National Instruments Corporation
C-1
VXI-MIO Series User Manual
Common Questions
Appendix
C
This appendix contains a list of commonly asked questions and their
answers relating to usage and special features of your VXI-MIO Series
module.
General Information
1.
What is the DAQ-STC?
The DAQ-STC is the system timing control ASIC
(application-specific integrated circuit) designed by National
Instruments and is the backbone of the VXI-MIO Series modules.
The DAQ-STC contains seven 24-bit counters and three 16-bit
counters. The counters are divided into three groups:
•
Analog input—two 24-bit, two 16-bit counters
•
Analog output—three 24-bit, one 16-bit counters
•
General-purpose counter/timer functions—two 24-bit counters
The groups can be configured independently with timing
resolutions of 50 ns or 10
µ
s. With the DAQ-STC, you can
interconnect a wide variety of internal timing signals to other
internal blocks. The interconnection scheme is quite flexible and
completely software configurable. New capabilities such as
buffered pulse generation, equivalent time sampling, and
seamlessly changing the sampling rate are possible.
2.
How fast is each VXI-MIO Series module?
The last numeral in the name of an VXI-MIO Series module
specifies the fastest sample period in microseconds for that
particular module. For example, the VXI-MIO-64E-1 has a 1
µ
s
sample period, which corresponds to a sampling rate of 1.25 MS/s.
These sampling rates are aggregate: one channel at 1.25 MS/s or
two channels at 500 kS/s per channel illustrates the relationship.
Notice, however, that some VXI-MIO Series modules have settling
times that vary with gain and accuracy. See Appendix A for exact
specifications.
