AUSTIN, USA: National Instruments (NI) has released two new bus-powered M Series data acquisition (DAQ) devices for USB that deliver faster sampling rates and more digital I/O features than previously released bus-powered M Series devices for USB. The NI USB-6212 and USB-6216 are available with 68-pin SCSI mass termination, screw terminals or 50-pin IDC connectivity to provide multiple connectivity options.

The USB-6212 and USB-6216 enhance the NI USB-621x product offering with a 60 percent improvement in analog sampling rates while maintaining high absolute accuracy of 2.7 mV at ±10 V and 89 µV at ±200 mV. The devices also provide sixteen 400 kS/s analog inputs and two 250 kS/s analog outputs, both with 16-bit resolution. These light and compact devices deliver high-performance I/O for portable USB applications such as field measurements and laptop-based data acquisition.

The new devices also feature improved digital I/O by providing more channels, 32-bit counters and 32 bidirectional digital lines for screw-terminated devices or 24 bidirectional digital lines for 68-pin devices. The USB-6212 and USB-6216 mass terminated devices deliver 68-pin cabled connectivity to terminal blocks and custom accessories, while 50-pin IDC connectors on OEM devices offers easy board mating for integration in embedded systems. Additionally, the USB-6216 provides optional 60 V CAT I isolation for protection against transient voltages, improved noise immunity and ground-loop removal.

The USB-6212 and USB-6216 are shipped with NI-DAQmx driver software and NI LabVIEW SignalExpress LE, a limited-feature version of the interactive measurement software for quickly acquiring, analyzing and presenting data with no programming required. The NI-DAQmx driver delivers time-saving features such as code generation for both LabVIEW and text-based languages; more than 3,000 measurement examples; device simulation; connection diagrams; and compatibility with LabVIEW, ANSI C/C++, C#, Visual Basic .NET and Visual Basic 6.0.

These devices are fully RoHS-compliant, demonstrating NI's commitment to eliminating certain hazardous substances from products to benefit the environment.