RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 Readme

June 2019


This file contains important information about RFmx Waveform Creator, including installation instructions, new features, bugs fixes, and known issues.


Overview

New Features

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Installation Instructions

Installed Software

File Locations

Executable

Finding Examples

Accessing the Documentation

Product Security and Critical Updates

Behavior Changes

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

RFmx Waveform Creator Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021

Legal Information


Overview

RFmx Waveform Creator provides a unified interface for creating and generating waveforms for multiple wireless standards. You can create unencrypted, unlocked IQ waveform files for playback on NI PXI RF instrumentation.Supported standards include LTE/LTE-Advanced, W-CDMA/HSPA+, GSM/EDGE+, TD-SCDMA, and more.


New Features

RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for PXIe-5830 (EAP) and PXIe-5831 (EAP)
  • Support for Cat-M2 Uplink (Release 14) and Cat-NB2 Uplink in LTE modulation scheme
  • 5G new radio (NR) modulation scheme
    • Added support for Uplink Pi/2 BPSK Spectral Shaping
    • Support for downlink test models as defined in 3GPP TS 38.141-1 and 3GPP TS 38.141-2 (Change requests R4-1905121, R4-1905122 endorsed in April 2019, to be updated in v15.2.0 when it releases in June 2019)
  • Support for Resume Waveform Playback in Download and Play window

RFmx Waveform Creator 3.0 includes the following new features:


  • Addition of 5G new radio (NR) modulation scheme
  • Support for launching the WLAN Generation SFP
  • Support for launching the Bluetooth Generation SFP
  • Support for PXIe-5820
  • Addition of crest factor reduction (CFR) in LTE, NR, and Multi-Carrier modulation schemes. Supported CFR types are Clipping and Peak Windowing.
  • Support for custom output sample rate in multi-carrier plugin.
  • GSM relative power per slot

RFmx Waveform Creator 2.5 includes the following new features:


  • Support for waveform generation in eMTC uplink features such as,
    • Frequency Hopping
    • Guard symbols
  • Support for waveform generation in NB-IoT uplink features such as,
    • Single/multi tones
    • 15kHz/3.75kHz subcarrier spacing
    • NPUSCH Format 1/2
  • Support for LTE-LAA Resource Allocation Type 3
  • Support for 64-bit
  • Addition of the Waveform Summary window
  • Support for multi-carrier generation utility
  • Support for generating tones up to 1.25G
  • Support for updating the window duration based on LTE bandwidth
  • Improvements in the performance of waveform generation

Supported Hardware

Vector Signal Generators

  • PXIe-5673
  • PXIe-5673E

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


Vector Signal Transceivers

  • PXIe-5644
  • PXIe-5645
  • PXIe-5646
  • PXIe-5840
  • PXIe-5820
  • PXIe-5830 (EAP)
  • PXIe-5831 (EAP)

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


System Requirements

RFmx Waveform Creator has the following requirements:


  • Processor—1 GHz 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 4 GB RAM*
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
  • Windows 10/8.1/7, with all available critical updates and service packs

*Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed, a larger amount of memory may be required.


Supported Operating Systems

RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 supports the following 64-bit operating systems:


  • Windows 10/8.11/7 SP12
  • Windows Server 2012 R21
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12

1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. 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 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  In 2019, RFmx Waveform Creator dropped support for all 32-bit Windows operating systems. RFmx Waveform Creator will not install or run on an unsupported OS. Refer to RFmx Waveform Creator Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021 for information about future OS support.


Other Required Software

  • NI-RFSG 14.5 or later

Installation Instructions

NI installs RFmx Waveform Creator using NI Package Manager. If you do not already have NI software installed, RFmx Waveform Creator installs NI Package Manager to handle the installation of your NI software. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code NIPMDownload to download NI Package Manager. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.


Installed Software

Installed Software

  • <NIDocDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location: Users\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments
  • <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\MeasurementStudioVS2010
  • <NIDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    •  Program Files (x86)\National Instruments 
  • <SYSDIR> is an alias for the following file folder location:
    • Windows\SysWOW64 for 32-bit programs and windows\system32 for 64-bit programs

File Locations

Item Installed Location
DLLs <NIDir>
Examples <NIDir>\examples

Executable

Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»RFmx Waveform Creator»RFmx Waveform Creator Examples to launch the RFmx Waveform Creator.


