Unable to communicate to BNC-2110 using PCI-6251

[capelzmann]

Hi all,

I am experiencing a similar, though not identical, error to that discussed in the thread “Selecting BNC-2110 Connector Block as an accessory” (5-27-2010). I recently upgraded our lab’s version of LabVIEW and have lost the ability to communicate to the BNC-2110. Here are the basic hardware/software specs I am currently working with:

OS: Windows XP Professional, 5.01.2600, Service Pack 3
LabVIEW: 2010
Accessory: BNC-2110
Board: PCI-6251
CVI Run-Time: 9.1.0.428
NI-DAQ: 7.4.4f7
NI-DAQmx Device Support: 9.1.5f1
NI-DAQmx ADE Support: 9.1.5
NI-DAQmx MAX Configuration: 9.1.5

I’ve been using the example code “Write Dig Chan.vi” found under Hardware Input and Output>DAQmx>Digital Generation> as a test to insure the problem is not within my own code. When I run this code I receive the error:

Error –201003 occurred at DAQmx Create Channel (DO-Digital Output).vi:1|
“Device cannot be accessed.”

When using MAX I can see the PCI-6251, labeled “Dev1.” I can also see the BNC-2110 as an option under the Accessory tab in its properties. However, I receive the same error in the vi (-201003) irrespective of whether “None” or “BNC-2110” is selected as the accessory for PCI-6251. Additionally, when I try to set the power-up states of the BNC-2110’s digital outputs in MAX I receive a similar error:

Error –88705 occurred at daqmxcfg_DAQmx Get Power Up States (Digital) Remote.vi:1
“The specified device is not present or is not active in the system.”

To the best of my knowledge the BNC-2110 is properly connected (directly using the SHC68-68-EPM and the green power light is on). My device manager indicates that the PCI-6251 is installed and running properly. Additionally, the system automatically recognized the BNC-2110 after the LV upgrade and reinstalled the proper drivers and indicated no error.

I would not be surprised if I am missing some obvious fix to this problem but I’ve been stuck here for two days and would appreciate any help that might point me in the right direction.

Regards,
Chris

[Jonathan_S1]

Hi Chris,

My hunch is that the NI Device Loader is not running.

If you run a self test on the device, does it also fail with error -88705?  If so, the device loader may not be started.  Here's how to check.

Jon S

[capelzmann]

Thank you Jon S,

I appreciate it. I found another solution that worked prior to reading your message so I'll attempt to fill you in with what I know and what I did. First, before I found a solution, I could not run a self test on the device. In MAX I could right click on the 'NI PCI-6251' under 'Devices and Interfaces' in the tree, but only the options 'Device Pinouts,' 'Properties,' 'Help,' and 'Self-calibrate' were available. All others where grayed/disabled. Additionally, there was a small red 'x' in the lower right-hand corner of the NI PCI-6251 icon in the MAX tree. Also, depending on what properties I tried to change, MAX would crash entirely and I'd have to restart it.

After poking around some more I did arrive at a solution that worked. I found R Sandoval's response to the thread "Re: Patch Released for NI-DAQmx To Address an Issue Where Devices Don't Show up in MAX" on this board where he addresses possible MAX database corruption. I used the corruption removal tool he linked to and it worked perfectly. I am now capable of communicating as expected to the BNC-2110. Again, thank you for your help.

Regards,

Chris