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VST and RFSA Soft Panel

Hi all,

 

I want to use the NI RFSA Soft Front Panel with my VST PXIe-5646R, but I always get the error:

Error: The Maximum Time was exceeded before the operation completed.

 

Is this normal?

I have changed the settings (ex: Span to 1MHz), went back to the preset, but I always get the same error.

I have tried the RFSG Soft Front Panel, and it works fine, I can generate a CW correctly.

Is there anything special I need to configure in order to use the NI RFSA Soft Front Panel with VST 5646R?

 

System:

PXIe-1082Q Chassis

PXIe-8135 controller

VST 5646R in slot #2

Conduant Drive in slot #5

Windows 7 x64

NI-RFSA 14.0

 

Thanks in advance,

Serge

 

serge.malo@skydelsolutions.com
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Message 1 of 7
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There shouldn't be anything special to do in order to control the 5646R.  What are the steps you're doing after the preset button?

 

I was able to set span to 1 MHz after clicking preset without error.  I am using RFSA 14.1, but that shouldn't make a difference in this case.

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Hi Serge,

 

Could you try running niVST Self Calibrate.exe in C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\NI VST\Self Calibration (or the equivalent path on your machine)? That may give us a better indication of what is going on.

 

Best Regards,

Peter W.

RF PSE

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Thanks for the quick answer,

 

After "preset", I only  let the Soft Front Panel run until the error shows up. I set the span to 1MHz, and got the same error.

 

I tried the Self-Calibration and it failed. Here is the error message:

Calibration of the device failed.

Calibration failed for device RIO0 for the following reason:
Error -366011 occurred at an unidentified location

Possible reason(s):

A local oscillator PLL lock error occurred. If the Frequency Settling Units property is set to Time After I/O, make sure that the Frequency Settling property is set to a value sufficient for this frequency change.

If you are using an external reference, make sure that it is connected and meets the frequency accuracy and voltage level requirements.

 

-------

I tried to find the "Frequency Settling Units" property, but I did not see it with the VISA Test Panel.

 

Does this error tells you something?

 

Regards,

Serge

serge.malo@skydelsolutions.com
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Hi again,

 

In your opinon, is the unit broken? Should I open a case with NI support?

 

Best regards,

Serge

serge.malo@skydelsolutions.com
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Hi Serge,

 

Yes please reach out to the applications engineers directly. They may want to troubleshoot a bit more before bringing the module in for RMA but there is potential that it will be necessary.

 

Best Regards,

Peter W.

RF PSE

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Hi all,

 

Just to close the loop:

I had a discussion with a NI Application Engineer on the support line today. He suggested testing the VST with different combinasons of

-Slot number

-Chassis

-Controller

 

The Self-Calibration failed in all combinasons, so he suggested to send the unit back for RMA.

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Serge

serge.malo@skydelsolutions.com
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