PXI 5112 with XP, LV 2010 (and revision determination)

[maxwellb]

Just found an old PXI 5112. I could do some fantastic things with this board if I could get it working.

When I first plugged it in to my PXI chassis, it was detected in MAX as a Traditional NI-DAQ device with the latest version of Traditional NI-DAQ (7.4.4). However, when I tried to open a test panel on it, I got a message that the device "failed the test". If I open the test panel anyway, I get an error -10840 (software error).

I called NI support about this, and the engineer found this knowledge base article for me:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/E956B50E8E0FC44E86256B030062CA2E 

I then tried to determine my board's revision. I read him the first number I found which matched the pattern. It was on a sticker on the back side of the board and read "702864A-01". From that sticker, we determined that my board is revision A.

I tried following the advice in that knowledge base article and installing NI-DAQ 6.7.0 and NI-SCOPE 1.6. With this combination, I can load up the SCOPE VIs with LV 8.2.1, but when I try to run an example VI on my device at "DAQ::6", it fails to initialize the board with "Undefined function or method", or something like that. With NI-DAQ 6.8.1 and NI-SCOPE 1.6, I get a bunch of couldn't find DLL errors trying to run the SCOPE VIs. With NI-DAQ 7.4.4 and NI-SCOPE 1.6, I get the same ol' "Undefined function or method". If I try to run the VI on the wrong channel, like "DAQ::1", I get "Device not present", so it seems to recognize the device, just not be able to do anything with it.

I'm about to give up on this, but I just realized that there are FIVE different numbers printed on my board which all match the pattern in that KnowledgeBase article.

White sticker on chip on the back: 702864A-01 Copyright NI 2000 A

Yellow sticker on chip on the back: 703058A-01

Printed in black on connector panel: 186030C-01 REV1

Printed in white on back of PCB: 184196E-01

Printed in white on front of PCB: ASSY184194E-01

There is also a barcoded sticker with C3297D, which I believe is the serial number. The NI guy tried to look it up but couldn't find anything.

One interesting thing in particular about these numbers is that the ASSY184194E-01 contains the exact same number as is given as an example in that KnowledgeBase article for a Rev E board:  184194E-01

I have two questions, if anyone can help:

1. Does anyone here have a PXI-5112, Rev A or E, working in Windows XP under any circumstances?

2. Which one of these numbers should I trust to identify my board's revision? It looks like it could be either A, C, or E.

Thanks!

Max

[dansch · Accepted solution]

Hi Maxwell,

You are correct that the serial number is C3297D, and the part number for that board should be 184194E-01, indicating that it is revision E and is a 16 MB/ch PXI-5112 module. When you first got the error, you mentioned you had Traditional-DAQ 7.4.4, but I am not clear what version of NI-SCOPE you had. Was NI-SCOPE installed in the system at that point?

If you plan to run this board in LabVIEW 2010 on a Windows XP machine, you will need to install NI-SCOPE 3.6.2 in order to get all of the proper support you need. As long as you are not running a 64-bit OS, the PXI-5112 should operate normally. NI-SCOPE 3.6.2 is the earliest version of the driver that will support LabVIEW 2010 (it will support LabVIEW 8.5.1 and later only). It seems to me that the previous errors you have been getting are a result of incompatibilities between your different software/driver versions. If you install this latest version of NI-SCOPE, it should include all of the proper support that you need (Traditional-DAQ 7.4.4, NI-SCOPE 3.6.2, support for LabVIEW 2010, NI-DAQmx 9.1.5, MAX 4.7, etc.).Unfortunately, the only way to get NI-SCOPE 3.6.2 is through the August 2010 Device Drivers CD (DCD). Once you begin the install, you can always just select to install NI-SCOPE and not the rest of the drivers in the package if you do not want them. Of course, having the latest updates of everything may not be a bad idea either if you want to just install everything.

By the way, all of the part numbers you listed (except for the very last one) are part numbers for specific pieces of the PXI-5112 (the connector panel, the actual PCB, CPLD chip, etc.). The assembly number is the one you were looking for. Sorry for the confusion.

Best Regards!

[maxwellb]

Dan,

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Now I know that I should stick with the new drivers.

However, I had all of the new drivers installed when I first tried the board, including SCOPE 3.6.2.

When I try to test the device using the test panel under Traditional NI-DAQ Devices with Traditional NI-DAQ 7.4.4 and SCOPE 3.6.2 installed, I get a "device did not pass the test" and then -10840 "software error". If I try to open a SCOPE example in LabVIEW, I get some other errors. One of them mentions something related to the memory on board being full. One thing I noticed about this board is that it seems to have a memory slot on the side of it, which is empty. In the 5112 digitizer data sheet, it shows the PXI module having a full memory carrier.

Could my board be missing its memory, or is the memory slot only full for the 32 mb boards? Could I be getting these errors due to some kind of hardware problem?

[dansch]

Hi Max,

Good catch on noticing that the memory module is missing! I do believe this is exactly why things aren't working considering you had all of the necessary software installed. Unfortunately, it sounds like you may not have any other choice than to RMA this module if you do not have the memory module ("scarab") in the slot. The memory module comes in a 32 MB version (16 MB/ch cards such as yours) and a 64 MB version (32 MB/ch cards). I would be very curious to know why the memory module got separated from the card since it is an integral part of its operation; I'm guessing that it may have gotten removed by someone in the past on accident, which is unfortunate. Please let me know if you have any further questions or comments regarding this issue or the RMA process. Best of luck,

[maxwellb]

Dan,

Thanks a lot!

I may try the RMA but I doubt I will get any more money for this project. It's kind of something I'm undertaking on my own at work which I may get more funding for once I demonstrate that it works.

Is it possible to replace the memory module with some kind of off the shelf laptop SO-DIMM?

It looks like it's the same size...

[dansch]

Unfortunately, the memory module must be the NI part (the "scarab" board) that was designed for that module as an off-the-shelf memory piece, such as a generic SODIMM, will not work. It is misleading becasue they are similar in size, but the card was designed that way to allow easier memory option interchangeability in our manufacturing process. Regards,