Why Doesn't My Third-Party Fieldbus Device Show Up in the Configurator Software?
Primary Software: Driver Software>>NI-FBUS
Primary Software Version: 2.3.5
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: N/A
Problem: When I attach a non-NI Fieldbus device to my interface board it does not show up in the Configurator software. Why is this?
Solution: Here are four things you can try when your device does not show up in the Configurator.
- Try setting the board to a visitor address. To do this, first run the NI-FBUS Interface Configuration Utility. Click on the appropriate port, then click on the "Edit" button. Change the Address button to "Visitor". If there is another link master device on the bus, set the Device type of the interface board to "Basic" device. Restart the nifb.exe. Now see if the device shows up on the network.
- If the undetected device is a link master, try setting the FBUS card as a basic device rather than a link master. To do this, go into the NI-FBUS Interface Configuration Utility. Click on the appropriate port, then click on the "Edit" button. Change the Device type to "Basic" device. Restart the nifb.exe. Now see if the device shows up on the network.
- Start nifb.exe. In the NI-FBUS Dialog program, right-click on the open descriptors. Choose "Expand All". Then right-click on the session and open devices to see what kind of devices show up. If an unknown device shows up, the device is probably causing interference. The software can tell that something is there, but since it cannot communicate with it, the device shows up as an unknown device. If this is the case, then there is most likely a problem with the device. Perhaps it is not keeping within its time boundaries, or perhaps it might be trying to transmit before its allotted time, or it is continuing to talk past its allotted time. You can try to remedy this by increasing the minimum inter-PDU delay, which is set in the Interface Configuration Utility. If you click on the Port, then choose "Edit", then "Advanced", you'll see this category under "Time Basic Info". The default time is 10. By increasing this time, you can increase the minimum amount of time the device must wait before sending another packet. Restart nifb.exe. Now see if the device shows up on the network.
- You can try changing the bus timing parameters "Slot Time", "Max Response Delay", and "Min Inter-PDU Delay". If you want to try this, contact the device manufacturer for the recommended settings. Do not guess at these parameters.
Note: Unless the device is certified by the Fieldbus Foundation, National Instruments makes no guarantee that it will work with the Configurator or the NIFB driver.
Related Links:
Attachments:
Report Date: 01/25/2001
Last Updated: 12/02/2004
Document ID: 25O9GD6W
