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Multi-Instrument

The Full Package includes the Pro version along with all add-on modules. For the same license level, a free lifetime version upgrade is also provided.

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Multi-Instrument Add-On Modules

The add-on modules need to be purchased separately. They can only run with Multi-Instrument Lite, Standard, or Pro, with the exception that Vibrometer can only run with Multi-Instrument Standard or Pro.

Multi-Instrument License Upgrade

The license information in the softkey, hardkey and VT hardware are all remotely upgradable. For license options, please refer to the paragraph below.

USB Hardkey for Multi-Instrument Series (US$49.95)

The USB hardkey does not require a driver to run. It will be initialized to the corresponding license level purchased. With this option, you can run the software on the registered computer with the softkey, as well as on any computer with the hardkey.

License Options:
1. Softkey activated license (which locks to the registered computer)
2. VT hardware activated license (which locks to the purchased VT hardware)
Optionally, a USB hardkey (which locks to the hardkey) can be purchased per softkey or VT hardware activated license.

Introduction

Multi-Instrument is a powerful multi-function virtual instrument software. It is a professional tool for time, frequency, time-frequency and modulation domain analyses. It supports a variety of hardware ranging from sound cards which are available in almost all computers to proprietary ADC and DAC hardware such as NI DAQmx cards, VT DSOs, VT RTAs and so on. It consists of the following instruments and functions, all of which can run simultaneously and in real time.

Oscilloscope

Digital Oscilloscope
Transient Recorder
Data Recorder
Voltmeter
Lissajous Plot
Digital Filters
Persistence Mode
Equivalent Time Sampling
AM, FM, PM Demodulator
Reverberation Analysis
Speech Intelligibility
Step Response Analysis
Echo Sounder
Damping Ratio

Signal Generator

Function Generator
Arbitrary Generator
Burst Generator
White Noise Generator
Pink Noise Generator
MultiTone Generator
MLS Generator
Musical Scale Generator
DTMF Generator
Frequency Sweep
Amplitude Sweep
Fade In/Fade Out
AM, FM, PM Modulator
DDS & Streaming Modes
DC Offset supported

Multimeter

Voltmeter
SPL Meter
Frequency Counter
RPM Meter Counter
Duty Cycle Meter
F/V Converter
Pulse Width

Derived Data Curves

Energy Time Curves
Step Response Curve
Frequency Time Curves
X-Y Plots
Shock Response Spectrum

Spectrum Analyzer

Amplitude Spectrum Analyzer
Power Spectrum Analyzer
Real Time Analyzer
Octave Analyzer
Phase Spectrum Analyzer
Correlation Analyzer
Freq. Response Measurement
Distortion Analyzer
Noise Analyzer
Harmonics Analyzer
Dynamic Signal Analyzer
Coherence Measurement
Transfer Function Measurement
Impulse Response Measurement
Wow & Flutter Measurement
Sound Quality Measurement
Impedance Analyzer

Spectrum 3D Plot

Waterfall Plot
Spectrogram
Cumulative Spectral Decay

Vibrometer

Displacement Velocity Acceleration Conversion

Data Logger

8x8 Derived Data Point Logger
254 Derived Data Points
16 User Defined Data Points

Device Test Plan

User Defined Plan
8 X-Y Plots
1 Test Report

LCR Meter

Inductor Meter
Capacitor Meter
Resistor Meter
Impedance Meter

Derived Data Point (DDP) Viewer

Display Derived Data Points
HH, H, L, LL Alarming
User Defined Data Points
DDP Array Viewer

Software Customization & Development

Most Flexible Configuration
ActiveX Automation Supported
vtDAQ & vtDAO Open Interfaces
VC++, VB, VC#, Python, LabVIEWE sample codes

System Requirement

Windows XP/VISTA/7/8/10/11, 32 or 64 bit, screen resolution 1024x600 or higher.

ADC/DAC Hardware supported

8/16/24/32 bit Windows compatible sound card (MME/ASIO driver)
NI DAQmx compatible cards
VT DSO F1/H1/H2/H3 series
VT DAQ 1/2 series
VT DAO 1 series...

