NI SWITCH Soft Front Panel

[momo2013]

Hello,

I have a couple of questions as the following:

1. After installing Switch Executive 3.6 (evaluation software), I have very big window for NI SWITCH Soft Front Panel to cover all 4 monitors. It is hard to see them. Do I have to uninstall the Switch Executive 3.6 (evaluation software)? We don't need it that much. Is that safe to uninstall it?

Could you give me the solutuion to configure back to the previous setting which the Soft Front Panel appeared only at one monitor.

2. What should the "pxi-2720" test panel be like at MAX? If I click the test panel, "Switch Soft Panel" appears with topology - "2720/independent"? It looks like swich instead of  testing programmable resistor. Is this correct test panel for pxi-2720?

3. For NI-PXI 2571, I used SH200LFH-4xDB50F-C cable to connect to the terminal blocks and tested the switches. I found the NO0(P1 pin2) - COM0(P1 pin1)  connection is not wokring while others are working. Is that reserved for other thing? I test it by exchanging the terminal blocks but the result was same.

I am looking forward to your answers.

Thank you,

Insuk

[momo2013]

Hello,

If I need uninstall Swich Executive 3.6, could you tell how to uninstall it safely?

Thank you,

Insuk

[Now_With_Underscores]

Hey Insuk,

1. The NI Switch Soft Front Panel shouldn't change with or without NI Switch Executive Installed; they're mutually exclusive.  Can you attach a screen shot or representative illustration of the multimonitor sprawl?  Even the Switch Executive UI shouldn't span 4 monitors.  Once I understand what's going on, we can look at our options.  If you want to uninstall NI Switch Executive, you can do so without affecting other NI software: In add/remove programs, double click on "National Instruments Software"... this will open NI's uninstallation wizard, which will allow you to remove "NI Switch Executive" (only) from your system.  Some products have dependencies to other NI software, but not NISE.  Note that uninstalling NISE shouldn't fix your issue (of course, I'm not sure I understand what your issue is, pending pictures for clarification).

2. The PXI-2720 Soft Front Panel is as you describe it: an independent topology with a bunch of relays.  This is because the PXI-272x modules are composed of numerous relays in parallel with discrete resistors; closing particular relays creates a particular resistance.  If you're looking for example code, then I recommend installing the NI-272x Reference VIs.  Once installed, you'll find example VIs inside LabVIEW Example Finder (inside LabVIEW, Help»Find Examples😞 Hardware Input and Output»Modular Instruments»NI-272x (Programmable Resistor Modules)»NI-272x Resistance.vi
I recommend using these examples instead of the soft front panel.  The SFP's Relay tab is a great diagnostic tool to understand how the relays are configured for any particular resistance.  Let us know if you've got additional 272x questions... it's an interesting product with tons of configuration possibilities.

3. When using the LFH200 cable on the 2571, you're looking at the correct pins:
NO0 is P1 DSUB pin 2
COM0 is P1 DSUB pin 1
These pins aren't reserved by anything else.  Once you've toggled nc0 to com0 is the SFP, you should measure ~0Ω across P1:1 & P1:2.  If you're not seeing ~0Ω, then we'll need to look into this further. 

Let us know if you have additional questions, or if I missed any of your initial questions.

[momo2013]

Hello John,

Thank you so much quick answers.

1. Let me attach the screen shot. I don't mind for uninstalling if that does affect my configuration.

2. That means the test panel is correct, right. I already installed the reference VIs and they are useful.

3. I tested in two ways by using LabView Switch Pallet(Connect : Chan1: COM0, Chan2: NO0) or by using Switch SFP(connecting NO0 to COM0).

Is possible it is defected?

Note : the attachment is horizontally long.

Thank you so much,

Insuk

[marshallg]

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@momo2013 wrote:

1. After installing Switch Executive 3.6 (evaluation software), I have very big window for NI SWITCH Soft Front Panel to cover all 4 monitors. It is hard to see them. Do I have to uninstall the Switch Executive 3.6 (evaluation software)? We don't need it that much. Is that safe to uninstall it?

Could you give me the solutuion to configure back to the previous setting which the Soft Front Panel appeared only at one monitor.

---

I believe this is fixed with NI-Switch 4.8.  (should be fixed in Switch Soft Front Panel 1.13.  In the SFP, you can go to Help->About Switch SFP... to get the version)

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2. What should the "pxi-2720" test panel be like at MAX? If I click the test panel, "Switch Soft Panel" appears with topology - "2720/independent"? It looks like swich instead of  testing programmable resistor. Is this correct test panel for pxi-2720?

---

I agree with John, you should probably use the NI-272x Reference VIs.  There is also this community example that works as a Soft Front Panel for the 272x devices.

[Now_With_Underscores]

Hey Insuk,

1. See if Marshall's advice to update fixes the issue.

2. The test panel is correct.

3. The 2571 is 100% tested in manufacturing (including actual resistance), but it's possible something broke in transit.  Once you're certain everything is tested correctly (it sounds like you're testing correct), then we'll need to see what component isn't working correctly.  If you have another LFH200 cable, try that to make sure there isn't a cable issue.  If you don't have another cable, you can connect thin leads directly to the 2571's 200 pin connector. 

[momo2013]

Hello Marshall and John,

Thank you for replys.

Does the switch 4.8 support the Switch SFP 1.12.1? Upgrading to Switch 4.8 leads to SFP upgrade, too ?

While I uninstall the Switch Executive and reopen the SFP, I've got the message like "resetting  configure??launcher.vi". It was so fast so I could not get whole file. It looks like lauching file was reset.

By the way thank you for your comments.

Insuk

[marshallg]

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Does the switch 4.8 support the Switch SFP 1.12.1? Upgrading to Switch 4.8 leads to SFP upgrade, too ?

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Yes, NI-Switch 4.8 will install Switch SFP 1.13 with the fix (and it will also upgrade DAQmx to 9.8).

[momo2013 · Accepted solution]

Thank you!!

[momo2013]

Hello Marshall and  John,

Thank you so much for comments. 

Switch 4.8 works well.

Thanks again,

Insuk