Can I generate a waveform with my KPCI-3102 or KPCI-3104?

Can I generate a waveform with my KPCI-3102 or KPCI-3104?

The analog output feature of the KPCI-3102 or KPCI-3104 board can not make use of a pacer clock to control when values will be written to the DAC. The analog output channels on these two boards can perform single value, or polled mode, updates only.

If jitter in the time domain is not of a concern and the update rate is no faster than a few hundred hertz, then a software loop could be used to generate a waveform. Below is some pseudo code:

for i = 1 to lastValue

WriteDAC( wavedata(i) )

delay

next i

The execution speed of this loop will be CPU speed and CPU burden dependent. An inspection of the output with an oscilloscope will quickly reveal jitter in the timebase.

For tight control over the update rate for waveform generation, use a board that can make use of a pacer clock to control the update rate. Suitable PCI boards with this feature would be: KPCI-3108, KPCI-3116 or KPCI-3110.