Language supported

English
French
German
Italian
Spanish
Portuguese
Russian
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Japanese
Korean...

Multi-Instrument has been widely used in education and training, scientific research, audio and acoustic engineering, electronic engineering, vibration analysis, medical diagnosis, musical instrument inspection, and so on. Download it now for a 21-day fully functional FREE trial, using your computer sound card as the ADC and DAC devices.

The Multi-Instrument system

A Multi-Instrument system consists of three layers (from front end to back end, as shown in the figure below): sensor layer, data acquisition hardware layer and virtual instrument software layer (i.e. Multi-Instrument).

1. Sensor Layer

The sensor layer is made up of sensors and their pre-amplifiers (if necessary). It converts physical quantities to electronic signals which can then be quantized by the data acquisition layer. It defines the field of application of the Multi-Instrument system. For example, a passive oscilloscope probe or an active differential oscilloscope probe can be used to measure electronic or electrical voltage signals; a current clamp can be used to measure electronic or electrical current signals; a microphone can be used to sense sounds, an acceleration sensor can be used to sense vibration; an ECG sensor can be used to sense the electrical activity of the heart, etc... The sensor layer can also contain actuators such as speakers and vibration shakers.

2. Data Acquisition Hardware Layer

The data acquisition hardware layer contains the data acquisition hardware such as Virtins Technology's PC based USB Oscilloscopes, Spectrum Analyzers and Signal Generators, Virtins Technology's Real Time Analyzers, NI DAQmx cards, sound cards, etc. It scales, conditions and quantizes the electronic or electrical signals passed on by the sensor layer. Together with the sensor layer, it defines the measurement accuracy and precision of the Multi-Instrument system. This layer can also contain DAC hardware which converts the digial signal from the computer to analog signal in order to drive the actuators such as speakers in the sensor layer.

3. Virtual Instrument Software Layer

The virtual instrument software layer is dominated by the Multi-Instrument software. It defines the functions and Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) of the Multi-Instrument system. In general, the Multi-Instrument system is extremely powerful, flexible, customizable, yet cost-effective. Simply through software configuration without any coding, it is possible to achieve custom functions that can only be realized through custom software development using programming tools such as Labview, Matlab, C++, etc. A properly configured Multi-Instrument system will meet your every need in test, measurement, monitoring and control.

Function Allocation in Different License Levels

A complete Multi-Instrument software package consists of basic and add-on modules with all features in each of them. The basic modules include Oscilloscope, Spectrum Analyzer, Signal Generator, Multimeter, Derived Data Point Viewer, Derived Data Curve, and General Functions. The add-on modules include Spectrum 3D Plot, Data Logger, LCR Meter, Device Test Plan, Vibrometer, and Dedicated Hardware Support.

There are six license levels to access the basic modules: Sound Card Oscilloscope, Sound Card Spectrum Analyzer, Sound Card Signal Generator, Multi-Instrument Lite, Multi-Instrument Standard, and Multi-Instrument Pro. The add-on modules need to be purchased separately. They can only run with Multi-Instrument Lite, Standard, or Pro, except that Vibrometer can only run with Multi-Instrument Standard or Pro. The following table shows the function allocation among different license levels. Please note that a license of Multi-Instrument Full Package contains Multi-Instrument Pro and all add-on modules.

Basic Modules

✔ - Function available
* - Function available in Multi-Instrument Full Package only

