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RoadTest: Review the B&K Precision 6-Channel High Speed Multi-Function Recorder DAS60

Author: john.porter

Creation date: 20 Sep 2024

Evaluation Type: Test Equipment

Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True

What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: There is no direct comparison that I found, the DAS60 has a powerful set of features. However there are combinations of equipment that would be collectively comparable. I examined the Keysight DAQ970A and Fluke 1736 as a combination.

What were the biggest problems encountered?: Digital channels do not support 3.3V inputs. Instructional material is weak for complex functions. Firmware updates are required to address security concerns. Sefram Viewer and Pilot software are dated, with the Pilot software in need of updating to fully support the DAS60. Digital data decoding capability is lacking.

Detailed Review:

My first experience with B&K Precision equipment was an EEPROM programmer, followed years later by a power supply I purchased for an industrial company. I don’t know what happened to that programmer, but I do know the 20-year-old power supply is still reliably in use today.

Founded in 1951, B&K Precision earned their reputation long ago as a respected manufacturer of cost-effective and reliable test and measurement equipment. B&K Precision has a strong lineup of test and measurement equipment. I am very excited to review one of the recent additions to the lineup, the B&K Precision DAS60 High Speed Multi-Function Recorder. B&K presents the DAS60 as a high-speed, high-voltage and feature rich recorder which adds power analysis. The DAS60 delivers and more. The result is a modern, solid, decisively powerful, and full featured system that can meet data acquisition challenges.

In this review, I take a closer look at the B&K Precision DAS60 and explore its features, performance, and overall value, with a focus on its power analysis capabilities for home power and also at the office. I also evaluate the security features of the system, including a security vulnerability assessment. Please check out my blog for an unboxing video and introduction to the DAS60 equipment as delivered

What is a Data Acquisition System (DAS)?

A DAS samples real-world signals and converts the signal values to digital format. This enables recording and storage of data, over time, for digital analysis. The most powerful function of a DAS is its ability to acquire data from several sources simultaneously, and to record that data over a long period against a common time-base. This data allows analysis of those sources and their relationship to each other and time.

When providing this explanation to my colleagues and friends, I was often met with blank looks, so I provided some examples that aligned closer to their interests:

Using inside and outside thermometers, a DAS can measure how the outside temperature influences the inside temperature and how long it takes for an increase to cause the air conditioning system to kick in. By also monitoring the power used by the air conditioner and thermostat temperature, the DAS can record how the thermostat setting impacts the power consumed in relation to the temperatures. Then you could use this analysis to recommend, objectively, an optimal home temperature setting to your partner. A scientific approach may improve your odds of success, but not even the capable DAS60 can save you from the potential of a heated debate. 

Or a DAS could monitor the power supplied by a solar panel and record that for a year to determine what time of day, and in what season, the solar panel produces the most power and least power. You can use this data, along with power data, to determine how many panels to install to meet peak periods.

As a disclaimer, I did not validate either of those two examples in this review. However, these may provide interesting tests in the future. 

B&K Precision DAS60 technical specifications and features

B&K Precision and Element14 provided a comprehensive kit for this evaluation. I have made an unboxing video (here), which introduces the components and equipment of the kit. Along with the DAS60, there is a sturdy carrying case and enough cables and connections to acquire data on all channels simultaneously. The major components and specifications include:

• 6 isolated analog input channels with an input range from +/- 5mv to +/- 500V rated for CAT III
• 64GB memory
• Record with 1MSa/s/channel sampling to memory or with 500KSa/s/channel to file. 14-bit resolution
• Filters and triggers are customizable, including a Go/No-go mode
• 16 logic inputs
• 2 dedicated platinum RTD temperature inputs (Pt100/1000)
• 4 outputs for alarms or external trigger
• Power analysis for single phase or three phase power sources, Fresnel diagram and harmonic distortion displays
• 10” TFT touchscreen LCD
• Numeric, XY, or F(t) views
• Portable with battery life from 4 to 9.5 hours
• Network connectivity
• 6 pair of CAT III banana test leads with alligator clips and 6 pair CAT II banana adapters for bare wire, along with other accessories

{gallery}Accessories
Analog Probes with Alligator Clips
Probe Tip
Bare Wire Banana Connectors
Connectors for PT100/1000 RTD Temperature Sensors
DB25 Connector for Digital Channels

Construction and display

The DAS60 is solidly built with metal casing and thick bumpers on each corner. It is battery operated and designed to be portable – I appreciate the sturdy carrying case, which made transporting between locations easy while protecting the equipment. The DAS60 is well built. If there was one thing I would change, it would be for adjustable feet to allow you to tilt the equipment back slightly, and improve the screen viewing when working on a bench. There is a stand, this stand presents the ports on an angle well however is too low to improve viewing of the display.

