National Instruments NI-9205 C Series Voltage Input Module

The NI‑9205 (Part number: 785184-01, 779357-01, 780173-01, 199015D-01L) is an advanced C Series Voltage Input Module manufactured by National Instruments. This module can be used with NI CompactRIO and CompactDAQ Chassis. The NI-9205 is structured with 16 differential analog input channels or 32 single-ended analog input channels, with an analog input resolution of 16 bits. There are four programmable input ranges for each channel. The difference between the NI 9205 part numbers is that part number 785184-01 has spring terminal connectors and is not conformal coated. Part number 779357-01 has D-Sub front connectors, and is also not conformal coated. Finally, part number 780173-01 has D-Sub front connectors, but is the only version that is conformal coated. The variations with D-Sub connectors have 60 VDC Ch-Earth Ground Isolation, while the module with spring terminal connectors has 250 Vrms Ch-Earth Ground Isolation. The NI-9205 module is an excellent combination of speed and channel count. This module is suitable for an affordable multifunction system.

The NI-9205 has a maximum sample rate of 250 kS/s per channel and voltage protection up to 60 Volts. The voltage protection assists with avoiding signal transients among common and input channels and helps prevent high common mode voltage range, immunity, and noise. The NI-9205 card can prevent a transient overvoltage up to 1000 Vrms.

The NI-9205 has several programmable measurement ranges, which includes: ± 200 mV, ± 1 Volt, ± 5 Volts, and up to ± 10 Volts. There are a few variations of the NI-9205 Voltage Input Module. One version of this module has a D-SUB I/O connector with 37 pins. Another version of the module has a spring terminal I/O connector, which is a 36-position connector. At a weight of 5.7 oz, the variation with the spring terminal weighs slightly more than that with the DSUB connector at 5.3 oz. The specifications are the same, however, not all versions of the NI-9205 are conformal coated; only part number 780173-01 is conformal coated.

The NI-9205 is run using the NI-DAQmx driver software which must be installed first. After installation of the software, the user needs to install support for their choice Application Development Environment-which could be LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, C/C++, C#, or Visual Basic .NET.

The module holds a specific measurement signal conditioning system, which helps connect to a range of signals and sensors. It also helps to connect banks and enables the mechanism for channel-to-channel isolation options. The NI-9205 Voltage Input Module offers wide ranges for temperature measurements. As a result, it helps the user meet environmental needs, which is useful for control, measurement, and communication to connect applications to a sensor.