Daqmx base trigger usb-6216 fails with error

[jasongallant]

Hi Folks,

I have a puzzler here.  I am trying to implement a very simple trigger for analog aquisition on my new USB-6216 BNC board.  I'm using it with a Mac, thus I am confined to the Daqmx Base drivers (which documentation and implementation for is awful).  Everything works fine when triggering is off, but when I switch it on, the program throws error -200428 "Value passed to the Task/Channels In control is invalid".  I have basically implemented this verbatim from the examples I could find online from NI, so why does it not work?

I have talked at length with NI Tech Support (to little avail thus far), and am wondering if anyone in the community has run into this problem.  I put a subset of my code into a VI and have attatched it to this message.. any ideas, tips, etc would be greatly welcomed!!

Best,
Jason Gallant

[Dennis_Knutson · Accepted solution]

According to the specs on the product page, it only has digital triggering. You are requesting an analog trigger.

[johnsold]

Jason,

I think Dennis has identified the problem in thihs instance. 

When dealing with NI support on Mac/DAQmx Base issues, you need to be very emphatic (while remaining polite, of course) to make sure that

1. The NI person understands that you are using a Mac!

2. The NI person understands that you are using DAQmx BASE!

and 3. The NI person actually knows something about 1 and 2, or is willing to pass you along to someone who does.

If you get passed on, start over with 1 and 2.

Unfortunately very few of NI's field personnel or front line phone support personnel know much about the Mac. Most of them will make sincere efforts to help, but they tend to make the automatic assumption that everyone uses Windows. That is why I emphasize being polite. Be insistent but not antagonistic and you should eventually get some help.  NI's customer support is quite good compared to what many other companies provide, but Mac support is a weak spot. There are quite a few Mac enthusiasts in NI R&D, but they do not routinely get involved with customer support.

Lynn

[jasongallant]

This was indeed the solution.  The NI engineer confirmed this.  Thanks for helping!