On Oct 25, 2006, at 12:44 AM, Pearce, AB (Alan) wrote:

>>> btw, 10 bits __is__ high resolution, anything above
>>> or equal to 6 bits is quite good resolution.
>>
>> Not in my language!  12 bit ADC/DACs is the minimum
>> I use in my job, and 16bits is more common.
>
> I would agree. 10 bit is low resolution, 12 & 14 bit is easily the
> common resolutions now, and 16 bit when the extra accuracy is needed.
>
10 bits means 1 bit is about 0.1% of full scale.  Are you using
precision components elsewhere in your circuit, or the usual 5%
resistors and 20% caps? :-)  Designing "the rest of the circuit"
to surround a a 12 or 14bit A2D is a task I find rather mind
boggling...

(Of course, one excuse for lots of bits is that the range of the
input isn't anywhere near full scale, and indeed adding the components
to scale the input would introduce larger errors than you get by using
only a fraction of the range of the A2D...)

BillW
-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist