Knowledgebase

This is a 16-bit E-Series interface board option for the CBP bipotentiostat system. This board will fit into any full size PCI slot in a personal computer (desktop or tower). The PCI-6030E board is manufactured by National Instruments (Austin TX) and is also known as the PCI-MIO-16XE-10 board. The board offers multiple 16-bit analog input/output channels, precision timing, and several digital input/output lines. A special 68 conductor cable and a 68-to-50 pin adapter are required to connect this board to a CBP bipotentiostat.

You can purchase the board, cable, and adapter from National Instruments or Pine Research Instrumentation. Used boards are also available from Artisan-Scientific. Click on the specific part numbers for additional purchasing details.

Photo of the PCI-6030E Interface Board

The use of the PCI-6030E interface board in conjunction with a CBP bipotentiostat that has an internal filter board imposes certain restrictions on the current and potential measurement ranges. To mitigate any issues caused by this particular combination of boards, it is extremely important to use a version of the AfterMath software package that is AfterMath version 1.2.4532 (or a more recent version). Limitations specific to different versions of the software are described below.

If you are using AfterMath version 1.2.4532 (or a more recent version), then the following constraints will apply:

• The maximum reliable potential measurement is ±5.0 volts. Voltage signals with a magnitude greater than 5.0 volts may be improperly measured in some circumstances.
• The maximum reliable current measurement range is ±500 mA. Current signals with a magnitude greater than 500 mA may be improperly measured in some circumstances.
• All of the current ranges more sensitive than ±500 mA will function properly, all the way down to the ±100 nA range.

If you are using an older version of AfterMath (prior to version 1.2.4532), then the following constraints will apply:

• The maximum reliable potential measurement is ±5.0 volts. Voltage signals with a magnitude greater than 5.0 volts may be improperly measured in some circumstances.
• The maximum reliable current measurement range is ±500 mA. Current signals with a magnitude greater than 500 mA may be improperly measured in some circumstances.
• Some of the current ranges more sensitive than ±500 mA may not function properly. In particular, current signals measured while using the ranges which are even powers of ten (i.e., 100 mA, 10 mA, 1 mA, … , 100 nA) may be improperly measured in some circumstances. It is strongly recommended to only use the current ranges which are not even powers of ten (i.e., 500 mA, 250 mA, 50 mA, 25 mA, etc.).
• You should upgrade to version 1.2.4532 of AfterMath (or a more recent version) immediately.

If you are using any version of our older PineChem software, then the following constraints will apply:

• The maximum reliable potential measurement is ±5.0 volts. Voltage signals with a magnitude greater than 5.0 volts may be improperly measured in some circumstances.
• The maximum reliable current measurement range is ±500 mA. Current signals with a magnitude greater than 500 mA may be improperly measured in some circumstances.
• Some of the current ranges more sensitive than ±500 mA may not function properly. In particular, current signals measured while using the ranges which are even powers of ten (i.e., 100 mA, 10 mA, 1 mA, … , 100 nA) may be improperly measured in some circumstances. It is strongly recommended to only use the current ranges which are not even powers of ten (i.e., 500 mA, 250 mA, 50 mA, 25 mA, etc.).
• You should consider upgrading from PineChem to AfterMath.

Note that all of the above constraints apply only to the specific combination of using the PCI-6030E interface board with a CBP bipotentiostat which contains an internal filter board. If you use any of the other supported interface boards, then the above measurement constraints do not apply.

All photos of interface boards on this web page are Copyright © 1999-2008 Artisan Scientific (Champaign IL). Used with Permission.