The large, bright, 10” WSVGA (1024x600) TFT color display brings important detail forward when viewing waveforms. The capacitive display is responsive to the lightest touch, which is helpful considering all controls are managed on the touchscreen aside from the top power button. The DAS60 supports dragging a cursor, but does not make use of other common gestures such as swiping and pinching – there are occasions where multi-touch gestures would be useful, such as zooming in/out on a waveform. The USB ports accept a mouse and keyboard, which allow easier control.

Custom RGB colors are available to identify channels or functions, a feature that becomes critical when displaying several waveforms at once. Another feature to help manage multiple channels is the ability to separate the screen into several segments instead of overlaying many signals on top of each other.

The DAS60 connections are easy to access on the top of the device and straight forward to work with. When acquiring data from many sources, this panel can get crowded, but the layout simplifies an otherwise busy surface.

Comparison

The B&K Precision DAS60 has many capabilities, and it's precision and speed place it close to high end equipment. The inclusion of power analysis in a multi-channel, multi-function recorder sets the DAS60 apart. There is no direct comparison that has all the functionality in one device. Nevertheless, there are alternatives depending on what primary use-case is the deciding factor for a purchase.

If you are looking for a high-precision multi-function recorder, you may want to consider devices such as the DAQ970A. For those wanting only robust power analysis, the Fluke series would be my choice. If you want it all, you can purchase multiple devices. However, to achieve the best combination in a single piece of equipment, the DAS60 provides the greatest value.

General system use

It is easy to get started with an initial measurement by selecting memory mode, F(t) display and pressing autoset. The autoset feature works does a great job and gets things going quickly.

The DAS60 is powerful, flexible and nearly infinitely configurable, there is a setting for almost everything. I do like to have a flexible, customizable system! That does add complexity, which the device and pdf instruction material manage OK, but the manual could be more informative, intuitive, and polished - more on that later.

The menu buttons are for the most part, self-explanatory with pictograms and descriptions. But this is not always the case. A few data fields, when clicked on, bring up relevant sub-menus. This is good, but a way to improve the out-of-box experience would be to highlight fields that have sub-menus as it is not always obvious. Additionally, some buttons/functions disappear completely if a related option is not enabled. This had me looking for buttons I was sure I had seen previously. I like functions to be visible but greyed out if they are not available. For example, on the F(t) display, there is a math button to setup the functions. That button does not exist until you enable Display Math in another page. 

Important information is presented on the relevant screen to guide you. For example, the logic channel page shows a diagram of the DB25 connector with pin numbers and labels to show which digital channel is on each pin. The power analysis page shows how to connect each channel for the different circuit types. I found the graphical instruction on the DAS itself to be superior to the manual in several instances.

An example where the DAS screens provide better information surrounds the instruction to connect a two-wire PT100 to the four-port connector. The manual is incorrect, and the connector labels unclear. I found a picture in a PT100 submenu that explained things perfectly. Adding that picture to the manual would help.

I also found the ability to take screenshots with one button press to be very convenient for capturing images, and to present graphical readings to augment recordings. I used this feature constantly during this review!

Channels – Analog

The DAS60 comes with an impressive six analog channels for voltage data acquisition. Current and temperature data are also supported, current measurements rely on shunts or current clamps. This brings superior value and function to the DAS60, equivalent to having six recording voltmeters interlinked to the same time base, supporting detailed comparisons between channels. The analog inputs can deliver the function of a six-channel oscilloscope, or some combination of oscilloscopes, voltmeters and digital thermometers. The DAS60 has exceptional capabilities.

Each analog channel is an isolated, CAT III 600V rated input, with a limit of +/-500VDC and can acquire True RMS data with ranges between 200mVrms to 424Vrms. The DAS60 is equally capable measuring large or small voltages. The digit precision is not published however it appears to be 5.0 digit precision. 

As compared to a 6.5-digit Keysight 34461A, the DAS60 has outstanding accuracy and well within calibration tolerances - with only small variations from the Keysight. Each channel is separately calibrated and the results align nicely with the calibration report.

