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Converting Counts to Volts

In this help file, any time the term "2s complement, 16-bit binary value" is used, this value can be converted to volts using the methods described below. Data is returned from the instrument in the form of A/D converter counts (ADReading). These counts may be converted to volts for all instruments as follows (a simplified version of this formula is presented under the heading Simplified below):

Generate/simplifiedold1.jpg

where:

     ADReading is a signed integer value returned from the instrument. All bits after the LSB should be zero.

     Vmax is the maximum input voltage accepted at the selected gain.

     Vmin is the minimum input voltage accepted at the selected gain.

For complete accuracy, it may be necessary to turn ADReading into a 14-bit integer rather than a 16-bit integer.

Note that Vmax , Vmin , and gain factor vary by instrument. The following tables list each value of Vmax and Vmin by instrument and gain factor:

 

 

Instrument

Gain

Unipolar Mode

Bipolar Mode

Vmax

Vmin

Vmax

Vmin

DI-1100, DI-145, DI-148, DI-1491, DI-150, DI-151, DI-154, DI-190, DI-194, DI-195, DI-11102, and DI-21082

1

N/A

N/A

+10

-10

DI-4718B

1

N/A

N/A

+5

-5

DI-1551

1

2

4

5

8

10

16

20

N/A

N/A

50

25

12.5

10

6.25

5

3.125

2.5

-50

-25

-12.5

-10

-6.25

-5

-3.125

-2.5

DI-245 and DI-2008 (voltage)

1

2

5

10

20

50

100

200

500

1000

2000

5000

N/A

N/A

+50

+25

+10

+5

+2.5

+1

+0.5

+0.25

+0.1

+0.05

+0.025

+0.01

-50

-25

-10

-5

-2.5

-1

-0.5

-0.25

-0.1

-0.05

-0.025

-0.01

DI-245 and DI-2008 (thermocouple)

J

K

B

R/S

E

N

T

N/A

N/A

1200

1372

1820

1768

1000

1300

400

-210

-200

250

-50

-200

-200

-200

DI-11202 and DI-42082

1

2

5

10

20

50

N/A

N/A

100

50

20

10

5

2

-100

-50

-20

-10

-5

-2

DI-41082

1

2

5

10

20

50

N/A

N/A

10

5

2

1

0.5

0.2

-10

-5

-2

-1

-0.5

-0.2

DI-2108-P2

1

2

4

10

5

N/A

0

0

N/A

10

5

2.5

-10

-5

-2.5

DI-158U & DI-715B

1

2

4

8

N/A

N/A

+10

+5

+2.5

+1.25

-10

-5

-2.5

-1.25

DI-158UP

1

2

4

8

16

32

64

128

256

512

N/A

N/A

+64

+32

+16

+8

+4

+2

+1

+0.5

+0.25

+0.125

-64

-32

-16

-8

-4

-2

-1

-0.5

-0.25

-0.125

DI-200, DI-2103

& DI-222

1

2

4

8

10

100

1000

10

5

2.5

1.25

1

0.1

0.01

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+10

+5

+2.5

+1.25

+1

+0.1

+0.01

-10

-5

-2.5

-1.25

-1

-0.1

-0.01

DI-201 & DI-220

1

2

4

8

10

100

1000

5

2.5

1.25

0.625

0.5

0.05

0.005

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+5

+2.5

+1.25

+0.625

+0.5

+0.05

+0.005

-5

-2.5

-1.25

-0.625

-0.5

-0.05

-0.005

DI-221TC

1

10

100

1000

N/A

N/A

+5

+0.5

+0.05

+0.005

-5

-0.5

-0.05

-0.005

DI-400 &

DI-410*

1

2

4

8

10

100

N/A

N/A

+10

+5

+2.5

+1.25

+1

+0.1

-10

-5

-2.5

-1.25

-1

-0.1

DI-401, DI-718B

1

N/A

N/A

+5

-5

DI-700 & DI-710

1

2

4

8

10

100

1000

N/A

N/A

+10

+5

+2.5

+1.25

+1

+0.1

+0.01

-10

-5

-2.5

-1.25

-1

-0.1

-0.01

DI-720

1

2

4

8

N/A

N/A

+10

+5

+2.5

+1.25

-10

-5

-2.5

-1.25

DI-730 and DI-4730

1

10

100

1000

10000

100000

N/A

N/A

+1000

+100

+10

+1

+0.1

+0.01

-1000

-100

-10

-1

-0.1

-0.01

DI-50014

1

2

4

8

N/A

N/A

+5 or +10

+2.5 or +5

+1.25 or +2.5

+0.625 or +1.25

-5 or -10

-2.5 or -5

-1.25 or -2.5

-0.625 or -1.25

 

