Data Acquisition Starter Kit Extra

Want to write your own program to interface with WinDaq Starter Kits?

Please use ActiveX controls to program DATAQ's serial data acquisition devices under VisualBASIC, VisualC++, Excel, LabView, Delphi, TestPoint, VEE or Borland C++ environment.

Never used ActiveX controls in your program before?

To see how easy to write a data acquisition program in Visual BASIC, Visual C++, Excel, LabView, TestPoint, Borland C++, VEE or Delphi using an ActiveX control, come here!

DATAQ Developer Network
Learn how to use the DATAQ ActiveX controls. Here you can find example programs for Visual Basic, LabView, C++, Visual Studio.NET and more.

FAQs regarding WinDaq Starter Kits

UltimaSerial ActiveX (A third-party shareware package recommended by Dataq)

A very powerful ActiveX control that provides:

Support for WinDaq Starter Kits, including DI-154RS/194/195B and USB-based DI-148/158/710/715B.
Easy access to digital inputs, event counters and analog inputs.
Limit lines for monitoring process.
Analog trigger mode.
Digital trigger mode.
Event Counter trigger mode.
Level enabled input mode.

The package comes with VisualBASIC samples and Excel samples. You can also find samples written in LabView, TestPoint, Delphi, Visual C++, VEE, Word and more in UltimaSerial.

UltimaSpectrogram
Use WinDaq Starter devices to study the frequency spectrum in real-time. Frequency ranges from DC up to 120Hz for subjects like low speed mechanical vibrations.

UltimaPanel
Use WinDaq Starter to acquire data in various trigger modes and display continuous readings from all analog inputs, digital inputs and event counters.

Click here to learn more...

Click here to download UltimaSerial.

Using two Dataq serial devices in the same system with WinDaq software

If they are installed on a pair of COM ports which do not share an IRQ resource (COM1 and COM3 usually share IRQ4 or COM2 and COM4 usually share IRQ3), two Dataq serial devices may be used in the same system under Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, or ME by renaming the second Dynamic Link Library and COM scanning executable. The default installations all link to DI100NT.DLL, which is placed in \WINDOWS\SYSTEM or \WINNT\SYSTEM32 along with the scanning process DICOM100.EXE which it launches. By copying DI100NT.DLL to DI101NT.DLL and DICOM100.EXE to DICOM101.EXE and passing a switch to DI100ANT.EXE to tell it to use the alternate library, the second device can operate simultaneously with the first. If DI100ANT.EXE is earlier than V2.47 24-May-00 there may be contention prolems between the devices.

The following example assumes that a DI-194 was installed from the June 2000 CD-ROM into directory C:\DATAQ1 with shortcuts in folder \WinDaq1 on device COM1:, and that WinDaq/Lite for a DI-190 was installed into directory C:\DATAQ2 with shortcuts in directory \WinDaq2 on device COM2:.

Click Start, Programs, (Accessories for Windows 2000 or ME), MS-DOS Prompt or Command Prompt.

For Windows NT 4 or 2000, type:

>CD \WINNT\SYSTEM32

else type:

>CD \WINDOWS\SYSTEM

Then type:

>COPY DI100NT.DLL DI101NT.DLL
>COPY DICOM100.EXE DICOM101.EXE
>CD \DATAQ2

The following section is necessary only if you plan to use the real-time "WDQ XY" program with the second device. Make sure DIR below shows 80,384 bytes 02-02-98 before proceeding with the patch causing it to use DI101NT.DLL:

C:\DATAQ2>DIR METER32.EXE
C:\DATAQ2>REN METER32.EXE METER101.PAT
C:\DATAQ2>DEBUG METER101.PAT
-R DS
DS 1E79
:3E79 (add 2 to the first digit displayed above, repeat rest and press Enter)
-E DA36 31
-W
Writing 34A00 bytes
-Q
C:\DATAQ2>REN METER101.PAT *.EXE

This section is necessary only if you plan to use the "Meter for" add-on programs for the second device. Make sure DIR below shows METER32.EXE 215,552 bytes 08-16-99 before proceeding with the patch causing it to use DI101NT.DLL:

C:\DATAQ2>DIR METER32.EXE
C:\DATAQ2>REN METER32.EXE METER101.PAT
C:\DATAQ2>DEBUG METER101.PAT
-R DS
DS 1E79
:3E79 (add 2 to the first digit displayed above, repeat rest and press Enter)
-E DA36 31
-W
Writing 34A00 bytes
-Q
C:\DATAQ2>REN METER101.PAT *.EXE

The disk storage process for the second device must also be renamed:

C:\DATAQ2>REN WDQDK100.EXE WDQDK101.EXE
C:\DATAQ2>EXIT

Click Start, Settings, Taskbar, Start Menu Programs, Advanced. Click the + sign to the left of Programs in the left pane, then double click the WinDaq2 folder.

Right click the "WinDaq Lite (Serial)" shortcut, click Properties, then click at the right end of the Target line, adding " -DDI101NT.DLL -N2" to request use of the alternate library and specify the COM port number. The full target should then be:

C:\DATAQ2\DI100ANT.EXE -DDI101NT.DLL -N2

Click OK. Double click WinDaq Lite (Serial) to make sure the device works and a moving cursor is displayed.

Right click the "WDQ XY" shortcut, click Properties, and change the Target line to read:

C:\DATAQ2\XYNT101.EXE

Click OK. Double click WDQ XY shortcut and then the Right arrow button to make sure it starts. The voltage limits should appear on the graph.

Right click the "Meter for Channel 1" shortcut, click Properties, and change the Target line to read:

C:\DATAQ2\METER101.EXE ch1

Right click the "Meter for Channel 2" shortcut, and click Properties. For the DI-190 or DI-195B change the Target line to read:

C:\DATAQ2\METER101.EXE ch0

Click OK, right click again, and rename the shortcut to read:

"Meter for Channel 0"

For the DI-150, DI-151, or DI-194 just change the target line to read:

C:\DATAQ2\METER101.EXE ch2

For the DI-194, also specify METER101.EXE in the Targets for "Meter for Channel 3" and "Meter for Channel 4" shortcuts.

Hardware Info (This information is provided "AS IS")

Thermistor on DI-150/151RS: Part #: DC104R2K, 100K Ohm @25C, U.S. SENSORS, Tel: 714-639-1000.

For example: for DI-151RS running under WinDaq, the following setting should give you a decent reading around the range of 32°F to 212°F:

Enter 72F for 5.9V in LowCalibration> Enter 212F for 8.85V in HighCalibration