PCI-6503 and LabView 7 trouble in Win XP

[ibis]

I'm unable to get a PCI-6503 24-line Digital I/O card installed properly in my Win XP machine.  I'm using LV 7.1 and NI VISA 5.0.3.  I've tried both DAQmx 7.2 and DAQ 7.2, both of which should support this card.  Is there something particular about software versions and compatibility that I am missing?  I see that I need to install NI VISA 5.0.3 before LV, but other than that, I have not figured out a particular installation order.  Is there something I'm overlooking?  Any suggestions about what I might try?

Thanks.

[REDS]

Hi ibis,

1. Can you see it in MAX?
2. Do you have another card that you are able to see in MAX?
3. Can you see it in the Device Manager? Does it have an exclamation mark next to it?
4. Have you ever been able to work with this card?
5. Can you try it on another computer that only has DAQmx installed?

You should have compatibility with both DAQ drivers, although I suggest you just keep either NI DAQ or DAQmx. If you don’t have much code to begin with, keep DAQmx and uninstall Traditional NI DAQ.

[ibis]

REDS,

Thank you for your reply and sorry for the delay in getting back to you.  The machine in question is not at my location, so I had to ask a third party to answer your questions.  Here are the answers:

1. Can you see it in MAX?  YES
2. Do you have another card that you are able to see in MAX? NO
3. Can you see it in the Device Manager? Does it have an exclamation mark next to it? YES, I can see it in the Device Manager and it DOES NOT have an exclamation mark next to it.
4. Have you ever been able to work with this card? NO, but it is new.
5. Can you try it on another computer that only has DAQmx installed? NO, I will need to completely wipe and then reload everything on the other computer before I can use it again.   

So, it looks to me like the card is installed properly. 

Here is the exact problem.  It does not properly execute my existing LabView code that has worked for many years.  The problem lies in executing the NI built in VI’s:

DIO Port Config.vi

DIO Port Write.vi

DIO Port Read.vi

LabView runs those VI’s, but they do not flip any of the digital outputs (connected to the ER-16).  I initial chose to use those DIO VI’s when using LabView 5.x, and they had previously worked under LabView 7.1, with an ISA DAQ card.  Our change now is using the PCI DAQ card.  Do you have any thoughts about what the problem might be or what we might try to do?

Thank you,

Scott 

[REDS · Accepted solution]

Hi Scott,

So it appears that your card is been installed properly. Now, since your code does not appear to be changing the states of the DIOs, we could try a couple of things.

1. First, uninstall DAQmx so we just keep the Traditional NI DAQ in the computer, since those DIO VIs you mention run on Traditional DAQ.
2. Try to change the DIO state in MAX using the Test Panels. Check if they are actually switching.
3. When you say that the problem lies in those VIs, what is exactly the behavior that you are experiencing? Can you attach any error code or screenshot of the behavior?

[ibis]

Hi REDS,

We tried what you suggested, and had some sucesss.  Here is the reply I got back from your suggestions:  BTW, the DIO is used to switch pumps on and off.

---

I uninstalled DAQmx and went to the test panel in MAX.  By using the test panel, I was able to get power to the outlets that are supposed to be controlled by LabVIEW.  But I'm not sure how I got it to work. The input port and output port have values of 0, 1 and 2.  By first putting a check mark over the 0-7 values in Digital output and manipulating the port, I was able to get all 16 pump outlets to get power.  The only error message that comes up is "10613...... badChanDirError..... The specified channel does not support the specified transfer direction, or you have performed an operation on a digital port or line configured for the opposite direction."  Keep in mind, I was constantly trying different ports in order to get everything to turn on.  Sometimes nothing would turn on and sometimes only 8 outlets would get power.

---

So, I'm not sure about why there is inconsistency in the switching that is reported.  Other than that, it looks like the DIO VI's I mentioned previously might be suspect.  Are there newer ones I should consider using instead in either the Traditional DAQ or possibly DAXmx?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks,

Scott

[REDS]

Hi Scott,

Your customer would get this error if he were to set a port as an input and output simultaneously, or if he were to set all three ports as outputs when using Traditional NI DAQ. Since your customer needs just 16 of his DIOs to work, he can use just two ports and won’t need to migrate his code to DAQmx. Have him try just two ports configured as output to power up his devices and he should be alright.

However, please beware that support for Traditional NI DAQ is limited. I would advise your customer that he should migrate his code to DAQmx, which this articles talks about using the latest DAQmx version that LabVIEW 7.1 (and your PCI-6503) supports, which is DAQmx 8.9. The good thing is that your customer has a PCI-6503 and not a USB, which does not support DAQmx.

[ibis]

REDS,

Thanks for your help on this isssue.  Our problem is now taken care of thanks to your suggestions.  Befor going back to DAQmx and trying new DIO vi's, I asked that they try the existing VI's again (since there was sucess with the MAX test), and the original code now runs just fine.  Your suggestion to uninstall DAQmx and try only the Traditional DAQ seems to have been the important step.  

Thanks again,

Scott