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U.S. Department of Energy
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PC-based PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) telemetry data reduction system hardware

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7024568· OSTI ID:7024568

The Solar Energy Research Institute's (SERI) Wind Research Program is using pulse code modulation (PCM) telemetry systems to study horizontal-axis wind turbines. SERI has developed a low-cost PC-based PCM data acquisition system to facilitate quick PCM data analysis in the field. The SERI PC-PCM system consists of AT-compatible hardware boards for decoding and combining PCM data streams and DOS software for control and management of data acquisition. Up to four boards can be installed in a single PC, providing the capability to combine data from four PCM streams direct to disk or memory. This paper describes the SERI PC-PCM system hardware, focusing on the practicality of PC-based PCM data reduction. A related paper highlights our comprehensive PCM data management software program which can be used in conjunction with this hardware to provide full quick-look'' data processing and display. The PC-PCM hardware boards support a subset of the Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) PCM standard, designed to synchronize and decommutate NRZ or Bi-Phase L PCM streams in the range of 1 to 800 Kbits/sec at 8 to 12 bits per word and 2 to 64 words per frame. Multiple PCM streams (at various rates) can be combined and interleaved into a contiguous digital time series. Maximum data throughput depends on characteristics of the PC hardware, such as CPU rate and disk access speed. 7 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.

Research Organization:
Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/CE
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-83CH10093
OSTI ID:
7024568
Report Number(s):
SERI/TP-257-3662; ON: DE90000316
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English