ABSTRACT
The functions performed by a measuring system are signal detection, signal conditioning and transmission, and data presentation. This chapter discusses signal conditioning and data presentation in the analog and digital modes. Signal conditioning in the analog mode involves amplification, manipulation, filtering, modulation/demodulation, and dynamic compensation. Signal conditioning in the digital mode by means of digital computers or microprocessors is almost without limit. In the digital mode, signals are basically binary pulses, in either the ON or the OFF state. The binary numbering system counts by 2, while the decimal system counts by 10. Various binary codes are used for digital computation. The study of digital techniques can be divided into three parts: gates, flip-flops, and functional logics. Digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters serve to interface between digital/analog devices. Sources of error in analog/digital conversion are quantized error in the digital mode, instabilities of the reference voltage and components and noise inputs.
