NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 Readme

December 2016


Thank you for using NI-RFmx Demod. This file contains important information about NI-RFmx Demod and is organized into the following sections:


New Features

Installation Instructions

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Executable

Documentation

Accessing VIs and Functions

Finding Examples

NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

Product Security and Critical Updates

Uninstalling/Modifying NI-RFmx Demod

Behavior Changes

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

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

Legal Information


New Features

NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2016 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Support for LO leakage avoidance when using vector signal transciever as the analyzer
  • Support for Limited Configuration Change when sweeping frequency and reference level in test application
  • Addition of offset constellation trace for OQPSK modulation
  • Support for Half Sine pulse shaping filter type when using OQPSK modulation
  • Addition of advanced instrument attributes to the measurement interactive panel

NI-RFmx Demod 2.1 f4 includes the following bug fixes and updates:


  • Fixed an issue where NI-RFmx was crashing when the memory usage in a process increased beyond 2 GB.
  • Recommended IQ Pre Trigger Time property now returns a positive number instead of a negative number. This property is applicable when NI-RFmx is used in the Analysis-Only mode.
  • For the Analysis-Only mode, user needs to adjust the t0 value of the I/Q waveforms according to pre-trigger samples present in the waveform before passing the waveform to the Analyze (IQ) function.

NI-RFmx Demod 2.1 includes support for the Hardware Agnostic Mode that allows you to perform measurements on a user-specified I/Q waveform.


NI-RFmx Demod 2.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for enabling or disabling audio measurements in ADemod.
  • Support for LabVIEW 2015 (32-bit and 64-bit).

NI-RFmx Demod 1.2 includes support for NI PXIe-5668R.


NI-RFmx Demod 1.1 includes support for C, LabWindows™/CVI™, and .NET.


Installation Instructions

Caution Before you install NI-RFmx Demod 2.2, ensure that you have uninstalled all related NI-RFmx 1.0 products.


Caution If you are using only RFmx LabVIEW Runtime products, NI recommends uninstalling all the RFmx Runtime products before installing a newer version of RFmx Runtime products.


NI-RFmx drivers require that all the installed drivers have the same version for proper functionality because the NI-RFmx drivers use shared components that need to use the same version across all drivers. 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 Demod.NET examples require the NI-RFSG .NET Class Library. For these examples to build and run successfully, install NI-RFSG .NET Class Library before or after installing NI-RFmx Demod.


Supported Hardware

Vector Signal Analyzers

  • NI PXIe-5663
  • NI PXIe-5663E
  • NI PXIe-5665
  • NI PXIe-5668R
  • NI PXIe-5698 with NI PXIe-5668R

Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Analyzers Help.


Vector Signal Transceivers

  • NI PXIe-5644R
  • NI PXIe-5645R
  • NI PXIe-5646R
  • NI PXIe-5840

Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Transceivers Help.


System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 10/8.11/7 SP12 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12 (64-bit)

1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.1. 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  NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 does not support Windows Server non-R2 editions.


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


Minimum Requirements

  • Processor—Intel i3 or equivalent
  • RAM—2 GB*
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
  • A screen resolution of 1300 x 700 with 256 colors
  • Windows 10/8.1/7, with all available critical updates and service packs
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0**

*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.


Recommended System

  • Processor—Intel i5 or equivalent
  • RAM—4 GB*
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
  • A screen resolution of 1300 x 700
  • Windows 10/8.1/7, with all available critical updates and service packs
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0**

*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.


Application Development Environments (ADEs)

Note  You should install ADEs, such as NI LabVIEW, NI LabWindows/CVI, or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing NI-RFmx Demod. To add support for ADEs installed after installing NI-RFmx Demod, modify your NI-RFmx Demod installation or launch the NI-RFmx Demod installer again.


  • NI LabVIEW 2013 SP1 f6 patch, 2014 SP1 f5 (32-bit) patch, 2014 SP1 f6 (64-bit) patch, 2015 SP1 f5 patch, or 2016
  • NI LabWindows/CVI 2010 or later
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 SP1 or later

Note  NI-RFmx Demod does not operate correctly without the service packs and patches previously mentioned installed.


Other Required Software

  • NI-RFSA 14.1 or later
  • NI-RFSG 14.0.1 or later

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Installed Software

  • <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • (32-bit) Program Files\National Instruments\MeasurementStudioVS2010
    • (64-bit) Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\MeasurementStudioVS2010
  • <NIDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • (32-bit) Program Files\National Instruments
    • (64-bit) Program Files (x86)\National Instruments for 32-bit programs and Program Files\National Instruments for 64-bit programs
  • <NIDocDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location: Users\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments
  • <SYSDIR> is an alias for the following file folder location:
    • (32-bit) windows\system32
    • (64-bit) windows\SysWow64 for 32-bit programs and windows\system32 for 64-bit programs

File Locations

Item Installed Location
Version Compatibility Checker <NIDir>\RFmx\niRFmxCompatibility_Checker.exe
DLLs <SYSDIR>
Function Panels

