Data Aquisition kit

[Tin Falcon]

Several years ago I purchased a neat little cheap ($24) electronic box.
http://www.dataq.com/products/startkit/di194rs.htm
For those who like to experiment with electronics and computers CNC in the shop this could be an interesting tool / toy. There are also some more advanced models available as well at reasonable prices.
These are apparently available to kids for free to use in Science fair projects a few reasonable strings attached.
No affiliation just thought there may be some interest here.
I really need to learn to use this thing in my spare time. I originally purchased this thing hoping to use it for instrumentation on a small wind tunnel never happened.
Tin

 

[Kermit]

Neat. MY work just completed and sold an inhouse developed DAQ unit for vibration analysis on the engines while they are on the test stands. Small movements can create some huge stresses when they happen thousands of times in a second, or even faster. The unit helps detect dangerous vibration levels that the humans only notice when they have reached weld breaking strength!

I like that this is free for kids doing science fair. Somebody needs to start helping make education more important to todays children. Nintendo has a strangle hold on them it seems. That's a whole nother story though isn't it

Kermit

 

[kf2qd]

Another one to look at is called Phidgets. Not quite as cheap as your 25 buck solution.

http://www.phidgets.com/

Have analog, digital and Encoder IO among others. Also setup to use multiple identical units at the same time.

I have used them under Visual Basic and it was rather simple to setup and use. And you can download Visual Basic for free.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

If you know someone in hardware or software embedded systems...they get evaluation kits all the time. Nice boards with many many features...ADC, DAC, communications, I/O, even LCD and motor drives. Many times the software (compilers, etc.) are free albeit somewhat limited in functionality. Sometimes you can find them in magazines for cheap or even free.

Someday I hope to use one in a CNC system. And I'm considering using one to measure the rpm on an engine or lathe/mill.

Be aware. It's not PC programming. And it can consume a lot of time. It can be a hobby unto itself.

And don't look to me for help...I do embedded programming for a livelihood...and now to support my addiction to machining. If it wasn't for this forum...I wouldn't be touching a keyboard right now. That's not to say I don't enjoy programming...I love it...but it's not machining.

 

[rickharris]

If your interested in control systems at a low cost look at http://www.rev-ed.co.uk/picaxe/ the forum is very helpful and as friendly as this one. Parts can be optained in the USA