National Instruments USB-TC01 Manual

CALIBRATION PROCEDURE
NI USB-TC01
This document contains information for calibrating the National
Instruments USB-TC01. For more information about calibration,
visit ni.com/calibration.
Contents
Conventions ............................................................................................ 1
Documentation Requirements................................................................. 2
Test Equipment ....................................................................................... 2
Test Conditions ....................................................................................... 2
Calibration Procedures............................................................................ 3
Initial Setup...................................................................................... 3
Verification ...................................................................................... 3
Verifying Temperature Measurement Accuracy ...................... 3
Where to Go for Support......................................................................... 4
Conventions
The following conventions are used in this document:
»The »symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options
to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options directs you to
pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item, and select Options
from the last dialog box.
This icon denotes a note, which alerts you to important information.
bold Bold text denotes items that you must select or click in the software, such as
menu items and dialog box options. Bold text also denotes parameter names.
italic Italic text denotes variables, emphasis, a cross-reference, or an introduction
to a key concept. Italic text also denotes text that is a placeholder for a word
or value that you must supply.
monospace Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should enter from the
keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and syntax examples.
This font is also used for the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories,
programs, subprograms, subroutines, device names, functions, operations,
variables, filenames, and extensions.

NI USB-TC01 Calibration Procedure 2 ni.com
Documentation Requirements
For information about the NI USB-TC01, you can consult the following
documents:
•Getting Started with the NI USB-TC01—provides instructions for
installing and configuring the NI USB-TC01.
•NI USB-TC01 User Guide and Specifications—includes detailed
information about NI USB-TC01 and provides the published
specification values for the NI USB-TC01. Refer to the most recent
NI USB-TC01 User Guide and Specifications online at ni.com/
manuals for specifications.
You can also find the latest versions of the documentation at ni.com/
manuals.
Test Equipment
National Instruments recommends that you use the equipment in Table 1
for calibrating the NI USB-TC01.
Test Conditions
The following setup and environmental conditions are required to ensure
the NI USB-TC01 meets published specifications.
• Keep connections to the device as short as possible. Long cables and wires
act as antennae, picking up extra noise that can affect measurements.
• Verify that all connections to the device are secure.
• Maintain an ambient temperature of 25 ±5 °C.
Table 1. Recommended Equipment
Equipment Recommended Model Requirements
Calibrator Fluke 5500A If this instrument is unavailable, use a
high-precision simulated thermocouple
output module capable of type J with an
accuracy of ±0.4 °C at 0 °C and 1000 °C
simulated outputs.
Thermocouple wire —Type J
Two miniature
thermocouple
connectors
—Type J

©National Instruments Corporation 3 NI USB-TC01 Calibration Procedure
• Keep relative humidity below 80%.
• Allow a warm up time of at least 15 minutes for the NI USB-TC01 and
30 minutes for the calibrator to ensure that the measurement circuitry
is at a stable operating temperature.
Calibration Procedures
The calibration process includes the following steps:
1. Initial Setup—Install the device.
2. Verification—Verify the existing operation of the device. This step
confirms whether the device is operating within the published
specifications prior to adjustment.
3. Adjustment—If the device does not fall within the desired
specifications, you can return the device to NI for a factory test to
adjust the calibration constants. Go to ni.com/calibration for
information about returning a device to NI for a factory test.
4. Reverification—Repeat the verification procedure to ensure that the
device is operating within the published specifications after adjustment.
The first two procedures are described in more detail in the following
sections.
Initial Setup
Refer to the Getting Started with the NI USB-TC01 for information about
how to install the hardware.
Verification
This section provides instructions for verifying the NI USB-TC01
specifications. The limits are based on the specifications that the device
should meet if it has been one year since the original factory calibration.
Verifying Temperature Measurement Accuracy
Complete the following steps to verify temperature measurement accuracy.
1. Connect the thermocouple output of the calibrator to the NI USB-TC01.
2. Set the calibrator to output a 0 °C type J measurement.
3. Acquire a temperature measurement with the NI USB-TC01.
4. Verify that the NI USB-TC01 measurement is 0 ±2.05 °C.
5. Set the calibrator to output a 1000 °C type J measurement.
6. Acquire a temperature measurement with the NI USB-TC01.
7. Verify that the NI USB-TC01 measurement is 1000 ±1.96 °C.

LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com, the National Instruments corporate logo, and the Eagle
logo are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation. Refer to the Trademark Information at
ni.com/trademarks for other National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company
names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. For patents
covering National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents
in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice
at ni.com/patents.
© 2010 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. 373193A-01 Mar10
Note Limits are based upon the January 2010 edition of the NI USB-TC01 specifications.
Refer to the most recent NI USB-TC01 specifications online at ni.com/manuals.
Where to Go for Support
The National Instruments Web site is your complete resource for technical
support. At ni.com/support you have access to everything from
troubleshooting and application development self-help resources to email
and phone assistance from NI Application Engineers.
National Instruments corporate headquarters is located at
11500 North Mopac Expressway, Austin, Texas, 78759-3504.
National Instruments also has offices located around the world to help
address your support needs. For telephone support in the United States,
create your service request at ni.com/support and follow the calling
instructions or dial 512 795 8248. For telephone support outside the United
States, contact your local branch office:
Australia 1800 300 800, Austria 43 662 457990-0,
Belgium 32 (0) 2 757 0020, Brazil 55 11 3262 3599,
Canada 800 433 3488, China 86 21 5050 9800,
Czech Republic 420 224 235 774, Denmark 45 45 76 26 00,
Finland 358 (0) 9 725 72511, France 01 57 66 24 24,
Germany 49 89 7413130, India 91 80 41190000, Israel 972 3 6393737,
Italy 39 02 41309277, Japan 0120-527196, Korea 82 02 3451 3400,
Lebanon 961 (0) 1 33 28 28, Malaysia 1800 887710,
Mexico 01 800 010 0793, Netherlands 31 (0) 348 433 466,
New Zealand 0800 553 322, Norway 47 (0) 66 90 76 60,
Poland 48 22 328 90 10, Portugal 351 210 311 210,
Russia 7 495 783 6851, Singapore 1800 226 5886,
Slovenia 386 3 425 42 00, South Africa 27 0 11 805 8197,
Spain 34 91 640 0085, Sweden 46 (0) 8 587 895 00,
Switzerland 41 56 2005151, Taiwan 886 02 2377 2222,
Thailand 662 278 6777, Turkey 90 212 279 3031,
United Kingdom 44 (0) 1635 523545