ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on remote data acquisition applications where the PC and the application are significantly distant from each other. The concept of "remote" is a rather relative concept. Depending on the size of the data acquisition application and the requirement of speed, there are different techniques that can be used for remote data acquisition. The chapter explores the methods in terms of number of acquisition channels versus the speed of data acquisition. It examines in detail some of the commercially available data acquisition modules. MetraByte M series modules are self contained units which can be interfaced to the sensor directly at a remote location. A RS-485 is a recently developed serial standard which enables multiple drivers and receivers to be connected over a pair of lines. Remote intelligent data acquisition crates normally have a serial link to the host PC used for communication. The Workhorse concept is simple; a single parallel driver board is plugged into a personal computer.
