February 2016
Thank you for using NI-RFmx SpecAn. This file contains important information about NI-RFmx SpecAn and is organized into the following sections:
Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples
Product Security and Critical Updates
Uninstalling/Modifying NI-RFmx SpecAn
Increasing Available Memory For Your Application
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 includes support for the Hardware Agnostic Mode that allows you to perform measurements on a user-specified I/Q or Spectrum waveform.
NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.0 includes the following new features:
NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.2 includes the following new features:
NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.1 includes support for C, LabWindows™/CVI™, and .NET.
Caution Before you install NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1, ensure that you have uninstalled all related NI-RFmx 1.0 products.
NI-RFmx drivers requires that all the installed driver versions remain the same for proper functionality. This requirement is because NI-RFmx drivers share components. If driver incompatibilities exist, they are reported through a dialog box after installation. You can also use the Version Compatibility Checker utility to manually check for version incompatibilities. Refer to the Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples section for more information about the installed location of the Version Compatibility Checker utility.
Note Some of the installed NI-RFmx SpecAn .NET examples require NI-RFSG .NET Class Libraries. For these examples to build and run successfully, install NI-RFSG .NET Class Libraries before or after installing NI-RFmx SpecAn.
Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Analyzers Help.
Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Transceivers Help.
NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 supports the following operating systems:
Note NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 does not support Windows Server non-R2 editions.
NI recommends that you have the most recent service pack for your operating system installed.
*Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed, a larger amount of memory may be required.
**Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 is required for .NET support only.
*Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed, a larger amount of memory may be required.
**Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 is required for .NET support only.
Note You should install ADEs, such as NI LabVIEW, NI LabWindows/CVI, or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing NI-RFmx SpecAn. To add support for ADEs installed after installing NI-RFmx SpecAn, modify your NI-RFmx SpecAn installation or launch the NI-RFmx SpecAn installer again.
Note NI-RFmx SpecAn does not operate correctly without the service packs and patches previously mentioned installed.
*NI-RFSA .NET Class Library and NI-RFSG .NET Class Library are only required for .NET support.
| Item | Installed Location on Windows 10/8.1/7 |
|---|---|
| Version Compatibility Checker | <NIDir>\RFmx\niRFmxCompatibility_Checker.exe |
| DLLs | <SYSDIR> |
| Function Panels | <NIDir>\Shared\CVI\Bin\niRFmxSpecAn.lfp <NIDir>\Shared\CVI\Bin\niRFmxInstr.lfp |
| Header files | <NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include |
| Import Library files | Windows 10 (32-bit)/8.1 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit):<NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include Windows 10 (64-bit)/8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit):
|
| C, .NET, NI TestStand | |
| Examples | <NIDocDir>\RFmx\SpecAn\Examples |
| LabWindows/CVI | |
| Examples | <NIDocDir>\CVI\samples\RFmx\SpecAn |
| LabVIEW | |
| Examples | <NIDir>\LabVIEW <version>\examples\RFmx\SpecAn |
| .NET Class Libraries | |
| Assemblies | <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.SpecAnMX.Fx40.dll <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.InstrMX.Fx40.dll <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.Common.dll |
Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFmx SpecAn»NI-RFmx SpecAn Measurement Interactive Panel to launch the NI-RFmx SpecAn Measurement Interactive Panel.
Documentation for NI-RFmx SpecAn is located at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFmx SpecAn»NI-RFmx SpecAn Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.
| Document | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| NI-RFmx SpecAn Help | HTML/Windows Help | Information about NI-RFmx SpecAn. This help file is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
|
| NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 Readme | HTML (this document) | Information about supported hardware, operating systems, and legal notices. |
For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.
To use the .NET API, you must install the the .NET class libraries or the .NET Wrapper in addition to the NI device driver. For information about versions of the .NET Framework and the drivers each supports, as well as the download location of the installer files, refer to the National Instruments .NET Driver Support document at ni.com/info and enter Info Code NETAPIdriversupport.
NI-RFmx SpecAn palette VIs are available from the Functions»Measurement I/O»NI-RFmx palette.
