Measurement card

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A measurement card is a PC-based data acquisition device for installation in a computer (e.g. for the PCI bus).

In the days of analog oscilloscopes and handheld measuring devices , PC measurement cards were a small niche product. With the increasing popularity of PCs, the digital processing of measured signals became more and more important. The measuring devices were therefore equipped with digital interfaces. The integration of the measuring devices directly into the PC brings further advantages, but also some disadvantages:

Advantages:

• Possibility to automate measurement arrangements using a computer and a digital I / O card
• Triggered measurements from several channels possible (e.g. 8 channels)
• high data acquisition rates up to several gigasamples per second (GS / s). Example: digital storage oscilloscope or a data logger
• almost unlimited storage of the data through the installation of additional memory (e.g. hard drives) - provided there is almost unlimited memory available, since with 8-bit resolution and a sampling rate of 1 GS / s almost gigabytes of memory are required per second, to collect the data

Disadvantage:

• lower mobility of the entire PC (measurement cards are often full-length cards with a length of over 30 cm and therefore cannot be installed in laptops or compact housings).