Visual Studio.net example with NI RIO 3.5.1

[JDSTC]

Can any one point me to some documentation / examples / function calls for using Visual Basic.Net  ( or reluctantly for C languages ) to communicate with a compact RIO chassis?  I need cRIO for the temperature range.  System config would be for 8 AI, 8 AO, 8 T/C and 16 DIO.  I need to be able to configure all the IO points and then read and write to them.  I have been pointed to the FPGA Scan mode guide (https://forums.ni.com/t5/Embedded-Invasion/The-Definitive-Guide-Programming-NI-VxWorks-Real-Time/td-...) but I can not find enough information that gives me the confidence to make a purchase. I have been a steady user of the DAQmx driver with Compact DAQ form factor.  I do not feel the need to invest in LabView in order to use the cRIO hardware. 

[Elizabeth_K.]

Hi JDSTC,

Good question, and thanks for looking into it.  The link that you already provided has the most complete information about using our CompactRIOs with a text based interface.  

The basic problem you will face is that in order to generate an FPGA bitfile for our CompactRIO controller, you need LabVIEW with the FPGA module.  If you already have a bitfile that defines the IO that you can interface with, then you will be able to follow the guide in the link above to download it to the CompactRIO and run it.  You may be able to use the CompactRIO in scan interface mode without LabVIEW FPGA, but I am not certain.  I will have to talk to the Product Support Engineer and get back to you.

Regards,

Elizabeth K. 

National Instruments | Applications Engineer | www.ni.com/support 

[JDSTC]

Hi Elizabeth,

I have spoken to someone named Ben at NI who said that the scan interface mode is used to interface with cRIO with out having to use LabView to create the bitfile ( I believe that is what he said).  But I do not know how to do that or what is required. That is the documentation I am looking for. Also I would like to add that the application I am quoting does not need a real time controller, the update rate is only 10 mS.  Also I do not want the embedded controller.  I just want the chassis for the modules (modules that I am already communicating with the DAQmx driver).  I have found this link http://digital.ni.com/manuals.nsf/websearch/4000A0672DBCD5F78625765A007B9525 which has some information but I still do not have a clear understanding.  With in the help file I saw a topic about creating a VI (maybe in MAX) to download into the controller. And other topics about scan interface mode with links for more info that did not work from my computer.

[Elizabeth_K.]

Hi JDSTC,

Ben was right that you can use the scan interface mode (it does have update rate limitations) to interface with the IO of the cRIO without having to use LabVIEW FPGA to create a bitfile.  The only issue is that you would need LabVIEW Real Time or CVI in order to get the cRIO into scan interface mode.  I discussed with other applications engineers, and they do not know of a way to get the FPGA into scan mode without either of those two products, and it is definitely not something that is documented.

This may be a reach, but you could use LabVIEW and LabVIEW FPGA in evaluation mode to create a bitfile, and then use the instructions in that link to communicate with it using C/C++.  Once you have the bitfile, you do not need LabVIEW.

What is the operating temperature that you are looking for?

Regards,

Elizabeth K. 

National Instruments | Applications Engineer | www.ni.com/support