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Using Test and Measurement Explorer

Hardware: Legacy DAQ Devices>>Multifunction DAQ

Problem:
How Do I Use Test and Measurement Explorer?

Solution:
Test and Measurement Explorer (T&M Explorer) is a utility program that is used to configure National Instruments VXIpc-800 Series, VXIpc-700 Series, VXIpc-600 Series, PCI/VXI/VME-MXI-2 and VXI-1394 VXI/VME controllers on Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT operating systems. T&M Explorer provides a graphical interface that allows you to view and configure the resources in your system. T&M Explorer will let you configure VXI and VME devices, GPIB instruments, PXI devices, and serial and parallel instruments.

Note: Configuration can now be done with Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX). It is recommended that you use MAX instead of T&M Explorer if you have compatible hardware, operating system, and driver versions.

Launching T&M Explorer
T&M Explorer can be launched in several ways including: Start » Programs » NI-VXI » T&M Explorer menu, or Start » Programs » VXIpnp » T&M Explorer. When T&M Explorer is launched, it searches your system to make sure that all information about VXI, GPIB, PXI, and serial devices is current. T&M Explorer is able to determine if you have run the Resource Manager (Resman), and it displays the following dialog, if you have not yet run Resman.

Figure 1. T&M Explorer dialog that appears if you have not run Resman.

Toolbar

The T&M Explorer toolbar provides quick access to the most commonly used functions:

Save: Saves the current system setup so that the hierarchy can be retrieved at a later time.

Print: Prints the system layout.

View: Selects the view (System, Address Map, or Commander Servant Hierarchy)

Run Resman: Runs the VXI Resource manager from T&M Explorer.

Properties: Gets properties on a device in the system. This button remains grayed out until a device is selected.

Help: gets help for T&M Explorer. This help also contains guides for common VXI questions, tips, and setup procedures.

System View
There are several different views in T&M Explorer. The System View is the default view and lists all of the devices in your system:

Figure 2. System view of the T&M Explorer

This view shows the hierarchical view of the instruments present in your system. In this particular setup, the system contains one VXI chassis (Frame 0), two serial ports, and one parallel port. (Note: The term "frame" refers to the logical address of the slot 0 device in that particular chassis.) The VXI Frame contains three instruments: a National Instruments VXIpc-850 Series controller, a VXI-MIO-64E-1 multi-function data acquisition device, and a VXI-DIO-128 digital input/output device. You can also see the logical address used by each VXI device, the manufacturer name, and the model code. Typically, the Device Name and the Model code are the same.

The Address Map View
The Address Map View shows the registers requested by various devices in each of the address spaces. The example in the figure below shows the A16 resources used by each of the devices in the system. In this case, the Address Map View shows the location of the VXI configuration registers for each of the devices.

Figure 3. Address Map View for A16 Space

You can examine the properties of individual devices in the system by popping-up (right-clicking) on the device in the System View and selecting Properties, or by highlighting the device and clicking on the properties button.

Figure 4. Pop-Up (right-click) on a device to examine its properties

Figure 5 shows the property dialog for a VXIpc-850 controller configured at logical address 0. The properties dialog sheet includes the VISA Instrument Descriptor (VXI0::0::INSTR) and describes the type of device (message based). The Device Status section also indicates the status of the device (the device is working properly). The Troubleshoot... button provides valuable troubleshooting hints, if a problem is indicated in the Device Status section.

Figure 5. Properties dialog for the VXIpc-850

Note: You can get a description of any configuration setting by right-clicking and selecting What’s this? from the popup menu.

The VXI tab on the properties dialog sheet shows the logical address, slot number, manufacturer and model name that is associated with the device.

Figure 6. VXI properties of the VXIpc-850

The Resources tab in the Property dialog sheet shows all of the VXI resources that are associated with the device. Figure 7 shows that the VXIpc-850 in this example uses resources in A16 space (for the VXI configuration registers) and in A24 space (for shared memory).

