Error 10401

[swany09]

Hello  I am new to NI workings and I am having a problem with MAX.  I have a PCI-6122 board of which I see in MAX and I am able to run a test and verify I can read analog voltages correctly.  When I try to create a virtual channel I select all the information (name, analog, range, scaling, etc) until the very last selection to select hardware.  There is no hardware listed in the drop down box and when I try to run a test I receive the error 10401.  I could really use help from someone.  Thanks Mark 

[niNickC]

Hello Mark,

So just to confirm, you are seeing your device fine is MAX but it is not showing in labVIEW? Which version of LabVIEW is this?

You are using the DAQmx create virtual channel VI and you are trying to set the 'physical channel' but no devices are appearing?

This Knowlegde Base article deals with this error:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/46F78EDD19BA0CC386256CEE007201FC

First try running through the steps listed there and let me know how you get on.

[swany09]

Hi Nick

Yes I see my device in MAX under NI-DAQmx Devices and I can run the test there to verify it is functioning.  I then go to Data Neighborhood and create a virtual channel using the Traditional NI-DAQ Virtual Channel option.  I go through the process specifying name, input type (analog), voltage,units, no scaling, and then the last specification it is asking is for What DAQ Hardware Will Be Used? and this is nothing available to select.  This is my problem because then when I go to VI Logger Tasks with in MAX I can not select the hardware in order to run the task.

Since I am new to all this terminology am I going about this all wrong?

Thanks for your support.

[niNickC]

Hi Mark,

Is there a reason you are using the traditional DAQ driver? Your device listed above does support DAQmx which is much newer and definitely superior. A simple solution to your problems will probably be to update to DAQmx. Version 9.4 is the latest and is found here: DAQmx.

This assumes you are using at least version 2.0 of VI logger.

[swany09]

Nick

OK I have been wrestling with this some more and I have additional information.  I can create virtual channels under Data Neighborhood, NI-DAQmx Tasks and they are running (I can see the voltage change on the display chart).  Also under Data Neighborhood is a Traditional NI-DAQ Virtual Channels folder where I have created channels.  I can not get these channels to find the NI hardware board we are using which is a PCI-6122.

My next step is to create a VI Logger Task which is also under the tree in MAX.  I can not select a NI-DAQmx Task channel.  When I try to create a channel with in the VI Logger Tasks it creates a Traditional NI-DAQ Virtual Channel and again it cannot find the NI hardware board.

As a last resort I have opened up Signal Express 30 Day Demo that comes with the NI-DAQ installation.  Here I am able to create the channel and log the data and even export it to Excel.  We do not have a licensed copy of this so other then proving it works I need to go back to VI Logger and get it working.

By the way I have installed NI-DAQmx version 8.5 and I have the same results as described above.

[niNickC]

Hi again,

What functionality do you require? Would Signal Express LE (which is free) suit your needs?

This can be found here:

http://www.ni.com/labview/signalexpress/  

Unfortunately your device (6122) is supported only by DAQmx and not traditional DAQ.  Seen here:

http://download.ni.com/support/softlib/multifunction_daq/traditionalnidaq/7.4.1/readme.html#MXSuppor...

VI logger must be at least Version 2.0 to use DAQmx. (This is only supported up to Windows XP) Which version are you using?

Sorry to just ask questions and not provide solutions! 

[swany09]

Nick

I would like to view a "stripchart" of my channels (voltage and temperature).  The signals need to be positioned on the stripchart by the user for visual enhancement.  I would then like to manually start recording data and manually stop recording data.  One of the voltage channels is a square wave that I need to determine the frequency of and then calculate a flow value with this calculated value being displayed (not the raw squarewave signal).  I think I need to sample this channel about 10 times faster then the highest frequency which is 6500 Hz (perhaps you could offer an opinion here).  The remaining channels can be sampled at maybe 2-10 times a second.  The logged data must be able to be imported into Excel.

I know this is really basic stuff but I just do not know anything about SignalExpress.  I read that the full version is free for 30 days at which time you need to purchase it or LabView.  We already have a couple of copies of LabView here so could I use that license for this SignalExpress?  If I knew how to generate code in LabView I would use it but that would be a learning curve for me right now.

Thanks

[niNickC]

Mark,

Signal Express is simply the successor to VI logger. It is designed to aquire, log and do basic anaylsis without the need for any labVIEW programming.

Unfortunately Signal Express LE does not include the frequency analysis you require. Signal Express Full is however included with labVIEW full. The simplest way for you to see if you have it would be to try your labVIEW product code to activate Signal Express.

I think all the functionality you require is covered in these videos:
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/11018 

Obviously, as you suggested, programming this sort of task in labVIEW would allow for much greater customisation and find control. Might I suggest that doing this is not as hard as you might think. ni.com has lots of resources available to help you learn labVIEW including this great set of tutorials on using DAQmx in labVIEW:

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5438

Also, the examples shipped with labVIEW would show you examples of most if not all of the functionaliy you have listed below, your job would be to simply work out how to put the ideas together.  

I am not familiar with 'flow value' but yes 10 times faster would seem reasonable, this would allow you to gain a decent representation of the shape of the waveform. However, if you are only interested in the frequency, 2.5 times faster would suffice but a greater rate will certainly not harm anything.

[swany09]

Nick

I have a copy of LabView 6.1 with the certificate of ownership document showing the part number and serial number.  When I installed SignalExpress 2011 it asked for the serial number and then very late in the installation process it is asking for a 20 digit activation code.  Where can I find that for my copy of LabView?

[niNickC]

Hello,

Unfortunately signal express was not released until sometime after labVIEW 6.1 and therefore your license will not cover signal express.

Your device requires at least DAQmx 7.5 and this is only supported from labVIEW 7.

I am sorry about this but I am not sure there is anything else I can suggest. The only free solution being Signal Express LE which will provide some of the functionality you require.

Kind Regards