C Series and TestScale Module Physical Channels

In physical channel names:

  • cDAQ1Mod1 is the default device name for a C Series device plugged into a USB or Standalone CompactDAQ chassis, where cDAQ1 is the default chassis device name, and Mod1 refers to the slot number
  • TS1Mod1 is the default device name for a TestScale module plugged into a Standalone TestScale chassis, where TS1 is the default chassis device name, and Mod1 refers to the slot number

For C Series devices plugged into a network CompactDAQ chassis, such as the NI cDAQ-9188, the default chassis device name is the host name of the chassis. You can change these names in MAX. For C Series devices plugged into a supported CompactRIO[1]1 cRIO-9040, 9041, 9042, 9043, 9045, 9046, 9047, 9048, 9049, 9053, 9054, 9055, 9056, 9057, and 9058. or CompactRIO Single-Board[2]2 sbRIO-9603, 9608, 9609, 9628, 9629, and 9638. controller, Mod1 is the default device name.

Analog Input

The following table lists the number and naming of analog input physical channels for C Series devices and TestScale modules.

Device Number of Channels Naming
NI 9218, NI 9250, NI 9251 2 cDAQ1Mod1/ai0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ai1
NI 9225, NI 9230, NI 9232, NI 9246, NI 9247 3 cDAQ1Mod1/ai0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ai2
NI 9210, NI 9211, NI 9215, NI 9217, NI 9219, NI 9222, NI 9223, NI 9227, NI 9229, NI 9234, NI 9237, NI 9238, NI 9239, NI 9775 4 cDAQ1Mod1/ai0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ai3
NI 9242, NI 9244 4 cDAQ1Mod1/ai0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ai2, cDAQ1Mod1/neutral
NI 9201, NI 9203, NI 9212, NI 9216, NI 9221, NI 9226, NI 9224, NI 9228, NI 9231, NI 9235, NI 9236, NI 9252, NI 9253 8 cDAQ1Mod1/ai0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ai7
NI 9202, NI 9204, NI 9207, NI 9208, NI 9209, NI 9213, NI 9214 , NI 9220 16 cDAQ1Mod1/ai0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ai15
NI 9205, NI 9206 32 cDAQ1Mod1/ai0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ai31
TS-15100 32 TS1Mod1/ai0 to TS1Mod1/ai31

On the NI 9204, you can configure channels 0-7 as the positive channel of a differential pair. On the NI 9205 and NI 9206, you can configure channels 0-7 and 16-23 as the positive channel of a differential pair. If N is this channel, channel N + 8 is the negative input of the pair. For instance, if you configure channel 1 in differential mode, the positive input is channel 1, and channel 9 is the negative input. Use only the physical channel name of the positive channel (not both) when creating a differential channel.

You can use channels from multiple analog input C Series devices in the same NI-DAQmx task.

  • Up to three analog input tasks can run at a given time per chassis in a cDAQ-91xx[3]3 cDAQ-9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9174, 9178, 9179, 9184, 9185, 9188, 9188XT, and 9189 or TestScale[4]4 TS-15000 and TS-15010 chassis.
  • Up to eight analog input tasks can run a given time in a CompactRIO controller or a CompactRIO Single-Board controller.
  • Up to two analog input tasks with a C Series Delta-Sigma device can run at a given time per chassis in a cDAQ-91xx[5]5 cDAQ-9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9174, 9178, 9179, 9184, 9185, 9188, 9188XT, and 9189 or TestScale[6]6 TS-15000 and TS-15010 chassis.
  • Up to eight analog input tasks with a C Series Delta-Sigma device can run at a given time in a CompactRIO controller or a CompactRIO Single-Board controller.

Strain and Wheatstone Bridge Measurements

The NI 9235, NI 9236, and NI 9237 support only the AI Strain Gage, AI Force Bridge, AI Pressure Bridge, AI Torque Bridge, AI Bridge (V/V), and AI Custom Voltage With Excitation channel types.

