METDAS - Data Acquisition System

The Data Acquisition System comprises both hardware and software. The hardware consists of a Windows 2000 PC located on the Observatory, equipped with 3 Keithley 16 channel 12-bit analogue to digital converter cards providing a total of 48 logging channels. 32 of the 48 channels are termed 'met' channels and dedicated to fixed instrumentation on the Observatory. The remaining 16 channels are termed 'research' channels and are used for logging research instrumentation.

The PC has both internal and external disk space for storing the logged data files and a separate uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to provide up to 3 hours of additional logging and thereafter safe shutdown should the mains power go down. The PC utilises standard Ethernet networking for transferring files to the department servers.