Computer interface with Biopac system
Computer interface with Biopac system
We are switching our lab over to a Biopac MP 150 system for Windows. As part of this switch we are buying a new desktop computer to run Media Lab and Direct RT. We are going to have Media Lab send TTL pulses to the Biopac system to mark data collection segments. I would appreciate any advice concerning what I need in a desk top computer and operating system to make this run smoothly. Not too long ago we wasted about $3500 on a Dell desk top that we never could get to send TTL signal properly in order to interface with a Coulbourn system! Thank you.
You'll have the best luck using a PC with a built-in parallel port.
Some laptops have parallel ports which only output a +3.3v signal. This is sometimes, but not always, not enough voltage to drive external hardware.
However, a built-in port on a desktop machine should be fine.
As best I'm aware, all of our customers who interface DirectRT / MediaLab with external TTL equipment use Windows XP. However, I expect that Windows 7 would also be fine.
Any current PC will do the job nicely.
Update: As of April 2010, DirectRT v2008 works with parallel ports having addresses between 0 and 65535. Earlier versions of the software could only access the first 32,000 addresses, which precluded the user of most add-on cards.
