Problems with PCI-6221

[J-N]

Hi guys!

I've been using a NI PCI-6221 DAQ card to drive a piezo stage with the two analog outputs and to read voltages coming from a quadrant photodiode with three analog inputs. One day I come to work and nothing is working with the PCI-6221 all of a sudden. The analog outputs give a voltage around 1V whatever I may try and the analog inputs read 10,6V on every input (read with Measurement & Automation Explorer). Everything was working fine the day before and nothing in my setup changed. I tried reinstalling the DAQ drivers, then installing the last version available(I'm using LabVIEW 7.1 btw) but nothing is working. Does anybody have an idea of what the problem might be or what I should look into to troubleshoot because I'm out of ideas...

Thanks a lot

Jean-Nicolas Mélançon

Electrical Engineering student
University of Sherbrooke

[tnek]

Hi Jean-Nicolas,

It sounds like something happened to your hardware between one day and the next. Even though it seemed like nothing changed, there may have been something sudden which may have caused it to fail. One good tool to test the PCI-6221 is the DAQ Diagnostic Utility. Another good test will be to try the board in a different PCI slot or another computer. If the hardware really does not work anymore, you can request a return material authorization (RMA) of the device by going to www.ni.com/contact and requesting phone support.

Regards,
Kent
Applications Engineer

[J-N]

Thanks for your answer Kent,

I tried the card in another pci slot but I encountered the same problems. I ran the DAQ diagnostic utility and it showed the analog inputs and outputs failed the test (results attached). From the diagnostic results, do you think there's anything I can do to solve the problem or is my only option to send it in for repair? What are the cost like to repair such a card?

Thanks again

Jean-Nicolas

[tnek]

Hi Jean-Nicolas,

At this point, I would recommend calling our support line to set up the RMA process. During this process, there can be additional troubleshooting steps to ensure that a RMA is needed and the costs will be given. Be sure to have the serial number and part number of your board ready, because this information is necessary for an RMA.

Regards,
Kent
Applications Engineer