<NIDir>\Shared\CVI\Bin\niRFmxDemod.lfp


<NIDir>\Shared\CVI\Bin\niRFmxInstr.lfp


Header files

<NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include


Import Library files (32-bit)

<NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include


Import Library files (64-bit)
  • 32-bit: <NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\lib32\msvc
  • 64-bit: <NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\lib64\msvc
C, .NET, NI TestStand
Examples <NIDocDir>\RFmx\Demod\Examples
LabWindows/CVI
Examples <NIDocDir>\CVI\samples\RFmx\Demod
LabVIEW
Examples <NIDir>\LabVIEW <version>\examples\RFmx\Demod
.NET Class Libraries
Assemblies <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.DemodMX.Fx40.dll
<MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.InstrMX.Fx40.dll
<MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.Common.dll

Executable

Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFmx Demod»NI-RFmx Demod Measurement Interactive Panel to launch the NI-RFmx Demod Measurement Interactive Panel.


Documentation

Documentation for NI-RFmx Demod is located at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFmx Demod»NI-RFmx Demod Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.


Document Format Description
NI-RFmx Demod Help HTML/Windows Help Information about NI-RFmx Demod. This help file is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to NI-RFmx Demod
  • How to get started with application development
  • A complete reference for all NI-RFmx Demod programming functions and VIs
NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 Readme HTML (this document) Information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, 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 .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.


Accessing VIs and Functions

NI-RFmx Demod palette VIs are available from the Functions»Measurement I/O»NI-RFmx palette.


NI-RFmx Demod functions are available in LabWindows/CVI from the Library»RFmx Demod Library menu.


Finding Examples

In LabVIEW, you can use the NI Example Finder to search or browse examples. NI-RFmx Demod 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:


  • Click the Browse tab to locate modulation examples by task at Hardware Input and Output»Modular Instruments»NI–RFmx» Demod or by directory structure at RFmx» Demod.
  • Click the Search tab to search all installed examples by keyword. For example, search for "Demod" to locate all NI-RFmx Demod examples.

The NI Example Finder is also available in LabWindows/CVI by selecting Help»Find Examples.


You can also access all the installed NI-RFmx Demod examples for LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-RFmx Demod»NI-RFmx Demod Examples.


Refer to ni.com/examples for these examples and for more information.


NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 Drops Support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

With this release, NI-RFmx Demod drops support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM (with no service pack), Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 and later will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI-RFmx Demod 2.2, 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 LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Measurement Studio, or TestStand Built Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Server 2003?.


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.


Uninstalling/Modifying NI-RFmx Demod

For Windows 7, 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-RFmx Demod 2.2 from the dialog box that appears.
  6. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

For Windows 10/8.1, complete the following steps:


  1. Right-click on the Start button.
  2. Select Control Panel.
  3. Select Programs»Programs and Features.
  4. Select National Instruments Software.
  5. Click the Uninstall button.
  6. Select NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 from the dialog box that appears.
  7. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

As part of the NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 installation, the following software is installed. To completely remove the NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 installation from your system, you must also remove the following packages:


  • NI-RFmx Demod Runtime 2.2
  • NI-RFmx Demod Runtime 2.2 (64-bit)

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.


Behavior Changes

The following item is a behavior change in NI-RFmx Demod 2.0 from NI-RFmx Demod 1.2.


  • OQPSK constellation returns two samples per symbol.

Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 Known Issues at ni.com for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-RFmx Demod 2.2.


Bug Fixes

The following items are changes in NI-RFmx Demod 2.2 from NI-RFmx Demod 2.1.


ID Fixed Issue
533768 Fixed an issue by renaming the FSK result, Mean RMS Deviation Error to Mean RMS FSK Error.
612527 Fixed an issue where the EVM computed from the constellation trace did not match the results returned, by removing the origin offset from PSK constellation trace.

The following items are changes in NI-RFmx Demod 2.1 from NI-RFmx Demod 2.0.


ID Fixed Issue
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 Demod 2.0 from NI-RFmx Demod 1.2.


ID Fixed Issue
524392 Fixed an issue with the acquisition of a signal while using triggers where the initial samples of the desired acquisition were not being analyzed.
495026 Fixed an issue with equalization in the presence of a frequency offset.
524499 Fixed an issue with the I/Q gain imbalance where the quadrature skew measurements were reported as NaN intermittently for the OQPSK signal.

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


ID Fixed Issue
476175 Fixed an issue in RMS EVM when sync bits were found in the OQPSK signal.
460875 Fixed an issue in OQPSK equalization to improve the mean RMS EVM and the mean peak EVM.

The following items are changes in NI-RFmx Demod 1.1 from NI-RFmx Demod 1.0.


ID Fixed Issue
484980 Fixed an issue in which the RFmxDemod Auto Level VI was not handling RF front end attributes automatically.

Increasing Available Memory For Your Application

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.


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:


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

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.


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

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. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.



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.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights


If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.


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.


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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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