An additional two channels are dedicated for RTD, PT100 temperature measurement. If thermocouples are used on analog channels, the DAS60 is capable of recording eight temperatures simultaneously. When compared to a 6.5-digit Keysight 34461A, the PT100 measurements were consistently accurate, with a difference of up to -0.225°C from the Keysight once compensating for a slight probe variation of 0.1°C.

Channels - Digital and Alarms

The B&K Precision DAS60 supplements the analog channels with 16 inputs for digital channels, 4 outputs for alarms, and one 12V output all on a single DB25 connector. As I didn't have a ready-to-go digital cable, I had to make one using the included DB25 connector.

The DAS60 excels at recording for extended periods of time and manages 1-16 binary digital channels easily. However, Bus and Serial decoding is not available in the DAS nor in the Sefram viewer software, which limits analysis to binary only.

It is possible to export to CSV from the viewer software. With some external reformatting, another program may help analyze the binary capture with serial or bus decoders. For example, after significant manual effort, I was able to use sigrok to view the 16 binary channels as a bus and decode ASCII from that. I was not able to find a practical way to decode a serial stream aligned to correct timing. Perhaps with more effort, or advice from E14 members?

The instruction manual claims, on separate pages, that either 3.3V or >4V logic signals are required. So, which is it? Unfortunately, the latter is true, signals need to be over 4V to reliably record a logic high level. I would like to see the DAS60 support 3.3V directly. The below photo shows two digital signals captured by an oscilloscope but not by the DAS60's digital inputs.

I used both an Arduino Uno and Diligent Digital Discovery to provide digital signals for testing. The Arduino outputs 5V, the Diligent outputs 3.3V which would drop to 3.0 - 3.1V when connected to the DAS. The Arduino recorded no problem; however, the Diligent could not register on the DAS60 digital inputs directly. I resolved this by using 16 pull-up resistors, to bring the voltage over 4V.

The four alarms are highly configurable, dropping from 5V to 0V when triggered by an analog channel/function threshold, complex combination of analog channels, digital channels, or when recording starts. Two triggers can be set for each analog channel or function, for example trigger on temperature below 32F or higher than 100F.

Triggers

The triggers are customizable and very flexible, but can get complex. Two triggers can be set for a channel allowing for upper and lower ranges and can be set for start and stop conditions. There are options to:

• delay by a period
• schedule a trigger for a specific date and time
• monitor for multiple thresholds
• check for rising/falling edges
• set a pre-trigger capture percentage
• enable a complex combination of analog channel or function thresholds (functions include math calculations)
• monitor for glitches - rapid changes in frequency or amplitude
• track the 16-logic channel state, with a logic AND or Logic OR function

Triggers enable powerful functionality within the DAS60. This allows the DAS60 to capture very specific events, combinations of events, or events on a schedule. It allows the DAS to conserve memory by starting with a key event and then go back to waiting when signals return to normal.

Display Modes

F(t)

F(t) is the DAS60 oscilloscope view and is available for all operating modes.

Compared to an oscilloscope, using the fastest sample rate of 1µS(1MHz) the B&K DAS60 can acquire up to an 195KHz signal before -3db amplitude error defines the maximum bandwidth. 30KHz is a more realistic maximum for the DAS60, however respectfully fast for a data acquisition system. At 30KHz, a minimal loss of 50mV occurs with a source 10Vp-p sine and is within the general rule that maximum bandwidth be at least 5x the waveform frequency. The following waveform shows the frequency where the 10Vp-p signal loses 3db and can only display as 7Vp-p.

The DAS60 does not claim to be a full functioned oscilloscope - and it is not. However, it does get close with a graphical F(t) display and several functions found in oscilloscopes. Settings are available for time base, channel range, offset, position and trigger point. It can even match a waveform against a template (see Go/No-go mode below). It is easy to get started with an initial measurement pressing autoset which does remarkably well at setting the channel configurations, time base and range. 

Though it is not as full featured as an oscilloscope, it has a significant advantage over most oscilloscopes - this is a 6-channel device (24 channels if you count digital and PT100) and can record signals for extended periods!

