Raspberry Pi Isolated Interfaces

[dean1971]

I have just seen the three isolated boards which plug into the Raspberry Pi, which were reviewed in the EPE magazine. They can also be connected to any micro and embedded system. They give 128 opto inputs and 128 opto outputs, but best of all there is a 24-bit multi-channel ADC board with additional i/o, which is the first I have come across. I have downloaded the tech manual from Zeal Electronics web site and they look interesting because they will eliminate the ground loop problems I come across. Has anybody used them yet?



http://zeal-electronics.co.uk/rpi/index.html

[SteveA]

Dean
I use them to enable me to regulate 10,000 amp controllers (used in NDT equipment), which, because of the high bus bar currents have terrible earth loop problems, which used to cause massive problems. The isolation provided by the boards mean that the sensors connected to the ADC, the inputs and outputs can all be at different potentials and so the differences do not affect each other, nor does the Raspberry Pi get damaged or keep crashing. Other's I know have used the isolated 24-bit ADC board to monitor low level sensors because the ground loop glitches are reduced or eliminated and so they see more of the actual ADC signal rather than earth loop noise. The reviews done by EPE Magazine in their Dec 2014, Feb 2015 and April 2015 issues and in their Teach In 6 book are very thorough and worth looking at in order to get a good feel for them. The tech manual, downloaded from Zeal's web site, is very comprehensive so it should give you a better idea on how to use them.
Happy experimenting!