February 2020
This file contains important information about NI-RFSG, including new features, supported hardware, a partial list of bugs fixed for NI-RFSG 19.2.1, and known issues.
Product Security and Critical Updates
IVI Compliance Package Functionality
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
NI-RFSG Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 in 2021
This software installation provides support for customers using RF signal generator or vector signal transceiver hardware, as specified in the Supported Hardware section. To program your device, use the NI-RFSG instrument driver or NI-RFSG Soft Front Panel (SFP).
The getting started guide for your device provides information about how to install, configure, test, and begin using your hardware.
NI-RFSG 19.2.1 includes updates to align with NI-RFSA 19.2.1
NI-RFSG 19.2 includes the following new features:
NI-RFSG 19.1.6 includes improvements for the PXIe-5831 in the Semiconductor Test System
NI-RFSG 19.1.5 includes support for the PXIe-5841
NI-RFSG 19.1 includes the following new features:
NI-RFSG 19.0 includes support for LabVIEW 2019
NI-RFSG 18.2 includes the following new features:
NI-RFSG 18.1 includes the following new features:
NI-RFSG 18.0 includes the following new features:
NI-RFSG 17.1 includes the following new features:
The following table shows which hardware products are supported in the NI-RFSG instrument driver and the NI-RFSG SFP. The following hardware products are supported in all operating systems listed in the Supported Operating Systems section.
| Hardware Product | Hardware Model | NI-RFSG | NI-RFSG SFP |
|---|---|---|---|
| RF Signal Upconverter | PXI-5610 | √ | — |
| I/Q Modulator | PXIe-5611 | √ | — |
| Vector Signal Transceiver | PXIe-5644 | √ | √ |
| PXIe-5645 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5646 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5820 | √ | — | |
| PXIe-5830 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5831 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5840 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5840 with PXIe-5653 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5841 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5841 with PXIe-5655 RF Analog Signal Generator | √ | √ | |
| RF Analog Signal Generator | PXI/PXIe-5650 | √ | √ |
| PXI/PXIe-5651 | √ | √ | |
| PXI/PXIe-5652 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5653 | √ | — | |
| PXIe-5654 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5654 with PXIe-5696 Amplitude Extender | √ | √ | |
| Vector Signal Generator | PXI-5670 | √ | √ |
| PXI-5671 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5672 | √ | √ | |
| PXIe-5673/5673E | √ | √ |
MXI Express and MXI-4 are supported on Windows 10/8.1/7.
Note Some hardware products are not supported by the NI-DAQmx-based runtime. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code rfsgdevices for more information about which NI-RFSG devices are supported by the NI-DAQmx-based runtime.
Note You must install the same version of the NI-RFSA/NI-RFSG Runtime for PXIe-5644/5645/5646 and NI-RFSA/NI-RFSG Runtime for PXIe-5820/5830/5831/5840/5841 if you choose to install the runtimes independently.
Note For best memory performance on the PXIe-5831, NI recommends using only 64-bit applications.
NI-RFSG has the following requirements:
*Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed, a larger amount of memory may be required.
Note Guest accounts are not supported under any OS.
Note NI-RFSG 19.2.1 is not compatible with NI-RFSA 2.6. Upgrade to NI-RFSA 2.7 or later before installing NI-RFSG 19.2.1.
NI-RFSG 19.2.1 and NI-RFSG SFP 19.2 support 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 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 In 2019 NI-RFSG dropped support for all 32-bit Windows operating systems. NI-RFSG will not install or run on an unsupported OS. Refer to NI-RFSG Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021 for information about future OS support.
NI-RFSG supports the following application software versions, including service packs. You should install application software, such as LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing NI-RFSG. To add support for application software installed after installing NI-RFSG, modify your NI-RFSG installation or launch the NI-RFSG installer again. If you are not using NI application software, refer to Microsoft Visual Studio Support.
| Application Software | Versions Supported by NI-RFSG |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | 2016, 2017 SP1, 2018 SP1, or 2019 |
| LabVIEW Real-Time Module | 2016, 2017, 2018 SP1, or 2019 |
| LabWindows/CVI | 2010 to current |
| LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module | 2010 to current |
Note When using NI-RFSG with LabVIEW Real-Time Module or LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module, the PXIe-5644/5645/5646, PXIe-5654/5654 with PXIe-5696, and the PXIe-5820/5830/5831/5840/5841 are not supported.
Note Install any toolkits or add-on software you intend to use with the NI-RFSG instrument driver after NI-RFSG installation is complete. Refer to the getting started guide for your device for more information about software and hardware installation.
Note MXI users must install the software included with the MXI hardware.
If you are using the NI-RFSG .NET Class Library, .NET Framework 4.0 (minimum) is required. The NI-RFSG .NET Class Library can be used with Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET in any Visual Studio version that can target .NET Framework 4.0 or .NET Framework 4.5. For more information on .NET development using NI .NET drivers, visit ni.com/info and enter Info Code NETAPIdriversupport.
To install the NI-RFSG .NET Class Library, ensure that you select .NET Framework 4.5 Languages Support or .NET Framework 4.0 Languages Support in the NI-RFSG installer.
NI installs NI-RFSG using NI Package Manager. If you do not already have NI software installed, NI-RFSG installs NI Package Manager to handle the installation of your NI software. 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.
NI-RFSG VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»Measurement I/O»NI-RFSG palette.
NI-RFSG functions are available in LabWindows/CVI from the Instrument menu. To load the NI-RFSG function panel (.fp), select Instrument»Load, and navigate to IVI\Drivers\niRFSG\niRFSG.fp.
