Patent ID: 6895563

Claim:
An electronic circuit prototyping system, comprising: a) a personal computer having at least one expansion slot; b) a multi-purpose data acquisition card installed in said expansion slot; c) software associated with said data acquisition card residing in memory of said personal computer and being in communication with said data acquisition card, said software including a custom communication driver; and d) an interface board coupled to said data acquisition card for connecting to a circuit to be tested, said interface board including i) a communication module for communicating with said data acquisition card and said associated software via said custom communication driver, ii) a function generator interface and variable DC voltage module coupled to said communication module, iii) a function generator module coupled to said function generator interface and variable DC voltage module, iv) an analog I/O module coupled to said communication module and to said function generator interface and variable DC voltage module, v) a current amplifier and frequency calibration module coupled to said communication module, to said function generator module, and to said analog I/O module, and vi) a first edge connector for receiving one of a prototyping board and a protection board, said first edge connector being coupled to said communication module, to said function generator interface and variable DC voltage module, to said function generator module, to said analog I/O module, and to said current amplifier and frequency calibration module.