March 2023
This file contains installation instructions and compatibility information for RFIC Test Software 22.5.
You can find more release information on ni.com.
Driver and Add-On Requirements
Product Security and Critical Updates
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Unsupported Windows Operating Systems
RFIC Test Software 22.5 has the following minimum requirements:
NI recommends 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.
RFIC Test Software 22.5 supports Windows 10 (64-bit).
Note Refer to Unsupported Windows Operating Systems for more information about support for Microsoft Windows OSes.
RFIC Test Software 22.5 supports the following application software versions, including service packs. If you are not using NI application software, refer to Microsoft Visual Studio Support.
Note Install application software, such as LabVIEW or Microsoft Visual Studio, before installing RFIC Test Software. To add support for application software installed after installing RFIC Test Software, modify your RFIC Test Software installation or launch the RFIC Test Software installer again.
| Application Software | Versions Supported by RFIC Test Software 22.5 |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW (64-bit) | 2020 SP1, 2021 SP1 f1 patch, 2022 Q3, and 2023 Q1 |
| Microsoft Visual Studio | 2017(minimum) |
| TestStand | 2021 |
Note RFIC Test Software cannot operate correctly without the service packs previously mentioned.
If you are using the RFIC Test Software .NET Class Library, .NET Framework 4.6.2 (minimum) is required. The RFIC Test Software 22.5 .NET Class Library can be used with Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET in any Visual Studio version that can target .NET Framework 4.6.2.
To use the .NET API, you must install 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 .NET Resources for NI Hardware and Software.
RFIC Test Software requires the following driver and add-on versions:
¹ Installation and licensing are only required for standard-specific measurements.
² Required to use the PXI-2599 RF Relay Module to connect the PXIe-5830/5831 and the PXIe-5840/5841 Vector Signal Transceivers.
³ Required to control DUTs that use the MIPI® RF front-end (RFFE) or SPI hardware protocol.
⁴ Requires a valid license.
⁵ Required to measure system power-added efficiency (PAE) with PXIe-4080/4081 Digital Multimeters.
⁶ Required to measure RF power level with USB-5681/5683/5684 RF Power Sensor Devices.
Note The run-time versions of these products are sufficient to run the RFIC Test SFP.
Refer to the readme of each driver and add-on for more information about system requirements, installation instructions, and activation.
Download the RFIC Test Software installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Documentation for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using Package Manager.
After installing your software, you will need to activate it. Activating your software verifies the licenses associated with your NI account, so you can start using your software. You have different options for activation, based on your software and how it was purchased. Visit ni.com/activate for more information on activation methods.
If Windows Update is enabled, the installation process might hang if Windows Update interferes with the installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Run-Time. Visit ni.com/r/exjq43 for more information and steps to resolve this issue.
The following table lists the measurements and features included in the RFIC Test Software Base and Professional versions. You must have a valid license to activate RFIC Test Software Professional. For more information about activation, refer to NI Software Activation.
| Measurement and Feature | RFIC Test Software Base | RFIC Test Software Professional |
|---|---|---|
| General measurements | ✓ |
✓ |
| Software-based power servo | Excludes power meter-based servo |
✓ |
| Hardware-accelerated power servo | — |
✓ |
| Transmission power (TXP) | ✓ |
✓ |
| Adjacent channel power (ACP) | ✓ |
✓ |
| Modulation accuracy (ModAcc - including EVM) | ✓ |
✓ |
| Spectral emission mask (SEM) | ✓ |
✓ |
| AM-to-AM (AMAM) and AM-to-PM (AMPM) | ✓ |
✓ |
| Digital predistortion (DPD) | ✓ |
✓ |
| Load pull | Single point only, excludes sweeping |
✓ |
| PAE | — |
✓ |
| Dynamic EVM (DEVM) | — |
✓ |
| Envelope tracking (ET) | — |
✓ |
| Crest factor reduction (pre-DPD and post-DPD) | ✓ |
✓ |
| Swept measurements (power, frequency, and load pull) | Power sweeping only |
✓ |
| Complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) | ✓ |
✓ |
| Routing triggers | — |
✓ |
| Cross-correlation EVM optimization | — |
✓ |
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. For information about critical updates from NI, refer to Available Critical and Security Updates for NI Software.
RFIC Test Software 22.5 supports the following new features:
The following table details the hardware models supported in RFIC Test Software 22.5.
| Hardware Product | Hardware Model |
|---|---|
| Vector Signal Transceiver | PXIe-5820 |
| PXIe-5830 | |
| PXIe-5831 | |
| PXIe-5840 | |
| PXIe-5841 | |
| PXIe-5842 | |
| Waveform Generator | PXIe-5451 |
| Oscilloscope | PXIe-5162 |
| Source Measure Unit | PXIe-4145 |
| RF Power Sensor Device | USB-5681 |
| USB-5683 | |
| USB-5684 | |
| R&S® NRP50S | |
| RF Relay Module | PXI-2599 |
| Digital Pattern Instrument | PXIe-6571 |
| Digital Multimeter | PXIe-4080 |
| PXIe-4081 | |
| Remote Measurement Module | RMM-5585 |
| mmWave Radio Head | mmRH-5582 |
Visit NI Hardware and Operating System Compatibility to view driver, desktop operating system, and real-time operating system support for individual hardware devices.
To view information for your device:
Note Some compatibility information may only be available in the archive attached to the NI Hardware and Operating System Compatibility page. For historic driver and OS support information, refer to the readme for the relevant driver version.
ETSync VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»Addons»ET palette.
Power Servo VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»User Libraries»NI Power Servoing IP palette.
NanoSemi Linearizer VIs and NanoSemi Dual Band VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»User Libraries»NanoSemi Linearizer and NanoSemi Dual Band palettes, respectively.
You can use the ETSync .NET Class library by adding a reference to niETSync.cs, niETUtil.cs, and niFGEN.cs from C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\NI-ETSync\DotNET Wrappers\CS\ and any dependent class libraries from within the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio.
You can use the Power Servo .NET Class library by adding a reference to niVSTPowerServo.cs, niRFSA.cs, and niInteropCommon.cs from C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\FPGA Power Servo\DotNET Wrappers\CS\ and any dependent class libraries from within the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio.
You can use the ETSync C dynamically linked library by adding a reference to: Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\niETSync_64.dll.
You can use the Power Servo C dynamically linked library by adding a reference to: Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\niVSTPowerServo_64.dll.
To launch the RFIC Test SFP, select Start»National Instruments»RFIC Test Soft Front Panel.
Refer to the RFIC Test Software User Manual (rfichelp.chm), located at Start»National Instruments»RFIC Documentation.
For information about your device, such as getting started, technical specifications, and calibration instructions, refer to the documentation for your device. For the most recent revisions of documentation and newly released documentation, visit ni.com/docs.
LabVIEW, .NET, and TestStand examples are available through the RFIC Test Automation Wizard, accessible from Start»National Instruments»RFIC Test Automation Wizard.
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 4.6.2, 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 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to Automating an Installer in the NI Package Manager documentation.
For more information about NI support for Windows 10, refer to NI Product Compatibility for Microsoft Windows 10.
RFIC Test Software no longer supports Windows Vista/XP/7/8.x, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012, or any 32-bit Windows operating system. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit https://www.ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.