Computerised performance testing of data acquisition facilities

The author describes a low-cost approach to performing automatic performance measurements on data acquisition modules and systems employed in physics research. A versatile programmable CAMAC pulse generator is described which produces accurately timed repetitive logic pulses whose width and repetition rate are set by software. The variable rate is useful in determining the performance of data acquisition systems over a wide range of data rates, while the variable width may be used in the automatic measurement of the characteristics of modules such as time-to-digital converters (TDCS). Using a time-to-amplitude converter (TAC), this width can be converted into a variable amplitude for testing analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) modules. Hardware and software aspects are described. Typical applications are discussed including automated performance measurements on a VAX 11/785 data acquisition system on a TAC/ADC combination.