July 2018
This file contains important information about NI-USRP, including installation instructions, new features, a partial list of bugs fixed for NI-USRP 18.1, and known issues.
Finding Examples, Lessons, and Sample Projects
Product Security and Critical Updates
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
This software installation provides support for customers using software defined radio (USRP) devices, software defined radio reconfigurable (USRP RIO) devices, and software defined radio stand-alone (USRP Stand-Alone) devices, as specified in the Supported Hardware section. To program your USRP, USRP RIO, or USRP Stand-Alone device, use the NI-USRP API or USRP RIO Instrument Design Library (IDL) included in the NI-USRP instrument driver.
The getting started guide for your device provides information about how to install, configure, test, and begin using a USRP, USRP RIO, or USRP Stand-Alone device.
NI-USRP 18.1 adds support for LabVIEW NXG 2.1 and LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.1.
NI-USRP 18.0 adds support for LabVIEW 2018 (32- and 64-bit).
NI-USRP 17.2 adds support for the USRP-2974 device with LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.0.
NI-USRP 17.1 adds support for several bug fixes.
NI-USRP 17.0 adds support for LabVIEW 2017 (32- and 64-bit).
NI-USRP 16.1 includes the following new features:
NI-USRP 16.0 adds support for LabVIEW 2016 (32- and 64-bit).
The following hardware products are supported in all operating systems listed in the Supported Operating Systems section. Refer to the Application Software Support section for information regarding supported application software versions.
*The NI-USRP instrument driver supports TwinRX, UBX, CBX, CBX-120, WBX, WBX-120, SBX, SBX-120, XCVR2450
daughterboards. Other daughterboards may also be compatible, but they have not been tested.
Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI-USRP Help.
NI-USRP 18.1 has the following requirements:
| Device | USB 2.0 or Higher | Gigabit Ethernet | PCI/MXI Express x4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| USRP-2900/2901 | √ | ||
| USRP-2920/2921/2922 | √ | ||
| USRP-2930/3932 | √ | ||
| USRP-2940/2942/2943/2944/2945 | √ | √ | |
| USRP-2950/2952/2953/2954/2955 | √ | √ | |
| USRP-2974 | √ |
USRP RIO devices support both 1G Ethernet and 10G Ethernet using the connectors on the device back panel. With the default FPGA image, port 0 is designated for 1G, and port 1 is designated for 10G.
The USRP-2974 is only supported through Ethernet using 1 GbE through RJ45 and 10 GbE through SFP+ connections.
Note The FPGA cannot be modified when the USRP RIO device is connected through Ethernet.
NI-USRP 18.1 supports the following operating systems:
1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.
2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.
Note LabVIEW NXG and LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite support only 64-bit operating systems.
Note NI-USRP 18.1 does not support Windows Server non-R2 editions.
Note In 2016, NI-USRP dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. NI-USRP 18.1 will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI-USRP 18.1 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI-USRP 18.1, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.
For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to KB 79UC78LS, Why Does my ADE Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Windows Server 2003?.
Note Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code PAESupport.
NI-USRP 18.1 supports the following application software versions, including service packs. If you are using LabVIEW, you should install it before installing NI-USRP. To add support for application software installed after installing NI-USRP, modify your NI-USRP installation or launch the NI-USRP installer again.
| Device | LabVIEW 2015 SP1, 2016, 2017, or 2018 | LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.0 or 2.1 | LabVIEW NXG 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| USRP-2900/2901 | √ | √ | √ |
| USRP-2920/2921/2922 | √ | √ | √ |
| USRP-2930/2932 | √ | √ | √ |
| USRP-2940/2942/2943/2944 | √ | √ | √‡ |
| USRP-2950/2952/2953/2954 | √ | √ | √‡ |
| USRP-2945/2955 | à | ||
| USRP-2974 | √** |
† The USRP-2945/2955 is not supported in LabVIEW 2015 SP1.
‡ Support for the USRP RIO API and modifying the LV FPGA bitfile is only supported in LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite.
** NI-USRP 18.1 does not include support for the USRP-2974 in LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.1.
Note NI-USRP is not supported in LabVIEW NXG 2.0 or earlier.
NI-USRP and USRP RIO palette VIs and nodes are available in the following palette locations.
| API | LabVIEW | LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.0 | LabVIEW NXG or LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-USRP | Functions»Instrument I/O»Instrument Drivers»NI-USRP | Hardware Interfaces»NI-USRP | Hardware Interfaces>>Wireless Design and Test>>NI-USRP |
| USRP RIO | Functions»Instrument I/O»Instrument Drivers»USRP RIO | Hardware Interfaces»USRP RIO | Hardware Interfaces>>Wireless Design and Test>>USRP RIO |
NI-USRP examples, lessons, and sample projects are available in the following locations.
