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daq.getDevices

(Not recommended) Display available data acquisition devices

Description

example

daq.getDevices lists devices available to your system.

Tips

  • Devices not supported by the toolbox are denoted in the output list with an asterisk (*). For a complete list of supported devices, see https://www.mathworks.com/hardware-support/data-acquistion-software.html.

  • To suppress diagnostic information from daq.getDevices about inoperational vendors, run the function disableVendorDiagnostics. To turn these diagnostics back on, run enableVendorDiagnostics.

device = daq.getDevices assigns the device list to the variable device.

Examples

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Get a list of all devices available to your system and store it in the variable d.

 d = daq.getDevices
d = 

index   Vendor    Device ID                            Description                           
----- ----------- --------- -----------------------------------------------------------------
1     directsound Audio0    DirectSound Primary Sound Capture Driver
2     directsound Audio1    DirectSound Digital Audio (S/PDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)
3     directsound Audio3    DirectSound HP 4120 (2- HP 4120)
4     ni          cDAQ1Mod1 National Instruments NI 9205
5     ni          cDAQ1Mod2 National Instruments NI 9263
6     ni          cDAQ1Mod3 National Instruments NI 9234
7     ni          cDAQ2Mod1 National Instruments NI 9402
8     ni          cDAQ2Mod2 National Instruments NI 9205
9     ni          cDAQ2Mod3 National Instruments NI 9375
10    ni          Dev1      National Instruments USB-6211
11    ni          Dev2      National Instruments USB-6218
12    ni          Dev3      National Instruments PCI-6255
13    ni          PXI1Slot2 National Instruments PXI-4461
14    ni          PXI1Slot3 National Instruments PXI-4461

To get detailed information about a particular device or a module in a chassis, type d(index). For example, to get information about the NI 9402, which has the index 7, type:

 d(7)
ans = 

ni: National Instruments NI 9402 (Device ID: 'cDAQ2Mod1')
   Counter input subsystem supports:
      Rates from 0.1 to 80000000.0 scans/sec
      4 channels ('ctr0','ctr1','ctr2','ctr3')
      'EdgeCount','PulseWidth','Frequency','Position' measurement types
   
   Counter output subsystem supports:
      Rates from 0.1 to 80000000.0 scans/sec
      4 channels ('ctr0','ctr1','ctr2','ctr3')
      'PulseGeneration' measurement type
   
This module is in slot 1 of the 'cDAQ-9178' chassis with the name 'cDAQ2'.

You can also click on the name of the device in the list to access detailed device information, which includes:

  • subsystem type

  • rate

  • number of available channels

  • measurement type

View information about devices by examining device object properties.

Discover available devices.

d = daq.getDevices
d = 

Data acquisition devices:

index Vendor Device ID          Description         
----- ------ --------- -----------------------------
1     ni     cDAQ1Mod1 National Instruments NI 9201
2     ni     cDAQ2Mod1 National Instruments NI 9201
3     ni     Dev1      National Instruments USB-6211
4     ni     Dev2      National Instruments USB-6218
5     ni     Dev3      National Instruments USB-6255
6     ni     Dev4      National Instruments USB-6363
7     ni     PXI1Slot2 National Instruments PXI-4461
8     ni     PXI1Slot3 National Instruments PXI-4461 

Examine properties of the NI 9201, with the device id cDAQ1Mod1 at index 1.

d(1)
ans = 

ni: National Instruments NI 9201 (Device ID: 'cDAQ1Mod1')
   Analog input subsystem supports:
      -10 to +10 Volts range
      Rates from 0.1 to 800000.0 scans/sec
      8 channels ('ai0','ai1','ai2','ai3','ai4','ai5','ai6','ai7')
      'Voltage' measurement type
   
This module is in slot 4 of the 'cDAQ-9178' chassis with the name 'cDAQ1'.

Properties, Methods, Events

Click the Properties link to see the properties of the device object.

  ChassisName: 'cDAQ1'
    ChassisModel: 'cDAQ-9178'
      SlotNumber: 4
     IsSimulated: true
       Terminals: [48x1 cell]
          Vendor: National Instruments
              ID: 'cDAQ1Mod1'
           Model: 'NI 9201'
      Subsystems: [1x1 daq.ni.AnalogInputInfo]
     Description: 'National Instruments NI 9201'
RecognizedDevice: true

Note that the IsSimulated value is true, indicating that this device is simulated.

Discover available devices.

d = daq.getDevices
d = 

Data acquisition devices:

index Vendor Device ID          Description          
----- ------ --------- ------------------------------
1     ni     cDAQ1Mod1 National Instruments NI 9205
2     ni     cDAQ1Mod2 National Instruments NI 9263
3     ni     cDAQ1Mod3 National Instruments NI 9234
4     ni     cDAQ1Mod4 National Instruments NI 9201
5     ni     cDAQ1Mod5 National Instruments NI 9402
6     ni     cDAQ1Mod6 National Instruments NI 9213
7     ni     cDAQ1Mod7 National Instruments NI 9219
8     ni     cDAQ1Mod8 National Instruments NI 9265

Access the Terminals property of the NI 9205 at index 1.

d(1).Terminals
ans = 

    'cDAQ1/PFI0'
    'cDAQ1/PFI1'
    'cDAQ1/20MHzTimebase'
    'cDAQ1/80MHzTimebase'
    'cDAQ1/ChangeDetectionEvent'
    'cDAQ1/AnalogComparisonEvent'
    'cDAQ1/100kHzTimebase'
    'cDAQ1/SyncPulse0'
    'cDAQ1/SyncPulse1'
        ⋮

Output Arguments

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Device list, returned as an array of DeviceInfo objects.

Version History

Introduced in R2010b

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R2020a: daq.getDevices is not recommended

Use of this function not recommended. Use daqlist instead.

For more information about using the recommended functionality, see Transition Your Code from Session to DataAcquisition Interface.