NI-USRP 14.0 Readme

Version 14.0


Thank you for using NI-USRP instrument driver software. This file contains important information about NI-USRP and is organized into the following sections:


New Features

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Executable

Documentation

Accessing VIs and Functions

Finding Examples

Product Security and Critical Updates

Driver Version Naming Changes

Uninstalling/Modifying NI-USRP

Behavior Changes

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8

NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

Legal Information


New Features

NI-USRP 14.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2014 (32- and 64-bit)

NI-USRP 1.3 adds the following features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2013 (32-bit).
  • Support for NI USRP-2940R, NI USRP-2942R, NI USRP-2943R, NI USRP-2950R, NI USRP-2952R, and NI USRP-2953R devices (You can also use NI 294x/295x devices as LabVIEW FPGA targets)
  • Compatible with Ettus Research USRP X300 and USRP X310 devices using the following daughterboards:
    • SBX
    • CBX
    • WBX
  • Support for Windows 8.1

NI-USRP 1.2 includes the following features:


  • Support for the NI USRP-2930 device
  • Support for the NI USRP-2932 device
  • API changes:
    • New VIs
      • niUSRP Get Time VI
      • niUSRP Wait for Lock VI
      • niUSRP LV Timestamp to USRP Timestamp VI
      • niUSRP USRP Timestamp to LV Timestamp VI
    • New Properties
      • GPS Lock Status property
      • GPS Sentence GGA property
      • GPS Sentence RMC property
      • GPS Time (seconds) property
      • Has GPS Disciplined Clock? property
  • Compatible with Ettus Research USRP2, USRP N200, and USRP N210 devices using the following daughterboards:
    • SBX
    • LFTX
    • LFRX
    • BasicTX
    • BasicRX

Supported Hardware

The following hardware products are supported under Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit1 versions)/7 (32-bit and 64-bit1 versions)/Vista (32-bit and 64-bit1 versions)/XP operating systems.


  • NI USRP-2920
  • NI USRP-2921
  • NI USRP-2922
  • NI USRP-2930
  • NI USRP-2932
  • NI USRP-2940R
  • NI USRP-2942R
  • NI USRP-2943R
  • NI USRP-2950R
  • NI USRP-2952R
  • NI USRP-2953R
  • Ettus Research USRP22
  • Ettus Research N2002
  • Ettus Research N2102
  • Ettus Research X3002
  • Ettus Research X3102

1 These software versions run within the 32-bit emulation layer, Windows on Windows (WOW64), or in a native 64-bit process.


2 The NI-USRP instrument driver supports WBX, SBX, XCVR2450, LFTX, LFRX, BasicTX, and BasicRX daughterboards on this device. 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.


Note  For NI 292x/293x devices, use LabVIEW 2010 or later. For NI 294x/295x devices, use LabVIEW 2013 or later.


Note  You must update the firmware and FPGA images on your USRP module prior to using NI-USRP 14.0. Refer to the NI USRP-29xx Getting Started Guide for more information about updating the firmware and FPGA images.


System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

NI-USRP 14.0 supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)(32-bit)

NI recommends that you have the most recent service pack for your operating system installed.


Minimum System Requirements

  • Processor—Pentium 4 or equivalent
  • RAM—1 GB
  • Gigabit Ethernet interface
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
  • A screen resolution of 800 x 600 with 256 colors
  • Windows 8.1/7/Vista/XP SP3 with all available critical updates and service packs

Recommended System

  • Processor—Intel i7 or equivalent
  • RAM—2 GB
  • Dedicated gigabit Ethernet interface for each device
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
  • Windows 8.1/7/Vista/XP SP3 with all available critical updates and service packs

Application Development Environments (ADEs)

Note  You should install ADEs, such as NI LabVIEW, before installing NI-USRP. To add support for ADEs installed after installing NI-USRP, modify your NI-USRP installation or launch the NI-USRP installer again.


