ADInstruments PowerLab 2/20, Owner'S Manual

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6 PowerLab Owner’s Guide
Indicators
All three labelled indicators on the front panel should turn on at least
briefly while the PowerLab is started up. In normal circumstances,
the Power indicator should glow blue and then stay lit, the Status
indicator should flash yellow and then stay green, and the Trigger
indicator should flash yellow and then turn off. The Power indicator
is a blue light, which simply shows that the PowerLab is getting
power. When an external trigger signal is received, the Trigger
indicator will glow yellow. The Status indicator provides some visual
indication of what the PowerLab is doing, and will flash different
patterns and colours depending on the state of the PowerLab.
Analog Inputs
The analog inputs used to record external signals can handle signals
from
±
10 V down to the microvolt (
µ
V) range without the need for
additional external amplification. Each PowerLab analog input has an
independently programmable gain amplifier with its own filtering,
and AC/DC coupling. You can set up each input independently to
suit your requirements using the software. Note that applying more
than
±
15 V to the analog inputs can damage the circuitry.
The PowerLab 2/20 has two independent analog inputs (marked
Input 1 and Input 2), each of which has alternative connectors. The
PowerLab 4/20 has four independent analog inputs (marked Input 1
to Input 4), the first two of which have alternative connectors. In
either case, the top BNC connector for Input 1 and Input 2 can be
used for single-ended input, and the 8-pin DIN pod connector below
can be used for either single-ended or differential input. Single-ended
inputs record the difference between signal and ground, and
differential ones record the difference between positive and negative
Status Indicator Meaning
Off Idle and not yet initialised by the software.
Green Idle, initialised, and waiting for a command from the computer.
Yellow Sampling, or communicating with the computer.
Four red flashes
and one yellow one The PowerLab has detected a low-level software or firmware fault.
It will repeat until the power to the PowerLab is turned off.
Red flashes The PowerLab has detected an internal fault during the power-up
test. It will repeat until the power to the PowerLab is turned off.
Table 1–1
Status indicator states.