Figure 7. Resources used by the VXIpc-850

In this example, the VXIpc-850 is also configured to be an interrupt handler for interrupt level 7. The Resources tab also displays any resource conflicts that may exist.

Configuring Devices in T&M Explorer
Some VXI devices can be configured through software. All National Instruments MITE-based controllers are configured this way and include a "Hardware Configuration" option when you right-click on the device entry in the System View. All National Instruments VXI data acquisition devices can also be configured via T&M Explorer.

Note: You must have logged onto the system with Administrator privileges to access the Hardware Configuration option in Windows NT.

Figure 8. Hardware Configuration dialog for the VXIpc-850

Figure 8 illustrates the hardware configuration panel for a VXIpc-850 controller. This Hardware Configuration panel has five tabs:

General Tab (main tab)
This tab is used to change the configuration settings on the VXI/VME controller. You can use this tab to select from several common configuration settings, or to save and load settings from a configuration file. As an example, you would select the VXI-DAQ Configuration setting on all of your VXI/VME controllers when using National Instruments VXI data acquisition devices.

Device Tab
This tab can be used to configure the following device properties:

Logical Address - you can configure the Logical Address for National Instruments VXI/VME controllers using either the hardware dip switch setting or the EEPROM configuration setting.

Device Class - Register or Message based.

Servant area size - for creating complex servant/commander hierarchies. This is typically set to 0 as most applications call for a flat commander/servant hierarchy.

System Interrupt Level - The VXI/VME interrupt level associated with the VXI/VME controller,

Number of Handlers - The number of interrupt lines that should be handled by the VXI/VME controller. This setting is only relevant in systems that have more than one device with interrupt handling functionality.

Number of Interrupters – The number of interrupt lines that should be assigned to the VXI/VME controller.

Figure 9. Device Hardware Configuration dialog for the VXIpc-850

Shared Memory
This tab is used to set up shared memory. For more details on shared memory, please see the online help in T&M Explorer or Application Note 18 (available on www.ni.com)

Figure 10. Shared memory hardware configuration

VXI Bus
This tab configures the VXI/VME bus arbitration and bus timeout functionality on the VXI/VME controller. Note that there should only be one device per chassis configured to drive the VXI/VME bus timeout.

Figure 11. VXI Bus hardware Configuration Dialog

PCI
This tab allows you to enable or disable support for low level NI-VXI/NI-VISA register access functions and to configure the size of the User Window associated with these functions.

Figure 12. PCI Hardware Configuration Dialog

T&M Explorer Configuration Options
T&M Explorer provides several configuration options that can be accessed via the Tools » Options menu. There are General configuration settings, as well as configuration settings related to the Resource Manager and NI-VISA as shown in Figure 13, below.

Figure 13. T&M Explorer configuration options.

T&M Explorer Online Help
T&M Explorer’s Help menu includes links to extensive online documentation (which includes configuration and troubleshooting tips), and also includes links to several National Instruments web based resources. The online and offline resources are both extremely valuable for determining the availability of driver updates, example programs, and also to see what technical support issues have been reported to National Instruments. As an example, suppose you want to find out how to configure a multi-mainframe VXI/VME system. From T&M Explorer’s menus, select Help » Help Topics. Choose How Do I...? » Configuration. Scroll through the list until you come to the entry for Configure a multiple-mainframe system and select this item.

The Help menu also includes a Support Wizard, which assists you in completing all of the information required by National Instruments' Application Engineering staff. The support wizard gathers information about all of the National Instruments VXI/VME hardware used in your system, pertinent driver information, and the operating system parameters. You can gain direct access to this information by selecting Help » About T&M Explorer and then selecting the Software Info button. Figure 14 illustrates a sample software information screen.

Figure 14. T&M Explorer Software Information Screen

Note: You can expand or collapse sections by clicking on the + (plus) or – (minus) icons. You can also save or print this information, which may be required when contacting National Instruments Technical Support.

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