X Series vs. M Series DDK

[rolf.heinrich]

In 2009 I completed a project involving the M Series DAQ board NI PCI-6251. I developed a kernel module for PureDarwin. I developed a user space measurement controller based on the MHDDK nimseries/nimhddk_other. Worth to mention is a very involved work on self callibrating the NI PCI-6251, and I posted some questions and results in this forum.

Now I am going to start another project on FreeBSD. The kernel module is ready, and for prooving the concept, I testet the setup with an old NI PCI-6251, and everything is working so far. Anyway, I need to buy a new board for the new project, I am in doubt whether I should stay with the M Series technology or whether I should start the new project directly with a new X Series board.

So my questions are:

Is the X Series DDK quite similar to the M Series DDK...?

... could I use most of my old M Series code with X Series, perhaps with some tweaks,

or would I need to start from scratch?

What would be the major benefits of X Series over M Series?

With  PCI-6251 I achieve in 2 AI channel multiplexing 500 kS/s. It would be good to achieve 1 MS/s for 2 AI channels.

I would also love to have more flexibility of AO full scale, the PCI-6251 got 5 V and 10 V. For one mode of operation I would need 100 mV.

Can I get this with a X Series board at more or less the same price tag as the PCI-6251 (let's say perhaps 50 % more)?

Many thanks for any advises

Best regards

Rolf 

[Steven_T]

Hello Rolf,

The X Series and M Series DDKs are alike in concept, but very different when it comes to details. There are many differences between the M Series register map and the X Series register map. These differences at the lowest level mean that pretty much all of the register logic that you implemented for M Series will need to be changed for X Series boards.

You can find benefits and general information here:

http://www.ni.com/xseries

Here is a listing of X series devices as well as their capabilities.

http://sine.ni.com/np/app/main/p/bot/no/ap/daq/lang/en/pg/1/sn/n21:41,n17:daq,n23:11502/sb/+nigenso7...

I would also recommend contacting a technical sales representative with your specifications. They will be able to recommend the right board.

I hope this helps,

Steven T.

[rolf.heinrich]

Hello Steven,

Many thanks for your reply. I will have a closer look on NI PCIe-6361.

In the meantime, I browsed into the files and documentation of the X Series MHDDK, and as a matter of fact, it is quite different to the M Series one. On the positive site, it seems to me, that the X Series DDK is much better elaborated and documented, and therefore, I guess, a switch would of course involve some work, but would not be prohibitively painful.

Best regards

Rolf

[rolf.heinrich]

Hello Steven,

Please allow me one more question on X Series vs. M Series. As already mentioned, I am in need for at least one AO channel with much lower full scale and by this much higher digital precision.

I guess, I could externally hardwire AO1 into APFI0, and use that as the reference voltage for AO0. My question is, whether with X Series this kind of wiring could perhaps be done by software, I mean by something like the AI_Config_FIFO_Bypass set of functions for sofwiring the DAC input on M Series boards.

Many thanks and best regards

Rolf

[Steven_T · Accepted solution]

Hello Rolf,

The DDK shows how you can use the AO_Config_Bank register in the AO subsystem for configuring the range of the Analog output channel. As you pointed out, this can be configured for +/-10V and +/-5V. The PCIe-6351 and up boards also have the option to use the APFI0 reference voltage to dictate the range.

Here is the X Series Manual that has more information for you. The AO Reference section has information about the external reference voltages. There is no programmatic way to route the voltage from an AO channel into the APFI lines.

X Series User's Manual

http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/370784d.pdf

Specifications for PCIe-6361/6363

http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/370083c.pdf

Steven T.