Academic Company Events NI Developer Zone Support Solutions Products & Services Contact NI MyNI

High-Speed Digitizers

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the difference between a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Board and a High-Speed Digitizer?
  2. How fast can I sample with the Digitizer board?
  3. What is random interleaved sampling (RIS)?
  4. What is flexible resolution?
  5. On the boards with two channels (NI 5102 and NI 5112) - are they multiplexed or simultaneously sampled?
  6. Can I synchronize multiple boards?
  7. What VIs do I use to program the board in LabVIEW?
  8. What about other programming environments?
  9. Is continuous, double buffered acquisition possible?
  10. Can I set independent ranges and coupling for the two channel boards (NI 5102 and NI 5112)?

  1. What is the difference between a Data Acquisition (DAQ) board and a High-Speed Digitizer?
    There are several differences between a DAQ board and a Digitizer board. Here are some of the main ones:

    • Digitizers have much higher sampling rates (20 MS/s or greater) than DAQ boards (10 MS/s or less).
    • Digitizers with multiple channels use simultaneous sampling whereas many of the DAQ boards do not.
    • DAQ boards typically have other features such as Digital Input/Output, Analog Output and/or Counters. Digitizers do not have these additional features.
    • Digitizers have deeper on board memory than most DAQ boards.
    • The rearm time of a trigger on a Digitizer board is much faster than a DAQ board.
    • DAQ boards typically have more channels.
    • Digitizers have larger vertical ranges (up to 50 Volts) than most DAQ boards.
    • Digitizers have larger DC offsets than most DAQ boards.
    • Digitizers come with a high accuracy time-to-digitial converter (TDC) circuitry to accurately time-stamp triggers. DAQ boards do not have this feature.

    Please see our Online Catalog for more detailed specifications on the features mentioned above.

  2. How fast can I sample with the Digitizer board?
    NI 5102 - 20 MS/s in real-time mode, 1 GS/s in RIS mode (Random Interleaved Sampling, which works only for repetitive signals).
    NI 5112 - 100 MS/s in real-time mode, 2.5 GS/s in RIS mode.
    NI 5911 - 100 MS/s in real-time mode, 1 GS/s in RIS mode.
    NI 5620 - 64 MS/s in real-time mode, RIS mode is not supported.

  3. What is random interleaved sampling (RIS)?
    Random interleaved sampling (RIS) is a form of equivalent-time sampling (ETS) for sampling repetitive signals so that the effective sampling rate is higher than the real sampling rate. RIS is accomplished by acquiring a series of points along a repetitive waveform for each occurrence of a trigger. The waveform is then reconstructed from the data acquired over many cycles.

  4. What is flexible resolution?
    Flexible Resolution ADC is a patented measurement method whereby the resolution is determined by the sampling rate. The resolution is inversely proportional to the sampling rate. This technology is used on the NI 5911 flexible resolution oscilloscope.

  5. On the boards with two channels (NI 5102 and NI 5112) - are they multiplexed or simultaneously sampled?
    These boards have an amplifier and ADC for each channel, so one can simultaneously sample both channels at the maximum rate.

  6. Can I synchronize multiple boards?
    You can synchronize multiple boards using RTSI, PFI or the PXI Star Trigger (PXI boards only) lines. NI-Scope 2.0 includes synchronization examples to get you started

  7. What VIs do I use to program the board in LabVIEW?
    In LabVIEW, NI-Scope will install a set of VI's that you use to program your board. These VI's will be located in a sub-palette named NI-SCOPE under the instrument drivers section of your functions palette. NI-Scope will also install examples to help you get started. We strongly recommend that you use the latest version of NI-Scope to receive the lastest functionality and examples.

    Click here to download the latest version of the driver.

  8. What about other programming environments?
    NI-Scope allows you to install support for LabWindows/CVI, Visual C++ and Visual Basic. This support includes the necessary include files and provides examples to get you started. We recommend that you use the latest version of NI-Scope to receive the lastest functionality and examples.

    Click here to download the latest version of the driver.

  9. Is continuous, double buffered acquisition possible?
    NI-Scope 2.0 adds support for continuous acquisition with the NI 5112 and the NI 5620.

  10. Can I set independent ranges and coupling for the two channel boards (NI 5102 and NI 5112)?
    Use the niScope Configure Vertical.vi (in LabVIEW) or niScope_ConfigureVertical (LabWindows/C++/VB) to set the range/coupling and attenuation settings. You can call it twice to configure the two channels separately.

Your Feedback! poor Poor  |  Excellent excellent   Yes No
 Document Quality?   Answered Your Question? 
  1 2 3 4 5
Please Provide Additional Feedback below
Please visit Request Support for product support inquiries. submit