PXI-5610 Calibration Failures with Cal Exec 3.2

[DrX]

We recently started calibrating the PXI modules using Calibration Executive 3.2.  We have not had any issues with any of the modules with the exception of the PXI-5610 module.  We are getting approximately 70% failures (out of spec) when calibrating these modules. We are calibrating on a 12 month interval. Has anyone else seen any issues the PXI-5610 module? The specs are tighter on the 5610 than the 5600 but we are not having any problems with the 5600's.

Thank You.

Richard

[Yardov]

Hello Richard,

Could you point out any differences in equipment used from the calibration procedure (if any). Also, do you always use the same 5421 ARB?
Regards,

[DrX]

Here is a  file of the output for the last 5610 calibration that we did. As you can see, it failed most of the frequencies and also the internal calibration frequency.

Richard

 Standards used for Calibration
                  TypeTracking NumberCalibration Due DateNotes
                  Agilent ESG Family Signal Generators39804  6/7/2008
                  age441x     42168    3/20/2008
                  E9304A      34309    5/21/2008
                  E9304A      36165    2/19/2008
                  hp5313xa   28861    5/24/2008
                  NI 5122      38127    4/25/2009
                  PXI-5421    35154  11/23/2007

[DrX]

And yes, we always use the same 5421 AWG.  We also installed the Cal Exec 3.2.1 upgrade and had the same issues.

Richard

[Yardov]

Hello Richard,

The calibration of the 5610 is a delicate setup and requires an excellent environment to make sure the measurements are made correctly. There are a couple of things I would suggest:

-       Make sure you have the latest RFSG driver (1.2.5) for greatest accuracy corrections.

-       Perform calibrations in shorter periods (six months) depending on the applications needs.

-       Call or email National Instruments support for sending one of your cards here and validate the setup either with our internal lab or external. (ni.com/support).

The high percentage is just not normal on 5610 as it is not in any other NI product.

Message Edited by Yardov on 06-12-2007 09:29 PM

[DrX]

It turns out that the NI-RFSG driver needed to be updated to ver 1.3. Prior to that version, there were problems below 10MHz. The cal constants were not updated prior to verification.

See this link for a description of the problem. Even this version was released in September, we did not find out about it until December. Depending on where you go on the NI website, it might tell you that version 1.2.5 was the latest release which delayed our correction of this problem.

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/A3835866AC352083862572C80077FB89