Signal Conditioners
Group3 signal conditioners are a range of DIN rail mounting modules that are matched to the more popular I/O boards. The signal conditioners have three functions:
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Transient Attenuation.
The circuits place silicon transient suppressors and RC networks on all signal lines. These serve to drastically attenuate any transients picked up by the signal wires, thereby protecting the DI from damage or upset.
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Signal level alteration.
The analog channel signal conditioner circuit boards have provision for resistive dividers to be inserted in the signal path. This allows large input voltages to be scaled down to a range that the I/O boards can handle.
The digital signal conditioner boards have provision for external pull-up resistors if the internal 5 volt pullups are not sufficient. (eg on a 24 volt logic control system).
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Breakout of signal wiring.
The I/O boards have ribbon cable type I/O connectors. The signal conditioners accept the ribbon cable from a DI and provide rows of screw terminals to accept the signal wires. These screw terminals are much easier to connect individual wires and cable shields to.
Signal conditioners are highly recommended where DIs are to be installed in any electrically noisy environment. Their prime function is to shunt any high energy transients picked up by the signal wiring to chassis ground, before the transient can enter the DI and cause damage or upset.
The circuitry consists of high speed, high power (1 ps, 1.5 kW) silicon transient absorbers, followed by a small RC network. The analog channels also have provision for voltage divider networks to bring the signal down to allowable levels.
| Name | Board Type | Features |
|---|---|---|
| SCTB | B | 24 channels of digital signals |
| SCTC | C | 8 channels of analog input |
| SCTD | D | 8 channels of analog output |
| SCTE | E | 4 DC motor drivers |
| SCTK | K | GPIB / IEEE 488 controller |
| Name | Channel | Board Type |
|---|---|---|
| SC10/PB10A1 | Analog | A |
| SC20/PB20A1 | Digital | A |
| Name | Channel | Board Type |
|---|---|---|
| SC50/PB50B2 | optocouplers for 24 digital channels | B |
| SC50/PB50B3 | reed relay outputs | B |
