NI PXI 8310 PCMCIA Controller Problem

[meroglu]

We are developing a PXI test system which includes an NI 1000B chasis (with dc option), NI PXI 8310 PCMCIA Controller, 3 NI PXI modules and one Pickering 40-140A-221 relay module and one Pickering 40-670-022-99/2 Mux module.

The problem is, NI modules are working properly; but pickering modules do not work. They are detected by the system correctly, but Pickering test panel gives errors and does not work. In order to identify this problem, we tried a different setup. We removed all of the modules in the chasis and left only the following in NI1000B Chasis:

NI PXI 8310 PCMCIA Controller
Pickering 40-140A-221 relay module

We connected the PCMCIA controller to the laptop, removed all previous drivers; and installed the latest drivers as follows (We are using Windows XP):

NI Visa 3.3
Pickering Drivers 3.00.0021
Labview Runtime 6.0.2

With this setup, again, the problem is the same; Pickering test panel gives “NO cards were detected on the bus" error. We ran the Pickering Diagnostics program and it gave the following error:

Resource "PXI5::15::INSTR":
*** ERROR: cannot obtain card information - code 0x00000000
       ERROR MESSAGE UNAVAILABLE (return code 0x3FFF0085)
  Card status = 0x50000000
  Diagnostic info = "Error report:
  Card disabled
  Needs newer driver version
"

We replaced the Pickering Relay module with another one, the problem is not solved.

Another remark; With this setup; if we replace the Pickering 40-140A-221 relay module with 40-670-022-99/2 Mux module, the system behaves correctly; test panel and diagnostics do not give errors and work properly.

We have also tried replacing PXI 8310 PCMCIA Controller with an MXI4 PCI-PXI Controller; the system worked properly with the initial setup (all modules are connected).

Last of all, we replaced NI 1000B PXI chasis with NI 1010 PXI chasis; again the system with the initial setup worked all right.

As you can see, the combination of NI 1000B PXI chasis, NI PXI 8310 PCMCIA Controller and Pickering 40-140A-221 relay module do not work altogether and produce errors.

We need a very urgent solution for this problem, since we cannot modify our setup at this stage.

[Robert__R]

meroglu,

Your list of drivers didn't include the driver for the NI PXI 8310.  Is it installed?

[Adam_U]

Your problem may be caused by the PXI-8310 trying to drive a 66MHz clock on the backplane. We can check this by putting the PXI-MXI-4 board you have in one of the unused peripheral slots of a system using the 1000B—you do not need to attach another chassis or cable to the MXI-4 board. This should pull the M66EN backplane signal low and force 33MHz operation. If this works, please reply back and we can talk about options for fixing the issue.

The history of this issue is rooted in the evolution of the Compact PCI Spec to include 55MHz. Before 64-bit / 66MHz PCI signaling was part of the spec, the line used to control the PCI clock speed (M66EN) was unused. Boards and chassis released during this time were not required to drive the line. The release of 66MHz required M66EN to be grounded by the CompactPCI Specification R3.0 section 3.2 in a chassis AND by any peripheral module or System Controller that cannot operate in a 66MHz environment.

The PXI-1000B and other older NI chassis were designed before the M66EN signal was defined so they did not pull the line low or high (newer NI chassis pull this line low to force 33 MHz operation if they can’t support 66MHz). This should not affect modern modules however since if any one module cannot support 66MHz it should pull this line low and the entire system will use the lower 33MHz clock.

If any component in the PXI system cannot support 66MHz, they should pull the M66EN line low and the PCI clock will run at 33MHz (this is why putting a PXI MXI-4 board in the system will force the clock to 33MHz.). Since the Pickering switches cannot operate at 66MHz, they should pull this line low if they were released after the CompactPCI Specification R3.0. It sounds like they are not pulling this line low and subsequently, the 8310 is attempting to operate at 66MHz. In fact, if you put the Pickering modules in a chassis capable of running at 33 or 66 MHz with a controller capable of running at 33 or 66MHz, you would have the same problem.

I look forward to your reply,

-Adam U.

[Adam_U]

Note: anywhere I mentioned 55MHz, it should be 66MHz

[meroglu]

The reason for our problem was just as you explained, that is, our Pickering relay module was not pulling M66EN line to ground. Since Pickering module can only operate at 33MHz, we faced abnormal behaviour. Today we solved the problem, by modifying the Pickering relay module appropriately. I had also contacted Pickering support team along with this forum, and yesterday they sent me an application note showing a wire link between D19 and D21 pins. We applied the link to the card, and our system started to work correctly. They said that modules produced before Fall 05 didn't include this link, so modifying the card doesn't void our warranty. They also warned us that the modifed card should not be placed after the 5th slot, since it wouldn't be detected by the controller; so we considered their warning and placed it just at the 5th slot.

Thanks for your support,

Muammer Eroglu

[gireesh]

hello

I am using 50-115-121 relay card.

How can I programmed it?

please help

Thank u