A test and validation bench for seismic digitizers

Abstract

The need to perform functional tests and acceptance checks on the seismic data loggers used i the National Seismic Network managed by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) arises from two complementary requirements. On one hand, it is essential to ensure the long-term continuity of their correct operation, on the other, it is necessary to adopt standardized and optimized verification procedures to confirm, during the acceptance phase of newly acquired
instruments, the full correspondence of their key performance characteristics with those declared by the manufacturer.
This report describes the design and implementation of a modular and expandable test and validation bench based on a data acquisition system connected to a computer via USB and operated through an application developed in LabVIEW (G code). The hardware architecture and the configuration of the electronics used are described in detail, together with the software functionalities for system interaction, data acquisition, and the automation of verification and validation procedures.