Function measurements and calculations are standard for oscilloscopes. On the DAS60, these are available but found in places that could be more intuitive - they are confusing and backwards from an oscilloscope perspective:

Measurements are curiously found in the Math menu which is on the display page. You can add measurements for min/max, low/high, peak-peak, amplitude, +/- overshoot, frequency, period, rising/falling edge, +/- pulse width, +/- duty cycle, mean, cycle mean, RMS and cycle RMS.

Math calculations are found in the function menu, along with some additional functions. This page is not on the display page, rather it is found on the home page (or the button may not be there, as the functions button is another example of one that disappears – make sure the functions are enabled first). From this page, you can select up to four formulas for ax+by+c or additional functions such as RMS, frequency or one of five filters (10Hz, 1Hz, 10s, 100s or 1000s).

Calculations for rise and fall times are understandably not included, though you can use the cursors or Sefram Viewer software to approximate these measurements.

The Screen setup button is important to add calculations to the screen, create multiple screens or to add values to the display – all work together to enhance the screen’s legibility and information.

XY Mode

You can chose XY mode from within the screen setup, or you can select XY from the Home menu. XY mode, like an oscilloscope, draws a Lissajous pattern using any channel for the X signal and another for Y and highlights a phase relationship between the two signals.

I found the XY mode to be too slow to be very useful. I would literally leave, go grab a snack, take a break, and then return to find the XY mode still happily plotting away, dot by dot. I supposed if I really needed that data, I would let it run and wait. But for now, I don’t see myself using the XY display mode again.

Numeric Display

The numeric display displays data from each channel of interest on a single display. In addition to analog channels, the function and logic channels can be displayed. This provides a one-stop dashboard of each measurement. In an odd way, I found it refreshing to have a screen where the DAS makes the layout decisions on its own, based on which channels are enabled. Clicking on any channel’s data will bring you to that channel’s configuration page.

Home page

The home page provides access to the display modes, operating modes, channel, trigger and system setup. A nice addition is the channel selection and status graph on the left. The graph allows you to see at a glance which channels are enabled, have a signal, and if the channel’s range is exceeded or too high. In fact, this graph makes the channel and functions button redundant. B&K Precision and Sefram have included this graph on several other setup pages, allowing quick reference to a channel's status throughout.

Modes

Memory and File modes

Memory and File mode work similarly to record the acquisition data. But they do have differences.

Both modes allow triggers for start and stop, as well as defining the next actions after a stop occurs (rearm, stop or save to file). There is a handy picture in the upper left corner that provides a quick reference of which mode you are in.

Memory mode is faster (up to 1MHz) and uses blocks of memory to record; the higher the number of blocks, the smaller each block is and quicker it fills up. On a stop condition, you can write the data to a file for later analysis.

File mode records directly to files and is limited by the disk transfer speed. Samples depend on the number of channels recorded but could be up to 500KHz for a single channel. It is easy to set the size of each file, and the display indicates in real time how long each recording will be. I would recommend limiting the size of each file to be under 1GB as transfer and viewing can be problematic at greater sizes.

That is the simple explanation. These modes are complex, and the instruction manual becomes important. Care must be taken to watch what triggers are set, which channels are active and what sample rate is selected – all have a bearing on the screen you are in, and other screens that you may need to go to.

Go/No-go mode

Go/No-go mode allows you to create a template to ensure the waveform remains within the limits of that template, like using a mask on a Keysight oscilloscope. If the signal varies amplitude or frequency outside of the template, the recording will stop.

Once you start using more advanced functionality, the equipment can be less intuitive, this will have you reaching for the manual. I found the manual may help … or may not. Go/No-go is the most complex function of the DAS60. It is not intuitive. The instructions are not helpful and there are no additional online instructions. 

I was only able to realize success with this mode after contacting B&K technical support. Even then, It appears few people know how to use this mode, even at B&K. There are several steps and settings that are important to success. The B&K technical staff were excellent, responsive and extremely helpful – with their assistance I did get this to work reliably.

I will create a separate blog describing this adventure and some instructions. Once posted, I will put the link here.

Power Analysis Mode

Power analysis mode is a flagship feature of the DAS60 and sets it apart from it's cousins. It enables a suite of functions and capabilities to monitor power quality and identify issues for single or three phase power at up to 424Vrms. With Category III capabilities, the DAS60 can measure voltage directly from a Mains panel.

This powerful mode adds significant value and flexibility to the DAS60. You can analyze a single-phase circuit, or three phase circuit using Star, Delta or Aaron configurations. A picture is displayed at the bottom to explain how to connect the equipment for each type of configuration.