When using the NI 9218, NI 9219, NI 9235, NI 9236, or NI 9237 with an AI Custom Voltage With Excitation channel, you must set the AI.Excit.UseForScaling attribute/property to true. This attribute/property causes the channel to return ratiometric data: Vin/Vex. The NI 9219, NI 9235, NI 9236, and NI 9237 modules perform this division in hardware.

For the NI 9219, NI-DAQmx requires the AI.Excit.Val attribute/property to be set to 2.5 V for AI Strain Gage and AI Custom Voltage With Excitation channel types and to 500 µA for resistance and RTD measurements. The actual excitation voltage or current output by the NI 9219 varies with the sensor resistance or the load being measured.

For the NI 9218, NI-DAQmx requires the AI.Excit.Val attribute/property to be set to 3.3 V or 2 V for AI Strain Gage and AI Custom Voltage With Excitation (bridge mode), to 12 V for AI Custom Voltage With Excitation (no bridge mode) for powered sensors, and to 2 mA for IEPE.

NI 9218, NI 9219, NI 9235, NI 9236, and NI 9237 devices return a voltage ratio rather than a voltage. Therefore, use the AI.Bridge.InitialRatio attribute/property to specify the initial voltage ratio, or set the AI.Bridge.InitialVoltage attribute/property to the ratio Vin/Vex returned by the device, multiplied by Vex.

The NI 9219 does not have quarter bridge completion circuitry, which affects AI Strain Gage Quarter Bridge I channels and AI Custom Voltage With Excitation Quarter Bridge channels (but not AI Strain Gage Quarter Bridge II channels). With these channels, the NI 9219 performs a 2-wire resistance measurement on the active gage element, then NI-DAQmx uses software scaling to convert the resistance measurement into a bridge ratio. For these channels, the polynomial coefficients specified by the AI.DevScalingCoeff attribute/property convert unscaled data into Ohms, not into V/V. Likewise, the AI.Rng.High/AI.Rng.Low attributes/properties should be specified in units of Ohms, not V/V.

When the NI 9219 is in quarter bridge mode, you need to use the AI.Bridge.NomResistance attribute/property to control whether the channel uses the 120 Ω range or the 350 Ω range.

The NI 9218 has an internal full bridge. However, it can support quarter-bridge and half-bridge measurements with the proper accessories.

NI 9218 Powered Sensor Measurements

The NI 9218 supports powered sensor measurements. For voltage powered sensor measurements, you can use either the DAQmx Create Channel function/VI (the AI Custom Voltage with Excitation measurement type) with the Bridge Configuration set to No Bridge, or you can use the DAQmx Create Channel function/VI (voltage measurement type) with the AI.Excit.Val attribute/property. For current powered sensor measurements, you have to use the DAQmx Create Channel function/VI (current measurement type) with the AI.Excit.Val attribute/property.

Analog Output

The following table lists the number and naming of analog output physical channels for C Series devices.

Device Number of Channels Naming
NI 9260 2 cDAQ1Mod1/ao0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ao1
NI 9263, NI 9265 4 cDAQ1Mod1/ao0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ao3
TS-15110 4 TS1Mod1/ao0 to TS1Mod1/ao3
NI 9262 6 cDAQ1Mod1/ao0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ao5
NI 9266 8 cDAQ1Mod1/ao0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ao7
NI 9264 16 cDAQ1Mod1/ao0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ao15

You can use channels from multiple analog output C Series devices in the same analog output task. With certain cDAQ-91xx[7]7 cDAQ-9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9174, 9178, 9179, 9184, 9185, 9188, 9188XT, and 9189 or TestScale[8]8 TS-15000 and TS-15010 chassis, if the task is hardware-timed and uses only onboard memory, there is a limit of 16 channels per task, but if the task is software-timed or does not use only onboard memory, the number of channels is limited only by the number of devices. Only one hardware-timed analog output task per CompactDAQ chassis can run at a given time. With a CompactRIO controller or CompactRIO single-board controller, up to eight hardware-timed analog output tasks can run at a given time.