NI-USRP 14.0 supports the following software versions, including service packs:


  • LabVIEW 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Installed Software

  • <NIDir32> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • Windows 8.1 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit)/Vista (32-bit)/Windows XP: Program Files\National Instruments\
    • Windows 8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)/Vista (64-bit): Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\
  • <SystemDir32> is an alias for the following file folder location:
    • Windows 8.1 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit)/Vista (32-bit)/Windows XP: Windows\System32
    • Windows 8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)/Vista (64-bit): Windows\syswow64
  • <NIDir64> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • Windows 8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)/Vista (64-bit): Program Files\National Instruments\
  • <SystemDir64> is an alias for the following file folder location:
    • Windows 8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)/Vista (64-bit): Windows\system32

File Locations

ItemInstalled 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 DLL<SystemDir32>\niusrp.dll
NI UHD DLL<SystemDir32>\niuhd.dll
NI USRP-RIO DLL<SystemDir32>\niusrprio.dll
NI USRP-RIO RPC <SystemDir32>\niusrpriorpc.exe
NI-USRP Firmware and FPGA images<NIDir32>\NI-USRP\images\

Note  The NI Example Finder does not include NI-USRP examples.


Additional File Locations for Windows (64-bit)

ItemInstalled Location
NI-USRP <NIDir64>\NI-USRP\
NI-USRP Utilities <NIDir64>\NI-USRP\utilities\
NI-USRP Header files <NIDir64>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include
NI-USRP DLL <SystemDir64>\niusrp.dll
NI UHD DLL <SystemDir64>\niuhd.dll
NI USRP-RIO DLL <SystemDir64>\niusrprio.dll
NI-USRP Firmware and FPGA images <NIDir64>\NI-USRP\images\
NI-USRP Examples (LabVIEW 2014 only) <NIDir64>\LabVIEW 2014\examples\instr\niUSRP\
NI-USRP Import Library files <NIDir64>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\lib64\msvc

Documentation

Documentation for NI-USRP 14.0 and NI USRP devices is located at Start»Programs»National Instruments»NI-USRP»Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.


Document Format Description
NI-USRP Help HTML/Windows Help The primary document for NI USRP products. The help is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to NI USRP
  • Hardware device overviews
  • Information about how to get started with application development
  • A complete programming reference for all NI-USRP VIs
NI USRP-29xx Getting Started Guide Printed and PDF Printed and PDF format. Contains software and hardware installation, Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) configuration, signal connection, and troubleshooting information for your device.
Specifications Printed PDF format. Lists technical specifications for all NI USRP devices.
NI-USRP 14.0 Readme HTML (this document) This document.

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/acrobat.


Accessing VIs and Sample Project

To access the LabVIEW sample project from the Create Project dialog, select Sample Projects in the left pane and navigate to the Simple NI-USRP Streaming project.

NI–USRP palette VIs are available from the Functions»Instrument I/O»Instrument Drivers»NI-USRP palette.


Accessing Examples

NI-USRP includes several example applications for LabVIEW. These examples serve as interactive tools, programming models, and as building blocks in your own applications. NI-USRP includes examples for getting started and other software-defined radio (SDR) functionality. You can access the NI-USRP examples from the following locations:


  • From the Start menu at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-USRP»Examples.
  • From the LabVIEW Functions palette at Instrument I/O»Instrument Drivers»NI-USRP»Examples.

You can access additional examples from the Code Sharing Community at ni.com/usrp.


Product Security and Critical Updates

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.


Driver Version Naming Changes

NI-USRP versions are now aligned with the versions of major NI application software products. This alignment gives you information about the year the driver was released and the most recent software version the driver was designed to work with. Driver versions now start with a two-digit year indicator: <ProductName><Year-BasedVersion>. For example, NI-USRP 14.0.0 is the version released with LabVIEW 2014. The last version released under the old numbering scheme is NI-USRP 1.3. The first version released under the new numbering scheme is NI-USRP 14.0.0.


