ADLINK 6208/6216-GL Analog Output Card

Recommended matching terminal board:

DIN-37D-01: Screw terminal board with DIN rail installation.

ACLD-9137-01/9138-01: Universal 37 pin terminal board.

ACL-10137:37 pin D-sub male to male cable.

Key points of register mapping and underlying programming

For developers who need to directly control hardware, understanding I/O registers is essential. This series of cards occupies a continuous I/O address space (the base address is allocated by the PCI BIOS and can be obtained by reading the PCI configuration space offset 0x18). All registers are 16 bits wide and must be accessed using 16 bit (WORD) I/O instructions.

4.1 Analog output control register (offset 0x00~0x1E)

Each channel corresponds to a 16 bit register, with offset=channel number x 2 (e.g. channel 0 offset 0x00, channel 1 offset 0x02, and so on).

The written value is the D/A conversion digital code (binary complement format, 0x8000 corresponds to -10V, 0x7FFF corresponds to+9.99969V).

Note: After writing, it is not immediately output, and the internal serial bus needs to be delayed. It is necessary to check the "Data_Send" bit in the status register to ensure that it is at a low level before writing the next data.

4.2 Analog output status register (offset 0x00, read-only)

Bit D0 is the Data_Send flag: 1 indicates that data is currently being transmitted, 0 indicates idle.

After each write operation, wait for this bit to become 0 (at worst about 2.2 μ s) before writing the next channel, otherwise it may cause data conflicts.

4.3 Digital output register (offset 0x40, read/write)

Positions D0~D3 correspond to DO0~DO3. Write 1 to output high level and 0 to output low level.

Retain positions D4~D7 (read back as 0).

4.4 Digital Input Register (offset 0x40, read-only)

Positions D4~D7 correspond to the current status of DI0~DI3.

Positions D0~D3 return the output values of current DO0~DO3 (read back function).

Programming example (pseudocode):

text

base = get_pci_base_address(); //Retrieve from PCI configuration space

//Set channel 0 output+5V (digital code 0x4000)

while (inw(base + 0x00) & 0x0001) ; //Waiting for Data_Send=0

outw(base + 0x00, 0x4000);

//Set channel 1 output to -5V (0xC000)

while (inw(base) & 0x0001) ;

outw(base + 0x02, 0xC000);

Unique Calibration Technology - Flash Mapping Table Calibration

Traditional analog output cards often rely on potentiometers to manually adjust gain and offset, while ADLINK has introduced advanced digital calibration methods in the 6208/6216-GL series. The card has built-in Flash memory and undergoes a precise calibration process at the factory:

Use a 6.5-inch digital multimeter (DMM) to measure the actual output voltage corresponding to each digital code (-32768~+32767).

Generate a mapping table to record the actual digital code that is closest to each ideal digital code and the actual output.

Burn the mapping table onto the onboard Flash chip.

Every time a user writes a digital code, the firmware in the card automatically queries the mapping table and converts it into a linearized compensation code, significantly reducing gain and offset errors and improving overall nonlinearity. This mechanism ensures that the factory precision remains stable within one year.

Calibration suggestion: ADLINK recommends recalibrating once a year. Due to the need for dedicated DMM and calibration software for calibration, users should send the card back to the original factory or authorized service center for processing. It is not recommended to calibrate on their own to avoid damaging the factory mapping data.

Software driver and development environment support

ADLINK provides a rich software stack for the 6208/6216-GL series, covering mainstream operating systems and development environments.

6.1 Windows platform (recommended new driver DAQPilot)

DAQPilot: A new generation graphical driver/SDK that supports task oriented programming, significantly reducing development cycles. Provide APIs, ActiveX controls, and NET assembly, compatible with Windows 7/10/11, etc.

DAQMaster: A unified device management tool used to configure and manage all ADLINK DAQ cards.

Traditional PCIS-DASK driver: still supports old systems (including Windows Vista 64 bit), but the official recommendation is to migrate to DAQPilot.

6.2 Linux Platform

PCIS-DASK/X: Provides a universal API that supports the development of PCI/cPCI/PXI cards on Linux.

6.3 Third party software integration

MATLAB: With the DAQ-MTLBB adapter, the MATLAB Data Acquisition Toolbox control card can be directly used.

LabVIEW: Provides DAQ-LabVIEW PnP VI library, fully compatible with NI style, supports LabVIEW 7.0~8.5 and subsequent versions.

Agilent VEE: The PICS-VEE driver package achieves seamless integration.

ActiveX controls (DAQBench/PCI-OCX): suitable for Visual Basic, C++, Delphi, etc., making it easy to quickly build SCADA/HMI applications.

All drivers and tools can be obtained from the ADLINK official website or the accompanying "all-in-one CD".

Common troubleshooting and practical skills

Output remains unchanged or always at 0V: Check if the external power supply is normal (especially+12V power supply); Confirm if the software is waiting for the Data_Send bit; Check if the numeric code format is binary complement.