RE: V/F converters, current amplifiers, and display counters

[RIVERS@BNLX26.NSLS.BNL.GOV (Mark Rivers)]

Tim Mooney writes:

> We've been talking to a potential vendor of V/F converters, and would like
> to know how much interest there is in the following product:

> NIM module containing four V/F converters
> Input:		0 - 10V
> Output:		0 - 100 kHz
> Nonlinearity:	<= 0.05%
> Price:	$800/module + nonrecoverable engineering costs (<20 modules)

I would like to suggest that you look at the module which the NSLS designed.
(Talk to Peter Siddons). Their system is similar, except that it has higher
gain. It has LED display of the output frequencies.

I would like to suggest some features we would like to see in these modules.

- Selectable gains, to at least 1 MHz/volt. The specs described above 
  (10 kHz/volt) will provide only 10 counts/msec for a 1 volt input.
  This is totally is insufficient speed/precision for many applications.

- Selectable polarity (i.e. positive or negative input voltage). Many current
  amplifiers provide an output signal whose polarity changes with the sign of
  the input current. 

If these featues were added then I think CARS would be interested in 10-15 of
these modules.

Mark Rivers