Functions/Levels		Sound Card Oscilloscope	Sound Card Spectrum Analyzer	Sound Card Signal Generator	Multi-Instrument Lite	Multi-Instrument Standard	Multi-Instrument Pro
Functions/Levels		US$39.95	US$59.95	US$39.95	US$79.95	US$129.95	US$229.95
General Functions
ADC/DAC Hardware	Sound Card MME	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Sound Card ASIO						✔
	Other Hardware				✔	✔	✔
	vtDAQ, vtDAO software development	License automatically activated with the presence of the corresponding hardware, e.g. a USB hardkey or a VT DSO.
File Operation	Load WAV file	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Load TXT file					✔	✔
	Load WAV file frame by frame (for long WAV file)					✔	✔
	Combine WAV file	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Extract data and save them into a new WAV file	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Save/load panel setting	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Data Export	Copy Text to Clipboard	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Copy BMP to Clipboard	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Print Preview	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Print	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Export as TXT file	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Export as BMP file	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Trigger Settings	Trigger Mode	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Trigger Source	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Trigger Edge	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Trigger Level	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Trigger Delay	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	High Frequency Rejection	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Noise Rejection	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
Sampling Settings	Sampling Rate	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Sampling Channels	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Sampling Bit Resolution	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Record Length	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
Calibration	Input	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Output			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Probe	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Sound Pressure Level	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	F/V Conversion					✔	✔
	Latency for Sync. Output/Input						✔
	Sensor Sensitivity	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Load Factor for Power Calculation	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
Graph Operation	Zoom	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Scroll	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Cursor Reader	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Marker	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Chart Type	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Line Width	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Color	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Fast/Slow Display Mode	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Refresh Delay	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Font Size	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Roll Mode					✔	✔
	Reference Curve & Limits					✔	✔
Others	Gain Adjustment	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Input Peak Indicator	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Sound Card Selection	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Sampling Parameter Auto Setting	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Multilingual GUIs	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Show/Hide Toolbar	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Lock/Unlock Panel Setting	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Hot Panel Setting Toolbar	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	ActiveX Automation Server	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Auto Ranging	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Auto Scaling	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Input Channel Operation	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
Oscilloscope
Type	Individual Waveform	✔	✔	✔ (offline)	✔	✔	✔
	Waveform Addition	✔	✔	✔ (offline)	✔	✔	✔
	Waveform Subtraction	✔	✔	✔ (offline)	✔	✔	✔
	Waveform Multiplication	✔	✔	✔ (offline)	✔	✔	✔
	Lissajous Pattern	✔	✔	✔ (offline)	✔	✔	✔
Inter-Frame Processing	Linear Average					✔	✔
Inter-Frame Processing	Exponential Average					✔	✔
Intra-Frame	Time Delay Removal					✔	✔
Demodulation (Intra-Frame)	AM					✔	✔
	FM					✔	✔
	PM					✔	✔
Digital Filtering (Intra-Frame Processing)	Remove DC					✔	✔
	Rectification					✔	✔
	FFT Low Pass					✔	✔
	FFT High Pass					✔	✔
	FFT Band Pass					✔	✔
	FFT Band Stop					✔	✔
	FFT Frequency Response					✔	✔
	FIR Low Pass					✔	✔
	FIR High Pass					✔	✔
	FIR Band Pass					✔	✔
	FIR Band Stop					✔	✔
	FIR Frequency Response					✔	✔
	IIR Coefficients					✔	✔
Parameter Measurement	Reverberation / Speech Intelligibility						✔
	Discontinuity						✔
	Step Response Analysis						✔
	Echo						*
	Damping Ratio						*
Others	Max, Min, Mean, RMS, Skewness, Kurtosis	✔	✔	✔ (offline)	✔	✔	✔
	Record Mode					✔	✔
