Appendix F Common Questions
© National Instruments Corporation F-3 VXI-MXI-Express Series User Manual
interactively issue NI-VXI functions or NI-VISA operations, respectively.
You can use viIn() and viOut() with the NI-VISA API (or VXIin() or
VXIinReg() and VXIout() or VXIoutReg() with the NI-VXI API) to
test register-based devices by programming their registers. If you have
any message-based devices, you can send and receive messages with the
viRead() and viWrite() operations in the NI-VISA API (or WSrd()
and WSwrt() functions in the NI-VXI API). Notice that VXIinReg() and
VXIoutReg() are for VXI devices only, but you can use VXIin() and
VXIout() for both VXI and VME. Finally, if you are using LabVIEW or
LabWindows/CVI and you have instrument drivers for the devices in your
chassis, you can use the interactive features of these programs to quickly
test the functionality of the devices.
What do the LEDs on the front of the VXI-MXI-Express Series
controller mean?
The VXI-MXI-Express Series controller has the following front panel
LEDs:
•FAILED—Indicates the VXI-MXI-Express Series controller failed
power on diagnostics.
•SYSFAIL—Indicates the VMEbus SYSFAIL line has been asserted
on the backplane.
•ONLINE —Indicates the board is detected and ready for use.
•ACCESS—Indicates a VXI bus master is accessing the
VXI MXI-Express Series controller.
��CB—Indicates the circuit breaker has tripped from an over current
condition on the +5.0 VDC rail of the VXI-MXI-Express Series
controller.
•ACT—Indicates bus activity on the MXI-Express link.
•PWRGD—Indicates the on board power supplies are in regulation.
•LINK—Indicates the MXI-Express link connecting the host computer
to the VXI-MXI-Express Series controller has been established.
What kind of signal is CLK10 and what kind of signal do I need for an
external CLK10?
CLK10 is a differential ECL signal on the VXIbus backplane. However, the
oscillator for the VXI-MXI-Express Series controller and the EXT CLK
SMB input from the front panel are TTL. Therefore, supply a TTL-level
signal at the EXT CLK SMB and onboard circuits convert the signal to
differential ECL.