Open Source/Open Hardware

EtherPort Data Acqusition and Control Modules

    

The EtherPort system is an open-source/open hardware (Creative Commons 4.0) embedded microcontroller system that provides data acquisition and control. The EtherPort system consists of several different modules, each of which performing a single type of data input or output via Ethernet or USB.

Each module contains a Teensy 3.2 (or comparable) microcontrol that communicates with the host system using either Ethernet or a USB (serial-emulation) interface. The EtherPort modules respond to text queries and return information in text form. Their functionality is similar to the modules in the Plantation Productions' DAQ series, except the EtherPort modules are standalone – each module operates independently of the others (unlike the DAQ, which requires a DAQ_IF and a single-board computer for data acquisition and control). The drawback (compared to the DAQ system) is that each EtherPort module will require an Ethernet or USB port in the host system (the DAQ system uses only a single Ethernet interface for all components connected to a single DAQ_IF board).

In addition to the particular I/O facilities each EtherPort board provides, there is also an Adafruit Feather bus connector (compatible with the Adafruit Teensy 3.2 Feather adapter) on the EtherPort boards. You can connect Featherwing boards such as Ethernet interfaces, OLED displays, real time clocks, data loggers, etc. Many boards even include mounting holes for Featherwing doubler boards to allow the installation of multiple FeatherWing boards.

The main modules are all 3.5" x 5.9" (rougly 90mm x 150mm, the same form factor as the Plantation Productions' DAQ modules). There are some small daughterboard modules that mount directly on the EtherPort boards that handle different types of analog I/O, but those daughterboards will fit within the 3.5" x 5.9" outline of the EtherPort boards.

There are several different EtherPort boards in the system:

  • EtherPort DIN: 48-channel digital input (TTL inputs or open contacts with optional pullup resistors).
  • EtherPort DOUT: 48-channel digital output (TTL/5v outputs)
  • EtherPort HCDOUT: 24-channel high-current digital outputs (capable of driving LEDs and relays)
  • EtherPort TC: 4-channel thermocouple inputs (K thermocouples, 0-1000C range)
  • EtherPort RTD: 4-channel RTD inputs (supports P100 and P1000 RTD probes)
  • EtherPort AIN: 32-channel analog input (16-channels with differential inputs); ±10v input range
  • EtherPort AOUT: 4-channel analog output and analog conditioning (V out, or 4-20mA out)
  • EtherPort DAC: 4-channel analog output (±10V out, adjustable).

 

  

DAQ Modules....

 

EtherPort Documentation....