Finding Examples

You can access all the installed RFmx Waveform Creator examples at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»RFmx Waveform Creator»RFmx Waveform Creator Examples.


Accessing the Documentation

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


Document Format Description
RFmx Waveform Creator Help HTML/Windows Help Information about the RFmx Waveform Creator. This help file is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to RFmx Waveform Creator
  • How to get started with the application
  • A complete reference of all the different modulation schemes supported
RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 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.


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.


Behavior Changes

The following items are the behavior changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 from RFmx Waveform Creator 3.0.


  • 5G new radio (NR) modulation scheme
    • Deprecated support for Slot Offset control
    • Default value of downlink Channel Configuration Mode control has changed to Test Model from User defined.
    • Default value of BWP Number of RBs control has changed to -1 from maximum number of resource blocks.
    • Added SSB Active Blocks control and deprecated SSB Transmitted Pattern control under SS/PBCH Block configurations window.
  • Saving of waveforms in evaluation mode is not allowed in WLAN and Bluetooth

The following items are the behavior changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 3.0 from RFmx Waveform Creator 2.5.


  • Fractional resampling is performed in LTE and NR carrier aggregation so that the final sample rate is a multiple of 3.84 MHz.
  • CCDF graph calculates PAPR based on generated waveform excluding OFF power period.
  • UI controls on the Download & Play window are reset based on selected device.

The following items are the behavior changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 2.5 from RFmx Waveform Creator 2.4.


  • Updated the PAPR calculation for bursty signals in the presence of noise.
  • Removed restriction on configuring resource allocation type 0 and resource allocation type 1 settings in LTE.

Known Issues

The following item is a known issue in RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0.


ID Known Issue
711673 PAPR displayed on CCDF graph does not match with PAPR stored in the tdms file in User plugin.
736118 When Waveform Creator aggregates multiple carriers, it may adjust the carrier offsets to ensure resultant signal is phase continuous. To avoid coercions of the carrier offsets, set offsets to be an integer multiple of (1/signal duration). In case you are setting NR spacing type to Nominal, set Reference CC Index to a valid CC Index, instead of -1.

Bug Fixes

The following items are the IDs and titles of a subset of issues fixed in RFmx Waveform Creator. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version of the RFmx Waveform Creator. 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 RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 from RFmx Waveform Creator 3.0


ID Fixed Issue
734588 Fixed an issue where the error message was getting cleared in Download and Play window when switching between windows
732228 Fixed an issue where the speed degradation in CFR operations for waveform size was less than 20M samples.
724892 Fixed an issue where the Graphics tab IQ FFT view was not scaling correctly in corner case when the bandwidth was increased.
695883 Fixed the issue of WFC precision being low, 14 bits.

The following items are changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 3.0 from RFmx Waveform Creator 2.5


ID Fixed Issue
704721 Fixed the phase discontinuity issue on configuring GSM on first slot and EDGE on last slot.
698120 Fixed the issue where CCDF graph was reporting negative results for some configurations.
701478 Fixed the issue of not reporting burst start and stop locations for NB-IoT and eMTC FDD.
705738 and 701490 Fixed the issue of reporting incorrect burst PAPR for impaired bursty signal in Multi-Carrier and User plugins.
712524 Fixed the issue where IQ impairments per carrier set were incorrect, when multiple carrier sets are configured.

The following items are changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 2.5 from RFmx Waveform Creator 2.4


ID Fixed Issue
685187 Fixed issue where an overflow error was reported on generating LTE.
700390 Fixed issue where the PAPR calculation for bursty signals with user plugin was incorrect.

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 8.1

When you install NI 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.


RFmx Waveform Creator Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021

RFmx Waveform Creator will drop support for Windows 7 (64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 starting in 2021. 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 ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.


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
LabVIEWlifecycle
LabWindows/CVIcvi_lifecycle
Measurement Studiomstudiolifecycle
TestStandtslcp
DIAdemddlcp
SignalExpressselcp
VeriStandnivslifecycle

Legal Information

Copyright


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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.

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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.


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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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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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