You can use the NI-RFSG .NET Class library by adding a reference to NationalInstruments.ModularInstruments.NIRfsg.Fx40 or NationalInstruments.ModularInstruments.NIRfsg.Fx45 and any dependent class libraries from within the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio.
You can use the NI-RFSG C dynamically linked library by adding a reference to: Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\niRFSG.dll for 32-bit development or Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\niRFSG_64.dll for 64-bit development.
To launch the NI-RFSG SFP, navigate to Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFSG»NI-RFSG Soft Front Panel.
Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI to launch the NI Example Finder and navigate to Hardware Input and Output»Modular Instruments»NI-RFSG. You can also select the Search tab to search all installed examples by keyword.
You can access all the installed NI-RFSA examples at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFSG»NI-RFSG Examples.
Documentation for NI-RFSG is located at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFSG»Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.
| Document | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| NI RF Signal Generators Help | HTML/Windows Help | Contains primary help content for NI-RFSG products. The help is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
|
| Getting Started Guide for your device | Printed and PDF | Contains software and hardware installation, MAX configuration, signal connection, and troubleshooting information for your device. |
| Specifications for your device | Lists technical specifications for your device. | |
| Calibration Procedure for your device | Contains calibration instructions for your device. | |
| NI-RFSG Readme | HTML (this document) | Contains information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices. |
| Introduction to niRFSG | HTML | Contains information about driver documentation, examples, connecting to your instrument, configuring instrument settings, and known issues. |
| NI-RFSG IVI Compliance Document | TXT | Contains information about IVI compliance. |
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.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.
NI-RFSG no longer installs IVI Compliance Package (ICP). NI-RFSG supports IVI configuration and runtime, but no longer installs the following IVI components:
To use these features, you must install ICP separately. ICP is included in the Software Platform Bundle media. A stand-alone web distribution is available from ni.com/downloads.
The following are behavior changes in NI-RFSG 19.1 from NI-RFSG 18.2:
The following are behavior changes in NI-RFSG 18.2 from NI-RFSG 18.1:
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the following locations at ni.com for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-RFSG 19.2.1 and NI-RFSG SFP 19.2.
The following items are the IDs and titles of a subset of issues fixed between NI-RFSG instrument driver revisions. This table is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version of NI-RFSG.
NI-RFSG 19.1.6
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| Bug 192172 | Fixed an issue in which some PXIe-5831 modules timed out during Initiate. |
NI-RFSG 19.1.5
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| CAR 742917 | Fixed an issue in which a PXIe-5840 configured to use an external LO rounded the external frequency if set through the Upconverter Center Frequency property or Upconverter Frequency Offset property instead of the LO Frequency property. |
NI-RFSG 19.1
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| CAR 733780 | Fixed an issue in which the PXIe-5820/5840 did not hold Reference Clock and LO export terminal reservations after calling Commit. |
NI-RFSG 18.2
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| CAR 670356 | Fixed an issue in which NI-RFSG returned a power level error if the PXIe-5840 temperature drift exceeded 10 °C from the last self-calibration temperature. |
NI-RFSG 18.1
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| CAR 598644 | Fixed an issue where writing a large waveform on the PXIe-5840 resulted in an error. |
| CAR 604856 | Fixed an issue where error message text contained multiple unrelated warnings and errors. |
| CAR 668974 | Fixed an issue where the PXIe-5840 amplitude accuracy degraded after calling Perform Thermal Correction. |
| CAR 682389 | Fixed an issue where the PXIe-5820/5840 trigger alignment was imprecise when using the PXI trigger lines. |
| CAR 685044 | Fixed an issue where calling Reset on the PXIe-5840 reset the LO source to Onboard, even if the LO source was specified in the driver setup string. |
| CAR 697475 | Fixed an issue where setting the calibration due date or retrieving the last date of external calibration for the PXIe-5820/5840 was not possible. |
| CAR 689717 | Fixed an issue in which the PXIe-5644/5645/5646 and PXIe-5820/5840 showed an incorrect calibration time in MAX when the system timezone was greater than UTC+0. |
NI-RFSG 17.1.2
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| CAR 664698 | Fixed an issue where a timeout error occurred when TClk was used with the PXIe-5820/5840 using the WLAN Toolkit. |
NI-RFSG 17.1
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| CAR 601860 | Fixed an issue where an error occurred when changing the device name of the PXIe-5840 in MAX. |
| CAR 515837 | Fixed an issue where the PXIe-5654 device name persisted for other devices inserted into the same slot. |
| CAR 640124 | Fixed an issue where the PXIe-5840 could show a slow phase drift below 400 MHz. |
| CAR 541356 | Fixed an issue where attribute names did not show up correctly in I/O trace. |
| CAR 479015 | Fixed an issue where the niRFSG Reset VI and the niRFSG_reset function did not re-enable the output for the PXIe-5645. |
| CAR 573420 | Fixed an issue where the default value of the Impairment Enabled property and the NIRFSG_ATTR_IQ_IMPAIRMENT_ENABLED attribute for the PXIe-5644/5645/5646 was incorrect. |
| CAR 637641 | Fixed an issue where the PXI-5671 would incorrectly error with markers on a quantum of two when the DUC (digital upconverter) was enabled. |
The following items are the IDs and titles of a subset of issues fixed between NI-RFSG SFP revisions. This table is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version of the NI-RFSG SFP.
NI-RFSG SFP 18.1
| Bug ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| CAR 609550 | Fixed an issue where saving and recalling a sweep list frequency larger than 2.15 GHz resulted in coercion to a value of 231. |
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.
NI-RFSG will drop support for Windows 7 (64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 starting in 2021. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, will not install or run on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| LabWindows/CVI | cvi_lifecycle |
| Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| TestStand | tslcp |
| DIAdem | ddlcp |
| SignalExpress | selcp |
| VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
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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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