# Output 0..5 voltage controlled by PC

A piece of lab equipment (an image intensifier) is controlled by voltage in the range of 0..5V (current is expected to be in the range of 10 mA; desired resolution is around 12 bits; no frequency requirements since we won't be changing the voltage much). The internal voltage of the intensifier is set to 500V + (850V - 500V) / 5V * Vc. I would like to make it a part of a larger apparatus, all controlled by a PC. Therefore, I need the PC to control a DAC.

What would be a simple way to do that? Should I look for a microcontroller with a real DAC (not PWM) in 5V range? (Those I found seem to be limited to 3.3V - perhaps I didn't look in the right places?) Should I buy a simpler microcontroller and a separate DAC controlled by I2C? Use a 3.3V DAC with an operational amplifier?

It is not a problem for me to write a PC or uC program, but I don't have any successful circuit building experience, so I would like to optimize for less building complexity.

• Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Any conclusions reached should be edited back into the question and/or any answer(s). – Dave Tweed Sep 24 at 16:53