Daqarta
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
Scope - Spectrum - Spectrogram - Signal Generator
Software for Windows
Science with your Sound Card!
The following is from the Daqarta Help system:

Features:

Oscilloscope

Spectrum Analyzer

8-Channel
Signal Generator

(Absolutely FREE!)

Spectrogram

Pitch Tracker

Pitch-to-MIDI

DaqMusiq Generator
(Free Music... Forever!)

Engine Simulator

LCR Meter

Remote Operation

DC Measurements

True RMS Voltmeter

Sound Level Meter

Frequency Counter
    Period
    Event
    Spectral Event

    Temperature
    Pressure
    MHz Frequencies

Data Logger

Waveform Averager

Histogram

Post-Stimulus Time
Histogram (PSTH)

THD Meter

IMD Meter

Precision Phase Meter

Pulse Meter

Macro System

Multi-Trace Arrays

Trigger Controls

Auto-Calibration

Spectral Peak Track

Spectrum Limit Testing

Direct-to-Disk Recording

Accessibility

Applications:

Frequency response

Distortion measurement

Speech and music

Microphone calibration

Loudspeaker test

Auditory phenomena

Musical instrument tuning

Animal sound

Evoked potentials

Rotating machinery

Automotive

Product test

Contact us about
your application!

Sound Card Macro Overview

Daqarta includes a number of ready-to-run example macros and mini-apps to perform various tasks and experiments. You can use these as-is, or modify them for your own needs, or study them to learn how to write your own custom macros.

You can open the Help topic for any included macro by selecting it in the Macro List and clicking the Help button below the list, next to Run. If you click the Edit button to see the macro definition, you'll find a duplicate Help button near the upper right.

A simple Daqarta macro consists of one or more commands that directly operate controls to allow task automation. All Daqarta controls have associated variables that can be accessed directly via mnemonic names, such as SmplRate for Sample Rate. (The macro command name is given in each control's Help topic, which you can open by right-clicking the control.)

Macros can also perform custom calculations on raw data using a rich set of expressions and operators, math functions, variables, and arrays. Arrays can also be used as large general-purpose storage areas for numerical values or text strings. Special string arrays allow advanced text manipulation options, including flexible lengths, case conversion, and numerical expression evaluation.

Additionally, macros can provide custom meters, displays, interactive Custom Controls, and file input or output.

Macros are listed in the Macro Dialog (CTRL+F8) with names and short descriptions that you provide, and can be run from there by double-clicking, or selecting and using the Run button.

A macro can also install another macro as one of up to 16 tasks in a multitasking system, allowing it to run concurrently with other operations.

The Macro Dialog is independent of the normal Daqarta dialog system and can be kept open while you work. Complex test suites can be operated entirely from the Macro Dialog, without the need to delve into other dialogs to find controls. The macro names and descriptions, as well as macros that provide helpful prompt messages, can guide even novice operators through a series of tests.

Alternatively, macros can be run as "hot keys" that are invoked via the F8 function key followed by an ID key that you assign. The Macro Dialog opens when you hit F8 and vanishes when you hit the ID key.

A special Instant Macro mode uses F8 followed by Spacebar to accept a direct macro command (or list of commands) that is run immediately via SHIFT+Enter.

Macros can send formatted text and data to special log files to create custom reports or data loggers.

String variables and expressions can be used to set Labels, Fields, file names, Notes, messages, Custom Meters, or log text.

Macros can be run via remote control from your own external application, allowing it to use Daqarta for data collection, analysis, and/or signal generation.

Macros execute very quickly. They typically operate on controls directly, without requiring the normal control dialog to be opened, so they can perform a complicated series of operations virtually instantly.

All the macros in the Macro Dialog can be saved to a .MAC file. Daqarta0.MAC (or another file that you specify) is loaded automatically when Daqarta starts. Other files can be loaded manually at any time.

NOTE: The Macro Save File button is disabled after the trial period, unless a Professional license key is present. However, you may continue to load and use the included macro files, or those you have previously created, and you may create and use macros within a session without saving to a file.

A macro with a special '!' ID can be run automatically every time Daqarta starts up, which can set test parameters and prompt the operator for needed information.

You can specify an arbitrary auto-run macro via the A: command line parameter, allowing you to use selected features of Daqarta as part of a larger test system.

