Appendix C
Common Questions
C-4
ni.com
Analog Input and Output
I’m using my device in DIFF mode, and I have connected a differential
signal, but my readings are random and drift rapidly. What’s wrong?
Check the ground reference connections. The signal can be referenced
to a level that is considered
floating
with reference to the device ground
reference. Even if you are in differential mode, the signal
must
still be
referenced to the same ground level as the device reference. There are
various methods of achieving this while maintaining a high CMRR.
These methods are outlined in Chapter 4,
I am seeing crosstalk or ghost voltages when sampling multiple
channels. What does this mean?
You may be experiencing a phenomenon called
charge injection
, which
occurs when you sample a series of high-output impedance sources with
a multiplexer. Multiplexers contain switches, usually made of switched
capacitors. When a channel—for example ACH0—is selected in a
multiplexer, those capacitors accumulate charge. When the next channel,
for example ACH1, is selected, the accumulated current, or charge, leaks
backward through that channel. If the output impedance of the source
connected to ACH1 is high enough, the resulting reading can somewhat
reflect the voltage trends in ACH0. To circumvent this problem, you must
use a voltage follower that has operational amplifiers (op-amps) with unity
gain for each high-impedance source before connecting to the DAQ device.
Otherwise, decrease the rate at which you sample each channel.
Another common cause of channel crosstalk is due to sampling among
multiple channels at various gains. In this situation, the settling times can
increase. For more information on charge injection and sampling channels
at different gains, refer to the
Multiple-Channel Scanning Considerations
section of Chapter 3,
I’m using the DACs to generate a waveform, but I discovered with a
digital oscilloscope that there are glitches on the output signal. Is this
normal?
When a DAC switches from one voltage to another, it produces glitches due
to released charges. The largest glitches occur when the most significant bit
(MSB) of the D/A code switches. You can build a low-pass deglitching
filter to remove some of these glitches, depending on the frequency and
nature of the output signal. Refer to the
section of
Chapter 3,
, for more information about reglitching.