Expanding sbRIO 9641 memory

[Russ_in_Louisville]

With NI-RIO 12.1 DRAM requirements (and all the other add-on software) required for sbRIO 9641 doubling since this hardware's release (same time as LabView 8.x), the need for memory expansion is in demand. Has anyone tried to expand the sbRIO 964X (or any other model for that matter) with a RS 232 serial to USB Flash (or other flash memory card) like this? http://apple.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/ftdichip?productID=99&op=catalogue-product_info-null&prodCat...

Were you able to host the remote target's software on it? If you've ever done this, what were the results?

Even though the cRIO module NI 9802 expands out and up to 4 GB, and seems like an expensive alternative at $1,132, is it possible to expand out sbRIO 964x with it?

[Nathan-P]

Russ_in_Louisville,

Upgrading older hardware with the newest software is definately going to impact DRAM requirements significantly.  Unfortunately, the expansion options you mentioned, both the 3rd party serial and the NI 9802, only expand the memory available for application usage.  They can't be used to install the RT target's software or user VI's.  

The NI 9802 memory expansion is primarily intended for data logging applications, and is accessed from the user VI's.

The RT Target can't have 3rd party drivers installed, so using the serial port to expand the memory won't work outside the user VI's.

I would reccomend, if extra space is needed, to purchase a newer cRIO, that has more memory that you need to future proof your applications as much as possible.  

I hope this helps.

[Russ_in_Louisville]

Nathan,

Thank you for the recommendation. However, the cRIO is an expensive proposition. When the price comes down below $1000 for everything that's included on the sbRIO 9641,9642, then NI has an attractive value proposition.

-Russ