Can I Increase the Maximum Sampling Rate of the myRIO?

Updated Apr 24, 2023

Reported In

Hardware

  • myRIO-1900
  • myRIO-1950

Issue Details

I'm considering to use the myRIO to measure the return echo signal at 200 kHz. My concern is that the available sampling rate is not sufficiently fast. The datasheet of the myRIO says that the "aggregate sample rate is 500 kS/s". Is there any way that the sample rate can be increased when making proper use of the FPGA or is the 500 kS/s an absolute maximum?

Solution

It is impossible to increase the maximum sampling rate of the myRIO above the given maximum of 500k samples per second.

Additional Information

The sample rate is limited by the hardware Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC). The upper limit of this converter is, in the myRIO-1900's and myRIO-1950's case, 500 kS/s.

The Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is connected to the Analog Input (AI) pins through the ADC, as can be seen in the NI myRIO-1900 Block Diagram (myRIO Module). This is reasonable, as the analog signal has to be converted before it can be used in digital circuitry. Because of this the ADC's speed is the limiting factor of the sampling rate, irrespective of the FPGA's performance.