Process-PC interface

Hello guys,
I know it's a little OT but I would like to ask you for your opinion.
Let's say I have couple of 4-20 mA signals from transmitters and want to make application on PC to display them. For example I want to use Visual Basic or Visual C# for such task. Now main problem is what interface to use to transfer these signal in convinient form for PC. I know that one solution is to have some kind of PLC (for example Siemens S7-300) and visualisation program (example WinCC) but that is very expensive especially if there are relatively small number of signals. Also I would like to make my own program for processing these information further.
I wonder if anyone worked with something like that, and what components you used.
If I choose to use any kind of PLC I will need to use acquision software from specific vendor which, of course don't do what I want.
What are possible solution you can think of?
Thank you very much

Use a PC based data acquisition card like this for example...

http://www.amplicon.co.uk/dr-prod3.cfm/subsecid/63/secid/1/groupId/60.htm


With this particular card you'll need either a precision resistor or a converter to change your 4-20mA to a voltage signal.


Kevin H

Try to find solution from Advantech. I cann't remeber now but it seems this company has not Adam series signal modules only but required software too. This company production is very popular in Russia, for example.

Thank you, I have got informations about Adam 6017 data acquision module. I'll try to figure it out.

Pandiani,
I have the 6017 module here at home to play around with. I also have Microsoft Visual Studio.Net 2003 software package. I was not able to make a reliable ethernet connection. The 6017 does what it says as far as getting the analog values from the sensors very well. I just couldn't get that data into the VB application. Maybe your VB skills are better than mine, or maybe VB6 would be a better development software to use for this than VisualBasic.Net. Either way, good luck with your project.
BD

Unfortunately my VB knowleadge is poor, but I have a reasonable understandig of C/C++. When you say you're getting values very well, what do you mean? You can see these values in it's supplied software or...?

Pandiani,
"You can see these values in it's supplied software or...?"

yeah, their supplied software application works very good. Below is the part I couldn't get to work right. Like I said, my skills at this kind of thing are near zero.

ActiveX Component: ADAMTCPX





The ADAMTCPX is an ActiveX control that simply a user to develop his application program to control the ADAM-5000/TCP series. With the ADAMTCPX, users can embed it into ActiveX container, such as Visual Basic, Visual C++, Borland C++ Builder & Delphi etc. This manual will introduce you to all the properties, method and events of the ADAMTCPX. And familiarizing you to develop application program with it under Visual Basic, Visual C++, Borland C++ Builder & Delphi.



Demo Sample Directory List:

BCB50 for Borland C++ Builder

DELPHI40 for Delphi

VB60 for Visual Basic

VC60 for Visual C++