NI-568x 18.0 Readme

May 2018


This file contains important information about NI-568x, including new features, bug fixes, and known issues.


Overview

New Features

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Application Software Support

Accessing the API

Finding Examples

Accessing the Documentation

Product Security and Critical Updates

IVI Compliance Pacakge Functionality

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

Legal Information


Overview

This software installation provides support for customers using RF power sensor devices, as specified in the Supported Hardware section. To program your RF power sensor device, use the NI-568x instrument driver or the NI-568x Soft Front Panel (SFP).


The getting started guide for your device provides information about how to install, configure, test, and begin using an RF power sensor device.


New Features

NI-568x 18.0 adds support for LabVIEW 2018 (32-bit and 64-bit)


NI-568x 17.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2017 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Support for LabVIEW 2016 (32-bit and 64-bit)

NI-568x 15.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2015 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Support for LabVIEW 2014 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Support for Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Support for the USB-5683
  • Support for the USB-5684
  • Updated NI-568x Soft Front Panel (SFP)
  • Support for triggered measurements with hysteresis consideration
  • Support for specifying buffer size in continuous power measurements
  • Support for measuring pulse-modulated signals with periods shorter than 30.0 µs

Supported Hardware

The NI-568x instrument driver supports the following RF power sensor devices:


  • USB-5680
  • USB-5681
  • USB-5683
  • USB-5684

Device-specific information about these modules is included in the RF Power Sensor Devices Help.


System Requirements

NI-568x 18.0 has the following requirements:


  • Processor—Pentium III/Celeron 600 MHz or equivalent
  • 512 MB RAM
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 × 768
  • Windows 10/8.1/7, with all available critical updates and service packs
  • USB port

Note  The minimum USB port requirement for USB-5683 and USB-5684 devices is USB 2.0.


Note  NI recommends that you disable Windows power management modes, such as sleep, standby, and hibernate when using this product. These modes terminate any operation in progress. On a laptop computer, the default power management settings are likely to enable sleep mode.


Supported Operating Systems

NI-568x 18.0 supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 10/8.11/7 SP12

1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 requires 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 requires Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.


Application Software Support

NI-568x 18.0 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-568x. To add support for application software installed after installing NI-568x, modify your NI-568x installation or launch the NI-568x installer again.



Application SoftwareVersions Supported by NI-568x
LabVIEW 2015 SP1, 2016, 2017 SP1, or 2018
LabWindows™/CVI™2012 and later
Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC)2008 and later

Note  If you are running your application on an RT target, 128 MB of memory or more is required.


Microsoft Visual Studio Support

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 the API

LabVIEW

NI-568x VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»Instrument I/O»Instrument Drivers»NI-568x palette.


To access the LabVIEW sample projects and templates from the New Project dialog, select Sample Projects in the left pane and navigate to the project that best matches your application requirements.


LabWindows/CVI

NI-568x functions are available in LabWindows/CVI from the Instrument menu. To load the NI-568x function panel (.fp), select Instrument»Load, and navigate to IVI\Drivers\ni568x\ni568x.fp.


C

You can use the NI-568x C dynamically linked library by adding a reference to:


  • (32-bit): Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\ni568x.dll
  • (64-bit): Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\ni568x.dll for 32-bit development or Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\ni568x_64.dll for 64-bit development.

NI-568x Soft Front Panel

Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-568x»NI-568x Soft Front Panel to launch the NI-568x Soft Front Panel.


Finding Examples

Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI to launch the NI Example Finder, and click the Browse tab to locate examples by task at Hardware Input and Output»Modular Instruments»NI-568x (RF Power Meter). You can also select the Search tab to search all installed examples by keyword.


All installed NI-568x examples for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and C are accessible from Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-568x»NI-568x Examples.


Accessing the Documentation

Documentation for RF power sensor devices is located at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-568x»NI-568x Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.


Document Format Description
RF Power Sensor Devices Help HTML/Windows Help Contains primary help content for RF power sensor devices. The help is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to RF power sensor devices
  • Hardware device information
  • How to get started with application development
  • A complete reference for all NI-568x programming functions and VIs
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 PDF Lists technical specifications for your device.
NI-568x Readme HTML (this document) Contains information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices.
NI-568x IVI Compliance Document TXT Contains information about IVI compliance.
Introduction to ni568x HTML Contains information about driver documentation, examples, connecting to your instrument, configuring instrument settings, and known issues.

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.


Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.


IVI Compliance Pacakge Functionality

NI-RFSA no longer installs IVI Compliance Pacakge. NI-RFSA supports IVI configuration and runtime, but no longer supports the following features:


  • LabVIEW and CVI IVI class driver APIs for developing IVI interchangeable applications
  • IVI Class Simulation drivers
  • IVI-COM Adapters

If you want to use the above features, you must install IVI Compliance Package separately, either from ni.com/downloads or from the NI Device Drivers 2018 DVD.


Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI website for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-568x 18.0.


Bug Fixes

The following items are the IDs and titles of a subset of issues fixed in NI-568x. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version of NI-568x. If you have a CAR ID, you can search this list to validate that the issue has been fixed.


The following items are changes in NI-568x 18.0 from NI-568x 15.1.


ID Fixed Issue
666625 Fixed an issue where installing NI-568x 17.0 with default LabVIEW settings prevented calling NI-568x VIs when using LabVIEW 2016 (64-bit).
575648 Fixed an issue where NI-568x returned an error if more than one VISA was enabled and available on the system.

The following items are changes in NI-568x 15.1 from NI-568x 15.0.


ID Fixed Issue
601287 Fixed an issue where the serial number could not be read from a USB-5680 or USB-5681 power meter.

The following items are changes in NI-568x 15.0 from NI-568x 1.2.


ID Fixed Issue
240557 Fixed an issue in which scope mode would error when using short capture times.
409122 Fixed an issue in which VISA aliasing would fail in NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX).
523688 Fixed several issues in which attribute behavior was inconsistent with IVI compliance standards.

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.


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.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.



Legal Information

Copyright


© 2007–2018 National Instruments. All rights reserved.


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.


NI 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.


Trademarks


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


Patents


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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