I have a taken up a task of designing a universal temp monitoring systems which would operate over a wide range of temperature(-200 to 800). I want it to be compatible with different types of sensors like thermocouples, RTD's etc. But for me it is very difficult because i am very weak in analog circuits which is the most essential think for conditioning of sensor signals. So i came to TI for help and here i found the PGA309 which i must say is a fascinating piece of semiconductor. But this device is so full of features that it eventually becomes complex. I have been reading the data sheet for quite some days now, but still don't have a clear view about how to do things. I have many questions to list a few.
1. The data sheet explains PGA309 as an independent system directly controlling an EEPROM without a microcontroller, is that possible?
2. The EEPROM is said to have 17 coefficient values. what are these coefficient values, if i design that system from where will i get those values?
3. Why the Bridge sensor is used with the actual sensing element, can we simply connect the sensor in series with a resistor to form a voltage divider,will that work?
