Tell me more ×
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for electronics and electrical engineering professionals, students, and enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I have a HB100 Microwave Sensor Module which I am going to use for an experiment, and I want to transfer the data it produces directly onto my computer. Since the output of the device is in the audio frequency range, I want to connect it using an audio cable. But how exactly do I do this and receive the data on my Windows 7 machine? Do I need additional programs?

share|improve this question

closed as off topic by Leon Heller, Brian Carlton, Dave Tweed, Olin Lathrop, W5VO♦ Nov 20 '12 at 4:38

Questions on Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange are expected to relate to electronics design within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Assumption: The HB100 Sensor Module must include an integrated low-frequency signal amplifier to boost its signal - since the HB100 device itself generates signals of (typical) 200 microvolts peak to peak. Such a small signal may easily be swamped by interference from fluorescent and CFL lights in the vicinity of the audio cable.

If the signal voltage is amplified sufficiently, it can be fed into the sound card line-in or mic-in ports of your computer - see the specifications of your sound card to determine which of the ports accepts what signal voltage levels, before actually hooking it up.

Sound-cards can accommodate the 25 Hz to 1 KHz doppler frequency range that the device generates.

The simplest way to receive this data is by saving it as an audio file using Sound Recorder or any suitable sound recording software on your computer.

Processing this data subsequently (or in real-time) will of course require appropriate software to be written for the operating system of the computer.

share|improve this answer
The preamp shown in the application notes has a gain of >10,000 (!) – Dave Tweed Nov 15 '12 at 15:04
@DaveTweed It was my understanding that the application note gives a recommended amplifier design to be implemented for using the part, and that the part itself does not incorporate the amplifier. The very similar GH100 parts we have used do not include the amplifier. The GH100 actually gives barely 100 microvolts output, needing a preamp with 20,000x gain just to obtain a usable signal. – Anindo Ghosh Nov 15 '12 at 15:45

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.