	Persistence Display Mode	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Equivalent Time Sampling Mode	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔
	Analog & Digital Signal Mixed Display				✔	✔	✔
	SINC Interpolation	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Spectrum Analyzer
Type	Amplitude Spectrum / Power Spectrum Density / Impedance Spectrum		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Phase Spectrum		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Auto-Correlation (Linear / Circular)		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Cross-Correlation (Linear / Circular) (Original / Generalized)		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Coherence/Non-Coherence						✔
	Transfer function/Impedance Analyzer						✔
	Impulse Response						✔
Intra-Frame Processing	Frequency Compensation		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Frequency Weighting		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Remove DC		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Smoothing via Moving Average		✔		✔	✔	✔
Inter-Frame Processing	Peak Hold		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Linear Averaging		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Exponential Average		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Cross Correlation (Cross Power Spectrum Vector Average)		✔		✔	✔	✔
Parameter Measurement	THD, THD+N, SNR, SINAD, Noise Level, ENOB		✔		✔	✔	✔
	IMD/DIM		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Bandwidth		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Crosstalk		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Harmonics & Phase		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Energy in User Defined Frequency Bands		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Peaks, SFDR, TD+N		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Wow & Flutter						*
	Sound Loudness						✔
	Sound Loudness Level						✔
	Sound Sharpness						✔
	Sound Articulation Index						✔
	Noise Rating & Criterion						✔
	Total Non-Coherent Distortion + Noise						✔
	GedLee Metric						✔
	Sound Intensity						*
FFT	FFT Size 128~32768		✔		✔	✔	✔
	FFT Size 65536~4194034						✔
	Intra-Frame Average		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Window Function		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Window Overlap		✔		✔	✔	✔
Other	Octave Analysis (1/1, 1/3, 1/6, 1/12, 1/24, 1/48, 1/96)		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Linear / Log Scale for X and Y		✔		✔	✔	✔
	Peak Marker / Label		✔		✔	✔	✔
Signal Generator
Waveform	Sine			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Rectangle			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Triangle			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Saw Tooth			✔	✔	✔	✔
	White Noise			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Pink Noise			✔	✔	✔	✔
	MultiTones			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Arbitrary Waveform			✔	✔	✔	✔
	MLS			✔	✔	✔	✔
	DTMF			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Musical Scale			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Wave File					✔	✔
	Play Waveform in Oscilloscope	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Cyclic Play Waveform in Oscilloscope	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Sweep	Frequency Sweep (Linear/Log)			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Amplitude Sweep (Linear/Log)			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Forward + Reverse Sweep			✔	✔	✔	✔
Burst (Mask)	Normal Phase			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Locked Phase			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Window-Shaped Burst			✔	✔	✔	✔
	On/Off Amplitude Ratio			✔	✔	✔	✔
Fade	Fade In			✔	✔	✔	✔
Fade	Fade Out			✔	✔	✔	✔
Modulation	AM			✔	✔	✔	✔
	FM			✔	✔	✔	✔
	PM			✔	✔	✔	✔
Others	Software Loopback (all channels)			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Software Loopback (1 channel)				✔	✔	✔
	Sync. with Oscilloscope						✔
	Save as WAV file			✔	✔	✔	✔
	Save as TXT file			✔	✔	✔	✔
	DDS				✔	✔	✔
	DC Offset				✔	✔	✔
Multimeter
Type	RMS					✔	✔
	dBV					✔	✔
	dBu					✔	✔
	dBSPL					✔	✔
	dB(A)					✔	✔
	dB(Z)					✔	✔
	dB(C)					✔	✔
	Frequency Counter				✔	✔	✔
	RPM					✔	✔
	Counter					✔	✔
	Duty Cycle					✔	✔
	Frequency/Voltage					✔	✔
	Cycle RMS					✔	✔
	Cycle Mean					✔	✔
	Pulse Width					✔	✔
	Jitter Statistics						✔
Settings	Counter Trigger Hysteresis				✔	✔	✔
	Counter Trigger Level				✔	✔	✔
	Frequency Divider				✔	✔	✔
DDP (Derived Data Point) Viewer
Function	DDP & UDDP Display						✔
	HH, H, L, LL Alarm						✔
	Set Display Precision						✔
	Define UDDP						✔
	Alarm Sound						✔
	Alarm Acknowledge						✔
	Linear/Exponential Averge						✔
DDP Array Viewer	Harmonic Frequencies, RMS, Phases Report						✔
	Octave Bands, RMS, Report						✔
	Peak Frequencies, RMS, Phases Report						✔
	Frequency Bands, RMS Report						✔
	Reverberation / Speech Intelligibility (1/1 Octave)						✔
	Reverberation / Speech Intelligibility (1/3 Octave)						✔
Derived Data Curve (DDC)
Function	Energy Time Curve (Log-Squared)						✔
	Energy Time Curve (Envelop)						✔
	Energy Time Curve (dBSPL)						✔
	Impulse Response Schroeder Integration Curve						✔
	Step Response Curve (via Impulse Response Integration)						✔
	Frequency Time Curve (Demodulated)						✔
	X-Y Plot						✔
	Shock Response Spectrum						✔
	Frequency Time Curve (Timed)						✔
	RPM Time Curve						✔