NI-RFmx SpecAn functions are available in LabWindows/CVI from the Library»RFmx SpecAn Library menu.
In LabVIEW, you can use the NI Example Finder to search or browse examples. NI-RFmx SpecAn examples are classified by keyword, so you can search for a particular device or measurement function. In LabVIEW, select Help»Find Examples to launch the NI Example Finder. The NI Example Finder offers two ways to access all installed LabVIEW example VIs (including NI–RFSG and Modulation Toolkit examples) and their descriptions:
The NI Example Finder is also available in LabWindows/CVI by selecting Help»Find Examples.
You can also access all the installed NI-RFmx SpecAn examples for LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFmx SpecAn»NI-RFmx SpecAn Examples.
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.
For Windows 7, complete the following steps:
For Windows 10/8.1, complete the following steps:
As part of the NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 installation, the following software is installed. To completely remove the NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 installation from your system, you must also remove the following packages:
Note Do not attempt to uninstall by manually deleting files.
The following item is a behavior change in NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.0 from NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.2.
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 Known Issues at ni.com for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1.
The following items are changes in NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.1 from NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.0.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 560637 | Fixed an issue with fetching all spurs list when traces are disabled. |
| 554076 | Fixed an issue with the starting reference level used in auto level when preamp is enabled on NI PXIe-5668R. |
The following items are changes in NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.0 from NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.2.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 531357 | Fixed an issue with AMPM and DPD when using waveforms with high auto correlation. |
| 538026 | Fixed an issue with acquiring a signal using composite measurements and a trigger is enabled. |
| 541755 | Fixed an issue where the default RBW definition was set to 3 dB bandwidth of the FFT window instead of using FFT bin spacing when using an FFT based RBW filter type in spectral measurements. |
| 515825 | Fixed an issue with CHP measurement not integrating the power in the RRC filter roll off when the RRC filter is enabled and the span is not configured or it is configured to be less than integration bandwidth. |
The following items are changes in NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.2 from NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.1.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 457564 | Fixed composite measurement on a multicarrier signal with at least one measurement measuring a single carrier. |
| 506637 | Fixed an issue in which peaks were detected twice in some cases of Spur measurement. |
| 510432 | Fixed an issue in which incorrect peaks were detected when the limit line had a nonzero slope in Spur measurement. |
The following items are changes in NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.1 from NI-RFmx SpecAn 1.0.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 484980 | Fixed an issue in which the RFmxSpecAn Auto Level VI was not able to handle RF front end attributes. |
| 488782 | Fixed an issue in which an error was not returned when the start frequency was equal to the stop frequency for Spur and SEM measurements. |
| 484136 | Fixed an issue in which the waveform duration and delay in zero span were incorrect when RBW was set to a value less than 2 MHz. |
| 487678 | Fixed an issue in which incorrect power was reported when the span was less than the integration bandwidth for CHP measurement. |
When developing memory intensive applications, you may encounter memory limits as 32-bit Windows applications only utilize 2 GB of memory by default. To expand the amount of memory an application can utilize, you can configure the executable to be large address aware to gain access to up to 3 GB of memory on a 32-bit Windows operating system and up to 4 GB of memory on a 64-bit Windows operating system.
For more information, refer to Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases on the Microsoft website.
| Note LabVIEW 8.5 and later are large address aware. For more information, refer to How Much Memory can LabVIEW 32-bit or 64-bit Use?. |
In TestStand 2013 and later, the Large Address Aware flag is enabled by default for the TestStand Sequence Editor and TestStand User Interfaces. For more information, refer to Using the Large Address Aware Flag With TestStand Applications.
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. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.
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 8.1. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.
When you install National Instruments 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.
NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.
| Note NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.1. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher. |
For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary.
| Current Application | Icon Location | Pin to Action |
| Windows 8.1 Desktop | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to Taskbar |
| Windows 8.1 Desktop | Start screen | Right-click application and select Pin to Start |
| Windows 8.1 Start screen | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen |
If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen.
For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.
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For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
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