Portable, Bus-Powered USB DMM and Digitizer

National Instruments is expanding the performance and capabilities that portable instrumentation offers with a new USB DMM and two new NI USB digitizers/oscilloscopes. While many stand-alone instruments use USB simply as a new means of data transfer for hardware, the NI PC-based instruments offer a new USB architecture designed for portability and ease of use. Furthermore, these instruments complement more than 40 NI bus-powered devices, including several 16-bit multifunction data acquisition (DAQ) products as well as devices for dynamic signal analysis and RF power measurements.

Figure 1. NI 5133 USB Digitizer (left) and  NI 4065 USB DMM  (right)

You can use these portable, bus-powered devices together for applications such as high-frequency and high-resolution field diagnostics, in-vehicle monitoring, and OEM applications. In addition, their small size (7 by 4 by 3 in.) and weight (under 10 oz) make them a great way to save space and increase portability in general laboratory environments and classrooms.

NI USB-4065 6½-Digit USB DMM

The NI 4065 USB DMM offers 6½ digits of resolution at up to 10 readings per second and up to 3,000 readings per second at lower resolutions. With ±300 VDC/V_rms of isolation, current measurements up to 3 A, and 2- or 4-wire resistance measurements, the NI 4065 USB DMM provides a complete solution for basic 6½-digit measurement needs.

NI 4065 DMMs also offer comparable accuracy over a 24-hour cycle or one year of an external calibration to other GPIB-based 6½-digit DMMs on the market. Furthermore, by trading off speed for resolution, you can maximize measurement quality and throughput.

Table 1. NI 4065 USB DMM Reading Rates versus Resolution

NI USB-5132 and USB-5133 High-Speed Digitizers (USB Oscilloscopes)

USB-5132 and USB-5133 50 MS/s and 100 MS/s digitizers provide two simultaneously sampled channels with 8-bit resolution and 10 input ranges from 40 mV to 40 V. The new USB digitizers also come standard with 4 MB/ch of onboard memory for measurements requiring extended data captures. The bus-powered, plug-and-play form factor of these digitizers makes them ideal for portable, benchtop, and OEM applications. While many USB measurement tools require you to choose between simplicity/ease of use and extensive features/high performance, the new NI digitizers make this trade-off irrelevant. In addition to being bus-powered, plug-and-play devices, these digitizers offer features such as external clocking, noise filtering, AC or DC coupling, and a variety of triggering options.

Data Logging Made Easy

 You can interactively control NI USB DMMs and digitizers with NI-DMM and NI-SCOPE soft front panels, which simulate the familiar interactive interface of traditional DMMs and oscilloscopes to help you get up and running quickly. In addition, you can configure data-logging applications using the NI LabVIEW SignalExpress programming-free environment. With this free software,  you can take timing measurements, view a fast Fourier transform (FFT), filter signals, test limits, perform a sweep, or log your data to a file, all without any programming.  If you need additional functionality, you can also program the instruments with LabVIEW for a fully customizable user interface, more advanced analysis, or custom measurements.

Figure 2. Time-Domain Measurements being performed with the NI-5133 USB Digitizer

Conclusion

Together, these small, bus-powered USB instruments are extending the performance of portable measurements.  For high-sample rate applications the NI 5133 USB Digitizer provides up to 100MS/s, and for high-resolution applications the NI 4065 USB DMM provides up to 6½-digit performance.

Find more information on USB instruments at www.ni.com/modularinstruments/usb.

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