A handheld data acquisition system for use in an undergraduate data acquisition course

A handheld data acquisition (DAQ) system was designed and built for use in an undergraduate engineering course. The system is based on a PocketPC computer and a low-cost serial DAQ card. The DAQ system runs under WindowsCE, an embedded real-time operating system. The DAQ hardware is supported by a free development system and custom software that allows applications to be tested under emulation with simulated I/O before being downloaded to the DAQ hardware. Several lab experiments were developed that complement the DAQ hardware.