PCI-DIO-96 Issues and Questions

[mlwalter77]

I recently installed a system using a PCI-DIO-96 card, LabView 8.2, Windows XP.  I have found that the card seems to malfunction while we are running the program.  The program seems to run fine for a while, but will intermittantly stop writing outputs.  The time between these malfunctions is varied, sometimes after only a few cycles run, sometimes after 50-60 cycles run.  I can go into Measurement and Automation Explorer, find the card under the NI-DAQmx and reset the device.  This will cause the card to take right back off again.  Currently I have my LabView program do this, but it is considered by my customer to be the band-aid solution.  Initially I had both Traditional NI-DAQ and NI-DAQmx drivers installed.  I removed the Traditional NI-DAQ drivers last night, but was unable to test the results.  My questions are as follows:

1.)  Is it possible there is some conflict between the two drivers causing my card to malfunction? 

2.)  I was also wondering whether or not the NI-6509 card was a like-for-like subsitution for this card (which I have noticed the PCI-DIO-96 is in the Legacy section of the digital I/O cards)?

[Elizabeth W]

Hello,

I can answer both of your questions.

1.  You can have both drivers installed at once.  Your device can be used interchangably with either driver.  As long as you are not trying to access the device with both drivers at the same time, there should not be any problem.

2.  You are correct, the PCI-6509 can certainly serve as a replacement for the PCI-DIO-96.

I hope this helps!

[mlwalter77]

Is it possible that I am tripping some overcurrent protection?  I remember seeing that the PCI-DIO-96 has a current drive of 2.5 mA typ and I think 4 mA max.  The system I have installed replaced another system running Windows 98, a Labwindows CVI executable (no source code was available) and using a PC-DIO-96 (which is why I went with the PCI-DIO-96).  I could still read the inputs, even after I could not write to the outputs.  It was only after I reset the card from Measurement and Automation Explorer that the outputs would function again.  I ended up replacing the PCI-DIO-96 card with a NI-6509 (24 mA current drive) card yesterday and have not seen the problem (yet).

[Elizabeth W]

Hello,

The typical current drive is 2.5 mA max; drawing more that this current can seriously damage your device.  If you suspect that you were drawing more than this amount of current then it could certainly be causing problems.  The 6509 has a much higher current drive (24 mA/channel) and so if you were on the border of the max current limit with the PCI-DIO-96 you should definitely be using the 6509 instead.