1 For Rate channel 9 please refer to the following table:

Gain Vmax Vmin
2
4
10
20
40
100
200
400
1000
2000
4000
10000
5000
2000
1000
500
200
100
50
20
10
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

2 For Rate channel 9 please refer to the following table:

Gain Vmax Vmin
2
5
10
20
50
100
200
500
1000
2000
5000
10000
50000
20000
10000
5000
2000
1000
500
200
100
50
20
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

3 DI-210 and DI-410 instruments only support gains of 1, 2, 4, and 8.

4 DI-5001 instruments have a jumper-selectable input range feature that allows them to be configured for either ±5 volts full scale or ±10 volts full scale.

 

 

 

Bipolar Mode

Instrument

Gain

Vmax

Vmin

All DI-500/510, DI-750/760, DI-718Bx, and DI-78x, Series Instruments with signal conditioned inputs such as: DI-500-16; DI-750-16; DI-510-32; DI-760-32; DI-510-32 Expander, DI-718Bx, DI-785, and DI-788; and Channels 1 through 16 on the DI-510-48 or DI-760-48

1

2

4

8

+5

+2.5

+1.25

+0.625

-5

-2.5

-1.25

-0.625

All DI-500/510 and DI-750/760 Series Instruments with high level inputs such as: DI-500-32; DI-750-32; DI-500-32 Expander; DI-510-64; DI-760-64; DI-510-64 Expander; and Channels A1 through A32 on the DI-510-48 or DI-760-48

1

2

4

8

+10

+5

+2.5

+1.25

-10

-5

-2.5

-1.25

 

 

 

Refer to the following examples:

 

Example 1:      Say we are using a DI-200 board, configured for a gain of 1, operating in bipolar mode. From the chart, Vmax = +10V and Vmin = -10V. Plugging these values into the equation:

Generate/simplifiedold2.jpg

 

Example 2:      Say we are using a DI-200 board, configured for a gain of 1, operating in unipolar mode. From the chart, Vmax = 10V and Vmin = 0V. Plugging these values into the equation:

Generate/simplifiedold3.jpg

 

Example 3:      Say we are using a DI-200 board, configured for a gain of 2, operating in bipolar mode. From the chart, Vmax = +5V and Vmin = -5V. Plugging these values into the equation:

Generate/simplifiedold4.jpg

 

For DI-500 Series instruments, this equation converts the data returned into volts, just like any other instrument. If you have a DI-500 Series instrument with high level inputs (i.e., DI-500-32, DI-500-32 expander, DI-510-64, DI-510-64 expander, or channels A1 through A32 of the DI-510-48), this equation can be used to convert the returned data into volts. However, if you have a DI-500 Series instrument with signal conditioned inputs (i.e., DI-500-16, DI-510-32, DI-510-32 expander, or channels 1 through 16 of the DI-510-48), an additional calculation must be made to convert volts to whatever meaningful units the DI-5B module is measuring.

 

Simplified

The most simplified formula would be as follows:

Generate/simplified1.jpg

so if your full scale range is +/-10Volts the formula would read:

Generate/simplified2.jpg

Usually this formula is good enough. But to be completely accurate we need to turn the ADReading into a 14-bit Integer. This can be done simply enough in VB and would make the formula look something like this:

Generate/simplified3.jpg

or

Generate/simplified4.jpg

where >>2 means to shift the data to the right 2 bits - turn it into a 14-bit integer. For HiRes data from the DI-2008, DI-2108, DI-2108-P, DI-4108, or DI-4208 (or other devices), do not use the last formula, which will degrade the precision from 16 to 14 bits.

 

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