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DataTranslation DT3034/DT334 Power-up issues


Nathan Durnan

Question

Our existing test systems utilize the digital outputs on the DataTranslation DT3010/3034 and DT332/334 boards to control hydraulic test equipment hardware (typically turning on and off hydraulic solenoid valves thru an electrical relay interface (e.g. OPTO22 ODC5R modules in a PB16T rack)). On older computers (off-the-shelf HP and Dell machines running WinXP thru Win10), these DT boards always used to power up with the digital outputs in an “OFF” state before the computer even logged on or any software even attempted to talk to the boards. So all the relays/solenoids were de-energized (safe state) when the computer first turns on. As old computers have died, we have replaced them with newer industrial models (different motherboards/BIOS), but have started experiencing undesired startup states from the DT boards. The digital IO no longer powers up in a safe OFF state, but instead in a random (high-impedance?) state that causes some of the relays/solenoids to randomly turn on when the computer first powers up. At best, this leads to solenoids being powered up unexpectedly and left on for days at a time, potentially burning up the solenoid coils. At worst, this can result in dangerous unexpected energization of hydraulic test equipment when the computer powers up.

 

We have not been able to figure out what the difference is between the older computers and the newer replacements that could possibly affect how the DT boards are initialized when the computer first boots up (no software running yet). It doesn’t seem to matter if we’re using the DT3010 vs DT3034, or DT332 vs DT334.

 

Some questions I hope MC can help answer:

  1. Are there DT board configuration settings we should be looking at?
  2. Are there potential BIOS settings that could affect how the DT board digital IO is initialized?
  3. Does MC have recommended computers or motherboard/BIOS combinations for running these older DT boards so they power up with the digital IO in a safe OFF state?
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Hello @Nathan Durnan.

There are no board configuration settings nor BIOS settings that will change the digital output state during a system startup.

MCC does not have a list of recommended computers nor motherboard/BIOS combinations.

You will need to add an external safety measure to prevent any dangerous scenarios.

Regards,

Fausto

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