Skip Navigation Links

USB-1208FS

REVIEWS (8)
 

Multifunction USB Device

USB-1208FS
zoom

 

document Product Data Sheets - (PDF printable)
document User's Manual - (PDF printable)
download Software and Driver Downloads

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

The USB-1208FS data acquisition (DAQ) device provides low-cost analog and digital measurement options. Features include analog input and output, digital I/O, and counter measurements.

Analog Input
Channels Resolution Max Sample Rate
8 SE/4 DIFF 11-bit (SE) or 12-bit(DIFF) 50 kS/s
Sampling Ranges Isolation
Multiplexed ±20 V, ±10 V, ±5 V, ±4 V, ±2.5 V, ±2 V, ±1.25 V, ±1 V —
Analog Output
Channels Resolution Speed
2 12-bit Up to 10 kS/s
Digital I/O
Channels Counter/Timers Encoder Inputs
16 1/— —
Software Power
OS Support Drivers Power
Windows® and Linux® Universal Library™ SW Suite Bus powered

Part Number Description Qty Price
USB-1208FS USB data acquisition (DAQ) device with 8 SE/4 DIFF analog inputs, 11-bit (SE)/12-bit (DIFF) resolution, up to 50 kS/s sample rate, two 12-bit analog outputs, one 32-bit counter, and 16 digital I/O. $240.00
Software
DAQami™ v4.2.1 Data acquisition companion software for acquiring data and generating signals
 $49.00
DASYLab® LITE Icon-Based Data Acquisition, Graphics, and Control Software
More Options... 		$499.00
DASYLab® BASIC Icon-Based Data Acquisition, Graphics, Control, and Analysis Software. Includes standard analysis modules and unlimited module count. - Most Popular $1,299.00
DASYLab® FULL Icon-Based Data Acquisition, Graphics, Control, and Analysis Software. Includes all DASYLab Basic features plus standard modules, 200 layout windows, unlimited module count, and control sequencer. $1,799.00
DASYLab® PRO Icon-Based Data Acquisition, Graphics, Control, and Analysis Software. Includes all DASYLab Full features plus advanced signal analysis and control modules. $2,499.00
DASYLab® RUNTIME DASYLab Runtime allows you to run an existing worksheet application on an additional computer (with compatible hardware configurations) $449.00
TracerDAQ® Pro Out-of-the-box virtual instrument suite with strip chart, oscilloscope, function generator, and rate generator – professional version
 $199.00

Product Reviews


4.9 / 5
Ease of Use
4.9 / 5
Value
4.8 / 5
Techincal Support
4.8 / 5

100% of new reviewers recommend this product

USB-1208FS
October 21, 2014
Great product

This product is easy to use and a great value. I have many of them and never a complaint.

  • Job Title: Supervisor Engineering labs
  • Industry: Automotive
  • Application: Lighting
  • From: Michigan, USA
  • Company Size: 101-500
  • Software Used: TracerDAQ
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

USB-1208FS
May 20, 2014
This product has all the features that is needed.

This device is used to communicate with components that is inside the machine.

  • Job Title: Purchaser/Materials Manager
  • Industry: Textile
  • From: Swansea, MA, USA
  • Company Size: 1-100
  • Software Used: Visual Basic
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

USB-1208FS
March 04, 2014
This product is easy to use

This product is easy to use and connect to. It would be useful if you have examples of Python code, Matlab code and other showing how to output a voltage or measure some analog voltage on the pins.

  • Job Title: Research scientist
  • Industry: Consumer Electronics
  • Application: Touchpads
  • From: San Jose, CA, USA
  • Company Size: 1001-5001
  • Software Used: Other
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

USB-1208FS
February 20, 2014
Easy to use, reasonalbe price. Look for OEM version for easy mounting

Pros: This USB multifunction DAQ device is a good candidate for low speed data sampling. Have used for a few projects, and served the purpose well. Cons: There is no easy way to mount this device, so I am looking for the OEM version so it can be mounted nicely in a test box.

  • Job Title: Sr. MFG Test Engr
  • Industry: Medical
  • Application: DAQ
  • From: Dublin, CA, USA
  • Company Size: 501-1000
  • Software Used: NI LabVIEW
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

USB-1208FS
August 27, 2013
Works like a charm

Easy to implement. I used it with C++ and could find great libraries for it.

  • Job Title: Graduate Student
  • From: Raleigh, NC, USA
  • Company Size:
  • Software Used: C/C++
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

USB-1208FS
August 27, 2013
Great product for ALL use!