Uninstalling/Modifying NI-USRP

For Windows XP, complete the following steps:


  1. Launch the Control Panel by selecting Start»Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs.
  3. Select National Instruments Software.
  4. Click Change/Remove.
  5. Select NI-USRP 14.0 from the dialog box that appears.
  6. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

For Windows 7/Vista, complete the following steps:


  1. Launch the Control Panel by selecting Start»Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Programs and Features.
  3. Select National Instruments Software.
  4. Click the Uninstall/Change button.
  5. Select NI-USRP 14.0 from the dialog box that appears.
  6. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

For Windows 8.1, complete the following steps:


  1. Go to the desktop.
  2. Select the Charms Bar.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Click Control Panel.
  5. Double-click Programs and Features.
  6. Select National Instruments Software.
  7. Click the Uninstall/Change button.
  8. Select NI-USRP 14.0 from the dialog box that appears.
  9. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

As part of the NI-USRP 14.0 installation, the following software is installed. To completely remove the NI-USRP 14.0 installation from your system, you must also remove all of the following packages:


  • NI LabVIEW Modulation Toolkit 4.4
  • NI LabVIEW <version> MathScript RT Module (depending on distribution)
  • NI LabVIEW <version> Digital Filter Design Toolkit (depending on distribution)
  • NI-RIO 14.0
  • NI Measurement & Automation Explorer 14.0.0

Caution  Several of the software packages listed above are shared with other NI software packages. If you attempt to remove a piece of software that something else is dependent on, a message launches to warn you about the software dependencies. You can choose to either uninstall all of the software or to leave the shared software installed. If you choose to uninstall the shared software, some of your other NI software may no longer function correctly.


Note  Do not attempt to uninstall by manually deleting files.


Ethernet Support on NI 294x/295x Devices

NI 294x/295x 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.


Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI-USRP 14.0 Known Issues at ni.com for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-USRP 14.0.


Bug Fixes

The following items are changes in NI-USRP 14.0 from NI-USRP 1.3.


ID Fixed Issue
488044 Fixed an issue that caused clocks derived from the Data Clock to result in invalid data due to the Data Clock changing rate. Refer to KB ID 6OBBPOR4 on ni.com.
484898 Fixed an issue that caused incorrect reference level settings when you configure the Rx reference level on NI 294x/295x devices.
465859 Fixed an issue that caused errors when you configure two sessions in LabVIEW to the same device in parallel fashion.

The following items are changes in NI-USRP 1.3 from NI-USRP 1.2.


ID Fixed Issue
460052 Fixed an issue that caused the local oscillator to fail to lock when two devices connected by the MIMO connector transmit synchronously while one device also receives.

The following items are changes in NI-USRP 1.2 from NI-USRP 1.1.


ID Fixed Issue
376069 Fixed an issue that caused the Number of Samples is Finite property to always return a "FALSE" value regardless of whether the task was set as finite or continuous.
370383 Fixed an issue that caused a multi-device session to fail. To work around this issue, remove any trailing semicolons in lists of devices. For example, use "192.168.10.2; 192.168.10.3" instead of "192.168.10.2; 192.168.10.3;".
362726 Fixed an issue that caused LabVIEW to crash after configuring the number of samples in niUSRP EX Rx Continuous Async.vi.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

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:


How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, 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.


Using 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.x. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher.

Pinning Frequently Used Applications

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 ApplicationIcon LocationPin to Action
Windows 8.x Desktop Desktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to Taskbar
Windows 8.x Desktop Start screenRight-click application and select Pin to Start
Windows 8.x Start screen Desktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen

Finding All Programs

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, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).


For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.


NI-USRP Drops Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, and Windows XP in 2016

National Instruments NI-USRP will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, and Windows XP as of July 1, 2016. Versions of NI-USRP that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, or Windows XP. 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
NI LabVIEWlifecycle
NI LabWindows™/CVI™cvi_lifecycle
NI Measurement Studiomstudiolifecycle
NI TestStandtslcp
NI DIAdemddlcp
NI SignalExpressselcp
NI VeriStandnivslifecycle

Legal Information

Copyright


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Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.


National Instruments respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.


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:


  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

IVI Foundation Copyright Notice


Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.


The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.


Trademarks


Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.


Patents


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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