appendix A Specifications © National Instruments Corporation A-5 NI 4050 User Manual Resistance Accuracy (% of reading ± Ω) Measurement mode .................... ... ......... 2-wire Ohms Test current ............................................ 100 µA for 200 Ω, 2 k Ω, 20 k Ω ranges 1 µA for 2 M Ω, 200 k Ω ranges 1 µA and 1 M Ω [...]

Appendix A Specifications NI 4050 User Manual A-6 www .ni. com General Specifications Settling time . .............. .............. ...............Affected by source impedance and input signal changes Warm-up time ............... ........... ........... ....30 minutes for measurements accurate within specifications Bus type ..................... ..[...]

© National Instruments Corporation B-1 NI 4050 User Manual B T echnical Support Resources This appendix describes the comprehensiv e resources av ailable to you in the T echnical Support section of the National Instruments W eb site and provides technical support telephone numbers for you to use if you hav e trouble connecting to our W eb site or [...]

Appendix B T echnical Support R esources NI 4050 User Manual B-2 www .ni. com Software-Related Resources • Instrument Driver Network —A library with hundreds of in strument dri v ers fo r control of standalone instruments via GPIB, VXI, or serial interfaces. Y ou also can submit a request for a particular instrument dri ver if it does not alrea[...]

© National Instruments Corporation G-1 NI 4050 User Manual Glossar y Pref ix Meanings V alue p- pico- 10 –1 2 n- nano- 10 –9 µ- micro- 10 –6 m- milli- 10 –3 k- kilo- 10 3 M- mega- 10 6 G- giga- 10 9 Numbers/Symbols % percent + positi ve of, or plus – negati ve of, or minus /p e r °d e g r e e ± plus or minus Ω ohm A A amperes A C al[...]

Glossary NI 4050 User Manual G-2 www.ni.com ADC analog-to-digital con verter—an electronic de vice, often an integrated circuit, that con verts an analog v oltage to a digital number ADC resolution the resolution of the ADC, which is measured in bits. An ADC with16 bits has a higher resolution, and thus a higher de gree of accuracy , than a 12-bi[...]

Glossary © National Instruments Corporation G-3 NI 4050 User Manual CompactPCI refers to the core specif ication defined by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturer’ s Group (PICMG ) con version de vice de vice that transforms a signal from one form to another . F or example, analog-to-digital con verters (ADCs) for analog input, digital-to-anal[...]

Glossary NI 4050 User Manual G-4 www.ni.com dielectric absorption a parasitic phenomenon related to capacitors that can cause une xpectedly long settling times in circu its usin g capacitors with poor dielectric absorption specifications dif ferential input an analog input consisting of two terminals, both of which are isolated from computer ground[...]

Glossary © National Instruments Corporation G-5 NI 4050 User Manual H harmonics multiples of th e fundamental frequency of a signal half-po wer bandwidth the frequency range over which a circuit maintains a lev el of at least –3 dB with respect to the maximum level hardware the physical components of a computer system, such as the circuit boards[...]

Glossary NI 4050 User Manual G-6 www.ni.com ISA industry standard architecture isolation a type of signal conditioning in which you isolate the transducer signals from the computer for safety purposes. This protects you and your computer from large v oltage spikes and makes sure the measurements from the D A Q device are not af fected by dif ferenc[...]

Glossary © National Instruments Corporation G-7 NI 4050 User Manual P PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect—a high-performance expansion bu s architecture originally dev eloped by Intel to replace ISA and EISA; it is achieving widespread acceptance as a standard for PCs and workstations and of fers a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 132 Mb y[...]

Glossary NI 4050 User Manual G-8 www.ni.com S s seconds S samples sense in four -wire resistance the sense measures the v oltage across the resistor being excited b y th e excitation current settling time the amount of time required for a v oltage to reach its final v alue within specified limits S/s samples per second—used to e xpress the rate a[...]

Glossary © National Instruments Corporation G-9 NI 4050 User Manual V V volts V A C volts alternating current VDC volts direct current V error voltage error VI virtual instrument—(1) a combination of hardware and/or software elements, typically used with a PC, that has the functionality of a classic stand-alone instrument (2) a LabVIEW softw are[...]

© National Instruments Corporation I-1 NI 4050 User Manual Index A AC current specifications, A-4 AC voltage measurement, 2-6 to 2 -8 AC offset voltage, 2-7 frequency response, 2-7 to 2-8 input ranges, 2-7 using VirtualBench-DMM Sof t Front panel, 1-5 to 1-6 AC voltage specifications, A-3 C cables and probes, 1-1 to 1-2 installing, 1 -1 to 1-2 ove[...]

Index NI 4050 User Manual I-2 © National Instruments Corporation using VirtualBench-DMM Soft Front panel, 1-5 to 1-6 current, 1-8 DC voltage, 2-2 to 2 -6 common mode reject io n , 2-6 to 2-7 effective common mode rejection, 2-6 input impedance, 2-3 input ranges, 2-3 noise rejection, 2-4 to 2-6 normal mode rejection, 2 -4 to 2-5 thermal EMF, 2-4 us[...]

Index © National Instruments Corporation I-3 NI 4050 User Manual S safety instructions, 2-1 soft front panel . See VirtualBench-DMM Sof t Front panel. software-related resources, B-2 specifications, A-1 to A-6 AC current, A-4 AC voltage, A-3 DC current, A-2 DC voltage, A-1 diode testing, A-5 environment, A-6 general, A-6 physical, A-6 resistance, [...]