OM-USB-5203 User's Guide
Functional Details
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To reduce the error, reduce the length of the thermocouple to lower its resistance, or lower the AWG of the wire
by using a wire with a larger diameter. With open-thermocouple detection disabled, 30 nA (max) of input
leakage current is injected into the thermocouple.
RTD and thermistor measurements
RTDs and thermistors are resistive devices that require an excitation current to produce a voltage drop that can
be measured differentially across the sensor. The OM-USB-5203 measures the sensor resistance by forcing a
known excitation current through the sensor and then measuring (differentially) the voltage across the sensor to
determine its resistance.
After the voltage measurement is made, the resistance of the RTD is calculated using Ohms law – the sensor
resistance is calculated by dividing the measured voltage by the current excitation level (±
Ix
) source. The value
of the ±
Ix
source is stored in local memory.
Once the resistance value is calculated, the value is linearized in order to convert it to a temperature value. The
measurement is returned by software as a 32-bit floating point value in a voltage, resistance or temperature
format.
Data linearization
An on-board microcontroller automatically performs linearization on RTD and thermistor measurements.
RTD measurements are linearized using a Callendar-Van Dusen coefficients algorithm (you select DIN,
SAMA, or ITS-90).
Thermistor measurements are linearized using a Steinhart-Hart linearization algorithm (you supply the
coefficients from the sensor manufacturer's data sheet).
External components
The OM-USB-5203 has the following external components, as shown in Figure 12.
Screw terminals
USB connector
LED
CompactFlash slot with memory card
1
Screw terminal pins 1 to 26
4
Data logging button
2
Screw terminal pins 27 to 52
5
CompactFlash memory card
3
LED
6
USB connector
Figure 12. External component locations
