NI News from National Instruments Your Global, Customized Source for Company and Product News, Events, and Support Top Stories -------------------------------------------- Lowest-Priced NI USB Digital I/O Device Delivers Plug-and-Play Connectivity, Portability http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405bT1 A Tools-Based Approach to Emerging Communications Needs http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405bT2 In This Issue -------------------------------------------- Company and Product News-- 1. Industry’s Fastest USB-to-GPIB Controller Increases Performance by 2X 2. Is LabVIEW a General-Purpose Programming Language? 3. Implement Model-Based Control Design Faster and Cheaper 4. Signal Generator Speeds Baseband, IF, and RF Test 5. Download NI-DAQmx 7.4 to Reduce System Setup, Configuration Time 6. New Measurement Services Software Includes Data-Logging Tools 7. Tutorial: Application Design Patterns in LabVIEW 8. Practical Considerations of the New PCI Express Standard 9. Visteon Saves $13 Million with NI Software and PXI Hardware Events-- 1. Minimize Noise and Distortion in Dynamic Measurements 2. Advanced Data Acquisition Techniques in LabVIEW 3. Implementing Advanced Control Schemes with PACs 4. Developing with LabVIEW FPGA and Reconfigurable I/O 5. Bringing ATE to PXI through Software Support-- 1. Break Nyquist Criterion Using Undersampling Technique 2. Use NI-DAQmx to Perform Lateness Checking 3. Tutorial: Increase Productivity with NI-DAQmx Simulated Devices 4. Using the Universal Device Interface in DIAdem DAC 5. How and Why LabVIEW Compiles Block Diagram Code 6. Learn about NI Vision Capabilities 7. Tutorial: Using Default and Custom UIMessages in NI-TestStand 8. Tutorial: Learn the Basics of VXI Access Parameters 9. How Do I Make a Custom Process Model in NI TestStand? Company and Product News -------------------------------------------- 1. Industry’s Fastest USB-to-GPIB Controller Increases Performance by 2X Engineers now can communicate with their instruments faster than before with the National Instruments GPIB-USB-HS converter, which transforms any computer with a USB port into a full-function, plug-and-play IEEE-488.2 controller. The controller incorporates an NI TNT GPIB ASIC and a USB 2.0 high-speed chip to achieve high-performance transfer rates. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b01 2. Is LabVIEW a General-Purpose Programming Language? Father of LabVIEW Jeff Kodosky weighs in on the popular question -- is LabVIEW a general-purpose programming language or an application-specific development environment for measurement and automation? http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b02 3. Implement Model-Based Control Design Faster and Cheaper Control design engineers today face a variety of challenges and therefore seek easier, faster ways to design and implement high-performance controllers. By using a single environment for system identification, control design, simulation, analysis, and real-time implementation, engineers can learn only one environment and eliminate time wasted on tool integration. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b09 4. Signal Generator Speeds Baseband, IF, and RF Test The NI PXI-5441 is a new 100 MS/s, 16-bit arbitrary waveform generator with onboard signal processing (OSP). This new module provides a compelling mix of speed, flexibility, and functionality unavailable in the current market. The module obtains its OSP ability from an onboard FPGA chip programmed with digital signal processor capabilities. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b03 5. Download NI-DAQmx 7.4 to Reduce System Setup, Configuration Time The latest in measurement services software, NI-DAQmx 7.4, is now available for download. New features include improved analog input performance, NI-DAQmx simulated devices, virtual channel calibration, and HTML reports from DAQ Assistant connection diagrams. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b05 6. New Measurement Services Software Includes Data-Logging Tools The NI measurement services software for Windows 2000/XP shipped with plug-in data acquisition devices now includes FREE VI Logger Lite data-logging software. VI Logger Lite requires no programming, offers data exportation to Microsoft Excel and NI DIAdem, and seamlessly integrates with NI LabVIEW. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b04 7. Tutorial: Application Design Patterns in LabVIEW In this technical tutorial, learn how the producer/consumer design pattern can help you construct multiloop LabVIEW VIs. Great for acquiring multiple data sets that must be processed in order or analyzing network communication, this design pattern gives you the ability to easily handle multiple processes at the same time while iterating at individual rates. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b07 8. Practical Considerations of the New PCI Express Standard In this paper, read about the success of the widely adopted PCI bus and learn about the next generation of high-performance I/O interconnect technology, PCI Express, which will serve as a standard local I/O bus for a wide variety of future computing platforms. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b08 9. Visteon Saves $13 Million with NI Software and PXI Hardware National Instruments announced Visteon Corp., one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive systems and components, adopted NI products including PXI modular instruments, NI TestStand test management software, LabWindows/CVI, and NI-IMAQ vision software to reduce delivery time, costs, and floor space in manufacturing. