.:DataProtocols:home

Data Acquisition Methods and Protocols

There are several methods that a data acquisition system can obtain data. The M300 data system support several different methods and protocols, some of which are listed and discussed below.

Voltage Level

Records the voltage level from a sensor using an analog-to-digital converter.

Serial Data

Record RS-232, RS-422 or ARINC data using a acquisition boards.

ARINC

ARINC is a data "bus" that instruments put data onto. There is no storage of data with ARINC. ARINC is a transfer protocol. The M300 can have use an ARINC acquisition craft to read the ARINC data in real time and store the data. Once ARINC data as been acquired and saved in the data acquisition file (*.sea), post-processing can convert the data and store the data in ASCII format. Any instrument can use the ARINC protocol to transfer data; however, research instruments mostly use RS-232 and RS-422 protocols, which are easier to use. ARINC is used mostly by instrument from aircraft manufacturers to transfer data around different systems on an aircraft. Different sensors on an aircraft put data onto the ARINC data bus for other systems to use.

Network Data

Record ASCII or Binary network data transmitted using TCP or UDP protocols.