The phase alignment between each input’s voltage and current can be analyzed on a Fresnel diagram with six vectors displaying the phase for each voltage and each current. This is not quite a phasor diagram though, the vectors do not change length to indicate amplitude - use the numeric readings for that.

Harmonic distortion is displayed on the Harmonic Display.

I am a former electrician from a career long ago. However, I have maintained my interest in electrical and electrical power quality. In a previous road test, I examined how oscilloscopes can analyze 120Vrms waveforms. For the DAS60 review, I spent much of my time in Power Analysis mode and the following four test cases highlight its capabilities.

Power Analysis Test Cases

WARNING: The following two test cases use dangerous voltage. Mains voltage in North America is normally around 120VAC RMS, 60Hz and can injure, kill or can blow a ‘scope up in smoke in less than a second.

Note: the DAS60 road test does not include current clamps and the higher voltage tests were completed using voltage only. Accordingly, results for current related calculations were not done (such as power, power factor, energy). For complete analysis of a power situation, current should also be analyzed.

Test Case 1 – Analysis of Mains voltage at home

Mains in my Canadian home delivers power at 120 - 125Vrms. The panel provides split-phase power, which is delivered from a transformer to effectively provide two opposite phases. Most often, a circuit only uses one of the phases. When using both phases, 240Vrms is available to run circuits for an air conditioner, oven, dryer, car charger, etc.

My focus was to see how clean the voltage in my home is, and if it needs attention. Additionally, I recorded power during thunderstorms to see if I could catch some anomalies.

Residential Split Phase Power, as in my house, would look like the below in a zero-distortion environment with each phase 180 degrees apart.

And if you are combining the phases to get 240Vrms, the original phases and combined phase should look like this:

The actual split-phases in my house looks like the below picture, the purple waveform is a calculated value in the DAS60 as the difference between phase one and phase two.

The waveforms are not as clean as the theoretical ones, and there is clearly some distortion in my home power, with significant levels on the 3^rd and 5^th harmonics. Distortion on odd harmonics is consistent with modern electronics, switching power supplies and florescent lights – devices which draw power in a non-linear fashion. The Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) for voltage should be under 5% to avoid issues, this circuit is getting close to 8%. Although 5% is an IEEE recommended upper value and not a firm limit, some information sources state 8%. The situation becomes clear on the DAS60 in measurements of the 247Vrms signal, the distortion has flattened the sine wave:

What is happening there?  The diagrams below explain the theory, the 3^rd harmonic, 5^th, and 7^th all contribute to the foundational signal. The combination is a distorted wave.

As a house power data logging test, I ran the DAS60 over several days. The recording was saved into two-hour blocks and there were some interesting results. Displayed in the Sefram viewer software, the below diagram shows two drops of over 15Vrms (U1rms violet) during this two-hour block, one at 4:51am and one at 5:32am. The crest factor (U1CF) peaks during both of these events but does not hit the ideal sine wave crest factor of 1.414/ Still, it indicates an improvement to the shape of the sine wave during the events. Total Harmonic Distortion (U1THD) exceeds 8% for one drop and has the lowest value of 6.7% during the 2nd. The event is captured, but the cause is still unknown.

.

I noticed some sags during a storm event one night where the voltage (U1rms) dropped by 15V for less than one second, the Crest Factor (U1CF) improves, and Total Harmonic Distortion (U1THD) remains constant during the event.

And the next recording was odd, I noticed a voltage drop of about 5 volts every 5 minutes (U1rms) for an hour-long period overnight, I have no idea what caused this, but it is likely external to the house.  It has not reappeared so far.

Test Case 2 – Analysis of Mains voltage at the office

One of the areas in the courthouse where I work has experienced challenges with power over the years, with staff reporting that computers lock up occasionally. I recorded data for several days and the results were interesting. Two separate circuits were analyzed, U1rms and U2rms, as shown below. On analysis of the many recorded files, there was a pattern emerging each workday. I can see that the voltage drops by 4.5Vrms on U1rms. THD rises on U1THD as more staff show up to work and turn on their computers, starting at 6.8% at 8:10am then climbing quickly to over 10% distortion by 9am. The second circuit, U2rms/THD seems to be mostly unused and is not impacted much by the arrival of staff. It looks like the loads could be re-distributed.

