Page 1 PhidgetBridge 4-Input Contents 1 GETTING STARTED 2 USING THE 1046 2.1 Phidget Control Panel 2.1.1 Windows 2.1.2 macOS 2.2 First Look 2.3 Digital Output 3 TECHNICAL DETAILS 3.1 How to Calibrate the Bridge 3.2 Gain Setting vs. Resolution 3.3 Connecting your Strain Gauge/Load Cell...
Page 2 3.6.3 Getting Higher Accuracy 4 WHAT TO DO NEXT Getting Started Welcome to the 1046 user guide! In order to get started, make sure you have the following hardware on hand: 1046 PhidgetBridge USB cable and computer something to use with the 1046 (e.g. load cell, strain gauge, RTD , wheatstone-bridge type sensor, etc.) Next, you will need to connect the pieces: 1.
Page 3 1046. First Look After plugging the 1046 into your computer and opening the Phidget Control Panel, you will see something like this: The Phidget Control Panel will list all connected Phidgets and associated objects, as well as the following information: Serial number: allows you to differentiate between similar Phidgets.
Page 4 In the case of weight measurement, this would be a known force or weight. Record the output from the 1046 at one known point, and at a second known point. It helps if the two values are reasonably far apart.
Page 5 - two combinations will have a resistance 20-40% higher than the other four. Choose one of these high- resistance combinations, and wire it into 5V and G on the 1046. Connect the other two wires into +/-. Apply a load, if the V/V responds in the opposite way to your expectations, ip the +/- wires.
Page 6 To determine the resistance of the RTD, the following formula can be used: Where is the Bridge Value given by the PhidgetBridge (in mV/V) , and are the resistances of the known resistors.
Page 7 Use a moving average when obtaining the Bridge Value to reduce the amount of noise in the measured signal. Estimate or Measure the resistance of the +5V and GND wires between the RTD and the 1046 PhidgetBridge. Add this resistance to the two resistors.