A macro is created via the New button in the Macro Dialog, which opens the Macro Editor where you can enter the ID, Name, optional Description, and the actual Definition which contains the commands that make up the macro. The definition can also include comments to explain the purpose of individual command steps, or the overall macro operation.

Almost all Daqarta controls have associated macro commands. When you right-click on a control, its specific macro command is shown at the top of the Help topic that opens. More detailed information about how to use the command is provided near the end of the topic, in the Macro Notes section.

All macro commands consist of a command or variable name followed immediately by an = sign and (usually) a value or expression. Many commands have optional prefixes that provide additional information to the macro processor. Each prefix must be followed by a period. For example, L.0.ToneFreq=1000 sets the Generator Tone Frequency for Left Stream 0 to 1000 Hz.

Additionally, many commands have extended functions by means of set (#) and query (?) operators. For example, the main Pix command for Pixel Operations can use Pix#D=1 to set smooth line drawing mode, and use UX=Pix?D to query (read) the most-recently drawn pixel color.

Macro commands for adjustable values like frequency accept the desired value or expression after the = sign, as in the above example. But you can also increment or decrement any existing value such as ToneFreq via ToneFreq=>A, where A may be a constant, variable, or expression. The right-hand side after the '=>' (A here) is evaluated and if it is positive, ToneFreq is scrolled up one step. If negative, it is scrolled down, and if zero it is unchanged.

The actual size of the step is a constant +/-1 for most controls (and all macro variables), but this increment/decrement option is particularly useful with the special step sizes allowed by Tone Frequency and other Generator frequencies like AM, FM, or Phase/Slope modulation frequencies. Only one step is allowed per command. (You can't use =>2 to move by two steps.) However, you can always use an expression like ToneFreq=ToneFreq + X if you don't need the special steps.

Macro commands for on/off button controls or checkboxes use a value of 1 for On and 0 for Off. To toggle the current state, use x. For example, Trig=x toggles Trigger off if it was on, or on if it was off.

Radio button macro commands allow a mnemonic name instead of a value, such as SpectWind=Bkmn to set a Blackman type spectrum window. To use a numeric value instead, start with 0 for the first button in the radio group and count to the desired button... in this case SpectWind=2 would set Blackman. The advantage of a number over a name is that you can store it in a macro variable while you use a different setting for a certain test, then later restore the original setting from the variable.

A macro script may contain many commands, including invocations of other macros that you have previously defined to act as subroutines of the main macro. A macro named _MyMacro is called from another macro definition as @_MyMacro. A macro can call a macro that calls a macro... up to 16 levels deep. Although not generally advised, a macro can call itself (recursion), subject to this same 16-level limit.)

As a notational convenience, subroutine macros start with an underscore, as in the above example. This is not mandatory, but it has the benefit that subroutine names will be sorted to the bottom of the macro list, below the macros that you manually invoke and need ready access to.

Macros can be repeated in loops. @_MyMacro=N runs _MyMacro for N repetitions, where N may be a value or expression. You can also use WHILE/WEND loops for more control, and to keep everything in a single macro.

Unlike many languages, Daqarta variables are global, so subroutines have access to all variables; parameters are not "passed" to the macro as such. You may wish to use the Special Macro-MIDI Variables to pass values to and from subroutines. Posn#0 to Posn#9 are integers, while Posn#i to Posn#o are fixed-point. This can be helpful in keeping them separate from the main variables, especially in large macros with multiple subroutines and/or many variables that are hard to keep track of.

In addition to commands that operate Daqarta controls, there are also special macro-only commands to display messages in specified fonts, colors, and locations as operator prompts, or to query the operator for a response. There are special macros to wait for specified events or time durations, or store values in macro variables for later use.

Macros can also contain logical IF statements to perform conditional operations based upon the values of most variables.

A macro can tell a Label or Field to maintain a copy of a specified Daqarta variable. This allows you to insure that relevant test information like stimulus frequency and loudness are saved with file data.

Macros can be used to set controls or variables, including timer intervals, with random values that are uniformly distributed over a range you define.

You can create a macro that prompts an operator to enter a test name or number into a Field and waits for entry before proceeding. That entry can then be used as a file name by a macro that saves the test data.


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