TecQuipment’s modern, cost-effective and accurate Versatile Data Acquisition System (VDAS®) improves laboratory teaching. It works with a growing list of over 50 TecQuipment products, enabling real-time display and capture of experiment data.
For both individual student use or for lecturers demonstrating experiments to a whole class, VDAS® gives real-time calculation, recording, and charting with fast data export. This makes efficient, productive and effective use of time for both students and lecturers.
VDAS® mkII consists of mkII hardware and Version 2 software. The hardware offers a choice of either a frame mounting interface (VDAS-F) or a bench-top interface (VDAS-B). Both interface units work the same but the choice gives more convenience to the user. For example, some TecQuipment VDAS® compliant products have an integral instrumentation frame so the frame-mounting interface unit is the best choice. To reduce costs, you may order just one VDAS® unit for each classroom and connect it to each product as needed.
The digital inputs on each interface connect directly to instrumentation on suitable TecQuipment products. These inputs are non-specific, for easy experiment setup and reduced connection errors. The mostly digital communications circuits make the equipment more resistant to electrical noise than purely analog systems.
The mkII interface units also have two analog inputs. These are for fast-moving (transient) signals from some TecQuipment products or for transducers and sensors. These may include displacement or pressure measuring sensors and flow meters. VDAS® Version 2 can display the analog signals in real-time as traces on your computer screen. This allows VDAS® to work as a user-friendly alternative to an oscilloscope on selected products.
The output from the interface unit connects to a computer running the VDAS® software. The Version 2 software has extra features that allow you to add derivative traces and reference traces, based on each of the two analog input signals. You may also adjust software filtering and smoothing of each signal trace, and scale the traces to best fit your trace area.
The software is intuitive and easy to use, with clear and convenient data display options. The software looks similar and works in a similar way for each TecQuipment VDAS®- compliant product. This saves time as students do not have to learn to use new software when changing experiments.
VDAS® Version 2 Software features include:
A compact, practical open-circuit suction wind tunnel for studying aerodynamics. The wind tunnel saves time and money compared with full-scale wind tunnels or airborne laboratories, and it offers a wide variety of experiments.
A bench mounting versatile data acquisition system (VDAS) to allow computer-based data capture for a wide range of TecQuipment products.
