Get the basics of data acquisition

The phrase “New Developments” in the title of this handbook from Keithley Instruments refers to computer networking—a topic you need to understand now that so many instruments have LAN ports. The rest of the information in this book, while hardly new, is still relevant and useful.

This handbook will help new engineers, technicians, students, and hobbyists understand the basics behind PC-based instrumentation. Besides explaining how to configure instruments for use over LANs, the book provides a solid background on analog measurements. It covers simple signal conditioning, starting with components and moving up to functional circuits. It also covers filters, data conversion, bridge circuits, logic circuits, and most importantly, ground loops.

An entire section of the book covers temperature measurements, a topic that is always important because temperature is by far the most common physical measurement. The book, however, inaccurately describes the Seebeck Effect by stating, “In the early 1800's, Thomas Seebeck discovered that the junction between two wires generates a voltage that is a function of temperature.” This is a common misstatement. Seebeck discovered that a wire whose ends are at different temperatures will develop a voltage across those ends. This error doesn't detract from the book's practical information on using thermocouples, however, because the book uses several diagrams to accurately describe how thermocouples work.

If you've designed PC-based data-acquisition systems for years, you won't gain much from this book. If you're new to the task, though, then you stand to learn from it. Given that Keithley offers the book for no charge, you can't go wrong.