I'm kind of new to the A/D and D/A area and have a question about bits.

I have a circuit that reads the input from a strain gauge via a 24-bit A/D coverter. This value is used by another program. I also need to take this 24-bit value and convert it back to an analog ouptut for input to another instrument. All the D/A converters seem to be for 16-bit max. What do I do with the other 8-bits of information? Is there a way to manipulate the 24-bits into 16-bits without losing my resolution?

 

Hi,

Nope, there ain't no way to get that resolution in 16 bits. That's one part in 32K versus one part in 8 million. You might look at audio D-to-A converters. I think I've seen some that go up to 22 bits, which is very little loss in useful resolution. They might be interesting to use, though, unless they use external clocks. They take data in serial and come in stereo pairs, so one will alternate with the other in converting the input bitstream into right/left channel outputs. Probably mix them back together with a good op amp, though.