I have been using this model of DAQ device for a few years now. I use this as a design test as well as a production level test. It seems to have the most features for a very good price. I usually mount this inside a box and use a wiring harness so that I can swap in between products very quickly. I've made use of the digital in/outs, analog outs, and D/A outs. Measurement computing is a great supplier, and I've actually used a few of their other products and all units make use of the same back end universal library which makes it so much easier to use pro grammatically. I don't recall ever having to get in contact with support over use of the library. Everything is intuitive. I have no background in electronics, and with the help of the PDF available on wiring for their DAQ devices, I was able to put all of my systems together.

  • Job Title: Software Engineer
  • Industry: Satellite Amplifier Manufacturing
  • Application: Manufacturing test, engineering test, data logging, long term testing
  • From: Pennsylvania, USA
  • Company Size: 1-100
  • Software Used: Other
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

USB-1208FS
March 26, 2013
Fast and easy to use

This is a very simple DAQ to get up and running with, and the utilities MCC provides makes it a breeze. Calibration is easy. The datalogger software it comes with is probably adequate for simple purposes. Though it's not an NI product Labview integration is very tight, with a developer I/O VI library suite that is well-documented and follows the same paradigms as NI hardware. It was very easy to get a fully functioning DAQ system running.

  • Job Title: Graduate Research Assistant
  • Industry: Energy
  • Application: Manufacturing R&D
  • From: Indiana
  • Company Size: 1001-5001
  • Software Used: NI LabVIEW
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

USB-1208FS
March 20, 2013
This product has great features

This product has great features like the Microsoft VB coding with universal library, which makes programming for USB1208FS easy.

  • Job Title: student
  • From:
  • Company Size:
  • Software Used:
  • Ease of use
  • Value
  • Techincal Support
Yes, I recommend this product!

Was this review helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)




Hello, I intend to drive pneumatic electro valves with the digital output ports of my MCC 1208. In the usres guide says that the current limit is 2,5mA, but I do not know if this current is enough to drive a n32 opto coupler(opto darlington). Could you help me with this issue? Thanks!

  • Job Title: Chief engineer
  • Industry: Electrical industry
  • Application:
13 months ago
dango85 Buenos Aires


Answers

For the legacy USB-1208FS model, 2.5 mA may not be enough to drive your circuit. We cannot say for sure, based upon your brief circuit description. For new applications, we recommend the USB-1208FS-PLUS. Port B on the PLUS model can drive 24 mA, while Port A can drive 6 mA.

13 months ago
Measurement Computing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

But the bandwidth is not enough, I am using a Belkin Hub externally powered but still is not enough. How can I solve the problem.

  • Job Title: Project Engineer
  • Industry: Testing Machinery
  • Application: Special testing machine
16 months ago
Pxt900 Livonia, MI


Answers

I guess I did'n explain myself clearly: Running Instacal, using a Belkin externally powered USB hub. Connecting any two USB-1208FS, they run ok, when I connect the 3rd one, this one blinks for a fraction of a second and then stays off. I get an alarm on the PC(Windows XP): "USB controller Bandwidth exceeded"

16 months ago
Pxt900

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

The USB-1208FS is one of our older DAQ models, and it enumerates as multiple HID devices. Each USB root hub has enough resources to enumerate 2 USB-1208FS units. In order to use a third USB-1208FS device on a PC, a second USB root hub must be present. Otherwise, there is no way around this (It is a USB bus hardware limitation). For newer measurement systems, we recommend instead our newer (non-HID) USB-1208FS-PLUS model, which requires less USB resources. While quite comparable in performance, this newer model cannot be seamlessly substituted in some applications. For sure a newer InstaCal must be installed, and there are other improvements/differences that may impact your code.

16 months ago
Measurement Computing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

If all 3 hardware units enumerate properly (LED on solid) and all are present in InstaCal, then the PC has the USB resources to meet the device’s throughput needs. Please describe what you mean by “bandwidth”, what software you are using, and if you are getting any particular error message(s).

16 months ago
Measurement Computing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

Driver not installing correctly on Windows 7 machine. The LED on the 1208 blinks continuously and Instacal does not recognize device. On Device Manager the 1208FS shows up as driver not installed correctly.

  • Job Title: Development Engineer
  • Industry: Medical
  • Application:
22 months ago
Greg1902 Minneapolis, MN


Answers

If the LED always flashes, it is usually an indication of a USB issue. Try a different USB port on the same PC. If there is a hub, docking station, or extra-long USB cable in the path, please reduce to just a short/direct cable. Before deciding that repair is needed, best to try a different PC with a trusted USB 2.0 port.

