Owner's manual

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
for
QUAD D/A and SERVO MOTOR CONTROLLER
and
SINGLE CHANNEL D/A
Printed February 27, 1999
A digital device is either on or off, like a light switch. An analog device is on, off, or at
any point in between. A common example of an analog device is a lamp dimmer. In an-
imation, analog movements give the fluid, life-like movements needed to bring a figure to
life.
A Digital to Analog (D/A) converter takes the digital data stored in a MICRO MACs or Full-Sized MACs
animation system and turns it back into an analog voltage. The single channel D/A converter takes one
eight bit channel's worth of data and converts it into one analog control signal. The Quad D/A converter
takes four eight bit channels' worth of data and converts it into four independent analog control signals.
These analog voltages can then be used to control light dimmers, analog actuators like Atchley's MFB air
cylinders, Voltage Controlled Amplifiers (VCA's), Electronic Feedback Analog functions, or anything else
which can be controlled by a 0 to 10 VDC input signal.
Additionally, the Quad D/A converter includes the circuitry needed to control up to four model
airplane-style servo motors. These can be used to animate light weight or short lived pieces of animation
as are often used in motion picture special effects. This type of servo motor is not reliable enough to be
used in most permanent animation applications unless your are willing to replace them on a fairly regu-
lar basis.
Both the single channel and Quad D/A converters use the data from an eight bit wide data channel
to convert to an analog control voltage. This gives the analog control voltage 256 steps between it's two
extremes. This is called the 'resolution' of the function. Nominally this output swings between 0 and 10
VDC, which means that each step is approximately .039 volts. If less than a full 0 to 10 VDC output
swing is needed, either or both of the end limits can be set anywhere between 0 and 10 volts. Even with
the output swing reduced, there will still be 256 equal steps between the two end points.
For those few applications which require a higher resolution than eight bits allows, a single channel
12 bit D/A converter is available. This card gives 4096 steps between the two extremes. With a 0 to 10
volt output swing each step is approximately equal to .00244 volts. For even higher resolutions, please
contact the factory. A 128 output eight or twelve bit resolution output card is the standard analog out-
put card for our PC¥MACs Animation Control Systems. This plugs into any standard ISA bus PC computer.
Each D/A channel has a red LED which brightens and dims to show the level of the analog output
for that channel.
Please note that the negative reference output from the D/A converters is at about 1-1/2 volts
above ground. It is not a ground signal and can not be attached to to ground. If it is attached to
ground, the D/A output will not be smooth and linear.
GILDERFLUKE & CO. ¥ 205 SOUTH FLOWER ST. ¥ BURBANK, CALIF. 91502-2102 ¥ 818/840-9484 ¥ FAX[phone]
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