When using the NI 9262, NI 9263, NI 9264, NI 9265, NI 9266, or TS-15110 you can run only one type of timing at a time. You can have one software-timed task per channel or one hardware-timed task running on a device at one time, but you cannot have a combination of timing on that device. For instance, you can run up to four software-timed tasks on the NI 9265 concurrently, but running one hardware-timed task with one software-timed task generates an error.

When using the NI 9260, if you start a task that uses a different channel than the one you are currently using, the channel no longer in use reverts to the calibrated 0 V value.

Digital Input and Output

The following table lists the number, type, and naming of digital input/output lines for C Series devices.

Device Lines Type Naming
NI 9344 4 digital input cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line3
4 digital output cDAQ1Mod1/port1/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port1/line3
NI 9402, NI 9435, NI 9481, 9482 4 digital input and/or output cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line3
NI 9411 6 digital input cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line5
NI 9401, NI 9421, NI 9422, NI 9423, NI 9472, NI 9474, NI 9475, NI 9485 8 digital input and/or output cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line7
TS-15050 DIO P0 8 digital input and/or output TS1Mod1/port0/line0 to TS1Mod1/port0/line7
NI 9436, NI 9437 8 digital input cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line7
NI 9375 16 digital input cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line15
16 digital output cDAQ1Mod1/port1/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port1/line15
NI 9478 16 digital output cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line15
NI 9403, NI 9425, NI 9426, NI 9476, NI 9477 32 digital input and/or output cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line0 to cDAQ1Mod1/port0/line31
TS-15120, TS-15130 32 digital input and/or output TS1Mod1/port0/line0 to TS1Mod1/port0/line31
Note Digital I/O module capabilities depend on the type of digital signals that the module can measure or generate and the chassis the module is used in. Refer to Digital I/O Considerations for C Series for more information.

Chassis Counter Input and Output

The CompactDAQ chassis, CompactDAQ controllers, CompactRIO controllers, and CompactRIO single-board controllers have four counters. You can use counters/timers with a C Series device in any slot. CompactRIO single-board controllers feature onboard I/O connectors in addition to C Series device access through the RMC connector. See CompactRIO Single-Board Controller Physical Channels for more information and counter terminal default configuration of CompactRIO single-board controller onboard I/O connectors.

These chassis also have a 4-bit frequency output generator, referred to as cDAQ1Modx/freqout, where x is the slot in which the module is located.

Each counter has four primary terminals associated with it. These are the terminals used as the SOURCE, GATE, AUX, and OUT functions. NI-DAQmx has default values for these terminals. For counter input tasks, if you know whether your signal provides the SOURCE, AUX, or GATE function and wire your signal to the default, you do not have to set the Input Terminal attribute/property.

Counter/timers are only supported on parallel digital I/O modules. Refer to Digital I/O Considerations for C Series for more information.

The following table shows the counter terminal defaults for 8-channel DIO/DI/DO C Series devices.

PFI Signal Physical Channel Name
PFI 0 ctr0 src/ctr2 aux
PFI 1 ctr0 gate/ctr2 out
PFI 2 ctr0 aux/ctr2 gate/freqout
PFI 3 ctr0 out/ctr2 src
PFI 4 ctr1 src/ctr3 aux
PFI 5 ctr1 gate/ctr3 out
PFI 6 ctr1 aux/ctr3 gate
PFI 7 ctr1 out/ctr3 src

The following table shows the counter terminal defaults for 6-channel DIO/DI/DO C Series devices.

