Interface for PXIe-1062Q

[doomis]

We have 2 PXIe-1062Q chassis that connect to a laptop for portable uses.  They currently connect via a NI ExpressCard-8360 which uses a pcmcia slot.  I need to replace both laptops and cannot find anything with pcmcia slots.  I have tried a few usb to pcmcia adapters, none have worked.

Does anyone know of a solution I can connect the chassis to usb either with an adapter for the ExpressCard-8360 to usb or a different option to the PXIe-8360 interface?

[santo_13]

The PCIe bus is at the heart of PXIe, and the same goes for ExpressCard. With this said, the only way your chassis can connect to a PC is through a connection that also uses PCIe bus at its core.

USB does not use PCIe bus; hence, you cannot connect the PXIe chassis to any computer over USB. This should not be confused with Thunderbolt3 which uses USB-C connector but the Thunderbolt3 protocol is based on PCIe bus and hence has a Thunderbolt 3 PXIe chassis.

No, off-the-shelf USB to ExpressCard adapters will not work as the PXIe bus uses a lot of low-level PCIe features which are lost in translation through a USB interface.

Your options to use with a laptop,

1. Get a laptop that has an ExpressCard slot
2. Discard the PXIe-8360, get a PXIe-8301 and a good laptop with Thunderbolt 3 port

Your option to use with a desktop,

1. Get a PCIe8361 card and connect to PXIe8360

[doomis]

Thanks.  I ended up taking your advice.  I tried several other adapters etc, nothing worked.

[santo_13]

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@doomis wrote:

Thanks.  I ended up taking your advice.  I tried several other adapters etc, nothing worked.

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Good that you were able to find a working solution.

It was expected that none of the after-market adapters would work with any special hardware that uses the specific protocol to the full extent.

[rolfk]

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@doomis wrote:

Thanks.  I ended up taking your advice.  I tried several other adapters etc, nothing worked.

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That's not surprising. PCMCIA (or PCExpressCard) was its own standard right there. While they tried to marry PCMCIA and PCI with the PCExpressCard standard, it was for the most part a completely failed attempt. 😁

That all said, even PCI bridge products are seldom going to work seamlessly. The PCI (and PCIExpress) standard are so complex and involved, that two products from different manufacturers usually only work in theory together. Build in bridges in the chipsets normally work because everybody is testing their products on such systems, but once you add external bus extenders it all comes down to keeping your fingers crossed, closing your eyes and hitting the gas pedal, hoping you don't crash in a wall. Even Thunderbolt hasn't made its promises of system independent interoperability fully true.