MagicDAQ Automate Your Test & Measurements Setup | Voltlog #420

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Products are shipped from USA based warehouse, so US customers usually receive orders within 4 days and international customers usually get products within 1.5 weeks. Faster shipping options are available on the check out page.

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#MagicDAQ #Python #Automation

Welcome to a new Voltlog, today we’re taking a look at a device which is not typical to be found in a hobbyist lab but one that certainly has its place with the more advanced user that has some automated test setup needs. This is the MagicDAQ and it was sent in for free for the purpose of this review, I believe it was shipped from New Zealand so I think it might be made in New Zealand.

Here is the spec list for this unit, we have:
8 analog inputs (14 bits, 48Ks/s +/- 10V), typical voltage resolution is 10mV. These can be connected single ended or differential between channels.
8 Digital inputs or outputs (0-5V)
2 Analog outputs capable of Voltage, Sine or PWM output (0-5V), 12 bit DAC resolution with up to 31KHz of output frequency.
1 Counter up to 5MHz with edge detection / PWM up to 65KHz (0-3V3) I’m guessing this can be both input and output?
One 5V output limited to 250mA, powered from VBUS rail.
It’s USB powered and comes with a DIN rail mount.
And another important feature is the way you control the hardware which is through a Python API and everyone loves python these days, however there is one important limitation here, it is only supported under Windows because of hardware driver constraints which prevent it from working under Linux and Mac.

Inside the box I got the unit, the DIN rail adapter and a USB cable, this is good practice, to include the USB cable because users might have a low quality USB cable laying around and they might decide to use that low quality USB cable with your product which might cause all sorts of trouble and head scratching as to why your product isn’t working as expected, By including a good quality cable in the box, you limit the number of things that might go wrong for the user.

[voltlog]

Use the discount code 'voltlog' for a 10% price discount on your order.

Products are shipped from USA based warehouse, so US customers usually receive orders within 4 days and international customers usually get products within 1.5 weeks. Faster shipping options are available on the check out page.

[NiHaoMike]

The driver seems to be a binary blob? That doesn't bode well for long term support, for example with newer versions of Windows (or an entirely different OS) or newer versions of Python. Having dealt with similar issues at work when selecting hardware for a test setup, I came to the conclusion that an Arduino would be the best choice that will remain supported for an indefinite amount of time. In particular, the "Ruggeduino" boards are overvoltage protected.

[mdijkens]

To do (limited) functionality like this, I use a Nano or ESP with a script to define I/O's over serial and read/write them (50K samples/sec). On the PC-side I use my own preferred dev. environment (I hate Python) to configure/read/write over serial. This way I can script/monitor/log/test projects connected to the Nano/ESP from my PC in my own preferred environment :-)

[IanScottJohnston]

Looks like the old Advantech ADAM plc type controllers. Same enclosure anyway.

[tractorboy]

I was there right up to the point where it was declared as Windows-only.

[TradieTrev]

Boo hiss, where's our linux support? It's bad enough Standard Australia put DRM on my local standards (they don't work on linux), yet they're DRM free with your licence in New Zealand!

[andyburns]

The manufacturer may /say/ the lack of Linux driver to configure the unit is a hardware issue, but to me it just sounds like a lack of interest in supporting Linux ...

[TheDefpom]

Hang on, they are from NZ? why didn't they send me one LOL !

[superdau]

Very questionable value for the price, considering that it is not much more than there is on a STM32 dev board (or ESP32) with an external ADC and screw terminals. But the main deal breaker for me is the custom driver. If the manufacturer stops to support it (not providing Linux support isn't a good sign either; missing out on raspberryPis), the device becomes useless (unless someone writes different firmware). I see no reason why this device couldn't be connected as a standard USB serial device.
A raspi with a DAQ hat costs much less and includes pretty much a complete computer.

[Hugatry]

Nice set of IO and apparently quite user-friendly API. That should pay for itself in no time, if used in production environment to cut time used for testing.