22 months ago
Measurement Computing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

Hi, I'm just bought a new USB-1208FS and try to use it on MATLAB in Mac OS X 10.4.11. When i write a command DaqFind, MATLAB cant detect the daq device. I have tried to restart the computer and try it again and the same problem occur, it cannot be detected. By the way i bought two unit of the USM-1208FS but both of it cannot be detected. Any suggestions to solve this problem?

  • Job Title: researcher
  • Industry:
  • Application:
37 months ago
faiz Switzerland


Answers

How to restore the firmwares using InstaCal?

37 months ago
ameb

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

The latest USB-1208FS firmware, along with instructions on how to update it via InstaCal, is posted on our website at: http://www.mccdaq.com/firmware.aspx If you are not successful following those instructions, please contact MCC technical support for further assistance.

37 months ago
Measurement Computing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

Hello - MCC has not written any driver for the USB-1208FS for use on a MAC, so we cannot support the driver you are using. One MAC driver we have heard of, called the Psychophysics Toolbox, has been known to corrupt the firmware of the USB-1208FS and similar DAQs, leaving the LED always flashing. If that is the scenario in your case, you will need to connect the USB-1208FS to a Windows PC with InstaCal already installed, and use InstaCal to restore the firmware.

37 months ago
Measurement Computing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (1) / No (0)

Hi, I tried running DaqTest function of Psychtoolbox-3 on MATLAB on a Mac. The device was initially detected, but then it threw an error. The LED didn't stop flickering afterwards, and the device is not detected. Looking at discussions of people with simi

  • Job Title:
  • Industry:
  • Application:
47 months ago
YulK


Answers

Hello YulK - The 3rd party software you are running and its MAC driver (not written by MCC) has a bug/flaw which can corrupt the firmware of your MCC hardware device. Contact our MCC tech support group for help restoring the firmware. As for prevention, you will need to contact the 3rd Party. We have posted a FAQ on our knowledgebase about this at the following link: http://kb.mccdaq.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50502.aspx

47 months ago
MeasurementComputing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

  • Job Title: Principle engineer
  • Industry: AMR
  • Application: test
51 months ago
BobY NC


Answers

Hello BobY, Thank you for your inquiry. The input impedance for the USB-1208FS is 122 K Ohms. If your application requires higher input impedance, then please look at our USB-1208HS (35 M Ohms) or USB-1608G Series (1 Gig Ohm).

51 months ago
MeasurementComputing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

What is a cost-effective way to get one +/-10V analog output from this device?

  • Job Title: Programmer
  • Industry: Testing
  • Application: Analog output control
55 months ago
Analoger California, USA


Answers

The analog output on the USB-1208FS is unipolar, i.e. 0 to 4.096 volts. MCC does not offer signal conditioning to expand this to -10 to +10 volts. One route is to consider a different model (the USB-1208HS-2AO) or for slower D/A, augment the USB-1208FS with a USB-3101.

55 months ago
MeasurementComputing

Was this answer helpful? Yes (0) / No (0)

Included Software

  • TracerDAQ® for acquiring and displaying data and generating signals
  • InstaCalTM software utility for installing, configuration, and testing
  • Universal Library includes support for Visual Studio® and Visual Studio®.NET, including examples for Visual C++®, Visual C#®, and Visual Basic®.NET
  • ULx for NI LabVIEWTM Library of VIs and example programs to speed your NI LabVIEW development
  • Linux® Support for MCC DAQ products
  • Python™ Support for MCC DAQ Products

Optional Software

  • DAQamiTM - data acquisition companion software for acquiring data and generating signals
  • DASYLab®2016 Software lets you interactively develop PC-based data acquisition applications by simply attaching functional icons
  • TracerDAQ®Pro - Out-of-the-box virtual instrument suite with strip chart, oscilloscope, function generator, and rate generator – professional version
  • MATLAB® Support for MCC Products - Software Environment for Data Acquisition, Data Analysis, and Application Development

Product Manuals

USB-1208FS
document
 

 

Quick Start Guide

DAQami™ v4.2.1
QS-MCCDAQ.pdf
 
DASYLab® LITE
QS-DASYLab-MCCDRV.pdf
 
ULx for NI LabVIEW™
QS ULx for NI LabVIEW.pdf
 

 

Product Videos

MCC Video Library
video
 

 

Programming Example Downloads      download

1 Year Warranty

1 Year Warranty

All products are backed with a one year warranty. Buy with confidence.

30 Day Money Back Guarantee

30-Day
Guarantee

If you aren’t happy, simply return the product for a full refund (U.S. customers only).

Live Help

Live Help

Having trouble deciding which product is right for your application? Chat with one of our sales engineers.