??? 07/09/09 09:01 Read: times |
#166910 - Need lots of bits Responding to: ???'s previous message |
Remember that a 10-bit ADC gives about 0.1% steps at full range. If full range is just 0..1000 (about 10 bits) then it will give 1% steps for a signal just requiring a switch to the next higher range.
In your case, you say you always need 0.1% precision. That means that you will require better than 0.01% resolution. Better since all error sources (resolution, scaling, ...) must never get above 0.1% in any part of the scale. Even if you have a full range of 4.000 (12 bits) will after range shift give 0.400 which would be 0.25% large steps. The ADC must be better than 13 bits, or you will need to use smaller range changes than a factor 10. Optimum result is actually a range change of a factor 2, which means that your measurement is always in the upper half of the range, except for the smallest range. The bad thing is that it is easier to get good resistors with a decade distance. An alternative is to just reqiore 0.1% at full range, and live with 1% for values just outside the previous range. |