| Content Type | Description | LabVIEW | LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.0 | LabVIEW NXG or LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examples | NI-USRP includes several example applications that serve as interactive tools, programming models, and building blocks in your own applications. NI-USRP includes examples for getting started and other software-defined radio (SDR) functionality. Note You can access additional examples from the Code Sharing Community at ni.com/usrp. |
|
|
|
| Lessons | NI-USRP includes lessons that guide you through the process of identifying and demodulating an FM signal with your device. | N/A | From the Learning tab, select Getting Started»Demodulating FM Signals with the NI... and choose a task to accomplish. | From the Learning tab, select Getting Started»Demodulating FM Signals with the NI... and choose a task to accomplish. |
| Sample Projects | USRP RIO includes several sample projects that serve as starting points to build a USRP RIO streaming application. | From the Create Project dialog, select Sample Projects in the left pane and navigate to the NI-USRP Simple Streaming project. | From the Projects tab, choose the applicable sample project for your device and setup. | From the Projects tab, select USRP RIO and choose the applicable sample project for your device and setup. |
Documentation for NI-USRP is located at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-USRP»Documentation and online at ni.com/manuals. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.
| Document | Format | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-USRP 18.1 Readme | HTML (this document) | Contains information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices. | Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-USRP»NI-USRP Documentation and online at ni.com/manuals |
| NI-USRP Manual | Online Help | Contains a complete programming reference for all NI-USRP nodes. | Online at ni.com/manuals |
| NI-USRP Help | HTML/Windows Help | The primary document for most NI USRP products. The help is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
| Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-USRP»NI-USRP Documentation and online at ni.com/manuals |
| Basic Elements (NI-USRP and NI-579x) Manual | Online Help | Contains a complete programming reference for all Basic Elements nodes on the USRP RIO palette. | Online at ni.com/manuals |
| Getting started guide for your device | Printed and PDF | Contains software and hardware installation, configuration, signal connection, and troubleshooting information for your device. | Online at ni.com/manuals |
| Specifications for your device | Lists technical specifications for your device. | Online at ni.com/manuals | |
| Manual for your device | Online Help | Contains information about supported hardware, including pinouts, block diagrams, and specifications. | Online at ni.com/manuals |
To access the LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite 2.0 Manual, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code commsmanual. This manual includes the following information:
For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.
Note To view PDFs, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. You can install the viewer from www.adobe.com/reader.
View context help by pressing <Ctrl-H> and hovering over an object.
Search for items using the search bar in the upper right corner of the window. You can also view context help for the search results.
| Item | Installed Location |
|---|---|
| NI-USRP | <NIDir32>\NI-USRP\ |
| NI-USRP Utilities | <NIDir32>\NI-USRP\utilities\ |
| NI-USRP Examples | <NIDir32>\LabVIEW<version>\examples\instr\niUSRP\ |
| NI-USRP Header files | <NIDir32>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include |
| NI-USRP Import Library files | <NIDir32>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\lib32\msvc |
| NI-USRP Firmware and FPGA images | <NIDir32>\NI-USRP\images\ |
| Item | Installed Location |
|---|---|
| NI-USRP | <NIDir64>\NI-USRP\ |
| NI-USRP Header files | <NIDir32>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include |
| NI-USRP Import Library files | <NIDir32>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\lib64\msvc |
| NI-USRP Examples | <NIDir64>\LabVIEW<version>\examples\instr\niUSRP\ |
You must be an Administrator to install NI software on your computer. Install application software support before installing NI-USRP.
Note
NI automates LabVIEW NXG and LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite installation using NI Package Manager. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code NIPMDownload to download NI Package Manager. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI website for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-USRP 18.1.
There are no changes in NI-USRP 18.1 from NI-USRP 18.0.
There are no changes in NI-USRP 18.0 from NI-USRP 17.2.
There are no changes in NI-USRP 17.2 from NI-USRP 17.1.
The following items are changes in NI-USRP 17.1 from NI-USRP 17.0.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 679121 | Fixed an issue that caused digital data values in the NI-USRP Simple Streaming with USRP-2945/2955 Sample Project to be scaled to half of the correct value. |
| 681935 | Fixed an issue that caused aliases to appear in the data path after the frequency shift occurred on the FPGA. |
The following items are changes in NI-USRP 17.0 from NI-USRP 16.1.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 641880 | Fixed an issue that caused the RF frequency to be inaccurate due to LO sharing when using the USRP-2945/2955 and the USRP RIO sample project. |
| 624459 | Fixed an issue that caused the building of a bitfile to fail using DRAM in LabVIEW Communications 2.0 after installing NI-USRP. |
| 617872 | Fixed an issue that caused the streaming performance of USRP RIO devices to degrade when connected over PCIe and using NI-USRP API. |
The following items are changes in NI-USRP 16.1 from NI-USRP 16.0.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 597196 | Fixed an issue that caused errors to appear when launching the NI-USRP Configuration Utility from LabVIEW Communications 2.0. |
| 494050 | Fixed an issue that caused the USRP-2950/2952/2953/2954 devices not to set the GPS time by default. |
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:
Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.
When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.
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End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices
You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:
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For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
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