High-speed analogue measurement data capture using personal computers for large quantities of data

摘要

Only 1 megabyte of working memory can be addressed by MS-DOS. This is not enough for recording large quantities of data, and the fixed disk is too slow as a storage medium. Other operating systems are too complex and sluggish. During the actual measurement process, the PC is switched into Protected Mode and used as a pure measuring instrument. The operating system is left, and the PC is controlled only by the measurement software (machine program). It is responsible for receiving data via the specially developed PC plug-in card and for storing the data in the address space (RAM) of the PC. After the measurement sequence ends, the measurement data are copied to a mass memory (fixed disk). A return to real mode and the operating system then takes place. The method is applied where non-periodic analogue signals must be captured and stored at high speed over a relatively long period (several minutes), for later analysis.