Hart module AM-9898 on EtherCAT NI-9145

[Penzium]

Hi all,

in an existing system composed by a cRIO 9035 and two EtherCAT NI-9145 I have to install and configure an HART AM-9898 module.

Because of installation problems I can't install the module on the cRIO but I have to install it in the second EtherCAT module.

There isn't much documentation online and the example in the Interface Toolkit refers on programming the FPGA on the cRIO.

My question is: can I install and develop the software also in the FPGA of the EherCAT ni-9145? Will I have problems following this way?

Thanks.

Penzium

[rolfk]

Hart protocol sounds like a serial port. Accessing the serial ports from FPGA code is generally not possible and even if it was, it's not very easy since FPGA is not suited to do variable length data handling which serial port communication almost always is.

The 914x devices are not meant to be programmable as RT targets, although they are technically similar to the cRIO-906x siblings. But their setup is with a fixed EtherCAT personality and no possibility to run the full NI Linux RT system on them.

You can't install the 987x modules into this EtherCAT chassis as there is no way to access their resources from within the EtherCAT personality nor the FPGA. You could install the 987x modules into the Ethernet RIO chassis 9146, 47, and 48 and access them from within the FPGA program but that would be not trivial to implement HART fully in FPGA. Most easy part really is to access those modules through VISA from a real operating system, be it an RT system inside some cRIO (the modules can be accessed also remotely on another cRIO chassis through remote VISA) or your host system on your PC. 

[Penzium]

Hi,

the Hart AM-9898 module isn't like a serial port like NI-987x module (https://www.ni.com/it-it/support/model.am-9898.html) and it seams that the module can only be accessible via FPGA as I view in the NI example.

My doubts are on using that module from EtherCAT NI-9145 FPGA, it is possible? Someone configured or used already this module?

Thank you very much.

Penzium

[rolfk]

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@Penzium wrote:

My doubts are on using that module from EtherCAT NI-9145 FPGA, it is possible? Someone configured or used already this module?

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I didn't even know it was an NI sold product. And considering its naming it looks like an OEMed device so you really would have to get some support from whoever designed that (apparently that would be Amtec Solutions Group http://www.amtecsolutionsgroup.com). If it is a OEMed device it may also be hard to get anyone from NI support to know more about it than what you can find in the online pages yourself, but it is also nowhere found on the amtecsolutionsgroup  website.

Personally I very much doubt that the Toolkit you can download https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z000001DcR0SAK&l=nl-NL would come with the necessary CLIP definitions that would be needed for use in the 9145 from the FPGA mode.