A/D Controller for Acquisitions of Signals with Different Sampling Periods

Efficient data acquisitions from analog signals of very different bandwidths require that each analog signal be sampled at a different rate. This paper proposes an A/D controller which has been implemented on an Analogic 5800 data acquisition system. The host computer is a PDP 11/45 with a DR11-C interface (see Fig. 1). Essentially, this programmable controller sorts out the sequencing of eight different analog channels. The sampling rate of each channel is independently set by software from 10 to 255 ps in I-its increments. Once the controller is programmed, it will control the A/D itself. The host computer programs the controller according to the user's instructions. The sampling rate of each analog channel may be independently set by software from 10 to 250 ps. Then the controller sets out the appropriate sequencing of the data collections on the analog channels, sorts out conflicts, and sees that information is stored properly in the host computer.