ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the basic configuration of data acquisition systems and explores the signal conditioning part in detail. It explains basic signal conditioning components at the integrated circuit level and shows how to put these components together to perform signal conditioning. The chapter introduces off-the-shelf, standard signal conditioning hardware designed specifically for data acquisition applications. It indicates commercial sources for signal conditioning hardware and gives further references for the interested reader who wants to know more about the subject of signal conditioning. These basic building blocks for data acquisition systems include the following: Sensor, Signal conditioner, Data acquisition hardware and Computer. An analog-to-digital converter is a crucial part of any data acquisition system. An operational amplifier is the most basic building block of data acquisition systems. A comparator is a modified version of a differential amplifier. The chapter shows a simple current to voltage converter configuration.