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b10 Events -------------------------------------------- 1. Minimize Noise and Distortion in Dynamic Measurements Learn how to minimize noise and distortion in dynamic measurements using noise shaping, oversampling, and ADC linearization. These technologies are used in the latest NI digitizer -- the NI PXI-5922 -- which is the industry's highest-resolution and highest dynamic range digitizer. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b11 2. Advanced Data Acquisition Techniques in LabVIEW In this Web event, learn how you can use NI LabVIEW, NI-DAQmx measurement services software, and National Instruments DAQ hardware to easily create advanced data acquisition applications. Topics include pulse-width modulation, timing and synchronization, and data acquisition programming on a Linux machine. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b12 3. Implementing Advanced Control Schemes with PACs Many real-world systems have multiple inputs or exhibit nonlinearities, so a simple proportional integral derivative (PID) I/O module may not provide an adequate control scheme. This Web Event on Demand provides a brief overview of PID, fuzzy-logic control, and control scheme combination. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b13 4. Developing with LabVIEW FPGA and Reconfigurable I/O With the NI LabVIEW FPGA Module, you can configure FPGA chips on NI reconfigurable I/O hardware without the use of VHDL or other traditional FPGA design tools. In this Web Event on Demand, learn how you can integrate VHDL code and third-party IP cores and speed your loop rates up to 40 MHz. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b14 5. Bringing ATE to PXI through Software Ideal for test engineers interested in powering large-scale automated test equipment on PXI using automated test software, this Web Event on Demand demonstrates how to create high-density switching systems using NI Switch Executive and the 512-crosspoint matrix and how to incorporate switching in NI TestStand for automated testing. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b15 Support -------------------------------------------- 1. Break Nyquist Criterion Using Undersampling Technique If you have used a data acquisition board, digitizer, or oscilloscope, you probably remember seeing unintelligible signals race across the screen, even though the equipment seemed to work. You then saw the effects of aliasing, the Nyquist criterion. Learn to use aliasing to your advantage with undersampling, also known as super-Nyquist sampling. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b17 2. Use NI-DAQmx to Perform Lateness Checking NI-DAQmx 7.4 provides increased flexibility for hardware-timed single-point operations on real-time platforms. Use it to perform lateness checking to make sure software operations are keeping up with hardware timing. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b18 3. Tutorial: Increase Productivity with NI-DAQmx Simulated Devices This tutorial explains NI-DAQmx simulated device basics, including how to create them and how to use them, as well as what to consider when using these devices. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b19 4. Using the Universal Device Interface in DIAdem DAC The universal device interface is a DIAdem DAC interface that you can use with program functions and device drivers to access any computer interface. Learn how you can integrate external measurement devices connected to a computer interface into DIAdem with minimal programming effort. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b16 5. How and Why LabVIEW Compiles Block Diagram Code Since version 2.0, LabVIEW has compiled block diagrams into machine code for the CPU where the block diagram is running. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the LabVIEW compiler and learn the various ways this software carries out your application tasks for maximum efficiency. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b20 6. Learn about NI Vision Capabilities Over the last decade, NI engineers have used vision products in thousands of applications, from inspecting automotive components to assisting in cancer research. With hundreds of powerful vision software tools and compatibility with thousands of cameras, NI is a world leader in vision, consistently meeting the toughest vision challenges. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b21 7. Tutorial: Using Default and Custom UIMessages in NI-TestStand TestStand uses UIMessage objects to pass information about the state of the engine and the current executions to the operator interface or sequence editor. Learn more about UIMessages including ways to use custom UIMessages to pass information about an execution to an operator interface. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b22 8. Tutorial: Learn the Basics of VXI Access Parameters With VXI access parameters you can choose access privileges, memory space, byte order, and access modes for selected LabVIEW resources. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b23 9. How Do I Make a Custom Process Model in NI TestStand? Learn how to easily modify the NI TestStand process model by copying the default model and making changes to the copy or by creating a new sequence file. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0405b24 NI News is customized to your product, industry, and content subscription preferences. 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