A similar, but reverse situation occurs as staff leave at the end of the day, where the distortion on U1THD drops quickly from 4:08pm to 4:41pm.

I also had a chance to record the building's monthly emergency generator switch test on a circuit that should be backed up by the building generator. What I found is that that circuit is not powered by the generator as it should be, the test results have some minor fluctuations 10 minutes before the test, but do not show the expected dramatic results during the switch at 8:15am. I have consulted with the electrician, who will find me another outlet to test in a month’s time.

Test Case 3 – Analysis of low voltage 3 phase power with voltage and current

I didn’t initially plan to do a test of 3 phase power; however I decided to try anyway and borrowed an extra waveform generator. Setting this up on the waveform generators was a tricky operation; I will post a separate blog to describe this and will provide a link here. Additionally, I used shunts to provide results for current, which opened a whole set of new measurements. The setup used nearly every cable that came with the DAS60 and looked like this:

In a no-distortion situation, 3-phase power should look like this diagram with each phase separated by 120 degrees.

In my test, the current for each channel is close to being in phase with the voltage (current is the shorter arrows), and supports a respectable power-factor of 99.9%. The THD for current (11.8%) is much higher than the voltage THD (0%) on channel 1. It would not be unusual to see current THD higher than voltage THD, however this is curious for a clean waveform and a linear load. I see in the Fresnel diagram a small amount of inductance on circuit 1 which would have some effect. I would like to try again if I manage to purchase current clamps for higher current measurements. Nevertheless, with waveform generators and a linear load, the voltage distortion is 0% and I was able to achieve near perfect voltage results (but at low voltage, 1.20V instead of 120V)

The DAS60 does not support numeric phase values, but the Fresnel does show if there is a significant issue or not. I used an oscilloscope to verify the voltage phase alignment.

Test Case 4 – Analysis of the effect of capacitance and inductance on a circuits phase alignment

I did not plan to run this analysis either but couldn’t resist!  In a reactive AC circuit, the voltage will not sit at the exact same phase as the current. In a capacitive circuit, the voltage should lag the current, and the opposite with an inductive circuit. The Fresnel chart on the DAS60 should be able to display this reaction.

Inductive circuit - observing green circuit 3 the voltage (longer vector) and current (shorter vector) are not in phase, the voltage is ahead of the current.

Capacitive circuit - this picture looks the same at first glance, but close inspection of the Fresnel diagram shows that current and voltage vectors have switched places, the voltage is now lagging the current.

Manual

I found the manual to be in need of additional information and polish. The manual may, or may not, be of assistance. It contains errors and explains some complex functions at only a high level, leaving you to figure out several features by trial and error (i.e. Go/No-go mode described above). Lucky for me, I enjoy figuring things out and found it interesting to learn something new each day. However, I did find that frustrating on occasion, as the manual could send me on a hunt for information. As I described earlier, often the DAS60 screen and software provided better information and diagrams, these should be incorporated into the manual.

Software

The B&K Precision DAS60 works with two software packages that are available on the Sefram website, Sefram Viewer and Sefram Pilot. Additionally, there is VNC control available for the DAS60.

Sefram Viewer

The Sefram Viewer software functions well, and provides the ability for offline analysis of recorded files. Once a file is recorded, use FTP to recover the file from the DAS60 and open that file in the viewer. Note, there is a bug that keeps the last file open, which prevents you from downloading that file, until you record another new one. 

Sefram Viewer provides the same abilities found in the DAS60 to view, measure and analyze recordings. As a computer based program, analysis becomes much easier using Viewer. Custom annotation, views and calculations are possible. Cursors provide the ability for spot measurements or to zoom in closer. You can export files to different formats such as CSV, Excel, Txt, and as a Bitmap.

Sefram Viewer is very functional and a great addition to the overall capabilities of the DAS60. I have used it often throughout this review.

Sefram Pilot

Sefram Pilot is the remote control application for the DAS60. The software controls most of the functions of the DAS60, displays a live view, can save your configuration and you can even start a recording from the software. However, it does not allow control of key features unique to the DAS60, Power Analysis and the Go/No-go modes.  As a result, I used VNC control much more often. Some of the menus have remnants of French language in them, even though English has been selected. 

Sefram Pilot provides the ability to transfer files from the DAS60 to your computer over the network using the FTP protocol. While you can also FTP directly (as I did), Sefram Pilot enables this for you in the software as well.