PFI Signal Physical Channel Name
PFI 0 ctr0 src/ctr2 gate
PFI 1 ctr0 gate/ctr2 aux/ctr2 out/freqout
PFI 2 ctr0 aux/ctr0 out/ctr2 src
PFI 3 ctr1 src/ctr3 gate
PFI 4 ctr1 gate/ctr3 aux/ctr3 out
PFI 5 ctr1 aux/ctr1 out/ctr3 src

The following table shows the counter terminal defaults for 4-channel DIO/DI/DO C Series devices.

PFI Signal Physical Channel Name
PFI 0 ctr0 src/ctr0 out/ctr2 aux/ctr3 gate
PFI 1 ctr0 gate/ctr1 aux/ctr2 src/ctr2 out/freqout
PFI 2 ctr0 aux/ctr1 gate/ctr3 src/ctr3 out
PFI 3 ctr1 src/ctr1 out/ctr2 gate/ctr3 aux

Module Counter Input and Output

The following table lists the number, type, and naming of counter input lines for C Series counter modules.

Device Counter Type Names
NI 9361 8 Counter input cDAQ1Mod1/ctr0 to cDAQ1Mod1/ctr7

There are 8 PFI lines, from PFI0 to PFI7. Each counter can use any of the input PFI lines to perform measurements. Two counters can use the same PFI line as inputs for their measurements, as long as the input configurations are the same for both counters.

The following table shows the terminal defaults for edge counting measurements for C Series counter modules.

Counter Input terminal Reset Direction
ctr0 PFI0 PFI4 PFI7
ctr1 PFI1 PFI5 PFI6
ctr2 PFI2 PFI6 PFI5
ctr3 PFI3 PFI7 PFI4
ctr4 PFI4 PFI0 PFI3
ctr5 PFI5 PFI1 PFI2
ctr6 PFI6 PFI2 PFI1
ctr7 PFI7 PFI3 PFI0

The following table shows the terminal defaults for position measurements for C Series counter modules.

Counter A B Z
ctr0 PFI0 PFI4 PFI7
ctr1 PFI1 PFI5 PFI6
ctr2 PFI2 PFI6 PFI5
ctr3 PFI3 PFI7 PFI4
ctr4 PFI4 PFI0 PFI3
ctr5 PFI5 PFI1 PFI2
ctr6 PFI6 PFI2 PFI1
ctr7 PFI7 PFI3 PFI0

The following table shows the terminal defaults for velocity measurements for C Series counter modules that support velocity measurements.

Counter A B
ctr0 PFI0 PFI4
ctr1 PFI1 PFI5
ctr2 PFI2 PFI6
ctr3 PFI3 PFI7
ctr4 PFI4 PFI0
ctr5 PFI5 PFI1
ctr6 PFI6 PFI2
ctr7 PFI7 PFI3

The following table shows the terminal defaults for frequency, period, duty cycle, and pulse width measurements for C Series counter modules.

Counter Input Terminal
ctr0 PFI0
ctr1 PFI1
ctr2 PFI2
ctr3 PFI3
ctr4 PFI4
ctr5 PFI5
ctr6 PFI6
ctr7 PFI7

Connections for PFI lines should be based on the terminal configuration property. PFI + and PFI- should be connected in differential mode, and PFI + and COM should be connected for RSE. The default terminal configuration for all counter input terminals is RSE.

1 cRIO-9040, 9041, 9042, 9043, 9045, 9046, 9047, 9048, 9049, 9053, 9054, 9055, 9056, 9057, and 9058.

2 sbRIO-9603, 9608, 9609, 9628, 9629, and 9638.

3 cDAQ-9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9174, 9178, 9179, 9184, 9185, 9188, 9188XT, and 9189

4 TS-15000 and TS-15010

5 cDAQ-9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9174, 9178, 9179, 9184, 9185, 9188, 9188XT, and 9189

6 TS-15000 and TS-15010

7 cDAQ-9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9174, 9178, 9179, 9184, 9185, 9188, 9188XT, and 9189

8 TS-15000 and TS-15010