Add-on Modules

Blank - Function available if purchased
Shaded Blank - Function NOT available in that license level

Functions/Levels		Sound Card Oscilloscope	Sound Card Spectrum Analyzer	Sound Card Signal Generator	Multi-Instrument Lite	Multi-Instrument Standard	Multi-Instrument Pro
Spectrum 3D Plot (US$99.95)
Type	Waterfall Plot (Inter-frame, STFT)
	Waterfall Plot (Intra-frame, STFT)
	Waterfall Plot (Intra-frame, CSD)
	Spectrogram (Inter-frame, STFT)
	Spectrogram (Intra-frame, STFT)
	Spectrogram (Intra-frame, CSD)
Settings	Spectrogram Color Palette
	Waterfall Color Palette
	Waterfall Tilt Angle
	Waterfall / Spectrogram Height
	Linear / Log Scale for X and Y
	Number of Spectral Profiles (10~200)
Others	3D Cursor Reader
	Octave Analysis (1/1, 1/3, 1/6, 1/12, 1/24, 1/48, 1/96)
	Spectrogram Smoothing
Data Logger (US$99.95)
Real Time Logging
Load historical log file
Three logging methods
270 derived data points available for logging
Up to 8 x 8 = 64 variables can be logged simultaneously
LCR Meter (US$99.95)
High Impedance Measurement
Low Impedance Measurement
Up to 8 X-Y Plots (Linear/Log)
Device Test Plan (US$99.95)
25 Instructions
Create / Edit / Lock / Execute / Load / Save a Device Test Plan
Up to 8 X-Y Plots (Linear/Log)
Device Test Plan Log
Automatic Multi-Step Generation
User Log In/ Out
Volatile & Non-volatile Variables
Vibrometer (US$99.95)
RMS, Peak/PP, Crest Factor for acceleration, velocity, displacement (in Multimeter)
Waveform conversion among acceleration, velocity and displacement (in Oscilloscope)
SI/English units
Dedicated Hardware Support (US$99.95)
RTX6001 Remote /Local Control

The Dedicated Hardware Support add-on module is intended for seamless integration with some third-party hardware devices.
The following third-party hardware devices are under this category:

1. RTX6001 Audio Analyzer
Note that without this add-on module, RTX6001 will work as a sound card only and is still supported by Multi-Instrument's generic sound card drivers. With this add-on module, the input and output data will be scaled properly by the software without calibration, and RTX6001 is fully controllable from PC.

Module Specifications and Features

Sound Card Based Measurement System

With the Multi-Instrument softare, without any additional ADC and DAC hardware, you can turn your PC into a multi-function test and measurement instrument by using its built-in sound card as the ADC and DAC devices. The sampling rate can be up to 768 kHz and the sampling bit resolution can be up to 32 bits. The software have a wealth of features normally only found in much more expensive instruments. Generally, the sound card supplied with a PC is sufficient to allow measurements in the audio frequency range. Perfect measurement quality can be archived by using a professional grade sound card. Together with the VIRTINS Sound Card Oscilloscope Probe P601, which has three attenuation positions, the setup is able to measure a signal with a magnitude from as low as 1 µV to 24 V.

You can also integrate sensors, transducers, ADC and DAC hardware (e.g. sound cards, NI DAQmx cards, VT DSOs, VT RTAs, etc.), computers and the Multi-Instrument software together to form a professional test and measurement system.

Accessories for Sound Card Based Measurements

Please refer to VIRTINS Sound Card Oscilloscope Probe Kits P601PC and P601PPC.