Is there a way to send analog output with NI PCI 5114 digitizer?

[NoamC]

Hello all,

I need to send a 5V pulse in order to trigger a camera with my computer. I have the NI 5114 high-speed digitizer which is essentially a scope. I know it is typically used to aquire data, but I wanted to  know - Is there any way to send the pulse through one of the boards channles?

I am using MATLAB IVI driver as the communication interface.

Thanks,

Noam

[NoamC]

As I understand there is an AUX I/O for output events. My camera has a BNC Ex. trigger input.

Can this be used for my purposes? Is there a guide which explains how to use it with MATLAB (I haven't found)?

Noam

[Nathan-P]

I can't help with the MATLAB interface, but I can help explain the events on the AUX I/O port.  

If you read the specfications document for your device, located here: https://www.ni.com/docs/en-US/bundle/pci-5114-specs/page/specs.html

you will find the specifics of what the output can do when configured.  For example, the specifications state that the Logic type is 3.3V CMOS, so at most you will be able to output a 3.3V pulse, not a 5V pulse.  It also specifies which events can be routed and an output event through this connector.  

For more information regarding the events that can be exported, please reference the Digitizers Acquisition Engine State Diagram.  In this diagram, all the red arrows indicate events that can be exported when configured.  As you can see, you will need to setup a "dummy" acuisition, and it will be able to export a pulse for whichever event you configure to export.

In LabVIEW, to export an event, you use the  "niScope Export Signal.vi" to configure which signal to route to which PFI line.  

Using the NI-SCOPE C API, you configure the events by using the function "niScope_ExportSignal".  This is similar to the LabVIEW VI.  Using C, you could also configure the events to export by setting the appropriate attribute directly.  See the Synchronization Section of the Functions Reference.  So, if you want to export the Start Trigger Event, you would set the "NISCOPE_ATTR_EXPORTED_START_TRIGGER_OUTPUT_TERMINAL" property to "VAL_PFI_0", for example. 

I hope this helps!

-Nathan