PRC50 Pulser-Receiver Card
Page 6
JSR Ultrasonics, A Division of Imaginant
General Description
Description
The PRC50 Pulser-Receiver Card is a versatile single-channel ultrasonic pulser-receiver on a half-length
PCI card for use in a host computer. All card functions and configurations are under the control of the
host computer. A Windows-based turnkey control software program is provided to enable you to control
the PRC50. Alternatively, programming information supplied in this manual and in the included Software
Developers Kit (SDK) and Programmer’s Manual allows you to develop custom software programs for
controlling the PRC50.
In a typical application, the PRC50 produces a high voltage electrical excitation pulse, which is available
on the card’s T/R connector. Seven discrete pulse energy levels and a variable power supply are
available for adjusting the strength of this excitation pulse to the transducer. An ultrasonic transducer is
connected to the T/R connector via a length of 50
Ω
coaxial cable, and the transducer converts energy
from the electrical excitation pulse into an ultrasonic pulse that is propagated into a test material or
medium. Eight discrete damping levels in the PRC50 allow the transducer response to be fine-tuned.
With the PCR50 configured for Transmit/Receive mode of operation, any acoustic echoes reflected from
interfaces or from defects within the test material are converted by the transducer into an electrical signal
to be processed by the PRC50 receiver. This electrical signal passes through a user-adjustable gain
stage and the amplified signal then passes through adjustable high and low pass filters. After filtering, the
processed signal is available at the Output connector. The use of a second receiving transducer enables
the detection of ultrasonic pulses that propagate through the test material or medium. This second
transducer is connected to the PRC50 receiver using the THROUGH connector on the card, and the
received signal is processed as it is for transmit/receive mode operation.
The wide-bandwidth low-noise PRC50 receiver has inputs for T/R (Transmit/Receive) and Through
transducer signals. The receiver can amplify either input signal while maintaining excellent isolation from
the other signal. In addition, the PRC50 receiver can independently amplify both input signals, and output
the sum of the amplified signals. Following amplification, the receiver output signal passes through
selectable High-Pass and Low-Pass filters. The output signal is then provided on the PRC50 Output
connector.
The PRC50 is ideal for use in PC-based ultrasonic testing and inspection systems, and its small size and
low power consumption enable systems to be implemented using portable computers. Power to operate
the card is drawn from the host PC. The PRC50 can be combined with A/D Boards or other signal
detection and processing instrumentation, which gives system integrators the flexibility to optimize system
cost and performance. Connections are easily made between the PRC50 and other hardware using 50W
coaxial cables. The four interface connectors on the PRC50 are SMA female coaxial connectors. The
PRC50 Pulser synchronizes easily to other system hardware by producing or accepting trigger pulses on
the PRC50 Trig/Sync connector.
The full-featured PRC50 is an excellent choice for PC-based ultrasonic system applications including flaw
detection, quality assurance, material characterization, transducer testing, and time of flight
measurements.