While I liked this software, it is in desperate need of updating to include DAS60 specific functions and could use some polish.

VNC 

Virtual Network Computing (VNC) software has been available on many devices for a long time. The implementation on the DAS60 works great and allows complete control of the equipment with the same interface as though you were standing right in front of the equipment. It has a fast response time on a local area network, and it was often easier to use VNC than it was to use the touchscreen on the panel. For example, when entering in custom labels or filenames, you can use your computer's keyboard.

I use VNC often, it allows me to conduct tests and capture screens from my office, or from the deck in the sunshine under an umbrella. The display lag is minimal. As mentioned, I did prefer VNC over Sefram Pilot.

Security Assessment

I hold current Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) designation and have previously held certification in offensive security operations. Security is top of mind and I always look for opportunities to enhance awareness.

The B&K Precision DAS60 is built for high performance, and exceeds most expectations. However, the DAS60 is a network connected device. I was able to identify critical and high vulnerabilities that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access to the equipment and it’s data, with an overall vulnerability assessment of Very High. Electronic test equipment is built for performance and function, security is too often an exception. 

In a restricted, controlled, and trusted environment, function over security may be an acceptable compromise. What makes the DAS60 most challenging from the security perspective, is that it is portable and would be used in field environments where mitigating network controls could be difficult. It is recommended to use caution when connecting to customer networks, large networks, or WiFi networks. Strong passwords and additional protection, such as a dedicated device firewall, would help reduce risks of unknown environments. 

The DAS60 is built using Windows CE, which is no longer supported. It is not alone in this category, Windows CE was used by many manufacturers for many years. I do look forward to future software updates which may address some of the risks. I have not published the specific vulnerabilities here, but I am more than happy to share those with B&K Precision. The assessment follows:

Summary

Favorite features of the B&K Precision DAS60

• Powerful with fast acquisition
• Comprehensive functionality
• Highly customizable
• Power analysis capabilities are outstanding and elevate the value
• 6 isolated Analog, 16 Digital, and 2 temperature channels offer incredible capability, these can be monitored and recorded simultaneously.
• Heavy duty construction 
• Large 10” TFT color touch display and informative graphics
• Extensive triggering
• Channel status graph on key pages is very informative
• Mobility of an exceptional tool through superior battery life, the DAS60 can be used in the field for hours without additional power
• The DAS60 can be used in nearly unlimited use cases, from monitoring, recording, analysis. It can even be used as 6 separate multimeter or oscilloscope channels
• High quality cables and connectors, and many of them. The bare wire banana adapters are unique and hold wires in place tightly
• The DAS60 is enjoyable to work with and very flexible. This is presently my new favorite test equipment!
  

Needs improvement

• Most of the areas for improvement can be solved with firmware updates
• Digital acquisition should support 3.3V devices
• Serial decoding capabilities on the device or in the Sefram software would provide immediate value
• Firmware updates are required. This is needed to tighten security 
• Instructional materials could use a refresh for accuracy along with the addition of key diagrams and information
• Go/No-go mode is difficult to use without extra instruction
• It lacks consistency for the controls, which becomes confusing

Conclusion

The B&K Precision DAS60 is a modern, intelligent, and industrial high-speed multi-function recorder. The value of the equipment is apparent even before pressing the power button. I am consistently impressed with it's capabilities. It is an invaluable tool for data recording, data analysis and power analysis. Power analysis is a strong feature that is unique to be combined with multi-function data recorders, this enhances the value beyond it's already comprehensive capabilities. 

The DAS60 is a significant investment in hardware. To be complete, it does require some polish: additional information for the instructional manuals, enhanced controls and updated software. The network security of the device is lacking tight controls and the DAS60 would benefit from applied focus to address risks that can be exposed in today's security landscape.

It is very cost effective, considering the many channels, superior quality, performance and customizability. Did I mention the power analysis capabilities? What sets the DAS60 apart is a strong combination of functionality and performance - all in a single piece of equipment and at a reasonable cost. The platform is purpose built for mobility, the value and high-performance will be immediately apparent to the professional engineer, technician, data analyst or electrician with industrial requirements. Simply put, for characterization applications, the B&K Precision DAS60 High Speed Multi-Function Recorder is a valuable tool indeed!

If you have any questions or would like to know more, please drop me a note!

Would you like your own DAS60? Purchase here: B&K Precision DAS60