Small 8-input DAQs are priced from $99

With prices starting as low as $99, the USB-200 Series data acquisition systems from Measurement Computing have max sampling rates of either 100 or 500 ksamples/s. The series consists of the $99 USB-201 with 100-ksample/s-max rate and the $149 USB-204 500-ksample /s-max rate, as well as board-only (OEM) versions of both units with header connectors instead of screw terminals for embedded applications. Measuring just 4.64 × 3.26 × 1.14 in. with case or 3.87 × 3.02 × 0.575 in. without, each daq has eight analog inputs (which share the unit's 12-bit ADC), eight digital I/Os, and one counter input.

Made to operate from an external computing device via a USB 2.0 (12 Mbit/s) port, the units are designed around an internal microcontroller with a built-in ADC, to which precision analog front-end circuitry has been added. Measurement data is stored temporarily in a 12-ksample FIFO.  

Included with each instrument is the DAQFlex open-source software framework – which can support Android as well as Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems – and support for NI LabVIEW, Visual Studio, and Visual Studio.NET. Also included is TracerDAQ, an out-of-the-box application that can generate, acquire, analyze, display, and export data; it provides the functionality and visual interfaces of a strip-chart recorder, oscilloscope, function generator, and rate generator through a common, easy-to-use interface. Software options provide support for DASYLab, and more advanced control software, TracerDAQ Pro, is also an option.